Page 93 of Reckless
Mom, even on her deathbed, seemed to know exactly what would be best for me and had offered me this second chance at a family. I knew Ron’s wife had died, having succumbed to the cancer once it returned, and that having a relationship with me would fill some of that empty space. It was up to me whether I took the chance on him or not.
My life had become utterly filled with choices. It was up to me to pick the right ones.
My first choice was going to be sitting in the front row. If she accepted my apology.
We had about two hours until the opening bands finished, but my heart was already balled up in my throat.
Andy came up behind me as I looked through the trailer’s blinds for about the fifth time, trying to see who was seated in the front row. “What if Kelly never wants to see my face again?”
“Hmm, I suppose that’s a possibility.” He bumped me with his elbow when I stared at him. “You can’t do anything to control that part. You sent the invitation, instructed the driver to all but kidnap her. The rest is up to her.”
“I should have gone there myself.”
“You never would have made it past the reporters.” They had swarmed Kelly’s house this morning, hoping for a glimpse of me or us to plaster on their front pages. “Are you okay being back in your hometown? What with your mom…”
“I wouldn’t have planned it if I didn’t think I could hack it. I’m slowly getting to the place where it’s all just good memories, so it’s kind of nice.”
“Hey, guys,” Bryan jumped in, giving me an expectant look. “You ready for tonight?”
Ben’s voice drowned him out, shouting to a roadie about his precious drums. “No way your big bear paws are touching my kit again. I won’t be able to get parts here!”
Bryan rolled his eyes. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on Ben. With our lineup of pop starlets, I don’t know if we’ll be able to trust him. Jazmin is here too.”
Ben pivoted to face us. “Love is in the air.” He winked at me.
“Oh god,” I groaned. “Try not to get into any trouble. I think one press stakeout a day is enough.”
The trailer door opened and a high-pitched voice called, “Yoo-hoo!”
Kelly’s mom, Marie Cavendish, stood there blinking at us, her hands gripping her purse.
“Mrs. Cavendish.” The room fell silent. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” Sweat popped out on my forehead. This couldn’t be good.
“Hello, Gage. Could we have a moment?”
The boys scrambled to get out of the way, and the trailer was empty except the two of us in about half a second.
“It’s nice to see you doing something back at home. New Hope doesn’t get enough events like this one.”
I swallowed, wishing she would get to the point of her visit. “I expect you received the tickets I sent? You’re going to enjoy it. We’ve managed to get some awesome bands with us—”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just came by to congratulate you and…” Her face fell. “Gage, the thing is, despite my trying to convince her otherwise, Kelly has decided not to come, and I thought you should know.” She frowned. “I think you two need to have a conversation.”
“Kelly isn’t coming?” I had to sit down because my legs refused to keep holding me up. “But she has to be here. That’s the whole point…”
“She hasn’t been dealing with everything very well, and I think the crowd and all might just be too much for her.”
“Where is she?” I stood, swaying. “I love her. I’ve planned a surprise. I want to make it right. I can’t fit into her life, and she can’t mine, but I want us to try to make it work in a different way.”
I snatched my wallet off the table, and a set of car keys that belonged to the rental my bodyguard had been driving.
I was halfway to the door when she said, “She’s just finished work, so she’ll be on the way back from the hospital. If you go now, I’m sure you’ll catch her just as she gets home. And be good to my girl.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cavendish, that means so much to me. I won’t let you down.”
“Good luck, Gage. I think you’re going to need it.”
