Page 78 of Dancing on Air

Reece jumped up from his death spot and hugged her, spinning her around in circles.

“You were amazing,” he said into her ear.

“So were you.” She laughed.

Then several other people were there, holding them both.

“Great job.”

“Amazing.”

“Curtain call,” someone shouted.

Everyone stood in their positions as the curtain rose and fell, twice. She was handed more flowers than she could hold before it rose for a third time.

When it fell for the last time, Max was there, holding her and kissing her until her heartbeat spiked.

The next half hour flew by so quickly. Her family came into her dressing room and there were more hugs. More flowers.

She had food handed to her and she nibbled on it while her brother filled them in on her mother.

“She’s being booked. They’re holding her at a local facility for mental observation before they move her to a new facility upstate,” JT said. “A higher-security facility.”

“How did she get out?” Cora asked as she shoved a carrot stick into her mouth.

“They’re looking into that. They think she just walked out the door. Last month two other patients escaped that same facility. Which is why I’ve requested that she go into a higher-security facility now,” JT answered. Then he motioned to her. “You’re bruised.”

She glanced in the mirror and groaned. Sure enough, there was a green mark around her neck. “Makeup will hide it for the next show.”

“Does it hurt?” Kayla asked.

“No,” she answered easily. “Max got the worst of her this time.”

Just then, Missy rushed into the room. “Why am I just now hearing about what happened?” Missy hugged Cora. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she answered and then had to replay the entire ordeal of how she’d spotted her mother in the hallway as she’d headed back to her dressing room after the practice earlier and had followed her downstairs to the locker room.

Her mother hadn’t even really talked to her before attacking her.

“The entire time she fought me, she screamed that I’d turned out just like Lori.” Cora’s eyes moved to JT, Kayla, and Rowan. “How it was my fault that her family was broken. That if I had just obeyed her, she wouldn’t be locked up and her husband would still want her.”

“Shit,” JT said, pulling out his phone. “I forgot to check on Dad.” He stood up and left the room as he called their father.

When he returned, he nodded. “He’s okay. Apparently, he had no clue she’d escaped.”

“How did she know to come here?” Kayla asked.

“I sent her a clipping,” Cora said, feeling her gut twist. “I… wanted her to be proud, to know how hard I’d worked and that it had paid off.” Tears blurred her vision as guilt racked her.

“Hey,” Kayla and Missy said at the same time.

Arms wrapped around her as her tears fell.

“We’re all so very proud of you,” JT said next to her ear.

“We’re the only family that matters now,” Missy said.

“Agreed,” Kayla told her.