What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  “No. She was with you, wasn’t she? What’s going on?” Jameson asked.

  His friend was going to be pissed.

  “There’s an article in the paper on Blaine with my name on the byline,” Randy said. Yeah, he should have explained that a lot better. Jameson was livid. Avoiding a possible strike, Randy held up his hands. “I swear to you, I didn’t write it!”

  Before Jameson had a chance to answer, Randy’s phone rang and he quickly answered it, hoping for the best. He didn’t even check the caller ID. “Blaine?”

  “Randy, I did it. I wrote that article. I’ve been trying to call you all night because I wanted to apologize and take it back!”

  “Do you know how much trouble you caused? Not only for yourself or even for Randy, but for this newspaper?” Randy’s father roared, slamming his hand on the desk. Randy flinched, even though it wasn’t directed at him. He stared at his sister, waiting for her response. “Is anything in that article true?”

  Marsha sobbed. “It’s true. I have it recorded. I used a recorder and talked to her.”

  Rage exploded in his head. Randy jumped out of his seat and paced the office. The day he walked in on Blaine and Marsha talking. It had to have been then.

  “Randy, sit down and stay calm,” his father directed.

  “How can I stay calm? I still can’t even get a hold of Blaine. She gets in these manic moments and I don’t know what she’s doing!”

  “If she’s a hazard to herself-”

  “That’s not what I mean, okay?”

  “Look, I know I caused a lot of trouble. I was always jealous of Blaine. She got out of town and I was stuck. Come on, I got pregnant at seventeen with Madison. I had to marry young. I’m not proud of what I did, but someone approached me about Blaine when she first came back to town. They offered me money to get the scoop on her and tell them where she was. I think they were the ones who recorded you guys that one night. Jackson, the kids and I could use the money. Then I had all that written up and ready to give to them, and they backed out.”

  Randy stared at his sister blankly, taking in what she’d just said. He’d never, ever been so angry at her in his life.

  “Marsha, how could you?” Mom was in tears. “You’ve put so much at risk!”

  “You were trying to sell a story on Blaine for money? To who?” Randy’s rage continued, making it hard to breathe or to think straight.

  “Some guy Frederic hired to follow her. I was at a shop Blaine was in and after she left, he approached me and made me an offer. Handed me a good sized check to start off with.” Marsha’s voice was shaky, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “If anything, and I mean anything at all happens to Blaine, I’ll never forgive you!” Randy snapped, bolting from the room. Right now, he just couldn’t face his family. Marsha made a world of mistakes throughout her life, but this? This was the last straw.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “When it rains, it pours!” Blaine slapped the steering wheel with her left hand. She felt like banging her head against it instead. Out of gas. Of all the years she’d been driving, she had never once let the car run out of gas. Then again, the last few weeks she’d been spaced out and forgetful. Checking the gas gauge had been the last thing on her mind. Now she sat on the highway with an empty tank, a broken heart, and no idea where the next gas station was located. Not thinking, she’d just decided to drive with no destination in mind.

  Her phone wouldn’t shut up! Calls from Randy, and now her brother. She didn’t want to ignore Jameson, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

  The sound of a loud engine behind her forced Blaine to look up. Maybe she could get a ride to get some gas, or at least see if the person would bring back a gas can so she could fill the tank. She jumped out of the car and waved her hands. Boy did she feel stupid.

  A tow truck had stopped. Matt, Randy’s cousin, stepped out.

  “Blaine? What are you doing out here? What’s the trouble with your car?” Matt asked, The passenger side of the door opened and Andrew jumped out.

  Well doesn’t this suck. Of course it had to be members of Randy’s family. Heat rushed to her cheeks. The tears started again. Ack! “I’m a dork and ran out of gas.”

  “We can give you a lift if you need! Hey, we’re going to be at Randy’s concert Wednesday,” Andrew piped up.

  “Uh, no you’re not. It’s a bar.” Matt slid Andrew an apologetic look.

  “Dang it!” Andrew stomped his foot.

  “Andrew does have a point though. We can give you a lift and get some gas for your car. That’s the only problem you have?”

  “Well, the only problem with my car.” Blaine reached for her purse and yanked the keys from the ignition. “Everything else, I’m not sure about.” Twelve hours ago, hell, even six hours ago, she’d been sure. She locked the door and slammed it closed much harder than intended.

  “Are you still keeping Randy in check?” Andrew opened the door for her when they reached the truck.

  “Andrew!” Matt scolded. “That’s not nice. Climb in back and let Blaine sit up front.”

  “I wasn’t saying it to be mean. You should have seen them the other day. They’re funny.” Andrew hoisted himself up and settled in the back seat.

  Blaine climbed in next, pulling the heavy door closed behind her. “I’m a bit annoyed with Randy,” she admitted. Ugh, she shouldn’t have said anything! Andrew didn’t need to know all these details and it was probably TMI for Matt too.

  Matt started the truck, speeding up along the highway. “I know some of what’s going on. It’s hard to not hear the news,” he said quietly, sneaking a quick look at her. “Is it because of what was in the paper this morning?”

  “He says he didn’t write it,” Blaine muttered. Well, there went the idea of shutting up once again. “His parents pretty much hate me and have been pressuring him to write it. Maybe he’s trying to please them and freaked out when I saw it.”

  “Do you really think that’s something Randy would do?” Matt asked. “Because to be honest, I don’t. Randy’s been a shy guy for a long time. He’s not one to deceive someone, especially a woman he loves.”

  She’d like to think not. The question was if he didn’t write it, who did? How did they know stuff that she’d only really said to him?

  “When is the band gonna play somewhere I’m allowed to go?” Andrew asked, killing the tense silence.

  Blaine laughed. “I’ll tell Jameson to find a place soon.”

  “I kinda want to learn guitar,” Andrew said in response. She wasn’t sure if he was responding to her or telling his father, considering Matt’s feelings about music and that kind of thing.

  “We’ll talk about that later,” his father said stiffly.

  Once again, Blaine’s phone rang. Jameson again. She sighed. Might as well answer. “Hey.”

  “You had us all worried! Where are you? Are you okay?” Jameson’s voice boomed in her ear.

  “I’m sorry. I got upset and needed to clear my head. I’m on the highway. As for okay, that remains to be seen, but I’m trying to be.”

  “Look, I know what you saw this morning must have been upsetting. I’m not taking sides. You’re my sister and I love you, but Randy is my best friend and a good guy. I was pretty pissed when he walked up this morning looking for you and told me why. But we found out who wrote the article. It wasn’t Randy. He’s telling the truth.”

  “Really? Then who would do it? And why under his name?” Blaine was in disbelief, but she didn’t know what else to think.

  “Marsha.”

  She almost dropped her phone. With a shaky hand, she held it even closer to her ear. “Why?” she whispered, her voice cracking.

  “You might want to get back here and talk to Randy and Marsha. Or maybe just one for now. He’s really upset, Blaine. He’s worried you’re going to do something crazy and he hates how upset you are with him.”

  “Do you think maybe I overreacted?” she as
ked, feeling fatigued all of a sudden.

  “Maybe, but anyone in your shoes lately would have every right to be as upset as you were. Just come back home, okay?”

  “I’ll be there soon.” Blaine avoided telling him about running out of gas. No need to make him worry more.

  “Drive safe. Love you, Bratty Blaine.” Jameson used his childhood nickname for her.

  She laughed. “Love you more, Jerky Jameson.” They hung up.

  “Jerky Jameson?” Matt asked, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

  “He called me Bratty Blaine,” she protested with a smile.

  Andrew laughed. “That’s funny.”

  “Yeah, it is. Jameson and I had a lot of good days. We have a thing about picking on each other.”

  “I wish I had a sibling to fight with,” Andrew said wistfully. “But we wouldn’t just fight. We’d be friends, too.”

  “Tell you what. I’ll let you borrow Jameson every once in a while.” Blaine peered in the rear view. She felt bad for him. Abandoned by his mother, learning to get along with his dad. She could see why he’d be lonely sometimes.

  “Deal. Think he’ll mind?” Andrew’s face lit up. “Maybe I can sit in on band practice.”

  “Nah, he won’t mind. And that’s not a bad idea.”

  The three chatted the rest of the ride until they grabbed a gas can, had it filled and drove back. Blaine actually wished the ride lasted longer once they made it back to her car. “Thanks so much guys. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Have a safe trip home. Hope you get everything sorted out.” Matt shot her a knowing look. He didn’t have to say it to know he meant with Randy. “See you Wednesday.”

  Back at the house finally, Blaine tried to calm down. Too many thoughts swirled in her mind. She expected to see Jameson, maybe even Melody or Mom. Nope. Instead it was Jameson with Randy and Marsha.

  She wasn’t prepared for this. They were sitting at the dining room table, the very same table they’d all sat at recently for confrontations and many rounds of good and bad news. Blaine halted in the doorway, debating on turning around. Jameson must have sensed what she wanted to do and he jumped up from his seat to reach out to her.

  “Don’t go. Hear them out,” he pleaded. “If you aren’t up for any more conversation after this, we’ll tell them to go.”

  Jameson hardly ever pleaded with her. If she had to be honest, he was right. She should at least listen, no matter how much she wanted to wrap her hands around Marsha’s little throat for being such a bitch. Yeah, she was steaming mad over this. And Randy … Damn it. That hurt look in his eyes tore her up. When his eyes met hers, her stomach did a little flip flop. She’d never seen Randy so upset.

  “Okay,” she finally answered. Jameson still had a hand on her arm, almost as if he was afraid she’d change her mind and run again. She kinda wanted to.

  No more running. Those OCD spur of the moment fits had to go somehow. When the hell did they start anyway? Sometime after moving in with Frederic, most likely. She couldn’t even recall. As Blaine sank down on the chair, she felt her muscles tense. Her back ached, spreading to her legs and arms. Jameson sat in the chair beside her. She couldn’t keep looking down at the pattern on the table forever, which meant she had to look at Marsha or Randy.

  “Well, what do you have to say?” Randy snapped at his sister. Blaine’s attention moved to him. In all the years she’d known him, Randy was never that angry. His normal, calm voice was filled with a cold edge. Enough for a shiver to ripple through her body.

  “I wrote the article, Blaine,” Marsha admitted, looking away.

  “I gathered that much,” Blaine snapped. “The question is, why? And why put it under your brother’s name? Do you and your family hate me that much you needed to break us apart or something? Holy crap, does this ever sound like high school or a really bad movie, neither of which I enjoy much.”

  Marsha flinched. “A combination of things. I’ve always been envious of you.”

  Blaine opened her mouth, trying to come up with the best thing to say. Nothing. She had nothing, other than a string of pissed off words that she may as well just keep to herself. Why the hell would she be envious? She had nothing for Marsha to be envious about!

  “I’ve had an interest in dance for a while. You found that same interest and were so good at it. I couldn’t compete. I had dreams of going to school and learning to be better. I wanted out of this town. Instead, I wound up pregnant and engaged at seventeen. I followed your career and looked for anything I could on you. You worked with Frederic, a woman’s dream!”

  “That man is no one’s dream. He’s a nightmare and a monster.” Blaine spewed out the words with a tinge of hatred.

  “I know that now,” Marsha said weakly.

  “Be glad you didn’t get that life!” Blaine continued. “You’re here with your family. You might have it rough, but you didn’t suffer through years of emotional abuse. Frederic thought it was okay to decide what I should eat, wear, and do. I became his puppet. He treated me less than equal at work and at home. I was so stupid. Every single emotion was drained out of me. I felt numb. Do you know that he didn’t want me to come home for my own father’s funeral? I missed out on the last years of my father’s life because I tried too hard to give my all to a man who never cared!”

  Blaine shoved the chair back from the table. She almost toppled over. All three of them had their eyes on her.

  “I missed out on so much. My mother went down a disastrous trail, Jameson went through his own thing and had to take everything on himself. Is that the kind of life you wanted, Marsha? I came home to change after change. How bad is it I didn’t know my own brother wasn’t dating Avery any more? I didn’t know how bad my mom was! Then I go back and Frederic is so pissed he pushes me to the point I had a severe back injury. So tell me, what do you have to be envious about? You went looking to make money off a story of me? You thought it’s okay to have someone follow me the night your brother and I went away to have time to ourselves? I was exposed multiple times by a man who was supposed to love and care for me. That’s what a marriage is, right? You have that! It might be rocky, especially with kids, but at least your husband loves you. He’d never have sex with you and then sell those videos to online porn sites.”

  She couldn’t breathe any more. Hot, angry tears spilled from her eyes and all she wanted to do was get the hell out of here. Jameson fidgeted in his seat. Randy’s face was red. He’d heard this before, but never in such an angry tone, and she’d been angry before.

  “So there’s your story. Why don’t you sell that too? Buy yourself some dance lessons and go live the life you so desperately want. Just know you can’t ever take back the years of losing out. I can’t get my father back. I can’t rewind and come home to help my brother and mom who grieved.”

  She’d had enough. No other words needed to be said, nor did she want to hear anything else from Marsha. Blaine grabbed her purse and touched her brother’s shoulder. “I heard her out. I don’t think I can stand around any more right now. I’m sorry for everything, Jameson.” Not giving him a chance to reply, she bolted to her room and slammed the door. She leaned against it, falling to the floor. Years of pain, anger, and frustration washed over and fell from her eyes. Thirty four years old and she was bawling like a baby, but it was long overdue. Loud voices drifted through the walls and she wondered what Jameson, Randy and Marsha were saying now.

  Randy wanted to run after Blaine. He should have. Then again, maybe what he needed to do was give her space and let her process. When she yelled at Marsha, he hurt for her. He felt every single painful memory with her as she let it all out.

  His sister was so pale, he wondered if she was going to be sick. Unable to take the silence, he shot up and headed for Blaine’s door. Once he got there, he stopped and raised his hand, wanting to knock. He debated with this for a few minutes before he decided to just do it. He rapped his knuckle against the door softly, pressing his ear up to i
t. He heard her on the other side, sobbing. Fuck. “Blaine. Please let me in.”

  Let me hold you. Let me love you. Don’t put up your wall again, not now.

  “Go away Randy,” was her muffled reply.

  “I’m never going to go away. I can’t walk away from you and how I feel. I hate this. I hate that you’re hurting again.” He jiggled the handle, wondering if she’d locked it. What luck, she didn’t. But when he opened the door, it didn’t move far. She was leaning right up against it. “Come on. Just talk to me.” Something bumped up against the door, moving it shut. With a heavy heart, he stood back. But then she opened the door again, staring him in the face. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. Before she could lock him out, Randy stuck his foot forward, pushing himself into the room. He took her in his arms. She didn’t hug him back, but she didn’t push him away, either. Randy stroked her hair, feeling her body tense up with shudders and spasms. “I had no idea, Blaine. I didn’t know Marsha was so jealous or that she ever felt that way. I didn’t even know how or when she managed to get on my work computer and write everything up under my name. What kills me the most is you thought I’d do that to you.” He kissed her hair.

  “I’ve dealt with a lot of liars,” Blaine protested.

  “I know you have. But you should know me and trust me. Didn’t I tell you I’d never do anything to hurt you? I’m not that kind of guy. I never have been.”

  “You didn’t tell me about the exclusive in the first place,” she accused.

  “You’re right, I didn’t. It’s not because I wanted to hide it, but because I was still surprised my father would ask that of me. Remember when you came home and didn’t want to say anything about your life to anyone?”

  “It’s not the same,” she said through a clenched jaw, removing herself from his arms.

  Randy took her hands and held them. “Yes it is. I get you’re upset. I would be, too. But we’ve built up something that you should have at least trusted.” He let go of one hand to smooth back her sweat matted hair. “I love you. I didn’t come in here to argue with you over trusting. I just wanted to be honest about how I felt. What I want is to hold you, wipe your tears away and show you I’m never going away. Honestly, I’m upset right now too. I’m so pissed at my sister for this, but I’m really hurt that you didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”