Her hand shook as she lifted her hand to wipe her eyes. “I was scared, Chase. I didn’t know what to do. There were so many times that I thought about just doing it. Leaving. But I didn’t know about places like the women’s shelter. I didn’t know where I would take you or who I could trust to help me. After getting fired and basically blamed for your dad’s behavior, I didn’t know if that was how everyone would treat me.”
“Mom, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he said as tears filled his own eyes.
Standing, he pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.
After a few minutes, she sat back down. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I do. I am so sorry, Chase. I should have protected you. That was my job. To protect you. None of what I told you excuses my behavior, but just like I said about your dad, I wanted you to know the truth.”
“You did the best you could, Mom. Under circumstances that no one should have to suffer. I love you. And I am sorry. I’m sorry I stayed away so long even after Dad died.”
The same smile he’d seen on her face when she’d opened the door was back. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Which reminds me. How long do you think you’ll be staying?” she asked hopefully.
Shit.
This unexpected heart-to-heart had made him completely forget all about Marcus.
“Actually I have to fly out tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.” His mom’s face dropped in disappointment.
Chase shouldn’t be happy about that, but he was. It was so amazing to see his mom show how she truly felt and not try to cover it up.
“Remember how I told you that I had to go finish the album because my manager had signed some contracts with the record label on my behalf?”
His mom nodded.
“Well, it turns out he did a lot more than just obligate me to finish an album. After officially terminating him yesterday, my lawyer uncovered that over the past two weeks he’d booked a forty-city US tour that kicks off tomorrow night in Atlanta.”
“Why? Why would he do that?” His mom shook her head in disbelief.
“That’s where the money is. It’s in ticket sales. He must have known that I was going to be firing him and he tried to squeeze every last dime out of me that he could. If he booked the tour, then he gets a piece of it.”
“But you didn’t even know anything about it. How can he do that?”
“As a band, we gave him power of attorney to deal with clerical stuff. I did the same thing once I went solo.” Chase shrugged. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, but he still felt like an idiot.
“That sucks,” his mom said.
“Yep, that about sums it up.”
“Does Krista know?”
Chase shook his head. “No. I just found out in the car on the way here from the photo shoot.”
His mom covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening. “Oh no. And then I lay all this stuff on you. I should have asked if it was a good time.”
“No, Mom. Don’t. It was a good time. I needed to hear that. I love you so much, and I am so proud of everything you’re doing to make a fresh start. It’s inspiring. Really.”
They sat for a while drinking tea and talked about his mom’s plans to get her GED and then go to college to get a degree in social work. She wanted to try and make the system that had failed her better for other kids.
He couldn’t be happier for her. And after hearing all that she’d told him about her and his dad’s childhoods, any lingering anger that he had been holding on to, was gone.
Now, he just needed to convince Krista that they could be together long distance for the next six months while he was on the road and then maybe the knot that had formed in his gut from the conversation with his lawyer would go away.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fidgeting. She was actually fidgeting. Krista Sloan was not a fidgeter—all evidence to the contrary!
She was backstage, alone in the green room, and she just couldn’t bring herself to stand still. Tonight had been a rude awakening of just what Chase’s life was like on a regular basis. He’d told her last week that he had scheduled a photo shoot and interview the same day as the benefit to bring awareness to the shelter and shelters just like it across America. One interview with Hits magazine had somehow turned into more press swarming on the event than she’d even known existed.
Never in her life had she seen grown adult people behave the way the paparazzi were. They were screaming, pushing, clawing their way to try to get closer to him and he was standing right in front of them on the red carpet.
Luckily, her cousin Seth had suggested that he provide security for the event. When he’d first brought it up, Krista’s instinct was to decline the offer. She really had not thought it was necessary. But since he’d been offering the services of Elite Protection pro bono, she’d decided to take him up on it. Thank God!