Dancing With Redemption (Barre To Bar Book 5)

by Summer Cooper

  “Can you put it on?” June asked as Roxie lifted the wig out and started to lift it.

  “I think so, I just have to watch these stitches. They’re coming out later, thank goodness.” Roxie grimaced a little as the wig touched a particularly sensitive stitch, but she clipped the hooks at the back without removing the wig.

  “Let me see, I’ve watched some videos about these. And the owner of the boutique did some work on it to make it look realistic. We have to cut this netting here, and you can use glue to make sure it doesn’t move once the stitches are out and everything’s healed.” June twitched at the wig until it looked right to her, then picked up some nail scissors from the table. “Want me to do the cutting?”

  “Please.” Roxie smiled up at her friend, glad to have one so eager to help her out in a matter so personal.

  Hair was just hair, and that’s what she’d told herself as Celeste massacred her head, but now? Hair was a huge part of her identity and it stung that all that remained under the wig was stubble and scars. She couldn’t even look pretty now that her face had healed, not without the wig.

  “There, what do you think about that? I added some baby hairs around your forehead, just to make it look more real.” June stepped back and Roxie looked in the mirror.

  The hair was human hair, so it didn’t have the fake sheen of cheaper synthetic wigs, and it was styled perfectly. It was kind of hot on her head, but she’d have to get used to that. Maybe when more of her own hair grew out she’d be brave enough to walk outside without a wig on, but for now, she needed something to hide behind. Even if the wig was a short bob style. “It looks amazing. Thank you.”

  “Anything for you, you know that.” June looked down at Roxie, her eyes noting what had healed, but she didn’t comment on anything. “When’s Marie coming?”

  “She’ll be here in twenty minutes or so. Do you want to meet her?” Roxie didn’t mind if June did want to meet her newly-found cousin, she’d just like a private chat first.

  “Sure, after you two talk, of course. I know there’s stuff you need to talk about.” June looked down at her pale hands, but then looked back up, as if forcing herself to let go of her girlish shyness. “I’d love to meet her, actually.”

  “Cool. Then you shall, my friend. How’s Lily?” Roxie stood up and moved to put on the dress draped on the back of the chair she’d been sitting in. Up until now, she’d been wearing matching underwear and a silk robe. She slipped the robe off and pulled the black sweater dress on over her head. Her nail beds had healed enough that they didn’t hurt, but there were still no nails on her fingers.

  Her toes were problematic because the nerves beneath the nails had been abused. Several nails had already fallen off so wearing socks or hose was next to impossible. Add in the vague pain that came with shoes and Roxie was limited in what she could put on her feet. Lincoln had bought her a pair of Uggs with a lot of width at the toes and that was about all she could wear at the moment. She’d always hated wearing socks, but this was actual pain that made even the thought of sliding them over her toes cringe-inducing. She slid on the black leather boots very carefully and turned to look in the mirror. June and the woman at the boutique had done such a fine job, even Roxie had a hard time telling the hair on her head was a wig. She twisted and turned her head, but the wig stayed in place, even when she shook her head vigorously.

  “Lily’s fine, excited to go on a plane again,” June said once Roxie was changed and in her boots. “She’s also excited since I kind of promised I’d take her to Disneyland next summer.”

  “You didn’t!? Roxie turned with a laugh, mock-glaring at Lily’s favorite, if only, aunt. “You’re all going to spoil her beyond belief.”

  “That’s what we’re for, my love,” June said, looking down her nose with a grin. “We’re here to spoil her so she’ll know just how much we love her.”

  “Love isn’t a present,” Roxie said, only half-kidding. She was glad Lily’s family wanted to spoil her, but she didn’t want the girl to think objects equaled love at all. “It’s wanting to give a present, it’s wanting to make someone’s wishes come true. That’s the part that’s real love, June.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” June’s cheeks turned red, and Roxie felt bad instantly.

  “No, you’re right. Every now and then Lily should have something nice. I just don’t want her to come to expect it. I won’t raise a spoiled brat,” Roxie said, her hand going to her stomach. The baby was still there, safe and sound, despite the abuse Celeste had doled out to her. “Or two, as it so happens.”

  “Everything okay, there?” June glanced at Roxie’s stomach but quickly looked away. “Any more bleeding?”

  “No, everything’s fine, really.” Roxie looked away, tucking a lock of the wig behind her ear as a way to distract them both. “How’s that?”

  “Can’t tell a thing, honey,” June reassured her, before she got up off of Roxie’s bed and went to the door. “I’ll see you downstairs when you’re ready for me to meet your cousin. I’ll keep Lily busy with the new puzzle I got her.”

  “Another gift?” Roxie blew air at the top of her head and rolled her eyes.

  “Yes, but I still love you, bestie,” June called out, doing a prancing dance out of the doorway.

  “And I still love you too, bestie,” Roxie called back with a smile.

  This meeting might be making her tense, but June was doing her best to make her smile and relax. Lincoln was out taking care of some last-minute things before they all left later. She hadn’t spoken much with him since that night, she didn’t know what to say. There was a lot for her to deal with at the moment, and he was a complicated situation. Very complicated now that he knew about the new baby on the way.

  He hadn’t pushed, he’d been as patient as a saint, but there were questions in his eyes. Questions she didn’t know the answers to because she’d had to question everything she believed about herself. There was a doubt in her ability to make decisions, to keep her and her daughter safe, that had really rattled her.

  And on top of that, she could reclaim her old identity, at last. But did she really want to be the person she used to be? Did she want to be Chloe Abshire again when Roxie Sinclair was…well, before Celeste, she’d have said she was a badass, capable of taking care of herself. Now?

  Not so much.

  Chloe certainly wouldn’t have been able to handle being tortured like that. But, wasn’t she Chloe, deep down inside? As she walked down the stairs to wait in the living room for her guest, Roxie wondered if she was doing herself a disservice. She tended to think of herself before the night of the fire as weak, spoiled, and incredibly naïve. The woman she’d become, the persona of Roxie that she’d created, had been borne from her struggles to make ends meet after giving birth to a child she had no idea how to take care of as Chloe.

  Roxie frowned deeper, wondering if she was the crazy one here. You can’t be two people, even if you changed your name. She was the girl who used to think she was in love with Liam. She was also the woman who knew she loved Lincoln.

  That didn’t mean she was good enough for Lincoln though. What if she got another stupid idea in her head and put herself in danger again? Or worse, one of the children, once this baby was born? She couldn’t be trusted to make decisions beyond which wig to buy, she knew that much.

  “Miss Roxie, your guest has arrived,” one of the staff said as she escorted a pretty, black-haired woman into the living room.

  “Hi, I’m Marie,” the woman said with an accent that Roxie couldn’t quite define. She knew it must be the Cajun accent Marie grew up with, but it was unlike anything Roxie had ever heard. It wasn’t a northern accent, but it wasn’t quite southern either. What it was, Roxie decided, was charming, much like the young woman that came with the accent.

  “Hi, I’m Roxie. Chloe.” Roxie waved her hands with a roll of her eyes.

  “Which do you prefer?” The woman with dark brown eyes and clear skin asked. She was very pretty,
Roxie noted, admiring her cousin’s dark good looks. And she was considerate too, how wonderful.

  “I prefer Roxie, thanks. Would you like a drink?” Roxie asked and made a motion to a tray on the coffee table.

  “Just water, please.” Marie came to sit beside Roxie on the white couch. Roxie knew the woman was nervous from the way she sat on the edge of the couch, despite the fact that she’d used a cane to walk in.

  Roxie hadn’t noticed it at first, the white cane blended in with the woman’s white pants and white sweater perfectly. But now that the woman was seated the cane was hard to miss.

  Roxie filled a glass with water and handed it to her new cousin. “This is a strange way to find out about each other, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. I mean, I knew there was someone who helped my mother pay the bills for a while, but then it stopped, and things got, well, kind of bad.” Marie’s eyes moved everywhere but to meet Roxie’s. “My mother was really good at pushing people away. She’d had a taste of fame and the good life, and she wasn’t a very pleasant woman, to put it nicely.”

  “I’m sorry, but I do wish I’d known about you. I grew up thinking I had no family at all. Well, there’s some kind of aunt in Paris, but I’ve never met her either.” Roxie’s words trailed off. This was awkward, but she was determined to get her and the other woman through it with ease if she could. “You, um, your mother is dead now, right?”

  “She is. She had Parkinson’s. I have it too, but I’m taking a new medicine. It’s working to keep me going, so far.” Marie smiled an easy smile. “Knowing I won’t be a target for assassination has helped too.”

  “Yes, I suppose it would.” Roxie’s eyes went wide, but then she looked away. “That awful woman damaged so many lives.”

  “She did. My poor Matteo, he grew up with a vicious cow as a mother figure. He still can’t say if he ever loved her. She was all he had though. She raised him to take over the family business.”

  “He’s part of the, um, Mafia, isn’t he?” Roxie felt like that might be a stupid question, but she was curious.

  “Yeah, technically, he’s not a part of the Alfonsi family, but they all accept him as the head of the family. They all love him and I guess it’s okay. Especially now that she’s gone.” Marie didn’t have to mention which woman she meant, Roxie knew. “But that also means that you’re free to live your life now, too.”

  “It does, yeah,” Roxie agreed with a polite smile, not sure how much to ask or share with this woman. She seemed sweet, nice, too innocent to be in with the Mafia, but she’d just admitted it. “Wow, that must be totally different from your old life.”

  “Not really. There’s still the family squabbles, family politics, all of that to deal with. Before my mother ran everyone off, we had a big family. It’s no different to navigating all of those minefields really,” Marie said, then sighed. “I’m sorry this is so awkward for us both.”

  “No, we can blame our families for that. But I’m glad you wanted to meet me. That’s a good start.” Roxie tried to alleviate some of the worry on Marie’s face. The woman was obviously a worrier and Roxie wanted to ease that. Especially if she was ill. “Would you like to meet my daughter and her aunt?”

  “I’d love to,” Marie said with relief. The private conversation hadn’t lasted long, but it was long enough for both women to know that they wanted to meet up again. “It’s nice to know I have some family of my own left. Matteo’s family is large, and I love most of them dearly, but…they aren’t my family.”

  “I know what you mean. I’ve been on my own for over ten years now. It’s nice to know I’m not alone anymore. Maybe you and your husband can come down to visit us in Myrtle Beach later this year.” Roxie stood up, paused, and then spoke again. “Or we can come to you.”

  “Maybe both? That would be nice.” Marie smiled happily and Roxie went to get her daughter and June. When she came back into the room, Marie was still on the couch, looking relaxed and happy.

  “Marie, this is my daughter, Lily, and her aunt, June. Say hello, Lily.” Roxie held Lily, suddenly shy, by the shoulders, but her hands moved up to trace down her daughter’s hair. Lily looked up at her mother before she turned back to look at Marie.

  “Hello. I’m Lily. It’s nice to meet you,” Roxie heard Lily say, her voice soft and gentle.

  “Hi, Lily. I’m Marie. I’m your third cousin.” Marie smiled at the girl, her eyes steady and calm. This seemed to reassure Lily and Roxie felt her daughter move. Lily pulled away to walk up to Marie, her eyes curious, her head tilted to the side.

  “What’s a third cousin? Who are my other two?” Lily asked and Roxie had to stifle a laugh. She didn’t want to embarrass the girl, so she just smiled and went to sit in a chair to the side of the couch.

  “No, honey, that’s not what it means,” Marie said with patience and kindness. Roxie appreciated the way Marie spoke to her daughter. “It means that your mom and I are second cousins. Let me explain it like this, June is your aunt, right?”

  Roxie watched as Lily nodded, wondering if the child would understand the simple, yet overly complex way of noting relations.

  “Well, if your aunt had a baby, that baby would be your cousin. And when you grow up, if you and your cousin have children then those children would be second cousins. That’s what your mom and I are. So, you and I are third cousins.” Marie looked uncertain, thought about it for a moment, and seemed to decide that was right.

  “I think that’s right, Marie. It should be simple, but it’s kind of complicated without a pen and a piece of paper.” Roxie laughed gently and looked over at June. “Can you add anything to that?”

  “No, believe me. I get confused with it all, still, and it’s been explained to me dozens of times. Especially when you add in that ‘once removed’ and ‘twice removed’ nonsense.” June rolled dark brown eyes and looked at Marie. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way.”

  “And you.” Marie blushed and looked down at her lap, clearly a shy woman who was trying her best to not embarrass herself.

  “I’m still not sure what all of that means, but I guess it means we’re related, right?” Lily asked, and Roxie could see she wanted to be friends with the woman. That was good. “Like my dad’s mom is Aunt June’s mom, but she isn’t my Uncle Liam’s mom. And Papa George isn’t my real grandfather, but he’d be Aunt June and Uncle Liam’s babies’ grandfather?”

  “A bit like that, honey,” Roxie said, smiling a wobbly smile as she thought about the complications that came with broken relationships. Lily would get used to the confusion and come to accept her family as it was. Roxie knew that, but still, she knew if her relationship didn’t work out with Lincoln, the map of Lily’s relations could become even more complicated. A new baby would complicate all of that more, but there was nothing Roxie could do about that. She wanted this baby as much as she’d wanted Lily.

  “I’ll figure it all,” Lily said with a laugh and reached out to touch Marie’s long black hair. “I love how shiny your hair is. It looks so soft.”

  And just like that, all of the women in the room finally relaxed, even if Roxie felt a twinge of regret that her own hair had been shorn with such brutal force. Hair would regrow and hopefully, as her hair grew, so would her relationship with this new cousin.

  14

  Lincoln

  He watched his daughter and her mother sleep, nestled together on a couch in the private plane Kai insisted he use to take his small family back to South Carolina. Lily was fine, healthy, and full of life, but Roxie was pale and seemed to be…slightly broken.

  Hardly a surprise, considering what she’d been through. The most obvious signs on her face had started to heal, but she’d covered her head with a wig, hiding the torture she’d been put through. The short blonde hair suited her, but it still made his heart ache. He knew it was a wig, knew what was under it, and it reminded him of how he’d failed her.

  Yes, he and Kai, along with everyone else, had finally figured out whe
re she was, had taken the steps necessary to save her, but she’d been through hell before they arrived. She still hadn’t spoken about the woman or what had happened with her. If June was being honest, Roxie hadn’t spoken with her about it either.

  Lincoln had considered enlisting the help of a professional, but he’d put it off. Roxie needed time to heal, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She’d ask for help if she needed it. He knew that much about her. But what if that experience had changed her, had made it impossible for her to ask for help?

  He’d contact someone down there at the beach. That was where she lived, it was the place she considered home. He’d give her a few days to settle back into life, to heal a little bit more, then he’d insist she speak with some kind of therapist. She’d been tortured, after all. Kidnapped and tortured.

  It still made him want to go back in time and kill that woman slowly and painfully, but he couldn’t do that. He had managed to get a little vial from Matteo, filled with the woman’s ashes. It was a macabre token, but he wanted to keep part of her with him, to prove that she was gone, to show her that all of her efforts were for nothing, if any part of her still existed in the world. Lincoln wasn’t the kind of man that believed in ghosts, but he almost hoped that Celeste was a ghost now, attached to that vial, and helpless to stop the life that went on without her.

  Lily moved on the couch, gently pulled away from her mother, and came to sit on Lincoln’s lap where she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was squishy and warm, all things cuddly and childlike, he thought, as he wrapped his arms around the little girl. “Are you alright, honey? We’ll be landing soon.”

  “I’m okay, Daddy. I’m just worried about Mommy. She’s so pale now and she’s always so sad. Even when she smiles, she still looks sad. Did I do something to make her sad?” Lily’s face was pressed into Lincoln’s neck so he pulled her away so he could look at her.