Independence Day

The following evening, Shane was very nervous as they met in the church hall for their first dance practice. Ramon was a good teacher and paid meticulous attention to all his students. They were all supposed to compete in two different categories, so everyone had a chance to win twice. Oliver wanted to do a Waltz and Shane wanted to do a schottische, which was a fun dance originally from Scandinavia. She had already met most of the people who entered the competition. All the young couples in town wanted a chance to dance and have fun, as they didn't have that opportunity very often. Oliver and Shane were the odd couple out, as he was married to someone else other than his dance partner. As far as Shane could tell, nobody looked at them in a judgmental way. In fact, all the men in the room smiled and sometimes even winked at Oliver. Of course, they were all his old friends, and the women seemed kind-hearted.

They started strong and the first practice ended with Ramon using them as an example on how to dance the Waltz. Oliver turned out to be an excellent student. He listened attentively and led Shane across the room like a professional dancer. Shane enjoyed their first practice immensely. The camaraderie between the competitors was evident throughout the evening. Everybody was certainly having fun. When Oliver dropped her off at home later that night, he definitely had a bounce in his step. She had never seen him so relaxed. Obviously he enjoyed dancing.

Shane's apartment was ready for her to move in. The new stove was in place, the kitchen cabinets were fixed with new hinges and handles, holes had been fixed, mice exterminated and the whole place received a new coat of paint. The place looked and smelled new and fresh. Saturday evening after the dance practice, Shane invited Oliver, Norman and Rita over for a late supper, as a thank you for all the hard work they did. She baked carrot cake and chocolate brownies and served them with lemonade. Since it was a very hot summer night, she had opened all the windows.

Suddenly they all smelled smoke and heard a commotion outside. The church bells started ringing and they all knew something was wrong. They ran outside and somebody came running, saying that Dale Travers' ranch was on fire. Oliver didn't hesitate or look at anyone, he immediately bolted to his stable and saddling his horse he rode off like a man possessed. Norman also quickly ran to his house and did the same, leaving the girls behind. Ramon saw them standing there and signalled them to come with him as he was getting his wagon ready. They ran and got into the wagon. He immediately whipped the horse to go faster. When they arrived, there was a crowd already gathered, passing water buckets to each other. As far as they could tell, only the barn was on fire, not the house. As hard as they fought, there was no saving the barn. It was quickly consumed by the flames and the heat was so intense they couldn't get close enough to make a difference. Luckily, there wasn't any livestock inside and none of the ranch hands were anywhere near it when the fire broke out. Only equipment and hay stored in the barn were destroyed.

Shane looked around for Oliver and her heart squeezed inside her chest when she saw him holding Dale in his arms. She was sitting on the ground holding on to his lapel as she cried into his chest. The scene broke Shane's heart for several reasons. She wasn't a heartless wretch who couldn't see Dale's suffering, but to witness that Oliver cared for Dale deeply and she loved him back was, for some reason, affecting Shane more than it should. This was a tragedy. Since they were old friends, it was natural that they'd be drawn to each other at such a terrible time, seeking solace in each other's arms. Shane tried to reason with herself; Dale would need a close friend now more than ever.

There was nothing else anyone could do. The crowd started to disperse. Shane saw Oliver walking Dale into the house. She didn't know if she could help in any other way. Should she go in and offer her assistance? But she hardly knew Dale. Many other townspeople would know Dale much better and Dale surely would be more comfortable with their help instead of a stranger, she thought. She dejectedly got into the wagon and Ramon took them back to town.

The following day, the only topic of conversation in town was the fire at Dale's ranch. Unfortunately, it was the kind of thing that happened quite often when hay was stored before it was completely dry. Damp hay was known to spontaneously combust. She decided she would write an article on hay fires and the dangers of storing damp hay.

The church service was less joyful than the usual and Oliver disappeared as soon as it was over. Shane didn't see him for the rest of the day.

On Monday, she started working on her latest edition. Her weekly newspaper would go out on Fridays. She decided she wouldn't go to the post office at all unless she absolutely had to. If Oliver wanted Dale, he could have her. She wasn't going to play this weird game with him or anyone else. After all he wasn't even available, but he seemed to have feelings for two women other than his wife at the same time. She'd had a bad relationship in DC. There was no way she was going to volunteer for yet another heartbreak.

On Tuesday night, they had another dance practice scheduled. Since she hadn't spoken to Oliver since Saturday night, she didn't plan to attend unless she heard from him. Just before 7pm she heard someone knocking at the front door. She quickly made her way downstairs and opened it. There he was, looking gorgeous as always. She felt like throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. What on earth? Get your act together Shane, you two are just friends, remember? Nothing more, nothing less! And let's not forget the small detail that he's actually married, she rebuked herself sternly.

"Good evening, Miss McInerney. I haven't seen you in so long. How are you?"

"I'm well, Mr. O'Toole, how are you? How is Mrs. Travers?"

He raised his eyebrows, looking at her with an inquisitive expression on his face.

"I'm very well, thank you, and I'm sure Mrs. Travers is well too. She's a tough lady, so she will survive this new challenge too."

"Hummm ummm." Was Shane's impartial (or so she thought) reply.

"Are you ready for our dance practice?" He asked, awkwardly.

Before Shane could stop herself, she blurted out, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have her as your dance partner for the competition?"

He looked at her, trying to read her expression, then he tried to hold back a smile and said frankly. "I could have asked her and she'd probably have said yes. However, I want you, not just any nice lady from church."

She swallowed hard. She had not intended to play the jealous card and he saw right through her, he read her like a book. She just stood there at the open door, rooted to the ground, stunned by his answer.

Finally he smiled and asked. "Do you still want to be my partner or have you changed your mind?"

What was he actually asking her? Yes, yes, yes, yes, Oliver, I want to be your partner… in everything! "If you still want me…" She said out loud, realising too late it was a stupid thing to say, not to mention inappropriate.

He however, did not hesitate. "I've just told you that I do."

She couldn't hold back the smile that split her face. He said things to her that touched her heart in ways more than anybody else ever had, including Steve. She nodded at him.

"Ok, let's go then." He offered her his arm and they walked together to the church hall.

On the third of July, the town literally stopped whatever they were doing to decorate for the celebrations. The dance floor, which would also function as the platform for the official speeches preceding the competition, was set up about 2 feet high. The excited buzz around town put even DC to shame. Shane was in love with her little town. She had been here for 6 weeks now, but it felt as if she'd always lived in this little piece of paradise. Every man, woman and child was involved in the festivities in some capacity. The kids were busy blowing up balloons, which were made from animal bladders and then painted in July 4th colours of red, white and blue. The women were baking cakes, cookies, slices, pies and pastries to sell, with the proceeds going towards building a flour mill. The men were in charge of building the platform, setting up the barbecue pit, as well as the fireworks display.

Shane was really looking forward to the dancing competition. Right now, however, she was up to her elbows in chocolate brownie dough. Rita was helping her while her mother looked after the mercantile. When they finished, the two of them took lemonade to the men and cookies Shane had rescued from Rita's clutches. It was an incredibly hot day and all the guys had stripped down to their undershirts.

Oliver's shirt was plastered to his sweaty body. When Shane saw him, her face went beet red. The man was like a Greek god. She approached him to hand him some lemonade and his hand brushed over hers. She literally felt her knees go weak and he noticed it! He could read her so easily. He smiled at her knowingly. He knows he's gorgeous and the affect he's having on me. She thought, as she could feel the heat creeping up to her face again.

The next day, the festivities started early. They all participated in the three legged race, ring toss and the dunk tank. Ryan and Ramon bravely volunteered to be the dunkees, to the great delight of the townspeople. There was also a horse race, wagon race, dart throwing and shooting. It was a cacophony of crazy sounds.

At 7 pm, the dance competition started. The couples did one number together as a group. Each couple then performed individually for their two chosen categories. They were all quite good, apart from the sheriff, who had not practiced at all with his partner, Donna, who was one of the saloon girls. It was clear he was already quite intoxicated. Donna didn't seem to mind however, since her expectations weren't that high in general. She figured this experience would be no different than her daily routine.

Shane and Oliver did the schottische first, which was a fast paced dance with a lot of hopping around the stage. Nikki and Graham performed theirs and they brought down the house. They were perfect. One by one, each couple did their routines. Some were very good, others not so much. Then it was time for Shane and Oliver's Waltz. They started it and a hush descended over the audience. They were so beautiful together, the people were mesmerized! They danced as though they were one. They were not only in unison with their steps; they were also in perfect concert. The performance finished with Oliver pulling Shane out of a dip. They stopped with their mouths mere inches from each other's. They could feel each other's breaths on their faces. They looked into each other's eyes as if there was nobody else in the world at that moment. Then the town erupted into loud clapping, whistling and cheering, starkly bringing the couple back to reality and out of their bubble. They each blinked, shocked, turned towards the audience and bowed, still holding hands.

They hopped off the stage and everybody was congratulating them. The men gave Oliver bear hugs and the ladies gave Shane gentle pats on her shoulders and arms. The judges were Mrs. Teresa Capodiamonte, Mrs. Hallett, Hattie, Katherine Walker and Ramon. Using a 1 to 10 point scale, the judges scored each couple separately for each of their performances. It was no surprise that Nikki and Graham got 50 for their fast paced dance and Oliver and Shane got a perfect 50 also for their Waltz. The competition was a resounding success!

Oliver, Shane, Norman and Rita were joined by Joey & Kaitlin and Charlie & Kelly, who came to sit with them at a large round picnic table. They were all still buzzing about the dancing competition when the sheriff approached Shane and grabbed her by the hand, wanting to dance with her.

"C'mon Missy, dance with me since you're so good at it." He was very drunk and even more obnoxious than the usual. Oliver got up and grabbed his hand away from Shane's. The sheriff immediately pushed him away.

"Oh c'mon, O'Toole, I won't keep her for long. I'll return her to you when I'm finished with her." He went for Shane's hand again. Oliver gave him a shove and told him to leave. Drunken people are not the smartest, especially ones like Mr. Kimsicle, who are not that smart even when sober.

"What are you afraid of, O'Toole? That she will like me like your wife did? I'm just going to give her a little taste of what's she's missing, you know, like I did with Holly."

Oliver, who had been fighting for control, just lost it. With Kimsicle's last callous words, he saw red! He pulled back his fist and then landed the most colossal punch to the sheriff's nose. He fell backwards and lay on a heap on the ground whining like a baby. He was unable to get up. Oliver was not yet satisfied and went after him again. His friends jumped up to stop him from killing the sheriff but instead of trying to kill him, he spoke to the sheriff in a low and growling voice. He wasn't shouting, but everybody around him heard every word he said.

"You are a disgrace to our town, you lowlife cad! I should have reported you that day and that was my mistake; a mistake I won't be repeating. If you ever touch Miss McInerney or any other young lady in this town ever again, I will make sure you hang! Are you listening, sheriff? Your days as a sheriff are numbered!"

By then the sheriff's deputy had arrived. Mr. Thomas Owen Walker helped the sheriff to his feet. His face was a mess of blood. "He broke my nose." He whined, pathetically. Mr. Walker who was a decent man, had no use for the sheriff and said, "Maybe if you behaved more like a sheriff and less like a hooligan, your nose would have been safe." He then left and took the sheriff to see Dr. Jacobs.

Everyone sat down again, but the good mood was gone. They slowly started to get up and leave. The original 4 friends remained. Shane touched Oliver's hand and said softly, "Don't let that man steal your joy, Oliver." Both Rita and Norman echoed what Shane said. Oliver wasn't listening though. He was off in his own little world, experiencing Holly's betrayal all over again.

The fireworks display was amazing! Once it was over, the festivities for the day were officially done and the townspeople started to leave. Oliver walked Shane to her door. He was still looking downtrodden and sad. He said a quick goodnight and turned to leave when Shane grabbed his hand, pulled him inside her place and closed the door. He looked surprised and shocked to find just the two of them inside her house.

"Miss McInerney, what are you doing?" She simply threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. After his initial shock at being hugged in such a fashion, he relaxed and gathered her to him. "I just wanted to let you know you're loved and appreciated. Not everyone is looking for reasons or ways to hurt you." She said, quietly still hanging on to him.

"Thank you, Miss McInerney!" He whispered in her ear. She shivered. They stayed in each other's arms for a few seconds longer and then separated. He looked at her lovingly.

"Good night, Miss McInerney."

"Good night, Oliver."

At the end of the day, despite the tussle with the sheriff, Oliver had to admit this 4th of July had been one of the best in his entire life. It wasn't too hard for him to recognise what or who the main reason for that was.