Rain Dance by Karen Wood

Author:Karen Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2014-07-17T04:00:00+00:00

20

Kaydon felt his wallet in his back pocket, bulging with the notes that Mr Parker had slipped him. It couldn’t have suited his plans any better. It certainly suited Chrissy’s. And tonight was all about raising money for drought relief in Queensland. He was doing his bit, right? They all were.

Why did it feel all wrong?

During the slide show, Holly’s silhouette had caught in the deep blue light of the projector. In the dark, he had let his eyes wander over her bare shoulders while she watched the presentation. Only moments ago, he had made her smile, and it had made his heart roar like a lion. He wanted to make her smile again.

But this prize didn’t belong to him. It belonged to Chrissy. It had been bought by her parents and his, for her. And he had a bet with Dan he needed to win. It was all set up.

Kaydon shook himself out of it. Why would Holly Harvey care who he danced with?

The entire room cheered as he stood and walked past a smiling Mr and Mrs Parker, to the auctioneer. He handed him the cash and then went back to table nine.

Chrissy was already standing, perfection in red with her hair swept up. She smiled. He walked over and held out his hand for hers, and as he took her hand he felt it tremble a little. She was nervous?

‘Let’s get our seven hundred bucks’ worth,’ he said, flashing a smile. With dancing, confidence was everything.

He led her to the dance floor at the front of the marquee, which had already been covered in dusty boot prints. He put his hand on Chrissy’s waist and held her in a relaxed position. She placed one hand on his shoulder, the band struck up a slow waltz and coloured streaks of lights began whirling around the marquee.

Kaydon started with a simple box-step and three-eighth turns and found he could easily guide Chrissy around the floor. It didn’t take long before they were box-stepping counter-clockwise around the small dance space. The music changed and the band started playing ‘Lady in Red’; Kaydon heard the crowd laugh. There were hoots and whistles and Chrissy giggled.

‘Did your dad organise that?’ he asked.

‘Oh yeah,’ she said. ‘Dad controls everything, trust me. He’s not just a rock nerd.’

‘What’s a rock nerd?’ Kaydon assumed it was something to do with dancing. He quickened the turns and brought her in an arc around the small grassy floor. A man with a camera knelt at the corner of the floor taking photos.

‘Oh look, photographer!’ Chrissy whispered. She pulled suddenly on Kaydon’s hand and tried to drag him the other way.

He pulled back firmly, hard enough to take back control but not so forcefully as to break the rhythm. ‘Don’t do that,’ he hissed. ‘Tell me where he is and I’ll take you there.’

‘He’s over there, by the dessert table,’ she said, swinging her head back over her shoulder.

‘Then stop gawking at him and keep dancing,’ he said. ‘Unless you want to fall over.

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