Chapter 5 #4
Steel watched Charlie carefully break her cookie in half before offering the larger piece to Sunshine.
"She already thinks Sunshine belongs."
Bishop's expression softened.
"She doesn't think it."
He looked toward the little girl.
"She knows it."
The music changed.
Someone inside the clubhouse switched playlists, replacing classic rock with an older country song that drifted lazily across the yard.
Several couples smiled knowingly.
Steel groaned.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"Daisy likes this song."
As if on cue, Daisy walked over.
She held out one hand.
"Dance with me."
Steel looked around dramatically.
"I think you're talking to somebody else."
"I'm definitely not."
"But people are watching."
"Exactly."
Laughter spread through the yard.
Steel sighed with exaggerated suffering before allowing Daisy to pull him toward the open space beneath the oak trees.
Within moments, Lark tugged Toxic after them.
Melissa accepted Mr. Dawson's offered arm with a grin.
Even Evelyn laughed as one of the older veterans bowed politely before escorting her onto the makeshift dance floor.
Sunshine watched in surprise.
"They dance?"
Remedy smiled.
"Every cookout."
"I wasn't expecting that."
"We've learned food tastes better after embarrassing ourselves."
She laughed softly.
"I'll remember that."
Charlie looked up.
"Daddy."
"Hm?"
"You gotta dance."
Remedy blinked.
"I do?"
"Yep."
He glanced toward the growing crowd beneath the lights.
"I think I'll leave that to everyone else."
Charlie frowned.
"But you like dancing."
"I do?"
She nodded confidently.
"You danced with me in the kitchen."
Remedy rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's different."
"No."
Charlie looked at Sunshine.
"Tell him."
Sunshine smiled.
"I don't think I have enough authority for that."
Charlie sighed dramatically.
"I do."
Before either adult understood what she intended, Charlie hopped off the bench, grabbed one of Sunshine's hands...
Then one of Remedy's.
She looked up at both of them with complete confidence.
"See?"
Remedy laughed.
"What exactly are we seeing?"
Charlie stepped backward, gently tugging both adults to their feet.
"Now you're already standing."
Sunshine laughed so hard she nearly lost her balance.
"That's very clever."
"I know."
Charlie looked between them.
"So..."
She spread her arms dramatically toward the music.
"...you may as well dance."
Around the yard...
The conversation slowly began to fade.
Not because anyone meant to eavesdrop.
But because every brother in the club had just noticed Charlie attempting to play matchmaker.
And judging by the smiles spreading across nearly every face...
Not one of them intended to interfere.
For one long heartbeat, nobody moved.
Charlie stood between them, one tiny hand wrapped around Sunshine's fingers, the other firmly gripping Remedy's.
Her smile was one of complete confidence.
As though she'd just solved the easiest problem in the world.
"There," she announced proudly.
"I fixed it."
Remedy looked down at her.
"What exactly did you fix, Bug?"
Charlie sighed dramatically, as though adults had a remarkable talent for missing obvious things.
"You were sitting."
"I was."
"Now you're standing."
"I noticed."
She nodded once.
"That's the hard part."
Laughter rippled through the yard.
Steel nearly choked on his drink.
"I love this kid."
Mace folded his arms across his chest.
"I've been saying for years she's smarter than all of us."
"That's not a high bar," Toxic called from the grill.
Charlie ignored them completely.
She looked at Sunshine.
"You like music?"
"I do."
She turned toward Remedy.
"You like music?"
"I do."
Charlie spread both hands toward the small clearing where several couples continued swaying beneath the string lights.
"Then dance."
Sunshine laughed, shaking her head.
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"I don't really..."
She searched for the right words.
"...dance."
Charlie frowned.
"Everybody dances."
"I haven't in a very long time."
The little girl considered that answer carefully.
"Then maybe you forgot."
The innocent observation landed more heavily than Charlie could have imagined.
Forgot.
There had been a time when dancing had simply been another ordinary part of life.
Before the Order.
Before fear became routine.
Before every movement had to be measured.
She remembered spinning barefoot across her grandmother's kitchen when she was barely old enough to reach the countertop.
Her grandmother had hummed old country songs while bread baked in the oven.
"Never let anybody convince you joy is something you have to earn," she'd whispered once while twirling Sunshine beneath weathered hands.
"God gives it freely."
That memory had survived.
Almost everything else about those early years had blurred.
But not that.
Not the feeling of laughing without wondering who might punish her for it.
Charlie's tiny tug on her hand brought her gently back.
"I can teach you."
Sunshine smiled through the unexpected ache in her chest.
"I think I'd step on everybody's feet."
Charlie looked scandalized.
"Daddy's feet are big."
More laughter spread through the yard.
Remedy rubbed the back of his neck.
"I appreciate your confidence in my shoes."
"They're very stompable."
Steel laughed so hard he had to steady himself against the picnic table.
"I'm never calling boots boots again."
Remedy looked toward Sunshine.
"You don't have to."
His voice was quiet enough that Charlie had already become distracted by a butterfly drifting through the lantern light.
"I know."
"I mean it."
"I know."
She smiled softly.
"Thank you."
There it was again.
Choice.
He'd noticed it before.
Every invitation he offered came with an escape.
Every question allowed room for no.
Every conversation left space for silence.
He never cornered anyone.
Never expected an explanation.
Maybe that was why Harbor House trusted him so completely.
He understood healing couldn't be forced.
Charlie looked between them again.
"So..."
She placed one hand dramatically on each hip.
"Is that a maybe?"
Remedy chuckled.
"I think that's a no."
Sunshine laughed.
"I didn't actually say no."
Charlie's eyes lit up.
"Daddy!"
"I heard."
"She didn't say no."
"I heard that too."
Charlie beamed triumphantly.
"So..."
She clasped both hands together.
"...it's a yes."
Remedy looked toward Sunshine with an amused smile.
"I don't think that's how negotiations usually work."
"It is if you're three."
"I suppose you've got me there."
Sunshine looked from Charlie...
To the dance floor...
Then back again.
The music had slowed.
The evening breeze stirred gently through the oak branches overhead.
Around them, conversations continued without anyone truly paying attention anymore.
If she wanted to refuse...
No one would think less of her.
If she accepted...
No one would expect anything from it either.
It would simply be a dance.
Nothing more.
She took a slow breath.
"I can probably manage one."
Charlie's delighted squeal echoed across the yard.
"I knew it!"
She immediately let go of both their hands.
Then...
To everyone's surprise...
She took three determined steps backward.
"There."
Remedy blinked.
"Aren't you dancing with us?"
Charlie looked confused.
"No."
"You aren't?"
She shook her head.
"This one's yours."
The yard became remarkably quiet.
Not silent.
Just...
Attentive.
Toxic slowly turned another burger.
Steel suddenly found the grass fascinating.
Mace looked as though he might explode from the effort of keeping a straight face.
Bishop simply smiled into his coffee.
Charlie remained blissfully unaware.
She reached down to pick up Mr. Pickles.
"He'll dance with me."
And with that...
She wandered happily toward Nathan, already explaining why teddy bears made excellent dance partners.
Sunshine watched her go.
"I don't think she realizes what she just did."
Remedy smiled faintly.
"I don't think she does either."
For a moment neither of them moved.
The music continued.
Soft.
Easy.
A slow country melody drifting beneath the stars.
Finally, Remedy held out his hand.
No flourish.
No pressure.
Just an open hand.
"If you'd still like to."
She looked at it.
Then at him.
There wasn't expectation in his eyes.
Only kindness.
The same kindness he'd shown every frightened child.
Every veteran.
Every woman who arrived believing the world no longer contained safe people.
Slowly...
She slipped her hand into his.
His fingers closed gently around hers.
Not possessive.
Not hesitant.
Simply steady.
He led her only a few steps away from the picnic tables, leaving plenty of space between them and the other couples.
"I should warn you."
She smiled nervously.
"I really am out of practice."
"I've never been particularly good."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I don't believe you."
"It's true."
"You have rhythm."
He laughed.
"I have Charlie."
"I don't see the connection."
"I've spent three years dancing in the kitchen with a toddler standing on my boots."
She laughed.
"That explains a lot."
"It really does."
He rested one hand lightly at the middle of her back.
Just enough to guide.
Never enough to trap.
She noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Everything about him seemed designed to ask permission without speaking.
Her free hand rested carefully against his shoulder.
For the first few moments...
Neither of them moved very much.
Just enough to follow the slow rhythm.
The conversation around them gradually resumed.
The brothers returned to teasing one another.
Children chased one another beneath the lanterns.
Life continued.
No one stared.
Because everyone understood something important.
This wasn't romance, at least not yet. What surrounded them beneath the string lights was something quieter and, in many ways, even more important.
It was trust beginning to take root between two people who understood brokenness, and sometimes trust deserved to be celebrated long before love ever found the courage to speak its name.
Remedy smiled down at her.
"So..."
"So?"
"I think Charlie was right."
She looked up.
"About what?"
"You didn't forget how to dance."
A soft laugh escaped her.
"No."
She met his eyes.
"I think..."