Our Last Chance at Forever (The Chance Series Book 3)

by K. B. Andrews

“She’s fine. I got her breathing again. I’m calling 9-1-1.” Trent put the phone to his ear.

  I was afraid to move her, I didn’t know if she had any injuries so I moved my lips to hers as tears fell freely. “I’m so sorry, Lennox,” I cried, cradling her head in my bloody hands.

  When I pulled away, her eyes popped open. Tears instantly flooded her eyes as she whispered my name.

  “I’m here, baby.” I cried alongside her. I pulled her into my arms, just thankful that she was okay. I had almost lost her.

  Sirens filled the night while flashing lights flooded the shop. My eyes fell to Chris, still laying stock-still on the floor. His eyes were black and blue, swollen shut. There was blood running from his busted face. His whole face was a swollen, puffy mess. I couldn’t even tell by looking at him who he was.

  The EMT’s checked him out. They placed him on the stretcher and wheeled him away. Trent was pulled away for questioning, while another set of EMT’s gave Lennox a blanket to cover up with and check on her. They made sure Chris didn’t do any damage to her windpipe as a result of the strangulation.

  They wanted her to come in to get checked out, but she wouldn’t have it. She said she was fine and refused to leave my side.

  They tried explaining that she could have a concussion from the blow to her head and they wanted to run some tests since nobody knew exactly how long her brain had been starved of oxygen, but she was adamant and even I couldn’t talk her into going.

  I promised to keep an eye on her and take her to the ER if she showed any signs of the things they told me to watch for.

  The policeman who questioned me happened to be a guy I went to school with, Matt. He told me that he would be taken in as soon as he was stable. As it turned out, I did almost kill him.

  If Trent would’ve just left me alone a little longer, Chris would never be a problem again.

  Matt promised he would call and let me know when he was taken into custody and when he made bail. We traded numbers before he allowed us to go.

  I placed Lennox into the passenger side of my truck and took my seat behind the wheel. Lennox scooted over and rested her head against my shoulder.

  The ride home was quiet. I knew she had a lot on her mind and she would talk when she was ready. I didn’t want to push her, I could have lost her.

  I think we were both in shock. She kept her blanket pulled around her with her head resting on my shoulder while she stared out the window, unmoving.

  I was worried he had pushed her over the edge this time. How long can a person keep living life normally while being harassed, stalked, and beaten?

  The drive home couldn’t have ended soon enough. The moment I pulled into the driveway, I threw the truck in park and was around the vehicle in seconds. I pulled Lennox into my arms and walked her into the house for the first time since we arrived home.

  I rushed her up the stairs and sat her on the bed. The room was dark, I didn’t bother turning on the lights. I pulled off her shoes and clothes and carried her to the shower.

  I turned on the hot water and set her on her feet while I stripped off my bloody clothes. I knew Lennox, she wanted to try and wash away the memories of the evening.

  With the water as hot as we could stand it, I picked her up again and stepped into the shower. The second the water hit me, I looked to the shower floor to see the water stained with blood. I washed her hair and face free from the blood I had gotten on her.

  When we were both clean and free of blood, she curled to my side, crying against my chest. I slowly slid down to the shower floor and held her against me while pushing her hair out of her face.

  “You’re okay,” I whispered in her ear while she cried.

  My heart was breaking that I couldn’t make her feel better. I wanted to take away her pain. Hell, I would have gladly traded her places so she didn’t have to feel all the emotion running through her.

  The shocked state she was in, pissed me off. My chest hurt from trying to contain it. I couldn’t explode in front of her, that would have only scared her more. I swallowed down my anger, reminding myself that she needed me.

  When the water ran cold, I wrapped us up in a towel and carried her to bed. I took my place next to her where she cuddled against me. She wrapped her arms around my stomach and got as close as she could. Within minutes, she was sound asleep in my arms.

  It took me longer to fall asleep and when I did, I was woken up by a ringing phone. I reached for mine, but then realized it was Lennox’s. I carefully leaned over her and grabbed the phone off the table to see her dad’s picture on the screen. I knew he had heard about what happened at the shop.

  “Hello?”

  “Mason, is Lennox okay? Where is she?” he asked in a rush.

  “She’s here with me, asleep. She’s okay, I got to her just in time.”

  “It was Chris again, wasn’t it? I called the police station but they wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  “It was Chris, but I don’t think we will be hearing from him again, he took quite a beating.”

  I heard him let out a sound of relief. “But she’s okay?”

  I nodded my head like he could actually see me, feeling a little relief myself. “She’s okay, I have her.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Mason.” He was a little choked up, relieved and thankful his daughter was okay. “Please, tell her to call or come by tomorrow. Okay?”

  “I will,” I promised. “Good night, Mr. Madison.”

  After telling her dad and myself that I had her and that she was okay, I felt myself relax into a deep sleep.

  I felt Lennox stir in my arms and I opened my eyes to see her watching me. Immediately, I moved in. I placed my hands on either side of her face and pulled her lips to mine. She covered my hands with her own, wanting the kiss to last forever.

  I pulled away but kept my eyes locked on hers. “Are you okay?”

  She gave me a small smile and nodded. “I’m sorry if I scared you last night. I was just freaked out. I thought I was going to die.” Her eyes became filled with tears but she didn’t let them fall over.

  I pulled her close. “I’m so sorry.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I promise, he won’t bother us again. I think he learned his lesson.”

  She pulled away quickly. “Did you kill him?” Her voice was an octave higher, filled with anxiety and stress.

  “I wish. If Trent wouldn’t have pulled me off of him, I would have. He’s completely unrecognizable, his eyes were swollen shut and his whole face was black and blue. They took him to the hospital and were taking him into custody once he was stable. I have a friend in the police department, he promised to keep me updated.”

  She nodded, understanding what I had told her. She placed her cheek against my chest. “I think the only thing we can do now, is try to move on. Forget last night happened and just try to get through. The shop opens in a couple hours, we should get up.” Lennox sat up, giving me full view of her bruised neck. I took a deep breath, needing to release the anger any way I could.

  I locked my eyes with hers. I knew she wasn’t okay, but she was right. What else could we do? We didn’t have a choice, we had to push on.

  I nodded before sitting up beside her and taking her by the hand to lead her to the shower.

  We took our time washing each other. I saw several more bruises on her that weren’t there the day before. I knew they were from the attack the night before. I didn’t point them out, but I felt my body go ridged. Lennox didn’t seem to notice though, and if she did, she didn’t say anything about it either.

  I left her alone to dress while I went and started the coffee. While it brewed, I threw us both a muffin in the toaster oven. I wasn’t in the mood to cook. My whole body felt heavy from the stress of the night before. It felt like it took every ounce of strength I had, just to get out of bed.

  Lennox came bouncing down the stairs in a pair of jean shorts and a hoodie with the sleeves pulled up. I knew her bruised neck couldn’t be covered with mak
eup, but between the sweatshirt and her long hair, she managed to keep her neck hidden.

  We pulled up to the shop a little while later. The manager had already let in all the employees and everyone was there waiting. Lennox and I walked in and everyone stood at attention.

  “Is everyone ready for today?” I asked.

  They quietly cheered.

  Lennox and Jess set up a table full of food and drinks for the grand reopening, while everyone else started getting ready to open. I stood in front of my office door, staring at it, but only seeing the memories from the night before.

  “Are you going to go inside?” Lennox asked from behind me. I jumped slightly. I was so zoned out that I didn’t even hear her come up behind me.

  “Yeah, I guess I need to finish getting it straightened out.” I put my hand on the handle and pushed the door open.

  The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the sticky blood that puddled on the floor. Then my eyes jumped to where Lennox was laying. I saw her like she was really there, shirt cut open, chest unmoving, skin pale. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to clear out the images.

  “Mason.” Lennox’s voice drew me out of my head. I turned to look at her. “I’m fine. Everything is okay. I’m right here.” She closed the distance between us and pressed herself against my chest.

  My chest was heaving, on the verge of a panic attack. She pulled me down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I let her heat sink in, along with her scent, and let it regulate my breathing.

  I pulled her closer, just needing to feel her, needing to remind myself that she was there with me. She was there and she was mine. I wrapped my hands around her and walked her backward, using her back to close the door.

  When the door was shut and we were alone, I picked her up, straddling me.

  Her hands roamed my body as mine felt every inch of hers. Our lips never left each others. I think we were both feeling overwhelmed being back in there. Suddenly it was clear to the both of us what could’ve been lost the night before. We were just processing anyway we could.

  Before we could get carried away, someone knocked on the door.

  “Yeah?” I asked, not bothering to let Lennox down or open the door.

  “Mase, come help me get the computer started up. The program isn’t wanting to work right and we open soon,” Trent said through the door.

  “Be there in a sec.” I let out a long breath and rested my forehead against hers. “I love you.”

  She smiled sweetly. “I love you too, Mason.” She pressed one more kiss to my lips before I set her on her feet to go and help Trent.

  Chapter Eight

  Lennox

  While Mason helped Trent get the computer going, I went to make sure there wasn’t anything that I could do. I found Jessica behind the counter. She was counting the starting cash and putting it into the drawer.

  “Hey, do you need help with anything?”

  “Not really.” She shrugged. I saw her eyes flash to Jordan, another new employee we hired, before jumping back to the cash in her hand.

  My eyes followed. I put my elbows on the glass counter and rested my head on my fist. “Are you sure?” I felt my eyebrow rise as a smile spread across my face.

  A smile of her own appeared. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Is what that obvious? The crush you have on Jordan? Yes. Why didn’t you tell me?” It felt nice having someone to have a little girl talk with. I always had Alissa and Sarah, but Sarah was married and was kept busy with a baby, while Alissa on the other hand, wasn’t much for girl talk of any kind.

  She closed the cash register before leaning in. “I don’t know, we have just been talking a lot since last weekend. I think he likes me too, but I don’t want to ask and look stupid.”

  I turned to look over my shoulder at Jordan. He was straightening a few items on the shelves. He looked over at Jessica, he gave her a quick smile before his eyes landed on me. When our eyes met, his smile fell and he went back to looking at the items on the shelf.

  I turned to look at Jessica. “I think he likes you.” I smiled and nodded my head.

  “You think?” Her voice was higher than normal, showing her excitement.

  “I do. Did you see the smile he gave you?”

  “He gives me that smile a lot, but if he does like me, what is he waiting for?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe he’s worried about having a relationship with someone he works with, or maybe he’s worried about what Mason and I would say. Should I tell him it’s okay?” I stood up straight, intending on walking over to him.

  Jessica grabbed me by my arm with panic written all over her face. “No, don’t.”

  I stopped and turned back toward her. “Why? You want to go out with him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but now isn’t the time. I will ask him out when I’m ready.”

  I smiled and nodded. I couldn’t argue with that. “Keep me updated,” I said as I walked over to Mason.

  “Hey, baby. Did you guys get it figured out?” I leaned over the counter to look at the screen.

  “Yes, finally.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I had no idea that this new computer was so different from the older one we had been using. Everything is completely backwards.”

  I tore my eyes from the computer and turned toward Trent. “What’s Sarah doing today?”

  He shrugged. “What she does every day, I guess.”

  “You think she would want to go and do some wedding stuff with me?”

  “Yeah, give her a call.” Trent moved around Mason to take over.

  Mason took me by the hand and led me to the center of the floor. “Okay, everyone. It’s time to open. I don’t know how business will go today, but if you have any problems, ask me or Jeremy. I think we have a really good team here.” Mason nodded looking at each person. “Okay, let’s open the doors.”

  He turned the sign to open and unlocked the door. Every employee stood at attention.

  Normally, they wouldn’t all be there at once, but with it being opening day, we wanted to do a test run. Trent and Jordan were to rotate on the rental counter while Jessica, Ryan, and Stacy were rotating on the front counter. Mason had a schedule worked out with Jeremy about who would run the shop each day of the week.

  Having everyone there at one time, was a little overkill. Most of the employees stood around, not doing anything but talking with one another, but at least they were getting along. I watched as Jordan said something to Jessica. She broke out in a fit of laughter while her cheeks turned pink.

  I wrapped my arms around Mason’s waist. “I think we have our first work place romance.”

  Mason rolled his eyes. “Great,” he moaned sarcastically.

  Once business started picking up and everyone got busy, I made my way over to Sarah’s. I was excited just being able to go somewhere alone. It was the first time in months, but since we knew Chris was still in the hospital, there didn’t seem to be any threat.

  I picked up Sarah and Alissa and we started our drive to the local formal dress store.

  “So, I know I haven’t asked you guys yet, but you will be my bridesmaids, won’t you?”

  Their claps and cheers was enough of an answer.

  Before we made it to the shop, Sarah asked about the night before. Alissa hadn’t heard about it which surprised me given that she was with Dane. I figured he would’ve seen all the action from the grill.

  I gave the girls a rundown on what happened and told them about Mason almost killing Chris.

  “I wish he would have,” Alissa said when I finished my story.

  “So, you are okay?” Sarah asked.

  I parked the Jeep and turned to face her. “Well, I have this horrible bruise on my neck,” I pulled my sweatshirt and hair away to give them the full view. “But yeah, I’m fine.”

  Both of them took a sudden breath, their gasps filled the interior of the Jeep.

  “I’m fine. Chris will be out of the picture for awhile and I plan on
living my life the way I want instead of living in fear and having to have a babysitter. Now, let’s go find your dresses.” I fixed my shirt and hair before stepping out of the car.

  We shopped most of the day. I picked them out cream-colored lace dresses. They looked amazing in them. The dresses ended just below their knees and I knew they would look adorable with brown cowboy boots. It only seemed fitting since we were having the wedding next to the pond in our backyard. I made an appointment to get the guys in for their tuxes before we left the store.

  “I can’t believe you two are finally getting married,” Sarah gushed from the backseat.

  I felt my face heat up with excitement. “Me either. God, I never thought it would happen. It feels like everything has been against us.”

  “But, you’ve made it through it all.” My eyes found Sarah in the mirror, she had a wide smile with a dreamy look in her eyes.

  “Okay, you two, stop it. You’re making me sick,” Alissa said while adding in a vomit noise.

  “What’s your deal? Are you and Dane not in the honeymoon phase anymore?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I didn’t press the issue. I never did when it came to Alissa.

  I dropped them both off and stopped at my dad’s. I knocked on the door and waited for a minute before Kathryn answered. She pulled me in for a big hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I just took cookies out of the oven, go have a seat with your father and I’ll bring them in.”

  She didn’t give me time to respond before she pulled me in the door and shoved me in the direction of the living room.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said as I took a seat beside him on the sofa.

  “Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing after last night?” He brought his green eyes to mine.

  “I’m fine.” I tried blowing over the question. I knew he would want to know about the night before, but I just wanted to forget it. Finally, Chris was out of the picture and Mason and I could live our lives without worry.

  “Are you sure? Did you go to the hospital and get checked out?” His voice was laced with concern.