“Let us know right now if you’re hiding anything else,” I insisted.
“We can’t help you if you keep shit from us,” Preston told him.
“I know. I didn’t know who to trust. My last coach and manager, he set me up with …” He shook his head.
I frowned, wishing I could put my foot through Roger Wolcott’s ass for taking advantage of a scared kid like he had. If the bastard weren’t dead, I would’ve killed him myself.
“We’ll square it with Coach Branson,” I said. “I’ll have those nurses contact you by morning.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” He still looked tired but less stressed than when we began this conversation.
“You thank us by showing up and performing,” Preston said.
“I will.”
We talked with Eli for a while longer. Sunny came up the hall and formally introduced herself. Eventually, his mother woke up, and we introduced ourselves. Her words were difficult to understand, but the love she had for her son shined in her copper eyes that Eli inherited from her.
Watching as Eli fed his mother lunch, I vowed to get him everything he needed to be successful in his career and to be able to take care of her.
“Your gut isn’t full of shit after all,” Preston said in my car about forty-five minutes after we first arrived.
“About time you paid my gut some respect.”
He sniffed. “I’ve got a few calls to make back at the office.”
I had more work to do also, but at the forefront of my mind was getting ahold of Lena. I still didn’t like the way she stormed out of my office earlier.
Chapter 25
Lena
I drove around for over an hour after leaving Gabe’s office. I hated all the confusion that I felt running through me. I believed him. He didn’t have a reason to sell those photos to a blog. But I still doubted whether or not I could trust myself around him.
Eventually, I found myself parked in the parking lot of The Rustic. It was only around four o’clock in the afternoon, but the bar was open. My stomach growled, and it was then I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
Though I didn’t feel like eating an entire meal, I decided to go inside to order some of their fried ice cream. There were only a handful of people when I walked in. The bartender peered up from behind the bar and smiled as he recognized me.
My heart pounded, and for a second, I feared what he thought of me. It was that same fear that echoed in the back of my head ever since the release of that video.
As I moved closer, I exhaled, remembering this is the same bartender I’d seen on multiple occasions with Gabe.
“Hey, Lena, how’s it going?”
“Hey, Toni. It’s not too early for some fried ice cream, is it?”
His grin widened. “Is it ever too early for ice cream? What flavor?”
I ordered the butter pecan and took a seat on one of the barstools. While I waited, I pulled out the notebook I always carried with me in my shoulder bag.
I began writing the words that came to mind while humming the melody. I poured into the song everything that I felt. The confusion and unsteadiness of all the feelings coursing through me. The thrill, the excitement, anticipation, and the fear. It all went into the song.
I barely touched the ice cream, opting to take it with me once I finished writing. Though, I wasn’t ready to go back to Gabe’s right then. I gave Jodi a call and decided to pick up some food to take over to her place since Micah was working late.
About forty-five minutes later, I pulled into Jodi and Micah’s driveway. She was already waiting out front with Hound, waving as I got out of the car.
“I avoided anything with chicken in it,” I said as I held up the bag of barbecue I’d bought for us.
She waved me off. “That was months ago. We’re over the hate chicken phase,” she said as she patted her more rounded belly. “Come inside before we melt out here.”
