Then There Was You (45 page)

I pounced on her then, not even caring if she minded. I had my daughter back and I wanted to hold her close. I couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if she hadn’t called us. Talk about a mother’s worst nightmare. This was it. “I’m so glad we got there when we did. Thank you for calling me.”

“I’m just glad Chris was with you,” she said gratefully, clutching me tighter.

“Me too, honey.” With a new sternness I added, “About Olivia. You tell her that she has twenty-four hours to confess this little fiasco with her mother, or I will. I don’t try to include myself in what other people’s children do, but when it involves my daughter, I make it my business. Do you understand?”

Alexis had never seen me so furious. Wide-eyed with shock, she blurted, “But mom!”

I held up a finger, glaring at her. “No buts! My decision is final.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed, but I knew deep down that she understood the severity of all of this. “Okay,” she mumbled and trudged up the steps.

“I love you, honey,” I called after her. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love you.”

She slumped her shoulders and hung her head shamefully, but didn’t say another word as she disappeared around the corner.

I found Chris lying face up on my bed, staring at the ceiling. His eyes were glassy, and his arms were folded across his chest.

I sat down on the bed next to him.

“You all right?” I asked.

He nodded, but said nothing. I stared at him as we sat quietly for several minutes.

Chris finally broke the silence, vocalizing my worst fears. “She could have gotten herself killed out there.”

I gulped, forcing out the mental pictures that had been haunting me since I saw her shoved against the wall in that bedroom. “I know,” I said softly.

“I’m glad we got there when we did. That guy could have… he could have…” Chris couldn’t finish his sentence.

“I know,” I whispered, shutting my eyes tight.
Don’t think about it.

His drained voice curled itself around me. “I’ve never been so worried before.”

I lay down and curled up beside him, resting my head on his chest. Listening to the gentle thump of his heart, I whispered, “Me neither.”

Chris wrapped his arms around me. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to her. Tonight made me realize just how much I love
both
of you.”

“We love you, too,” I whispered, kissing him on the cheek.

We curled up together, clutching each other, thankful Alexis was home safe and sound. Eventually our breaths synchronized, and we both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

I listened to quiet sound of Salem’s breath against my chest. Thinking back to the dangerous streets of Southside caused me to shudder beneath her. Things had changed so much in fourteen years. Southside had always been considered the ‘wrong side of the tracks,’ but in the fourteen years since I’d lived there that area had become a cesspool of crack houses and meth labs. Alexis could have been killed.

The thought made the lump in my throat return, but I swallowed it back. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do. I eased out from under Salem and slipped down the hall in the moonlit shadows toward Alexis’s room.

Quietly, I knocked on the closed door. “Alexis?” I murmured.

“Come in.” I heard her muffled voice through the door. Cracking it open, I saw her leaning back against the headboard of her bed, cradling her laptop across her legs.

“Hey, Chris,” she said, folding the screen down and placing the computer on the floor beside the bed. She slid higher against the headboard and bent her knees up to make room for me to sit down.

I sank down on the foot of the bed, tossing one of the throw pillows onto the Papasan chair in the corner.

“Hey,” I said quietly, looking at her with my need to protect still in overdrive.

She stared at me wide-eyed, reminding me of the sweet innocence she easily could have lost that night.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I told her, feeling a little self-conscious to be baring my soul to this fourteen-year-old.

She glanced away, embarrassed. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“Please promise me you’ll never go back to Southside again. I lived there once. It was rough then, but nothing like it is now. It’s dangerous.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Her voice was full of shame.

I scooted closer, placing my hand on her knee. “You’re a beautiful girl just like your mom, Alexis. I could easily see a jerk like Deuce trying to take advantage of you.” I wanted to a much stronger word to describe Deuce, but thought better of it. “You have to be careful. Trust me… I’ve seen firsthand the damage guys can do to beautiful, sweet, innocent girls like you. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”

She stared at her feet silently.

“You know I love you and your mom, right? I’d never want anything to happen to either of you.” I hoped the sincerity in my voice was enough to convince her how serious I was.

Snapping her head up, she looked me in the eye. “I… I…” Giant tears pooled and clung to her lower lashes.

Leaning toward her, I added, “I hope I can become part of your family someday.” In some ways, I felt like I needed her blessing.

“I… Yeah, that would be good. I think.” Alexis stammered and clutched her knees tight against her chest.

Smiling, I said softly, “Nothing would make me happier.” Standing up, I softly kissed the top of Alexis’s head and tiptoed back to the room where her mother slept.

I slipped into bed with Salem and curled myself around her, finally losing myself to sleep.

Two months had passed since that scary night in Southside. We’d all tried to put it behind us. Business was booming in his recording studio. Our small, sleepy town had been put on the map by King Records, home of Fifth Wheel’s very own Chris King.

Tommy and Jeremy had made several visits to work on their next album. It was fun to sit in on some of their late night sessions. They’d even pulled an all-nighter a time or two. Seeing Chris work, breathing life into the music of his heart, was the most exciting experience. I sat for hours, soaking in the image of him picking out chords and singing his lyrics. Seeing the camaraderie between he and his band mates made my heart soar. I never wanted him to give up music—the very thing that fed his soul.

“What do you say we get out of here this weekend?” he asked me as we lay in bed late one night after a long recording session with Ian Asher, a teenage heartthrob in the making. Ian was one of the new talents who had just signed on as a client at King Records.

“What about Ian?” I asked. “I know you aren’t finished recording him yet.”

He rolled toward me and propped up on one elbow, laying a hand on my exposed hip. “We can be finished by Friday. Alexis is going to her dad’s this weekend. Let’s take off somewhere, just you and me. The break will be nice.” He planted a light kiss on my lips.

I thought about our amazing trip to New York. Getting away would definitely be a nice change of pace. With a spark in my eye, I replied, “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Chris smiled and kissed my forehead. “Great. A weekend getaway it is.”

Friday came at a turtle’s pace. I had been packed since Wednesday night, so ready to get out of this town for a few days.

“So where exactly are we going Mister Travel Agent?” I teased Chris as we stood in line to check our bags. He had insisted on making all the arrangements, keeping our final destination a secret.

He gave me a sidelong glance, a little mischief in his eyes. “Ever been to Chicago?”

“Chicago?” I asked, confused. I hoped he was kidding. When he said ‘weekend getaway,’ I automatically assumed somewhere tropical.

“You’re a Bears fan, right?” he teased.

My mouth gaped, horrified. Everyone knew I was a Cheesehead. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” he said with a wink.

He’s kidding. We’re not going to Chicago.

I was certain that in Chicago we would be catching our connecting flight to Honolulu or somewhere else beachy, but there was no way we were
just
going to Chicago. Besides, what’s in Chicago that would be considered a ‘getaway?’ I held onto the hope of traveling somewhere tropical until I realized that there was
no
connecting flight while Chris guided me to baggage claim in Chicago O’Hare.

“You weren’t kidding, were you?” The feeling of dread overwhelmed me, thinking I’d soon be forced to endure a Bears game.

“I told you I wasn’t,” he laughed. “You’ll love it.”

I chuckled. “I guess there’s no use for a bikini here. It’s not nearly warm enough.”

“I’m sure there’ll be a hot tub,” he said waggling his eyebrows.

“Ha ha,” I retorted, grabbing my suitcase as it rolled past me on the conveyor. But, to be quite honest, Chicago or somewhere tropical, it didn’t really matter to me. I just wanted to spend time with Chris. This getaway would be perfect.

Once we were checked into the hotel room, Chris told me to get ready quickly. He had reservations for us at eight.

By seven fifteen he was pacing the floors. I was just starting my makeup when Chris came up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist.

He watched me impatiently in the mirror. “No amount of makeup could make you more beautiful than you are right now.”