Chapter 15 Reese #2
“Yeah.” Roan’s voice was getting stronger. “And then there was a whiteout. I got disoriented. Fell into the retention pond by Miller’s farm. Went through the ice.”
The room gasped collectively.
“You fell through ice?” Reese’s voice came out as a squeak.
“Just for a minute. I got out. Kept walking.” He kept looking at her, his gaze intense despite his exhaustion.
Reese's gaze traveled over him—wrapped in blankets, his bare chest visible where they'd stripped off his soaked shirt, his pants removed to prevent further heat loss. He was still shivering despite the heater's warmth.
“Wait.” Roan’s eyes suddenly went wide. “My jacket. Where’s my jacket?”
“We had to take it off,” Dr. Lawrence said. “It was soaking wet—“
“The inside pocket.” Roan tried to sit up straighter, panic flashing across his face. “I need—the inside pocket—“
“Easy,” Dr. Lawrence said. “What’s in the pocket?”
Roan looked directly at Cody, his voice urgent despite his weakness. “Inside left pocket. Cody, please. Check it’s still there.”
Cody didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Roan’s destroyed jacket from the pile of wet clothes nearby and dug into the inner pocket. His hand emerged holding a small, soaking wet, velvet box.
“It’s safe,” Cody said.
“Is it okay? Open it. Check it,” Roan said.
Cody opened the box. Inside, nestled in wet velvet, was something that sparkled, glinting under the twinkling Christmas lights strung across La Danza’s ceiling.
Reese stared at it, her mind not quite processing what she was seeing. A piece of jewelry? Something shiny. Why would he be so panicked about that? Then it occurred to her. Oh my goodness. That was a diamond. A diamond ring. A solitaire. An engagement ring.
Her ears started ringing. She could no longer feel the tips of her fingers.
He was going to propose. Tonight. He’d been carrying an engagement ring when he crashed, walked through the storm, and fell into icy water.
He’d almost died with this ring in his pocket.
By some miracle, it had not fallen out along the way.
“You …is that for ….” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her throat had closed completely.
“Forget you saw that,” Roan said, smiling at Reese. “It’s kind of ruining my big moment.”
“That’s the least of your troubles right now.” Jason’s voice cracked.
“It’s meant to be,” Emma said, eyes shining. “He had to get here with the ring.”
“That’s right.” Roan’s eyes never left Reese. “It’s for you. To make sure we’re never apart again.”
Cody closed the box carefully, protectively. “We’ve got it, Roan. It’s safe now.”
“Keep it,” Roan said. “Until … after we dance.”
Marcus moved closer to Cody. “Don’t worry. It’s safe now.”
“Until after we dance? What are you talking about?” Reese asked.
“I need to get up,” Roan said. “The kids and I have a surprise for Reese.”
Other than the proposal?
Roan tried to stand. Dr. Lawrence and Jason each took one of his arms, helping him to his feet.
“We can still do the dance,” Roan said. “Right, guys?”
“Are you insane?” Jason asked.
“You guys are dancing?” Reese asked no one in particular. At the same time, Dr. Lawrence said, “You need to go to the hospital. You have hypothermia. You fell through ice. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I’ll go after we dance.” Roan looked past them to the kids. “Did you bring the costumes?”
Emma drew closer. “Yes, but we don’t have to do it. Not if you’re not up to it.”
“Or we could do it without you,” Cody said.
“I walked through a snowstorm for this. We’re dancing.” Roan said. “And anyway, what did we agree to? You dance. I dance.”
Cody nodded, looking grim. “Yeah, okay.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Reese asked.
“We have a surprise for you,” Emma said, sniffing. “Or we did.”
“We wanted to perform our dance for you,” Julia said, pressing her hand against her mouth. “But it’s okay. We can do it some other time.”
“I’m doing it,” Roan said. “Tonight.”
“Absolutely not,” Reese said. “You almost died.”
“We practiced all week for this,” Marcus said.
Julia wiped her eyes. “We were so excited, but I don’t want Roan to get hurt.”
Roan reached out, took Reese’s hands in his. They were still cold, but warmer than just minutes ago. “Please, baby, let me do this. For you. And for the kids. We’ve been working so hard on it.” He looked at Dr. Lawrence. “Give me medical clearance. Three minutes. That’s all I need.”
Dr. Lawrence shook his head. “This is against every bit of medical advice I should be giving you.”
“But?” Roan asked.
“But if we get you in dry clothes, keep you warm, and I stay right next to the stage in case you collapse again, you can do one performance. Three minutes. Then you’re going straight to the hospital in the ambulance when it arrives. No arguments.”
“Deal,” Roan said.
Dr. Lawrence sighed. “He needs dry clothes.”
Jason offered his button down shirt, saying he had a T-shirt on under it. One of the male servers said he had an extra pair of work pants in his locker.
“Okay, Jason, take him to the restroom and help him change,” Dr. Lawrence said. “Keep a close watch on him.”
“Yes, Doc. I’m on it.” Jason took hold of his brother and they started toward the bathroom.
Emma rushed forward with a bag, handing it to Jason. “That’s his hat and vest.”
Roan smiled, even though he was still shivering slightly. “What more could I need?”
With Jason and Roan headed to the bathroom, Reese sank into a nearby chair, feeling suddenly weak. Julia brought her a plate of food, and Grace, the mother hen that she was, clucked until Reese took several bites of pasta and chicken.
The kids put on their red vests and Santa hats.
Mia made an announcement that there would be a special performance, dedicated to Reese. All four of the kids headed to the stage. The crowd hushed as Cody took hold of the microphone.
“Hey, everyone. I’m Cody. One of the Bridge kids.
” He gestured to the others. “These are my friends. Marcus, Julia, and Emma. Reese Monroe and Roan Hayes are our mentors. We’ve been working out with Roan at his gym and taking dance lessons from Reese.
” His voice grew husky and he looked over at Emma, as if he needed help. “I can’t …say the rest.”
“I’ve got you.” Emma stepped up to the microphone.
“Reese taught us a dance for Christmas, and we thought it would be fun to surprise her tonight with our best version of it. We took what she taught us and … to thank her for all she’s done to make the Christmas season bearable.
If you’re wondering if this program’s worth your charity, then take a look at us.
We were all falling through the cracks, so to speak.
” Emma’s eyes shimmered with tears and a wave of emotion clearly hit her hard.
“We … no one cared about any of us. Not really. Until Mrs. Chen told us we’d been chosen for the program and met Reese and Roan.
We all knew exactly why they zeroed in on us.
We’re what an at-risk teen looks like. Except now, none of us are at risk.
Because we know someone cares. That sounds simple, and maybe it is.
Giving your time and money and heart to kids no one particularly wants? That’s how you change a life.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Reese saw Roan making his way toward the stage, wearing his red vest over borrowed clothes and the Santa hat perched on his head. He was pale, moving carefully, but he was smiling as he climbed the stairs to stand next to the kids.
Julia stepped up to speak next. “Most adults would’ve written us off.
But Reese and Roan believed we were redeemable.
Even if one of us was pregnant.” She placed a hand on her stomach.
“That’s me, in case you couldn’t tell. They told me it was all right to keep dreaming—that my life wasn’t over and I didn’t have to be ashamed.
That I still mattered. Even if I was going to be a teenage mom.
Without them, I don’t know where I’d be right now.
” She turned to Marcus. “Marcus, do you want to say anything?”
At first, Reese thought Marcus might decline, but he came forward, speaking into the microphone with his soft voice.
“Yeah, so all the stuff they said goes for me too. I was sleeping in an alleyway before Roan invited me to stay with him. Not to sound dramatic or anything, but I might not have made it to Christmas.” His gaze landed on Reese.
“Thank you, Reese, for seeing us. For not trying to change us. And for believing that we’re good kids, even when we felt otherwise. ”
By now, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Emma came back to the microphone. “This is for you, Reese. Thank you.” She moved it to the side to free up the dance space.
Dr. Lawrence positioned himself near the stage stairs, arms crossed, looking like he regretted this decision.
Everyone took their place. The opening notes of All I Want for Christmas Is You came through the speakers.
All five of them snapped into position—synchronized head nods on the downbeat, shoulders popping in rhythm.
Emma and Julia in front, their arms chopping low then lifting high, marking the rhythm.
Marcus and Cody behind them, mirroring the movements with surprising precision.
And Roan in back, a half-beat slower than the others but determined, pushing through.
Even in their Santa hats, they looked sharp and so very beautiful.
Reese’s trained eye caught the clean lines, the way they hit every accent together.