Interconnected Hearts

by Bethany Daniel

  "Please do, if things get bad, I'll send security to come stay with you."

  She nods and smiles at him, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm as she does. "Thank you."

  I watch her from my window and see her speed away. It's not fair how the media can rattle everyone's lives. This whole situation is going to be confusing enough for Cason without them poking around for a story.

  Turning around to face Scotty, I see him hunched over the table with his arm muscles all pulled tight. I have a feeling if I could see his face right this second I would see nothing but rage.

  "Scotty?" I whisper as I come to stand beside him.

  "I hate this. That little boy doesn't deserve to be hounded just because he shares DNA with me!" He slams a fist on the table and I jump. "God, how did everything get like this?"

  I rub my hands over his shoulders before pressing a kiss between them. "I don't know baby. But we're tough, and I have a feeling Cason is too. We got this."

  He smiles and tugs me into his arms. "Does your dad want to kill me now?"

  I laugh and shake my head. "Not yet, but he doesn't exactly know the whole story, and I'm willing to bet that he and Mama will want to come see for themselves what the hell is going on."

  Scott groans and leans his face on my head. "Your dad is gonna kill me."

  "No, he won't. Because you haven't hurt me, Scotty. If anything through this you've showed me how amazing you are. I know you haven't exactly had the chance to prove it, but you are gonna be a great daddy to that little boy. Cason's lucky to have you."

  "I love you Krissy, just don't ever forget that, ok?"

  "I love you too Scotty." I wrap my arms around him and squeeze tightly. Tomorrow I bet we will wake up to our own reporter phone calls or news crews stationed outside of our gated community thinking they will get that exclusive interview, and Scotty will probably plaster on that movie star smile and make them forget whatever they wanted but right now all I see is a man who has the weight of the world on him and all I want to do is make all this go away.

  "Are you ok?" I whisper against his chest.

  "Not really." He replies before sitting in a dining room table chair and pulling me onto his lap. "But eventually I will be, as long as you're here with me."

  "I'm not going anywhere, Scotty."

  He smiles a sad looking smile and pulls me into his chest. "Good."

  Chapter 22

  The next morning, a loud pounding sound coming from downstairs startles me awake.

  "What is that?" I grumble and shake Scott's shoulder. "Scotty!"

  "What? What is it?" He jumps looking around in the dark.

  "I think someone's at the door."

  "What time is it?"

  "I don't know! Just go see who it is!"

  He sighs and rubs the sleep out of his eyes before slowly rising out of the bed and stretching his arms over his head and slips a pair of loose fitting jeans over his hips.

  I watch him walking for a minute before getting up and grabbing my red silk bathrobe to follow him down the stairs.

  Scott looks in the peep hole and mutters a curse that makes me frown.

  "Who is it?" I whisper, clutching my arms around me.

  "My parents." He sighs and opens the door where I spot Richard and Carla Adams looking very unhappy.

  "Mom, Dad I-" Scott starts to speak but is cut off when they push passed him and slam the door behind them making me jump.

  "What the hell have you done, son?" Richard asks in a clipped tone.

  Scott flinches and I step up to put my arms around him.

  "What do you know?" Scott asks softly.

  "We know that we apparently have a grandson we never knew about." Carla says, coming to stand beside Richard.

  Scott runs a hand through his hair in frustration and lets out a growl. "I didn't know about him either, until a couple days ago. I swear."

  Carla crosses her arm and stares him down. "How could this have happened? Weren't you always careful, Scott?"

  I step forward and clear my throat. "How about we get dressed, I'll start up some coffee and we can talk about all this?"

  "That sounds wonderful, dear." Carla smiles and Richard just nods his head in acknowledgement.

  I grab Scotty's hand and hurry towards the steps just as Zoie appears in the hallway rubbing her eyes.

  "What is going on out here?" She grumbles.

  "A whole lot of drama." I sigh looking to where my mother and father in law are not so patiently waiting in the living room. "Scott's parents are here. Hey! Do you think you could entertain them for a few minutes?"

  "Me?" She squeaks suddenly wide eyed and looking in the direction of our guests.

  "Sure!" I smile at her and look up at my blank faced husband and sigh. "They'll love you." I take a quick glance at her pajamas to make sure nothing is flashing before grabbing her shoulders and walking her to the living room.

  "Carla and Richard Adams, this is Zoie Reese. She's working on Redemption with Scotty and is staying with us while her parents are um...going through some things."

  "Hi." Zoie says softly with a quick wave. "Nice to meet you."

  "Oh you're working on the movie too? Tell us all about it!" Carla grins and motions for Zoie to sit beside her on the couch.

  She nods and sits but not before looking back at me and mouthing "You owe me!"

  I wave at them and dart over to Scott and drag him up to our room. I hate seeing this look on his face, it's the same look I see on dejected kids in my office every day. It's so out of place on his usually grinning face.

  As soon as I get our door closed, Scott walks over and plops himself on his back. "They're disappointed in me. I can see it in their eyes."

  "They don't know the whole story yet, Scotty. All they know is whatever those vultures have told them." I cross the room and sit beside him. "They aren't gonna disown you or anything, they love you, and they'll eventually love Cason too."

  He sighs and rubs his hands over his face. "I hope so."

  "How about we get dressed and go face the firing squad then?"

  He laughs and pulls me on top of him making me squeal. The next thing I know his mouth is on mine and I have to stop this before we get carried away and my in laws hear something they shouldn't.

  "Alright, you." I giggle and kiss that sexy dimple of his. "No more hiding. Get dressed!"

  He pouts, trying to keep me with him. "Do I have to?"

  "Yes! You're mama and daddy are down there probably interrogating poor Zoie. Let's go."

  I stand up and he sighs before he does the same. "Fine."

  I roll my eyes and pull out a nice pair of jeans and a cute blouse to go with it and pair the outfit with some flats. Walking into our bathroom, I take a good look at myself in the full length mirror and sweep my hair into a messy bun to get my wild curls off my neck. I quickly grab my make-up bag and put on all the basics I need to look good. Base, blush, mascara, eye shadow and I feel human enough to face everyone.

  I take a deep breath as I apply some pink lip gloss on my lip and frown at my scar in the mirror. No amount of make-up can erase it or the story behind it, and sometimes I wonder what people might think of me because of it.

  "You're beautiful, you know." I hear Scotty behind me and catch his reflection in the mirror.

  I smile at him and shake my head. "Ever the charmer."

  He grins and reaches his hand out to me. "Ready to put that southern charm of yours to good use?"

  Laughing, I take his hand and squeeze it tightly. "Of course. I am Sarah Quinn's daughter, you know. She would skin me alive if I didn't have the perfect set up for some sweet tea and a nice snack for any unexpected visitors."

  He kisses my forehead as we round the corner to the top of stairs. Here we go into the lion’s den.

  As we descend the stairs, I can hear Zoie telling Carla all about the different types of make-up and hair products that are used on set.

  "Oh it must be so fun to get fussed over like th
at! Especially at your age, you must feel like a princess."

  Zoie spots us come in and jumps to her feet. "Oh look, they're back!"

  I smile my gratitude at her before turning my attention to my in laws. "Would ya'll like some tea or coffee?"

  "Coffee. As strong as you got." Richard says, rising to his feet and walking passed me towards the kitchen.

  "Yes, coffee would be great, dear. We were up at an ungodly hour this morning to catch the plane." Carla smiles and follows her husband.

  I turn to face Scott and Zoie and sigh softly. "Thanks for sitting with them Zoie."

  "No problem. But I am going back to bed now, its way too early for this much chit chat."

  I wave as she waltzes down the hall and slips into the guest room.

  "You ready?" I ask Scotty and hold my hand out to him.

  His big rough hand swallows mine when he grabs it. "Not really, but we better get in there anyways."

  I lean into his side to offer support and follow the path to our kitchen. Once we walk through the entryway, I let him go and he sits at the table with his parents and I make my way to the pantry to get out the coffee grounds and filter and make quick work of starting a fresh pot.

  "Where should I start?" Scott asks, folding his hands in front of him.

  "The beginning." His dad answers and settles into a similar pose.

  Scott looks over at me and I nod for him to continue while I lean against the counter, something tells me it's gonna take a lot of strength to listen to him tell about his sordid past.

  "Alright, here goes."

  Chapter 23

  "Cason's mother's name is Brenna Bennett. I met her at Excite's party to celebrate my first movie, so about five and a half years ago or so." He stops to run a hand through his hair and then stares down at his hands. "Brenna has friends in high places so she got invited to the party, she was right around my age and we bumped into each other and hit it off. We both had a few drinks, flirted for most of the party then one thing led to another...and we ended up in my hotel room."

  I cross my arms over my chest just to give my hands something to dig in to.

  "We exchanged numbers and sometimes we would hook up again, it was just a fun non-relationship, at least in my eyes."

  "But not in hers?" His mother asks with a raised eyebrow.

  He shakes his head. "No. She got really clingy, she got so mad when fans would hang around set or try to get something off my body when I walked by them. I hated that she was so possessive so I told her whatever we had going on was over and not to ever bother me again."

  "And it was after that she found out she was pregnant?"

  "Apparently." He sighs and I walk behind him and rest my hands on his shoulders.

  He reaches up and grabs my hands and smiles up at me. "Do you think I'm an awful man now?" He asks it in a light tone but I can tell he's scared that I do.

  I shake my head and pull out a chair beside him. "No. You were a new movie star and didn't want anything or anyone holding you back, but you didn't know that she was keeping a secret like that. It's not your fault, Scotty."

  "But it is, Krissy. If I hadn't have been so mean to her, then maybe she wouldn't have been so scared that I would deny him. She would have come to me, and I would have been involved from the beginning. Not playing catch up four years later."

  "Shoulda, coulda, woulda...you can't change all that now, Scotty. What matters is what you do from this point forward."

  "She's right, you know." Carla smiles at me. "I know you'll do right by your little boy."

  "So what happens now? Have you spoken with a lawyer?" Richard interrupts.

  Scott frowns and shakes his head, I don't think he's even considered needing a lawyer.

  "No, there really isn't a need to. Other than maybe setting up a will to include him. But Dad, I'm not going into this guns blazing. All Cason's known his whole little life is his mom and her family. Hell I don't even know if Brenna has a boyfriend he sees as a father figure. Brenna, Krista, and I have made a tentative plan of how we're going to become a part of his life."

  "And what of the rest of us? Will we be allowed to be a part of his life?"

  "Eventually. He doesn't even know who I am yet. It's not fair to just throw all of us on him, Dad. Give me a chance to get to know him myself before I introduce you too."

  Richard sighs and nods his head. "Ok. Ok, I think you have a good idea of what you need to do then."

  "I do. I promise I'm not gonna do anything stupid. We're gonna make all this work, one way or another."

  Richard smiles and stands before walking around and patting Scott on the back. "I'm proud of you, son."

  "You are?" Scott asks in a shocked voice.

  "Yes, you've turned into a good man. Hollywood didn't take the best of you away."

  "No it didn't." I smile and stand up myself. "Would ya'll like that coffee now?"

  "Oh yes, please." Carla says with a quick yawn. "Plenty of sugar, please."

  I nod and walk over to the cabinet to pull out a couple mugs and set about making their coffee. I steal a quick look over at Scott and smile seeing him and his parents in a much more relaxed stance and seemingly enjoying themselves. As I set their cups in front of them, another knock on the door makes me frown.

  "Now who is it?" I mutter as I walk into the living room and look into the peep hole. "Oh um...Scotty? It's Mitchell."

  "Great." He sighs and walks into the living room as well. "Let him in."

  I open the door wide and smile. "Well good morning Mr. Fallon, would you like some coffee? I just made it."

  "No thank you, Mrs. Adams." He tugs on his black suit jacket and smoothed down a lone wrinkle as he turns to Scott. "Mr. Adams, may I have a word with you?"

  "Of course. Um, follow me." Scott motions towards the den area and I follow behind Mitchell. I'm sure he's here for the same reason my in laws are, Cason. Who would have thought a little boy could cause this much commotion?

  "Please, have a seat." I smile at Mitchell and walk over to the loveseat myself and Scott comes to rest beside me.

  "I assume you know what brought me here?" Mr. Fallon responds matter of factly.

  "Oh, I have a good idea." Scott sighs and scrubs his eyes. "I know all of this can be bad PR..."

  "No actually, this could work in your favor."

  "Excuse me?"

  "Think about it. This little boy is your long lost child, you had no idea he existed, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "Now, you're a household name, millions of women know you and well, drool over you. We can spin this to show you as a victim in this, the girl didn't tell you about him. You lost out on these last few years and now you get to swoop in and be the good guy."

  "Mr. Fallon, there is no good guy and bad guy in all this." I sigh and squeeze Scotty's hand. "And no victim either, if there were it would be Cason. We have this under control, and we need you to not let the media spin this out of control."

  "Mr. Adams..."

  Scott holds his hand up to silence him and shakes his head. "She's right, Mitchell. This is already getting out of hand. I'm going to have the security team guard Cason and his mother until all this is old news. I'm not releasing a statement or anything. If the media hounds contact you again, just say that I ask for the respect of my fans to allow my wife and me to process everything. If there is something worth making a statement about, I will."

  "Are you sure that's what you want?"

  "It is."

  Mitchell's face locks down and I can tell that wasn't the response he was hoping for. "Very well." He stands and sticks his hand out to shake Scott's. "Keep me informed of the situation."

  "I will." Scott waves and I walk Mitchell to the door. As soon as he is out of the house, I lock the door and collapse against it.

  I look at Scott and really wish I had the ability to read his mind right now.

  Scott looks back at me then falls backwards onto the couch. "I need a drink."

  "Sorr
y sweetie, it's waaay too early for that."

  "It's five o'clock somewhere right?"

  I giggle and walk over to stand over him. "I think there's a country song or two that say so."

  He chuckles and grabs my hand to pull me on top of him. "Tell me something, what's so appealing about country music? So much of it is depressing."

  "Oh you know, sexy guys in tight jeans."

  "Hey!"

  I laugh and lean my head down to kiss him. Right now I'll do all I can to distract him from the craziness that is our life. Who would have thought everything would be like this right now?

  "Oh you know I like watching your behind in some good jeans just fine, Scotty. You look pretty darn good in a tux on the red carpet too."

  "All about my body, huh?" He teases with a smirk that makes that sexy dimple appear.

  "Mm...Your body, your mind, ya know, you have that whole package. How else would Hollywood have you as a leading man?"

  "Somebody has to do it."

  I lean down and kiss that dimple then make my way to his lips where he quickly deepens the kiss and wraps his arms around me just as we hear a throat clearing behind us.

  "You do remember your parents are in the house, right?" Zoie asks in a laughing tone.

  Scott bobs his head to the side to glare at her. "I was actually trying to distract myself from that fact."

  She smirks and shrugs her shoulders. "You might wanna try distracting yourself in your bedroom next time."

  Scotty reaches around me to grab a throw pillow and chunks it at Zoie's head making her laugh as she ducks and makes her way back towards the kitchen.

  "I think we need to kid proof or well, teen proof the house. There's got to be an alarm to warn us she's gonna walk in on us, right?"

  "Sorry sweetie, I don't think there are kid proofing stuff for kids of that size."

  "Damn."

  I giggle, climbing off of him and pulling him to his feet. "Come on, time to be good hosts."

  "I believe that is your department, babe."

  I give him a look and start walking backwards, taking him with me as I go. "You’re an actor Scotty, just fake it til you make it."