Tina Pinson – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 2

Shannon here: Historical romance author, Tina Pinson shares how she met her husband. She’s giving away two of her books to two winners. Winners have three choices: In the Manor of the Ghost, Touched by Mercy, or her soon to be released: When Shadows Fall. Every time you comment on any post dated April  25 – 27, your name goes in the drawing. Deadline: May 4th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Tina:



First I wanted to tell Shannon thank you so much for letting me visit your site, and allowing me to stir up memories.
When Danny met Tina… 
When I first met my husband, Danny, at youth group in 1976, I thought he was an arrogant jerk. Nice looking, but a jerk nonetheless. Strangely, for the most part he was quiet, but it seemed like every time he opened his mouth, which in truth was rare, he had something derogatory to say. Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed so much if I wasn’t the president of the youth group council and he was disagreeing with my ideas.
While other girls in the group sought his attention, I wanted to kick his rear. Even though he tried to be nice, I was happy to leave things that way.
Then the group took a winter trip to Woodbine, a church camp located in the mountains in Colorado.
Camp Woodbine had Suicide Hill. A steep inner tube run. To make it more fun, there was a shelf about midway where the tube would bump and send you flying in mid air and there was a stream at the bottom filled with winter bare bushes where the tube path cut through. Miss the path and hit the stream. So fun.
After trudging up the hill with my friend, Chrissy. Pulling ourselves, and a semi-truck tube up the hill using the rope, Chrissy chickened out and decided she didn’t want to go down. I stood looking out over the vast expanse and down that long hill where the run narrowed as it passed over that small stream and saw myself crashing and burning in the bushes, I wondered if I truly wanted to take the run or scoot down on the my hindquarters. I certainly didn’t want to go down that hill alone. That would be suicide…
About then, Danny reached the top again and everyone told me I should ride down with him. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to look like a ninny or a chicken. I could deal with him for the time it took to get down that run.
So I climbed on board with him, at first I tried to hold onto the tube only then was forced to cling on to him for dear life or biff it. I just hoped I didn’t hold too tight or scream too loudly.
We made it down to the bottom without pitching into the stream, laughing and talking about how fun it was. (Although I had to admit once was enough for me.) He headed for another run and I headed for a smaller run, and soon after, the lodge, ready to call it a day on tubing.
And that was that with Danny. I returned to dealing with him as before.
Until I crawled into the back of my sister’s car for the trip home that is.
There were four of us sardined into the back seat. Chrissy sat pretty much on her boyfriend’s lap by the back window. I sat crushed in the middle between them and Danny.
Close, yes, but I could deal with it. It was only a couple hours back to Denver.
That couple hours went on forever.
Chrissy and her boyfriend started hugging up and kissing some, I sidled away and my knee knocked Danny’s. I could feel my face heat. Every time I looked up, Danny seemed to smile down at me and I, of course, wanted to shrivel up and die.
I’m not quite sure how we got onto the subject, but shortly there after, the conversation turned to how old everyone was. And my sister piped up to tell everyone how I was fifteen and would be going on sixteen in two months. Then to my utter embarrassment, she added that I had never been kissed.
Danny slipped his hand over the back of the seat and looked down at me again.
“Sweet sixteen and never been kissed, huh?” he said softly. “I’ll have to come for your birthday and take care of that.”
I think I swallowed my tongue, can’t be sure. Boy, it was warm in that car. I couldn’t begin to look at him. I also had a strange yearning to strangle my sister and everyone else in the car who seemed to find my plight funny.
Danny said nothing more about it when we got home and dropped everyone off. We saw each other in youth group and while his smile seemed softer and he didn’t quite hit me as so derogatory in his tone, he didn’t say anything about the drive down the mountain. Although he did seem to watch me just a bit more. Part of me was grateful he didn’t bring ‘The Kiss’ up. Another part wondered if a boy would ever find me interesting enough to ask out. I seriously doubted that Danny would hold to his promise to come kiss me for my birthday. Why would he want to?
My birthday arrived just as it did every year, and since it was my sixteenth and a special day, my parents took me out for dinner. I came home to find Danny had stopped by to give me that birthday kiss.
He returned later, but he stilled didn’t get that kiss for another six weeks. We were married nearly 3 years later and have been married for 32 years.
And that is how I met my husband.
About Tina: Tina Pinson resides in Mesa, Arizona with her husband of thirty plus years, Danny. They are blessed to have three sons, and five grandchildren with one on the way.
Tina started her first novel in elementary school. Her love of writing has caused her to seek creative outlets be it writing poetry, songs, or stories. In the Manor of the Ghost and Touched By Mercy were published through Desert Breeze Publishers.
When Shadows Fall, Shadowed Dreams, and To Catch a Shadow the first three installments of the Shadow Series about the civil war and the Oregon Trail, will be available through Desert Breeze May2012, November 2012 and June 2012 respectively. Learn more at: http://www.tinapinson.com/, Twitter:@Tina_Pinson, and http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=754617103.
Purchase books: Touched By Mercy – http://tiny.cc/0rgkm, In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/we4ul, When Shadows Fall  http://tinyurl.com/d93p77
Come back April 27 for Danny and Tina’s kiss.