by Jenna Jacob
“Is that in his job description?”
He chuckled. “Maybe…maybe not. But he’s married and has kids. I’m sure he’s done his fair share of shopping. You make a list. I’ll go talk to him.”
An hour later, all three big, burly bodyguards hauled a dozen sacks of groceries into the kitchen.
“What’s all this? I only gave you forty dollars for the six things on my list.”
“Oh, yeah.” McCoy smiled as he dug a hand into his pants pocket and handed me back the cash. “Darren added a few things and gave me his credit card.”
Darren simply winked and pulled a gallon of ice cream from a sack. “I have a sweet tooth.”
“Do not let Dustin see that,” I warned, snatching the container from his hand and burying it in the back of the freezer. “He’ll be bouncing off the walls like a Tasmanian devil.”
“Hey guys, there’s a dude on the porch named Hank Miller. Says he’s your landlord and needs to talk to you, right away,” Robinson announced.
“Oh, no.”
I raced for the front door, knowing the man was here about the crowd outside. Fast as lightning, Darren and McCoy blocked my path.
“You’re not going out there to talk to him.” Darren scowled.
“But we’ll be happy to invite him in if you’d like,” McCoy added calmly.
“Oh, right. Yes. Please.”
I nibbled my bottom lip as Darren wrapped an arm around my waist as Hank entered looking angry and frazzled.
“Miss Combs, you gotta do something about that crowd out there. My phone is ringing off the damn hook. I’m at the end of my rope.”
He was at the end of his rope? He should try being in my shoes for an hour.
“I’m sorry, Hank. I know this is an inconvenience, but—”
“Inconvenience, my ass. It’s a freaking carnival out there. I know your boyfriend is a hotshot rock star, and all, but this”—he wagged his finger toward the front window—“shit. ain’t happening. Either you get rid of those people or you’ll have to move.”
My stomach swirled. “Move? This is my home.”
“No, it’s my home, and won’t have this hullabaloo happening on my property.”
I swallowed the fear rising in the back of my throat but couldn’t do a thing about it pinging through my system.
“Sir, if there was a way for us to make them leave, we would have already done that,” Darren explained. “I’ll be happy to call the police and—”
“Won’t do you no good. I already tried. Sheriff told me he isn’t going to risk anything happening to him or his men when they’re outnumbered a hundred to one.”
“Then what good is having a sheriff?” I barked.
“He’s not the problem. You are,” Hank growled. “Either get those people out of here by nightfall or vacate my property. Got it, missy?”
“What the hell’s all the ruckus about?” Dad asked wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Hank? What are you doing here?”
“Ed.” Hank nodded. “I’ve said my piece. Ask your daughter.”
With that, the man turned and stomped out of the house.
“Tori?” Dad prompted.
As my body shook in fear and anger, waves of heated rage crested through me, while the walls started closing in all around me.
“I need a minute,” I panted and raced to the bathroom.
As I ran, Darren shouted my name, but I ignored him as I shut and locked the door. Trembling, I plopped down on the lid of the toilet and cradled my head in my hands. How much more mayhem was I going to have to deal with? I couldn’t step out my own front door. Couldn’t go to work, the grocery store, or take my son to the park. Hell, I couldn’t even show my face in public anymore. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, now we were going to have to find a new place to live. Snagging the hand towel off the vanity, I pressed it to my mouth and screamed. But it didn’t do a thing except hurt my throat. I certainly didn’t solve a damn thing.
The doorknob jiggled, then a light knock tapped from the other side.
“Open up, baby girl,” Dad instructed softly.
“I’m okay.”
“I know that, but open the door.”
I turned the knob and disengaged the lock. Dad stepped in and immediately wrapped me in his arms. God, I wanted to break down and cry, like a little girl. Instead, I clenched my jaw.
“Hank can’t evict us without thirty days’ written notice. Hopefully, this insanity will be over by then. He only came here to vent. He’s probably as frustrated as we are with all the ruckus.”
“I know. But if Darren would just leave, all this ruckus might go away.”
“Is that what you really want? For him to leave?”
“No.”
“Of course not. I understand now why you never dated all these years. You’d given your heart to Darren that night. And even when you thought you’d never see him again, you still couldn’t take it back.”
This time I couldn’t stop my tears. “It doesn’t matter. He’s never going to forgive me, Daddy.”
“You’re wrong, sweetheart. Darren isn’t still here only because of Dustin. He’s still here because of you. He loves you just as much as you love him. I can see it…feel it, long before I interrupted you two last night.”
Ugh. Why did he have to mention that? My cheeks caught fire.
“Give him time, Tori. Darren’s a good man with a heart as big as yours. He will forgive you, I promise.”
I scoffed, thinking my dad delusional.
“I’ve never lied to you before and I’m sure as hell not going to start now, baby girl.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m going to give you some advice I wish someone had given me twenty years ago before your mom walked out the door. If you truly love him, then fight for him.”
A wealth of sadness filled his eyes as he turned and left the bathroom.
It was then that I realized a part of him still loved my mom.
The thought of craving Darren and carrying this guilt around for the rest of my life made me want to throw up for about five seconds, before a brutal wave of determination crested through me. I had to fix the damage I’d done. After that…it was up to fate.
Squaring my shoulders, I left the bathroom and charged to the kitchen to start breakfast. Three pounds of bacon, two and a half dozen scrambled eggs, a loaf of toasted bread, three more pots of coffee, a container of orange juice, and half a jar of strawberry preserves later, everyone’s bellies were full.
I was grateful that Darren had increased my grocery list. Still, at this rate of consumption, McCoy would need to run to the store daily. But the best part of feeding so many hungry mouths was all the additional hands when it came time to clean up.
A few hours later, with Dustin propped on his knee, Darren positioned our son’s chubby fingers on the frets of the little guitar and helped him strum the strings. Dad, McCoy, and Thomas watched a baseball game on television while Robinson stood by the front door, peering out the curtain from time to time. Now was as good a time as any to call Brice. I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and strolled back into the kitchen.
“What’s up, Tori?” Brice asked in a brusque tone.
“Are you all right?”
“No. Not really. I tried to come by your place this morning to talk to you, but…”
“Yeah, I know it’s a little crazy here right now.”
“A little?” He scoffed.
“What did you want to talk about?” His silence set me on edge. “Brice?”
“I wanted to tell you this in person, but it seems I’m not going to have that luxury. Things at the clinic have started to get a little rough. I spent yesterday going over the financials and realize that I can no longer afford another therapist. I’m sorry, Tori, but I’m afraid it’s time for me to downsize. I have to lay you off.”
My stomach lurched so violently I nearly lost my breakfast.
“Downsize? Y-you’re firing me?” I screeched, ignoring how every head in the living room
snapped in my direction. “But…we have more clients than you and I can handle. How can you be losing—”
“I’ll have to manage them on my own. It was either let you or Tanya go, and since she files all the insurance claims and sets appointments, I had to pick you. I’m sorry, Tori, but when you own a business, this is sometimes the nature of the beast. You can pick up any personal items you have at the clinic tomorrow.”
This. Was. Not. Happening.
“Brice, please don’t do this. I-I need my job.” I hated begging the bastard, especially when I knew the only reason he was letting me go was Darren had returned and screwed up Brice’s delusions of being a part of my life.
Asshole!
While my stomach roiled, Darren moved in next to me wearing a fierce scowl. Dad was right behind him, looking equally livid.
“I’m sorry, Tori. My hands are tied. I’ll see you…whenever,” Brice muttered and hung up.
Staring mutely at my phone, I fought the urge to heave it against the wall. I was the sole breadwinner of this family. Without my paycheck, we’d be on the streets or living in a box under an overpass.
“I just got fired.”
“Why?” Dad asked, confusion and worry etching his face.
“He can’t do that, Tori,” Darren thundered.
“Oh, he can and he did. Brice spewed some crap about downsizing and not being able to afford another therapist, but I know better,” I spat as an unholy rage uncoiled inside me.
“His loss. You can get another—”
“Don’t,” I growled, bolting from my chair and pacing the kitchen. “I can’t believe that slime wad fed me all that BS about downsizing. Does he think I’m stupid? He fired me was because he’s jealous…because he can’t compete. Now that you’re here”—I ranted, poking Darren in the chest—“he knows I’m never going out with his sorry butt again. The only way he could get any payback was to screw me over financially. Oh, that scum-sucking, son of a b—”
“Ears,” Dad warned, glancing at Dustin still picking at the strings of his guitar.
“I need some air. I can’t breathe,” I growled, charging for the front door.
Skidding to a halt, I remembered the horde waiting outside. With a growl, I spun on the balls of my feet and bolted out the back door.
Jaw clenched and hands balled into fists, I paced the yard, seething.
Chapter Nine
Darren
McCoy was off the couch and charging after her before I could reach the door.
“I’m fine,” she bit out, waving the man away.
“Sorry, Tori, I can’t do that,” he calmly explained before strolling to the edge of the fence to give her some space.
I felt a million blades of guilt slicing through me for turning her world upside down and for thrusting her, Ed, and Dustin into the spotlight without their consent. I was so focused on finding her that I never stopped to think about my normal being completely outside their box.
I was desperate to find a way to give Tori back the peace and privacy she craved.
Suddenly, I had an epiphany.
As Tori turned to pace the yard a second time, I blocked her path.
“I’m too pissed to talk to you right now,” she bit out.
“I know you’re angry, but we have to.”
“Later.”
“No. Now,” I said in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Fine. Say what you need to and we’ll discuss when I cool off.”
“Maybe I can help expedite you cooling off.” I smiled. “Pick a spot. Maui, with Burk, his fiancée, Sofia, and the guys in the band in a private beachfront mansion. Big Fork, Montana, and a six-bedroom, four-bath, log house in the mountains overlooking Flathead Lake. Sanibel Island, Florida, in an airy five-bedroom, three-bath beach house on the gulf. Or the seven-bedroom, four-bath monstrosity surrounded by prairie grass outside Tulsa.”
“What do you mean, pick?” she asked, brows furrowed.
“I mean, choose where you want to go…where you want all of us to go. I’m taking you, Ed, and Dustin away from here.”
“What are you smoking? We can’t just pack our bags and walk out the door.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have to start looking for another job, like right now. Dad’s meds are going to blow through what little savings I have like that.” She snapped her fingers.
I knew then why the story of Mac buying my guitar had made her cry that night. Tori had scraped and saved her whole life the same way my folks had for most of theirs.
“Money isn’t an issue anymore, beautiful. Let me take care of you.” I dismissed her scowl and cupped her face. “I have more money than Dustin, our grandkids, or great-grandkids can ever spend. Now pick where you want to go.”
Tori studied me as if trying to decide if I was pulling her chain again or not. Finally, she shook her head and sent me a weak smile.
“That’s very generous of you, Darren,” she began, easing back from my touch. “But I can’t accept your offer. I’ll find a new job and figure out how to deal with the insanity out there, somehow.”
“Are you always this hardheaded?”
“Did you just call me—”
“Hardheaded? Damn straight I did, because you are. Come on, Tori. You really want to stay holed up in this house, with McCoy and the others for a week…a month…two?”
“Two months?” She blanched. “Are you kidding?”
“I don’t know how long they’re going keep hounding us. That’s why I want to take us away from here.” Her expression softened and I could practically hear the wheels spinning in her head. “You need a little R and R…time out from under the mountain of responsibilities constantly piled on top of you.”
“I have no idea what that would even feel like,” she confessed softly, and breaking my heart in the process.
“Let’s find out.”
“I-I don’t know if…”
“Sure you do. It’ll be fun.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere, as long as I’m with you, Dustin, and your dad.”
She fell silent as a faraway look settled in her eyes.
“Do you remember when I asked what was important to you, the first night we met?”
“I do. I told you family, God, and the land.”
“Is your house in Oklahoma near your parents?”
“Right across the field.”
“Do you think they’d like to meet Dustin?”
“I don’t think, I know. They’re both dying to meet him…and you and Ed.”
“Then I pick Oklahoma.”
I cupped the side of her neck, forced down the lump in my throat, and brushed a thumb across her tempting lips. “You’re amazing, Tori.”
A bashful smile tugged the corners of her mouth. A pink hue stained her cheeks, and she lowered her lashes. That same heady innocence that had drawn me to her like a moth to a flame was still hiding inside her. Seeing it again made my cock roar to life.
Unable to resist, I leaned in to claim her succulent mouth, when a man called out her name from behind me.
I turned and saw an older man dressed in a three-piece suit was leaning over the fence at the opposite end of the yard.
“Get out of here,” McCoy barked as he stormed across the grass, tossing a growl for us to “Get inside, now.”
Wrapping a protective arm around her waist, I quickly ushered Tori toward the back door.
“Wait,” the man hollered. “It’s me, Jason Collins from Celebrity Access, Tori.”
Every muscle in her body tensed. Her stride faltered, and she froze in place. The only muscle to move was her neck as she gaped at the man, terror and shock stamped on her face.
“Though we never had the pleasure to meet, I see you remember my name. Good. How about you do me another favor, for old times’ sake, and give me an exclusive interview with Darren and your love child.”
“I said get out of here,” McCoy barked.
; “Settle down.” Collins smirked. “I’m sure when Miss Combs hears the amount I’m offering her this time, she’ll invite me in for a little…sit-down.”
Tori turned white as a ghost and trembled in my arms. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“Half a million, Tori. Is that enough for you to give all to the fans of Celebrity Access?”
“Go to hell, Collins,” Tori finally choked out. “I wouldn’t sell myself, Darren, or our son out to you for any amount of money.”
“How about a million, sweetheart? This time you can give our viewers all the juicy details you conveniently left out from your first exposé. Which I’m still very unhappy about, young lady.”
His offers, his condescending tone, and his pathetic attempt to guilt her into changing her mind sent a red haze of rage to color my vision.
“Get inside,” I roared as I turned and charged the prick.
From behind me, I heard Tori cry out for the other security members, but the buzz of fury humming in my ears muted her voice to nothing but a whisper.
“Don’t do it, man,” McCoy warned, stepping in front of me.
Charging through him like a freight train, I grabbed Collins by his tie as he pedaled backward. Lifting him off the ground, I drew my hand back, while he squealed like the pig he was, and plowed my fist into his jaw. The force ripped him from my fingers and he fell back into the grass on his ass.
As I started to climb the fence to finish the prick off, McCoy and Robinson wrapped me in a bear hug. Squeezing the air from my lungs, they hauled me back.
“Chill out,” McCoy stated, calmly but forcefully, while I struggled to break free.
“I’m going to sue you, Ash. Sue you for every penny you’ve got,” Collins threatened as he stood, cupped his jaw, and then dusted the grass from his crumpled jacket.
From out of nowhere, Tori stormed past me.
“You’ll do no such thing, you greasy little worm,” she railed, slapping on her bitch wings. “I still have those emails you sent me. You know the ones I’m talking about. You make one move to sue Darren Ash and I’ll start passing out the messages you sent me to every legitimate news agency and competitor of yours like they were cupcakes.”