Take a Chance (12 page)

I could see it on his face. He didn’t fear losing her. It didn’t haunt him. He loved his life now. Focusing on what could happen wasn’t holding him back. Was that what life was
about? Taking chances?

“If you think she could be the one then it’s time you take a chance. If I lost all that I have tomorrow, I wouldn’t regret one single minute. Ever. They’re what makes my
life worth it.”

“My dad thought he was in love twice. Both times he was burned, and I paid the price. And I look at his life and where he is now, and it’s sad. I don’t want that.”

Rush shook his head at me as if he didn’t understand me at all. “The two women your dad loved were nothing like Harlow. Your dad didn’t choose well. Harlow is a good choice.
The man who owns her heart will be lucky. She is honest and kind. I’ve never seen her be anything but both of those things. So, if she’s the one you allow yourself to fall in love with
then I’d be more than happy for you.”

He was right.

A heavy weight that had been sitting on my chest slowly lifted. What he was saying made sense. And I didn’t have to hurt myself to protect myself.

“I may have pushed her too far away,” I said, letting reality sink in.

Rush shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you never stood a chance to begin with. But is she worth trying?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she’s worth begging,” I replied.

Rush sat down and propped his feet up on the railing. “Then I guess you need to stop having threesomes in your bed with strangers and work on getting Harlow to give you another
chance.”

That sounded easier said than done. I had told her I didn’t want to have anything more than a friendship with her. She’d agreed and left it at that. Now what? I should just tell her
I changed my mind?

“I don’t think she’s going to let me in that easy. And then there’s that brother of hers who doesn’t approve of me.”

Rush chuckled. “Mase? Yeah, he’ll be hard to win over. Good thing is you won’t have to kiss him and beg for forgiveness. Just focus on Harlow.”

For the first time in months I had hope. The idea of being near Harlow again and spending time with her was more exciting than anything else I could think of . . . except getting her naked.

A
far-off ringing interrupted my dreams. Forcing my eyes open, I realized the sound was my phone. I rolled over and saw Dean Finlay’s number
on my screen. This could only be about my dad. Rush’s father only called when something was up with Kiro. I sat up and quickly answered.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” I asked, then glanced at the time. It was a little after three in the morning.

“He’s missing again,” Dean replied.

This was not the first time my father had gone missing. Unfortunately, Daddy would get so high he would do stupid things like go off with women he didn’t know and sober up in their bed,
oftentimes cities away from where he was supposed to be.

I stood up and went to my closet for some clothes. “How long?” I asked.

“After the concert last night he was partying with some groupies. I left him to go to the limo and rest. That was the last time I saw him. Trac was still in there with him and so was
Wayne. Wayne was too trashed to remember anything. Trac said he left with two women. One had red hair, the other had long, curly brown hair. He didn’t think anything of it.”

Trac Trace was the bass guitar player and Wayne Rolls was the lead guitarist. I shoved my legs into a pair of jeans. “Where was Hail?” I asked. Hail Holloway played the keyboard. He
was also the most responsible.

“Hail had already left for the night. He knows nothing.”

“I’m getting dressed. Where are y’all right now?” I knew Dean had called because getting me there was the only way to find Daddy. He went off the deep end sometimes and I
seemed to be the only one who could bring him back. Dean said once it was because I looked just like my momma.

“I hate for you to come out here all alone. Isn’t safe,” he said with a worried tone. “I’d send for Rush but he ain’t gonna wanna leave Nate and
Blaire.”

“Mase is here visiting. He’ll probably come with me. Where are y’all?” I asked, then buttoned up my shirt.

“Vegas,” he said with a sigh.

“I’m on my way. Not sure when I can get a flight out but I’ll be there. Keep me posted.”

“I’ve already sent the jet. It’ll be at the private strip in Destin waiting on you in about thirty minutes. Your daddy wouldn’t want you in a commercial
airplane.”

“Thanks, I’ll try calling him. If he’s gonna answer anyone’s phone call it’ll be mine,” I said.

“Yeah. Keep trying him. I’ll see you soon, kid.”

“Bye,” I replied, then hung up and grabbed a suitcase. I had clothes to pack. I didn’t know how long this would take. I also needed to wake up Mase.

Opening my door quietly, I walked down to Mase’s room and knocked several times before I heard him grunt. Good, he was in there.

“What?” he grumbled.

I opened the door slowly and peeked inside. “Dad’s missing. I gotta go to Vegas and help find him.”

Mase sat up and rubbed his face hard with both hands in an attempt to wake up. “You have got to be shitting me. How old is he, eighteen? Fuck. How does he just up and go missing?
He’s Kiro Manning, for fuck’s sake.”

Mase had no idea how common this was. “It’s something that happens with him on tour. I’ll find him or he’ll eventually answer my calls. I just have to go. The jet is
picking me up about twenty minutes from here.”

I watched as Mase battled with himself on what to do. He didn’t like being around the band. He rarely came around anymore. Looking for Dad also wasn’t something he wanted to do.

“I’m going, too. You can’t go alone to Vegas. Let me get dressed and grab some shit.”

I didn’t tell him he didn’t have to; I just nodded and closed the door behind me. I still needed to pack and brush my teeth and hair. I dialed Dad’s number on my way back to my
room and it rang three times then went to voicemail.

Once I had my overnight bag packed I headed down the hall and for the stairs. I needed some coffee and I knew Mase would, too. Waking Nan up to tell her was pointless. She would
be mad that I’d disturbed her. Might as well not even tell her we were leaving. She probably wouldn’t notice.

Just as I put the coffee into the filter there was a light knock on the front door. What the heck? I glanced at the time and it was only three-forty-five. Who would be here this early?

I closed the lid to the coffeepot and pressed brew before going to the front door. It was too dark to see outside. I turned on the outdoor lights and saw Grant standing outside with a thermos in
one hand, looking wide awake.

Opening the door, I stared at him, completely confused, but I couldn’t just leave him out there.

Grant grinned at me. “You ready?”

What? Was I dreaming? Was Daddy really not missing? Had this been some elaborate dream where I ended up in bed with Grant again? I had those often enough.

“Dean called Rush who called me. Can I come in?” he said, stepping by me and into the house.

“What?” I finally managed to ask.

Grant held up his thermos of coffee. “I’m ready to go find Kiro. I’ll even drive us to the airport.”

Mase’s heavy footsteps broke into my thoughts and I turned to see him walking toward us. “Is this a damn search party?” Mase grumbled, dropping his bag at his feet and looking
from me to Grant.

“Looks that way,” Grant said.

“I, uh . . .” was all I could think of to say. I still hadn’t figured this out.

“Go get you some of that coffee I smell, Sis; you need it to make coherent sentences. I’ll deal with this,” Mase said.

I didn’t want to leave Grant alone with him but, honestly, I didn’t know what else to do.

So I went to get the coffee.

“E
xplain this,” Mase said, standing with his feet apart and his arms crossed over his chest. He was Harlow’s older brother and
possibly the only person who had ever stepped into the father figure role in her life. I respected that.

“I want to go with her. I have a lot of shit to make up for. I’m starting now.”

Mase frowned and continued to stare at me. “What the hell does that mean? Last I heard you were fucking Nan. What do you have to do with Harlow?”

She hadn’t told him anything. I wondered if she had done that to protect me. “I was scared of having feelings for someone. Harlow stirred things in me I wasn’t familiar with
and it made me run. I’ve decided I don’t want to run.”

Mase took a step toward me. “You need to be real damn sure of that. ’Cause she likes you more than she wants to and I don’t trust you. Not at all. If you want to go help find
our sorry-ass father then fine, but I’m going, too.”

I preferred to have her alone but this was okay. At least I was near her. I was tired of not being near her and watching her from afar.

“Understood,” I replied.

Harlow walked back into the foyer carrying two mugs of coffee. “Here,” she said, handing one to Mase.

“Thanks. He’s going with us. He likes looking at you or some sappy shit like that.”

Harlow’s eyes went wide and I bit back a smile. That wasn’t exactly what I’d said but the look on Harlow’s face was perfect.

“Oh” was all she said.

Mase picked up his bag and then looked at Harlow. “Where’s your bag?”

“I left it in the kitchen. Let me get it.”

“I’ll get it,” I said, heading to the kitchen before she could finish her sentence. If I wanted to gain her trust back and even slightly crack that wall she had up around
herself I had to do anything I could to let her know I was serious.

“I’m confused,” I heard Harlow whisper as I left the room. I just smiled. Good. Confused was a good thing.

A Louis Vuitton duffel bag was sitting on the floor of the kitchen. I went and picked it up. The bag was worn out. I had no doubt this had been a gift from Kiro and she’d carried it for
years. This wasn’t something that Harlow would buy for herself.

I brought it back to the door and then opened the door. “Time to go,” I said to both of them, still holding her bag. She glanced down at it and then back at me.

Mase made an amused sound in his throat and rolled his eyes at me as he walked out the door. Harlow followed him but stopped as she got close to me.

“Thank you,” she said simply, then went outside.

This was going to be good for us.

Mase climbed into the front seat and I doubted it hadn’t been on purpose. He didn’t want me close to Harlow. He was going to make this hard on me. Fine. I could
handle it.

“You good back there?” I asked Harlow, looking back to make sure she had enough leg room.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied as a blush touched her cheeks. Damn, she was beautiful.

I turned back around and cranked the truck. “Rush said this was normal for Kiro. Is there a process on how to find him?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah. Harlow calls him. He finally answers and she goes to get him. She’s the only one he listens to,” Mase replied.

I didn’t like the idea of this all falling on Harlow’s shoulders. The man had three grown kids. Why did everything have to be Harlow’s responsibility?

“You can’t call him and get him?” I asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

“Dear ol’ Dad has a favorite. He only listens to her.”

“That’s not true. You have your mother and you don’t really need him. You have a good life. Then there’s Nan, and she doesn’t make it easy on him. I’m just .
. . I’m just the one that . . .”

“You’re just the special one. He loved your mother. She was his world and when she died you became his world. That’s just the way it is, and I’m damn happy he gives a
shit when it comes to you,” Mase told her.

Harlow didn’t say anything. She stayed quiet. I wanted to ask her more. I wanted to know how she was feeling and if she was worried. But Mase was sitting beside me, and now wasn’t a
good time.

“I need food. That jet better be stocked,” Mase grumbled.

“It always is,” Harlow replied.

This wasn’t the first time I had been on Slacker Demon’s jet but it was strange getting on it with Kiro’s kids. It had always been with Rush. These two had a dynamic that
I’d never witnessed before. Until Mase showed up in Rosemary I wasn’t even aware they were close. I thought Kiro’s elusive son stayed away from that whole world.