Free Because This Is Forever by Lena Hart

Mikey was the best thing that could have happened
to her, the one thing she and Nate had gotten right, and she would do anything
for him. She hoped she was doing the right thing by taking him to Chicago.
    Later
that night, after she had put Mikey to bed, Mia went into the living room where
her sister sat painting her nails. Mia fell into the seat beside her. “I’m
going to Chicago tomorrow,” Mia blurted.
    Her sister
looked up at her with a faint smirk on her lips. “Going to finally tell your ex
he’s a daddy?” she drawled, recapping the nail polish and waving her hand in
the air.
    Mia
shrugged. “That and ask him to help me save the house.”
    Leah
lost her mocking grin. “Why? You should just let the bank take it.”
    Mia gaped
at her sister. “And go where? This is our home.”
    “Not
anymore,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Not without Mama.” Leah
glanced away but not before Mia saw the tears glistening in her eyes.
    “Why
don’t you just get him for child support?” her sister suggested. “That way the
money you’ll get over the years will be more than what this house is even
worth.”
    “No,”
Mia said curtly. “I don’t want this to turn ugly or drag Mikey through the
middle of some legal battle. Having a home for him is more important to me
right now.”
    Leah
shrugged then returned to polishing her toes. “And what if he refuses to help
you with the house?” her sister asked. “You’ll have to go after him for
something. Mouse is his son too and he should help.”
    Mia
looked down at her hands. She didn’t want to have to think about that. “I guess
I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
    Leah
shrugged. “Well good luck with that.”
    “Will
you be okay here by yourself?”
    “Yes,
ma’am,” Leah said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not twelve.”
    Yeah,
but sometimes her sister could conjure up trouble without even trying. Like
when she had decided to borrow their mother’s car without permission one night,
supposedly to pick up a friend from the airport, Leah had ended up stranded far
from the airport, with the car stolen.
    “Anyway,
Jackson will be out soon so I’ll probably end up spending my time with him.”
    Mia
groaned inwardly. There Leah went, conjuring up trouble. Jackson had always
been bad news. But whatever she had to say about him, her sister wouldn’t
listen so Mia didn’t bother.
    “I’ve
booked a motel for us to stay in. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, maybe a few
days, but I’ll leave you the address before I go.”
    That
done, Mia went to her bedroom and began making a list of things they’d need for
their trip. She didn’t want to forget anything. The drive would be long for her
son and she wanted it to be as comfortable for him as possible.
    It
didn’t take her long, however, to realize she was just putting off the
inevitable. Pushing the notepad aside, Mia went searching for the navy blue
address book she kept Nate’s number in.
    She
stared at the number for a long while. What
if the number didn’t work? What if he wasn’t even in Chicago anymore? Before
Mia could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her phone and dialed his number.
    Her
heart pounded and her palms grew sweaty as the other line began to ring. Even
her tight grip couldn’t steady her hold on the phone and as the seconds ticked
by, another depressing thought struck her. What
if he was with someone right now?
    Nate was
an attractive guy and it was late enough. He could easily be entertaining
company at this hour. Before she lost her courage and slammed the phone down, a
low, deep voice answered.
    “Hello.”
    Mia’s
voice lodged in her throat as the warm, masculine voice sent a wave of intense
emotion that rocked her to her core. God,
I miss him.
    Silence
crackled over the line between them while she tried desperately to rein in her
wild emotions.
    “Mia?”
    She
nearly dropped the phone at the sound of her name softly spoken. His voice had
been like a