Part 6 (1/2)
His mother pursed her lips slightly. ”All right.”
The subject was closed. For now.
She rose, grabbed a bottle of wine off the counter, and poured herself a gla.s.s, leaning against the dark granite as she swirled the pale liquid. When she met his gaze once more, there was a softer look in her eyes. ”You look tired.”
She stared at him for several long moments and then crossed over, her hand falling to his chest, close to his heart. ”You look tired in here.”
Cain stared down at his mother and clenched his jaw. ”Yeah.”
”What's really going on with you?” Her blue eyes shadowed with concern. ”And don't say 'nothing.' What happened in Barcelona was not nothing.”
He sighed and moved away from his mother. Just thinking of the situation he'd left behind made him tense, and he ran fingers along the tight cord of muscle at his neck. Was it only twenty minutes ago that he'd been relaxed in the coc.o.o.n of Maggie's kitchen?
”You don't know the half of it.”
”Then talk to me, Cain. Don't keep it bottled up inside. That's the worst thing you can do. It will make you ill, trust me.”
Cain stared at his mother intently. He felt the words sitting in the back of his mouth, but his throat was tight. Spain had been a low point for him. The culmination of a lot of c.r.a.p that had been building for months. The bitter taste of it made him grimace. ”Barcelona was not good.”
”Not good?” His mother frowned. ”Cain, you threw a punch at one of your band members and knocked him off the d.a.m.n stage. Nearly caused a riot. It's a h.e.l.l of a lot more than not good.”
Anger coursed through him swift and hard. ”Blake had it coming. You can't expect to bang someone's wife without consequence.”
Lauren's eyebrows rose in shock. ”Blake was having an affair with Natasha?”
He nodded and glanced out the window into the darkness. In the distance, lights twinkled around the lake like s.h.i.+ny diamonds cutting through the black. His mother's windows were open, and a crisp, fresh breeze blew through the room. The rain from earlier in the evening had moved on, but the smell of its freshness lingered.
It was so quiet here. Serene. A far cry from the life he'd been inhabiting.
d.a.m.n, but he was tired of it all.
”Cain?”
He nodded. ”Apparently he's the latest in a long line. I didn't know until after the divorce proceedings had started, or I would never have gone on tour with the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Blake got drunk one night and it came out. A confession of his soul, I think he called it.” Cain clenched his hands. ”He should have kept his f.u.c.king mouth shut.”
He felt his mother's warm hand against his arm. ”So that's why he left the tour.”
Cain's eyes were flat. He knew speculation had run rampant after the Barcelona incident-Blake had a drug problem, Cain had gone prima donna-but the plain truth was so much simpler.
”He crossed a line and was fired. Now he's suing BlackRock-which, I have to say, the record label isn't happy with. They want to pay him off and be done with it, but I'm not liking that train of thought.”
”Oh honey, I didn't know.” Lauren's brow furled. ”But why would he sue you?”
”He's not stupid.” He shrugged. ”He knows the next alb.u.m could put us over the top. h.e.l.l, everyone is expecting it. He's hoping to cash in. Blake's been there since the beginning. He's co-written everything with me and will make money off those royalties for years. But now he wants royalties from any future recordings...songs he'll have no hand in writing.”
”He's blowing smoke. No judge would ever allow that to go through. He's being an a.s.shole, angling for more money.” She frowned. ”Is Natasha putting him up to this? She still p.i.s.sed that you broke it off with her?”
”I'm sure she's enjoying the attention. Her publicity machine will work any angle they can. Honestly, I don't give two s.h.i.+ts about the money. I've never had buckets of the stuff, but have always managed to make a living. That's not what I'm worried about...” His voice trailed off and his chest tightened.
”What is it?” His mother prodded.
”Nothing I want to talk about now.” He pushed aside his dark thoughts. He'd deal with them later.
”Okay.” Silence fell between the two of them, and then Lauren spoke softly. ”How long are you staying here?”
He glanced down at his mother and felt a bit of the weight he carried leave him. ”I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, if that's all right.”
She looped her arms through his and rested her head against his shoulder. ”That's more than all right.”
”You catch anything?”
”Huh?” Cain turned to Mac and stretched out his long limbs in front of him. His feet were bare and he wriggled his toes, thinking that he hadn't been this relaxed in forever. The sun was warm against his face and s.h.i.+rtless chest, and the silence on the lake soothed his soul.
”Our boy's off in la-la land again.” Jake grabbed the spot beside him as the boat rolled against the gentle swell of the water. ”What the h.e.l.l's got you so distracted?”
Long red hair, peaches-and-cream skin, and wicked blue eyes flashed before him.
”Nothing, I'm just enjoying the quiet.”
It was Sunday, late morning, and the three of them had been out on the water for several hours. They'd spent most of Sat.u.r.day cleaning up Old Smoky-the name given to the twenty-foot power boat Mr. Edwards had given to his twin sons on their fifteenth birthday. It sported a forty-five horsepower outboard and back in the day had had just enough room for the four of them, a case of beer, their fis.h.i.+ng gear, and a couple of girls. Many a weekend they'd spent entire Sat.u.r.days out on the water fis.h.i.+ng, drinking, smoking whatever they could get their hands on, and just shooting the s.h.i.+t.
G.o.d, to be that young again.
The four of them had been kings, with nothing on their minds but scoring as much tail as they could, hitting the best parties in town, and playing football. There'd been no responsibility-no limitations-only the open road of possibility to roam.
Cain ran his fingers along the edge of the boat. The cream and navy colors had long faded, beaten down by the sun. The d.a.m.n thing brought back a lot of memories. His gaze rested on Jake and then slid to the empty seat beside him.
Jesse's spot. Yeah, a lot of memories.
”So, what's with the little redhead?” Mac popped open a beer and took a long drink before wiping foam from the corner of his mouth. ”What's her story?”
Cain sighed. Here we go.
He glanced up. Mac's dark blond hair was already a shade lighter, and it was good to see him out of Armani and decked out in plain old cotton. He was bare chested and had gained a considerable amount of muscle since Cain last saw him. Mac had been hitting the gym hard. h.e.l.l, put him in a marine uniform and he'd be as bada.s.s as Jake.
Jake grinned. ”Maggie? Raine's friend? The one with the kid?” Jake glanced at Mac. ”Toss me one, will ya?” He settled back, his eyes boring into Cain. ”So what the h.e.l.l did I miss? You're home less than twenty-four hours and already scored the cutest thing in town?”
Mac laughed. ”Some things never change.”
Cain scowled at the two of them. ”It's not like that.”
Jake chuckled. ”So tell me Cain...what it's like, exactly?”
He caught the look Mac shot at Jake, and his scowl deepened. ”Drop it.”