Chapter 27 #3
“Are you gettin' married?” Lori asked with a happy clap of her hands again.
Slade immediately chuckled and glanced up and back to me. “I’ve been giving him time to settle before I push for more in that direction. I’ve been the one driving us forward. But something has opened that my team can’t put their finger on. We’re here under an abundance of caution.”
Slade reached for my hand, and I took it, which drew fresh tears that I fought against. Outside of my mom and dad, I’d rarely touched anyone for most of my life. My hiding was the bitch that held me down. The world had only just opened for me. I had to learn to deal.
“Okay, go ahead. I have so many questions,” my mom said.
Lori gently swatted the back of her hand on Max’s leg. “You owe me fifty dollars.”
Slade let all that happen before he took hold of the conversation again.
“I’ve been identified as being in this area.
I’ve come to Texas for the last several summers to regroup my life before jumping back into the ring of fire.
This week, we received a blackmail email of sorts with pictures of me on the property of the sanctuary.
My manager and head of security are working in tandem to find the source.
Mace and I are here to protect our loved ones for a possible public outing. ”
“Yeah, Mom. Slade’s not out either,” Lori said, reiterating Slade’s words. “When I was tryin’ to pin Mace down, I researched Slade.”
“You knew Slade was in town and didn’t tell me?
” my mom asked my sister, her voice thick with accusation.
Since I generally liked Lori getting into trouble with my parents, I nodded the truth to my mom.
“We watch his TV show religiously. They’ll sometimes come over and let the kids watch it with us.
You’re so talented and look just like we thought you would. ”
“He’s handsome,” Lori said directly to me, again nodding with joy on her face. “He was shaved when we met him, but I recognized him.”
“Let him finish,” I said. “I think we’re goin’ to his family’s place tonight too.
“Then you have to come back tomorrow night and have dinner with us,” my mom said. She was sweet and wanted to show me I was okay. I got it, and without question, I needed her love, but they need to know everything.
“Mom…” I lifted my hand to silence her. “Go on, Slade.”
“Nico, my head of security will contact you tomorrow. My popularity will cause this to blow up on us. Caving to blackmail isn’t something I want to do, but it’s on the table if it helps protect us all.
Hopefully, whoever took these pictures, doesn’t understand the truth about Mace to me.
Right now, it’s easy to write it off as preparation for my role with Grainger Studios. ”
That was a new theory I hadn’t heard before and could very well be true.
“Right,” my father agreed, turning serious. “Our family heritage is always the talk around here. Every ancestor I have was up to some sort of disruption to the status quo. I suspect Mace will be viewed as followin’ in the rebel line of his ancestors. I don’t see him takin’ a big hit around here.”
Again, something I hadn’t considered, but a very valid point.
“I wish that were all that happened,” Slade said.
“I’ll lose a lot of respect from my viewership.
My demographic’s middle America. They won’t handle this well.
” Slade shook his head and blew out a breath.
“But I’m ready to slow down. I’ve worked too much over the last twelve years.
Mace’s given me hope for a more normal life…
” He squeezed my hand tighter. Based on the self-abuse Slade pummeled himself with, I doubted the truth of his declaration.
“Ahh,” Lori said and again slapped at Max’s legs. “Why don’t you say those things about me.”
Max only shrugged. “I don’t think of ’em like that. And you’re hard to deal with.”
It was said good-heartedly, and we laughed at his simply stated truth.
“Let’s celebrate tonight and worry about the rest tomorrow. We have pizza. Have a slice before you go. The kids are in the backyard,” my dad said, pushing to his feet again from the recliner he’d dubbed as his own.
“I haven’t seen my niece much in person,” I said in such a way that I was asking for the extra time here. We wouldn’t stay long. We needed to get on the road, but a few minutes seemed doable.
“We can stay as long as you want,” Slade answered, again rising to his feet. “We have an hour or so drive ahead of us, but I haven’t eaten today. I flew straight here this morning.” His belly gave a solid growl as Lori got to her feet.
“She’s asleep in the guest room, but she needs to wake up,” Lori said, getting to her feet.
“That’s her room, Lori. Not a guest room. She’s not a guest,” my mom corrected, guiding Slade into the kitchen.
Lori rolled her eyes at me about our mom. She and I weren’t arguing, which felt really surreal. She pivoted, and I followed, quietly in search of my girl as Lori filled me in with all her latest accomplishments. She sounded much sweeter than those rough and tumble young boys playing outside.