by Ava Miles
Riley touched her nose. “Sometimes sisters love each other so much they bloom together in the desert.”
Haley gave Jess a squeeze. “That’s like us.”
“You look beautiful, Jess,” Riley said, his throat thick with love. “More so than ever.”
She put her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Oh, my sweet girl,” he said, picking her up. “I love you too. Even if I have to get sunburned to come and visit you in the desert.” He kissed her on the top of her head. “Then there’s all the sand I’ll get in my eyes. And my underwear.”
“Not your underwear!” Haley said, shielding her eyes. “That would itch.”
“It would, but it would be worth it.”
“You’re the best dad ever,” Jess said, kissing him on the cheek.
He set her down. “Glad we have that clear. Now, you two go on and help Paige pick out something to wear. Mark and I will shuck the corn since your dresses are so lovely.”
When they left the kitchen, Mark tossed him an ear of corn. “Nicely done. Now shuck.”
“It’s like the famous Zen warrior said, ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.’ Only in this case, it’s kitchen duty.”
Not that he minded. Even though he was shucking corn, he felt like his daughter’s hero.
Sadie arrived with some of her sisters in tow, and soon he and Mark had more than enough help, so much so that they sent Sadie and Shelby on up to help Paige. Haley had emerged to tell her dad that Paige was having trouble deciding what to wear, but she’d be down promptly.
She came down about the time the rest of the crew arrived, and then things turned full-out crazy, but at least there were no dogs to add to the chaos. Riley and Mark fired up the grill while Susannah and Tammy laid out the appetizers they’d brought. And little Boone made Riley’s day by extending his little arms out to him, indicating he wanted to go to him.
“I’m impressed,” Rye said, coming over. “He never does that with Clayton or Vander, but that’s no surprise. Both of them scare little children.”
Vander tilted his head to the side, a droll expression on his face. Clayton looked like he wanted to flip Rye the bird, but his gaze landed on Rory before he could do any such thing. Riley took little Boone outside and joined Dale and Jake, who were keeping Mark company by the grill. Hampton, Rye’s father, joined him by the deck, looking at his grandson.
“Isn’t he amazing?” the older man asked. “I sometimes look at him and wonder how his life is going to be. I hope I get to see a good portion of it.”
Riley hadn’t talked to Hampton much, but he was a sucker for a man who thought like that. He often thought the same about Jess, wondering what she’d become. An astronaut? A famous artist? A banker? The world was her oyster, as far as he was concerned.
“I figure it’s a gift,” he told the man, “watching them become all they can be.”
“Well said,” Hampton said.
Boone stretched his little arms out of the swaddle, and Riley didn’t have the heart to tuck them back in.
“Hates to be all trussed up like a chicken,” Rye said. “I’ve told Tory a million times to let him be free. Don’t men like to just hang?”
Riley bit the inside of his cheek. He knew exactly what Rye was suggesting. Then he caught Jess and Haley running across the driveway to their house. What were they doing? When they didn’t come back out, he was perplexed. The party was at the Bradshaws’, and they’d acted so excited for it… He decided to go and look for them.
“I need to check on my daughter and Haley,” he announced. “Who wants little Boone here?”
“Daddy, you take him,” Rye said. “I like to give everyone else a chance to hold him at Sunday dinner. Come on, bubba, let’s go find the girls. Paige said you have some of your superhero drawings in your house. Maybe you can show me on the way.”
Riley stumbled a little as Rye walked over with him. First, the man had called him “bubba.” No one had ever done that before. Second, he really wanted to see Riley’s art?
“You like superheroes?” Riley asked.
“When I was a boy, I wanted to be Batman,” Rye said. “He has the best toys. Having Boone has brought all that back. I got him a Batman onesie.”
Riley had to grin. “Awesome. He’ll have to wear it next week. I love seeing superhero clothes on kids. I put Jess in a Wonder Woman onesie when she was a newborn. Gotta start them young.”
“Exactly,” Rye said. “Now where did those girls go? Sometimes I’m glad we had a boy. I mean, I grew up with two sisters. They’d always steal off to their rooms during a party.”
Not Jess and Haley usually. They loved celebrations. He let them into the house and cocked his ear. If they were inside, they were being unusually quiet.
“Let’s head up to the playroom. They were there earlier.”
Rye’s boots sounded behind him. “Your drawings are terrific.”
“Thanks,” he said, but he was beginning to get anxious. When he opened the door to the playroom, he didn’t see the girls.
On the worktable were loads of markers and streamers. And scotch tape.
“Did you make this castle?” Rye asked. “It’s brilliant. Annabelle and Rory are going to have to see this!”
Before he could turn and respond, Riley heard a car door slam outside, followed by the sound of the girls cheering. Looking out the window, he pressed his hand against the glass.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Mandy was walking toward Jess and Haley, who were standing on the sidewalk, holding what looked like a huge Welcome sign. Mandy pointed to their cowboy boots, and Jess smiled as if the sun had just risen. His daughter couldn’t know how worn and brittle Mandy looked. He could see the “junkie” on her a mile away.
Anger flushed over him, sending fire from his scalp to his toes. That bitch was here! At their house. She’d broken their agreement. Again! Except this time Jess would remember.
“Who’s that piece of work?” Rye asked, looking out the window next to him. “She looks totally strung out.”
“My ex and Jess’ mom,” Riley said, running out of the room.
He yanked open the front door and flew down the stairs, only to see Mandy taking a card Jess was extending to her.
“Jess! Haley! Go inside.”
Mandy looked over at him, and it sucker-punched him in the gut to see her eyes, the same green as his daughter’s. Her blond hair was more dishwater now, and there were lines around her red-painted mouth. At one time, he’d thought her the sexiest woman in the world, but the last six years had turned her skeleton-thin and a touch haggard. He knew hard times when he saw it, and she was clearly at rock bottom. Well, she wasn’t going to use Jess to get more money from him.
“I said, ‘Go inside.’ Now, girls.”
Jess crossed her arms. “No. I’m meeting my mom.”
“Jess. Haley. Why don’t y’all come with me back to the party while Riley here talks with this lady.” Rye appeared beside him and extended his hands to the girls. “Come on, now. Boone could use some holding.”
“You weren’t lying, Jessie,” Mandy said, her mouth gaping open. “Oh, Rye, I’m your biggest fan. I came here hoping to see you today. I’m a country singer too, and I brought a demo tape for you. I just know you’ll want to help me become a star once you hear it.”
Riley glanced at Rye, whose jaw had clenched. “That’s why you’re here? But how did you know?” Everything snapped into place. “Did you contact Jess and put her up to this?”
Mandy pushed him in the chest. “You always think the worst. No, Jessie contacted me. On Facebook. Through a girl named Betty.”
Betty again. He would deal with that later. “Her name is Jess,” Riley ground out.
“Dad, it’s okay. She can call me Jessie,” his daughter said, and he tugged her to him. She’d always hated that nickname.
Mandy’s
eyes turned mean. “Riley, don’t you dare ruin this for me. Rye, let’s go somewhere and talk?”
“Lady, there ain’t nowhere that I want to go with you,” he said, shaking his head. “If you came here thinking that, you’ve been misinformed. Since I seem to be causing some trouble, I’m gonna head back to the party. Riley, I’ll send Clayton along in case you need something.”
“But Rye…” Mandy called. “I need to talk to you.”
Riley watched Rye stride toward the Bradshaws’ house without a backward glance.
“Don’t go, Mr. Crenshaw!” Jess cried out. “Please! Please listen to my mom’s songs.”
Fists slammed into his chest, and he knew they were Mandy’s. He swung his gaze back around as a boozy smell rolled over him. God, she reeked.
“You fucked this up for me. Damn you, Riley. Damn you!”
“Mom, what are you doing?” Jess asked, gripping his leg.
Mandy hit him again, and he caught her hands in his, trying to make sure she didn’t hurt Jess. “Stop this. Pull yourself together. Our daughter is watching you. Don’t you remember what I had to do the last time you came?” He couldn’t mention calling the cops with Jess listening.
“I don’t care!” She kicked at him, barely missing Jess. “You destroyed my chance for a record deal. I hate you!”
Haley was crying now, and she pulled Jess away. His daughter was staring at him and Mandy in shock.
“Jess. Haley. Go to the Bradshaws’. Right now!” He had to get Mandy out of here. “You need to get in your car and drive away, Mandy. I mean it.”
“No!” She kicked at him again and connected with his knee.
“Ouch. Stop that.”
“Don’t hurt him!” Jess cried, launching herself at Mandy. “You leave my daddy alone.”
Riley wrestled Mandy away, trying not to bruise her arms. He knew she’d find a way to press charges if he wasn’t careful.
“I’m fine, Jess. Go inside. Right now! Haley, take her.”
“I’ve got her,” he heard Mark say as his buddy ran up to them. J.P. was right behind him, and together they scooped up the girls.
“Take her inside,” Riley said, trying to evade Mandy’s fevered kicks. “I don’t want her to see this.”
“Lady, you’d better calm down before I call the cops,” Clayton said when he reached them. “Riley, let her go. I’ll handle her.”
“I had to call them last time,” Riley said, looking at Mandy’s feverish eyes. “Don’t make me do this with our daughter around.”
“I don’t care,” she screamed.
Vander stepped forward and grabbed Mandy and put her in a restraining hold before he could blink. “We’ve got this. Go to Jess.”
He stopped and stared at Mandy. “If you ever come back, I’ll throw everything the law has at you. I’ll put you in jail if I have to.” Nathaniel Gray would consider that justice.
“You’re an asshole!” Mandy screamed. “You’re a fucking asshole. Like I ever wanted that kid. I just want to be a star.”
As he stared at her for the last time, he couldn’t believe he’d ever wanted her either.
Clayton slapped him on the back. “Go on now. Go to your daughter.”
His guts reared up and part of him wanted to double over. Jess! She’d seen everything. Seen what her mother was.
There was a line of people in the driveway and some of his neighbors were coming out of their homes. He ran up the steps to his house and followed the sobs from his little girl.
He found her in the playroom with Mark, on her stomach with her hands covering her face, sobbing her heart out. Haley was nowhere in sight, and he hoped to Christ she was with Paige.
“I’ve got her,” he said softly when Mark lifted his head. “Thanks for bringing her here… Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Mark said. “I’ll leave you two.”
He gave Riley’s shoulder a squeeze on his way out.
Riley crossed to his daughter and knelt down beside her. “Come here, sweetheart. Let Daddy hold you.”
She kept on sobbing, and he leaned closer to hold her.
“Please, Jess.”
She rolled over and shoved him away.
“Jess.”
“No! No! No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I only wanted to meet my mom. I thought she might like me if she met me. Like Paige got along with Sadie. And Betty helped…”
He reached out to her when she stood up. “You should have talked to me about it. Your mother—”
“She doesn’t want me!” Jess said and kicked the chair at her workbench. “I made her a sign and learned a country song to sing to her. And she didn’t want any of it.”
She picked up the markers and started to throw them at the castle.
Riley sat back as she raged. “Oh, honey, she’s not a good woman. That’s why she’s not around. It’s not you, Jess. It was never you.”
“All she wanted was to meet Rye,” Jess said, heaving up her writing tablet and throwing it across the room. “I told her I’d introduce her to him. I thought she was a country singer like him. I was only trying to be nice, like Sadie was when she invited Paige to her quilting group.”
And Mandy hadn’t told her differently, of course. He rose and approached her warily. “Jess, your mother has changed a lot since you were born. She’s gotten meaner. That’s on her.”
“She’s horrible!” Jess said, shoving at the chair. “How could she be my mother? How?”
He prayed for the right words. “She didn’t want to be a mother. Some people don’t have courage.”
Her face was bright red. “She hit you! She made Rye hate me.”
“No baby,” Riley said, holding her arms. “Rye doesn’t hate you. And don’t worry about me. I had on my Dad super armor. She could never hurt me.”
No, Mandy could only hurt him by hurting Jess, and she’d landed close to a fatal blow today.
“Why didn’t you tell me she was like that?” she asked, knuckling away her tears.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Because I knew it would hurt you. Jess, it hurt me when she didn’t want to be your mom. I was trying to protect you.”
She pushed away from him. “It’s all lies. All of the movies.”
He couldn’t stand anymore. “That’s not true. You’re a miracle. You and me. None of that changes.”
She ran over and pulled all of her princess dresses out of her own treasure box and tried to rip them. “It’s not true. None of it’s true.”
Riley ran forward and grabbed her hands. “Jess, honey. Stop.”
She pulled away and started to kick at her castle. The cardboard turret, so lovingly painted by their hands, toppled and fell to the ground.
“No one lives happily ever after. Not princesses. Not anyone!”
She fell to her knees sobbing, and he gathered her against his chest, fighting tears himself.
He would give everything he had to return her innocence to her.
But there was no superpower on earth that would do that.
Chapter 30
By the time darkness fell, even Sadie’s mama told her she was going to go home. Riley still hadn’t emerged from his house next door, and Sadie wasn’t sure what to do. There was only one light on in the house—in the playroom—and no one wanted to intrude.
Paige and Mark were taking turns with Haley, who’d alternated between crying uncontrollably and begging to see Jess and make sure her best friend was okay.
Sadie and her sisters had tried to feed everybody once things settled down, but no one had felt like eating. Though Tammy had pulled them away quickly, Annabelle and Rory were noticeably upset by the altercation everyone had witnessed. In response to Annabelle asking why Jess’ mom could act like that, Rory had responded stiffly that “some mommies and daddies are horrible people—like their daddy was—and they were all better off without them.”
Those words had driven a spike through everyone standing around.
/> When J.P. had clutched the little boy to his chest to comfort him, she’d seen a tear leaking out the corner of his eye. The pain in her heart had grown even keener.
Rye had been livid. Fans had used despicable ways and means to approach him before, but he hated that a little girl’s mother had used her to get to him. Telling Rye Mandy had come around before hadn’t made him feel better. Clayton and Vander hadn’t told anyone what they’d said to Riley’s ex, but Hampton had joined them on the sidewalk in a legal capacity. The woman had been hysterical, and she’d screamed a litany of obscenities before heaving her demo tape at Clayton and driving off in her rundown car.
The men had huddled to talk, and when she’d crossed the room to join them, Jake had stepped out of the circle and told her she didn’t need to hear any more ugliness. She’d almost gone off on him then, but he’d explained himself. “This isn’t a guy thing, Sadie, but we’ve handled things like this before. Sort of. Let us take care of it.”
Sadie had finally nodded, and he’d gone back to the group with a stilted gait.
“I’m glad everyone’s gone,” she heard Paige say. “This has to be the worst family dinner on record.”
Sadie turned away from Riley’s house. Her sister looked twenty years older tonight.
“It was like looking at my own mother,” Paige said, leaning against the counter like she couldn’t support herself. “I think Mandy was drunk and likely high.”
“I can’t imagine how terrible it must have been for you,” she said, “growing up in a household with a woman like that.”
“It was pretty bad,” Paige said, pushing her hair back behind her ears.
Sadie noticed her sister’s hands were shaking, but she didn’t know how to help. She was feeling shaky herself. “How is Haley?”
“Mark is lying down with her, but she’s… Oh, Sadie, I’ve never thought to see my little girl like this. I never thought she’d be touched by ugliness at this age. I…severed all ties with my old family to keep her safe. And when I think about Riley and Jess… Riley will be okay, but Jess? How will that little girl forget what happened today?” Paige’s mouth clenched as she fought tears.
