by Wendy Vella
“Probably, but I just want what’s best for her.”
“As do I,” Joe added.
“She told me once about this person in her past. It was probably the only personal conversation we ever had.”
“And that’s weird, considering you were engaged.”
“Not all people are like the Trainer family, Joseph. Some of us don’t share every detail of their life.”
“Just Joe, and we spent years living with an asshole who pretty much kept us in check with threats. Once that threat is lifted, it tends to change you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t tell you for sympathy, just stating facts. I like the way my family is now. Being open is better for your digestion.”
“Yes, well, Bailey and I were brought up differently.”
“Uptight,” Joe added.
“Why don’t you just hit me, and we can leave the innuendoes out of the conversation then, because it’ll be out of your system.”
Joe pushed off the doorframe. “Shit, why did you have to go act all manly just when I had you pegged as a wimp.”
Clark snorted. “I may appear polished, with a side serving of manners, Trainer, but it wasn’t always the way.”
“I had you down as a trust-fund baby.” He battled it, but Joe felt a begrudging admiration for the man who stood before him. He was standing his ground, and you had to respect that. Plus, there was that “hit me” comment, which was something he would have said.
“No. It couldn’t be further from it, actually.”
“Okay, I’m done poking at you, so let’s have the rest of the story.”
“Bailey had just had the third operation on her wrist and was still out of it on drugs. I came in to see her and asked if there was anything she wanted.”
It was telling to Joe, that he didn’t like thinking of her anywhere in pain without him.
“She said that just once, she wanted to go back and see him. See if he was doing okay. I asked who she was talking about, and Bailey told me that it was someone who had once been her best friend. She fell asleep shortly after, so the conversation finished. I forgot her words until now.”
She’d asked for him, even all these years later. She’d never forgotten what they had, just like he hadn’t. There had always been a link between him and Bailey Jones, and he also knew it was growing stronger every time he saw her. He should have gone to visit her after that concert. She’d deserved that much from him.
“That was you, wasn’t it, Joe?”
He managed to nod.
“Well, here’s a bit of advice.”
“Shoot” was all he could manage, because his throat felt tight.
“First. If you love her, as I suspect you do, then make sure she knows it, because she’s not had many people tell her that, me included. Second. Don’t hurt her.”
“I would sooner hurt myself. Now tell me, why did she let him bully her?”
“Him, being her grandfather?”
Joe nodded.
“He’s smooth, and can pretty much talk anyone round to his way of thinking, and I think deep inside him, he loves Bailey. The problem is, she allowed him to take control of her life from day one is my observation, and that never changed. So when she rebelled, it shocked him, and he reacted by cutting off her money. Hell!”
“What?” Joe looked at Clark.
“I just remembered that today is Bailey’s birthday. Damn!” Clark shook his head. “I usually remember things like that.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Joe said. He’d make some calls, and ensure this was a birthday Bailey never forgot.
“Just so you know, Leonard Southby is a strong man who believes he has always had his granddaughter’s best interests front and center in his life.”
“Not so much, is my guess.”
“No, and again I should have seen that, but Bailey never raised any red flags with me, she just did what he asked of her, and showed no emotion doing it. I thought she was incapable of it, until I came here and saw different.”
Joe found a smile. “She’s amazing.”
“She is.”
Joe stuck out his hand, and Clark shook it.
“Take care of her, Joe, and I’ll see if I can sort out this business with her grandfather.”
“I will, and come back in a couple of years.”
Clark laughed, and Joe walked with him around the front to the main street, where his car was parked. They were standing at the curb when Clark squinted down the street.
“Don’t tell me that’s who I think it is?”
“Who do you think it is?” Joe followed Clark’s gaze and saw a long black sedan coming down the main street.
“The only man I know who drives around in a chauffeur driven car just like that is Bailey’s grandfather.”
“We have celebrities here in Ryker.” Joe kept his eyes on the black sedan.
“Let’s hope it’s one of them then.”
“Shit,” Clark whispered. “I recognize the driver.”
“Fuck,” Joe added as no other word fit the moment. “We’ve got her back here, Clark. Remember that for me, will you, and don’t let this asshole make her life hell.”
“Yes, we do, and she’ll need it, Joe. He’s one intimidating man.”
“Don’t you go all chicken on me now.”
“No.” Clark’s mouth thinned. “I’m done dancing to his tune.”
“You too?”
“There must be something in the water here.”
Joe snorted, his eyes once again on the car that was pulling up beside them. The rear tinted window rolled down and there he was. Bailey’s grandfather.
“Leonard.” Clark moved forward. “What are you doing in Ryker Falls?”
He couldn’t see all of Bailey’s grandfather, but what he saw was impressive enough. Silver hair was parted on the side and swept back to settle in a way that suggested to Joe he’d used some kind of product to keep it there. His moustache and beard were also gray, and neatly trimmed, eyebrows the same. Face long and lean, and to Joe’s mind he’d be the perfect King Arthur in the next film—or maybe his grandfather.
The door opened, and a black polished shoe came out. The leg that followed was in a tailored trouser, and on top he wore a pale blue shirt, silver-and-blue-striped tie, and waistcoat that told Joe somewhere in the depths of that car was a suit jacket hanging from something.
“I’ve come to take my granddaughter home, as you have yet to achieve my wishes, Clark.”
He was tall, only an inch or two shorter than Joe. Lean, and fit, was his guess, even considering his years were considerably more advanced than both the men before him.
“She doesn’t want to come back to Boston, and is happy here in Ryker Falls.”
At least Clark had now come round to the fact she wasn’t going back.
Leonard Southby’s mouth thinned. “She has no idea what she wants, foolish girl. I will take control as I always have. Bailey is not fit to make her own decisions. I will talk to her, and we will leave shortly thereafter.”
“Not going to happen.” Joe drew the man’s eyes with his words. “Bailey is a friend, and I know the influence you’ve had on her, her entire life, Southby, and it’s stopping right now. You may want to look at releasing her money too, before we get lawyers involved.”
For a brief moment the cool, arrogant facade slipped, and in its place was shock. He scrambled, and soon it was back in place, but Joe enjoyed the moment of weakness.
“And who are you to speak to me this way?”
“Joe Trainer. Friend... really good friend.” He saw the man had read between the lines.
“My granddaughter has a fiancé, and he is standing here. Perhaps he has something to say about that.”
“Bailey and I broke our engagement, and it was the right thing, Leonard. Neither of us loved each other, and we’re better friends.”
“Love!” The man scoffed, and Joe felt his dislike for him notch upward. �
��She needs someone like you, Clark. My granddaughter does not need the complication of love.”
“Oh hell no,” Joe said softly. “You did not just say loving Bailey would be a complication. She’s funny, intelligent, and so goddamn beautiful it hurts just looking at her,” he snarled. “She deserves better than the cold, lifeless world you created for her, and she’s going to get it.”
“Grandfather?”
Joe looked over his shoulder and saw Bailey. She’d obviously just come from the stables. Her hair was in a single braid, wisps everywhere. A streak of mud ran along her chin, and she wore an old black T-shirt that he thought may have belonged to Maggie, as it had the words Art is for Life on it. Her long legs were in designer jeans that now had a rip midthigh. On her feet were her now-grubby peach sneakers.
“It seems I have timed my arrival perfectly, if this is the state you are walking about in public in. You are a disgrace, Granddaughter. Get in my car at once.”
She’d inherited something from her grandfather. Her expression. Not by a flicker did she betray what she felt, but Joe knew her well. She was shocked, and her grandfather’s words had hurt her. The old bastard hadn’t even hugged her.
“And there was me thinking she looked hot.” Joe moved to her side, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “How you doing, sweet cheeks?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Bailey couldn’t breathe. She felt it again, the tight band of tension inside her. Leaving her grandfather had made her realize just how much he controlled her, and how much being near him had made her feel small and uncomfortable.
“It’s all right, Bailey.”
Joe leaned in and placed a kiss on her head. She loved him right then. Admitted that what she felt was a total and unconditional love for the man at her side. As a child it had been a sweet, painful thing, but now it was another level. Suddenly, all the arguments and disagreements they’d had seemed silly.
But she couldn’t think about that now; she had to deal with the man standing before her. Later, she’d talk to Joe.
“Why are you here, Grandfather?”
His eyes narrowed at her tone. Bailey had never questioned her grandfather. Never made waves, always complied with his wishes.
Silly, weak-kneed fool that I was.
“To bring you home. It is time for you to start playing again. I have had requests, and people are starting to talk.”
“She’s not coming back, Leonard, I told you.” Clark followed these words up by moving to her other side. Suddenly she was supported on both sides. Her grandfather did not like it.
“You’re fired, Munro!”
“I don’t work for you, Leonard, I never did, and now Bailey is no longer performing I will have no further contact with you, which pleases me greatly.
“He’s powerful, Clark,” she said, looking up at her friend. “Don’t upset him.
“It’ll be okay, Bailey.” He patted her hand. “I’m growing a pair, like you.”
“Pair of what?”
Joe snorted, and Clark smiled.
“I’ll explain later.”
“Your hand is healed, what is stopping you from performing? Nothing.” Her grandfather often did that, answered his own questions.
“This is not the place for this discussion, Grandfather.” She moved out of Joe’s embrace, and missed him instantly. “I will ride with you to the lodge, where you can stay for the night, then you will leave in the morning.”
“I do not take orders from you, Granddaughter!”
“And yet I must take them from you?”
She’d shocked him again, but she knew this discussion was far from over. However, he was a man to whom appearances were everything, so he gave her a final look before getting back inside the car. He would not lower himself to argue on a main street where anyone could see them.
“I don’t want you going with him alone, Bailey.” Joe held her arm as she went to follow.
“I know, but I’m stronger now, and he won’t kidnap me. For all he’s a stern, autocratic man, he’s still my grandfather. I need to do this, Joe, for me. I need to stand up to him, or I never will. This has to be resolved.”
He wasn’t happy about it, but he nodded. “All right, but if you need me, call.”
“On what?” She tried to lighten the mood. He scowled.
“I’m getting you a phone.”
“I’ll come with you then.”
“No, Clark, I have to do this alone.”
Bailey kissed Joe’s cheek, then did the same to Clark. She then made herself walk the steps to her grandfather’s car. They were some of the hardest of her life. Sliding inside, she closed the door, and the car pulled away from the curb.
“Take a left at the end of the street,” she told the driver.
“We will pack your things and leave in the morning.”
“I’m not coming with you, Grandfather. I like it here for now. I am working in the stables, and playing honky-tonk in a bar. It suits me, and for the first time in many years, I am happy.”
“Honky-tonk! Mucking out stables! I did not pay for you to have the best tutors and education for that.”
“I have made you enough money to reimburse those costs, Grandfather. Plus, if you remember I received a scholarship on my own merits for Juilliard.”
“I do not like your tone, Bailey.”
She would have once been cowed, and apologized, but not now. Looking at the man who had been the main influence on her life for many years, she realized that he was just that... a man. He couldn’t hurt her if she didn’t allow it.
“I allowed you control over me and my life, and for that I am sorry. I know you believed you were doing what was right, and for a while it probably was, but I am no longer the girl you can control, Grandfather. I want to make my own decisions and live my own life. If mistakes are to be made, I want to be the one to make them. I no longer want to be your performing puppet.”
The shock on his face was real.
“And is that man part of this rebellion?”
“No, I was rebelling by leaving Boston, and my courage grew with every mile I distanced myself from you.”
“I have devoted my life to you, Granddaughter.”
“And I am grateful to you for that. I understand the sacrifices you have made.” Because she did, and knew to his mind he had done everything he believed was right for her and her career. “But I no longer wish to live in that cage,” she said softly.
“Cage,” he scoffed. “Expensive hotels and clothes—you never went without anything. Adoration, and being showered in flowers. Yes, your life must have been horrible.”
“I did not say it was horrible, Grandfather. But when you reach the age of twenty-seven and you have no cell phone or laptop, you don’t know how to use a washing machine, or fend for yourself in the world without help, it is not good. I allowed that to happen,” she added before he could speak. “Allowed it, and enjoyed it for a while, but now....” Bailey sighed. “Now I no longer want that world.”
He talked at her on the way to the lodge. Then all the way inside. Angie greeted them at reception.
“Hi there, Bailey.”
“Hi, Angie. This is my grandfather, and he would like a room for one night, please.”
“Two, possibly three,” he corrected, much to her horror.
“Why would you want to stay longer?”
“I’m taking you back with me, but I see now that will take time to achieve. But I will achieve it, Granddaughter, believe me.”
“It’s the influence of that no good Joe Trainer!”
Bailey and her grandfather turned, and behind them stood Mary Howard. Excellent, that was all she needed.
“And you are?” her grandfather said with a raised brow.
“Mary Howard, and my family are important people in this town, whereas those Trainers are troublemaking scum.”
The woman’s chins quivered as she stood there glaring at Bailey.
“I believe I told you last
time we talked, Mrs. Howard, that I don’t like hearing you speak about Joe or his siblings in that way,” Bailey said, trying to hold onto her temper. “You have no grounds for this vendetta you are carrying out against him. The truth is your son was sent away because of his own actions, not Joe’s. If he hasn’t returned maybe you should ask him why and stop blaming Joe!”
“How dare you speak about my boy that way! He was twice the man of Joe Trainer!”
Bailey stepped closer to the woman, her patience now well and truly gone. “Leave him alone, Mrs. Howard, because I’m telling you now, if I hear you’ve been rude to Joe again, I’m coming to find you and it won’t be pretty.”
“Bailey, apologize at once for speaking to this woman in such an insulting way!” her grandfather said sounding shocked.
“This does not concern you, Grandfather.”
“I can see I have arrived just in time, if this is the way you are now behaving. We shall leave instantly.”
“No, we won’t,” Bailey scowled at Mary Howard again, and then her grandfather. “So the sooner you come to that realization, the better it will be for the both of us. Now I am leaving, before I get angrier. I shall see you tomorrow... before you leave. Bye, Angie.”
“Bye, Bailey.”
“Bailey!”
Ignoring her grandfather’s roar, and surprised that he had done so in such a public setting, as appearances were everything to Leonard Southby, she kept walking out the door.
“Hi, Bailey.”
“Mr. Goldhirsh.” She nodded and attempted a smile. He didn’t buy it.
“Problems?”
“My grandfather has arrived in Ryker Falls, and I just went at it with Mary Howard again. That woman’s full of nasty.”
He fell in beside her as she began to walk out the lodge gates.
“Forget Mary Howard, she’s not worth your anger.”
“I’ll try.”
“Your grandfather’s visit is obviously not a good thing, is my guess?” As usual he was in his exercise clothes, although this time he also wore a small backpack.
“Not so much. Do you ever not exercise?”
“It keeps me fit and feeling young, Bailey. It is now something my body craves, almost an addiction.”