Chapter Five
Christina realized her mistake the minute her ass hit the hard wooden sidewalk. But now that she was in the middle of the fiercest girl fight of her life, there wasn’t time to do anything but grapple for the upper hand and try not to get her eyes scratched out. They rolled in front of an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, and she hoped no one was crazy enough to be sitting in there eating ice cream in January, watching their fight. Her white wool coat was surely stained beyond repair, but the feel of her own boyfriend’s leather jacket slapping against her cheek as the other woman pulled her hair gave her renewed strength. Four freaking days away from a proposal and already a beautiful blond was wearing his jacket! Christina launched herself, making them roll out into the dirt road as she struggled to get on top of the woman. She’d either die from a car running her over or from this nutjob finishing her off. The woman’s nails dug into Christina’s neck, the stinging stab surely drawing blood. Somehow Christina managed to get on top of the woman and restrained her wrists above her head by putting her full weight on them.
“Get off me, you psycho,” the woman spat. Christina was momentarily startled as she met strangely familiar hazel eyes, which gave the woman enough time to get her wrists free and roll out from under her.
The woman stood and glared at her. She had a small pink handprint on her cheek from where Christina had slapped her. In hindsight, she probably should’ve slapped Griff instead. No word from him for four whole days, ignoring her voicemails, and then popping up in the gossip mags with two beautiful women. She recognized pop superstar Karina Black. Karina was married, but that didn’t mean as much in the music world as it did in real life. And this one. This sexy young blonde was seen smiling and standing in Christina’s spot during an impromptu performance with Christina’s man. The headline from Griff’s own tweet said “At long last” like he was reunited with the love of his life. Her rage had built with alarming speed on the flight out here. Of course, her mom’s repeated texts asking who is this gorgeous woman with your Griffin? hadn’t helped.
Her breath was coming hard and her hands were in fists. That black leather jacket on another woman was driving her crazy! She reached out again, grabbing the sleeve to rip it off the woman when strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her away and back on the sidewalk.
Griff’s arms pinned Christina’s arms to her sides. She was so relieved to be back in his arms that all the fight went out of her. The taller woman stepped onto the sidewalk in front of her and continued glaring. Christina gritted her teeth.
“Let her go, Griffin,” the blond woman snarled. “I can take her.”
Griff piped up in an oddly cheerful voice. “Kelly, I’d like you to meet Christina, the one and only crazy thing in my life. Christina, meet my half sister, Kelly.”
A rare blush burned Christina’s cheeks. Now who was the idiot? But how was she supposed to know? Griff never mentioned a sister. He always said he had no family. Wait a minute.
She yanked free of Griff’s grip and turned to face him. “How do you know she’s your sister?”
He smoothed her hair, which was probably sticking up like crazy from that hellion. “She told me.”
“She told you? Really?” He couldn’t possibly be that naive. Everyone wanted to get close to him because of his fame.
He nodded. “And she knows the same songs I do. From our dad.”
“Like what?”
“Brown Eyed Girl.”
“Everyone knows that one!” Christina turned and narrowed her eyes at the woman claiming to be related to Griff. “I want to see your birth certificate. Some kind of ID. Maybe a DNA test.”
“You are crazy,” Kelly said, pulling Griff’s leather jacket back in place over one shoulder.
“You’re not spending one more minute with him until you prove who you are!” Christina barked.
Kelly pulled her wallet out of her purse and produced a driver’s license. “See? Kelly King. Our dad’s Ron King.”
Christina turned to Griff. “Your dad’s Ron King? From the White Lions and the Chilies and the Deaf Trombones?”
“Yes,” Griff said quietly.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?” Christina asked.
Griff’s mouth formed a flat line. “My dad and I weren’t close.”
Christina stared in shock for a moment. Ron King was well known for his talents as a kickass guitar player. In three years, Griff had never mentioned the connection or that he had a half sister. What else wasn’t he telling her?
Griff shook his head. “I can’t believe you slapped my sister.”
“What was I supposed to think?” Christina hollered. “She’s wearing your jacket.” She turned back to Kelly. “She’s young and blond and beautiful! She took my spot when you played!” Her eyes stung with an embarrassing rush of tears.
Kelly gave her a small smile. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“You’re stunning,” Christina spat.
Kelly turned to Griff. “I like her.”
Griff scowled. “Great. Now you can be best friends. Why do the women in my life have to be nuts?”
“Hey!” Christina and Kelly said at the same time.
“Sorry I slapped you,” Christina said to Kelly. “I should’ve slapped him.”
“Hey!” Griff protested.
Christina did a head swivel and advanced on Griff. “Four days I waited to hear from you.” She jabbed him in the chest, making him back up. “Four days you ignored my voicemails.” Another jab and he backed up against the wooden storefront of the ice-cream parlor. The sign said Two Scoops, just like Griff’s two scoops of gossip at her expense! “I have to see you with two beautiful women. Oh, yes, I saw you with Karina Black. And the gossipy headlines announcing you’re cheating on your girlfriend after proposing. With no word from you! How do you think that makes me feel?”
“You said we were taking a break,” Griff said in a level tone that infuriated her.
Kelly hissed out a breath.
“I said we needed some time apart to think!” Christina hollered.
“Sorry, babe,” Griff said. “My voicemail was full of calls from that Savage Release reporter, so I just stopped checking it.”
“I know! You blew off your interview this week completely. She’s been calling me too. Griff, do you have any idea what you put me through these past four days?”
“Does that mean you want to marry me?” he asked, infuriating her further.
“It means I would like to hear from the man I’ve been living with for the past three years!” She felt like she was talking to a brick wall. How were they ever supposed to move forward when Griff was stuck in this one marry-me track?
“I’ve been a little out of it,” Griff said.
“A little out of it?” Christina echoed, getting all up in his business, plastered against his front.
“Our dad died,” Kelly said quietly.
All the anger left her in a whoosh. She turned to Kelly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Now she felt extra bad for slapping her. She turned to Griff. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Yeah.” He looked off in the distance. “I came to say goodbye.”
She wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her back tightly. “I’m so sorry. See, this is why you need to tell me things. Why didn’t you call me? You didn’t have to go through this alone.”
“I thought you were done with me,” Griff said hoarsely.
“I’m not,” she said over the lump in her throat.
Kelly spoke up. “Does this mean you’re leaving?”
Christina turned in Griff’s arms to face Kelly and did a double take, shrinking back against Griff. “Watch out! A pony got loose! I knew this place looked like an old West town! Stay back!”
Kelly laughed as a giant black beast trotted toward them. “That’s just Scooby. He’s not a pony. He’s a dog!”
“That dog is as big as a horse!” Christina exclaimed. “Where’s his owner?”
“Hi, Scooby!” Kelly called. The dog trotted over and sniffed her leather jacket briefly before trotting around the side of Two Scoops. “He’s a Great Dane,” Kelly informed them. “Ever since Maxine gave him a bit of vanilla ice cream at the to-go window, he’s regularly been escaping his yard to get his fix.”
Christina shuddered. “We have leash laws in New York.”
“He won’t hurt anybody,” Kelly said. “So, Griff, are you flying home, or can you stick around a bit?”
“We could hang for a while, right, babe?” Griff asked Christina. “It’d be cool to celebrate my birthday with family.”
Christina mentally reviewed Griff’s schedule. He had some time off between gigs since they’d planned to spend his birthday at a resort in Mexico. But, what the hell, how often did Griff ever get the chance to spend his birthday with a long-lost sister? She had to admit she did see the resemblance—same hazel eyes, adorable nose, and kissable mouth. Not that she wanted to kiss Kelly.
“His birthday is the seventeenth,” Christina told Kelly. “A little less than two weeks away. Think you can stand us that long?”
Kelly’s face lit up with a smile. “I’d love it! We could make it a big party. Griff, you want to play? I know everyone in town would love to hear you.”
Griff turned to Christina. “What do you think?”
“It’s a small venue,” Christina replied, looking around the tiny downtown area.
“He could play the theater in the Community Center,” Kelly said.
“Let’s tie it to a charitable cause,” Christina said. “Everything he does gets press, and we don’t want word getting out that he’s doing free concerts.”
“I’ll send the proceeds to Horizon Village,” Griff said. That was the adult community for people with Down’s syndrome where Griff’s ex-wife’s brother lived. She loved that Griff had a trust established for his ex’s brother. It always reminded her no matter how messy relationships got with Griff, he still had his heart in the right place.
“Any hotels in this town?” Christina asked Kelly. She grabbed Griff’s hand as the giant horse of a dog trotted happily past again, licking his giant muzzle.
“No, but I bet we can hook you up with a vacation rental,” Kelly said. “You ever watch Home Sweet Vacation Home?”
“No. Our whole life is a vacation,” Christina said with a laugh.
“Hey, I work hard,” Griff said.
“I just mean we’re always traveling,” Christina said.
“I’ll hook you up,” Kelly said. “The hosts of the show live in town. We’re known for beautiful mountain homes.”
A few hours later, Christina and Griff were settled into their new rental, a large wood and glass A-frame house perched high on the hill with floor-to-ceiling windows in the front, giving a gorgeous view of the picturesque town. The living room furniture was casual and rustic—two beige sofas, two matching upholstered chairs, and wood end tables—arranged to take advantage of both the view on one side and the huge stone fireplace on an adjacent side. Griff headed to the kitchen with its dark cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances and started poking around. His black leather jacket was now—with Christina’s helpful reminder—off Kelly, who wore her own dark green down coat with faux fur trim on the hood.
Christina thanked Kelly for her help and walked her to the door, inviting her to return for dinner.
“I’d love to,” Kelly said brightly. “I’ll bring dinner from the café where I work so you don’t have to worry about cooking.” Then she narrowed her eyes and whispered fiercely, “And don’t think I’ll forget that slap,” before whirling and making a dramatic exit, the door slamming shut behind her.
Christina smiled to herself. She really liked that girl.
~ ~ ~
Kelly drove back to her apartment still a little rattled from the day’s events. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Christina. On the one hand, the woman had complimented her. On the other hand, that slap! So outrageous! She hadn’t been in a brawl like that since high school.
She pulled up to her street and noticed her mom’s white Mercedes parked in her driveway. That was odd. She didn’t usually get home until seven or eight at night. It was only four thirty.
She parked in the street in front of her place and headed for the driveway.
Her mom got out of her car. “Hello,” she said in her usual brusque tone. She wore her white down parka, but instead of tailored pants and heels, she had on gray sweatpants and boots.
Kelly stopped in front of her. She wasn’t wearing makeup either, and her usual perfectly straight blond hair was tangled. “Are you sick?”
“No, I took a day off. I just…needed some time. Can we go inside?”
“Sure.” She led the way into her apartment, took off her coat, which wasn’t nearly as badass as her brother’s—damn Christina—and sat on her sofa.
Her mom sat primly in the chair with the embroidered flower cushion. She blinked, shook her head, and pulled her purse onto her lap. “Let’s get down to business.”
“Business?” Kelly echoed.
“Yes. One of your father’s musician friends left a box of his things in my care yesterday. Apparently your dad frequently crashed at this guy’s apartment and left some things there.”
“Where’s the box? What was in it?”
Her mom bit her lip. “Pictures, mostly. Some small items from when he and I first met…” Her lower lip wobbled.
Kelly crossed to her and gave her a sideways hug. Her mom patted her arm and pulled away. “So it appears he left you some money.”
Kelly sat down on the sofa with a thunk. “I thought he died penniless.”
“That he did. But he took out a life-insurance policy ten years ago and named you as the sole beneficiary.” She pulled a thick envelope from her purse and handed it over. “He left you five hundred thousand.”
Kelly opened the envelope with a shaking hand, quickly scanning the policy. Whoa. This was enough money for a fresh start anywhere in the world. Enough to buy a house of her own. Decorate it however she wanted, maybe even have a yard with a dog. Her current apartment didn’t allow pets.
Her mom went on, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “His friend, Mike, said that he wanted to do right by you in death. Even if he had nothing to give you in life.”
Tears stung her eyes. If only her dad had understood she just wanted him, not money. She never cared that much about money. Music was her passion. The only thing that ever really mattered to her. And that was all because of him.
Of course, she wouldn’t say no to money, either. She was a little too familiar with the end-of-the-month lack of funds before the next paycheck.
“Are you going to give your brother his share?” her mom asked.
Her hand tightened on the papers. “Share?”
“It just seems like the right thing to do. I don’t know why he wasn’t included, but usually you leave an inheritance to all of your children equally.”
“Maybe he knew Griff didn’t need the money,” she said.
Her mom stood and pursed her lips. “Well, of course, you need to do what you feel is right.”
She left in a hurry, leaving Kelly sitting there, her thoughts ping-ponging all over the place. What was the right thing to do? If she told Griffin about the money, would he feel hurt that he’d been left out of the only inheritance their dad had? She sure would. But if she didn’t tell him, was she cheating him out of his rightful inheritance? After all, he was the oldest, he should’ve rightfully inherited something.
She didn’t know what to do, so she did what she always did in difficult situations—hid it away to be dealt with later.