She smiled and offered me a cup of coffee, one I gladly accepted. “You the only one up?”

“Yeah, Molly’s, uh…” I hesitated, not sure what to call her. “She’s still sleeping.”

“The girl needs her rest. She looks worn out.”

I didn’t know her well enough to discuss her daughter, but it felt like she needed reassurance. “It’s been a long few weeks for her, but we’ve got a few days off and I’m hoping she’ll be able to relax here.”

The older woman pursed her lips. “That’s a good idea. She needs someone to take care of her.”

Ha. That was fucking laughable. Mols would never let anyone take care of her; she was too stubborn for that shit. “I’m going to grab a shower if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely! It’s the first door upstairs on the right.”

I excused myself, grabbing both Molly’s bag and mine, along with my cell, from the car and scrolled through my missed calls. I cursed under my breath when I realized Lee had blown up my phone over the last few hours. She was probably pissed as hell. But another name on the list caught my eye, causing me to swear again as I dropped the bags on the ground and called him back.

“Dad!” Jake exclaimed excitedly, picking up on the second ring.

“Hey, bud!” I smiled, not being able to hide how happy just hearing his voice made me. God, I fucking missed him. “How are you?”

“Good. Where are you?”

“New York.”

“Daaad,” he groaned, annoyance filling his voice. “What part of New York?”

“Upstate.” I chuckled, knowing he’d be annoyed with my smartassery.

“Dad.” He sounded so grown up. When had that happened? Wasn’t he six just five minutes ago?

“Are you doing the map again?” When he was a baby, I’d bought him a giant wall-sized map so he and Julie would always know where I was. He’d tracked the places I’d visited over the years, even when I was on tour with Nate.

“Yeah.”

I rolled my eyes at the amount of attitude that came through the phone.

“So, where are you?”

“Keene.”

“Keene, Keene, Keene,” he whispered, and I could see him, standing at the wall in his bedroom, searching the map. “A-ha! I found you.”

“What color are you using this time?” I asked with a smile. He used one specific tack color for each trip, making it easy to see where I’d been each time. The boy loved watching my progress around the globe. I knew one day our roles would be reversed and I would be the one recording his trips.

“Blue. For Molly’s hair. Wait, is it still blue or has she changed it?”

“It’s purple.”

“So cool. You’re seriously like the luckiest person in the world, Dad. Maybe she’ll help you loosen up a bit. Ya know, calm you down?”

“You mean turn me cool?”

He giggled. An all-encompassing, childish giggle, making me long for days gone by. “Not a chance.”

A smile split my face. This kid. This fucking kid. Shaking my head, I tried to change the topic. “What have you been up to?”

“Mom and Dr. Douche—”

“Jacob Nathaniel Carson!” I growled in warning. “Don’t.”

“Whatever.” More of the attitude that told me he was definitely my offspring. “Mom and Lewis went away for the weekend, so Janet and I are with Great Grammy.”

Instantly, I became pissed off. My Grams never turned down the chance to spend time with Jake, and she’d never accepted the fact that Janet wasn’t my daughter, so she was more than willing to watch the kids whenever Jules asked her to. But the kids had been with my parents last weekend, and Julie’s mom the weekend before that. Would it fucking kill her to spend some time with her kids, especially since I couldn’t be there? Jesus.

Swallowing my irritation, I asked about Gram. I walked through the fields as I talked to him, listening to everything that had happened in his world in the past few days. It was all too soon when Jake told me he’d talk to me later. “I love ya, Dad,” he muttered as if it was an afterthought.

“I love you, too, bud.”

After we hung up, I stared out at the mountains, lost in thought. How many more times would I hear him say those words? God knows my dad and I never exchanged them. And Jake was getting to the age where all affection would be a big faux pas.

Maybe he’d never grow out of it. Maybe, just maybe, I’d done my job right and he would know it was important to tell the people you loved how you felt. When people say tomorrow is never promised, they’re usually talking about death. But I’d learned the hard way that death wasn’t the only thing that could take away someone you loved. Sometimes, it’s a fate much worse than death. Loving Lee had taught me that.

I had tried to set a good example, to show Jake that a dad could be tough and strong as well as loving and comforting. He’d had a kitchen set in our kitchen by the time he was two, because when I was home, Daddy cooked as much as, if not more than, Mommy. When Jules told me she was pregnant with Janet, I’d bought him a baby doll so he could pretend to be a daddy while watching me. We were baby wearing fools, he and I. I smiled at the memory.

My dad would make snide comments about how I was turning Jake gay, but fuck him. One day, my future daughter-, or son-in-law would appreciate the fact that I had taught him to be a good cook and a decent dad. As long as Jake loved the person he was with, and they loved him back, then nothing else mattered. If it was a man, I’d be the first person marching in the local Pride parade supporting my two sons. And I’d kick anyone’s ass, including my old man’s, if they had a problem with it.

I wanted my son to have it all—love, laughter, and happiness, and a family who would give him both. I’d explained how important family was, even the family that isn’t family by blood. I could only hope he’d have one as great as mine one day.

When my phone rang seconds later, I glanced down and didn’t want to answer it.

“Why in the hell haven’t you called?” Lee snapped. “Tell me you’re both okay.”

Guilt hit when I heard her frantic tone. “Sorry. Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Where are you?”

I almost told her exactly where we were. Then I hesitated. “We’re safe.”

“Good. Where?”

I shook my head at the clouds, as if she could see me. “Somewhere in the middle of nowhere where no one will find us. That’s all you need to know.”

Lee sighed. “Does this somewhere have internet?”

I turned back to the house. Did it? “I don’t know.”

“Keep her away from her phone and away from the celebrity news sites.”

Fuck. Shit. Fuck. “How bad is it?”

“I’m not her goddamned bodyguard,” Lee snapped, “but I’d say if we’re hiding our girl out in the middle of nowhere to avoid the bastards, then it’s pretty fucking bad. Wouldn’t you?”

And, there was my Lee. I fought a smile as she said my words back to me. I couldn’t remember the entire conversation from last night, but I’d say they were almost verbatim. Fuck. Had that really only been last night? I was too old for this shit.

“Mikey?”

“I’m here.” I cleared my throat. “Are they crucifying her?”

“It isn’t pretty, but I’m spinning it as fast as I can. I need her out of the public eye until she steps on that stage Tuesday night.”

I could make that happen. “I’ll have her there Tuesday afternoon. Late afternoon.”

“For the love of all that’s holy, can you please keep her away from all media? It’ll destroy her.”

“She’s not getting near anything that’ll hurt her. Not fucking happening. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I know you will.” She paused, as if thinking. “Thank you for taking care of my Molly, Mikey.”

“She’s my Molly, too, Lee. We’ll see you Tuesday.” I hung up and turned quickly, feeling something behind me. Mrs. Davis held out my coffee.

“I saw you pacing out here and figured you could use some caffeine. Didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“Thank you. I had to make a couple of calls.” I glanced at the third-floor windows, wondering if she was up yet.