Hot to Trot (Dancing in Texas #5)

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

" W E DON'T WANT to do those exercises again. They're stupid," Marco said, dropping into one of the chairs gathered around the communal area of Phoenix, as if he were a sack of grain. He dared her to challenge him.

Scarlet pushed up the sleeves on the navy shirt she'd found at the only dress shop in Oak Stand. It was loose and blousy. She felt like her grandmother Rose. She might as well have worn horn-rimmed glasses and Daniel Green gold lame slippers. "Then don't. Sit there and be a prop."

She surveyed the other five men still standing before her. They were a motley group. One, Juan, was whip-thin and sallow with amateur tats covering both arms. Julio was plump and ill-tempered. Tito had yet to speak. There were two Miguels. The first Miguel talked too much, yammering innuendos about her in Spanish and making inappropriate gestures. Miguel number two watched her with eyes that made her feel itchy. She didn't like the Miguels. Marco was the only one with real potential. And the only one who refused to participate at all.

"Okay, then," she said, looking at the clipboard she held. Nothing much on it, but it had become her security blanket. As though it would give her a veneer of professionalism. Make her look as if she knew what the hell she was doing. Jewish grannies were so much easier. At least they had wanted to be in her acting class. "Let's start with a stretch. We're going to be using the Meisner technique for acting, which is essentially focusing on the truth of the moment."

"Yo, let's do some moments from Going Down on Mr. Brown. That's my favorite movie," Miguel One said, sliding a smile her way. “I volunteer to play Mr. Brown."

"Fine, your friend Mr.-" she scanned the names on her list ''-Jaurez can act with you."

Several of the guys hooted.

"Yo, I ain’t doing that shit,” Miguel One said. He moved away from her, his posturing defensive.

"I believe there are rules here regarding the use of language, Mr. Rodriguez. That's inappropriate."

"So?" He crossed his arms. "What you gonna do about it? Spank me?"

"No, but I might load you in my squad car, take you to the next county, and leave you for dead.” The new voice came from the doorway. All heads swiveled to where Adam stood. He wasn't wearing his uniform, instead he wore jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, but his authority couldn't be questioned. It had been several days since she'd seen him. Since she'd left him in the hospital hallway, looking confused and hungry. Walking away had been a smart move because, regardless of whatever attraction sparked between them, they were nothing but Police Chief and Badly-Behaving Actress on Probation.

The room grew still; the air taut.

Scarlet watched the former gang members. They didn't like Adam. They looked wary. Hunted. Perhaps even scared.

Marco broke the silence with a nervous chuckle. “Yo, the po-po’s here.”

“Indeed,” Adam said, closing the front door behind him. ''And y’all don’t make me bust some heads."

"He's kidding," Scarlet said, waving Adam into the area she'd created to serve as their stage. She was surprised he'd shown up. She'd half expected him to bail. She'd forgotten that he was a man of his word.

"No, I'm not. Ms. Rose is performing community service. Key word service. She's giving her time and expertise to you and deserves your respect."

Marco leaned forward. "Yo. She wouldn't be here if she didn't have to."

"Yo. Doesn't matter." Adam's gaze flickered over the group with a toughness Scarlet hadn't seen before. "She's a lady, she's a professional, and she's here to instruct you."

Everyone was on edge. Wasn't the ideal environment to encourage opening up. She needed to break the ice. Bring the focus back on the art of acting, not the differences between the former gang members and the lawman standing beside her.

"Well, thanks, Chief Hinton, for setting everyone straight. These guys are very new to acting and it's hard to summon up enthusiasm for something unfamiliar." She directed her next words to the guys. ''And this is the reason Chief Hinton is here."

Marco snorted. "Yeah, he's here to harass a bunch of chunties. That's what cops do in their spare time."

"Derogatory." Scarlet wagged her finger at Marco. "The chief is here to be a guinea pig for the evening."

Adam shook his head. “Come on, not a pig."

The guys laughed and the mood lightened with Adam's jest. She joined the laughter. "Okay, not a pig. An example. I thought if you guys could see someone like the chief setting aside his reservations, it might be easier for you to do the same."

"Why would we do that?" Tito asked.

Huh. So apparently he wasn't mute.

"Because Chief Hinton is a leader in this community, much like some of you may be one day."

"Who wants to be a sucio cochon?" Miquel Two sneered.

"No one like you." Adam's stare was hard, his eyes flinty, unyielding. "Rick has rules. Follow them."

"Okay. Um, stretches." That sounded a bit lame, but she needed to get them to focus on something other than a who's-tougher-than-you contest. "Let's warm up our bodies."

Scarlet led them through a series of stretches. The guys complied with little enthusiasm but they followed her instructions.

"Now, we're going to do a repetition exercise. In this exercise one person makes an observation about his or her partner. For example, one may say, 'You look happy,' or 'You look sad.' Then the other person will respond in the same way. You use the phrase to bounce off the other person and try to garner nuances in the other person's character. The goal is to establish a bond and, through the bond, to allow a moment to be created that catches the actors and transports them to a more truthful existence. So, essentially, though actors take direction, all actors strive to achieve this truthfulness."

She looked at Adam. He looked uncertain. And uncomfortable. He wasn't the only one. The other guys looked as though she'd asked them to recite an entire encyclopedia.

"It's not hard. I'll demonstrate with Chief Hinton." She waved Adam over. "Now, come stand next to me and pretend we are alone."

He arched an eyebrow. She could almost hear his thoughts. You sure you want to do that?

She repeated the gesture and added the tiniest of frowns as extra incentive. She needed his help. Needed him to treat what they were about to do seriously.

"Okay, would you like to comment on me? Or shall I start?" she asked

"I'll comment on you, gringita." Miguel One snickered.

Adam's responding glare caused Miguel One to drop the hand he'd held up to Miguel Two for a high five.

"I'll start," Adam said, turning to meet her gaze. "You look nervous.''

"You look nervous," she replied, with a slight bob of her head.

"But you look nervous," he said, emphasizing her twisted fingers.

She shrugged. "You look nervous."

"I'm not nervous. I'm irritated."

He'd veered off course. The focus was on reading each other's external and internal cues. He now conversed. Not part of the exercise, but she would keep things a little loose with this crowd. "I'm nervous because this is important to me. You look... uncomfortable."

"Not really, but I don't want to do this."

"Why not?"

"Because I feel stupid." His gaze flickered to the men watching them. Someone laughed.

"It's not stupid to want to keep the mask you wear for the world to see in place. More like it's stupid not to get real with yourself. Are you being real with yourself?"

"No. Are you being real with yourself?"

She hesitated. "No."

His gaze probed hers, creating a cocoon of intimacy. It was as if the men in the room had disappeared. It was only Adam and Scarlet. She could feel the magic start. The tentative bond form. But it was more than acting. "So why can't you be real?"

A furrow appeared between his eyes. “Because being real could get me into trouble. Cause me to lose everything I've worked for. If I follow what I want, I'll trample my honor. I'd hate myself if I became like my father. He’s a man who takes what he wants and forgets consequences."

Scarlet tilted her head. She couldn't believe how easily he'd shed his reservations. His words were genuine. And now she knew something more about him. His hang-ups had to do with his father.

He closed his eyes for a moment. Then opened them. "So why can't you be real?"

The expression in his eyes was soft, like the sticky sweetness of new spring growth. She knew Adam wanted to do what was right. And he wanted an ideal fantasy woman. A woman she'd never be. She stepped closer to him. "I can't be real because I'm afraid. I'm afraid to surrender a burden I've carried for a long time. This hurt has been my constant companion. I'm used to it."

"Burdens sometimes refuse to leave us."

She wanted to shutter herself from him, but the moment wouldn't let her. "I don't know how to make it go away."

"You have to want to move forward." His voice was as soft as his gaze, like the stroke of a mother's hand on her newborn's back.

"Maybe. But moving forward means letting go of something I thought I wanted. Someone I thought I loved." Suddenly emotion overwhelmed her. Tears hovered in the back of her throat, making her voice husky.

Adam moved closer. "You can't be afraid. And you can't make love work with someone who doesn't want it to work. Can't build something on sand. It'll crumble and fall apart. Sometimes you can't fix it. You have to walk away."

Scarlet nodded, reaching for the necklace that was no longer there. Her fingers brushed her chest and dropped. Adam picked up her hand and squeezed it. "So walk away from what can't be fixed. Move toward someone new. Someone worthy of your love. Move toward-"

"This is some serious shit," Marco called out, breaking the bond Scarlet had created with Adam.

She blinked and focused her attention on Marco. "You're not supposed to interrupt."

"Oops. My bad," Marco said, looking around at the other guys sitting around him. A few of them looked annoyed at him. Tito frowned.

Adam stiffened beside her. What had he been about to say? Move toward...him? With all defenses, all the restrictions and rules, stripped away, maybe deep down inside that was his true desire. Something awakened in her at that thought. What if this thing between them was more than sexual attraction? What if there was some cosmic force at work, drawing them together, creating bonds, tugging them toward each other until there was no other recourse? Until they both accepted everything that had happened thus far had happened to push them together.

The thought paralyzed her, so she tucked it in the recesses of her mind.

Adam looked extremely ill at ease. As in, forgot-his-pants-this-morning uncomfortable.

''Apology accepted," Scarlet said to Marco.

"But that's a good point. Things can get deep when you do a repetition exercise. Allow yourself to get caught up, as Chief Hinton and I did. This is not therapy, but tapping into the truth of the moment. If you are given a scene of about a murder, you must be truthful under imaginary circumstances. If you have not had a person close to you murdered, you can still allow yourself to feel what a person who has would feel."

"What if you've had a friend murdered? Right in front of you," Juan said. Anger laced his words. Real emotion. Not fabricated.

"Then you already know, don't you? You know what it feels like. You won't have to dig deep to feel angry, lost, desperate for revenge," Scarlet said.

"No, I won't," Juan said.

"But remember, this is an acting class. We will use repetition exercises to bond us to our partner. You may say, 'You look angry,' but you can't act on it."

"Why not?" Tito asked, "We're in acting class."

"Because you can't," Adam said.

Scarlet sighed. This wasn't going how she'd planned. She'd studied Meisner for years, adapting some of the legendary drama teacher's techniques, fusing them with some of her own. She gave leeway, but she didn't want too much flowing between guys who might have grudges against one another. "Let's try something different."

The guys gave her their full attention.

"I ended up in here because I stupidly refused to leave the scene of a protest."

Adam arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. I handcuffed myself to a flagpole, but what's important is I took a stand on an issue I feel strongly about which is censorship."

"What's that mean?" Julio asked, scooting his folding chair closer.

She explained a little about the children's book and the reactions in the community about such books, citing the Harry Potter books as another example of debate over what children should be able to read. Then she told them her thoughts. “Know what! I’ll get copies of the book for each of you to read."

"Aw, man. That's like homework," Marco complained.

"Well, if you don't want to read it, then don't," Scarlet said. "But I thought we might focus on a few scenes from the book and work up a sort of screenplay. Any of you like to write?"

Six blank stares met her query.

"Okay, I'll work up the scenes. Then we can use some of the emotions you delve into tonight to portray what happens in that book. Any objections?"

More blank stares.

"Can we act them out in front of Ms. Cox?" Julio asked. "She'd like that. She likes books and stuff."

"Who is Ms. Cox?"

“The old lady that teaches us GED stuff,” Tito said.

"That's a great idea. We can invite Rick and Kate, too. Maybe a few other members of the community who protested the removal of the book."

"I don't know about standing up and acting out shit," Juan said, looking more like a kid than a gang member.

"I won't force you, but I bet you'll like it." She reminded herself that, as tough as these guys were, most of them were little more than kids. "Let's take it slow. I've got three weeks to spend with you and you'd be amazed at what we can accomplish in that time. We could make it our last performance. Maybe even put up signs and charge a small admission fee."

"And have, like, cakes and stuff afterward," Tito said, his expression showing a smidgen of excitement. "My grammar school did that one time. It was cool."

Marco shrugged. "Whatever. Let's get this over with. I want to watch TV before lights-out."

Scarlet looked at Adam. He'd remained silent but attentive during the discussion. Unlike the center's clients who all wore gray, black, or white since no hint of gang colors was allowed, Adam wore a deep green button-down shirt that enhanced his eyes, making them more prominent against his tanned skin.

He gave her an encouraging nod. "Sounds like a nice conclusion to this class."

"Would you like to participate? Maybe do a scene or two with us?" Scarlet asked, hoping he might agree. She knew she'd gotten him here tonight by appealing to his sense of duty, his need to make some tenuous connection with the clients of the center, but maybe-

“I don't think so. This is your thing. I came tonight for moral support as your-”

“We don’t need him ,” Miguel Two said. “He ain’t the kind to hang, you know?”

"What do you mean I can't hang ? You still in a gang? You still breaking the law?" Adam crossed his arms. He didn't seem defensive, merely inquisitive.

"No, dude," Marco said, sinking into his chair. "But that’s crazy, man."

Adam gestured between himself and Marco. "It's crazy for me and you to be in a play together?"

"Si," Tito said.

Adam looked at her. "Well, in that case, count me in. I've learned that if someone doesn't want you around, there's usually a good reason. I'd like to find out what that reason is."

"Dude, we ain't doing nothin' wrong. We're in this program. Doin' what it takes," Marco said. His muscular shoulders bunched beneath the white Phoenix T-shirt he wore, his posturing defensive, angry. It struck Scarlet at that moment that while these guys were scared boys, they were also dangerous. They'd seen and done things she could only imagine. It would make for interesting acting.

"Again, we're off task. Chief Hinton can join us for a couple of scenes. I see nothing wrong with trying to improve community relations with the law enforcement.” She was met with snorts that she ignored. “I'll stop by tomorrow and talk to Kate and Rick about our plan. I might even visit my first drama teacher, Mrs. Nolan, to see if she might be interested in helping with the production."

Adam nodded but didn't move. Marco shrugged and the other guys followed suit.

"Good, now pair off for the repetition exercises. Just don't leave this room."

As the clients paired off Scarlet motioned Adam toward the door. He gave a perfunctory glance about the room as the guys started the exercise with comments such as "You look like a dog's ass," then followed her to the door.

Scarlet stepped onto the porch and clasped her hands behind her back. "I wanted to thank you for coming tonight. I know it was-"

"No problem."

"Don't interrupt me. I'm trying to be-"

"And you are dressed more appropriately," he said.

“I wasn’t dressed inappropriately before. But you had a point. Wasn’t a good one, but it was one. Whatever.” She looked down at the blousy navy shirt and loose cargo pants she'd borrowed from Meg. She looked stupid, unattractive, and fashion-challenged. "I'll be lucky not to end up in the back of the US magazine in the What Not to Wear section.”

He shrugged. ''It's got mystery. Makes a guy wonder what you're hiding underneath there."

"That sounds like something a father might say," Scarlet groused. "Just not my father. He never gave a flip what I wore out."

"Well, maybe it would be best if I stuck closer to that kind of role with you. I'm your probation officer, after all."

All her earlier thoughts about meant to be and fate pushing her in his direction came back to her, and she realized she'd been fooled by the honest moment between them. She and Adam weren't on some crazy karma ride. Hadn't he basically told her he wanted to sleep with her, but wouldn't? Hadn't he basically said she wasn't the type of girl he wanted in his life? She needed to focus on getting back to her real life.

After all, she still loved John, didn't she? Adam Hinton was nothing more than a Podunk police chief. She couldn't have a future with him, could she?

Yes answered one question and no answered the other. But she wasn't certain which question.

Damn.

She shouldn't have encouraged Adam to be involved in the play. That was hardly the way to get the distance from him she needed.

But when her gaze encountered the hunger in his, distance was the last thing on her mind. Adam could say whatever he wished. She could protest, pretend, and preach all she wanted about her past relationship and her lack of desire for a future one. But something rare bloomed between her and Adam.

It was lust.

And it was more than that, too.

Which put Adam and her between a rock and a hard place.

There could be no funny stuff between them but still she couldn’t resist. “I won’t call you daddy.”

He swallowed hard. “Don’t. You know what I’m talking about.”

"What has changed between us'?" she asked, then answered. "Nothing. Doesn’t matter what I call you then, does it?”

He didn't say anything.

"You're not my daddy, you're not my friend, and you're damn sure not my lover. You're exactly what you said you are.””

“I’m your friend.”

"Maybe. But it doesn't feel quite that way. I don't think about my friends this way. This feels different."

He stared at her and she couldn't read his expression.

"I want to get this over with so I can move on with my life. I'm sure you want the same."

She walked back to the center and shut the door behind her, wishing it was as easy to shut out her thoughts. Obviously fate cared nothing for her wish.

Because she couldn’t help looking back at the silent man framed against the hard Texas countryside.