“I need a rain check. It’s my dad.”
Ever the understanding one, George gets off the bed. “No problem. I’ll come back later. We can pick up where we left off.”
Waving him out of the room, I bring the phone to my ear. “Hey.”
“Hey, Sue. It’s Don. I’ve got someone coming over to trim back the maple tree branches on my half of the property this weekend. Just want to make sure it’s okay.”
Disappointment sinks like a brick in my chest when I realize he thinks I’m Mrs. Palma.
That’s definitely a new one, but as usual, I play along because this is his reality.
“Sure. No problem.”
“Thanks a lot. See you at the HOA meeting later.”
“Wait,” I say before he can hang up. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” He’s quiet for a beat. “A little lonely now that Lennon’s away at school, but the holidays are just around the corner and she’ll be home then.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Yeah, she will.”
“I’m so proud of her,” he says and I can picture him smiling as he sits by his piano. “She was so scared to go away to college, but she faced her fears.” His sigh is expansive. “Granted, she has this awful math professor who she’s positive is out to get her—”
“Professor Hanks,” I interject before I can stop myself.
“That’s the one. I guess she told you about him, too.”
I trace little patterns on the bedspread with my finger. “Yeah. The guy sounds like a real piece of work.”
Even though all but one of my answers were correct on the first exam he gave us, the jerk tried to fail me because I didn’t show my work the way he preferred. Although he never specified we had to.
“Tell me about it,” my dad says. “I offered to make a phone call but Lennon said that would only make things worse. She didn’t want me babying her.”
He’s right. Because the only way that god-awful professor was ever going to respect me was if I put my big girl panties on and handled it myself.
So, I marched right into his office and threatened to set up a meeting with the Dean. I was petrified because fighting with teachers wasn’t my thing, but he wasn’t being fair.
Just because I went about getting the correct answer a different way than he would didn’t mean I was wrong.
To my surprise, he took his power trip down a few notches and I ended up passing the course with a ninety-two.
Even though it should have been a ninety-three.
“Well, you know how she is.” I bite my cheek as I recall what he used to always say about my willful spirit. “Stubborn as an ox.”
“That she is.” He laughs. “She gets it from me.”
I really do.
“I’m so proud of her,” he repeats, and it’s both a dagger and a balm to my heart. “My baby girl is going places.”
How I wish that were true.
“Only because she has a great dad.”
“No. It’s all her. She’s so much more than she gives herself credit for; you know? So strong…and talented.” A deep exhale fills the line. “She doesn’t know it, but I heard her sing once. She has the voice of an angel. Just like her mama. It’s a shame she keeps it hidden.”
My chest cracks open like a dam and it takes everything inside me not to break down.
“I miss her,” he whispers a moment later.
She misses you, too.
So damn much.
CHAPTER 40
PHOENIX
“You’ve been extra pissy since soundcheck yesterday,” Storm grunts.
I bring the lighter to the end of my cigarette. The record label keeps harping on me to quit so I don’t ruin their investment, but they can lick my nutsack.
“So?”
“So, you should be grateful Lennon covered for your ass while you were outside making a phone call.” Huffing, he plucks the cigarette from my mouth and stubs it out. “Speaking of which, did you hear her voice? Who knew she could sing like that?”
Something ugly and bitter tightens my chest.
I did.
My silence only spurs him on. “Look, man. I know her hanging with George has you—”
“I don’t give a fuck about George.”
Aside from his involvement with Lennon.
I clench my hands until they become fists. The thought of them kissing on the other side of that wall makes me homicidal.
Bet if I slipped something lethal into his drink later, no one would suspect a thing.