Free A Moment To Dance by Jennifer Faye Page B

patience to get past the boy’s defenses.
    Ella and Johnny had started into the building when Tony called out, “His grandmother will pick him up at a quarter after five so you’ll have plenty of time to get to the dance lesson.”
    Ella’s face creased with worry lines before she nodded. So he wasn’t the only one having reservations about their lesson. Was she worried about his capabilities? Or was her concern far more personal?
    ♥♥♥
    Less than five minutes in Tony’s presence, and he’d totally unnerved her.
    Ella mentally chastised herself. She had to do better—for all of their sakes.
    She turned her full attention to Johnny as he sat at one of the library’s large tables, looking utterly bored. “From the size of this stack of books, it looks like you and your uncle have been working hard.”
    The boy shrugged his thin shoulders. She needed the boy to interact with her if they were going to make any progress. Tony might think the distance between her and Johnny was beneficial to this venture, but she disagreed. She needed Johnny to relax so he could absorb the information they were about to cover.
    “I hear you’re having most of your problems in math. Is that right?” she asked, still trying to break the ice.
    Again, the boy’s shoulders rose and fell. “Why do you care?” Johnny mumbled, then his face pinched with anger. “You want to take away my puppy.”
    She wished Tony had never considered her giving the puppy a home. “Johnny, I do care about you. As for the puppy, I didn’t say I would take him.”
    The boy slanted her a suspicious look. “But Uncle Tony said he thought you’d change your mind.”
    “He did?” This was news to her.
    The boy nodded.
    “Well, he’s mistaken.”
    Johnny’s eyebrows lifted as his skeptical gaze met hers. “Really?”
    She nodded. Not letting the dialogue lapse, she said, “I hear you’re very smart. Your mom must have been so proud of your good grades.”
    Johnny’s face filled with a startled expression. “You knew her?”
    “No. But from what I’ve heard, she loved you very much, and she wanted you to do well in school.” Ella didn’t know this for a fact, but she couldn’t imagine a mother who wouldn’t want the best for their child. “Don’t you think?”
    He gave her a small smile before nodding.
    Happiness welled up in Ella that he’d finally smiled, which was a good sign that he would eventually open up to her. “How about we start with math?”
    Ella grabbed the workbook Tony had given her and flipped through it. She noticed the strong, sure writing, obviously Tony’s, and some shaky numbers, which must be Johnny’s. What bothered her was that most of the writing was Tony’s. Instead of making Johnny work his way through the problems himself, it appeared that Tony had intervened far too often. He was obviously full of good intentions, but not good at sitting back and letting the boy use what he’d learned.
    “My mom used to help me with math. Every night. Then she’d give me Oreos and milk before I went to bed… I…I miss her…”
    The little boy’s whispered confession tore at Ella’s heart. No child should lose a parent. “I’m so sorry that she’s not here. But I’m sure she’s watching over you and wanting you to do well in school. You wouldn’t want to let her down, would you?”
    He shook his dark head.
    The remainder of the session flew by. In fact, it went so well that they ran a little late. After Johnny’s grandmother picked him up, Ella grabbed her belongings and rushed for the door. She hated to be late for anything, but second thoughts about agreeing to be Tony’s partner had slowed her pace.
    By the time she stepped foot on the asphalt of the small parking lot, she was leaning toward calling Tony and telling him that she just wasn’t up for dancing that night. After all, the kids had kept her on her toes all day. And then there had been her somewhat stressful session with Johnny. Who would blame