by Lori Ryan
“How are things at the bakery, Jesse?” one of the women asked. PJ was almost certain it was Jill. Or maybe it was Kelly. No, Kelly was chasing the adorable birthday girl who was currently screeching, “Mine! Mine!” and indiscriminately pointing to all of the toys, ponies and the bouncy castle.
“It’s been really great. We had the soft opening for people in the office building about three months ago and then the grand opening for the public a week later.” Jesse smiled. “I had a couple of employees that just didn’t seem to get that we needed to treat the customers as though we wanted them there, but they’ve been replaced and things have been running smoothly ever since.”
“That’s great. It must be so exciting to see it all coming together,” Jill said and then turned to PJ. “Jesse owns a bakery in the lobby of the building where Sutton Capital is located.”
PJ smiled. “Oh, that’s exciting. Is that how you guys know each other?” She was still trying to match up all the connections between the friends. Andrew, Chad and Jack worked together. Chad and Jack were also cousins. But, she hadn’t quite figured out where Jesse and Zach fit in.
Jesse laughed and shook her head. “I’m Kelly’s older sister. Jack gave me the bakery as a gift.” Her grin got wider as PJ’s eyebrows rose. “I know. Some gift, huh? It was mostly a bribe. I had, uh, a little trouble going out of the house and feeling safe for a while after Kelly was kidnapped. I had to put my dream of going to pastry school on hold. Jack eventually hired Zach to be my bodyguard, gave me the bakery, sent me to school and, well, pretty much fixed my world.”
Zach’s arms linked around Jesse as she spoke and he pulled her back into him. PJ smiled. She had known Kelly had been kidnapped—Gabe had told her about it shortly after it happened during one of their rooftop talks. She had no idea Jesse had developed anxiety issues because of it. Seeing the couple now, though, it looked like it might have been a blessing in disguise.
Jill’s phone chimed and she excused herself from the group to take the call. The chatter amongst the friends continued until Jill came back, looking visibly shaken.
“What is it?” Andrew asked, crossing to take her hand. Jill tilted her head up at him.
“That was the agency. They have a baby for us. Well, no…. They have two. Twins. Twin boys. They’re in a hospital in Houston, and the birth mother is ready to give up her rights, but we have to decide right away if we’re okay with twins.”
PJ’s stomach bottomed out as the topic of birth mothers and adoption was discussed. Within minutes, Jill and Andrew were surrounded by Kelly, Jack, Chad, Jennie and even Jack’s housekeeper, Mrs. Poole.
“We’re not even remotely prepared for twins, Andrew.” Jill all but whispered the words, and it was clear she was uncertain, but hope and excitement were also evident in her expression.
“We’ll get you guys ready before you can even get those babies back here,” Kelly said, not missing a beat—Jennie and Jesse nodded.
“We can shop for doubles of everything,” Jesse said. “We’ll just match what you already chose and buy a second.”
Jennie spoke up. “And we can rework the nursery or move it to one of the bigger rooms if you need us to. That larger guest room on the other side of your room would work well for two babies. We can paint in there and have it finished before you get back.”
It seemed as if the group held a collective breath. Andrew looked down at Jill, who stood biting her lip. “I’m game, if you are,” he said and the grin on his face was wide and easy.
“Oh, thank heavens,” Jill said as she sagged against him with relief.
“Jill?”
“Yeah?” Jill answered, her voice muffled against his chest.
“You already told them yes, didn’t you?” Andrew asked with a laugh, and the rest of the group laughed with him when Jill nodded her head against his chest.
“I’ll take care of the flight,” Kelly said turning toward the house. Mrs. Poole followed, letting them know she’d book a hotel.
“Call the Towers, Mrs. Poole. Let them know to reserve a room for an open-ended stay for my friends. The manager there is Paul Grandon. He’ll set everything up,” Gabe said.
She called out a thank you over her shoulder as Jill explained that she and Andrew would likely have to be in Houston for at least two weeks, and possibly longer if the twins needed further care. They were in the NICU at the moment because they were born four weeks premature, but the agency had said that no major complications were expected at this time.
As PJ watched the group, feeling like an outsider, she was struck by how quickly and easily all of them pulled together to help when Jill and Andrew needed them. She suspected any of their friends would get the same treatment if they found themselves in need of support. But, it also made her realize that some of her decisions thirteen years ago hadn’t been wrong.
Yes, she’d slept with a man she had no business being with, and she’d done it at an age when she was far too young to take responsibility for the outcome of their actions. But the choices she’d made since then were all good ones. As soon as she’d found out she was pregnant, she had gone to her parents. She had quit drinking, and she’d made the heart-wrenching decision to put her baby up for adoption. Whoever it was that was tormenting her now, whoever had her journal…. They were wrong. She didn’t need to pay for that decision. It had been the right one.
Watching Jill and Andrew and the love that already shone in their eyes for two babies they had yet to meet, it was clear. Sometimes adoption was the right choice. These twins would have a wonderful life with loving parents. They would be safe and cherished and loved.
And Matthew had been given a wonderful life with her Aunt Susie and Uncle Brian. Letting them adopt Matthew had been the best decision she’d ever made. Whoever her tormenter was, he had asked if she thought her baby cried himself to sleep at night and how she felt about that. And, she’d let it get to her. Briefly. But no longer. She knew Matthew had never been without Brian and Susie’s love and care. She knew he had a better life than she could ever have given him as a teenage mom.
Her gut still clenched at the thought of that information getting out, though. They hadn’t told Matthew she was his birth mother yet. He knew he was adopted, but he thought she was just his cousin. She didn’t want this person to force Brian and Susie to tell him before they were ready to—before Matthew was ready to hear it. And she didn’t want to even think about the changes that would come to his stable life if that information was released before they were ready. He’d be hounded by the paparazzi and thrust into the limelight right after receiving the shock of a lifetime.
No, she thought. She couldn’t let that happen. She’d do anything, pay anything, to stop the truth from getting out.
***
Lydia drummed her fingers against the side of her coffee mug, and with only half her attention listened to the update being given to the band. Debra had flown in to meet with everyone, and she kept stressing the importance of the whole team standing behind PJ in the next few weeks. Of course, Debra would drop everything for PJ.
Predictably, Pretty Pru Cantrell had simply skipped town. She’d walked away from the mess and was off somewhere doing who knows what, once again leaving others to clean up after her.
No matter.
In fact, this made things easier. The band and Lydia and Ellis had the next week off. They’d meet up in Denver for the show scheduled at the Pepsi Center.
Splitting up made it that much easier to take care of all of this – to leak the tiny bits of information from the journal. She wanted to let things out slowly, painfully, one little revelation to the world at a time—to show everyone who their Pretty Pru Cantrell really was. The whole damned world thought she was so special because she’d kicked an alcohol addiction and then made a comeback and saved her career. When they knew the truth, they wouldn’t think she was so special anymore.
The only real challenge here would be ditching Ellis. Lydia’s younger brother would want to tag along with her
for the week as he always did. It had been bad enough that he tried to hang on her since her parents adopted the little twit when he was twelve and she was fourteen. He was always so eager to please her, so desperate to be her friend. When Lydia’s father had died in a car accident six months after the adoption, had her mother consoled her? No. She’d wrapped Ellis in her arms and her love, comforting him while Lydia had to cope on her own.
It was always Ellis who needed his ‘new mommy’ the most. Ellis who needed to be loved and supported and cherished. Lydia was expected to be strong, to be patient while Ellis adjusted to being in their family. To sacrifice, so that her mother could give Ellis the attention and love he’d never received before. When her mother had insisted she get him the interview for Assistant Tour Manager with PJ six months ago, Lydia’s patience had been pushed to the limit with the little brat. A lifetime of being shoved aside for Ellis was enough. When he’d come to her with PJ’s journal, it was her opportunity to make them pay for the way they lived their lives so selfishly.
She listened as Debra wrapped up the meeting and had to refrain from rolling her eyes.
“Where will PJ be spending the week, Debra?” Lydia asked.
“We’re not disclosing that information at this time,” came Debra’s canned response, making Lydia seethe. It was one thing to tell that to the media, but Debra seemed to forget who she was talking to.
“I’ll need to know where she is, how to get in touch with her,” she said, narrowing her eyes on Debra.
Debra just shook her head. “You can contact her on her cell phone if you need her. There’s no need for anyone to know more than that at this time.”
“We’re her team! Of course we need to know where she is.”
Debra stared back at Lydia without answering, before slowly turning back to the rest of the group, as though the conversation were over.
“All right, gang,” Debra said in that cheery voice she used to rally the troops, “just be sure to make it to Denver on time and in one piece. We have to be ready to get back to work no later than Thursday morning. Enjoy the time off and remember, not a word to the media about anything. Anyone speaking to the media, a blogger, even a friend, about what’s going on with PJ is gone. No second chances.”
They all nodded. Lydia squeezed her coffee cup tightly. Of course – always covering up for Pretty Pru to protect her. Always making sure the princess came out unscathed. Well, she wouldn’t come out unscathed this time.
Pru Cantrell was going to pay the price this time, one way or another.
Chapter Eight
Gabe watched for any chance to slip PJ’s phone away from her, but she kept it in her pocket the whole time they were at Jack’s. Toward the end of the party, he slipped away and grabbed Chad.
“I haven’t been able to get her phone. You said there’s something you can upload to my phone?” Gabe reminded Chad when they were alone in Jack’s home office.
“Sure. I need to load some firmware onto your phone, but you’re still going to have to find out what carrier she uses for her cell service, and it will only work when you guys are within range of the same base tower.” Chad took Gabe’s phone and attached it to Jack’s computer with a USB cable, then put in the password to unlock the computer. “You sure you want to do this?”
Gabe nodded, his jaw set. If she wouldn’t tell him what was going on, he’d find out. No way was she dealing with this on her own.
Chad rolled his eyes and mumbled something about ‘dumber than a post’ under his breath, but his fingers began flying over the keys as he pulled up whatever illegal firmware he needed to make this happen. When he’d finished, he pulled the cord out of the phone and handed it back to Gabe.
“Call me when you find out what carrier she uses and I’ll walk you through the rest.”
Gabe ignored the guilt needling him and went back out to find PJ.
Later that night, a casual question about possibly changing his cell phone carrier got Gabe the information he needed. The following morning, he read the first of PJ’s text messages for the day. He wasn’t able to see the texts she’d gotten prior to that point. And so far that day, all she’d received was a text from Ellis checking to see how she was doing. Gabe had met Ellis once or twice. He wasn’t a very memorable guy, but since he was part of PJ’s team, Gabe had made a point to remember him. He was small and mousy, often taking way too much crap from Lydia, but he was fiercely loyal to PJ. Gabe had to give him that.
PJ texted back that she was fine. Just trying to relax.
Gabe slid his phone under his chair on the patio when he saw PJ open her bedroom door and walk toward him through the kitchen.
“I thought maybe we’d go out on the boat today,” Gabe said, smiling at her.
“I didn’t pack a bathing suit,” PJ said glancing toward the dock where his sailboat bobbed lazily on the water.
“I’ve got extras. I’m sure I can find something horribly skimpy that’ll let me get cheap thrills all day,” he said and grinned at her. Playing with fire, jackass. For whatever reason, Gabe couldn’t stop himself from feeding the sexual tension between them. Not that it really needed to be fed. It was alive and kicking and doing quite well on its own.
He watched her face flush with heat and smiled to know he’d put that color there. She had been even quieter than usual after the party yesterday, and he wanted to find a way to put a smile back on her face, and keep it there for a while if he could.
When they stepped onto his boat an hour later—picnic basket, towels and sunscreen in hand—she still looked tense and stressed. He hoped he could get her to relax and forget what was happening on Facebook and Twitter. He’d been checking social media sites all day and the journal entries had gone viral. Everyone had an opinion, but he was glad to see there was a huge chunk of people supporting her. A lot of people realized what happened with her former manager wasn’t her fault. The blame should be put at his feet, not hers.
But, the stress of the situation was evident on PJ’s face. He stowed the picnic basket under one of the bench seats, then grabbed two bottles of water. They left the dock and set sail once PJ had settled in. She seemed content to sit quietly, her face turned to the morning sun as he raised the sails. His boat was small enough to allow him to handle himself, and he had them skimming over the open water in no time.
When he reached their destination in a quiet cove, Gabe lowered the anchor over the side of the boat, grabbed their picnic basket and sank down onto the seat across from her. He wanted to sit next to her. Hell, he wanted to pull her into his lap and devour those lips that had been driving him mad since the kiss they shared two nights ago. He couldn’t get the taste of her, the feel of her, out of his head. He wanted more of her. A lot more.
But, he’d settle for talking to her for now. Maybe someday, down the road…. It occurred to him that he’d been saying that for a long time where PJ was concerned. But he had to be brutally honest, now really wasn’t a good time for her. Her world was crumbling. She didn’t need him hitting on her right now.
He would hate it if she thought he’d seen all the reports of her sleeping with Mondo and assumed she was easy. That she’d have no problem putting out for him the way she did with Jimmy. The thought made him wince.
“So, when was the last time you took a vacation?” he asked her as he unwrapped the sandwiches and handed one to her.
She smiled, and the warmth of it cut through him. “Not for years, really. It was a complete fluke to have six days off like this. And, even when I have had time off recently, I haven’t gone anywhere except back home every once in a while.”
“What family do you have back home?” he asked.
“My Aunt Susie and Uncle Brian and their son Matthew.” Gabe thought he saw a little bit of a cloud fall over her face at the mention of her family, but it disappeared as quickly as it had shown up, and he wasn’t sure if maybe he’d just imagined it. She took a bite of her sandwich and a swallow of water.
“Do
you still have a lot of friends back home?” he asked.
“A few,” she said, but her face was sad again. “Nothing like the friendships you guys have here. It was really amazing to see how quickly everybody gathered around Jill and Andrew yesterday. How everyone jumped in to help them without any hesitation at all.”
“You don’t have friends who would do that for you?” Gabe asked and then wanted to kick himself as soon as the words were out.
PJ hesitated. “Honestly? I’m not sure anymore. It’s not easy making friends out on the road, and the friends I had back when I started my career have such different lives now. I was fifteen when I left to go on tour. They have husbands and families. They’re on a completely different path than I’m on.”
Gabe nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. He’d been watching his friends build lives here while he was out on the road, stopping in from time to time. If it was possible, he was pretty sure PJ traveled even more than he did.
“Do you think you’ll want to retire soon?” he asked.
PJ brushed her hair back from her face and looked back out toward the water. “I’ve thought about it some lately. Honestly? I just don’t know what I want to do anymore. You know? I usually have songs playing in my head, things I’m working on. I haven’t heard anything there for three days. It’s like the music has just stopped playing in my head, and it makes me wonder if maybe there’s just some… expiration date. Maybe I’ve hit mine.”
“You started pretty young and you’ve had a long career already,” Gabe said. “Do you think you want to do something else? Manage other singers? Start a family?”
Again, he saw the shadow fall over her face, and he had to wonder if she wanted a family more than she let on. She never did answer his question. She stared out at the water and was quiet the rest of the ride back as he packed up lunch, caught some wind in the sails and brought them back to the dock.
***
Gabe held out his hand to her as they stepped off the boat and then held it all the way up to the house. PJ knew she shouldn’t do it, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help wanting to kiss Gabe again, even after his rejection the last time. She didn’t want to be trapped inside her head, obsessing over who had her journal and whether they would ever release all the truth or just make her suffer forever. She didn’t want to feel the way she was feeling anymore. She tugged at Gabe’s hand, pulling him back toward her when they reached the patio.