A Moment To Dance Read Online Free PDF Page A

out into the bright sunshine. Wide-open fields with desert grass swaying in the breeze stretched out in all directions with a few horses racing over the countryside. The vastness of the land gave the illusion that the world was truly flat. After living within the constraints of the city for so long, she was surprised to find herself drawn to the openness. A smile tugged at her lips before she turned away and started up the path to the house.
    Seconds after she knocked, Mrs. Granger greeted her with a broad smile that plumped up her rosy cheeks. “Hello, Ella. Right on time. Come in.”
    The woman’s dark hair and brown eyes resembled Tony’s, but her short stance was the complete opposite of her six-foot-plus son. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Would you care to join me for a cup?”
    “I’d love some.”
    Ella stepped inside and immediately noticed the Southwest décor with various types of artwork in shades of tan, black, and turquoise. But beyond the niceties, the place had an easygoing, homey atmosphere, something her grandmother’s prim and proper home had lacked.
    “Your home is lovely, Mrs. Granger.”
    “Thank you. Please, call me Carlota.”
    Ella followed the kind woman into the kitchen. The sun shone through the numerous windows surrounded by frilly turquoise curtains and bounced off the light oak cabinets. The whole room was bright and cheerful, just like Carlota.
    Ella’s imagination ran wild with images of Tony as a young boy snatching cookies from this very counter and then racing out the back door to play in the enormous backyard. Her early years were spent in a cramped mobile home, unlike this spacious ranch house, with her mother and little brother. Ella’s smile wobbled as she recalled her mother and brother. In the absence of a father, they’d still managed a happy life in their humble home—until that one fateful night.
    The brutal images washed over her. Ella stared blindly out the window as her fingertips slipped beneath her sleeve and massaged her scarred arm. She’d been only twelve when she’d awakened on the couch to find an ugly orange inferno engulfing the rear of the trailer where her mother and little brother slept. A wall of smoke had rolled over her, sucking the oxygen from her lungs. After failing to reach her family, a neighbor found her on the floor, choking. The man had carried her outside to the arms of an arriving firefighter. Though her throat burned, she’d begged the fireman to help her family, but he’d been unable to do that as raging flames shot up into the dark sky. It was too late. Her family was gone.
    Ella blinked repeatedly. She hadn’t delved into those horrific memories in a very long time. She’d worked so hard to move on. And now wasn’t the time to get caught up in the past. Determined to maintain her composure, she shoved the memories to the back of her mind. No one in Whistle Stop knew her past. None of them looked at her differently, like her grandmother’s neighbors had. People’s memories were quite long. But while she was in Whistle Stop, she didn’t have to worry about what people were thinking.
    “Go ahead and have a seat.” Carlota’s words cut through Ella’s harried thoughts. “I just need to grab my medicine, and then I’ll be right with you.”
    Ella took a seat at the large wooden kitchen table. When she glanced toward the sink, she noticed Carlota sorting through a bunch of prescription bottles on the little wood ledges on either side of the window. Ella couldn’t help but wonder if the woman’s health was the reason Tony had stepped up to be Johnny’s guardian. The thought of Tony riding to his family’s rescue earned her respect, even if he was struggling with the enormity of the responsibility. But what exactly had happened to both of the boy’s parents?
    None of which was any of her business, she reminded herself.
    Carlota turned to her. “Now let me get you that coffee.”
    “Can I help you?”
    “Thanks. But