16. Quinn
16
QUINN
T he following weekend, Quinn sat beside Zandy in the darkened theater space, watching the ballet dancers reprise the most beautiful moments in The Nutcracker just before the curtain call.
The performers floated and flew across the stage, wearing beautiful tulle costumes in all the colors of the rainbow, and smiling as if they were completely transported by their hard work.
And those smiles were reflected right back to them in the faces of the entranced audience.
Quinn had never been a big fan of ballet before, but there was something magical about sitting in the little theater, among their friends and neighbors, watching the local students put on a heartfelt production. It was hard not to get swept up in the magic of the moment.
Christmas is coming, she thought to herself happily. And I have so many people to share it with this year.
Her eyes went to Beau, and he glanced back at her, smiling warmly. More and more lately it felt like they shared everything—their time, their ideas, and even their moods.
We share a big secret too, she reminded herself.
But no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that this was all fake, she couldn’t help sensing that maybe this thing between them was blossoming into real feelings—as real as the smile that went all the way to Beau’s twinkling blue eyes, and the warmth of Zandy’s little face, pressed to Quinn’s arm, her chubby hand wrapped in Quinn’s.
The last week had passed in a whirlwind of farm planning mornings, afternoons with Zandy, and evenings out with Beau. It was busy, but she found herself wishing that this could be the rhythm of her life forever.
Before she knew it, the lights were fading up and everyone began to clap.
Zandy hopped to her feet and cheered, delighted to share her feelings. Quinn had been impressed that the little one could sit for so long, but the ballet did tell an exciting story with a giant Christmas tree, plenty of toys coming to life, and beautiful, candy-themed settings.
When the final bows were finished, the main lights came all the way up and everyone meandered around, greeting friends and making their way slowly to the exit.
“Beau Wilson,” a deep voice called out.
Quinn turned to see Aidan Webb was headed their way, a big smile on his face.
Quinn had heard that Aidan married Kenzie Forrest, who was a former ballerina and running the show these days with her grandmother. Kenzie had been injured while performing and had to leave the city and her dance career behind. But it looked like things had worked out pretty well for her after all.
And Aidan’s little boy had danced in the ballet tonight, so she guessed that things must be going pretty well for the whole family.
That could be us, she thought to herself helplessly. What if the three of us were still together next year?
“Aidan,” Beau said happily.
“Hey, guys,” Aidan said. “Thanks for coming out.”
“This was amazing,” Beau told him. “And Walt did such a great job in the party scene.”
“He’s five now,” Aidan told Quinn. “He saw the ballet for the first time last year and danced in it this year.”
“Hey, you’ll be five next year,” Beau said to Zandy. “Do you want to learn how to do ballet?”
“I’ll be the superhero,” Zandy said immediately, nodding her head up and down.
“The superhero?” Aidan echoed.
Quinn frowned. There were a lot of fun characters in this ballet, but there definitely wasn’t a superhero.
“You know,” Zandy said. “With the cape.”
“Oh, Clara’s godfather, Drosselmeyer,” Quinn said, trying not to laugh. “That is a good part.”
“Yes, he’s funny,” Zandy said, nodding to herself. “And he has a sack of toys.”
“She might like ballet,” Aidan said. “Walt has a lot of extra energy, so he loves all the jumping and spinning.”
“So Walt’s dancing and Kenzie is choreographing,” Quinn said. “Are you left all alone when they’re rehearsing?”
“I built the new sets,” Aidan said proudly.
“Wow, that’s wonderful,” Quinn told him. “It’s a family production.”
“Beau,” another familiar voice called out. “When did you get home?”
They moved through the crowd, saying hello to various old friends. Quinn got a lot of compliments on her pretty dress, but she could tell by the smiles that people were really just saying they were glad she was happy.
And so many of the young women her own age grabbed her hand without even asking, just to admire her pretty engagement ring.
While she normally would be stiff as a board and wanting to disappear in a crowd like this one, especially when she found herself the center of attention, something about having one of her hands wrapped around Zandy’s and Beau’s arm around her shoulder made her feel safe and centered.
“Congratulations, son,” an older man said just as they stepped outside.
She looked over to find Mr. and Mrs. Bernhard, who were selling them the repair shop. The two were smiling broadly, clearly feeling pleased to be handing off their business to someone as capable as Beau.
“Great to see you both,” Beau said to the happy couple.
“You’re having a wonderful year, aren’t you?” Mrs. Bernhard asked with a smile.
“We sure are,” Beau told her, glancing over at Quinn.
“Can I run with them?” Zandy asked, tugging Quinn’s hand.
A bunch of the smaller children who had been in attendance were running around on the ballet theater’s lawn in front of the sign with the golden dancer.
“Stay on the grass,” Beau told her.
“Okay,” Zandy said, darting off to join the other kids.
Quinn moved over so that she could keep an eye on Zandy while they chatted, and Beau gave her a heartbreakingly gorgeous smile.
“Now, we’ve talked,” Mr. Bernhard said. “And we’re fine waiting until the date you mentioned for the transfer. But our plan is to hit the road the next morning, so we really don’t want any delay after that. What do you think?”
“I think that’s wonderful,” Beau told him. “We really appreciate it.”
“Makes sense to take title together,” Mrs. Bernhard said with a smile. “And it’s best to do that after the wedding.”
“We don’t know how to thank you,” Quinn said.
“Well, it’s not a problem, sweetheart,” Mr. Bernhard said. “But I sure hope it buys us a wedding invitation.”
Quinn swallowed hard.
“We’re doing a tiny, family-only ceremony at the courthouse,” Beau cut in graciously. “We didn’t want to wait long enough for anything fancy. But if my mom makes her famous cake, we’ll bring you over a slice.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Mr. Bernhard said, shaking his head and patting his belly, like he was ready for cake now.
Mrs. Bernhard laughed and nudged him. Then more people were calling their names and Quinn and Beau continued across the front lawn accepting congratulations and admiring everyone else’s children and hearing updates on their lives.
Though she kept a sharp eye on Zandy, the little girl did exactly as she was told, and never once left the grassy lawn. By the time they were ready to go, she looked like she was exhausted from so much running and laughing.
“Are you getting sleepy?” Quinn asked Zandy with a smile. “Are you all worn out?”
“ No ,” Zandy sang out. “I want to make cookies with Grandma.”
“You’re amazing,” Quinn told her fondly.
They headed for Beau’s truck and strapped Zandy into her seat, where she snuggled in looking like she was definitely going to be asleep before they got back to the farm.
“Are you worn out?” Beau asked Quinn as he opened the passenger door for her. “I know we had a lot of people all over us.”
He knows me so well.
It was all the more impressive that he was thinking about her feelings when there was so much going on around them.
“No,” she said, sort of surprised herself. “That was… nice.”
“See,” Beau said, winking at her. “You’re not shy. You just need better company.”
She laughed and got into the truck, wondering secretly if he might be right. By the time they had pulled out and made their way to Ambler Road, Beau was chuckling as he glanced in the rearview mirror.
“Is she asleep already?” Quinn asked quietly, turning herself around in her seat.
“Sure is,” Beau said. “It’s too bad, because I was going to drop her with Mom and ask you to dinner.”
“We can still go to dinner,” Quinn said, shrugging.
“I guess we’ll just wake her up,” Beau said.
“No, no way,” Quinn told him. “She earned this nap. Let’s just get burgers and eat them in the truck up on the hill again.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a dream woman?” Beau said with a smile.
“Definitely not,” Quinn said, laughing. “I just have a healthy appetite and I like a good view.”
“Me too,” Beau said, his voice a little husky, and his eyes still on her.
Quinn’s heart skipped a beat and she felt herself blush to her hairline. She turned quickly and kept her eyes on the scenery out the window for the rest of the drive to the burger place.
She was impressed again when Beau ordered her a double cheeseburger and a chocolate shake—the same meal she had eaten the very first time they’d come here. It had only been a little over two weeks ago, but that felt like a lifetime now.
“You okay?” he asked, as he pulled forward to pick up their food.
“I was just thinking that it feels like we’ve been together forever,” she said without thinking, then winced.
“I know exactly what you mean,” Beau said, before she could apologize or try to explain. “I can’t believe how much life has changed since then.”
She looked back at him, studying his face.
“In a good way,” he elaborated. “It’s been really fun to have someone to talk to and plan with.”
“Here you go, sir,” the girl at the window chirped, holding out a paper bag and a container with two drinks and smiling at him flirtatiously.
“Thank you,” Beau said, not even seeming to notice that the poor girl was hanging so far out of the window that it looked like she wanted to jump in the car with him.
He handed their meal to Quinn and a moment later they were pulling back onto the road that led from Springton Valley back to Trinity Falls.
“How about some music?” Beau asked, knowing instinctively, as usual, exactly what would perk Quinn up.
“Okay,” she said. “As long as it won’t wake Zandy.”
“Nothing wakes that kid,” Beau chuckled. “She takes after her dad.”
He leaned forward and put on the radio. It was tuned to the local station, and hauntingly beautiful chords of “Angels We Have Heard on High” instantly filled the truck.
“Oh,” Quinn said, sighing. “I love that one.”
“Christmas music is the best,” Beau said, nodding. “Normally, there’s so much sad music on the radio. I like hearing a little hope for the world when I’m driving.”
“Hope is a good thing,” Quinn heard herself say, her eyes moving of their own accord to the tiny diamond twinkling on her finger.
“Do we have hamburgers?” Zandy’s little voice asked sleepily from the backseat.
“We do have hamburgers,” Beau said.
“Did we get some for Grandma?” Zandy asked.
“We had a different idea,” Beau said. “Quinn was hoping we could drive the truck up to the top of the road, and eat hamburgers while we look at the Christmas trees.”
“Good idea,” Zandy said.
“Thank you,” Quinn told her. “I’m so glad you woke up.”
“I woke up from hamburger smells,” Zandy said wisely. “Why can’t I hear the music?”
“We didn’t want to disturb you,” Quinn told her. “Should we turn it up?”
“ Yeah ,” Zandy said happily.
Bing Crosby started singing “Jingle Bells” as Beau turned up the volume, and Zandy joined him, clearly energized from her nap.
Between Zandy’s sweet little voice, Beau’s twinkling eyes, the festive music playing, and the delicious scent of their dinner, Quinn felt almost like she was in a happy dream.
As they continued down the pretty country road, Quinn wondered how she was going to bear to let all of this go.
And some little part of her, deep inside, was starting to wonder if she really had to.