Tassia thought about Hyde and the reasons he told her why it would be better to work in his home. “This location opens us up creatively. We’re getting a lot of writing done.”
“We? Who are you there with?” Burt sounded like the same protective father she remembered who winced and tensed when he taught her how to drive, and who had given her prom date a hard time when he had picked her up for their special date.
“I’m with another singer.” She swallowed hard before revealing Hyde’s identity. “Ever hear of the country singer named Hyde Love?”
“Are you serious? Of course I know who he is. That’s the guy who they were going to bump you out of the show for. But I stopped them. I took you from there before they could embarrass you.” Burt sounded like he had taken a bullet for her, like they had gone to war. “After all these years, I can’t believe you’re working with him. Who else will be on the album? Chantel?”
“No.” Tassia knew it wouldn’t take long for her father to put the pieces together. “It’s a duets album. Just him and me.”
Silence.
“Dad?”
“Is your management team there?” Suspicion filled his voice.
“Um, no. We’re here by ourselves.” Tassia didn’t wait for her father to jump to a lot of conclusions, which would have been true. “We’re doing a lot of writing.”
“That’s one good thing. I can’t believe people out there are calling you a fraud and a liar. I want to beat down every one of those people who doubt you.”
Tassia smiled. She knew her dad would always be in her corner.
“But I don’t think you should be off somewhere with some guy. I don’t care who he is.”
An uncomfortable tickle went up the back of her neck that matched the grinding twisting in her gut. Did her dad always see her as some sort of damsel in distress?
She heard through the phone some keys jingling.
“Where are you? I’ll drive down and come get you.”
Tassia imagined her father hitching up worn jeans that he kept hooked to blue and white striped suspenders.
“I would actually love that if I could tell you exactly where I am.” She stood. “Until then, hold tight. If anything, I may need a ride from the airport.”
“Does that mean when you come back you’ll be coming to my house instead of Virginia Beach?” Burt’s voice rose.
Tassia sighed. Although she wouldn’t want to run to her father’s home, she recognized that after her experience with Hyde, she might need some support. “Maybe. For now, though, I’m going to continue working here. I’ll contact you when I get back home.”
“Baby girl, I love you. I don’t want to see you have an unhappy day in your life.” Burt’s voice hitched.
Her father always had her back. She had to appreciate that. Knowing she had such a great support system had her breathing a little easier. Leaving this project would be hard. If she made that ultimate decision, her management team would have to understand and respect that. They wouldn’t, but Tassia would hope they would.
“I’ll call you again later. Give my love to Pougie.” She always ended the call sharing her admiration for her father’s Yorkie.
Tassia showered again and dressed in a maxi dress and simple sandals. The ride in Hyde’s vehicle remained quiet during the excursion until he broke the silence.
“Did you talk to your dad?” Hyde navigated through some backroads at a high rate of speed, but like an expert.
Tassia should have felt uncomfortable. With Hyde, she felt relaxed. “I did.” She wanted to keep the conversation short and sweet.
“So how did it go?” He split his attention between her and the road. “Did you tell him you were kidnapped by a cowboy?” He screwed up his lips like he wanted to suppress a smile.
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I let him know that I’m serious about my career and I may not be able to contact him every day.”
“Oh.” He drummed his thumb on the steering wheel. “I hope this separation from your family won’t cause a problem with your relationship.”
“It doesn’t.” She waited a beat. “And it does.” She smoothed her hand over her thigh. “After talking to him, I realized that he’s the only man who has my back and is willing to go to hell and back for me if he had to.”
“You’re saying being in my home has been hellish?” He screwed up his lips. “And here I thought you liked our, um, collaboration.”
Even though she tried hard not to, Tassia couldn’t help but laugh at Hyde. “You are so frustrating.”
“But in a good way, right?” He rested his hand on her thigh.
Nothing in her wanted to brush it away. She liked the connection. Her heart fluttered.
“I really am sorry for not sharing with you about the phone.” He squeezed her knee. Then he took a turn down a gravel road.
“As long as you don’t do it again.”
“Well…”
Tassia sighed. “Really?”
“My grandparents.” As he said that, he rolled up to a sky-blue house with white trim in the middle of the woods. “They’re a little different. And they’re my father’s parents, the other reason I didn’t want to come here. I don’t want him knowing where I am. I’m not ready to go back to the daily grind. I like what we have at the house.”
“But that’s not real. Real life means we get out and interact with other people.”
When he parked next to an older-model red pickup truck by the front of the house, the front door flew open and an older woman with chocolate brown hair stood on the porch.
“And now it starts.”
Chapter 17
Hyde loved his grandparents. He knew they could be taken best in small doses, not a full impact meet-and-greet. Since Pepper revealed his whereabouts, no way could he not visit, although he had tried hard to hold off this visit until the very end of his stay.
Mabel Love’s mouth curved down until it looked like invisible fish hooks pulled down the corners of her mouth. In her long denim shorts, white sleeveless T-shirt, and flip-flops, the sight brought Hyde back to the days when he used to live in this house. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Granddaddy Love would be right behind her.
“She doesn’t look happy.” Tassia hesitated before unhooking her seatbelt after Hyde turned off his SUV.
“Believe it or not, she’s thrilled to see me.” Hyde took off his seatbelt and opened his door. “She won’t bite. Not too hard.”
Hyde heard Tassia’s door close as he circled the front of his vehicle. “Grammy Love. You look beautiful as always.”
“Don’t give me that.” The tall, thin woman stomped down the stairs toward him. “You’ve been here almost two weeks and this is the first I hear from you and see you?”
The front door opened and Pepper stepped out. She smirked at Hyde and it reminded him of the same expression she would give when she bested them as kids. Hyde wanted to snarl at her but with Grammy Love now in his face, he made sure to keep his expressions neutral.
“I’m working.” Hyde smiled.
Mabel glared at him for a moment before she pulled him into her arms and hugged him hard. “You are exactly the same as when you were a kid.” She gave him a playful slap on his arm. “And who is this?”
Hyde suspected that his grandmother must have spotted Tassia. He released Mabel and turned behind himself. “Grammy, this is Tassia Hogan. She’s a singer and a songwriter.” He noticed the way she smiled at the way he introduced her. “We’re working on an album together.”
Mabel glanced at Tassia then looked at Hyde before she broke her embrace and approached Tassia. “Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand to her.
Tassia didn’t hesitate. She accepted Mabel’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“You mean that I won’t bite yo
u hard?” Mabel snorted. “Don’t worry. I’ve heard that joke before.”
“Because she created the joke.” Hyde hung his arm on his grandmother’s shoulders. “I should have called, but—”
“Don’t start it.” Mabel wagged her finger in Hyde’s face.
Hyde knew what she meant with her statement. “No story. I just got off tour and needed a break.”
“Your break couldn’t include coming to see us? Or were you doing something else?” Mabel glanced at Tassia.
Hyde heard Pepper snickering behind him. “Working.” He peered over his shoulder at her and shook his head.
“Sounds good, but that’s not work.”
Hyde felt his eyebrows furrow.
“You know where the lawnmower is in the shed.” She popped him on his backside.
“Grammy, do you know—”
“If the next words out of your mouth are who I am, I will remind you quickly who I am.” She stared at Hyde until he laughed along with her.
“Yes, ma’am.” Hyde turned to Tassia. “You can go in the house.”
“To relax?” Tassia headed toward the house.
Both Hyde and Pepper cackled.
“Dear, there’s nothing about the Love family that’s relaxing.” Mabel hooked her arm around Tassia. “You’re tall. I like that.” She volleyed her attention between Hyde and Tassia. “You and Hyde would—”
“We’re just working together.” Tassia tried shrugging out of Mabel’s grip.
Mabel leaned in close to Tassia but spoke louder than a whisper. “Yep, before I married my husband, he and I worked together at a lumber yard before he finally got the nerve up to ask me out. Just ask him.” She nodded toward the porch where Efrem Love stood.
He adjusted his glasses on his long noble nose. He gave a cursory wave from the shady porch.
“Hey, Granddaddy.” Hyde waved to him before pointing to Tassia. “This is Tassia Hogan. We’re writing songs together and will be recording an album.”
“Sounds nice.” Efrem nodded. “Helping me with beans?”
Hyde glanced back at Tassia. “Guess we have our marching orders. I’m mowing, and you will be snapping beans with my grandfather.” He winked at her.
“Don’t be cute.” Mabel nudged him toward the side of the house to make his way to the backyard. “And, Pepper, come on down and help me with the flowerbeds.”
“Aww, man.” Pepper kicked the tip of her sneaker against a porch post.
* * * *
Tassia didn’t know how she had gone from being on tour with a top rapper to making a deal to do a duets album with a country star to now snapping string beans with Hyde’s grandfather. Unlike Mabel, Efrem kept quiet except for the occasional hum here and there. He kept his attention on the long, slender green beans as he plucked off the ends before depositing the prepared beans into a colander.
Tired of the silence, Tassia decided to break the ice. “Hyde tells me that he lived with you and Mabel for a short while.”
“Yep.” He continued preparing each bean.
“And your son is also in the music business?”
Efrem stopped moving for a moment. “He’s not a musician. He’s nothing like Hyde.”
She blinked. “You’re proud of Hyde.”
This time the gray-haired mature man broke a smile. “He’s special. Real deal.”
Tassia smiled. “Yes, he is.”
Efrem nodded before he continued humming. Tassia recognized the tune and started singing. Her voice must have surprised him. He stopped snapping the beans as he regarded her. Then he started singing along with her.
Tassia immediately recognized how wonderful his voice sounded with the same deep baritone that Hyde had. He carried a tune better than some popular singers.
At the end of the song, Efrem adjusted his glasses on his nose again before he addressed her. “Great singer.”
“Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself.” She chuckled.
“Do you have anything I would have heard?”
Tassia felt the heat creeping up her neck to her face. “Um, probably not.”
No way would Hyde’s grandfather listen to a song about being ridden in a sexual manner. Tassia couldn’t admit that out loud.
“I listen to a lot of things.” Efrem wiped his hands over his jeans before he pulled out his cell phone.
Tassia didn’t worry about him finding her song since he, like Hyde, thought she probably spelled her name as T-A-S-H-A. Then he surprised her when the opening of the song played from his phone.
She jumped to her feet, knocking over her bowl of beans. “You don’t have to listen to that. Please stop.”
Efrem didn’t speak. He continued listening until her part came up. He stared at her. The embarrassed heat that filled her cheeks became a full-body firestorm.
“Not my best work.” She crouched down to retrieve the beans.
“Beautiful voice, even if the words aren’t the best.” He got down on the floor with her to help her gather what she dropped. “We all sell ourselves out sometimes. If you’re writing songs with Hyde, you write from the heart.” He placed the full bowl of beans on the table.
Tassia helped him back to his chair. “The song put my name out there. I secured the duet deal with Hyde because the song did so well.”
He shook his head. “You’re talented. You need the right vehicle to showcase your voice.” He sniffed. “Go in this project as a partnership. Hyde has been used enough, especially by people who are supposed to protect him.”
“You mean his dad.” Tassia understood what Hyde’s grandfather didn’t say.
Efrem snickered. “We named Hyde’s father Clever because every time I would take his mother to her doctor’s appointments to get a status on the baby, he would move away from the doctor’s hands and instruments. He came a day earlier than planned. We barely made it to the hospital before he was born.” He shook his head. “Since then, he has lived up to his name. He hasn’t been home in a while to visit us. And we get it. Clever and Hyde have busy lives.”
Tassia heard the lawnmower start. She watched the highest-paid entertainer in the world mowing his grandparents’ lawn. Each time he passed the kitchen window that faced the backyard, she became a little wetter. Her heart pumped just a bit harder.
“I don’t think Hyde and his father have a great personal relationship.” Tassia recognized a good man existed in Hyde despite his need to keep things close to the vest. “He thinks C. Love, uh, I mean Clever sees Hyde as a commodity more than a son.”
Efrem sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I was kind of afraid of that. I wish those two would talk more. No matter how much money you make and how many fans you get, family will always have your back.”
Tassia wanted to believe that of Clever, even hearing it from his father. Yet she didn’t see it. From what she had seen of him in the media, and in talking to Hyde, and even her own experiences with him, Clever only thought about Clever. When she spotted Hyde going by the window again, and seeing the sweat pour off him, she wanted him to have so much more. He deserved happiness.
“Have you heard from Clever recently?” If Hyde had been right about his father, Clever should have been calling around trying to find his meal ticket.
“Once maybe over a week ago, looking for Hyde. At the time, we really didn’t know where he was. Until Pepper told us.” Efrem shrugged.
“If you hear from him again, will you call the house? I know Hyde is exhausted, and Clever pushes him hard to be a success. Maybe if those two can sit down and talk, they can both get on the same page.” Tassia wanted that for Hyde.
“That would be nice if it happened. That kid is special.” Efrem glanced out the window before regarding her again. “I told you how Hyde’s grandmother and I came up with the name for Hyde’s father. Clever and Hyde’s mother came up with Hyde’s name
weeks after his birth.”
“Weeks? What do you mean? Hyde told me that he was named after a distant relative.”
Efrem rubbed his hand over his chin while keeping his gaze down. “His parents didn’t know what to name Hyde because neither was ready to have him. His mother kept her pregnancy hidden from Clever until she got kicked out of her house for being pregnant and came to live with us. Hyde’s mother wasn’t doing so well.” He shrugged. “People thought it was drugs. I think she had other mental issues that Mabel and I tried helping her with by taking her to doctors. But she was not our kid, even though her parents disowned her.”
Tassia listened to the story and started to see Hyde in a different way, less like a privileged star and more like a human being with family issues like the rest of the world. Hyde started in the world without an identity. She wondered if he knew the true story about his name and if he had lied to her again. Then again, why would he lie about his name? What would he have to gain?
“When Hyde was born, Clever wanted to name him after himself, of course.” Efrem shook his head. “I can show you Hyde’s original birth certificate. They called him Baby Boy Love. Clever and Hyde’s mother argued all the time. Before Hyde was born, it was about money and Clever being responsible. Back then I can say that Clever worked hard and cared. He wanted things to work out with him and his child’s mother. He even agreed to her final baby name choice, Hyde. No middle name.”
At least Hyde hadn’t lied about not having a middle name. She didn’t realize the full story behind it.
Efrem continued. “Shortly after Hyde was named, his mother split. We have never heard from her since, and Clever searched for her.”
“Wow. I had no idea.” Tassia’s hands shook as she continued snapping the ends off the woody green beans.
“We’ve never told Hyde about his past.” Efrem glanced at Tassia.
“I don’t understand. Why tell me this?”
“I can tell you’re a kind person. We told Hyde that his mother left and that’s all. He doesn’t need to know anything else, but you need to know if you want to understand him better, and I think you do.” He stared at Tassia. “Be kind to Hyde. As his name suggests, he does have a lot to hide. But he also has a lot to offer. He was a good kid. He’s an excellent entertainer because usually the ones with the most to hide shine in other ways. He could be a really good man if he learned to let go.”
Crazy on You Page 22
