“You can get a restraining order,” Lily
offered.
“And we see all the time how well those
work,” Quinn scoffed. “It only gives you an illusion of
safety.”
“They won’t give him much time on a domestic
violence rap,” Adam said softly from his seat between Linda and
Lily. “Beth’s right. It will just piss him off. Then he’ll come
back.”
“I can pay him off,” Maddox said. “Then he
won’t have any reason to come back.”
“No!” Beth whipped her head around. “No. It’s
not your responsibility.”
Like he was surprised by her reaction. “The
hell with that. I have the money. I can keep you safe that
way.”
“And when he runs through that money, he’ll
be back for more,” Linda said.
Maddox inclined his head, acknowledging the
wisdom of that. “Then I’ll put him on an allowance. If he comes
near you girls or Jonas again, he’s cut off.”
Silence reigned for a moment as those around
the table considered it.
“No,” Beth said finally. “I can’t let you do
that. It’s a commitment I can’t hold you to.”
He turned in his chair, using all of his will
not to lose his temper. He wouldn’t be like her father, damn it.
“It’s a commitment I’m willing to make, because I love you, Beth.
Jesus, are you blind to that, or just stubborn?”
“You love me now. It’s new and fresh.” She
glanced at their friends, as if she didn’t want to say too much in
front of them. “But a few months down the road? I don’t want you to
regret it.”
“You know what I regret? Leaving you behind
the first time. I regret all the time we could have had together. I
regret not having the strength of you beside me.”
“You might not have made it big if I’d gone
with you. I would have held you back.”
“Then I wouldn’t have made it. But I would
have had you and that would have been more than enough.”
“It wouldn’t have and you know it. I didn’t
want to hold you back then, and I don’t want to hold you back
now.”
“Goddamnit, Beth, give me some credit for
knowing my own mind, my own heart. I love you and I want you in my
life.”
“I can’t repay you.”
He ground his teeth and shot a look at Quinn,
who was attempting to distract the others. “I don’t want you to
repay me. I want you to love me.”
“I do, but—”
“Do you think you’re going to fall out of
love with me?”
“I haven’t in fourteen years.”
“Then let me do this. I’ll call my lawyers
and get it done.” He pushed to his feet. “Now, I need to get to
Houston for the concert. Let’s go by your place and pick up some
things for you and Linda and Jonas.”
Her brows snapped together. “What? Why?”
“Because you’re coming with me.”
She looked from him to Quinn. “I can’t. It’s
the Fourth of July, our busiest time, and—”
“Quinn?” Maddox asked without looking at the
other man.
“Take her. She’s yours.”
Before Beth could protest, Maddox took her
arm, motioned to Linda, and led them both out the door.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,”
Beth said, staring out the window of the private jet he’d brought
to Brainerd.
“I didn’t. I bullied you.” He sat beside her
and folded his hand around hers, then brought her fingers to his
lips.
She denied the lust that shot through her,
but didn’t deny his words. “It only worked this time because I’m
too tired to fight.” Plus, she sort of liked the take-charge
Maddox. She wouldn’t want him in charge all the time, but this…was
kind of nice.
“Sleep, then. It’s a few hours until Houston,
and then I’ve got to get to rehearsal. Tomorrow we’re meeting with
Viveca before the concert. I promised her an exclusive interview,
along with pictures, to set the record straight.” He cast a glance
at Linda, who flushed.
“And we’ll need to give her the money back,”
Beth added.
Linda opened her mouth to protest, but Jonas
started fussing, and she turned to attend to him.
The girl had been somber since the incident
with their father, but hadn’t talked much. Beth needed to know what
was going through her young mind.
Beth noted that Maddox’s knuckles went white
as the plane taxied and took off, and did a few dips. She was torn
between looking out the window and watching the tightening of his
jaw, the way he gripped the arms of the seat.
“Are you afraid to fly?” she asked low, aware
that Linda was engrossed with her first flight, staring at the
window.
“Not my favorite thing,” he said tightly. “I
prefer the bus.”
But he’d flown up here to get her, in a small
little plane. She reached across the aisle and took his hand. “You
can squeeze my hand if you want.”
He grinned. “Protecting me again?”
But a few moments later she had to help Linda
calm Jonas when the change in pressure hurt his ears. And once he
was calm and the plane leveled out, a flight attendant emerged from
the cockpit. A flight attendant. For the three of them. Beth
watched in amazement as Maddox shifted into rich-guy mode, speaking
smoothly to the woman and ordering a pop for himself, then
directing the sisters to order what they wanted. Linda did so
gleefully, and Beth asked for a diet pop. The woman
disappeared.
“That seems extravagant. How long is the
flight?”
“About two and a half hours.”
When the flight attendant reappeared, Linda
started quizzing her on her job, and the woman took Linda into the
galley and then into the cockpit to pepper the pilot with
questions.
“Her first flight?” Maddox asked.
“Mine, too,” Beth said.
His eyebrows went up. “I didn’t know
that.”
She shrugged. “Where would I go? Why don’t
you like to fly?”
“How many musicians have you read about dying
in a plane crash?”
“Seriously?”
“One of the times I really wish I could have
a drink.”
“But you won’t.” Even she wasn’t sure if it
was a question or a declaration.
He touched the bandage over her temple. “I
won’t.”
He led them into a hotel in Houston bigger
than any building she’d ever seen. It was like an indoor city, with
restaurants and shops. Beth was sure she and Linda looked like
hicks, staring, turning one way and then another, taking it all in.
Maddox chuckled softly and took Beth’s arm, leading her toward the
bank of elevators.
“Let me get you settled. We’ve got the
interview tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got some make-up people coming
to try and cover up your injury then we’ll do the interview. After
that, I need to get over to the arena, but I’ll send a car for you
and Linda. My manager’s wife will watch Jonas. She’s got two little
kids herself.”
“Maddox.”
“No arguments. I want you to come to the
concert. I need you to come.”
She snapped her mouth shut on her protest.
How could she deny him that after all he’d done for them?
He took them up in a glassed-in elevator and
they exited onto a floor with plush carpet and a row of doors. He
led them to one, showed them how to use the room key—though Beth
had used one before on a high school trip to the Twin Cities—and
opened the door to the suite. It was decorated in creams and reds,
with beautiful sofas overlooking the city. Beth wandered forward to
look out. She’d never been so far up in a building, and looking
down made her stomach pitch a little. She turned to see Linda
exploring the other doors, finding two bedrooms and a plush
bathroom bigger than Beth’s bedroom at home.
“Are you staying here, too?” Linda asked
Maddox.
He kept his gaze on Beth, as if to gauge her
reaction, but shook his head. “I have my own room. This is for you
ladies. Feel free to order from room service, or if you go to a
restaurant downstairs, you can charge it to the room.”
“You’ve already done more than enough,” Beth
protested.
“You wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t dragged
you, so I’ll take the expense.” He stepped close and touched her
arm, bending his head to whisper, “I’ve got to go, but I can come
back later if you want.”
She looked past him to her sister, then shook
her head.
He inclined his head, as if he expected the
answer. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Sleep well.” He bent his head, and
despite her sister being across the room, kissed her, long and
soft. Then he touched her cheek and left.
“Why don’t you just admit you’re in love with
him?” Linda asked when he was gone, taking a seat on one of the
pretty cream-colored couches and making Beth wince with the
possibility of Jonas spitting up on it, or pooping, or something to
ruin the expensive fabric.
“I’m scared.” Beth shook her head, unable to
put the words to why. Because he’d leave. Because she hadn’t
depended on anyone else in so long. Because he meant too much.
“You? You’re not scared of anything, not of
working in the casino, or of Dad when he was coming after you.”
“What are you talking about? I was terrified.
You’re the one who thought on her feet.”
“I could barely move. All I could think was
that we needed help.”
Beth crossed the room and hugged her sister
carefully, trying to remember the last time the girl had allowed
such an embrace. “You saved us. And you tried to save us again with
the interview.”
“You aren’t mad?” Linda asked, drawing
back.
“I was worried about how it would affect
Maddox, and I’m not a fan of airing my personal business. But if
he’s not worried, I’m not.”
Linda blew out a breath. “Thanks.” She
stepped away, around the couch. “I’ve decided something else. I’m
not going to drink anymore. He was just so out of control and I
never want to be like that. I never want Jonas to be that afraid of
me. And I never want to be so crazy I don’t realize I’m hurting my
own child.”
Beth went boneless with relief and sank on
the couch, though she wanted to hug Linda breathless. “Thank God. I
know it won’t be easy, but there are groups—Maddox goes to AA and
he says there are places near Bluestone. We’ll get you help.”
Linda offered a shaky smile. “You realize
what you just did there? You acted like Maddox is going to be
around for a while.”
Beth sank back into the cushions. “I did,
didn’t I?”
***
Beth hadn’t thought she’d sleep well in the
strange room, especially since she still hurt. She didn’t hear
Jonas cry all night, and when she realized it, she pushed back the
layers of blankets and made her way across the suite to Linda’s
room and peeked inside. The room was dark, but she could make out
the outline of her sister, and Jonas in the crib Maddox had sent
up. She’d worried maybe Linda couldn’t manage Jonas with her broken
collarbone but she had insisted on keeping him in her room. Hope
had swelled in Beth’s chest. She’d started worrying about that when
Linda had been talking to the pilot and flight attendants about
traveling across the country. No way could Linda pursue either
career with a small child. But now Beth was more willing to accept
help. She’d get better at that if it meant Linda could try to see
if that was what she wanted.
But for now, everything looked fine, and Beth
slipped out quietly and went to the windows overlooking the city. A
glance at the clock told her it was later here than the light
indicated. At home, the sun rose by five this time of year. Here,
the sun was low in the sky and it was after seven. She glanced at
the room service menu, but she couldn’t bring herself to order food
at those prices, even though Maddox had encouraged her to do so.
She’d seen a McDonald’s not far from here, and she didn’t get there
much. The nearest one to Bluestone was over an hour away. She’d get
dressed and walk.
She pulled on jeans, wincing a little as her
muscles protested. She slipped on her shoes, tucked the keycard and
her money in her pocket, and headed for the elevator.
When she returned with a bag carrying a
variety of breakfast foods and two coffees, she saw three women
waiting at the door of the suite, fidgeting, with two cases on the
floor beside them.
“Can I help you?” Beth had to set the coffee
down to dig out her key card.
“We’re here to get you ready for the photo
shoot,” the tallest one, a blonde, said. “Honey, didn’t you sleep
at all last night? Those bags are bigger than mine.”
When she led them into the hotel room, Linda
and Jonas were already awake, and Linda got no end of amusement
from watching her sister tortured under the ministrations of the
three ladies. The tall one, Millie, refused to let her look in the
mirror as they worked, one ironing her already straight hair, the
other doing her nails, while Millie tsked about her face.
“Beautiful skin, but it won’t last if you
don’t take care of it. Before I go, I’ll write down the names of
some good moisturizers. If you’re going to be in the public eye
now, you need to look your best.”
“I’m not going to be in the public eye.”
“Sure you are. You’re seeing Maddox Bradley.
Everyone wants to know the kind of woman who won his heart. He was
notoriously unattainable, you know.”
She did know.
“Maybe he was pining for you all those years.
Do you think?” the manicurist, Betty, asked.
“No, I doubt that. He was just too busy with
his career.”
“You should never be too busy for love,”
Millie declared. “Are you ready?”
Before Beth could ask what she might be ready
for, Millie presented a mirror to her with flourish.
She barely recognized the woman looking back
at her, polished and plucked, her hair straight as an arrow. For
God’s sake, she was wearing lipstick—in a very flattering color.
She didn’t remember the last time she wore lipstick. She looked
from her reflection to her sister, who was grinning with delight.
She couldn’t remember the last time she saw that, either.