Laura paused for a moment. “And I was suddenly remembering how much I loved you and how in love we were. So, I didn't know what to say. I wanted to tell you but it just didn't feel like the right moment, if that makes sense?"
"It does. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that you remember."
"I know. What we had was so special and so rare."
"I think that's partly why I married Chelsea. I dated a lot of girls after we broke up but none of them not even Chelsea made me feel the way that you did. I didn't think that I never find that kind of love again and I figured Chelsea was as close as I’d get."
"I probably never should've dated Dylan as long as I did. It was just easy and for a long time we did have fun together. But it was more serious for him than for me. You set a high bar."
Laura stood as a rush of emotion came over her and she felt her eyes water. She brought their plates to the sink and rinsed them as she fought back tears. She was just about to reach for the cake plates when she felt Cole’s arms wrapped around her from behind. He turned her to face him and she caught her breath when she saw the look in his eyes.
"Laura, this might sound crazy but is there any chance…"
She nodded, and joy filled her heart as Cole brought his lips down to hers. It felt wonderful—natural and familiar at the same time. They kissed tentatively at first, tasting each other and finding their way back. And then they deepened the kiss and moved closer together. Laura breathed in his scent and sighed. Finally, she felt as though all was right in her world.
When they finally pulled apart, both of them were speechless. Laura spoke first. "Are you ready for some cake?"
Cole laughed. "Sure, I'd love a piece."
They took the cake outside and ate on the balcony and talked for over an hour remembering old times. Until finally, it was dark and the air grew cold and they went back inside.
"I should probably head home soon I suppose," Cole said.
"Back to that sad motel room?" Laura smiled. "I have a better idea." She took his hand and pulled him toward her and a slow happy smile spread across his face.
"Are you sure? There is nothing in this world that I would want more than to stay here with you."
"We have a lot more catching up to do." Laura leaned in and kissed Cole lightly on the lips and then pulled him down the hall to her bedroom and shut the door behind them.
After the best night he’d had in years, Cole had an even better day after as he and Laura relaxed in her apartment all day, eating when they felt hungry, working on different songs together and more than once falling back into Laura’s welcoming bed. For Cole, it was as if the lost years had disappeared and they were back to where they were, Laura and Cole. Laura seemed to feel it too.
Later that afternoon, when Cole was beginning to wonder if he’d worn out his welcome, Laura seemed to sense it. She came to him, wrapped her arms around him and after a long, sweet kiss said, “Why don’t you check out of that hotel room, and stay here until Monday?” She didn’t have to ask him twice.
He went back to the hotel and just as he was almost done packing everything up, Chelsea called.
“I talked to an attorney this morning. If we do a no-fault divorce there’s a year waiting period. If we do fault, it’s just ninety days. What do you think we should do? I had no idea about the one-year waiting period, did you?”
“I didn’t think of it, but I should have remembered that. We can do fault. Tell them I cheated.”
“Are you sure?” Chelsea sounded relieved.
“Yeah. It’s in the papers, so we might as well go with it.”
“Thank you. I really didn’t want to wait a year.”
“I know.” Cole knew that once Chelsea had her mind made up, she was ready to move on and anxious to start dating Austin. And though he didn’t like to think of it as cheating, since both he and Chelsea wanted the divorce, now that he and Laura had been together, it did qualify as adultery in the eyes of the court. South Carolina had a one-year separation policy for a no fault divorce and during that time dating was considered grounds for adultery, so it made sense to go with it. Neither one of them wanted to wait a whole year. Cole was ready to put his marriage behind him and move on to his future with Laura as soon as possible.
Chapter 36
The next few weeks were a whirlwind for Laura. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so happy. She saw Cole every day, and they spent just about every night together. He’d moved into his short-term rental, but still spent most evenings at her place, and occasionally she stayed at his. Dylan was still in the band. He’d been oddly supportive during the whole media frenzy and swore that it wasn’t him that leaked the story. He’d said he knew that there was nothing to the rumors that she was dating Cole.
Laura didn’t know what to think as she couldn’t imagine who else would have. But, she didn’t have any proof that it was him and for the time being, he wasn’t being difficult to work with so it was easier to keep things going the way they were. She really didn’t want to have to find a new band. All the other guys were great to work with.
They had a rare weekend off with no gigs anywhere and Laura was looking forward to spending it with Cole. They were planning to get some takeout and watch movies. He arrived a little after six carrying two huge paper bags of Chinese food. They spread everything on the coffee table and helped themselves. As they ate, Cole filled Laura in on how his day at the studio had gone.
“We recorded my new song today, and it went really well. Harry stopped by to check on us and he gave it two thumbs up. Said we may even want to go with it as my first single.”
“Oh, that’s so great!” Laura was thrilled for him and proud too. It was a really good song.
“I heard from Chelsea’s lawyer today. Everything has been filed with the courts. So, if all goes well, we’ll be divorced in about ninety days.”
“Yeah, I heard about that earlier today too. I guess you haven’t been online much today?”
Cole looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s all over the news. With your father stepping down as governor last week, they must have had people still looking for anything to keep it going. They reported that Chelsea filed for divorce on grounds of adultery—with me.”
“Oh no. I’m so sorry, Laura. I never wanted to drag you into this.”
She put her hand on his. “I don’t mind. I’m in this now and truthfully, I’d rather be out in the open about it. I don’t want to sneak around anymore. I love you.”
“I love you too. So much.”
A loud knock at the door startled both of them.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Cole asked.
“No, I have no idea who it is.” Laura got up and walked to the door and opened it a crack to see who was there. Dylan shoved the door open and stepped inside, looking manically around the room until he saw Cole.
“So, it is true!” he yelled, and that’s when Laura saw the gun, tucked into his jeans. She flashed a panicked warning look at Cole to stay calm.
“What are you doing here, Dylan?” she asked quietly.
“I saw the news today, and I had to come here to see for myself. So, you were cheating on me after all, with him. I knew it!”
“Dylan, calm down. I never cheated on you. Ever. Cole and I only got back together recently, well after we broke up.”
Suddenly, the gun was in Dylan’s hands. “I don’t believe you. I saw the news. The divorce papers say adultery and that Cole cheated.”
Cole spoke up as he slowly stood from the table and took a step toward them. “That’s just a technicality. So we could get a faster divorce. We’d have to wait a year otherwise.”
“But you were going to cheat!”
“I had no intention of cheating. My wife and I both wanted the divorce. She wants to move on as much as I do.”
“You ruined everything! Laura was supposed to marry me!”
“Put the gun down, Dylan. You don’t
want to do this,” Cole tried to reason with him. But it only seemed to make things worse.
“Don’t tell me what I want! I know what I want. I want you out of the way so I can have Laura back.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Cole said.
“Oh yeah?” Dylan lifted his gun and aimed at Cole. He wasn’t paying any attention to Laura, and she acted without thinking, jumping on his back to try to knock him down. It worked, except his gun went off and Laura’s heart sank when she heard a blood-curdling scream from Cole. But a moment later, Cole was right there beside her and grabbed the gun from Dylan while Laura sat on his back to keep him down.
Cole pointed the gun at his face while Laura called 911. When the gun went off, it grazed the side of Cole’s thigh. Enough to hurt, but hopefully it wasn’t too serious. The cops and an ambulance arrived a few minutes later, and the medics attended to Cole while the police talked to Laura and put Dylan into handcuffs. One of the two officers, a woman in her forties named Deb, recognized him.
“Up to your old tricks again, I see. I hoped that we wouldn’t run into you again. I believe you are still on probation. You know what that means?”
“What does that mean?” Laura asked. “What is he on probation for?”
“This charmer has a history of domestic violence. He’s at the end of a five-year probationary period but this latest incident is going to automatically toss him right back into jail and the sentence will be much stricter this time.”
“Oh! I had no idea.”
“Yeah, you literally dodged a bullet this time. But you should be safe now. We’ll take care of him from here.”
Laura watched as took Dylan away. She then followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited with Cole while he was seen. It was just a graze, so he just needed a few stitches and a few hours later, they were on their way home. Once they were back at Laura’s place, she made them both a cup of tea and put away all the food that was still sitting out. They snuggled together on the sofa, with Cole’s sore leg propped up on the coffee table.
“What a night. How are you doing? Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It was shocking to see Dylan like that, but it’s also a relief that he’s out of our life now. I had no idea about his history.”
“How would you know?” Cole asked.
“It’s scary. He was so friendly, charming even, at first. It really wasn’t until we’d been together for a long time that I started to see that side of him. It’s why I ended things with him. I knew it would only get worse.”
“Well, he’s gone now. We can sleep like babies tonight.”
Laura laughed. “I always sleep well as long as I’m with you.”
“Me too.”
The next morning while Laura was still sleeping. Cole called his father. “Dad, there’s something I need you to do for me, immediately.”
Chapter 37
Two days later, the FedEx package arrived from Cole’s father. He opened it and then called Laura.
“I think it’s time we went out in public together. Let’s go to dinner and then to hear some live music. What do you think?”
“I’d love to!”
Cole asked around for suggestions on where to go and made a reservation for them at Etch restaurant. When they arrived, he knew that it was a great choice. The atmosphere was romantic and energetic. It was a very busy place with servers bustling around a packed dining room. They were led to a quiet corner table and Cole couldn’t take his eyes of Laura.
She looked more beautiful than ever in an elegant black dress that hugged her slim curves. She wore her hair pulled back halfway with the rest tumbling down her back. He had to resist the urge to run his hands through it. He’d dressed for the occasion too, wearing one of his favorite button-down shirts and an aqua silk tie.
They put their dinner orders in and a short while later, while sipping their drinks and sharing a roasted cauliflower appetizer, Cole decided that it was time. He stood up, walked over to Laura and got down on one knee.
At first, Laura was confused. “Cole what are you doing? Are you alright? Is it your leg?”
Cole laughed. “No, my leg is fine now.” He reached for one of Laura’s hands. “Laura, I love you more than ever, more than I thought it was possible to love someone. I never stopped loving you and I never will. I don’t want to waste another moment. Will you marry me? As soon as the divorce is final of course.” He grinned and then held his breath, waiting for her answer. He didn’t have to wait long. Her eyes welled up immediately, and she simply said, “Of course I’ll marry you. You’re the love of my life, Cole Dawson.”
Cole felt his own eyes tear up a little as he reached into his pocket, pulled out the ring and slid it onto Laura’s finger. When she saw it, the tears fell. “How did you? I don’t understand….”
Cole stood, took both of her hands and pulled her in for a quick kiss before explaining.
“I called my father a few days ago. I realized that he must have the ring. That he had to have taken it when you were in the hospital so that you wouldn’t ask any questions or remember me.”
Laura held her hand up and marveled at the sparkling small diamond. “It’s perfect. Now it’s where it should be.”
“For always and forever,” Cole agreed.
Epilogue
Four years later….
Riley and Reba Dawson, you’re not leaving this table until you each have three more bites of those peas.”
“How about one bite? Just one?” Reba, ever the negotiator, asked with an adorable smile. Her twin sister Riley nodded in agreement.
Laura sighed. “All right, two bites. But that’s my final offer.” She watched as her three-year-old daughters both held their noses as they each ate one pea at a time, until they’d had two. They were too much.
“Okay, off with the both of you. Go play.” She cleared the dishes while Cole poured them each a glass of wine. It was a rare Friday night that she wasn’t performing somewhere. She and Cole went into the family room with their wine so they could relax and keep an eye on the girls who were very busy building something with a pile of pink Legos. She glanced out the window where the sun was just starting to set and a rosy glow covered the sky. She loved where they lived now.
Soon after they’d married which was immediately after the divorce was final, they moved into this house in a great Nashville neighborhood. It was new when they bought it and had a nice yard and lots of windows to let in the light. It wasn’t big, but it had three bedrooms which was plenty of room for their growing family. It was Laura’s favorite place to be. Home with her husband and children.
Once they married, Laura’s career had taken off like a rocket. Instead of hurting them, the media coverage of what happened to Laura and Cole only made them even more loved, especially when they got married. She was invited to be a permanent judge on the talent show she and Cole had been on and that made her a household name and her earnings soared even higher.
Her only worry was that it never happened for Cole. His album fizzled. The public never really embraced it. He made a second one and performed with Laura many times, but even though the second album did a little better, it wasn’t enough for Black Duck to want to continue working with him.
Cole said he didn’t mind, and he seemed to mean it. As his music career was winding down, he decided to study for the bar in Tennessee and once he passed it, he started overseeing Laura’s contracts and eventually took on other local artists and carved out a specialty in entertainment law.
He seemed to enjoy it and although he had a small office downtown, he mostly worked from home, or on the road if Laura was touring. The girls were small enough that they could all tour as a family. She knew that would change once the girls started school and by then she knew she’d want to cut back on the touring too. But for now, it was working well for them.
And Aunt Helen was still in their lives. She came to visit every year around the holidays and stayed with them fo
r a few days. She adored her ‘grandchildren’ and was the closest thing to a grandmother that the girls had.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Cole said as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She snuggled against him and sighed.
“All happy thoughts. I was just thinking how lucky we are to have found our way back to each other and to have the life that we have with our girls.”
“We are lucky,” Cole agreed. He kissed Laura lightly on the forehead and smiled as he watched Riley and Reba playing together. The girls were fraternal twins and were very different in appearance and personality. Riley looked more like Laura and was sweet and quiet while Reba looked more like him and was the feisty one. He loved them both equally and fiercely and was very protective of all three of his girls.
And he agreed with Laura. It had taken them a while to find their way back to each other, but now that they had, their life was about as good as he ever could have imagined it would be. Laura was so talented and humble. He knew that she felt guilty sometimes that his career had never taken off the way that hers did.
He was disappointed at first, but he also came to realize that it was different for him. He enjoyed music, but he didn’t have the same all-consuming passion for it or the true innate talent that Laura did. He actually enjoyed the law, and he was grateful to his father for pushing him to go on to law school. Because it had turned out to be a good back up plan. Once he started handling Laura’s affairs word spread and clients started coming to him, some of them pretty famous too with complicated contracts and financial affairs that needed attending to.
Every year, things got a little better with his father, too. He was mellowing out as he grew older. Resigning from public office was probably one of the best things that could have happened to him, even though he didn’t see it that way at the time. He stopped craving power and started appreciating what he had more and Cole knew a lot of that was due to Claire who he married soon after he resigned. She had always been one very good influence on him and the other was the girls. They’d changed his father considerably.
Nashville Dreams Page 20
