“And if I promise to be good, would you let me come and be a Broadway Baby again?”
“I don’t know about that, Courtney. The girls were very upset by what happened that day—and so were their moms and dads. Nobody wants to send their little girl to a place that isn’t safe, and that day you made my dance studio an unsafe place. I take that very seriously, too.”
“I promise I will never do that again. I promise to be a nicer girl. I promise,” she said and sounded sincere.
“You don’t have to take her back,” Mr. Wilkens said. “We’ve talked about this and Courtney now understands that when you make a bad decision, you have to suffer the consequences. Isn’t that right, Courtney?”
Courtney nodded.
“I said isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Dana looked from Courtney to the other girls, singling out Emma, and then she walked over to them. “What do you think, girls? Shall we let Courtney come back to our class?”
“She’s bigger than all of us,” said Vera Ann, the youngest in the group.
“What if she’s not telling the truth?” Brianna asked.
Dana let out a breath. “Sometimes we just have to trust. This is a hard one. Courtney did a very bad thing. But sometimes, with understanding, bad people can be made to see the errors of their ways. I think Courtney’s Daddy has tried to do just that. Sometimes people deserve a second chance.”
The girls looked at each other with hooded eyes.
“What do you think, Emma?”
Emma chewed on her lip, glanced furtively at Courtney, and then back to her teacher. “I think we could give her a second chance—but not a third.”
Dana nodded. “That seems more than fair. What do the rest of you think? Shall we invite Courtney back to class?”
The girls looked at one another, and then Lauren grudgingly said, “I guess so.”
“Who wants to be the one to tell her?”
Emma raised her hand. “I will.”
Dana nodded, and the two of them walked across the studio to join Courtney and her dad.
“You can come back to class,” Emma said, her voice low.
“Thank you,” Courtney said. “And I really am sorry I lied and punched you, Emma. I promise, I won’t do it again.”
Dana noticed the grocery bag that Mr. Wilkens held. “Are those Courtney’s workout clothes.”
“Yes. We brought them … just in case. And this.” He reached into his pocket and held out the refund check that Dana had sent to his ex-wife. “I’ll be bringing Courtney to class every Saturday. She’ll be staying with me on weekends from now on, won’t you honey?”
Courtney looked up at her Dad, the whisper of a smile on her lips. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Go change, and when you’re ready, we’ll resume class,” Dana said.
“I’ll help you learn the new steps,” Emma offered.
Courtney grinned. “Okay.” And took the bag her father offered and raced off in the direction of the changing room.
Thank you, Mr. Wilkens mouthed.
Dana merely nodded.
In no time, Courtney was back, tap shoes tied, and ready to dance.
Courtney smiled shyly and took her place in the line.
Emma looked over to the parents waiting area, where Mr. Wilkens had taken a seat and was scrolling through his phone. “Looks like you got your dad back,” she whispered.
“And you got new workout clothes.”
“Yeah, looks like we’re both lucky.”
“Okay, girls, let’s go over our routine from the top,” Dana said, and put them through their paces. For the first time, it seemed like Courtney actually had her attention fixed on the task at hand, and before long all the Broadway Babies were giggling.
With no Broadway career, Dana Milton was just another professional dancer has-been. But then, that was always in the cards for a dancer, for age, and wear, always caught up with him or her. But now she had a much better career.
She was a teacher, and sometimes she learned the most from her very own students.
About the Author
The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent--whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her in the hearts of her readers. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series, the Tales of Telenia adventure-fantasy saga, and now the Lotus Bay Mysteries, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s). Check out the descriptions and links to all her works, and sign up for her emailed newsletter here: http://www.lorrainebartlett.com
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Also By Lorraine Bartlett
The Victoria Square Mysteries
A Crafty Killing
The Walled Flower
One Hot Murder
Dead, Bath, and Beyond
Yule Be Dead
Recipes to Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook
Life On Victoria Square (a companion series to the Victoria Square Mysteries)
Carving Out A Path
A Basket Full of Bargains
The Broken Teacup
It’s Tutu Much
A Dream Weekend
A Final Gift
An Unexpected Visitor
Tales of Telenia (Adventure-Fantasy)
STRANDED
JOURNEY
TRECHERY
The Lotus Bay Mysteries
Panty Raid: A Tori Cannon-Kathy Grant mini mystery
With Baited Breath
Christmas At Swans Nest
Short Stories:
Love & Murder: A Collection of Stories
Happy Holidays?
Blue Christmas
An Unconditional Love
Prisoner of Love
Love Heals
We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert
Other Books by L.L. Bartlett
The Jeff Resnick Mysteries
Murder On The Mind
Dead In Red
Room At The Inn
Cheated By Death
Bound By Suggestion
Dark Waters
Shattered Spirits
Jeff Resnick's Personal Files
When The Spirit Moves You
Bah! Humbug
Cold Case (the inspiration for Bound By Suggestion)
Spooked!
Crybaby
Eyewitness
A Part of the Pattern
Other Stories
Abused: A Daughter’s Story
Off Script
Writing as Lorna Barrett
The Booktown Mysteries
Murder Is Binding
Bookmarked For Death
Bookplate Special
Chapter & Hearse
Sentenced To Death
Murder On The Half Shelf
Not the Killing Type
Book Clubbed
A Fatal Chapter
Title Wave
A Just Clause
Poisoned Pages
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