Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,42

been spending time at the studio, and you’ve more than picked up the slack.”

“Sounds like you’ve got your head screwed on straight.” For once. “You’ve been thinking right.” I pluck a banana off the counter and pour myself a cup of coffee. Mom has been persona non grata as of late, but, now that her ankle is better, I’m sure she’ll be back full steam ahead.

“I don’t know if I told you, but I’ve had three different investors contact me about the studio.” Her eyes narrow in on mine, with their blue topaz prisms. My mother was voted Ms. All American her senior year in high school. She was a stunner, and, if you could look past all the rage that boils in her these days, she still is.

“Investors, huh? Sounds like we should consider stock options.” A surge of adrenaline rockets through me. “I’ve always felt the studio should franchise. Do you know we have over fifteen families that have moved to Hollow Brook just so their daughters could participate at Electric Lights? Half the time, I’m wondering if we know what we’ve got. I have all kinds of ideas that could help streamline the business from teaching techniques, right down to office work. With a little elbow grease, I think I can get the studio in top running condition before Laney ever says I do.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” She turns the burners down and takes a seat across from me at the table. “Izzy.” She folds her hands and looks into my eyes as if she’s about to dispense life changing news. God, maybe she’s ready to pass the baton and give me the business? I’ve wanted that—hoped for it. Heck, I think I expected it on some level. “The reason I’ve had so many investors look into the dance studio is because I’m in talks with a real estate agent.”

“Real estate? Are you thinking about selling the house?” My hair stands on end at the thought. When my father left, my mother whisked us away to a faraway town where no one knew our shame. We came with nothing and no one to call our own except this tiny piece of real estate my mother purchased. And now this was our house. Our dingy yellow walls, our weed-riddled yard. This was more than our home. It took the place of my father when he left us all those years ago. It’s strong and loyal and managed to stay in one place unlike the man that ran out on us.

“Izzy.” She lets out a breath, slow and full of frustration. The bacon starts to burn, but she doesn’t pay it any attention. “It’s the studio I’m looking to sell.”

“What?” I bounce back in my seat, holding onto the lip of the table as if it were anchoring me from drifting away. I was wrong. It wasn’t just the house that held us together after my father left—it was the studio. They’re my brick and mortar parents that I love as much as the real deals. And why I still love my father after what he did is a mystery to me.

“This is exactly why I wasn’t looking forward to telling you.” She says it sweetly, and, ironically, in a maternal tone I’ve never heard before. “I’ve given that studio everything I’ve got. I think it’s holding me back. If I hadn’t been married to that damn box all those years I might have a normal life right now, and, truthfully, it kills me to see you going down the same path.”

“Oh, please.” I jump to my feet trying to hold back a laugh. “So now you’re pissed at the studio because of your poor choice in men? How about having some standards? How about meeting someone and scoping out their morals before you let them shack up with you, and your two young daughters!” My voice rises to the ceiling before ricocheting off all four walls. “How about you open your damn eyes and see that the fallout of your actions cost me so much more than I was ever willing to give!” I knock the chair over, grab my purse, and get the hell out.

I don’t know if I’ll ever come back.

I’m so damn sick of protecting everyone all the time.

And, as usual, it’s me I forgot to protect.

The Fourth of July is next to Valentine’s Day as far as couples holidays go. I found out the hard way one year when Laney invited me