The Hope That Starts

by Heidi Hutchinson

  Because it wasn't just his head obsessing. It wasn't a delusion or a fantasy. Zelda was his. She belonged with him.

  “Harrison?”

  He looked to his right and his body locked. Well, this was certainly unexpected.

  On the last tour, he'd agreed to go on a few dates with the lead singer of an all-girl death metal band. Her name was Audrey, but she had made him call her Slappy. He still didn't know why.

  She was crazy. Like, start a fight in a biker bar just for the thrill of it kind of crazy.

  Interestingly enough, she was the one to end it with Harrison. Not that he minded, he just hadn't been expecting it.

  She now stood before him, her dark clothes and matching makeup absent. She looked nice. Pretty, actually. Bright eyes, sweet smile, demure attire.

  “Hey... Slappy,” he greeted her, feeling the attention of his table shift in that direction.

  Slappy leaned in and gave him a tight hug. He swallowed.

  She was so unpredictable that Harrison was actually afraid of what might happen next.

  “Hi, I'm Greta, Harrison's sister,” Greta introduced herself while sticking out her hand.

  “Hi, I'm Audrey,” Slappy responded, smiling cordially and shaking Greta's hand.

  “This is my girlfriend Zelda,” Harrison said. He wanted to get it out there while at the same time he was positioning himself to block Zelda with his body in case Slappy tackled her in a jealous rage.

  Zelda offered her own hand, and when Slappy took it, Harrison braced.

  “Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your meal, I just wanted to say hello,” Slappy said, like a normal human being.

  “How do you know Harrison?” Greta asked, even though she knew because Harrison had told her all of the stories of the crazy that accompanied his time with Slappy. What was she doing? Trying to get them all arrested?

  “We used to date,” Slappy said, blushing lighting and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I wasn't his type.”

  Harrison had never had a flashback. He'd never done drugs or been to 'Nam, so that made sense. But the room was spinning slightly and he was suddenly back in time.

  “What do you mean, I have to calm down?” Slappy laughed maniacally right before she sprayed the other patrons with a shaken-up bottle of Dr. Pepper, then she leaped from the bar into the crowd that was in no way prepared for that to happen. She landed with a crash and a flurry of curses. Scrabbling to her feet, she ran, ducking and covering her head—right at Harrison.

  He grabbed her hand, then yanked her to the door. Not getting arrested would be really good tonight, he thought belatedly.

  They ran outside and Slappy dove behind some parked cars. Harrison crouched down next to her, not entirely sure what to do next. This wasn't worth it. She was crazy and reckless and she terrified him. How far did his responsibility stretch? Could he just walk away and let her land in her own mess or should he—

  The smell of smoke made him look over his shoulder to see Slappy trying to set one of the rear tires they were crouched next to on fire.

  “What the hell?!” he yelled, slapping the lighter from her hand.

  Her eyes were wild when they connected with his. “C'mon, Hair-Bear, where's your sense of adventure?”

  He pivoted around to face her directly. Still crouched, he grasped her shoulders and looked at her sternly. “You said tonight was going to be a nice quiet night in. We were supposed to watch a movie and eat popcorn... like regular people. Not stalk the new girlfriend of your ex-boyfriend!”

  Slappy's nose crinkled at his words. “So I changed my mind, big deal. Why are you so boring?”

  “Harrison?”

  Zelda squeezed his thigh and he shook out of the memory. Yeah, Slappy just wasn't his type. That was the easy explanation for why they didn't work out. That, and he wasn't posting bail for her anymore.

  “Sorry,” Harrison apologized and reached for his water, the back of his throat tickling. “I was thinking of something.”

  Slappy looked between him and Zelda and then she grinned. “I approve.”

  Then, thankfully, she walked away. Didn't even say goodbye. Harrison felt the tightness in his chest ease slightly.

  Greta was chuckling. “She approves. I love it.”

  “Maybe I'm missing something,” Zelda said slowly. “But I liked her.”

  Harrison choked on his water in the same instant that Greta burst out laughing.

  ***

  Zelda looked through her camera bag one more time. Everything was in order. Just like the last time. She opened and closed her fists at her sides a few times.

  She walked slowly to the elevator, pretended to study the fresh flowers on the pedestal for the fourth time, then retraced her steps.

  She shouldn't have been early. But she was afraid she was going to be late. So she'd been too early, and now she was waiting for Sway. Then they were going to go together to quite possibly the most important moment of his life.

  Yeah, nothing about this morning had been weird at all.

  Meeting Greta had been amazing. Zelda found herself looking forward to meeting the rest of the O'Neil clan. She a little sad to see the dark-haired surfer leave, but was comforted by the fact that they'd be seeing each other again soon.

  Reaching up to scratch the side of her neck, she glanced through the other people in the lobby. Was that...? Zelda stepped to the side, people all sorts of in her way. She bumped into a pillar and bounced off of it into a businessman, who caught her by her elbow before she toppled over.

  “Thanks,” she said, smiling sheepishly.

  He nodded to her as he continued on his way.

  She looked back toward the vestibule where she thought she saw someone she didn't exactly know.

  “Who are you looking for, nerd girl?”

  Zelda spun around, colliding with Sway. He grabbed her by her arms as they both struggled for balance when the weight of her bag caught up to them.

  “I'm so sorry,” she said, her voice higher pitched than normal and way higher than she would like. Way to look cool, Zeldy. Good. This was good.

  “Nervous?” Sway asked, a relaxed smile on his face.

  “Yes,” she said with a frown, then looked him up and down. Jeans, white henley, hair freshly washed and pulled into a tight, short ponytail. Nothing extravagant. Nothing that said, “I'm trying too hard because I've never done this before!” He looked great. Relaxed, confident.

  “Careful,” he warned with a playful arch to his eyebrows. “If you keep looking at me like that, the tabloids are going to think something else entirely.”

  Zelda's anxiety turned to slight annoyance as she grimaced at his words. “Seriously?”

  “Just trying to keep it real.” He grinned. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” she answered and fell in step with him as he headed for the front doors. Kendra had arranged for a car, nothing that would draw attention, but Sway wanted to drive himself.

  The silver Mercedes was waiting in the circle drive and Zelda rolled her eyes as he opened the door for her.

  “It's things like this that are going to make people talk,” she pointed out.

  “As long as it's just talk,” he said with a flash of white teeth before he closed the door.

  ***

  Kiley waited until Sway and the hot photographer had driven away before she came out of the hallway near the ladies room.

  So was she with Sway or was she with Harrison? Kiley ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it down one more time. It probably didn't matter.

  So far her little stakeout had gone very well. The lead singer and the drummer had left an hour ago. The two wives left shortly after that. The one with all the tattoos had come down the elevators with Nick and the other assistant's assistant. Who knows where they went.

  With Sway and the photographer gone, that left Harrison, the tour manager, and the actual assistant.

  The elevator doors opened again and the tour manager left. He was smiling
into his phone (weird), then he was out the door.

  Two left.

  ***

  “So, lunch. That seems harmless,” Zelda said more to herself than to Sway. She was going to be the worst wing woman today, she could tell.

  “Yeah,” he said, taking a drink of his coffee, his eyes trained on the door.

  The restaurant was secluded but secure. Sam and his team had cleared it that morning and Zelda could see Sam himself pretending to read the paper at a table near the door. The owner of the establishment was an old friend of Sway's and had given his word that there would be no cameras or press. He even confiscated his employees' cell phones and put them in the safe for the time being.

  “And then after that?” she asked.

  He tilted his head slightly. “If lunch goes well, I thought we go could up to The Griffith Observatory.”

  She nodded. “Cool.”

  “Here they come,” he said, and she was surprised at the relief that was so obvious in his tone. Had he been worried they wouldn't show?

  The woman approaching was stunning. Zelda wasn't even surprised. She was dressed casually in jeans and a deep burgundy blouse, her blonde hair arranged in a french braid that came over one shoulder. She pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head, revealing dark brown eyes.

  That was when Zelda saw the boy with her. He looked much taller than a seven year old. Lanky frame in pants that were too big and a button-up shirt the same color as his stunning blue eyes. No doubt he was Sway's. Every inch of him said mini-rocker in training.

  Sway stood up and greeted the woman with a kiss to her cheek. “Alexa, this is my friend Zelda.”

  Alexa smiled and placed one hand on the boy's shoulder as she reached out her other one to shake. “Nice to meet you, Zelda.” She visibly swallowed and looked back at Sway. “This is Miles.” She turned to the boy and squeezed his shoulder. “Miles, this is Sway.”

  Miles stepped forward like the little man he was and offered his hand to the man who had given him those blue eyes.

  Sway took the hand and smiled. “Hey, Miles.”

  “I know you're my real dad, but you're not my dad dad,” Miles said, matter-of-fact. Zelda caught Alexa's wince.

  “That pretty much sums it up,” Sway agreed amicably. “You want to get some pancakes or something?” He gestured to the table. Zelda had to wonder how on earth he was being so casual about all of this.

  Miles looked at the table and shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”

  They all took their seats, Sway and Zelda next to each other, Alexa and Miles across from them, with Miles directly across from Zelda.

  The boy studied her openly. “Are you his girlfriend?” Miles asked curiously.

  Zelda smiled. “No, just a friend.”

  “More like a sister,” Sway corrected.

  Zelda felt that slide through her like warm syrup.

  Like a sister. Yeah, she could do that.

  It seemed all the same to Miles. He shrugged those small shoulders again. “Mom said you only date pretty women.”

  Alexa took a deeply mortified breath.

  Zelda was flattered.

  “Well, she's not wrong,” Sway said, oblivious to Alexa's discomfort. “I dated your mom, after all.”

  “Yeah,” Miles said, assessing his mom openly. He turned his frown back to Sway just as their waitress approached with a friendly smile. “Do you have any other kids you've never met?”

  The waitress, her nametag said “Stacy,” made a slight adjustment to her smile and her eyes went wide.

  Zelda held her breath. Alexa closed her eyes.

  And Sway? Well, Sway grinned.

  “Not that I know of,” he answered cheekily. Zelda wanted to pinch him.

  “Do you want me to come back?” Stacy asked tentatively.

  “Nah,” Sway replied, turning his smile on her. She couldn't help but smile back. Not many women could. “We want pancakes, chicken nuggets, and tons of maple syrup.”

  “I'll take a coffee,” Alexa put in.

  “Chicken nuggets?” Miles asked as the waitress collected the menus.

  Sway jerked his thumb in Zelda's direction as he leaned both elbows onto the table. “I have to feed the nerd girl.”

  Then Miles grinned. And he looked so much like Sway that Zelda's heart nearly stopped. What must Sway be thinking? He'd missed out on so much, and now here was this little person who looked just like him, but was still so much of a stranger.

  Zelda's eyes flicked to Sway to see his face. To get some kind of a read on him.

  Happy.

  He just looked very happy.

  “Sway?” Miles asked, mischief twinkling in those bright blue eyes.

  “Yeah, bud?”

  “Why do ducks have flat feet?”

  Sway's smile went lopsided. “I don't know.”

  “To stomp out fires,” Miles answered and then quickly followed up with, “Why do elephants have flat feet?”

  Sway shrugged. “Why?”

  “To stomp out burning ducks,” Miles said. He was trying to hold back his smile of triumph and not succeeding.

  Sway burst out laughing. It wasn't a patronizing laugh, either. He was truly tickled and caught off guard.

  “I love it,” he declared, causing Miles' hopeful little face to shine brighter than anything Zelda had ever seen.

  They didn't need her to come along to make them feel at ease. They were going to be just fine.

  Chapter 19

  I Should Have Known

  Harrison was getting bored. He probably should have gone with Blake earlier. But he wanted to be here when Zelda got back.

  He had been right about being away from her at night. It. Had. Sucked.

  He couldn't sleep. He'd gotten up and gone to find some food. This super sweet pastry chef in the kitchen named Jamie snuck him some leftovers. It was probably against policy, but she didn't seem too worried. In fact, she didn't seem to know who he was at all. She just saw a hungry man in her kitchen and started pushing food at him.

  He was very grateful.

  He'd gone back to his room to drown his loneliness in cakes and chocolate mousse. His bellyache woke him up a few hours later, just in time to get ready for breakfast. Still, no regrets.

  But now? Now the food was gone, his sister was gone, the band was gone. No one was around. He checked the clock on the end table. Sway and Zelda could potentially be busy all day.

  How was that whole thing going? He wanted to call and check in, but that seemed a little clingier than he was willing to get just yet.

  His knee bounced up and down as he tried to sit still. Nope. He stood up and slid the key card into his back pocket. Maybe the pastry chef was working again.

  By the time the elevator doors opened to the lobby, he was full-on craving the chocolate mousse again. Though there were a lot more people around than there had been at one in the morning.

  Trying to keep a low profile while still getting to his destination, he zigged and zagged his way to the fancy kitchen he had discovered last night.

  He stopped just inside the double doors and froze. It was most definitely busier than it had been at one. The staff hurried around him, intent on their tasks. No one even paused to look in his general direction.

  “Harrison?”

  He bit down on the inside of his cheek as he tried to decide whether or not to turn around. Obviously someone had followed him into the kitchen. Obviously it was Kiley and she'd turned to full-blown stalking.

  Maybe if he stood very still and didn't say anything, she would go away.

  That's how to get rid of a girl, right? Or was he thinking of Tyrannosaurus rex again? That would make sense; he actually thought about dinosaurs a good portion of his day. They were huge. And awesome.

  “Harrison?”

  Right. The girl behind him.

  He looked over his shoulder.

  “Kiley,” he said flatly.

  “I've been trying to get a hold of you.”

  �
��Well, I don't want you to get a hold of me. I thought I made that pretty clear with the whole not-returning-your-calls thing.”

  Her eyes got glossy and he frowned. Kiley was not an emotional type of girl.

  “What are you doing here?” The pastry chef from last night hissed as she came to a rushing stop at his feet. Dang, she was short. Like, very.

  “Jamie, right?” Harrison asked, snapping his fingers and grinning at her. “I was looking for some more of that chocolate mousse.”

  Jaime sighed and rolled her eyes. “I should have believed the memo.”

  “What memo?” he asked, confused.

  “Harrison, I need to talk to you,” Kiley said rudely.

  “The memo from your tour manager,” Jamie answered. “It said not to feed the adorable one, otherwise he won't leave you alone.”

  So she did know who he was. Why would Carl send out a memo like that? Was he trying to make sure that Harrison starved to death?

  “Harrison,” Kiley insisted, grabbing a hold of his arm.

  “Just a minute,” he muttered to her, his eyes still on the pastry chef. “So you actually were told not to feed me?”

  She nodded emphatically. “You need to leave. We're working, you can't be back here.”

  Harrison tilted his head.

  She was a mom, moms had a look. They just did. So Harrison did what he always did to his own mom. He angled his eyebrows in a silent plea, and tried to look as gaunt as possible. Jamie pressed her lips together tightly and then sighed. “Fine, I'll see what I can find.” She pointed a finger at him sternly. “Don't move from this spot.”

  Harrison grinned at her. “Yes, ma'am.”

  “Harrison, I'm pregnant.”

  His heart actually stopped. So did his brain. All of his thoughts of chocolate mousse and whipped topping and cakes and sprinkles fell out of his head and died a tragic death on the floor.

  He should never have left the hotel room. Nothing good happens when you leave the hotel room.

  His eyes were still connected to Jamie's. Hers were wide, her mouth hanging open just a bit. Just his eyes moved to Kiley. She sucked in a deep breath and then shuddered as she exhaled.

  “What?” he asked, hoping he'd misheard. Maybe this was a tactic to get his attention. Something for shock value.