Joy and Tiers (44 page)

I have been lucky enough to live my own version of a romance novel. I married the guy who kissed me at summer camp. He told me on the night we met that he was going to marry me and be the father of my children. Eventually I stopped giggling when he said it, and we just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. We have two children. The oldest is in medical school, where he recently found and married the love of his life, and the youngest is still in elementary school.

Presently I’m a stay at home mom, but I’m working on several other novels, and I volunteer my time to a variety of causes. I have worked as a Civil Rights Attorney and diversity advocate. I spent several years working for various social service agencies before becoming an attorney. In my spare time, I love to cook, decorate cakes and of course, I obsessively, compulsively read.

If you have questions or comments, please E-mail me at
[email protected]
or find me on the following social networks:

Facebook:
 www.facebook.com/authormarycrawford

Website:
MaryCrawfordAuthor.com

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/MaryCrawfordAut

Being an author is a very isolating endeavor, since by nature we live in a world of fantasy. I take fan input seriously and I would love to hear yours. Sites like
Amazon
and
Goodreads
give you the opportunity to rate this book and share your thoughts on
Facebook
and
Twitter.
If you like this book, please take a moment to share your review and encourage your friends and family to share in the love of reading.

Thank you so much.

~Mary

If you enjoyed Heather and Ty’s love story, the adventures continue in the upcoming releases in the Hidden Beauty series titles:

Until the Stars Fall from the Sky
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #1)—Jeff and Kiera—June 3, 2014

So the Heart Can Dance
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #2)—Aidan and Tara—April 24, 2015

Joy and Tiers
(A Hidden Beauty Novel #3)—Heather and Ty—Coming August 15, 2015

Love Naturally (A Hidden Beauty Novel #4)—Madison and Trevor—Coming New Year’s 2016

Love Seasoned (A Hidden Beauty Novel #5)—Denny and Gwendolyn—Coming Winter, 2016

Love Reclaimed (A Hidden Beauty Novel #6)—Donda and Jackson—Coming Fall 2016

Introducing a new series, A Hidden Heart scheduled to debut in the fall.

Identity of the Heart
(A Hidden Heart Novel #1)—Ivy and Marcus and Rogue and Tristan —Coming October 23, 2015

Sheltered Heart (A Hidden Heart Novel #2)—Jessica and Mitch—Coming Summer, 2016

This book is dedicated to everyone

who has a story and is afraid to share it.

May you find the strength to tell someone—

You could change someone’s life with your words.

A special thank you

to all those

who take the time to listen.

Mindy, the nearly seven-year-old foster daughter of my best friend Kiera, is making it her mission to cheer me up. She refuses to allow me to be a wallflower, the role in which I’m most comfortable. “Are you sure you don’t want to dance? It’s real fun. I bet my daddy will dance with you. He’s a really great dancer,” Mindy offers enthusiastically.

I freeze as her words lance my heart, yet my soul yearns to dance as the bass thumps through the speakers and I feel the rhythm deep in my bones. I study the crowd of people pressed together on the dance floor and I shudder. “I’m sorry, Mindy, I don’t know how to dance. I guess I’ll have to sit this one out,” I shrug nonchalantly as I answer her, but I can’t quite square my gaze with hers.

Mindy scowls and narrows her gaze as she examines me from the top of my head to the tips of my freshly painted toenails. “Miss Tara?” she prompts.

“Mm-hmm?” I reply, trying not to squirm under her perusal.

“Um, you know that I can pretty much tell if a grown up is trying to trick me?” she asks.

I nod—primarily because my ability to speak seems to have taken an intermission.

“So, why bother to fib about a silly thing? I think you’re a dancer because your feet look funny, just like the dancers who came to my school from the Portland Ballet Company. Plus, you kicked your tae kwon do teacher in the teeth when he said, ‘You punch like a girl and should wear a tutu.’ I don’t get why you’d lie about dancing, but whatever,” Mindy says, shaking her head and shrugging.

I feel like she has punched me in the stomach. I never meant to hurt Mouse in a million years. I feel lower than a caterpillar. I glance back at the dance floor. Donda is dancing with the bartender who she’s been flirting with all night as she takes a break from being the DJ. By all appearances, she has been very effective as they are dancing so close together that you’d be hard pressed to fit a single sheet of paper between them. I pale as I watch the handsome bartender grab Donda’s waist and grind his hips into her backside. I draw in a harsh, startled breath while I try to find my voice to call for help. Suddenly, Donda looks over her shoulder, gives him a wink, and kisses the underside of his jaw.

See, Tara? Donda wanted him. Not all contact is bad. Pull it together
, I mentally command myself.

“Are you okay, Miss Tara?” queries Mindy anxiously. “You’re shaking. Should I go get Miss Kiera?”

“No, I’m fine,” I insist. “Maybe I just need to eat something.”

“Can we dance after we eat?” Mindy asks.

I slowly look around at this amazing reception unfolding around me. I want this level of perfect for me and maybe, someday, I’ll be able to believe in perfect again. Sadly, today is not that day.

I grasp Mindy’s hands and squeeze them lightly as I whisper hoarsely, “I’m sorry, Mindy Mouse. I’d love to dance, but I just can’t.”

Movement at the edge at of the dance floor catches my eye, I look up to see a look of sadness cross the face of the man walking up to the piano. Astonishingly, he winks and signs, “Bullshit!” before he sits down at the piano and starts to play.

Bullshit
? Who is this guy and what did he mean by that? As I watch him play, I try to figure out if I know him. I’m pretty sure I don’t, but there is something oddly familiar about those moss-green eyes.

Suddenly, I feel the urge to be anywhere but here. “Mindy, do you want to go get some more cake?” I ask, a little too brightly.

“Sure thing!” Mindy exclaims. “I want some more of Miss Heather’s food, too. She cooks too good to make food on a truck. It’s silly. She should have a restaurant with fancy tablecloths and napkins.”

As Mindy chatters on about her favorite foods and what kind of restaurant she would own if she were a grown-up, I can’t help but think about what that piano player said. How could he possibly know about my dancing ability? It’s a weird thing for a stranger to comment on. He acts like he knows me. There’s something oddly disconcerting yet thrilling about that.

Mindy scampers off to play with her cousin, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I’m fighting a primal urge to simply escape out the back door. Weddings never get any easier for me. I was hoping this one might not be as hard. Kiera is one of my very best friends. Heather, my co-maid of honor, is equally close. Together, we’ve formed the Girlfriend Posse. Once you’re in, you’re in forever. We have each other’s backs at all times. This explains why I’m wearing a shiny new dress when I’d rather run naked in the snow. Admittedly, it’s a nice dress and Kiera and Mindy, her newly adopted daughter, tried very hard to choose one which minimizes my discomfort. There are some things that go beyond the cut of a dress.