Read The Chance: A Novel for Free Online

of Savannah in an upscale two-story house with their three young sons. Her husband, Stu, was a dermatologist, and Lena ran his front office. When Lena and Caroline got together for coffee or manicures, there was no end to the stories they shared about the medical offices they ran. Another way the two friends stayed connected.
    Not until they reached the highway did Lena turn to her. “You’re pregnant, right?”
    Caroline’s gaze fell to her fingers, and she began twisting her wedding band.
    “Heaven help us.” The words came with a heavy sigh. “I told you to stay away from that man.” Lena didn’t hold back. “Famous country singer?” She shook her head. “Probably has a Caroline Tucker in every town.” Her tone softened. “Sweet girl, why? Why’d you do it?”
    It was one of the questions crashing around in Caroline’s head. One she could actually answer. “I loved him.”
    Lena took her eyes off the road long enough to look at Caroline. She didn’t need to point out that the guy had clearly never loved Caroline, never cared about her. Or that she’d been nothing more than another groupie. Another one-nightstand on his nationwide tour. Lena didn’t need to voice a word of it.
    Her eyes said it all.
    Over the past few months Lena had asked questions about how much time Caroline was spending at home. She even offered to find a counselor to help make things right between Caroline and Alan. But Caroline avoided Lena’s attempts and denied the affair until a few days ago. Now they rode in a silence heavy with sadness.
    Caroline stared out the window at the night sky. When had the trouble started? How had her life gotten so out of control? When she sorted through the places where she’d gone wrong, one event came to mind. The concert two years ago last January, the day Peyton Anders came to town for his Whatever You’re Feeling tour. All of Savannah knew about the show. Peyton was that big. That year he was twenty-six. He had a ruggedly handsome face and a football player’s build. By then he’d been the Country Music Conference’s best male vocalist for three years running, and that spring he had just added Entertainer of the Year to his credits.
    “You thinking about it?” Lena’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
    Caroline turned to her friend. “Trying.”
    “That’s a start.”
    “Me and Alan . . . it’s been bad for so long, Lena.” Caroline’s voice cracked, the hurt and heartache choking her. “He . . . doesn’t want me.”
    “Do I look like a stranger, Carrie Tucker?” That’s what Lena had always called her. Carrie. “I was there.” She gave her a sidelong glance, then looked back at the dark road ahead. “Remember?” She paused again, but her intensity remained.“Keep thinking, Carrie. Go all the way back and figure out the knot. So you can stand a chance at unraveling it.”
    “Yes.” Caroline turned away. Fixing the mess wasn’t an option, but she couldn’t say that. Not to Lena. Her friend believed in staying married. Period. Even now, when Caroline’s marriage to Alan was long dead.
    She stared once more at the night sky. The concert that January had sold out, but Stu knew the concert promoter. The guy gave him a couple of front-row seats. Lena’s husband didn’t care for country music, so Lena had asked Caroline.
    The invitation had been the highlight of Caroline’s entire year.
    Without warning, an image flashed into her mind. Her and Alan, walking down the aisle of a country church, in love and absolutely sure about forever. She was pretty and young back then, twenty years old with long blond hair and innocent eyes. In the early days, every moment with Alan had been marked with a hope deeper than the ocean.
    The memory disappeared. There was no way to measure the distance between then and now. Who she’d been and who she’d become. Caroline felt tears sting at her eyes. Who they had both become.
    She turned to Lena. “Alan and me. The mess we’re