“Don’t you want her to be happy?”

“Of course I do. But when’s the last time anyone considered my happiness? I’ve been doing that insane commute for fifteen years because I wanted your father to be happy and then I wanted you to be happy. When do I get my turn?”

“M-maybe I can buy the farm. You can move to the city and have the money from the sale to keep the business afloat, and Birdie and I and Grandma Jo—”

“. . . can live happily ever after? Oh, grow up, Antonia. There are no happily ever afters.”

“There are!”

There had to be. Maybe it wasn’t one event or one person that gave someone happiness for the span of a lifetime, but rather a string of events and people. Maybe she had to work for her happily ever after and find happiness in each day, each moment, but that kind of bliss was possible. She knew it was possible. And something told her keeping the farm was part of her happily ever after.

“I’m selling the farm,” Mom said quietly. “I already contacted an agent. Are you going to tell Birdie or do you want me to do it?”

Toni didn’t want anyone to tell Birdie, because she would find a way to keep the farm. “I’ll tell her,” she said. That might buy her enough time to figure something out so no one would have to break her sister’s fragile heart.

“Thank you,” Mom said with a deep sigh. “She’ll take it better from you.”

Mom stood and headed for the door, and Toni remembered the reason she’d wanted to talk to her mother in the first place.

“I fired Susan,” Toni said.

“Yeah, she told me. I assured her that her job was secure.”

Toni’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. Do you have any idea how she talks to me?” Even if Susan hadn’t been the one who’d stolen her journal—and Toni still felt in her heart that she was involved—the bitch still deserved to be fired for being rude.

“We need her connections now more than ever.”

“What connections?” Toni sputtered. Toni had finally worked up the courage to stand up to Susan and her mother overturns her decision just like that? Why had she even bothered?

“None that concern you. Now go home and get some sleep. You look like hell.”

Like she’d ever be able to sleep with all the crap going on in her life. But she packed up her laptop and storage devices and headed for home. She didn’t want to be in the same building as Susan or her mother at the moment, and she could work remotely. She’d done it for years. And maybe now was the time to take her creative expertise and strike out on her own. Go indie. Like Exodus End was considering.

It didn’t occur to her until she was halfway home that her mother hadn’t been even slightly surprised to see her in the office or even questioned why she’d been so upset with Susan in the first place.

Thirty-Four

Logan rubbed his hair vigorously with a towel. It took forever for his curls to dry, and he had a breakfast date with a very special woman he hadn’t seen in at least a year. He supposed his usual just-rolled-out-of-bed look would have to do. He’d taken the time to shave, at least. Standing naked beside the bed, he searched his limited wardrobe for something to wear. Should he choose jeans and a T-shirt or maybe go with a T-shirt and jeans? He sighed and yanked on a T-shirt that didn’t have pictures of various cats, each depicting a way he liked pussy—wet was his personal favorite. A guitar T-shirt from Max’s Save the Wails charity campaign wasn’t offensive, was it? He wasn’t sure why he cared so much about what he wore. The woman had to know what to expect when she’d shown up at his hotel suite unannounced. Once fully clothed, Logan left the bedroom and paused to stare at the beautiful blonde waiting for him on the sofa. All sorts of emotions bubbled to the surface. He wasn’t sure where to begin in sorting them out. Anger, regret, longing. Love. He couldn’t deny that one.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

His stomach twisting with nerves, he smoothed his unruly curls and nodded. “Yeah.”

He grabbed his phone, noting that there were no missed calls. He supposed Toni was still sleeping after her long night of travel. He shoved the device, along with his hotel suite key card and wallet, into various pockets and then opened the door, even remembering his manners to hold it ajar for his unexpected guest.

His mother breezed out into the corridor, and he breathed in the honeysuckle scent of her perfume. The remembered fragrance ratcheted up his emotions another notch. He still couldn’t believe she was here. Sure, she lived in Phoenix, but she’d never before sought him out when he was in town touring with the band. In fact, she never sought him out period.

“You sure took your time in the shower,” she commented on their way to the elevator at the end of the hall.

He’d been trying to pull himself together. He’d partially succeeded. He was pretty sure he could talk without stuttering now.

“I usually sleep in. Needed that shower to wake up.”

The elevator dinged and opened its doors as soon as he pushed the down button. He waited for her to enter the car before joining her.

“All that partying must be exhausting,” Mom said with a terse grin.

Dig number one. Not that he’d expected anything different from her usual disdain. Actually, that was a lie. He had thought things would be different for some stupid reason. When she’d appeared out of nowhere at his hotel room door and asked him to join her and Daniel for breakfast at a nostalgic diner across town, he’d thought maybe they were turning a page. That maybe he’d feel that sense of belonging he felt when he was with his band or with Toni, but nope, the woman was practically a stranger to him, no matter how much he wanted her love and acceptance.

“Yeah, it’s definitely the partying and not the constant travel that wears me out,” he said, slamming his finger into the button labeled Parking Garage.

“Daniel’s already at the diner holding a table for us, so we can’t dawdle. I hope you don’t mind the rush.”

Rushing to sit at a breakfast table with his absent mother and his apathetic brother? Why would he mind that? He couldn’t think of ten thousand places he’d rather be. Or maybe he could. And yet when he’d opened his hotel door to her anxious face that morning, he’d been so happy to see her, he’d nearly pissed himself.

“So what made you decide to come see me?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the truth behind her visit. He hoped she just wanted to see him because she loved him, but he doubted that was the case. She’d probably seen the tabloid article about his loveless childhood—he still couldn’t believe how much that article had exaggerated his misery—and was hoping to make amends. He supposed it wasn’t the end of the world that people thought he was a whiner if it prompted his mom’s sudden interest in him.

“You brother put me up to this,” she said, lowering her gaze. “He didn’t feel comfortable seeking you out on his own.”

Logan cocked an eyebrow at her. Why the hell would Daniel feel uncomfortable about having breakfast with him? They shared the same parents. For a good portion of their childhood, they’d even shared the same bedroom. Unless Daniel thought he had completely destroyed Logan’s life. If Daniel believed that overblown tabloid article, he probably thought Logan cried himself to sleep each night, longing for familial affection.

“My childhood wasn’t as bad as that article made it out to be,” Logan said.

Mom’s brows drew together. “What article would that be?”

“You’re not here because of the article?” Logan said as they stepped off the elevator in the parking garage.

“Apparently not.” Mom shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”