Page 83 of Just What She Needed

"What kind of a change?" Her lips were cold, and she found it hard to get the words out.

"Sienna and some of her friends are driving up from Stanford to San Francisco for the show tonight."

"And?"

"And it means you'll need to stay here tonight and fly to Portland tomorrow. I'm sure Drew won't mind."

The dread grew crushing as it transformed into heartbreak. "Drew? Who gives a rat's ass if Drew minds or not? I mind."

Rhys had the gall to look impatient. "Look, Rhett, I don't like it any more than you, but this is the first time Sienna's had anything to do with me since summer. You know how she feels, and you know what will happen if she gets there tonight and finds you with me."

"Wait a minute. You're really not going to take me to San Francisco just because Sienna might have a fit about it?"

"She's my daughter, Rhett. I owe her this. What else am I supposed to do?"

And at that, Rhett snapped. The temper she kept on a leash for so long broke free and galloped away with her. All the words she held back for fear of rocking the boat came roaring out with the fury of a Texas tornado.

"You're supposed to act like her father instead of letting her lead you around like a pet poodle, that's what. For the love of all that's holy, Rhys, quit being such a pussy."

He couldn't have looked any more shocked if she'd have slapped him. The fact that he seemed surprised to hear this only served to enrage her further.

"I can't believe you're actually going to keep me hidden away because Sienna doesn't want her dear daddy to be with me. How dare you tell me one minute you want us to be together, and the next tell me I have to stay here tonight like some dirty little secret instead of being with you? And you think I'm just going to sit here and take being treated like that? Think again, hot stuff." She slung her toiletries bag into her suitcase with the force of a fast-pitch softball. "You know, I can handle the girls who come to your concerts taking off their shirts and shaking their bare breasts at you while you sing. I can handle them putting their hands all over you in the hospitality room after the show under the guise of having their picture taken with you. I can even handle the long and frequent absences while you're recording or on the road. But I cannot, and I will not handle the way you let your daughter control you and me." She was yelling now, but she didn't care.

"How fucking insightful," Rhys yelled back. A flush of what might have been anger or, she could only hope, shame colored his cheeks. "It's so easy for you to stand there and make pronouncements, isn't it? But if it were Lilith, you'd be singing a different tune."

"Lilith would never, ever try to run my life." Rhett glared at him, breathing hard. "She might not like everything I do, but she knows it's none of her damned business, and she keeps her nose out of it. She knows who the parent is and who's the child, a lesson both you and your daughter badly need to learn." She zipped up the suitcase with a violent gesture and yanked the strap over her shoulder. "Oh, and you know what else? My daughter wants me to be happy, how about that? I know that's a foreign concept to you, your children wanting what's best for you without pouting and crying and then punishing you with the old silent treatment when they don't get their way about it. But that's how it's supposed to work."

Rhys uttered a series of incomprehensible sounds as he unsuccessfully searched for a response. He ended this Soliloquy of Nothing with a growl of what Rhett could only surmise was frustration.

"How fucking insightful," she said, throwing his earlier words back at him. "Hear me now, Rhys. I am not going to have my life controlled by teenage drama. Forget that. I deserve better. And another thing. I told you once before that I wasn't going to force you to make a choice between me and Sienna, and I'm going to tell you again. I—” She stabbed a finger at her own chest. "I am not the one forcing you to make a choice. But if I could force you to do anything it would be to turn that spoiled brat over your knee and paddle that sulky, controlling attitude right out of her."

Too angry and heartbroken to continue, or to hear anything else he might have to say on the matter, she stormed out of the bedroom and down the hall. When she reached the bright, sunny den, she came to a halt and cast a searching glare around the room. The television was on, tuned to SportsCenter, an almost empty glass of iced tea rested on a coaster next to one of the recliners, and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn sat on the floor. All of it attested to the room's recent occupation and its hurried abandonment.

"Drew!"

After a moment, Drew poked his head out of the kitchen like a housecat who found itself in the middle of a pack of wild jackals.

"Right here, Hellcat. What's up?"

It was clear from his expression and his hesitant tone that he'd heard pretty much everything, so she didn't try to sugarcoat it.

"I have had it with your idiot friend and being last on his list of priorities, that's what's up. Will you please drive me to LAX, or call a ride for me or something? I'm going home."

31

The best you can do is set your kids on the right track; staying on it without falling is up to the kids.—Gene Simmons

In direct defiance of the instructions on the attached tag, Rhys wrapped the cord of the blow dryer around its barrel before dropping it into his suitcase. After a quick glance around the tiled shower room to make sure he wasn't leaving anything behind, he zipped the bag closed and carried it into the dressing room. He side-stepped Parker who was balanced on one leg as he pulled on his shoes and placed the suitcase next to the others waiting to be collected and taken to the airport.

"Drew and David already at the M and G?" he asked Ross.

"Yeah." The guitarist tucked the back of shirt into his jeans. "You comin'?"

"Not just yet. I'd like to see Sienna alone first."

Ross ran his fingers through his hair as he headed for the door. "I'll have Owen bring her back."

"And I'll keep her friends occupied," Parker added with a grin.