Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74125 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74125 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Rachel reaches out, touching my arm. She gestures toward the front door. “Walk me out, okay?”
“Sure,” I reply softly and trail her out of the kitchen, through the great room, and to the large foyer to the double front doors. She picks up her rental car keys and backpack she’d left on a table before giving me her attention. “Listen… about what your mom did to you…”
I blink in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Don’t leave that unresolved, okay?” she advises. “Call her, send her an email… whatever you feel is the best way to communicate with her, but let her know you know what she did and give her the opportunity to apologize for it.”
“My mom doesn’t apologize for anything,” I mutter.
“Then at least you know she doesn’t have any remorse and you can move on. But that was a huge betrayal to you, and that shit will only fester. Trust me, I know a little bit about this sort of stuff.”
This takes me aback because while there’s been plenty of anger inside of me toward my mom, I have not once considered confronting her about it. There didn’t seem to be any purpose to it since we didn’t have the greatest relationship anyway. She was so angry with me for firing her as my manager that she had no qualms with essentially cutting me out of her life for a few years. It wasn’t until she remarried and her new husband urged her to reach out that we reconciled somewhat. I have to admit it hurt in those years we weren’t talking, but I’d also learned to live with it.
I’d learned how to be alone and to depend only on myself, and I could certainly do that again. In fact, after I get this stuff resolved with my stalker, I am going to do a serious reevaluation of my life and what I really want out of it. I’m also going to genuinely consider what I want out of my career. After twelve plus years in the business, I’m getting worn out from the constant drain on my creative energies.
Maybe Rachel is right. Maybe that’s something I should resolve sooner rather than later so I can have a clean slate when it comes time to reevaluate my life goals and priorities. Having that hanging over my head can’t be good for my soul. Besides that, we have worked hard the last few years to put our relationship back in order.
I smile. “I’ll do that. And thanks for the talk.”
“Anytime,” she says, then leans in and gives me an impulsive hug. I give her a return squeeze.
After she leaves, I lock the door and reset the alarm, which Kynan has pounded into me must be set at all times whether I’m here or not.
I edge back into the kitchen. Kynan doesn’t bother looking up, although I know he’s heard me come in.
“I need to take a trip,” I say, but he still doesn’t give me his attention. He merely replies, “Give me about half an hour to finish some stuff up here with Bebe, then I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“Sounds good,” I reply breezily as I head toward my room. Keeping my voice light, I nonchalantly offer over my shoulder, “We’re heading to Cunningham Falls. I need to see my mother.”
I don’t wait for his response, catching only the briefest glance of his head popping up and his face flooding with shock.
I brace for him to argue it’s not prudent or a valuable use of our time, but he doesn’t. That satisfies me, and I start calculating whether I’ll need an overnight bag. It’s roughly a two-and-a-half-hour direct flight via private jet to Cunningham Falls from Santa Barbara. I’ve made the trip several times in the last few years. I decide our talk shouldn’t take that long and I’d rather be back in my own bed tonight, so I have nothing really to put together. I’ll freshen up my makeup, make a smoothie, and then hangout until Kynan is ready to leave.
CHAPTER 13
Kynan
This isn’t my first trip to Cunningham Falls, Montana, but it’s been a long damn time. Jameson had been hired by Joslyn’s mother to provide protective services for her. Joslyn was headlining a major casino in Vegas at the time. While she probably wasn’t under any direct threat by fans, it made her mother feel better for Joslyn to have security guards. Plus, she’d negotiated it into the contract for the casino to pay for our services.
I’m not quite sure when I fell in love with Joslyn, but our fate was sealed by the end of the trip to Cunningham Falls. She’d come to give a charity benefit concert, the proceeds of which were going to a hospital wing named after her late father. Madeline had not wanted her to do the trip, but Joslyn had held firm in her resolve. I think it might have been the first time she’d actually stood up to her mother, a sure sign she was going to try to keep some control over her career. Perhaps that had actually been the beginning of their business relationship foundation cracking.