CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Amber comes up the stairs with a strange look in her eye, holding out her arm toward me. “Go inside.”
Rose is right behind her.
“Why? Who is that?” A man in a leather jacket and jeans with long, ratty hair gets out of a sports car that’s parked in the driveway behind the tour bus. He looks familiar, but I don’t know why because I’m pretty sure I’ve never met him.
“Just go inside,” Amber says. “He’ll be leaving very soon.”
The band members and Lister head straight for him, and even though we’re losing what little daylight we have left, I can still see that none of them are happy.
I stand firm. “I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what’s going on.” It’s not like the guy has a gun on him or anything. I don’t think he could even fit a knife in pants that tight.
Amber stops at the top of the stairs and waits for Rose to join her before she speaks again. “You said you didn’t want to get involved in their stuff and you didn’t want to talk about the past.”
“So?” Amber is making no sense. “What’s that guy got to do with any of that?”
Sam leaves us to run down the stairs, going over to join his brother, who’s standing at the back of the group of men in front of the newcomer. Rose is on my right and Amber is on my left.
“That,” says Amber, “is the man who ruined our lives. His name is Darrell Ford.”
“It’s the guy who told the media about you,” Rose says to Amber.
“The one who was in the band for the first couple years,” I say, understanding dawning.
“Yes. And he’s here to cause trouble, so if you don’t want to be involved in all that, just go inside and let us deal with it.”
I turn to frown at Amber, my bossy-pants, know-it-all sister. “I don’t need to be anywhere but here, thank you very much.”
She shrugs. “Fine. It’s up to you. But you’re going to end up hearing things you don’t want to if you stick around.” She moves in close and puts her arm around my waist. Rose does the same from the other side. “I’m not saying you have to go anywhere. I’m just trying to understand and respect your wishes.”
I sigh, feeling defeated by her kindness. “It’s not that, okay? It’s just . . .” I can’t explain myself. Everything I was thinking earlier seems stupid to me now.
Amber looks at me, her expression softening. “Tell me. I’m listening.”
“Me too,” Rose says. “If you’ve figured any of this out for yourself, I’d love to hear it, because I’m clueless about what to do.”
“Give me your hands,” I say, wiggling myself out of their sisterly hugs. They obey and slide their palms into mine. I feel stronger and steadier with them standing here. We used to go down the front steps holding hands like this all the time when we were little, running off to play together. And I know it’s time to act like a grown-up, but as I delve into my feelings and innermost thoughts, I feel like I’m going to need the extra support.
“I think that life is too short to live with regrets. Our mothers have been doing it for over twenty years, and what a rotten shame that is.”
Amber nods but says nothing, which I’m grateful for, because it would be so easy for me to let her take over this conversation.
“I’m hurt over the idea that a man who fathered me and supposedly loved my mother would be so casual about letting her walk out of his life. But I’ve spent some time with Sam, a man who lived a very sad life for a lot of years, and I see how people who weren’t brought up the way we were, and who are in the throes of a huge career upswing, might lose track of what’s important.”
“They were manipulated,” Amber says.
I close my eyes and sigh. “Amber . . . you are their biggest champion . . .”
She opens her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. “No . . . let me finish.” I take a breath before continuing. “You are their biggest champion, but I trust you. You and Rose are my rocks, and you have been since we were born. That’s never going to change.”
Amber sniffs, but I can’t look at her or I’ll never finish. I stare at the tree I did this evening so I can get through it. “If you believe they are kind men, I will believe it until they give me firsthand reason not to. I will hear them out. I promised Sam I would do that. But you need to understand that I am not you. I am not an extrovert who feels like she can solve everyone’s problems. I’m just me. So I can’t promise that I’m going to believe them or that I’m going to forgive them for not being a part of our lives or that I’m going to make much of an effort beyond just listening.”
Rose squeezes my hand and I take that as support.
“We all know that we had a great life here. So much better than many other people. But I can’t help wondering what it could have been like if they had known we were alive. If they had bothered to just say, ‘Screw all the fame and fortune,’ and come after our moms all those years ago.”
“Can I say something?” Rose asks.
“Yes.” I nod and look at her. Her eyes are full of tears.
“You and I have been on the same page since the beginning of this mess. I think we’re more reserved when it comes to people we don’t know in general, but I’ve also been very busy with work and not really willing to let this stuff take up space in my head. But with the way things are going . . . with Amber pregnant and Ty being a part of the band and maybe Sam too in some way . . . I think it would be a mistake to continue to remain indifferent. Or to try to remain indifferent. I don’t think either of us was unaffected by this, even though it’s been taking place for the most part in another state or another country altogether.”
“So you agree that the band should be given a chance to share their side of the story with you?” Amber asks.
I wait for Rose’s confirmation. It sure seems like that’s what she’s saying.
“Yes. But I’d also like to talk to Ted, because it seems like he was the key player in this fiasco. I believe he has more insight than anyone.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not sure that’s ever going to happen,” Amber says.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because. He got fired. He’s not going to want to talk to anyone. In fact, we just got word that he’s suing the band for wrongful termination.”
I snort in disgust. “Good luck with that.”
“I know,” Amber says. “And the kicker is, he’s asking for thirty million bucks.”
“That can’t be a coincidence,” Rose says.
“No, of course it isn’t. I guess he figures if we’re worth thirty mil, he is too.”
“What a pig,” I say. As if the value of our stolen fathers could equal his punishment of being fired for being a homewrecker extraordinaire.
“But you can talk to the band and you can talk to Lister too. Lister wasn’t around when everything went down, but he’s been with them for a long time, and he knows Darrell.”
We all look over at the man who’s in a heated discussion with Red Wylde, the band’s singer and head decision-maker.
“What is he doing here?” Rose asks Amber. “Do you know?”
“What he’s always doing when he comes around: causing trouble.”
He yells something, and everyone stops talking to turn around and look at us. The crowd is silent.
“What did he just say?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Amber says, letting go of my hand. “But I’m going to go find out.”
“Not without me, you’re not,” I say, hurrying to catch up with her.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Rose whisper-yells, clomping down the stairs behind me.