The Chance: A Novel (7 page)

That—and only that—was all Caroline Tucker ever expected.

She was a good girl from a good home. She went to church every Sunday with Alan and Ellie, even during the worst weeks. Never in all her life could she have imagined what was about to happen.

The thing that would change her life forever.

Chapter
Three

A
lan Tucker thought about getting in his car and finding Ellie, bringing her back from the place where she hung out with Nolan Cook. The park near the boy’s house. But if he did that, she would know her life was about to change. In the end, that was why he didn’t go. Ellie deserved one last night before the start of the rest of her life.

The one in a new location. Without her mother.

Tonight’s news had changed everything. He would not raise Ellie in a town where people were forever talking about her mother, about her terrible affair and who she’d had it with. Tonight Alan finally had answers to the questions that had plagued him for so long. He still struggled to believe the reality. Peyton Anders.

Alan sighed, and the sound rattled through his aching chest. Of all people, Caroline had been cheating with a famous country singer. Worse, they’d been going behind his back for two years. He lay on top of the covers and stared through the darkness at the patchy bedroom ceiling. He wasn’t sure which was worse—the fact that Caroline had cheated on him or the
truth that she’d given her heart to the guy two years ago. Two years. He exhaled and rolled onto his side. He wanted only the best for his family. In all the years of spending weekdays at the base, he had never so much as taken a sip of alcohol. When the guys went out drinking, Alan stayed in his room and read his Bible or watched reruns of
Gilligan’s Island
and
I Love Lucy
.

He had asked Caroline more than once who she was spending time with, but he never really expected this. That the only woman he’d ever loved would find someone else. Or that she would lie to him. Betray him so completely. His stomach churned, and he wondered whether he would ever feel good again. True, he and Caroline hadn’t slept together in months, but before their intimacy waned, they’d had their good times.

Now, now he hated remembering even one of those moments. She would sleep with him at night and then flirt with Peyton the next morning from work. He never should have fallen in love with someone as beautiful as Caroline. Especially with his career as a marine. A few of his friends had warned him sixteen years ago, when he announced he was marrying her. Even his mother had been worried. “She’s very pretty.” She looked doubtful. “Does she understand you’ll be gone a lot? Women like her . . . well, some of them can be self-absorbed.”

Alan clenched his jaw. He had been angry at his mother for her comment back then. And now . . . He couldn’t finish the thought, couldn’t bring himself to rehash in his mind the truth about his wife. But this much was certain: Caroline would regret what she’d done to him. She would regret it as long as she lived. He already had a plan. Weeks ago his commander had told him about a promotion—one that would take him to San Diego’s Camp Pendleton Marine Base. He would continue his work as a drill instructor, but for larger classes. If
things went well, he would wind up working at the adjacent military brig, the one run by the navy.

The San Diego drill instructor position was open immediately. Until tonight, he hadn’t really thought he’d do it. Ellie was a freshman at Savannah High, and Caroline had her job at Dr. Kemp’s office. Life had a certain rhythm to it.

But all that had changed tonight.

Five minutes after Caroline pulled away, he called his commander. “How soon can I start in San Diego?”

“Next week.” The man didn’t hesitate. “Tell me when, and I’ll set it up. They have temporary housing on base until you find something.”

Alan did the calculations. He and Ellie could pack tomorrow and leave Sunday morning. If they put in long hours on the road, they could reach California in three days. “I could report Wednesday. Be ready to work that Monday.”

“Done.” The man sounded surprised. “They’ll be glad. Pendleton’s hurting for instructors.” He hesitated a couple seconds. “You’re the best, Tucker. Glad you’re moving up, but I hate losing you.”

If only his wife felt that way.

Yes, she would be sorry. He would move with Ellie and raise her by himself. Let her try to sue him or fight for custody. She wouldn’t dare, not with the sordid details of her last few years. No, she wouldn’t fight him. If she could do this to him and Ellie, then she didn’t care, anyway. He wouldn’t subject their daughter to a life of shame. Caroline didn’t want to be a mother, not if she could do this.

His heart felt heavy in his chest. He still had to tell Ellie. She might be mad at first, but in time she would understand. She would miss Caroline, of course. But when she got old
enough, he’d tell her the truth. How her mom had at one time been a wonderful person, kind and caring, the love of his life. But eventually she had chosen another man over being a wife to him or a mother to Ellie. Those future conversations would be heartbreaking, but Alan could see no other way. Ellie would have to understand. The only other person she wouldn’t want to leave was Nolan. Her best friend. But eventually she would get over him, too.

San Diego would have a whole new world of friends for her.

Alan felt his determination harden like fresh cement on a summer day. Whatever Ellie thought and however upset she might be, they were leaving Savannah. There was no other way. He heard the sound of her bicycle in the driveway, and he looked at the clock. It wasn’t quite eleven, Ellie’s curfew. He listened as the front door opened and closed again. For a single instant he started to get up. Better to tell her now so she would have the right mind-set. More time to prepare.

But he stopped himself.

By now she would’ve forgotten her parents’ fight. She’d probably had a great night with Nolan, talking under the trees and listening to music and being a kid. Ellie was entitled to a good night’s sleep, entitled to sweet dreams. The news that her mother was pregnant with another man’s child, that Ellie was moving to San Diego with her dad, would grow her up in a hurry. Alan ached for her. He would tell her tomorrow. He wouldn’t interrupt the sanctity of the moment.

Her final night of childhood.

T
he conversation with Lena and Stu was brief. They wanted Caroline to call a counselor in the morning. Seek intervention
immediately so that somehow, by some miracle, her marriage could be saved. Caroline listened and nodded. But the talk was pointless. There was no way back. Alan Tucker would never love her again.

She retreated to the guest room and let the memories surface once more until they were in plain sight of her heart. And suddenly, she was there again, at that first Peyton Anders concert.

From the minute Peyton took the stage that night at the Savannah Civic Center, he seemed to sing to her alone. Their eyes met, and at first even Lena thought it was nothing more than harmless fun. Flirty interactions between an entertainer and a fan. The sort of thing a guy like Peyton probably did every night.

Caroline figured the exchange was something she and Lena would laugh about when they were old someday. The night the famous Peyton Anders had singled Caroline Tucker out of the whole audience and made her head spin.

But after a few songs, the brief looks became an occasional wink, and as the concert played on Caroline allowed herself to believe that she and Peyton were the only ones in the auditorium. Near the end of his set, he motioned for her to go to the side stage. At the same time, two guys from his crew appeared near the steps. They waved her over as Peyton took a brief break. He drank back half a bottle of water and then smiled at the audience. “They say Savannah has the prettiest ladies in the South.”

Caroline remembered how she felt, her heart in her throat, as she waited near the side stage. Peyton was going on. “All night I’ve been noticing one very pretty little lady.” He shrugged, his boyish grin beyond charming. Somehow he
managed to look like a middle-school kid crushing on his friend’s older sister. “What can I say? I can’t sing this next song without her.”

The crowd cheered, the sound deafening. By then the two men had led Caroline up onto the stage. She could still see herself waiting in the wings, dressed in a white blouse, her best jeans, and cowboy boots, her knees shaking.

“Come on, sweetheart, come on out here.”

Caroline felt like she’d fallen into a dream.
This can’t be happening,
she told herself. He was famous and eight years younger. She was a member of the PTSA, not the Peyton Anders Fan Club. But what could she do now? She came tentatively to him, the applause and howls rattling her nerves. When she reached him, he took her hand. “What’s your name, darling?” He held the microphone out to her.

“Caroline.” She blinked, blinded by the glare of the spotlight. “Caroline Tucker.”

Peyton chuckled and looked at the audience. “Caroline Tucker, ladies and gentlemen. Is she beautiful or what?”

More cheers and applause. Caroline tried to exhale. She had to be dreaming. That was the only way to explain it. By then the kind words Alan once lavished on her had long since given way to functional conversation. How was Ellie doing in school? Why hadn’t the laundry been done? When was she going to call the plumber about the broken drain in the bathroom sink? That sort of thing. Alan came home tired and distracted. Some days he barely glanced at her as he walked through the door, so it wasn’t a surprise that she hadn’t felt pretty in months. Old and weary, lonely and uncertain. Tired and used up. All of those.

But not beautiful.

One of Peyton’s guys brought over a bar stool, and Peyton held her hand while she climbed onto it. Then he sang her the title song of his newest album. The song that had inspired the tour: “Whatever You’re Feeling.” The lights and crowd and applause faded away as Peyton sang and Caroline held her breath. Every line, every lyric, every word seemed written for her and this strange connection between them, a connection that had happened in as much time as it took her to breathe. Even now the lyrics were as familiar as her name.

Now that we’re both here

Nothing left to fear

We could have it all

So let your heart fall

Here in this moment that we’re stealing

Baby, I am feeling

The same thing you are feeling

Whatever you are feeling.

When he finished the song, he hugged her, and in a way no one could’ve detected, he whispered, “Give your number to my guys.” Then he smiled at the audience. “Caroline Tucker, ladies and gentlemen.”

She walked off the stage, dizzy and excited and sick to her stomach. Two thoughts consumed her. First, she’d committed what had to be an unforgivable sin: She had been attracted to another man. And second, nothing was going to stop her from rattling off her home phone number to one of the guys. Peyton Anders had that sort of intoxicating effect on her.

Before she could make her way back to her seat, Peyton finished his set and joined her in the dark cramped wings backstage.
And there, among speaker boxes and electrical cords, sweaty and breathing hard, he came to her. He didn’t hesitate. “That was amazing.” He put his hand on the side of her face, and even in the dark, she could see the desire in his eyes. Still breathless from the show and without waiting another moment, he kissed her.

Peyton Anders kissed her.

She didn’t have to say anything to Lena when she returned to her seat. Her expression must’ve given her away. The entire audience could probably tell. Lena scowled as Peyton’s fans screamed for an encore. Over the deafening noise, she leaned in and shouted, “You kissed him, didn’t you?”

Caroline couldn’t lie. She also couldn’t feel bad about it. Not when she’d just had the most amazing night in years. Maybe ever. She and Lena argued about it on the way home, and Caroline dismissed her actions. The blame was Alan’s. He was the one who had stopped loving her. Besides, Peyton Anders wasn’t a threat to her marriage. “He’ll never call. It was a fan thing. Nothing more.” She had felt herself blushing as she justified the kiss. “You know, caught up in the moment.”