His disappointment hung thick in the air. “Okay then, just tell me this one thing and then I’ll leave you alone. Is she alive, your mother?”
The answer to that question still sent shock waves through me. She’d been ‘dead’ my entire life, so her resurrection was something I hadn’t yet come to grips with. “Yeah, RJ. It sure as hell looks that way.”
* * *
The second knock on the door was not nearly as welcome as the first, but this visitor didn’t wait for me to open up. Tucker just let himself in… with the key card he apparently felt entitled to have even though I was the adult child who paid his damn bills. Again, I bristled at the balls of my father.
“RJ,” he nodded, telling my friend in no uncertain terms it was time to leave.
We exchanged a glance before RJ dutifully exited the room. Tucker controlled the other guys too, just not with the same iron grip he used on me.
“What do you want?” I asked, busying myself with making the bed, which I never did unless I was avoiding a conversation with my father.
He made himself comfortable on my sofa. “Come over here. I need to talk to you.”
“I don’t have anything to say so don’t bother.”
He pointed to the chair opposite him before fixing his stare on me. I felt nothing but contempt for him now. My father was no more to me than my boss and the hate that coursed through me was hard to contain.
“You’ll want to hear me out, I promise,” he said.
I let him wait until the sheets were lined up and the pillows appeared reasonably fluffed before I walked over to the chair and slumped into it.
“Thank you,” he offered, and I could tell he was in a conciliatory mood. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into you lately, but I can see how tired you are. I think you need a few days’ rest. As you know, I’d already arranged for the band to take a six-day break in Los Angeles next week.”
I nodded. The break he spoke of was not a vacation. We were still working, just not as hard.
“Anyway, I’ve made the decision to cancel all appearances leading up to the Friday and Saturday night concerts.”
My eyes widened in surprise as I sat up straighter in my seat. Now that was news. My father lived and died on the band meeting our obligations. He had to think I was really going to embarrass him to make such a concession.
“I rented you a place. It’s secluded. Lots of trees. Plus, there’s a pool, spa, sauna, movie theater, and arcade. You can take some time to yourself to regroup and get the rest you need.”
“Are we talking some resort type place?” I asked. “Because, if that’s the case, I’m not interested.”
He smiled, humoring me. “I knew you’d say that. And to answer your question, no, it’s a private residence. You have it all to yourself for five days.”
I couldn’t help but be intrigued by his offer. “And am I going to be imprisoned by your security cronies?”
“No. They’ll drop you off, but they won’t stay. There’s a security gate surrounding the place so you’ll be safe inside. I think it goes without saying that any outings you want to take will need to be cleared through the team first so we can take appropriate precautions. We don’t want what happened last night to happen again.”
Even I could agree with that. No more Twinkie freedom flights for this guy. My father watched me intently, waiting for a response. It really did sound awesome and I wanted to accept his offer more than I dared to admit. But there was only one word I could think to say to him. “Why?”
Tucker hesitated, and his bottom lip quivered for a split second. Was that sentiment I detected? A little too late if you asked me. He cleared his throat as he fought back the emotion that had suddenly overcome him. “I know I don’t always show it, but I love you, kid. I’m hard on you, yes, but it’s only because I know what you’re capable of and I hate to watch you throw everything away. And for what—a bottle of booze? Addiction is a slippery slope, Bodhi. You start with alcohol but that can lead to chasing new highs. If there’s one thing you don’t want, it’s to go down that path. I can see you’re struggling with something and if you’d just talk to me I know I could help you.”
In that moment it took everything in me not to tell himyou’re the one who created the problemand then have it out with Tucker. He didn’t have the right to suddenly care. I had to remember what he’d done… what he was accused of.
And before you start feeling sorry for my father, don’t. He was the mastermind of deception, not me. Tucker had never just been ‘my father.’ He secured me my first modeling job at two years of age and I’d worked ever since. Even as a toddler, I’d never been allowed to be a kid. There was no time for fun when the breadwinner of the family was still wetting the bed.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” He repeated, perking up. “Okay that I can help you?”
Knowledge needed to be earned and my father hadn’t worked a full day yet.
“No, Dad. I accept your offer of the mansion, or whatever the hell it is you rented me. But no guards. If I see you’ve stationed them around the perimeter, I’ll find my own place to stay. And I won’t be sharing the address with you.”
“I got it. No guards. Now, can we talk?”
