Page 5 of Trusting Laurence
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep you posted.”
No sooner had Finn left than there was another knock on the door.
“Yeah, come in.”
Mary-Beth entered the room with a folder in her hand.
“Jackon’s pulled a preliminary file together for you, Mr. Keon. She’s still searching, but thought you might want what she’s already gathered.”
“Thanks, Mary-Beth. Appreciate it.”
Handing him the file, she smiled before leaving the office.
Sitting back in his chair, Larry contemplated the closed folder. He wondered what he would learn about the man he hated with everything in him. The man who’d had everything Larry had wanted but couldn’t have. The bastard who’d never appreciated what he’d had.
Tahlia eyedher phone with trepidation. Rubbing her hand down her thigh for the umpteenth time, she tried to work up the courage to pick it up from the table where it lay.
She’d been trying to scrape that courage together for the past half hour, a litany of reasons why calling her daughter wasn’t a good idea playing on a loop in her head. Maddie had been the sole reason she’d come out of hiding. She missed her terribly and had lost so much time in her child’s life over the past few years she’d been living under the radar.
But she was done hiding. She wanted her life back, and she especially wanted her sweet daughter back in her life. When she’d heard that Maddie was getting married, Tahlia had cried for hours, grieving the time she’d missed out on. Her little girl had met the love of her life, and she hadn’t been there. No more!
Marcus had almost killed Tahlia, more than once. He’d taken years from her. But she’d be damned if he took any more from her. Tahlia had every intention of being a part of Maddie’s life and wedding, if she could just find it in her to make the call. If she was willing to let Thalia back into her life.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached out to pick up the phone. Scrolling through the numbers now listed in her contacts, Tahlia quickly found the one she was looking for. Pressing the green phone icon, she waited for the call to connect. Just as the line rang in her ear, she lost her nerve and hung up.
Urgh! Pull yourself together woman. It’s not that hard. You’re making a meal out of this. Just dial the damn phone already.
Once again eyeing the phone she’d placed back on the table, Tahlia berated herself for being a coward. With another deep breath, she repeated the process. This time, as the phone rang, she held on. Her fist clutched tightly around the instrument in her hand, she prayed she wouldn’t be ill all over the floor.
“Hello?”
Despite having made the call, somehow Tahlia hadn’t anticipated Maddie actually answering. She froze.
“Hello?” she heard repeated. “Hello, is anyone there?”
She reached deep and, drawing on all the strength she’d been working on building during her time away, finally managed to say, “Hi Maddie, it’s me.”
Nerves wouldn’t allow the words to come out much louder than a whisper, but still the other woman seemed to hear.
“Mama?”
“Yes, baby. It’s me.”
“Oh my god, Mama. Is that really you?”
“Yes, it’s me, princess.” Tahlia’s heart clenched as she heard Maddie break down. “Shh, my darling. You’ll make yourself sick like that.”
She heard rustling and then a man’s voice. “Who’s this?
“This is Tahlia O’Connor. I’m Madison’s mother. To whom am I speaking?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Is my daughter all right?”
“Is this some kind of sick joke? Madison’s mother passed away some years ago. I don’t know who you are, but I suggest you don’t call this number again.”
The line went dead as Tahlia’s whole body turned to ice. The tears that had pooled in her eyes when she heard Maddie’s voice now slid over her bottom lid. Slowly at first, but as the shock of hearing she’d been proclaimed dead set in, they flowed faster. She stumbled over to the sofa and all but collapsed onto it, sobbing. The pain enormous.
