by Maggie Marr
“Are there more?”
Dad tapped the stem of his glasses against his bottom lip. “Could be,” he said. “Those are the only three I know about.”
I wanted to pummel him and use my fists to release the anger that burrowed in my chest. Instead I clenched my fists together and pressed them to my head. My fingertips brushed through my hair. “How could you not tell us? How could you keep this from Amanda and me?” I stopped pacing and stood beside Dad’s bed. “Do they live in L.A.? Where are they? Who’s their mother? What the fuck? Are you such a fucking narcissist that you have to leave a trail of progeny behind?” I asked.
“I’ve been called worse.” He closed the script on his lap. “They live in Los Angeles, their mother is …” He paused and closed his eyes, his chin dropped to his chest. His lips pursed and then he pulled his head up and looked at me. “Their mother is Anita.”
“Anita? Our nanny? The woman that Amanda caught you fucking in the guest room?”
Dad chewed on the corner of his reading glasses. “That would be the one.” There was no guilt in his voice and he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Do you see them? Is this like a whole other family that you have?”
Dad rested his head against his headboard. “Sterling, it’s complicated.”
“I fucking bet it’s complicated. Having two families? No wonder Mom was so mad at you.”
“Your mother wasn’t a saint either.”
“No, but she didn’t have kids with someone else while she was married to you.”
“No, she didn’t,” Dad admitted. “They live in Castaic just outside of Los Angeles. Rhett is two years younger than you and the twins are two years younger than Amanda.”
“Twins? You have twins?” I sat on the chair beside Dad’s bed. My eyes closed and I tried to make sense of this. How was this happening? Why was this happening? After a lifetime as Steve Legend’s son, I thought I’d seen and experienced just about everything. I was wrong.
“Anita was still working for us after she had kids with you?” I shook my head. The depth of Dad’s depravity stunned me. “Amanda caught you banging Anita but Mom didn’t know about those kids? Man, you are some piece of work.”
Of course Tom and Gayle would have wanted to get Rhiannon and Maeve as far away from my family as possible. And they still didn’t want Rhiannon involved with me, because of the taint of this man.
As a kid I’d suspected that my father had had affairs, but it was a taboo topic that our family never discussed. I didn’t really understand it all until much later. Then, once Mom died, I just didn’t worry about it, because she was gone. But now? Now, I had siblings that I’d never even known about.
“Rhett, has some … problems,” Dad said.
“What kind of problems?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear about this, despite my question.
“He’s gotten into some trouble. Runs with a rough crowd.”
“Dad, how rough can it possibly be? He lives in Castaic.”
“The truth is, he has some relatives—uncles—whose businesses are a little suspect. I haven’t been able to be there for him, like I was for you and Amanda.”
“You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding. Before Mom died you were never around for us. Then after she died it was mainly Gayle who looked after us until we were old enough to work for you. When you realized you could use us in the business we finally got your attention.” I paused. “But disabuse yourself of the notion that you were ‘there’ for me and Amanda. You weren’t.”
“People know that I’m your father. You may not want to admit it, but there are perks with that fact.”
“And Rhett doesn’t use your name? Are you saying he doesn’t have our last name?”
“He does, but he chooses not to use it.”
“Where is he?”
“Right now? I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from him in a couple months.”
“College?”
“Dropped out. Listen, I’ve supported them financially as much as I’ve done for you and Amanda, but their lives have been different. They are different. They know about you two and none of them have ever expressed any interest in meeting you or your sister.”
“I’m not even going to comment on that other than to say I can’t believe you kept this from us. That you didn’t say anything, to us.”
“Look, I knew you’d find out and I thought, when you did, I’d discuss it with you then. I’m surprised it took this long. Who told you? That Rhiannon Bliss?”
“Rhiannon didn’t know about any of this,” I said.
“Of course she did. Gayle knew, Tom knew, so did Rhiannon and most likely Maeve, as well. Gayle and Rhiannon even met the kids once. When your mother was sick she gave Gayle a letter she’d written for Anita but that bitch Gayle wouldn’t let me deliver it. She and Rhiannon went up to Anita’s house just before Rhiannon left for Ireland with her Dad.”
I stood. My head spun at the idea that Rhiannon knew about my half-brother and half-sisters. She’d known about Dad’s other children for the last seven years and never mentioned it to Amanda or me?
I walked to the door. I was having trouble processing all that I’d heard tonight. My heart was heavy and my emotions barreled from anger to disgust to sheer surprise. If I hadn’t known it before, I had finally to come to realize that my family was a fucked-up mess, forever and always.
“Hey,” Dad called from his bed. He pointed his eyeglasses toward me. He cocked an eyebrow. “You think you’re perfect, Sterling, because of all the things I’ve done wrong? I’ve stood by you; I’ve taken care of you and your sister. Your lives have been pretty damned exclusive and cushy, because of me.”
“Yeah, Dad, it’s pretty fucking awesome to have everything, except for normal. Besides, last time I checked, I was under the impression that there was more to parenting than doling out cash.”
Rhiannon
“I won’t let you be with that bastard’s son.” Papa’s voice was loud and his eyes wide with rage. “I forbid it.”
I spun around. “You forbid me?” The rage that gripped my chest was unfamiliar. I didn’t have my father’s horrible temper; Maeve had inherited that. She now stood on the far side of the living room having walked in on the middle the argument. Her mouth hung open in shock. She’d never seen such anger from me. I didn’t fight with our parents. I didn’t argue. I was the daughter most likely to go along with their wishes.
“I am a grown woman, Papa. You cannot forbid me to do anything.” My voice was low and quiet, but it had a hard tone that I’d never used before. I sounded like my mother when she was angry.
“You come home smelling of a Legend and parade through this house after you’ve been up to Montecito whoring around.”
“You would know every last thing about whoring around in Montecito now, wouldn’t you, Papa?”
Papa’s nostrils flared, and he was barely holding himself together. His words, his temper … his hands. I’d never been struck by my father, but in this instant fear flooded through me. The damage would be irreparable if he were to strike me.
“Enough!” Mama shouted. She stood on her crutches in the kitchen. I didn’t hear her come in and thought she was still at the barn where she’d retreated when Sterling left. “I can hear you all the way to the canyon.” She hobbled toward us. Her eyes lit with rage and the skin between her brows crinkled with confusion. “Tom, you will pull yourself together, or you’re not welcome here.”
My father took a long pull of air and settled his hands on his hips. He stepped away from me and turned his back. “It’s because of my time in Montecito that I know what I know,” Papa said. His voice was softer now. Melancholy replaced the anger on his face. “The Legends are vipers. They take what they need from you. They will suck you dry if you allow it.”
His gaze went from me to Mama, who now stood at the edge of the living room. “I was a fool. I sacrificed the greatest gift I’d been given for a foolish moment.” His gaze went
back to me. “A foolish moment brought on by a fairytale. I don’t want you to make a similar mistake, Rhiannon. Do you not understand? Can you not see the devastation that they wreck upon the lives of others? With complete and utter disregard.”
“It’s not like that with Sterling,” I said. I closed my eyes and willed my heartbeat to slow down. “I love him, Papa. I’ve loved him since I was fifteen.”
“Has he not used you, Rhiannon? Has he not used you to try and get to me? To try and get the script that I want with all my heart to never see the light of day? The script that represents my greatest failure as a man? And yet you’ve asked me more than once to give Sterling more time, to let him make The Lady’s Regret. Do you not see how he’s used you?”
“He’s got the financing and the director, and he’s going forward with the film without my help.”
“Now,” Papa said. “Now he is. But when he asked, did he have any of those pieces in place? Did he, Rhiannon? No, he came to you and he asked you to use your relationship with me.”
“First of all, he pulled the project together on his own. I had nothing to do with it. Secondly, he loves me and it’s not like this—or anything like the sordid ideas you have in your head. Our relationship has nothing to do with The Lady’s Regret, and everything to do with love and respect.”
Papa smirked with a horrible sad little smile. “We’ll see, won’t we, Rhiannon. We’ll see what happens to Sterling’s love for you now that he’s got his financing, and his director, and his big star. We’ll see just how much in love he stays with you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Rhiannon, but once a Legend gets what they want from someone they let them go. There is no sincerity and loyalty amongst them, my dear. They are a selfish lot full of self-interest, and that isn’t really love at all.”
I looked at him, my eyes burning with anger and maybe even hatred. “I don’t think you are in a position to lecture me about love, Papa. Take a look around the room. You’re lucky the three of us are even speaking to you.” With that I grabbed my bag and left the room, sweeping past Mama and Maeve who stood in shock at what they had just witnessed.
Chapter 21
Sterling
Amanda’s face was a mask of shock at hearing my news. “Are you absolutely certain?”
“Dad sat there like the huge star he is and acted as though there was nothing wrong—that he had done nothing wrong. To be honest, I think he was surprised at my reaction.”
Amanda sank into one of the lush leather chairs in her living room. Her legs couldn’t support her. The weight of the family secrets I’d just exposed had clearly shocked her. “I’d always suspected there was something between Mom and Tom,” she said. “But the fact that Dad has an entire separate family? Two daughters and a son?” Her face turned to mine. “Twins? How could this possibly have remained under the radar all this time?”
“Apparently they don’t want the publicity, or the spotlight. Except maybe the oldest.” I handed her a sheaf of papers about Rhett Legend Delgado. “The internet is a blessing and a curse.” The guy who stared back at Amanda was too cool for school. Tattoos decorated his shirtless torso.
“It would appear he’s got the Legend charisma,” Amanda said. She cocked an eyebrow.
Rhett had a dark olive complexion and, instead of the Legend piercing blue eyes, his eyes were dark brown. He had dad’s good looks and he also had the unmistakable Steve Legend attitude. He looked like trouble to me.
“I loved Anita so much,” Amanda said as she rifled through the pages I’d printed off that told of Rhett’s band Translucent Paradise, which toured along the California coast. I’d also had one of our investigators do a quick check on Rhett’s name a couple of hours ago. He came back with pages upon pages of arrests.
Amanda skimmed his rap sheet. “He seems to be particularly fond of drunk and disorderly,” she said.
“That and indecent exposure,” I said. I’d often dealt with actors who were addicts. I didn’t need an addicted half-brother rock and roller, as well.
“Is the band any good?” Amanda asked.
“Have a listen,” I said. I pressed my iPhone and a hard-core beat with a deep bluesy voice played out over my phone.
“He’s the singer?”
“And the guitarist.”
“He’s good,” Amanda said. She looked up at me.
As much as I was loath to agree with Amanda, it seemed that my father’s other son had some talent. “Why haven’t they ever reached out?” I asked.
“Would you?” Amanda raised her eyebrow. “They probably hate us. I would.”
“Why?”
“We get the Legend life that from the outside looks pretty damn plush and, really, let’s be honest, once you get past the addictions, the narcissism, the divorces, the dead mother, and the microscope under which we live, it is pretty plush.” Amanda cracked a half smile. She didn’t often complain. Complaining wasn’t her way, but what could look like a damned good existence to the outside world had its own challenges and problems, just like any other life.
“I’m sure they hate us,” Amanda mumbled. She stopped at the picture of the twins. They were a year younger than Amanda. They had long lush black hair like Amanda’s, but where Amanda’s complexion was porcelain theirs was a much darker tone, more exotic looking. Their eyes were very like their brother’s. “I’ve always wanted a sister,” she said. She glanced up at me. “And now I have two.”
“Or more,” I said, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“What? Did he say there were more?”
“I mean, seriously, Amanda? How would we know? The man has slept with nearly every woman he’s worked with. I can’t believe I’ve never put all this together before. I’ve been his producer on five films; I’ve been to three of his weddings. I’m not certain why I thought all that started after Mom died.”
“Because you wanted to believe it,” Amanda said. “I did, too.” She looked from me back at the picture of Rhett and Sophia and Ellen. “I wanted to believe the Legend fairytale. The story where Daddy met Mom at the wrap party and they fell in love, got married, had us and lived happily ever after. Even that summer when our world was falling apart, I wanted to believe it. I pretended to myself that what I saw”—she turned away from me and closed her eyes—“what I saw between Anita and Daddy had to be a one-time thing. Not an ongoing affair in which he’d created a whole other family.” She lifted the pages and held them toward me. “But there was no fairytale—not even when Dad found out she was dying and Mom let him come back for those last six weeks.”
Amanda looked at me; her eyes were slick with tears. “Do you remember how magical those weeks were? How we traveled the world? How Mom got sicker and sicker but she seemed happier and happier? I only wanted to remember that time together. The days on the beach in France, the nights in Monaco, the evenings in Austria. I wanted to remember only those moments, because they were perfect. I cloaked myself in those memories, especially after we got back and Daddy turned into a raging drunk.”
“And Rhiannon was gone.”
Amanda nodded. “And Rhiannon was gone. We had Gayle.” Amanda’s eyes flew open. “Oh, my God, we had Gayle the last two weeks Mom was alive and then afterwards when Daddy left.” Amanda looked at me. “That woman must be a saint, because I couldn’t do what Gayle did. Imagine if Lane was with Ryan and then she got sick—I could never help my best friend the way Gayle helped our mom.”
I said nothing. I’d already rummaged through my mind trying to understand what Gayle had done for us and why. The only conclusion I could come to was that she’d loved Mom, and she’d wanted to try and help two good young people who were coping with the destruction of their family.
“I want to meet them,” Amanda said.
“You’re kidding? That’s a mess waiting to happen,” I said.
“I don’t care. They’re family, and I want to meet them. The girls are still in college. One is at Berkeley and the other at UCLA.”
“Or at the very least more studious.” Amanda flipped through the papers still in her hand. “And it looks like our brother is playing the roadhouse in Oxnard this weekend.”
“Oxnard? Who wants to go to Oxnard?”
“I do and you’re coming with me. Ryan has night shoots all weekend long.” Amanda looked up at me through her eyelashes. “So, big brother, looks like we’ve got a date to meet some family.”
“I’m not ready for this,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Look,” I said. “I’m still processing the fact that Dad was sleeping with women before Mom died. Now I find out the bastard has an entirely different family that he’s kept hidden from us, and not only have they been hidden, but other people knew about them all this time and never said a word. I’m not coming to terms with this as quickly as you are.”
Amanda’s lips flattened into a thin line. “Those feelings aren’t just about our newfound siblings,” she said. “Those feelings are also about Rhiannon.”
“She knew,” I said.
“What do you mean? How could she know? Rhiannon was fifteen when mom died.”
“Before she died, Mom wrote a note to Anita and gave it to Gayle and insisted she deliver it to Anita. Supposedly Rhiannon went with her.”
“That doesn’t mean she knew anything. Come on, Sterling, there is no way that Rhiannon would have kept this secret all these years—if she even knew it in the first place. Why? She would have told you or, at the very least, me. We’ve talked and emailed since the day she left Los Angeles.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for letting me in on that. My heart was breaking and you never once mentioned you were still in touch with Rhiannon.”
“You didn’t ask, big brother. Why would I bring up that kind of heartache if you didn’t ask? Rhiannon could have easily accompanied Gayle to Anita’s and not known the reasons behind the visit. You can’t possibly blame her. She was a teenager,” Amanda said. She looked at me as though I’d lost my mind.