Free Rumor Has It by Tami Hoag

Mavis. “That must have been rough on you, growing up without a mother.”
    Katie's shoulders lifted in a stiff shrug. “She wasn't a very good mother. The thing I remembermost about her was that she hated the farm and did everything she could to make her feelings known to everyone.”
    She didn't say anything about the feelings of confusion that had haunted her after her mother's desertion. She had vowed then that someday she would have children of her own, and she would be the best mother in the world. But she didn't mention it to Nick. She didn't tell him it was just one of her dreams as a young girl that had been shattered and left in pieces on a jump course in upstate New York.
    “You should have told me about this project, Katie,” he said, reproaching her gently to bring her thoughts back to the present. He hadn't enjoyed the haunted look that had crept into her pewter- colored eyes or the sensation that she had pulled away from him for a moment, drawn into herself.
    “I thought you had your hands full working on your own place,” she said. “I didn't want you to feel obligated to work here too.”
    “It's a community project. I want to be part of the community.”
    She could see how eager Nick was to be a partof the small town, to get involved and make friends. He would have felt hurt if no one had asked him to join in. She reached up with her napkin to wipe a speck of chocolate off his chin. “I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking.”
    “Yeah, well, just don't let it happen again.” He gave her a warning look that had her giggling, then he grinned his endearingly crooked grin and winked at her.
    Katie said, “You're here now, and we'll work you till you drop, but I can guarantee you a dozen devoted customers when you finally open the restaurant. This lunch was great. Thanks for bringing it.”
    “My pleasure. I'll do what I can to help this afternoon, but I have to knock off around four. I have to go to D.C. tonight.”
    Katie tried to look casual while she wondered if she'd missed the boat. “Oh? Got a hot date?”
    “No,” Nick said with a chuckle. She was so cute when she tried to act casual about something she was dying to know, like a cat trying to appear aloof when someone was trailing a string of yarn in front of it. “It's business. I'm gonna help outthis friend a couple nights a week to make the money I need for my remodeling.”
    He set his plate aside and slipped his arm around Katie. She looked so young in her paint-spattered jeans and T-shirt, with no makeup and her hair mussed, he half expected her father to come out on the front step and chase him away. He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, murmuring in a husky voice, “I'm not interested in going dancing with anyone but you, kitten.”
    If that was true, it was going to be a while before Nick got to go dancing again, Katie thought ruefully. She pushed her own disabilities from her mind to concentrate on getting to know Nick better. “You've been trained as a dancer, worked as a dancer, and you still want to go out dancing. You must really love it.”
    “I do. Dance is the ultimate combination of art and athleticism. It's beautiful, powerful, entertaining,” he said, trying to concentrate on Katie instead of the butterflies in his stomach. This seemed like the ideal time to tell her. He was going to leave in a few hours to meet with Jack Clark to finalize the details of the return of the Highwayman.He took a deep breath and plunged in. “I love it. I've danced on Broadway, off Broadway, as a lead, in the chorus line, as a stripper.”
    Katie shot him an amused look and burst out laughing.
    “Really,” Nick said, trying to laugh along. “For two years.”
    “ Uh- huh, right.” Katie shook her head and pushed herself to her feet. Nick was self- conscious about putting his reading glasses on in front of people. Dancing around in his birthday suit was simply out of the question. A stripper. How absurd. One