Midnight Diamonds (18 page)

“No, I didn’t screw up,” Silver whispered, glancing at her closet as she stood and went into the kitchen. She made sure the patio door was locked as she passed it, thanks to Justin’s locksmith.

She reached for a tea kettle, her hands trembling, then went to the sink and turned on the faucet. Maybe a hot cup of tea would chase away the chill of betrayal.

The faucet on the sink…Justin…the leak…the robe.

You should have stood up for yourself…

Water flowed into the kettle and over the rim. Words pounded her rigid control, causing her to breathe in rapid pants as fragments of condemnation screamed at her.

Your whorish stunt…

Your sordid affair…

So disappointed in you again…

You screwed up…

“I did not screw up!” she screamed as she hurled the kettle against the wall and sank to the floor.

For the first time that day, she cried, deep, wracking sobs that made her entire body shake. Pulling her blouse shut, she wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth on the kitchen floor. She didn’t hear the front door open or the footsteps running through her house. Somehow she wasn’t surprised when Becky sat down and put both arms around her, crying with her.

“You can’t get rid of your best friend that easily. I’m here, Sil, and I’m so sorry.”

Wrapping her arms around her friend’s waist, Silver held on as if Becky were a life line. Still crying after several minutes, she tried to talk.

“I…did…not…screw…” She couldn’t finish what she wanted to say.

“Well, yeah you did. That’s kind of what started all of this.”

Silver pulled back in shock and saw Becky biting her lip to keep from laughing. They both began laughing until Silver’s laughter faded back into tears.

“I hate him,” she declared in a watery voice.

“Me, too,” said Becky.

“But I love him.”

“I know.”

“I like his mother more than mine.”

“Me, too.”

Laughing weakly, Silver hugged her friend. “Thank you.”

Becky smiled as she stood and reached down to pull Silver up. “Anything for my friend. Welcome back. Geez, I hated that Amelia thing you had going.”

As they walked into the living room, Silver looked over her shoulder at water running down the kitchen wall. “There’s a big mess to clean up.”

“We’ll do it together.”

* * *

Justin sat in his mother’s home office with his head down, listening to her on the phone with one of the restaurant managers as she tried to keep a chef from walking out. Hunter had taken Grandma Ginny home after the older woman had kissed his cheek and turned away. The family attorney, Robert Sullivan, had left a few minutes ago, saying his firm would get to work on the “Danielle Rivers issue.”

Grandpa Slade had gone to the kitchen to pour himself a whiskey before he took his grandson “out behind the cabana and thrashed him within an inch of his life.” Justin had never seen Slade that angry with him—ever.

“Tell Eric that his tuna surprise doesn’t work in a barbecue place. If he doesn’t understand, then tell him we’ll find someone else.” Connie ended the call, shaking her head. “What self-respecting cowboy would eat tuna instead of barbecue beef or pork?”

Justin didn’t reply. The call had been a welcome delay to the inevitable talk. She put her phone on silent and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Start talking, son,” she said with her usual directness. “And sit up so I can see you.”

Even at this age, he responded to that don’t-disrespect-your-mother tone. Clearing his throat, he straightened in the chair.

“You remember what happened with me right after dad died?”

“Lord help me, we all remember. You were drunk more days than you were sober for close to six months. Scared me to death, because I thought I’d lose you, too.”

“During one of my inebriated weekends, I went to Las Vegas. I met Danielle in a casino; we gambled and drank, talked, drank some more…and I woke up the next morning married to her. It was a stupid mistake, and we agreed on an annulment. I gave her a pocketful of money to take care of it, and I haven’t heard from her since that day.”

Connie’s mouth dropped open. “That must have been one hell of a bender, son. Why didn’t you call Robert or one of the other lawyers to get this taken care of?”

“Mom, I couldn’t face you after what I’d done. And Dani convinced me she would take care of everything. I didn’t want to bother you with any more of my screw ups.”

She frowned. “I understand that, son, but I would never turn away one of my children when they’re in trouble. Now we have an even bigger mess to wade through.”

“You’re right.” He didn’t need to be reminded of Silver and the day’s events to know that his stupidity had caught up with him in the worst way possible.

“As soon as the lawyers contact her, I imagine Miss Danielle will see how she can cash in, so how are you going to handle it?”

“I don’t know, Mom. If she were to walk in this room, I wouldn’t recognize her. I don’t remember much about those six months.”

“Robert will put his best men on it to see if we can get some answers.”

He didn’t say anything. After several seconds, he asked, “I really hurt her, didn’t I?” Justin wasn’t talking about Danielle anymore and his mother understood.

“Silver loved you with all her heart, and you basically told her she was a temporary fix for your problems.”

“It’s not Silver I want to be temporary, only this bad situation. But I don’t know if there’s anything between us worth saving. I thought there was…maybe.” He stared at the floor. “Should I try to call her?”

“You can try, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t answer. She’s wounded, Justin. She had her private life put on the front pages of scandal sheets, and now she’s been doubly humiliated by you. Not to mention what this could do to her teaching career.”

Justin stood and began pacing. “What about me? My reputation is at stake, too. My career could be in shambles and I’ll probably lose my chance in Nashville. And she slapped me in front of all those reporters.”

His stopped pacing as his mother stood up slowly to her full height, anger etched on her face and hands on her hips.

Never a good sign.

“Justin…Ernest…Rivers. How dare you make this about you! Of all the self-centered crap!”

“Wait, I—”

“I’m not finished, young man. Keep quiet until I’m done,” she told him with one finger up. “I hope this isn’t the way you tried to explain things to her, because all I heard you say just now was me, me, me. Do you have to walk into a school tomorrow and hold your head up even when you hear the whispers behind your back? Will you dodge paparazzi until they get tired of the story? How do you think Amelia is going to treat Silver after that press conference?”

“I tried to tell her, explain what happened in Las Vegas, but she didn’t want to listen. And I…” Then he suddenly remembered and closed his eyes, groaning with the memory.

“What else did you say to her?”

He collapsed into a chair. “Something about how this would all destroy me and I needed her help to get through it.”

Connie threw her hands up in exasperation. “Justin! She endured that scene about you having a wife with more class than any woman I’ve ever met. You tell her it’s still all about you, and then have the gall to ask for her help?” She turned away from him, mumbling, “I’ve raised an idiot.” Sitting in the chair behind her desk, she gave him a pained expression. “Justin. Really?”

Justin’s take-charge nature kicked in and he dialed his phone. He listened as it rang and went to voicemail, so he disconnected and stared at the phone.

“She’s not going to answer. You’ve lost her, son. Might as well concentrate on getting rid of the woman you do have in your life, because Silver is already gone. Let me get started on helping with this one.” Connie picked up the phone to make some calls.

As Justin left the office, a sick feeling of certainty about his mother’s words congealed in his stomach. His heart clenched in emotional pain. Had he really lost Silver for good?

Right now he wanted to get drunk and forget the past forty-eight hours, but he knew that wouldn’t help anything. Been there, done that—way too much, and it was one of the reasons for the current trouble.

He decided to call the local press agency and see if he could keep the reporters away from Silver’s school tomorrow. She deserved to have some peace in her life right now. Then he needed Becky to come back as his manager. He didn’t know how he would convince her, but he had to try.

His thoughts swirled as he walked into the living room. Everything involving Silver seemed so jumbled and confused, but one thing he did know: he’d driven away a woman who’d done nothing but treat him fairly and honestly. She’d withdrawn from him because of his selfishness, and he’d turned the knife more by asking her to help him out of this self-imposed mess. Even worse, he’d taken the warmth and love of a beautiful woman and treated it—and her—as if it were something owed to him. He’d taken Silver for granted. What the hell was wrong with him?

Slade walked up beside him. “Life isn’t easy, is it? Just when we think we know or have what we want, something comes along to knock us in the head. Changes our whole perspective about women.”

Justin plopped onto the sofa. “Getting a woman or keeping one?”

Slade chuckled and sat down, too. “Yep.”

“Is it wrong to try and make everyone happy?”

“Did you ask everyone what they wanted, or did you assume you knew?”

He didn’t answer and his grandfather nodded.

“That is one fine woman and I’m sure she’s in love with you, but every woman has a limit to what she can deal with. You pushed past it.” He gave a short laugh. “Your granddaddy Ernest knew how to push the limits, but he never took a step without a lot of thought.”

“How did he push the limits?”

Slade stared at the floor, lost in memories. “I remember when I was about ten years old, my daddy was having a tough time because of World War II. He had opened two new restaurants the week before Pearl Harbor, and all of us kids were trying to help out at the cafes, but people didn’t have the money to eat out. One night something woke me and I got up to see what I was hearing. I found my daddy on his knees beside his bed, sobbing his heart out.” Slade took a moment and cleared his throat.

“What happened?” Justin asked quietly.

“Well, things didn’t turn around right away, but Daddy walked his own path through the next few years. He closed four of the restaurants and found a way to keep everyone on some kind of wage at reduced hours. We never went hungry and we always helped others who were in need. After the war, business slowly grew and he reopened the four places he’d closed. Before I went to college, I asked how he got through that crisis. He said, ‘One day at a time.’ My best advice to you right now is just that. One day at a time.”

Justin cleared his throat against the building tears, leaned forward, and put his elbows on his knees. Wiping his eyes, he swallowed several times before speaking. “I’m so confused, Grandpa. I want to be a singer more than anything else in the world, but I don’t know if pushing Silver away is the right thing to do.”

“Then you have a hard choice to make, son. Sometimes we can throw our troubles into the dust and let the rain settle them. Only you can decide if this is one of those times.” Slade stood and patted Justin on the shoulder then left the room.

Tunneling his fingers through his hair, Justin leaned back against the sofa. The idea of sold out concerts and television appearances made him tremble because the dream was so damn close. But was it worth giving up Silver and the way she made him feel? Would he miss the way she made him feel like he was the most important man in the world?

What the hell should he do now?

Chapter Twelve

Silver sat in the ’66 Mustang, glad to see no reporters in front of the high school building, though she wondered in passing why none hovered for the latest piece of gossip. Students milled around the entrance, laughing and texting. She smiled at them, so young and carefree, glad most of them weren’t burdened with the heaviness of adult choices yet.

She had no idea what to expect once she walked into her classroom. Her apprehension grew mostly from not knowing how her students would treat her, but this lesson plan couldn’t be done in advance. It had taken some strong words from Becky to convince her that she, Silver Madison, had the strength needed to stand in front of these kids again.

Last night Becky had stayed until midnight. Apologizing to her best friend had been a humbling experience, but Silver had spouted groveling words after her crying jag. Then Becky had demanded to know why she had “gone Amelia” on everyone.

Silver thought back to the way she acted during the press conference and afterwards. At the time, assuming an icy, rigid posture seemed the best thing to do. She had felt so fragile, so vulnerable after what Justin said about things being temporary and after being exposed—literally—to the press. Finding out he had a wife had certainly broken the proverbial camel’s back. But Becky helped her realize that withdrawing hadn’t worked.

“You can try to be like Amelia, but it isn’t real. Why would you lose yourself to something that isn’t you?”

She’d spent most of the night thinking about that question, and so far she couldn’t explain why she’d become something she despised. She couldn’t be “an icy mask,” to quote Becky, and be a good teacher. Her students needed someone real, not an emotionless façade. They needed who she’d always been—Silver Madison, English teacher. So here she was, ready to face the music.

Someone tapped on the window and she turned to see Clay standing beside her car. Opening the door, she grabbed her purse and bag, then locked the door. “Morning, Clay.”

“Hey, Miss Madison. Thought I’d see if you needed help.”

Giving him a weary smile, she said, “I guess we’ll find out.”

Silver draped her bag on her shoulder and walked toward the building. Several students called out greetings, and she smiled hesitantly. Then eight of the football players flanked her, four on either side. A group of girls gathered behind them and another group fell in step, leading the way to the front steps of the high school as more students joined the group. By the time Silver reached the door, her entourage boasted at least fifty strong, all of them saying how glad they were to have her back.