Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“I am so sorry, baby girl.”
“Why did she have to get into that car?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been asking myself the same question since. . .” I don’t want to say since I had to identify her mother’s body, so I trail off and hug her tighter and let her cry. Both Stormy and Willow will have questions about their mother’s death that I won’t be able to answer. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to figure out the way Iris’s mind works.
“She always messes everything up.”
Hearing Stormy say that about her mother really makes me pause. Did I make the wrong decision when I let the girls move here to live with her? I thought I was making the right choice for Stormy so she could follow her dream, but there’s a lingering thought in the back of my mind that is telling me I made the worst mistake possible. Maybe I should’ve put my foot down when Iris started hinting that Stormy should move to California. Second-guessing isn’t going to get me anywhere, though.
“We need to talk about what we’re going to do. You, Willow, and me.”
“About where we’re going to live?” she asks.
“Yeah. I know you have things going on here, but our home is in Nashville.”
“I know, but—”
I pull away so I can look my daughter in the eyes. She needs to see that I’m sincere with what I’m about to say. “No buts, Stormy. Our home is in Nashville, but we’ll stay in L.A. until you finish the school year. Barb told me that you have some auditions coming up and either I’ll go with you, Memaw will, or Barb. But once school is over we go back to Nashville. I know you want to dance. There are schools there that are just as good, and if not, I’ll hire someone to teach you.”
Stormy doesn’t say anything. She nods and wipes away her tears. Again, I find myself internally asking why Iris got into that car the other night. If she had just taken a taxi home, I wouldn’t have a disappointed daughter sitting next to me, or a house full of people pretending to mourn someone they really didn’t know. It doesn’t matter how many times I ask the same question. The answer will always be out of reach. No one will ever know what was going on with Iris when she got into that car.
“When are Pawpaw and Memaw going home?”
“Pawpaw is heading back at the end of the week so he can take care of the ranch. Memaw is staying until we kick her out.”
“And the other ones?” There is no mistaking the tone of her voice or the look on her face. She doesn’t care for her other grandparents, not that I could ever blame her or tell her to feel otherwise. It’s not like they know who the girls are, other than what they’ve gotten off my website. Unless Iris was in touch with them recently, but even if she were, I think she would’ve told me. We may have been divorced, but that didn’t mean we didn’t talk. Plus, she was still close with my mother, and I can’t fathom that Iris would make an effort with her own mama.
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and sigh. “Their hotel stay ends tomorrow. After that, I want to act like I don’t know what they’re going to do, but the truth is, I’m scared of not knowing where they are.” The McCalls scare me. It’s always about money with them, and I have a feeling they’re going to do anything they can to exploit the passing of Levi Austin’s ex-wife.
zara
Seven
You’re only allowed to hide out in your house for so long before you have to at least open the garage door and drive your black Range Rover with tinted windows out onto the streets of Beverly Hills. Of course, once you accomplish that, it’s a mad dash by all the paparazzi to chase after you in hopes of getting that elusive picture because for the last month you’ve stayed in your house with your blinds closed.
That’s me in a nutshell. For the most part, I felt like I was on house arrest, but the truth is I couldn’t face the public. Not that thirty days behind closed doors is going to make a difference in the matter, not when Van has been seen out and about with his rumored girlfriend according to TMZ. When I see segments like that, it makes everything ten times worse. I don’t know why I expected him to wait until the ink was dry on our divorce papers since he had been cheating on me. Clearly, that was a sign that he had moved on from our relationship. I guess I thought he’d offer me that courtesy. I was wrong.