Page 99 of That One Touch

“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “I will.”

Chapter

Twenty-Two

“Of course you have to go to New York,” Gemma said. “An audition is amazing. Don’t worry about the classes, I’ll get in a sub or something.”

“Are you sure?” Cassie frowned. “I don’t want to leave you in the lurch. This place is important to you. And to me.”

“I know,” Gemma replied calmly. “But I’ve got this. Seriously, if you don’t go to New York, you’re fired.”

“You can’t fire me,” Cassie said.

Gemma grinned back at her. “Seriously though. This is important. You said yourself you’ve been looking for a sign of what to do next. What if this is it? What if our teachers were right all those years ago about the Trifecta? We didn’t go through all those years of painful music lessons for no reason.”

“But I’ve only just gotten here.” And she liked it here.

“And you’ll be back. I don’t know why you’re looking so worried. This is a good thing.”

Cassie took a deep breath. “I know. But it’s all so soon.”

The two of them were sitting in the diner on Monday evening. Gemma’s mother-in-law had taken the children to the movies, and Riley was working so the two of them had decided to head straight out after locking up the dance school.

Gemma tipped her head to the side, looking carefully at Cassie. “Are you talking about the band or you and Pres Hartson?”

“A bit of both, I guess.” Cassie let out a mouthful of air. “I just don’t like that things could change. Not when I feel like I’m settled for the first time in a lifetime.”

And that was the truth of it. It felt like she was finally home, in a town she’d just discovered. She’d hit her rhythm with her classes, she’d found fun with the band, and now there was Pres and Delilah.

“Maybe this is what you need,” Gemma told her. “To go back to New York and see what you’ve been missing.”

Cassie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What if you’re settling here because you’re afraid?” Gemma lifted a brow. “You moving here was only supposed to be temporary.”

“Are you trying to fire me again?” Cassie’s throat felt thick.

“Absolutely not. But you’re different than me, you always have been. You have the fire that I never had. I’ve seen you on stage, it brings you to life. That first time I saw you dance in New York was amazing. Don’t you want to feel that again?”

Cassie’s chest tightened. “I don’t know,” she admitted. She wasn’t sure what she wanted.

“This could be a good thing,” Gemma told her. “And you get to audition with Pres. You don’t even have to leave him behind. What’s not to like?”

Letting out a mouthful of air, Cassie nodded. Gemma was right, this was a good thing. It was just the fear making her feel awkward. The fear of failure. The fear of losing.

The fear caused by that stupid accident.

“Anyway, who else can I live vicariously through?” Gemma asked. “Did you know while you were getting loved up by the hottest single dad in Hartson’s Creek, I was being woken up by my seven-year-old daughter who wanted to know what a lesbian was?”

Cassie’s eyes widened. “What did you tell her?”

Taking a sip of her coffee, Gemma shook her head. “I was really patient. I lovingly explained about different types of families and relationships. Told her love is love, and that we need more of it in this world, not less.”

“Well that’s pretty cool,” Cassie said.

“I thought so,” Gemma agreed. “Until she looked really confused and asked me how this applied to fishies. It took me another ten minutes of questioning to realize she was asking about amphibians. Stupid David Attenborough and his gorgeous documentaries.” She pouted.

“Seriously?” Cassie asked.