by Amy Vastine
“Thank you, sweetie.” Piper handed her a poster and readied herself for the next fan.
A woman close to her mother’s age approached the table. She had chestnut-brown hair that reminded Piper of the models in shampoo commercials. Her eye color matched her hair, and she seemed somehow familiar.
“Thank you for coming out today to support Starlit,” Piper said. The woman stared at her without saying a word. “Can I make this out to someone in particular?”
“I needed to see you in person and this was the only way I could think to make it happen.”
A chill went down Piper’s spine. She glanced to her right, where Mitch, her security guard, stood. “Well, I’m so glad you did,” she said, handing her a signed poster without any personalization.
“Is Sawyer here with you?” the woman asked.
Piper glanced at Mitch once more, her signal for him to come closer. “He’s not, unfortunately. He’s busy getting ready for the show tonight.”
The woman set the poster down on the table. She spoke rapidly. “Is he happy? Is he getting married because there’s a baby on the way? He shouldn’t do that. He will regret that.” She pounded the table with her fists.
Mitch stepped up and asked the woman to move along. Heath moved around to the other side of the table and looked ready to attack should the woman not comply. When she didn’t step aside, the security guard took her by the arm and removed her as she continued to rant about Sawyer making a mistake.
Piper’s heart felt like a jackhammer in her chest. She’d heard there were people out there who got attached to celebrities and stalked them. She wasn’t sure if this woman was Sawyer’s stalker, but she was awfully concerned about his intentions. Her outburst felt more intense than the usual fan freak-outs Piper had come to expect.
“Are you okay? Do you want to stop?” her father asked.
Piper placed a hand on her belly. Being with child made the encounter a thousand times scarier than it might have been otherwise. Her gaze drifted down the line of waiting fans. Who else could be here to intimidate her?
Her father crouched down. “You don’t have to keep going. We can leave right now.”
A little girl in the front of the line held on to her mother’s hand. Piper remembered when her mom had taken her to see Boone Williams when she was little. They’d waited outside by the tour buses after the show, and when he came out, he’d stopped and signed her tour book. It was one of the best moments of her life.
Piper couldn’t let one wacko keep her from her real fans. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I’ll be okay. Let’s finish.”
Heath stayed close the rest of the signing, as did her security guard. Piper tried to smile through the anxiety, signing as many posters as she could before time ran out.
“We need to be prepared for some backlash,” Heath said when they were in the car. “I’ve seen it online, but it could continue to show up in person on the tour. Your little boyfriend has developed his own fan base, and not all of them are happy about him being off the market.”
“Maybe we should cancel the meet and greet before the show,” Lana suggested. “Give you some time to rest and shake this off.”
“No, I can’t do that to the people who paid good money to meet me.” Plus, there would be two security guards in the room as well as Sawyer. He might not be in love with her, but he would never let anyone hurt her or the baby.
* * *
WHEN SAWYER FINISHED sound check, he followed Hunter backstage. His best friend had made it pretty obvious that he was angry with him.
“Hunter, can we talk about this?” Sawyer asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him into his dressing room.
“What’s there to talk about? I’m sure if there’s anything you want me to know, I can read about it in the next edition of People.”
Sawyer sighed. “I’m sorry. We didn’t tell the media everything. We’re having a boy. No one else knows that.”
“Wow. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. Maybe I’ll be invited to the wedding this summer, or maybe I’ll just just have to read about it.” Hunter wasn’t making this easy.
“Come on, man. It’s not like that.”
Hunter flopped down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought I was your best friend. I thought that meant something.”
“We had to keep it quiet so we could control when the news was made public,” Sawyer said.
“Do you even hear yourself? You sound like Heath Starling. Were you worried about what a baby could do to your brand? Was there talk about how many records you might not sell if you told your best friend you were having a baby?”
“Don’t ever compare me to Heath Starling.” Sawyer couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you do have a big mouth lately and I couldn’t risk it.”
“That’s bull. This girl is changing you, man. She’s turning you into someone I don’t even know anymore. You used to be fun. Now all you seem to care about is how what you do or say is going to impact your social media following.”
Sawyer felt like his friend had punched him in the gut. He didn’t care about those things, but he knew Piper did. He was going along with things because he wanted her to be happy. He didn’t want her stressed out when she was carrying their baby.
“She’s not changing me. I am still the same guy.”
“You’re not. Heath tells you and Piper what to do and you do it. I bet he’s the one who told you to marry her because she’s pregnant. You’re turning into a robot, just like her.”
Hunter had no idea how hard Sawyer had been working to stand his ground. It was impossible to explain how difficult it was to manage all the things on his plate lately. If Hunter really was his best friend, he would try to be a bit more understanding.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Piper stood in the doorway. Sawyer hadn’t realized they had left the door open.
“You’re back,” he said, hoping she hadn’t heard anything.
“When you have a minute, could you come to my dressing room?”
“Yeah, sure.” There was something off. Sawyer had that sinking feeling she had heard part of his conversation with Hunter.
“I can leave. You probably have to tell him something I’m not allowed to know,” Hunter grumbled, getting to his feet.
“No, don’t. You clearly have a lot to say and I know Sawyer could really use a friend right now.”
Hunter had no comeback. She had most definitely heard what he’d said.
* * *
INSIDE HER DRESSING ROOM, Piper allowed herself to feel. Warm, wet tears ran down her face. She was no robot. She had feelings, and they could be hurt.
Piper quickly dried her face when there was knock at the door. “Come in,” she said, turning her back to the door and rummaging through her clothes.
“Sorry it took me so long,” Sawyer said.
Piper wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “No worries.”
“I heard there was some drama at the signing. Some lady attacked you?”
“It wasn’t that dramatic.” She wondered who had told him. “Someone just wanted me to pass on a message to you.”
“To me?”
Piper turned around, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell she’d been crying. “She said you’ll regret marrying me, especially if you only marry me because I’m pregnant.”
“Seriously? Someone said that to you?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t already heard,” she said. Not only did some fan think she was wrong for him, but so did his best friend. She was doomed.
Sawyer took a step in her direction. His proximity made her want to fall into his arms, but she knew she couldn’t.
“Hunter didn’t know what he was saying,” he said.
“It’s fine.” She moved away from
him and toward the bathroom. “I’m having a bit of a bad day. I need to change so I can get to sound check.”
Sawyer let her go and was gone when she came out. She should probably get used to that.
* * *
BY SIX O’CLOCK, Piper regretted agreeing to go on with the meet and greet. Today had started with so much promise and had turned into complete disaster, and she hadn’t even taken the stage yet.
Security was doubled due to the incident at Thornberry’s. Her father had a security guard in every corner of the greenroom. Even with the extra protection, Piper was on edge.
“We came all the way from Memphis to see the show tonight. We are your biggest fans in the whole world.”
The two young women were doing their best to turn Piper’s day around. They wore handmade shirts with all their favorite Piper Starling song titles written on them. One of them had a tattoo of a line from her first song to make it on the country top 100 list.
“I am so happy you guys are here,” Piper said. “I hope y’all enjoy the show tonight and never stop being the amazing women you are.”
Piper posed for a couple of pictures and signed their tour books. Sawyer stepped in for some, as well.
“You better treat her right,” one of the women said to him. “She deserves to be treated like a queen. Don’t disappoint us.”
“My goal is to never disappoint,” Sawyer said. He glanced at Piper, who raised a brow. It was nice to hear someone defend her for once today.
As the girls made their way to the candy bar, there was a commotion at the door. A security guard argued with Faith, preventing her from entering the room.
“I have an all-access pass. He’s my brother, for goodness’ sake!”
“She’s family, Kyle. Let her come on in,” Piper said. These guards didn’t even know the good guys from the bad guys.
Faith’s face was flushed and her eyes focused on her brother. Sawyer stepped around Piper to meet Faith halfway. “What’s wrong?”
“You need to come with me. Right now,” she said, grabbing his arm.
“We’re almost done. Can you wait a couple minutes? What’s the matter?”
The door opened again and the woman from Thornberry’s came in, dragging Dean behind her. “You all act like you’re protecting the gosh darn president! Let me through!”
The hair stood up on the back of Piper’s neck. She ran over to Sawyer and pulled him back. How in the world had she gotten backstage?
Sawyer’s body went rigid. Piper watched as the bodyguards tackled the woman to the ground. Arena staff and security flooded the room. Hunter rushed in and stood beside Dean, but both did nothing but gape at the scene unfolding in front of them.
As the woman screamed, Faith tried to pull the men off her. “Let her go! Get your hands off her. Dean, tell them to stop!”
Piper’s panic skyrocketed. Faith was trying to help the woman who was here to do heaven knew what. It was hard to breathe.
“That’s the woman from Thornberry’s,” Piper gasped. “Why is your sister helping her?”
Sawyer was frozen. His eyes fixed on the thrashing woman on the ground. One of the guards lifted Faith off her feet and tried to carry her away from the melee. Dean snapped out of his stupor and demanded that Faith be released.
“Sawyer, do something. Tell them to stop,” Faith pleaded.
“What is happening?” Piper asked as Heath shouted for someone to call 911.
Sawyer took Piper by the hand. A mix of confusion and horror contorted his features. His breathing was as labored as hers. He licked his lips and swallowed hard. Turning his head, he looked Piper in the eye.
“I think that’s my mom.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE LAST TIME Sawyer had seen his mother, he was four years old. He’d gone to bed like always, figuring in the morning she would be there to make him breakfast and read him his favorite stories about wild horses that no one could break.
Only that next morning, his mom had not been in the kitchen cooking up eggs and bacon. She hadn’t been in the laundry room, folding his dad’s flannel shirts and jeans. She hadn’t been out in the barn, feeding the horses or mucking the stalls. She was gone and she never came back.
“Sawyer, tell them to let her go,” Faith said again. “She’s our mother.”
Heath would have none of it. “Don’t you dare let her go,” he warned the guard pinning her on the floor. “Mitch, help me get Piper out of here.”
Mitch and Heath stood on either side of her and led her out, leaving Sawyer standing in the center of the room with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Faith got away from the bodyguard holding her and ran over to their mother. She pushed the guard away and helped the woman to her feet.
“We’ll take her to Sawyer’s dressing room,” Faith said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Sawyer’s feet were cemented to the ground. He couldn’t follow as they left the room with Dean. The small group of fans there for the meet and greet cowered in a corner. Lana tried to apologize to them, but it was clear she was at a complete loss for what to do beyond that.
Hunter came over and placed a hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s go to your dressing room.” He tugged on Sawyer’s shirtsleeve.
“How did this happen? Where in the world did she come from and how did she get back here?” Sawyer asked as they walked down the hall.
“One of the dancers was walking around the outside of the arena and heard some woman arguing with security, telling them she was your mom. Everybody assumed it was a fan trying to get backstage. When word got to your sister, she thought she should check it out because they were talking about arresting the woman if she didn’t leave. She knew Heath would be ticked if there was any more bad press, so she thought confronting the lady herself would end it without having to call the cops. Next thing I know, Faith’s running around back here, looking for Dean like there was some sort of emergency. I guess she had him get your mom a backstage pass.”
Sawyer stopped. He couldn’t go into his dressing room. Not with that woman in there. How could Faith have let her back here? He shook his head. His sister had always held out hope their mom would come back. He’d thought she’d finally let that go when Gretchen didn’t show up at their father’s funeral. Sawyer had assumed he would never see her again. How he wished he had been right.
“Tell my sister to come out here.”
Hunter exhaled loudly and went in without him. Faith came out a few seconds later.
“Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Why did you let her back here?”
Faith’s brow furrowed. “Because she’s our mother.”
“How can you be sure if that’s really her? And even if she is our mother, why in the world did you think I would want to see or talk to her?”
Faith gave her brother a hug. “I know this has to be overwhelming.”
He pushed Faith away. “It’s not overwhelming. It’s ridiculous. She left and now that I’m famous, she reappears, looking to talk to me. What a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“She doesn’t want anything from you. We can’t ignore her.”
“Why not? She ignored us for the last twenty-plus years!”
“Oh, my, it’s like this place went into lockdown. What’s going on?” Harriet came around the corner with her backstage pass swinging around her neck. “I had to go through three checkpoints. It wasn’t like that the last time.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Faith said, throwing her arms around Harriet.
“I told Sawyer I would be here after I finished decorating the bus like we talked about.” Harriet turned to Sawyer. “I hope your fiancée will be very pleased.”
Given the insanity of the day, Sawyer had forgotten all about the big pre–Valentine’s Day surprise. Between the argument
they’d had this morning and his mother’s arrival, he wasn’t sure Piper even wanted to date him anymore.
“You’re never going to believe who’s here,” Faith said, acting like it was some gift that their mother had dared to show her face.
“Did you know she’s the one who disrupted the signing at Thornberry’s today?” he asked his sister before Harriet could answer. “She waited in line to see Piper and then proceeded to verbally attack her. I want nothing to do with her.”
“Who are we talking about?”
As if on cue, Gretchen pulled open the door and stuck her head out. “Harriet Windsor, as I live and breathe.”
It took a moment for Harriet to recognize her. “Gretchen? Oh my goodness, is that you?”
“I keep telling all these bodyguards it’s me, but none of them want to listen.” She stepped into the hall and Harriet wrapped her in an embrace like she really was a long-lost friend. But real friends didn’t disappear off the face of the earth for twenty years. “My boy has gotten so popular they won’t let anyone near him without a background check and a blood test.”
He didn’t appreciate the way she treated this whole thing like some sort of joke.
“I can’t do this,” Sawyer said. He took off in the direction of Piper’s dressing room. He had to make sure she was okay.
Mitch and another bodyguard stood outside her room. He knocked on the door before pushing it open. Heath was right there, blocking him from entering.
“Can I come in please?”
“Is that woman really your mother?”
“Apparently,” Sawyer said with a huff. “Can I please see Piper?”
“Is your apparent mother still here?”
“She’s in my dressing room with my family.”
“Then, no. You can’t come in. You need to get rid of her or Piper will not be performing. Understand that if that maniac isn’t out of this building by seven o’clock, you will have to explain to those thousands of people out there why you’re the only one performing tonight.” Heath shut the door.
