Page 6 of Dancing With Redemption

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Roxie

“Oh, dad’s arrived,” Liam said softly, the moment gone already.

Roxie frowned, but then let it go. It was probably best not to dig up her past with him, anyway. She was in love with his brother, jerk that he was, so anything that might have been with Liam was long gone.

“Chloe,” Dr. Bennet breathed out in shock when she walked into the hallway to greet him. “I know the kids said you were here, but I still couldn’t quite believe it. It’s so good to see you.”

Roxie smiled at the man who’d grown older, like everybody else she used to know. His hair was more gray than black now, and there were deep lines around his eyes, where there used to be slight indentations. His eyes were still bright and full of concern, however, and she walked into his open arms with relief.

It felt good to get a hug from him, like she was almost really home again.

“It’s good to see you too, Dr. Bennet,” Roxie said as the hug went on. She didn’t want to let go, she felt so safe, but knew she had to. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine, honey. How are you?” His dark brown eyes examined her from head to toe and she was pleased when he didn’t frown at her choice of hair color. “You look great. Healthy.”

“Yes, I stay active with work and the dance classes I teach,” she replied, though she didn’t go into what kind of dance she taught.

“That’s good. Are you staying long?” He nodded his head towards a sofa, and she joined him there.

“I’m not sure yet. I have some questions I need to get answers to, about the, well, the fire that killed my parents.” She held his gaze and saw that he seemed to know that was what she’d say.

“I expected you to show up looking for those answers if you were able to.” He nodded again, his eyes moving to the window. “I bought the property from your father just before his death, did you know that?”

“What?” Roxie looked at the older man with a frown of surprise. “No, I didn’t know that. Why would they sell the house to you? I don’t understand.”

Dr. Bennet took Roxie’s hand with a sigh of sympathy. “Well, since you were accepted into the ballet school in Paris, they decided to relocate there. They wouldn’t have needed the house here…”

His words trailed off as her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. “I was accepted into the ballet school?”

“Yes, they were planning to surprise you with the news, but, well, the fire happened. Then you disappeared. Lincoln and I have been looking for you ever since. You see, I’m also the executor of their wills,” Dr. Bennet paused, gathering his thoughts before he spoke again. “You have an inheritance, you know?”

“No, I didn’t know,” Roxie murmured, her mind whirling in disbelief. Too much information had been dumped in the few sentences he’d spoken to her. “I was accepted into the ballet school?”

She couldn’t help but go back to the one thing that had mattered to her so much back then. It was almost cruel, but she knew her parents had only wanted to surprise her. That knowledge could have changed everything, though. She could have gone off to Paris to live her life, learning French, dating French men, honing her ballet skills. It would have been the perfect place to hide all of these years.

But then she wouldn’t have her daughter. She wouldn’t have the independence she had now. She wouldn’t know just how strong she was, well, maybe she would have learned all of that, but the fact remained, she had a daughter now that would not have been born if she’d known she’d been accepted into the ballet school in France. She may have still slept with Lincoln that night, but her choices would have been a lot different.

Roxie felt the weight of the world settle on her shoulders and the sensation of being strangled made her reach for her neck.

“Breathe Chloe. Come on, don’t panic on me.” Dr. Bennet gripped her right hand, taking it from her throat to pat it, to bring her back from the edge by focusing on him.

“I can’t breathe,” she garbled out around her tight throat, wanting to wrap her own hand around her neck again.

“You can, honey. In, out. In, out.” He set the rhythm and she followed, trusting him to lead her in the right direction.

“There’s an inheritance?” She asked when she felt almost human again.

“Yes, your parents had some money, a few safe deposit boxes at the bank, and some properties that they did not sell. If you’re careful with it all, you won’t ever have to work again. Of course, I don’t know what’s in the safe deposit boxes, I’ve left them alone, but there may be a lot in them that you’ll want.” Dr. Bennet’s voice tapered off as panic threatened to overwhelm her again.

She didn’t want to accept money that had come about because her parents died, but at the same time…she would be more independent if she didn’t have to work, if she could provide for her daughter without Lincoln’s help. She could get custody of her, buy a nice house, send her to good schools, everything Lincoln could do. They’d be, for the first time since they’d met again, on equal footing.

“Do you remember you have an aunt in Paris?” Dr. Bennet asked, but Roxie shook her head.

“No, not that I remember.” Roxie searched her memory, but couldn’t remember either of her parents having siblings or even aunts and uncles. “Who is she?”

“She’s related to you through your father. She wanted to take over your inheritance, but your father made an iron-clad will. He may have wanted to change it, but I have a feeling he would have given the rights over to her if that’s what he’d actually wanted. Anyway, I had a feeling you’d be back, even if she wanted to have you declared dead, so I’ve kept everything intact for your return. And here you are.” He held his hands out in wonder and Roxie couldn’t hold back the smile his happy face brought to life on hers.