A Season to Dance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  A SEASON TO DANCE BY PATRICIA BEAL

  Published by Bling! Romance

  an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas 2333 Barton Oaks Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27614

  ISBN: 978-1-946016-16-4

  Copyright © 2017 by Patricia Beal Cover design by Elaina Lee

  Interior design by Karthick Srinivasan

  Available in print from your local bookstore, online, or from the publisher at: lpcbooks.com

  For more information on this book and the author visit: http://www.patriciabeal.com/

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: “A Season to Dance by Patricia Beal published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Used by permission.”

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only.

  “Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.”

  Brought to you by the creative team at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas: Marisa Deshaies, Managing and General Editor

  Meghan M. Gorecki, Publishing Assistant to the Managing Editor

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beal, Patricia

  A Season to Dance / Patricia Beal 1st ed.

  Printed in the United States of America

  PRAISE FOR A SEASON TO DANCE

  Readers who believe in second chances and a twist in the Happily Ever After will delight in this tale!

  ~ Rachel Hauck

  New York Times bestselling author

  For 244 pages I was a world-traveling ballerina. This book was not only a captivating story, but an impacting journey. I am changed. Bravo, Ms. Beal.

  ~ Nadine Brandes

  Christy Award finalist and Carol Award winner

  Beal’s debut captures the drama and lyricism of the ballet - faith, life and love dance across the story, reaching a satisfying and sigh-worthy dénouement.

  ~ Katherine Reay

  Author of A Portrait of Emily Price

  Patricia Beal’s first novel is a skillfully written tale of a woman’s journey to faith and love. A Season to Dance will bless every reader.

  ~ Lorraine Beatty

  Author of the Home to Dover series

  More than a romance, A Season to Dance is a layered love story that pulls at the heartstrings while taking you on a trip through dance around the world. I adored it.

  ~ Teri Wilson

  Author of Unleashing Mr. Darcy and His Ballerina Bride

  Patricia Beal has crafted a compelling debut about grace and redemption when life takes unexpected turns.

  ~ Kara Isaac

  Author of Close to You and Can’t Help Falling

  Patricia Beal’s A Season to Dance is gorgeous! Ana’s story from emptiness to God’s redemption showcases Beal’s heart. As a ballet dancer, I loved relating to the tangible portrayal of Ana’s dance and performance life. And how fun to taste, see,and smell her experiences in Germany! Thank you for this heart-tugging look into a professional ballerina’s world, travels, and God’s faithful dedication to us.

  ~ Katie Briggs

  Former staff with Ballet Magnificat! and ballerina

  A Season to Dance offers readers a beautiful message of redemption and second chances. An elegant and graceful journey across two continents as one woman seeks to fill the God-shaped hole in her heart and finally discovers her own season to dance.

  ~ Candee Fick

  Author of Dance Over Me and Catch of a Lifetime

  Ah, how this brought back my seasons in The Nutcracker, dancing Juliet, and years of rigor at the barre. A Season to Dance is a story of grace in all forms, ultimate romance and finding spiritual center. Thank you, Patricia Beal!

  ~ Tosca Lee

  New York Times bestselling author

  A tender romantic tale composed of grace and redemption. Patricia Beal’s poignant novel gently touches our deepest emotional cords with a panoply of characters who remind us of our friends, family, and ourselves. As a Christian author with autism who has experienced my own battles decoding relationships and the repeated stings of shattered dreams, I could easily relate to Patricia’s voice and Ana’s struggles. A Season to Dance brims with the light of Christ’s healing power to mend wounded relationships and make all things new. Patricia’s graceful writing style is a joy to read and I highly recommend her debut novel.

  ~ Ron Sandison

  Founder of Spectrum Inclusion and Author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First of all, nothing happened until Jesus passed by. Thank you, Lord.

  I don’t think there’s another activity out there that’s as private and yet as others-dependent as the writing and birthing of a book. A Season to Dance was often a lonely walk and a personal search, but it crossed the finish line because of the team God blessed me with.

  A special thanks to my husband, Mike, and to my children, Logan and Grace. I wrote the first chapter of the story in January 2011, and more than six years of hard work later (and of rejections and rewrites!), they still love me and believe in me. Thank you for not letting me quit, for your love and patience, and for sacrificing all things normal for this dream of mine.

  I want to thank my church family. I know what I know today because of Hillcrest Baptist Church. Thanks for supporting me with God’s truth and your love and prayers. A special thanks to the Homebuilders 1 Sunday school class and the five ladies who spent more than a year reading revised chapters and cheering me on through a very difficult rewrite. Sofia Green, Nickie Monroe, Savannah Odom, Nicole Rempel, and Ana Risner—I couldn’t have done this without you.

  Thanks to the Bling! Romance/Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas team for making the dream come true, for publishing me so beautifully, and for marketing it so well. Thanks especially to Marisa Deshaies for making the offer and for working so hard to redeem the story for Christian readers. Meghan Gorecki, thanks for working with Marisa to edit the story and for holding my hand every time I panicked during developmental edits. You both were so patient, and the result was so worth it.
I think I told you I spent two days crying after we finished because A Season to Dance is exactly the kind of book I spent thirty years dreaming I would write one day. Thank you, friends!

  I also want to acknowledge my publicist, Jeane Wynn of Wynn-Wynn Media. The day you said yes to A Season to Dance was the day I stopped worrying about whether or not the book would be noticed. It will be noticed.

  I’m grateful to my agent, Les Stobbe, whose offer of representation first made the dream feel real, and to my mentor, Jeff Gerke, who taught me to write for an (accepting) audience of One. Jeff is also the Lexus of editors and polished the story before I showed it to agents and editors in 2014. His books on writing have shaped who I am as a writer, and we’ve been working together on my second manuscript already. Thank you, Jeff! Thank you also for introducing me to Nadine Brandes, who proofread the story before agents and editors looked at it. Thanks, Nadine! You made me look much better than I am.

  Thanks to the American Christian Fiction Writers family. I love you all! I met my agent and my editor at ACFW 2014 and always learn a ton and meet new friends at every ACFW conference. What a joy to be part of such a wholesome group. Individuals might have an off day—I know I do—but as a group, we shine His light everywhere we go. May God keep us Christ-centered and full of love for each other, for our readers, and for our journeys. A special thanks to those who’ve been particularly kind to me. Maybe you remember what you did or said, maybe you don’t, but I will always remember: Theresa Alt, Amanda Bostic, Kate Breslin, Sara Ella, Penny Nadeau Haavig, Joyce Hart, Linnette Mullin, Tamela Hancock Murray, and Carrie Turansky—thank you.

  Thanks also to the whole Writer’s Digest team. Subscribing to the magazine ten years ago was my first step toward becoming a novelist, and the publication taught me the basics about story, market, and the business. I’ve also read many WD books (The First 50 Pages is my favorite writing book in the world!), listened to several tutorials, and used the 2nd Draft Critique Service twice—once for an editorial review (thanks, Gloria Kempton!) and once for proofreading (thanks, Phyllis Cox!). The day I signed my first publishing contract—for this book—and shared some questions with my agent, he pointed me to a great article for debut authors. The publication? You guessed it—Writer’s Digest. Thanks for being there every step of the way!

  Gloria Kempton later became my first writing coach. Thanks, Gloria! I still think of you when looking for balance between action scenes and sequels and when writing the first paragraph of every chapter. And, yes, there’s that quest thing—I wouldn’t dare write another questless draft after what you put me through. Thanks for your patience! You’re right. You’ve been right all along.

  I want to take a quick moment to acknowledge a few agents and editors who came across my writing before I was ready and whose detailed feedback helped shape me and this debut. Julie Castiglia, Chelsea Gilmore, Erika Imranyi, Anita Mumm, and Katharine Sands—thank you so much. Erika, the in medias res opening fixed so many problems—I love it! Without it, I would have had to change the story. I didn’t want to change the story. The story was right. I just needed a frame that worked. You’re brilliant!

  Kim Stotler was my first critique group leader (Barnes & Noble Writing Workshop of Columbus, Georgia). Thank you for your support and wisdom. I thank the whole group. Kim, you read the first A Season to Dance chapter when it was fresh out of my head and out of my printer. You read it out loud, said it could be the beginning of something good, and suggested I look into writers’ conferences. See what you started? Thanks!

  Closer to home and to publication date—I owe a debt of gratitude to my first readers. Many braved less-than-stellar versions of the manuscript, helped me fix plot holes and character development problems, and still found encouraging things to say about the work. Anett Bearden, Alisha Coffey, Andrea Garber, Michelle Rapp Hall, Rachel Jenkins, Amber Johnson, Cyndi Apple Kvalevog, Carol McDonald, Stephanie McGregor, Miriam Mitchell, Vanessa Montgomery, Mildred Morgan, Esther Mott, and Mary Compton Smith—thank you so much.

  A special thanks to Stephanie McGregor for also checking my Huntington’s disease research. Stephanie is part of our church family and is a young mom and Army wife. There’s a history of Huntington’s in her family, and she tested positive the summer of 2016. Your courage and faith inspire me daily. I’m in awe of you. Thanks for your help and for being you.

  Thanks also to the amazing “dressing room team”—the team of beta readers who helped polish the final copy: April Root, Anne Prado, J.a. Marx, Jodie Hoklas, Katie Briggs, Kerry Johnson, Mary Compton Smith (round 2!), Paige Howard Newsom, Savannah Odom (round 2!), Theresa Alt, Valeria Hyer, and Voni Harris. I’m in awe of your talent.

  Two quick notes on research and I’m done. I’ve danced in pre-professional companies all over the world but never made it into a paid company. Based on that experience, the life of friends who made it all the way, and research, I think I got the details of company life right. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

  I will say the same about the German language. I grew up in New Hamburg, Brazil and lived in Germany twice, but my German is not very good. My son said it best a couple of years ago after I ordered three Burger King meals at the drive-thru of our neighborhood store in Idar-Oberstein: “We’ll see what we’ll get this time.” I know a little. I researched a lot. Any mistakes in the German language in A Season to Dance are mine.

  And thank you, reader, for letting me share this story with you. I hope you get to see the Callaway Gardens’ azaleas in person one day—or the Rhine Valley with its vineyards and sunflowers, waters glistening as the sun sets. Maybe we’ll go together one day. Book tour!

  Love,

  Patricia

  To God, who didn’t give up on me when I gave up on Him during my season of darkness. And to those who still hunger.

  In memory of Sandie Bricker, founder of Bling! Romance

  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up

  that which is planted;

  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

  —Ecclesiastes 3:1–4

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  A Gift for You

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  Chapter 1

  November 12, 2011

  This is for them. This is for the magic. This is for every little dreamer in the room. Dozens of little awestruck faces crowded the large studio as I took position to practice my Sugar Plum Fairy solo. Everyone in the company and the school had come together for the first full-length rehearsal of The Nutcracker season.

  I’d been in every one of those shoes: mouse, soldier, angel, every flower, every food, and every country. Now I was the Sugar P
lum Fairy at long last, the one role that eluded me all those years. Had it been worth the wait?

  Images of the first Sugar Plum Fairy rehearsal I’d ever seen flashed before my eyes—a beloved mental movie my heart flocked to every year around this time.

  Could a young dancer ever forget the magic of watching the Sugar Plum rehearse her solo for the very first time? I hadn’t. I peered toward the girls from beneath the bright studio lights. And they wouldn’t.

  This moment was going to last forever in their little minds. And I knew that, within the next three minutes, most of them would be thinking, That will be me one day.

  My breathing quickened with the first notes of the music, and I moved to Tchaikovsky’s composition in steps that were delicate, like the heavenly sounds of the celesta, and precise, like the pizzicato—or pinched—sounds of the string instruments. The descending bass clarinet punctuated the variation.

  Tchaikovsky used the celesta, a keyboard instrument new in his time, to make the music of the Sugar Plum Fairy sound like “drops of water shooting from a fountain,” the imagery Petipa, the choreographer of the ballet, had requested. I imagined the fountain: sparkly, flowy, and elegant.

  Glittering bell-like sounds inspired the gliding steps that followed, and regal arm movements came naturally in a variation that suited my strengths.

  Sure, twenty-nine was ridiculously late for a professional ballerina to dance the role of Sugar Plum Fairy for the first time, but I didn’t let that bother me.

  Piqué, retiré, balance. For a quick moment everything stopped, and my legs formed a number four, one of the most traditional ballerina poses. Again: piqué, retiré, balance. And one more. Sharp. Balance. Good. Catch your breath.

  No, this isn’t the Met—it’s not New York. That stage couldn’t be further from my reality. But look at these girls. Look at their little eyes. I want to remember this forever too.

  Mrs. B., the teacher and owner of the company, stood at the front right corner of the studio shepherding the girls to squeeze against the mirrors and walls to free up more space. I would need all the space she could give me because the manège at the end of the variation was more like a geyser—thirty-two counts of spinning madness that used up the whole stage.