Forbidden Forever (25 page)

"Hi, I'm Trix
Blackmon from Smash. You have some awesome talent here," he
tells me.

"Yes, there are
some wonderful kids in this bunch, too," I say.

"I would like to
get the contact list and lineup for tonight so I can take it back to
Smash and show the footage to my boss," he informs me.

I hand over a copy of
the contact list and lineup and shake his hand goodbye. This is the
first night I have had to meet with an agent since I took over, and
my stomach was a jumbled mess of nerves. I hope someone gets lucky
and gets chosen by Smash. They are one of the best labels in the
industry.

All the kids have gone
home and we have finally got the bar cleaned and ready for closing. I
send the employees home, and Chance and I walk back into my office
while I put everything into the safe. I always make sure I am never
alone when I leave, and Thursdays he always gets me home safely.
After everything that happened with Michael, I am scared to be alone
for a moment, and I hate him for making fear of being alone a part of
who I am.

* * *

It has been a week since
I told Chance my dirty secret. He hasn't called me any horrible names
or made me feel anything less than perfect. I have decided to not
wait for it to happen because Chance seems to truly love all of me.
Saturday is Callie's 16th birthday and we are throwing her a sweet
sixteen bash in the banquet hall. Chance has been with us every step
of the way, making sure Callie has the best of everything. He is so
kind and loving when it comes to my kids. Even if he didn't have a
dime to his name, he would still hold my heart because his is so big.
I can't believe my baby girl is turning sixteen in six days. What's a
mom to do when her kid starts to drive? Yikes.

Chance kisses me every
morning before he goes to work. There is nothing like it. The feeling
of being loved. I have another two hours before my day starts, so I
take advantage of the bed and catch up on my reading. About three
pages into the book, my best friend calls to ask what kind of coffee
her new boss Dr. Chance Turner likes. I am so glad she took the
position when the hospital offered it to her. She is the best person
for the job, plus I can see them both at the same time. I tell her
all the tips that Holly told me on my first day and she gushes over
John for about three more minutes, then we get off the phone so we
can both get to work. I love working for myself because I feel like I
have so much freedom and time to just relax.

Kaleb and Callie are
getting ready for school and I can hear them arguing over the
bathroom. I get out of bed and walk to them and let them know my
bathroom is open for use. Callie runs and beats Kaleb to my bathroom
and starts dancing the craziest moves I have ever seen. We all start
laughing hysterically. It's mornings like these that make my whole
life more perfect. Seeing my children have fun, and being able to be
relaxed enough to see it, has been a true blessing. Every day I will
thank Chance for giving me that and giving me a life full of joy and
no more fear. I walk to the coffee pot and see that Chance left me a
post-it that says,
Morefinity
. I love that man and I hope I
make him just as happy as he makes me.

I see the kids off to
school and I get ready for the scariest day I have had in a while. I
get into my car and drive down the beach side for an hour until I
reach the house. It is a huge slate gray home with white trim; the
landscape is beautiful with the beach view behind it. Luckily there
isn't a gate so I pull right up to the house. I leave my purse in the
car and take a deep breath in and let it out. I have to do this and I
have to try my hardest to make it right. I walk up the pathway to the
front door and ring the doorbell. A beautiful older woman with gray
hair dressed in a perfectly pressed business suit opens the door.

"Hello, how may I
help you?" she asks.

"Hi, I am looking
for Mrs. Turner," I respond, my voice a little shaky.

"I am Mrs. Turner.
Please come in," she offers.

I walk into the
extravagant home and she closes the door behind me. I can feel my
heart beating fast and I take a breath in before speaking, trying to
calm my nerves.

"Hi, Mrs. Turner. I
am Laney Collins," I tell her.

Her mouth opens slightly
with a soft gasp. She doesn't speak. She just stares at me like I am
not what she is expecting.

"Mrs. Turner, I
understand that you have heard some things about me that aren't
ladylike, and I would like to explain," I inform.

"Well, dear, I
don't know how you can explain
that
," she utters.

From everything that has
happened, I thought of this woman as ten foot tall and scary as hell,
but she seems more kind than frightening.

"Okay, well, I
would like to try for Chance, if you don't mind?" I ask.

She holds her hand out
to the living room. I walk in and have a seat in a chair next to the
sofa that she sits on.

"When I was in
college, my dad lost his job for six months. My parents could not pay
for me to go to school, so I would have had to drop out. A girl I
knew told me about this great opportunity to earn money without doing
anything sleazy. I agreed to try it and every day I went to work for
six months and danced. That is all I did in that club that would have
been seen as unladylike. The moment my dad found a job, I quit and
never looked back. I am sorry you don't like me for my past, but it
does not reflect who I am today. I have been through hell and back
with an abusive ex-husband and I have finally found strength in
myself to go after what I deserve. As a woman, I hope you can
understand that we have to fight harder than most men in this world.
I love your son more than I can tell you. He helped me and my
children through the darkest of times and built us up to be stronger
people. I hate that our relationship has hurt your family and I hope
one day you will accept me and my children in your life." I
explain myself and my situation the best I can.

"Laney, when I
heard the story from Cathy, it was not told me like that. She went
into more detail than necessary, and I should have at least met you
before I assumed the worst. We have tried so hard to keep those two
together for appearances that I forgot my son has his own heart and
we cannot make him love who we want. With that being said, dear, I
would like to start over. You seem to love my son very much to come
here and talk to someone who judged you before meeting you. I am
sorry for that. You seem to be much more ladylike than I gave you
credit for. I hope you and your children will come to dinner one day
next week so we can get to know your kids and more about you."
She stands and wraps her arms around me after expressing her
feelings.

"Mrs. Turner, we
would be honored to have dinner with you and Mr. Turner. Please let
Chance know the best evening for you and we will be here." I
walk toward the door.

"It was lovely to
meet you, Laney. I am so sorry again for all the drama," she
utters.

"And the same to
you. See you next week," I say before walking out the door and
back to my car.

I am so relieved that
this is over and I can see the 100% happiness in Chance's eyes again.
I know he would be happy with me, but I also know that he would have
a part of himself missing without his family, and I just couldn't let
it be that way. I am so relieved that his mother didn't turn out to
be the woman I have envisioned. I hope his dad is just as kind as
Chance and his mother.

My phone rings and I see
it is Chance on the caller ID. "Hey, baby," I answer.

"You are one
amazing woman. You know that?" he murmurs.

"No, I didn't, but
I know how you can show me," I tease.

"It will be my
pleasure," he teases back.

"See you tonight.
Morefinity," I say.

"Morefinity."
He hangs up the phone.

That was seriously the
best thing ever. I love hearing his non-stressed voice on the other
line. It will certainly make the rest of my day even better. I stop
at the bank and make a deposit, then run over to the Java Joint and
get a large cup of coffee. I have been dying for it since the first
cup of coffee this morning at home. Coffee is always a positive bonus
to any part of my day. I like to spread the love around town to help
out the small business owners. We all stick together in this town to
advertise for each other and always offer support. Before owning
Mouth, I just stuck to the same places and never really thought about
branching out and trying something new. I love the different people I
get to meet now. We have all become our own little business family.

School has been out for
about thirty minutes and the kids will be here soon to do their
homework and then help in the kitchen. They usually have a few
friends come study for the first couple hours of the evening.
Saturday is Callie's big 1...6...and I am not sure if I'm going to
cry or party like a crazy person. Yeah, I will probably sob in the
shower getting ready and then again when she gets picked up by the
limo Chance has ordered for her. The front door opens and Kaleb comes
in, gives me his
Hi Mom, I'm with the guys
nod and goes to the
back booth. Callie is on the phone when she walks in and she holds up
one finger, letting me know she will be a minute. I don't question it
and go into the kitchen to see how the staff is getting along for the
evening.

I have them cook up
appetizers for the kids and then go into my office to work on
payroll. Five minutes pass and Callie comes bursting through the
door. I swear my heart about leaps out of my chest.

"Callie, honey,
what's wrong?" I ask her.

"Mom, I just got
off the phone with Smash Records and they want me to come in for an
interview with the CEO, Nic Nash, tomorrow afternoon." she
squeals and jumps up and down, clapping her hands.

"Oh my. That is so
freaking exciting." I jump up and down with her.

"I am going to tell
everyone," she says before leaving the office.

I pull her into a hug
and tell her how happy I am for her. Who would have thought that my
daughter would have such a great opportunity? First Kaleb won the
surfing competition and now Callie gets this interview. I can't get
over all the amazing things that have happened in our lives this
year. Sure, we had some horrible things happen and I could have died,
but it's like we are finally having some good luck thrown our way.
Callie goes outside to tell her friends, and Kaleb and I send Chance
a text. He is in a meeting so he won't answer right away. He is going
to be so stoked, and he should be because he helped her get over her
fear of the stage. I am so grateful for him in so many ways. He has
changed all of our lives and I couldn't ask for a better and more
caring person to spend my life with.

Chance texts me back an
hour later when his meeting is done. He is so damn cute when he texts
me the emoji's with a thumbs up and a huge grinning smiley face.
"That is awesome. Tell her I am so excited for her and so proud.
What time is the meeting? I would love to go if I can make it."

"It is at 4:00
tomorrow. I know she would love it if you were there," I murmur.

"I will be there.
It works out perfectly since my meeting ends at 3:00," he tells
me.

We hang up and I walk
out to the table where all the kids are bursting at the seams with
excitement for Callie. Some of the kids are asking her for her
autograph now before she becomes a big star. It is so cute. I love
reactions like that from other people.

"Chance said he
would like to come with us tomorrow and he is so proud of you,"
I tell her.

"Yay. I know he
will be able to help us make a decision on whatever they want to
discuss," she explains.

I walk back into my
office and rearrange the schedule for tomorrow so I will be able to
attend the interview as well. I am lucky that I have great employees
who like to work here instead of trying to avoid it.

The evening ends and I
am so ready to go home and see Chance. I love Mouth and everything it
brings to my life, but I am happy I close at 10 on Monday-Wednesdays
and then closed on Sundays. I feel like Chance and I don't have
enough time alone anymore. Our schedules are so different that we
have to work harder to see each other. I miss the days where we could
make out in his office between meetings. I don't however miss the
gossip that the hospital staff would spit my way. Some women sure
know how to make a person feel horrible. Some of the things they
would say were worse than Michael would ever say to me.