That is, not until the day I met Pike.
But he’s always kept his distance, making it clear he only wants to be friends and I’ve had no choice but to agree. We live in two different states, running two very different lives and I’m pretty sure my chosen profession of stripping is a turn-off for him considering he never mentions it. I understand, and maybe if I explained about my mom he’d understand, but we’ve never had that chance. He’s never made a move to imply he might want more than friendship with me and besides Gia, no one knows about my mom. I’ve kept that part of my life close to me, only allowing a few people in.
I turned off the shower when the water started to run cool and wrapped myself in a towel, cleaning off the steam on the small mirror above the sink. Taking in the dark circles under my brown eyes, I thank the make-up gods for creating concealer or no one would hire me to be on a stage. I ran a comb through my long dark hair before moving away from the mirror and putting on my standard pajamas of shorts and a tank top. Finishing my routine before bed, I shut off the light and tip-toed back in to the room, happy to see my mom was already asleep. She sleeps in an adjustable bed, equipped to help her in and out, leaving enough room for the twin bed I have shoved up against the opposite wall, which I crawl into, and sigh. The room’s not much, but the bed’s comfortable and I’ve always felt it’s better than the floor or the couch, so I’ve had nothing to complain about.
I allowed a few thoughts of Pike to invade my mind before I forced my eyes closed and found sleep. But I found it smiling, hoping, like every other night, he’d visit me in my dreams.
CHAPTER TWO
BELLA
“Hello?” I’d just sat down in the driver’s seat after closing the back doors of our custom van when my phone rang. Seeing Gia’s name pop up on my screen brought a genuine smile to my face.
“Bella.”
I sat up straight when her voice wavered. “What’s wrong?”
I glanced into the rear-view mirror to see a look of concern marring my mother’s features.
“Bella, I don’t know exactly, but Brody just called. They’re at the hospital because Lanie and Pike were in a terrible car accident.”
My stomach dropped. This call felt very familiar to the one I got all those years ago, learning half of my family was gone and my mom would never walk again.
“What?” I whispered.
“I wish knew more, but I wanted you to know what I know because you and Pike have become friends. Brody said they were taking him into surgery, but he didn’t know much more.”
“And Lanie?”
“Brody said she’s fine, although he hasn’t seen her yet.” She took a shaky breath. “I hate giving you this news over the phone and I hate that I’m not at the hospital right now, but I’m waiting for Brody’s mom, Anna, to come and get Lexi so I can go see Pike.”
“Will you let me know how he’s doing?” I whispered.
“I’ll call you as soon as I get there and know more.”
“Okay.” I said, lost for words.
“Are you okay Bella?”
My hand shook when I lifted it to rub along my forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay, but please let me know as soon as you can.”
“I will.” She promised before saying good-bye and hanging up.
“Isabella, what happened?”
My mom’s voice rang from behind me and I closed my eyes, forcing back the memories trying to surface from my family’s tragedy. “There’s been an accident.”
“Is it your friend Gia?”
I shook my head and met her eyes in the mirror. “No, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend, Lanie, and Pike were in a car accident today.”
Her eyes widened at the mention of Pike and she pressed her lips tightly together. I had a feeling she knew he meant a lot to me after I’d told her stories about him, but she’d never asked me about my feelings.
“Are they okay?”
“She doesn’t know much, but she said Lanie seems to be alright, and they took Pike into surgery.”
She nodded, knowing as well as I did what an accident could do, how it can destroy your whole world. “Well, you’d better make the arrangements to go.”
I turned in my seat to look at her. “What?”
“Bella, you have friends who need you much more than I do, so you need to pack a bag and fly to North Carolina.”
“Mama, the flight cost alone is too much…”
She shook her head, interrupting me. “We’re doing fine. Our bills are all caught up, thanks to you, honey, so take some of the money we’ve been saving for a better place and go to your friends.” She pulled her phone out of her purse on her lap. “I’ll call Marian right now. I know she’ll be happy to come and stay with me while you’re gone.”
I watched her find the number and put the phone to her ear. She was right, Marian would be happy with that because over the years they’d become more than patient and caregiver. They’d become friends. Marian has no family locally, her children are grown and scattered throughout the country and she’d divorced their father years ago, so I think mom became family to her and visa-versa.
“Marian’s fine with it.” I hadn’t even heard her talking to Marian. “I’m going to find you a flight now, so you better call work and request a few days off.”
I shook off the fog surrounding me and did as she said, lifting the phone to my ear and talking quietly to my boss, blaming a family emergency for my sudden need to have a few days off, which he agreed to. I haven’t taken much time off and even when I have, I’ve added on extra shifts when I returned to make up for the time missed, so I knew he wouldn’t give me grief about the request.
I pressed end and turned back to my mom who smiled reassuringly. “You’re booked on a flight at eleven tomorrow morning.” She cocked her head when I made no move to turn away. “Are you okay honey?”
“What if…?” I couldn’t say the words, there were so many what ifs. What if he died, what if he’s paralyzed, what if he suffered brain damage? Fear of what I might see was taking me back to the dark days spent waiting to hear if my mom would ever walk again or if my sister would survive her surgery.
“Stop it, Isabella.” She said sternly. “Accidents happen every day and people walk away just fine. You need to be strong, get on that plane, and go help your friends. That’s where you’re needed.”
I nodded. She was right. I needed to be strong for Gia and Pike. I blinked slowly and turned around, staring through the front windshield, seeing nothing, sudden exhaustion overwhelming me.
Sometimes I was so tired of being strong.
MY REDEMPTION is available now on Amazon
http://jenniferhanks.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Hanks is the author of The Dimarco Series as well as The Elite Securities Series. Her stories are contemporary romance and romantic suspense, all with the underlying message of the power and strength in love. She’s also a sucker for a Happily-Ever-After. Her love of reading and books in general started at a very young age and has steadily grown into a love of writing as well. She admits to being addicted to all things romance and has no plans of quitting her habit. Jennifer lives in Pennsylvania with her two children. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found with her kids at their various activities. Her house is frequently filled with any combination of her children’s friends, nieces, nephews and a variety of pets.
Connect with Jennifer Online!
Jennifer’s Website/Newsletter Signup
http://jenniferhanks.com
Goodreads • Amazon • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter
0%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Elaina Page 33
