Lucas turned to Avery, and he had a frown on his face that told her something was off. "Slow down. You got what?" He stopped his normal pacing he did when he was on the phone and his body tensed.
Avery's heart raced. But she waited as patiently as she could for Lucas to get off the phone and let her know what was going on.
"You've got to be kidding. Does this ever stop? No, I'm not mad at you. I just … Why does this stuff have to be dug up all over again? No, I'm glad you let me know. This affects me too. I'll keep an eye out. As if we don't have enough to deal with. Yeah, she's right here. Do you want to talk to her?" Lucas nodded, then brought the phone to Avery, holding it out to her. As she took it from his outstretched hand, he sat beside her again.
"Hi, Belinda." Avery leaned back, wondering if she was going to tell her what that was all about with Lucas.
"Avery, how are you feeling? Everything is running as it should, right?" Belinda sounded out of breath and a little stressed. But when wasn't she? Sometimes, Belinda was just very high strung. Avery hoped that if Baby Stetson had a career even half as successful as Belinda's that she wouldn't start getting like that. She loved getting to know her, but sometimes, Avery had to shake her head at how freaked Belinda got over stuff. Avery couldn't count the number of times Belinda had said that she would get her to the right people and get the band out there.
She hadn't even heard the band yet.
And the last thing Avery wanted was a career built off of who her biological mother was. If Baby Stetson was going to make it, then they would do it on their own merit.
"Everything is good. I'm taking it easy. On the restless side, but I'm managing. How are things with you?"
"Good. Busy as usual, but that's how it always is. I'm really looking forward to seeing you soon." Belinda's voice softened. Avery smiled. It would be nice to see her again, even if at times she could be overbearing. This was still her birth mom.
They talked for a few minutes more, until Belinda had to go for another appearance of some sort. Avery hung up the phone and turned to Lucas. "Okay. What's going on? Belinda sure as hell didn't tell me anything, but I know that look on your face, Lucas."
Lucas sighed and took her hands in his. "Someone has found a new way to get at Belinda. Someone sent her a photo of Sam. When he was younger. It came with a note that said something on the lines of 'I know what you did'. Belinda didn't fully get into what it all said, but the message was clear. I was wondering if at some point this would come up. God, the media doesn't stop, do they?" Lucas squeezed her hand.
This hurt him. Avery knew that. He still suffered from Sam's loss. There were nights she woke up to him talking in his sleep, pleading with someone about Sam. "I'm sorry, honey," she whispered, moving in to his arms to hold him. She ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. "Whatever comes, we'll get through it." Lucas's arms tightened around her. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"Thank you, Avery. For always being there, for loving me, for being you."
Something didn't add up. New people in town, and already more trouble had been found. What next?
Chapter Six
The last thing Jameson wanted to do was set foot in this town again. The past had a way of creeping up on him and he had to do it. The most important thing he needed to do was find his mom, get her home and do what he could to lead her to the right track. He didn't know if it could ever be done. You can lead a horse to water … Yeah, he knew that old saying. This was his mom, for crying out loud! He couldn't just sit on the sidelines anymore and watch her destroy herself. Part of him was irritated at her for being so selfish when she did this and not thinking about him and Blaine, but a bigger part of him understood what grief could do. He'd experienced that himself. That one little slip up changed the course of his relationship.
There he went again, dwelling on the past. It needed to stay behind him, damn it! That's why it was called a past. Yes, if he could go back and change it, he would do it different, but that's the thing. He couldn't.
So get over it.
Maybe his mom wasn't the only one that needed a wake up call. Every day, Jameson saw the painful reminder of change.
He pulled up in front of the house, immediately slammed with memories.
So far, he didn't see his mother. No one lived in the house, but it looked like someone had kept up the place. Jameson didn't recognize the vehicle parked on the property. Oh please, let his mother not have stolen another car! He killed the engine and flew out of the truck, not even waiting for Mary.
The front door to the house opened, and Jameson came face to face with someone he didn't expect to see.
He stopped short, his heart racing. Not this. Not now.
"I figured it was only a matter of time before you showed. I assume you're looking for your mom?"
She'd let her hair grow out. Long locks of auburn hair fell behind her back, and she watched him with those same dark brown eyes. When he couldn't get a word out, her brows raised and she waved a hand in front of his face.
"Jameson. Hello? Are you all right?"
Hell no, he wasn't all right. Why now? Why ever? What the hell was she doing here, at his parents' old house?
"Lea. I didn't expect to see you here." He finally managed to say something. Soft footsteps echoed behind him. Jameson peeled his gawking stare away from Lea and realized Mary stood next to him now.
"I've been taking care of the place. I happened to come by this morning and found your mom on the front porch." Lea gestured behind her.
"So she's here? Right now?"
Lea nodded. "Yeah. She's sleeping. I'm so sorry. She told me what happened, how she took your truck and..."
"Yeah, the truck. I can deal with later." Now he just needed to convince his mom to come back with him and not cause a fuss.
Lea's gaze shifted to something beside him. Jameson turned. Mary stood next to him, watching with wide eyes, but hadn't said a thing.
"Are you Avery?" Lea asked, hesitant.
Mary shook her head no as Jameson replied, "No, not Avery. This is Mary."
"You and Avery...?"
Jameson frowned. He didn't want to get into this with her. With anyone, really. Oh well. "Avery and I aren't together anymore." He stared hard at Lea, until she blinked in surprise. So she understood. Her eyes filled with sadness as she tore her gaze away from him.
"Jameson. I'm so sorry. You'll never know how much." He could hear the regret in her voice.
"It doesn't matter Lea. It's the past. Avery moved on. She's happy with her fiancé. And I'm happy for her. I really am. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to talk about this with you. I'd like to see my mom, please."
Mary finally came up the steps and stood closer to him as Lea stepped away from the door to let them in. Jameson didn't meet her gaze as he brushed past her.
The moment he walked into the house, memories flooded him even more. The loss of his father suddenly became fresh again as Jameson felt inundated with feeling from being back here. He swallowed hard, needing to just get in and out.
Hell, he hadn't expected to see Lea, let alone have everything brought up in the open.
"Jameson?"
Mary's voice, calm and quiet, pulled him from his thoughts. He stood at the foot of the stairwell and faced her. Her eyes met his. "This is harder than I thought. Being here," he added. She had questions, he knew that, especially about Lea. Who wouldn't?
Mary surprised him by reaching for his hand. "Whatever I can do to help, let me know."
He wanted to hug her, but held back. He was shocked enough that she'd taken his hand, considering how skittish she'd been about any kind of touching. "I appreciate it. Thank you." Hand in hand, Jameson and Mary climbed the stairs. He knew exactly which room his mom would be in. When he got to the closed door, he stopped again.
Mary squeezed his hand and let it go. Jameson faced her again, searching her gaze. She had a pretty face, despite how tired she looked. Even though she had her own troub
les, she'd been more than willing to put them aside to be there for someone she barely knew.
He was grateful for it, really. He didn't want to go through this alone, and asking Avery or Lucas would have been too much. Then talk about awkward, if Avery had come with him and came face to face with Lea...
Jameson never wanted Avery to have to meet her.
That's enough.
It was time to get the hell out of here. But first, he had to hopefully get his mother out of that room without a fight. Taking a deep breath, Jameson knocked on the door. "Mom? Are you in there?"
He lifted his hand, poised to knock again when the door opened, and his mom poked her head out. She had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were stained with tears. When she saw him, she smiled and flew into his arms, then burst into tears. A little awkward, but he hugged her.
"Jameson, I'm so sorry for what I did! I ruined your truck! I was stupid!" She cried against him.
"Mom, Mom, it's all right. I'm not mad at you, I'm just worried." Jameson spoke in a soft tone. Yes, he'd been upset, but no need to get her more riled up. "We should get you home. This isn't where we belong anymore."
"I miss him, Jameson. I miss your daddy so much," she sobbed.
"I know, Mom. So do I. This is why we need to stick together. I still need you in my life, you know."
She finally stopped the tears and sniffled. "You're right. Lordy, if your father could see the things I was doing, he'd be having a conniption."
Jameson laughed, thinking of the things his father would be saying right about now. "Yeah, he sure would. Come on, let's go home, okay? We'll figure this all out."
His mom must have noticed Mary, because she stopped short. "Hi."
He hadn't made introductions yet. Oops. "Mom, this is Mary. She's new in town and came up with me for the ride. Mary, this is my mom."
They exchanged smiles and a hello. Relief washed over him. He still hadn't been convinced that his mother would change and get back on the right track, as they'd been down this road quite a few times already, but if he could at least get her home, out of here, then he could figure things out from there.
Downstairs, Lea made her way back to them from the kitchen when the three of them came down the steps. She met them in the entryway.
"Mrs. Grant, I hope you're feeling better." Lea smiled at her, but then turned her gaze back to Jameson. The smile faded. "You guys take care of yourselves. It was nice to see you, Jameson. Give me a call sometime."
Jameson waved. He couldn't get out of that house fast enough. No, he wouldn't be giving her a call sometime. Not anytime. What they had was far in the past, and he should have never done what he did that night, either. No matter how much he wasn't thinking, there had been no excuse.
Okay. Time to calm down. He bad bigger things to deal with than the repercussions of the past.
The three piled into the car. Mary climbed in back and Mom slid in the passenger seat. She turned to him again as he backed out of the gravel driveway. "I really am sorry, son."
Jameson kept his hands steady on the wheel. "I know you are. If you wanted to go somewhere, I could have taken you. Even if it was to come up here to feel close to Dad. You don't have to shut me out. I feel the same loss. I love you, and want you to get better, but this is hard on me. I watch you fall apart more and more every day."
"I know. I haven't been the best this year." Jameson thought she was going to cry again, but she didn't.
Neither have I, but someone has to be strong. To hold it all together.
For the first time since admitting to Avery what he'd done, he could finally understand her feelings. She had been hurt, angry and sad but she did her best to be strong. Not just for herself, but for him. Avery kept it together to make sure Jameson didn't fall apart. He had a grip on how that felt now. Instead of doing what's best for him, he held on, hoping that his mom would snap out of it.
She wouldn't get better on her own.
Not without some kind of push.
He hated to be the one to do it, but something had to be done.
The trip home was quiet, tense. When he pulled into the driveway at home, another wave of relief hit him. So far, so good.
"Whose car is this, Jameson?" his mom asked as if it just dawned on her. They were getting ready to go inside.
It's Lucas's car, Mom."
"Lucas?" She sounded confused.
Jameson sighed. "Avery's fiancé. You've met him."
"But you and Avery..."
Jameson stopped, stuffed his keys in his front pocket and put a hand on his mom's shoulder. "You know that Avery and I aren't together anymore." How could she not know any of this? How many times did he have to explain the obvious? This proved just how far gone she'd fallen. How had he let this slide so long?
"She still comes over here."
"Of course she comes over, Mom. We have the band, and we're still good friends." Jameson flicked his gaze to Mary, mouthing an 'I'm sorry' to her. She nodded.
"I thought you two would have been together forever. You loved her for so long." Mom frowned, swiveling her gaze to look at Mary. "Did you break them up?"
Mary gasped.
"Mom! Mary didn't do a thing! I don't want to talk about what happened between Avery and I. Come on, let's get inside, and if you're hungry, I'll get you something to eat."
"It was just a question," Mom muttered. "I think I'm going to shower and change now."
"That sounds like a good idea. I'll have something made for when you get out."
"Can I do something, Jameson? I feel like I'm in the way," Mary asked.
He turned to her. Boy had she gotten an earful with Lea, then Mom. "Mary. I am so sorry you had to see all of this. I-"
"Jameson." She licked her lips. "Please don't feel the need to apologize."
He stared at her face, caught between the thought of holding her close or bolting from the room. His lips parted, but he didn't move. Jameson let her hands go and put his on her shoulders instead, drawing her near. "Mary, thank you so much for going with me. For understanding, even though some of it is really hard to grasp." Jameson hugged her. She tensed, at first. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in. He didn't know what he'd been thinking when he did that. He never expected her to hug him back, either.
"It's all right," she whispered against his chest.
Jameson released her and backed up. "I didn't mean to overwhelm you like that." He laughed nervously. He drummed his fingers on the counter top.
"Jameson, really. It's all right. I can tell you're going through a lot."
"Still..." Jameson's gaze lingered on her before he finally broke their eye contact. He went looking for something in the cupboard. He gathered a few things together and started a pot of water. "I've got to call Avery and Lucas, let them know we're back and figure out when to get the car back to them." He walked off into the other room.
An hour later, after everything was cleaned up, Mom decided, once again, to take a nap. So far, she hadn't said a thing about the bottles of alcohol he'd taken out of the room and tossed out earlier. He even found a key to that door in case she locked it and wouldn't come out. It wasn't something he'd use all the time, but for emergencies.
Honestly, he needed to look into a program for her. This had become so far beyond his capability it wasn't even funny.
How the hell would they afford that? Hell, he couldn't even figure out how he would pay to get the truck fixed.
Add to the list of crazy things, he almost kissed Mary in the kitchen. What had come over him? Yes, she'd been there and didn't run the other way when she saw what there was to deal with, but it didn't mean he should have almost kissed her.
What a mess.
How in the hell had he let everything slide for so long? And how did it all spiral out of control the way it did?
What was he going to do about this mysterious stranger in town? He had to admit, he found her attractive. Jameson hadn't felt a pull like this since-.
&n
bsp; Go ahead. Say it. Since Avery.
He didn't understand it. Didn't need it. He'd always been the protective type. He'd done that for Blaine, even though Jameson was younger. He'd also done the same for Avery.
You don't need a damsel in distress to save. It's not going to make any of your other problems go away.
Mary had no plans to hang around long term, anyway. In no way did he need to get pulled into her secrets. That woman hid so deep within a shell. Today, she surprised him twice. She reached out to him, physically and emotionally. He couldn't forget that look in her eyes in the kitchen.
It didn't matter. Both of them had too many things to deal with. They just leaned on one another for the moment.
That's all.
Sad that he had to keep convincing himself of it.
But come on! The woman tried to run off with Avery's truck last night. He couldn't just get involved, even just physically, with a woman that had enough desperation to steal a vehicle from people that tried to help her.
She was nice enough, kind of sweet, but he knew nothing of her life, nothing of what she ran from other than a relationship gone bad.
Nope, don't need the drama.
Nor did he want her pity. Deep down, he knew she didn't pity him, but the way she kept looking when he talked to his mom kind of agitated him. It was probably just the stress of it all making him a little crazy, but still. The last thing he wanted- or needed- was anyone's pity.
"Avery and Lucas will be here in awhile to get the car, and we can probably see about getting you a job over at the inn, too. In the mean time, I was thinking about heading into the garage. I feel the need for some music. Want to join me?" While he hoped she'd say yes, if Mary had other thoughts, he would figure that out, but right now what he needed was a guitar jamming release. He needed to busy his hands, and he sure as hell wasn't going to busy them by touching Mary. No matter the strong desire to do so.
The Melody In My Head (Love and Music in Texas Book 2) Page 7