Free Dancing With Raven (The Young Shakespeareans Series) by S.G. Rogers Page A

and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
    Raven reached over to wipe the moisture away with his thumb. “I’m not gentleman enough to carry a handkerchief, I’m afraid.”
    She giggled through her tears. “There’s a box of tissues in the glove compartment.”
    He retrieved the box. As she took a tissue, she gave him a grateful smile.
    “Thresher was leaning on me this afternoon to audition for the school showcase,” he said. “Why don’t we audition together?”
    Her eyebrows shot upward. “You’ve seen for yourself I’m not an actress.”
    “There’s loads of time to prepare. Do you sing?”
    “A little, yes.”
    “I know you can dance. C’mon, let’s do it.”
    “The last time I auditioned, it didn’t work out well for me.”
    “I can coach you with your acting technique. How about we pick a scene from R&J—The Musical ?”
    “That’s the one based on Romeo and Juliet ? I don’t know, Raven. I have awful stage fright.”
    “Thresher told me a lot of industry people will be there, looking for talent. This could be the exact thing you need to find your future.”
    “Why would you help me? We barely know one another.”
    He averted his gaze, hoping she wouldn’t see his guilt. “You wouldn’t owe me anything, I promise. I’d like to be your friend.” As well as keep you alive and protect you from harm.
    She sighed. “Okay, I’ll audition with you, but please don’t let me make a fool of myself!”
    “You won’t.”
    “And you won’t have to worry about kissing me again. I’m really sorry about that.”
    I’m not. His cell phone went off with a text message from his dad, asking him to come home. “Er…I have to go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
    “Okay. Thanks again for…everything.”
    His eyes flickered to her lips, but he forced himself to open the car door. “Later.”

    Ian was in the kitchen assembling a casserole when Raven arrived. “Hello. Grate the cheese, would you?”
    “Okay.” Raven stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. “Surely you didn’t call me home to grate cheese? It sounded as if there was an emergency.”
    “Birmingham is visiting Los Angeles in two weeks.”
    Raven was taken aback. “Why?”
    “He claimed he wants to see the sights, but that’s nonsense.”
    “What do you suspect?”
    “When the Arthurs disappeared from London nearly eighteen years ago, undoubtedly Birmingham knew why. He believes—correctly—I can lead him to the Leap Day child.”
    “If he connects the dots, he’ll guess I’ve been tasked with guarding Tori. He’ll watch me, and anyone I hang with will be a suspect.”
    “True.”
    “You don’t want me to avoid her, do you?”
    “No. The last thing you should do is to leave her unprotected. We’ll just have to play a little cat and mouse game for a while…at least until the second of March,” Ian said.
    “Good, because I’ve been asked to audition for the school showcase and I talked Tori into auditioning with me. She’s a brilliantly talented dancer.”
    “So was her mother. There’s a red leather scrapbook in the library. Bring it here and I’ll show you.”
    While his father finished the casserole and put it into the oven to bake, Raven fetched the scrapbook and set it on the kitchen table. A fond smile of reminiscence lit Ian’s face as he turned the pages. Finally, he found the item he was looking for—a souvenir program from Les Sylphides at Her Majesty’s Theatre, featuring a beautiful prima ballerina by the name of Hannah Paige. He tapped the photo. “That’s Tori’s mother. Gorgeous, wasn’t she? When we were little older than you are now, Gerald and I were both quite enamored of her. In the end, the better man won out.”
    “Tori looks a great deal like her mother.”
    “I think she got the best of both her parents.”
    “How much does her foster mother know about what’s going on?”
    “Misty Savannah thinks Hannah and Gerald were part of a witness relocation program.”
    “Not far