Presented by SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS
SPONTANEOUS CHOICES SHORTS features short serialized fiction by author Shannon Muir, that may be later released as part of e-book or print collections. In 2019, these serials initially appeared every second and fourth Thursday (and fifth Thursdays as they occurred). This continues a new serialized story, “A Second La Chance,” about a young woman who originally hoped to have the children of a wealthy spoiled man to get paid off to leave him, but ends up with more than she ever bargained for when deciding to take a chance to start a new life for herself. This is part 14 of 16. FOLLOW ALONG IN THIS MARATHON OF “A SECOND LACHANCE” AS WE RACE TOWARDS THE CONCLUSION MAY 30 TO JUNE 4, 2019 WITH DOUBLE DOSES ON MAY 30 AND JUNE 3, AND A TRIPLE PACKED CONCLUSION ON JUNE 4! It took a bit of time, but I found myself hidden wearing a mechanic’s outfit and Rowan dressed the same.
Rowan’s dad tossed him the keys to an old beat up truck.
“The money you sent was enough to get me a good replacement. Least I can do is give you the old one instead of using for parts.”
“You’re not angry with me, Pops?”
I watched Rowan’s Dad put a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Not after everything you told me, son. You got to do the right thing. I understand. I don’t know how far she’ll take you, but it’ll get you in the right direction.”
We got in the truck and drove off.
“They will find that car eventually,” I told Rowan.
“It’ll take a bit. My father won’t tell. And besides, it’ll take some time to find.”
“But doesn’t your employer know where your Dad lives? Wouldn’t he think of looking here right away?”
“I told you, I was ashamed of growing up in a large poor family. I used my connections here to buy fake documents good enough to get through your father’s background checks, to try and build a new life for myself and write my own story about my life.”
“So, your employer doesn’t know you as Rowan?”
“Nope,” Rowan said as he got the beat up truck back on to the freeway, continuing to head away from where we started. “To him, I’m someone else.”
That made me realize something.
“You’ve trusted me with your real name from the beginning, even when I could have chosen to go meet your employer. Why?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe because you’ve been so surrounded by deception, I felt lying to you would just add one more layer. It’s important you believe me.”
We kept on driving for a few miles longer.
“Look, I know you’re wanting to give me time to think. But you’ll run out of gas eventually. And I have my children to think about, who my mother agreed to take care of while I did this TV interview. They’re too small to realize what’s going on, but my mother will hear about what happened in the news and be worried. Not to mention, if this man really knows my mother, he’ll go straight there to find me.”
Rowan pulled into a motel parking lot, a run down old place that looked like it would let us sleep there by the hour.
“I was willing to buy you time, Rikah. But that time is limited. The most I can get you is a few hours more. If you decide you don’t want to confront him, I have contacts and am willing to go on the run with you. They can get us any false documents they need. If you want to go back, we can still do that. I’ll have to come up with a reason for ditching the car but that can be as easy as I didn’t want us to be tailed due to your celebrity.”
I pointed up at the motel sign.
“Let me get to know you, and by then I’ll know what I want to do.”
Rowan looked up at the sign, and then back to me, a bit surprised.
“You put it all on the line for me, and now I’d like to give back. You’re the first person I’ve had any real interest in since freeing myself from Edmond. Is there anyone in your life that we might hurt by doing something?”
Rowan looked away.
“I told you, I’m not the most popular person.”
“Then it is their loss.”
I spent the next several hours escaping from my worries with Rowan. People had controlled me for so long, and at that time I just wanted to feel in control so badly.
After we were done, I told Rowan what I planned to do.
“I need to face my fears, now that I’ve built up my courage. But first, I need to see my mother.”