Liz managed to stifle her immediate reaction, a loud negation. She had heard stories about Kevin
Simmons, and there was no way she wanted anything to do with him. Standing straight, her right hand gripping Speedy"s mane for support, she shook her head. "I"m sorry, Kevin. I"ve already got a date for the prom."
The look on Kevin"s face wasn"t pretty. "Who?"
Breaking eye contact with Kevin, Liz cast about for a name Kevin would believe. She caught sight of
Matt leaning against a stall, the raised eyebrow the only indication that he had been listening. She pointed. "Matt. He asked me earlier."
Kevin followed Liz"s pointing arm. He obviously hadn"t noticed Matt in the shadows. Anger flashed over
his face.
"That"s right, Simmons. Liz is going to the prom with me."
Kevin"s hands tightened into fists for a moment. Then relaxed. He blasted Liz with an angry look before
turning on his heels and stalking out of the stables.
"What color dress are you wearing?"
Liz had been following Kevin"s departure with her eyes. The tension only left her body as he moved out
of sight. Matt"s question barely penetrated. Swinging to face him she asked, "What?"
"What color is your prom dress. For the corsage. You don"t want them to clash."
"White." Liz responded automatically to the question as her heart fluttered for a moment. There had
been a flash of something in Matt"s eyes, quickly lost in his normal surly expression. "But you don"t have
to be my partner. I was going to go with a group of girls."
Shaking his head, Matt walked up the off-side of Speedy, stopping to rest a hand on the horse"s neck.
"Simmons is a real piece of work. If you don"t go as my partner he"ll get really nasty. He won"t forgive you for refusing him."
Liz sighed. Then looked at Matt. He looked so solid and comfortable as he stood quite relaxed, idly rubbing at the base of Speedy"s ears. She ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips and pa.s.sed her gaze over Matt before returning to doing up the cinch. All those miles Matt swam every day did wonders for his shoulders. Slightly distracted Liz turned her attention back to Speedy, giving him a nudge in the stomach to get him to exhale. She tightened the cinch another couple of notches, then turned back to Matt. "Are you still swimming every day?"
"Every day," he replied smiling at the nonsequitur.
"Even in winter? What about the ice?"
"Oh, I break that first. It can be real difficult trying to swim in unbroken ice."
"Maaatttt." Liz shook her head as she smiled at Matt. "You know what I mean. Isn"t the water cold?"
"Well, of course it"s cold. It"s got ice forming on it. Okay, okay." Matt fended off Liz"s mock slaps.
"Nah, if you swim every day you don"t notice the cold so much. Besides, when it gets colder I wear a triathlon wetsuit. You should come out and watch sometime. Well, I"m off."
As he reached the stable door Liz called out, "Dutch?"
Matt paused and looked over his shoulder. "Well, of course Dutch. I"m not made of money." He made a hasty exit as Liz reached for something to throw.
Her hands empty, Liz stood staring at Matt"s retreating back, a smile on her face. The sight of his broad shoulders receding into the distance did funny things to her breathing. She was brought back to earth when Speedy b.u.mped his head into her back. Hastily she turned her attention back to saddling her
mount.
The Senior Prom, The Calvert High School Gym Liz scanned the room as she and Matt glided around the gym. She was enjoying herself considerably.
There had been many a wide-eyed stare when she turned up with Matt. Even now there were eyes following them around the dance floor. A few of the stares were less than friendly. "Did you notice David Bartley came with Brent and not Sarah?" Matt nodded. "And the guy Sarah came with. Did you see him?" Matt was starting to grin. "Did you notice Trent came with a girl? I"m surprised Brent came with David. You don"t suppose he"s stopped playing the field?"
"No, I think it"s still a case of so many girls, so little time. If he brought a date there would be some kind
of expectations."
"Well, if he"s not careful, he"s going to find himself propped up at an altar by a couple of shotguns," said Liz, a little disgusted at Brent"s behavior.
"Whereas, if Trent is involved in a shotgun wedding, it"ll be his girlfriend with the shotgun props," Matt said with a smile.
Liz looked wide-eyed at Matt. "Do you know her?"
"Not really, but I"ve noticed how Trent behaves whenever she"s around. If you want all the dirt you should talk to Glenna Sue Haggerty; she seems to know her."
When the music stopped they started to walk towards the refreshments. In the shadows by the drinks
table Liz spotted something. "Matt, over by the curtains. What do you think Kevin is doing?"
Matt looked over towards Kevin, then back to Liz. "If Simmons is acting true to form he"s probably spiking his date"s drink. Come on, I can see your friend the stable manager and his girlfriend. We should pa.s.s on a warning to them. If anybody can handle Simmons it"ll be that pair."
"You mean because Erika is a police officer?"
"There is that, but I was thinking your Mr. Muller can be very physical when he needs to be."
"Rudi? But he"s as gentle as a lamb."
"Next time you see Sims, ask him to describe the bit of dental reconstruction his father did when your
Rudi hit a guy who was giving Officer Fleischer a hard time. I"m not saying your Rudi is violent, but when he hits someone, they stay hit."
"Oh."
* * * "That wasn"t so bad now, was it?" Matt asked as they left Rudi and Erika searching out Kevin and his date.
"No, and I"m glad we pa.s.sed on a warning." With the band now playing music more suited to the down-time dancers Matt and Liz abandoned the floor. As they walked back to the buffet tables Liz saw some of her friends and steered Matt towards them. "Hi, guys. You look all danced out. Joe Calagna, isn"t it?" she asked as she looked at Glenna Sue Haggerty"s date.
"Yes, and you must be her friend Liz." Joe did a graceful bow and kissed the back of her right hand.
"Very nicely done, Joe," observed Rich.e.l.le Kubiak"s date. "Hi, Liz. Has Matt been treating you well?"
"Thanks, Jonathan. Matt"s been treating me fine. I didn"t know you could dance."
"Mom"s an Astaire and Rogers fan," Jonathan Fortney responded. "I think she married Dad because he
could dance, and she"s made sure both her kids could dance. She seemed to think it offered social benefits." With that he gave Rich.e.l.le a quick cuddle. "I think she might be right. How about you, Matt? I wouldn"t have thought you had time for dancing."
Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Miz Maddox struck a deal in exchange for additional coaching," he said, as if it explained everything.
"You get roped in as an extra male for her ballroom dance cla.s.ses at school as well?" asked Joe.
Matt nodded. "You, too? I thought your aunt might have taught you."
"Oh Aunt Bitty did. That just made Miz Maddox more anxious to get her claws into me. Males as partners are rare enough; one who can actually move on a dance floor without tripping over his or his partner"s feet, now those are like hen"s teeth."
Liz examined the crowd, her gaze locking on one specific person. "Poor Julia. Prom queen, and her date
unable to dance. Matt. Do you think you could . . . ?"
Matt looked at Liz, his eyes dancing, "Wander over and ask her to dance? Sure. If that"s what you want.
Are you all danced out?"
"A bit. And I"d like to chat with Tina."
"Have fun," Matt said. He dropped a kiss on her cheek before setting off towards Julia.
"Hey. Where"s Matt going?" asked Tina Logsden.
"He"s just going over to ask Julia to dance."
Tina looked at Liz wide-eyed. "Oh boy, DEAD. Girl, you are so DEAD."
Confused, Liz stared at Tina before turning her gaze onto Matt, who had just joined her cousin Julia.
"What do you mean?"