The Gritty Truth (The Whiskeys Dark Knights at Peaceful Harbor #7) - Melissa Foster Page 0,40
was on top of the world too, so proud of me she couldn’t stop talking about it. We were going to make apple pie. She stayed home to cut up the apples, and I walked a few blocks to the store to get the rest of the ingredients. The streets south of where we lived were really bad, but north, where the store was, wasn’t that bad, and we always walked when we could.” She squeezed his hand, staring absently at the floor, and said, “I was on my way back from the store when I heard gunshots—poppoppop—real fast, seconds before the car slammed into me, and then everything went black.” Tears slipped down her cheeks.
Quincy’s heart shattered. “Jesus, baby.” Sadness engulfed him. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.
“I got dragged by the car. The pavement tore right through my clothes. I had to get skin grafts on my left hip and thigh. I fractured my hip, broke my leg, my foot, a few ribs, and shattered my dreams, all in the blink of an eye.”
“No,” he choked out, not wanting to believe it.
She swiped at her tears and said, “I was messed up for a long time. I moved back in with Gram while I healed and went through physical therapy and rehab, and when I was well enough, Elisa hired me as a receptionist, and she allowed me to work on my range of motion and strength at the studio before and after work. Eventually I healed enough to teach, and Elisa offered me the apartment upstairs. I didn’t want to leave Gram, but she basically kicked me out. I think she felt guilty. I tried to get her to move in with me, but she refused.”
“Christ, Roni. You’ve been through so much. I’m sure she felt guilty, but it wasn’t her fault. She did what she could so you would have a chance at a better future.”
“I know.” Her voice cracked.
“It’s okay, babe. I’ve got you.” He kissed her temple, rubbing his hand soothingly down her back. “I wish I could take all that pain away and wipe your memory clean, so you’d never think about it again. What happened to the guy who hit you? Did he go to jail? Was he high? Drunk?”
“No. He was a seventy-four-year-old grandfather of three. I don’t know all the details, because they never arrested anyone, but I’ve been told that it was a drug deal gone wrong. Someone fired shots meant for someone else, and one of the bullets hit the driver in the back of the head. He was killed instantly.”
Quincy gritted his teeth against the bile rising in his throat.
“That’s why I no longer perform,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I’m good, but not good enough.”
He cradled her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “What do you mean? I saw you dancing like the wind. If the company that had hired you won’t take you back, can’t you work for another dance company?”
“I wish. Dance is all about levels of perfection. My movements are too jerky, and I get pains if I dance for too long. I’ll never dance professionally again.” She held up her index finger with a genuine smile that reached her eyes and said, “But there is a silver lining. I found another passion. Two, actually, that I might not have realized if I had continued down that path. When I used to help teach, it was just a way for me to pay Elisa back for all of the classes I wanted to take. But now that I put my heart and soul into it, I love teaching, helping girls of all ages feel better about themselves and showing them that they can shine no matter what is happening around them. And I found that I love children, too. Before the accident, I never had a chance to slow down and think about kids or having a family of my own one day. Children were never part of my life outside of helping to teach here at the studio, and like I said, I didn’t think about whether I was enjoying them. I was filling a commitment. But remember the little redhead in Kennedy’s class who was leaning against the wall the other night?”
“Yeah. She was a cutie.”
“She is. She’s a doll. Her name is Dottie, and believe it or not, standing against the wall is a big improvement for her. Her mom put her into