"Related by blood? No. I live next door to Katie and her father. She's wonderful. I'm happy to help with the Tea. I already have my ticket for opening night."
Missus Guthrie looked down her nose at Ruth and her glasses slipped down to the rounded point. "Normally we just have the parents and immediate family members of our dancers helping at performances. It makes sense to have people with a real connection participating."
"Funny..."
Ruth heard the same deep and rumbling voice that she imagined in the dark, late night hours whispering in her ear.
"I don't recall that rule, Missus Guthrie."
The older woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Mister Stone. What exactly do you mean?"
Ruth turned slightly, just in time to see him shrug those big, broad shoulders of his. It was hard not to swoon and sink to the floor at the sight.
Yes, she knew she was being silly, but this man did things to her that made her feel a little silly.
"You're implying that Miss Baker volunteering with the company is odd because she's not related to Katie."
Ruth swore that she saw the older woman bristle at the usage of Katherine's nickname, but really, what did it matter if she didn't like the nickname?
Miss Guthrie sniffed and her gaze turned toward the corner for a moment before she looked back.
Ruth felt the older woman's gaze on her and resisted the urge to grin at her before Missus Guthrie looked at Nick.
"The company prides itself on being a kind of family, Mister Stone."
Ruth wasn't sure how, but she swore she could hear Nick's voice laughing in her head.
"Hmm... then why would it matter if Ruth is a parent or not?”
Missus Guthrie opened her mouth to say something, but Nick continued on.
“Are you a parent to someone in the company?”
Missus Guthrie’s mouth gaped open. And Ruth wondered if he already knew the answer.
“Well… no, but…”
“I think I remember you saying at the orientation meeting that you prided yourself on being a community member who volunteers with the community because of your appreciation for the dance.”
Ruth watched Missus Guthrie in turn preen and her cheeks color as she looked away.”
“The important thing,” she began as she lifted her gaze so she could look down her nose at both of them, “is my true dedication to the company.”
“This is Ruth’s first time volunteering with the company.”
Ruth smiled at the warm tone of his voice and then a moment later when she was sure things couldn’t get any better, it did.
Something warm and delightfully heavy settled over her shoulders.
“I think we should give her a warm welcome and show her hospitality so she would be inclined to return and volunteer again.”
Missus Guthrie started mumbling something about rolling out a red carpet, but Ruth wasn’t really listening.
With Nick’s arm around her shoulders her brain had suddenly short circuited.
She knew he was strong. There was no missing his bulk when she saw him. And no, he wouldn’t qualify for Magic Mike or something like that, but that had never been her thing.
She liked big teddy bear kind of guys.
