Southern Rocker Showdown Page 21

  “I’m not a rabbit,” he said with a serious scowl. She laughed.

  “No. You’re not a rabbit. With humans, it’s a little more complicated.”

  “Like how?”

  I don’t know. “It depends on the human. Some die. Some just leave. Some have to make hard choices that take them away from their babies.”

  “What about my daddy?” he asked.

  She sighed. He wasn’t going to let her off the hook here. What could she tell him? What should she tell him? “He left, honey. Like my daddy.”

  Cody’s eyes widened. “Your daddy left?” She nodded. “Why?”

  Tears stung her eyes. “Because he didn’t want to stay.”

  He saw how hard she was trying not to cry. He stood in the tub and put his arms around her to give her a hug. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

  “Me too,” she eked out, desperate not to cry as she hugged her baby boy close.

  She was quiet on the way back to the house. Jonah didn’t ask why. He just held her hand in both of his. They spent the day putting the finishing touches on the group performances as they waited for the results that would send one of them home. The scuttlebutt was that Fierce had its highest ratings ever, and all the feedback had been generally positive. Fans reached out to their favorites via social media, to show their support and applaud their bravery to share such intimate moments on stage. Most contestants agreed that if one had to go home, that was the highest note on which to leave.

  In the end it was Penelope Carnes who went home that week. She had sung for her brother, who was fighting in Afghanistan. They patched in video so he could tell her how proud he was of how far she’d gone, which broke her just like a cheap crayon. There wasn’t a bitchy bone in her body as she left the competition. The same could not be said of Tony Paul, who was drowning his sorrows in alcohol even though he’d made it through another week.

  He grew more sullen the more he drank. Jonah turned to Lacy. “We should get out of here,” he said. “He’s about to go up like a powder keg in a minute.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  He grinned. “I used to be a bouncer, remember?”

  She laughed. “Where are we going to go? We kind of live here.”

  “Last I checked there were cars out front.” He took her hand and they headed to the first available car together.

  They told the driver they were in the mood for some fast food and a long ride, at least to the beach and back. He had driven them before and knew they were full of shit, but he was a romantic. “I can take you over the hill and back,” he said, which was fine by them. It was at least a twenty minute drive, and they had done more in less. He nodded to the back and they climbed in for the last opportunity to be alone before they’d have to get back to the grind. After being together the night before, they weren’t quite ready to tuck their relationship back under the rug for another week.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he growled against her lips. “I never could.”

  She giggled. “Me, either,” she said as she trailed one fingertip all the way down his body to the tent in his jeans. “I want to scream it to the world.”

  “We will,” he assured as he unfastened her jeans and slipped his hand inside. “By the time we go on tour this summer, everyone on the planet is going to know that you are mine.”

  She pulled him down to her. “I like the sound of that.” She traced his face. “All of it. You and me together. Us on tour. It sounds like a perfect life.”

  His eyes met hers. “It will be.” She didn’t say anything, but he got the distinct impression she wanted to. “Why wouldn’t it?”

  She sighed. “Cody asked about his daddy.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I didn’t know what to say. What do I say to a four-year-old?”

  “You tell him the truth.”

  “The truth will hurt him.”

  Jonah’s tone grew angrier by the second. “And whose fault is that? It’s not your job to protect Tony Paul, Lacy.”

  “But it is my job to protect my son.”

  Jonah withdrew his hand from her pants and leaned against the back of the seat, one arm folded behind his head. “So… what? You never tell him what a lowlife Tony Paul is? What happens when they come after you with custody papers, Lacy?”

  “I can’t keep him from his father, Jonah.”

  “Why not? He kept himself away from his son.” She exhaled deeply and looked away. “The only reason they’re coming after him now is because they want to punish you. You know that, right? They’re going to go after you through the legal system, and then when they get their clutches on Cody, they’ll spoil him rotten to buy his love while driving you right into the ground. What do you think Jacinda and Gaynell did with me? Imagine them doing it to a child who can’t see through the bullshit.”

  “You couldn’t see through the bullshit,” she reminded.

  “My point.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to tell him to go to hell,” Jonah grumbled.

  “I have. It doesn’t help.” He snorted derisively. “And remember. We’re going to be on tour with him. At some point we’re going to have to declare a truce.”

  “That tour is the number one reason to fight them, Lacy. What do you think is going to happen to your mother when she’s out on her own, with no one there to keep the Hollises from just showing up whenever they want? They’ll walk away with your son and there won’t be anything we can do about it.”

  She pulled away from him. “Don’t say shit like that. You’re scaring me.”

  “You should be scared.” He sighed. “I didn’t tell you but there’s a reason I moved out to Los Angeles.”

  “I assumed it had to do with Fierce.”

  “Sort of.” She waited. “You know about the video I did with Ariel. You remember all the rumors surrounding it. It was all fabricated. None of it was true. They hired me to act in more than just the video. They wanted me to play her boyfriend in the media. Jasper had given me a ten-thousand-dollar check to buy my silence, pretending that I had some fling with Ariel so it would hide the fact they were secretly sleeping together. I was just a shill. I threatened to go public with that whole Jasper/Ariel thing if she didn’t release me from my contract. Graham told me that if I got out of it, I could rehearse for Fierce. So I faced Gaynell and told her I wasn’t about to cash any check that included a stipulation of silence. So she’d either release me or I’d go public with the whole damned thing.”

  Her eyes widened as she listened. She had no idea.

  “I guess I impressed her or something. Maybe I scared her when she realized I wasn’t going to play by her little rules. She released me, but told me that I should keep that check because she was going to drive my mom and me right out of Austin, which is exactly what happened. She cozied up to my mom’s boss and had her fired on some stupid technicality and we couldn’t find work anywhere else. I had to cash that hush money just to start over in a new place. I came to California on a wing and a prayer, hoping that I’d make it onto the show. But if I hadn’t,” he said, leaving it hanging in the air. “This is the kind of woman that Gay is. And if you think she’s going to get any warmer or cozier just because she’s a grandma now, you’re nuts.”

  Everything he said was easy to believe. She knew what Gaynell was capable of. She’d seen it firsthand. But what could she do? They couldn’t deny that Cody was her grandson. The courts were going to do what the courts were going to do. “All I can do is pray that good will triumph over evil this time. That’s all that’s left, Jonah. I don’t know how to fight them. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “Tell the truth,” he said. “That’s all you gotta do. He’s screwed the pooch ten ways to Sunday just by skipping the country. He hasn’t paid you one cent in child support. Ever,” he emphasized. “He’s not Cody’s Daddy, babe. He’s nothing but a sperm donor.”

  The mansion loomed ahead of them. Their chance
for a romantic rendezvous had passed. They adjusted their clothing just in time to step out of the car. The party still raged on inside, with Tony Paul singing karaoke for the few contestants who were still awake. The minute they walked in the door, he started to sing (You’re) Having My Baby, changing the words to the past tense. Jonah’s jaw clenched in anger as he pulled Lacy from the room. The mic dropped on the floor with resounding feedback as Tony Paul chased after them.

  “What’s the matter? We’re all friends now. There are no more secrets here.” He stopped them before they could reach the landing. “I don’t know if she told you but I’m willing to make an honest woman of her. Put a ring on her finger and everything.” His eyes were dark and angry as he stared down at her. “Who needs to win a stupid singing show, right?”

  Jonah inched her behind him as he faced off with Tony Paul. “You’re drunk, man. I think you need to go sleep it off.”

  “Sleeping alone is no fun,” he smirked. “We used to have a lot of fun, didn’t we, baby? Did you tell him about the shower? Remember how I came up behind you and finger-fucked you against the wall?”

  Jonah pushed Tony Paul back. “I told you to go.”

  He looked at Jonah. “Who are you to tell me anything, you ignorant hick? Go back to the farm where you belong.”

  Jonah advanced on him until they were nearly chest to chest. “That’s better than going back to my Mama’s teat.”

  With a snarl, Tony Paul reared back and punched Jonah hard right in the face. It unleashed all of Jonah’s rage as he rushed him, slamming him up against the wall.

  “Stop it!” Lacy cried out. She glanced upstairs, hoping no one would catch them. This was the last thing any of them needed.

  But the men were beyond hearing. They were both angry at the other, jealous of the other. Each punch landed with a sickening thud. She tried to pull Jonah off of Tony Paul, but he was relentless. He threw Tony Paul to the ground, straddled his chest and pummeled him with both fists, one right after the other. “Jonah, please!” she begged.

  Other people attempted to intervene, including Sylvester. He easily picked Jonah up with one arm. Lacy stood in between them, both of her hands on Jonah’s chest as she tried to get him to focus on her face. He was breathing hard, glaring at Tony Paul, who lay in a groaning, bloody heap on the floor.

  And just like Lacy feared, all three of them were summoned to Graham’s office the very next day, before their new workweek on Fierce began.

  Graham stood behind his desk and glared down at them. His voice was angry, his eyes dark and ominous. “I don’t know what to do with you people. I really don’t. We have the best show of the series and this is what it comes down to? Throwing punches in some drunken brawl? What the fuck is wrong with all of you? Don’t you know how important this show is to your career? You’re blowing it! Every single one of you.”

  Jonah stared straight ahead. Lacy stared at the floor, and Tony Paul held his head while he nursed his swollen jaw.

  “I’m not doing this again. You hear me? Every single season it’s the same old thing despite everything I’ve done to rise above it. It’s cliché. And I’m old. I give you a chance. I bend over backwards to accommodate you. What do I get for my trouble? More fucking messes to clean up.”

  He stomped over to the bar next to the floor-to-ceiling window facing out over the city. He took a drink before he continued, completely fed up with entitled rock stars and their problems. “I’m not your parent. I’m your fucking boss. This is a business. You have drama, so what? Who cares? Who doesn’t? I don’t pay you to work out your problems on my dime. You get your shit together or I swear to Christ I will dismiss every single one of you from the show for breach of contract and sue you for every goddamn penny you have. I’m done pussyfooting around with you. I’ve given you the biggest shot in your lives. You spit in my face again and you’re out of here. You hear me?”

  They all nodded.

  “I’m not asking you to be friends. I’m not even asking you to get along. But if you could not kill each other, that would be great. If I have to get one more call at three o’clock in the morning, it might really affect my mood.” They could barely meet his gaze. “Now get back to the house. You’ve got a busy week.”

  They were silent in the car on the ride back to the mansion. Lacy sat next to Jonah, who glared at Tony Paul, who stared at their clasped hands with a scowl on his face. Once they got out, everyone went their separate ways.

  Lacy was more stressed than she had ever been. This wasn’t just about losing the contract or the tour anymore. She could lose everything. But they couldn’t go on the way that they were, either. Everyone would have to make peace. It was just figuring out who was going to be the bigger person and raise the white flag.

  That night, Lacy knocked on Jonah’s door. “Can we talk?” she asked. He nodded and followed her downstairs and out to the back yard. The night was mild and the pool empty. The mood in the whole house was sedate after getting the memo that there was now a zero tolerance policy on physical violence in the house. One push, one shove, one threat, and they’d be kicked out on their keister.

  Jonah had felt like a first class shit all day. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy beating the shit out of that scumbag, Tony Paul. Of course he did. Tony Paul was an entitled little shit who needed to be brought down a peg or two.

  But Jonah knew his father must be spinning in his grave. He was a man of honor and integrity, not some barroom brawler who couldn’t keep his emotions under control. Knowing that he had almost blown his chance to provide for his mother and Leah only made him feel worse.

  Nothing was worth that. Especially Tony Paul Hollis.

  His eyes met Lacy’s. He hated that she had to see that. She had tried to get through to him, but he had ignored her just to prove some kind of fucking point. He felt lower than pond scum.

  “I’ve decided to let Tony Paul meet Cody.”

  He clenched his jaw tightly. “Why?”

  “Because it’s what’s right. And if I meet him halfway, maybe he’d be willing to cut us a little slack. You’ve got me, Jonah. Forever if you want. We need to let him have his son.”

  He said nothing as he stalked past her and into the house.

  The next day she was having a similar conversation with her mother. “Are you out of your mind, Lacy?”

  “You stayed with Lucas,” she reminded.

  “And look what nearly happened to you,” Jules exclaimed.

  “That sucked,” Lacy agreed. “Worse than anything, that sucked. But,” she said before she took a deep breath, “It would have sucked far more never to have him at all. And you know it, which is why you held on for so long.”

  Jules dropped her head into her hands at her kitchen table. She couldn’t believe what Lacy was considering. “Do you still love him?” she asked.

  For a minute, Lacy had to wonder who she meant, Lucas or Tony Paul. “I don’t want to be with Tony Paul,” she answered at last. “I’m with Jonah. And I love him. More than I ever loved Tony Paul. More than I thought I was capable of loving anyone.”

  “Then what’s this about?”

  “Being a grownup,” Lacy answered softly.

  Jules and Cody arrived to the mansion a little after two in the afternoon. Tony Paul was waiting in the living room with Lacy, who had asked him to join her that afternoon to try and work things out. When he saw Jules and Cody walk through the door, he could barely speak. He stood immediately, his eyes fixed on his child. Jules hung back and allowed her daughter to handle everything. If she opened her mouth, she was sure to cuss him up and down a blue streak.

  Cody ran to Lacy, who hoisted him up into her arms. She walked over to Tony Paul. “Cody, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Tony Paul Hollis.” She gulped before she said the hardest words she’d ever uttered. “He’s your daddy.”

  Cody’s eyes opened wide as he stared at this new man, whose face still wore the brunt of Jonah’s attack.

  Emotion choked Tony
Paul as he smiled. “Hey, buddy.” He held out his arms and Lacy reluctantly transferred her baby boy into them. “It’s so good to meet you,” he said, tears running down his face.

  “What happened to your eye?” Cody asked.

  Tony Paul laughed. “I fell down. I guess I’m clumsy.”

  “Me too,” Cody admitted. “Nana always kisses my boo boos so they go away fast.” Without thinking about it, he leaned over to kiss Tony Paul’s swollen eye. “There,” Cody announced happily. “All better.”

  Tony sobbed as he held his son tightly to his chest. “Yeah, buddy. It is.”

  Tears ran down Lacy’s face as she watched. On the second floor landing, Jonah turned away from the rails with a heavy heart.

  Chapter Twenty

  A lot happened in the weeks that followed. Tony Paul had found his muse with his son, whom he saw for two hours every single week. It was always with Jules and Lacy present, but he didn’t really care. He was enchanted with the child who looked like a miniature version of him and Lacy. He bonded to the sweet boy right away. Cody had endless questions about who he was and where he came from. The hardest question was why he’d left.

  “Because I was afraid,” Tony told him gently. “I didn’t think I’d be a very good daddy, and you deserve the best.”

  He thought about it for a second. “You’re doing okay,” Cody finally decided. Tony took him into a big bear hug. That week, he had sung to Cody specifically, as he sat on his grandma’s lap in the audience. After that, Tony’s popularity skyrocketed, especially among the woman.

  Lacy’s original song had also become a big hit, turning into the Season Three’s bestselling single. Graham was pleased with the success, so much so that he decided to make a video. Between that and her regular schedule just as a contestant, Lacy barely knew if she was coming or going.