26. Twenty-Six #2
I didn’t want her to feel bad, but I glared all the same.
“You know, I would like to sit down with your mother and have a discussion about … what a piece of crap she is.” Briefly, I wondered if I’d taken it a step too far.
It was one thing for Tallulah to criticize her mother.
It was quite another for me to do it. I was relieved when she laughed.
“It wouldn’t matter. Trust me. She has no shame. Once, Robin tried to sit her down and have me explain how her actions affected me.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that outcome. “I’m guessing it didn’t go well.”
“Sharon threatened to punch Robin in the face and told her to mind her own business. She said she was raising an independent child and Robin didn’t have a say in the matter.”
“And what did Robin say?”
“That if she had her druthers—that was the first time I’d ever heard that word and loved it—that I would be removed from Sharon’s care and never see her again.”
It didn’t surprise me that Sharon had threatened to punch the woman.
Tallulah had gotten her panic responses from somewhere.
Her only role model growing up was Sharon.
No matter how much distance Tallulah wanted to put between herself and her mother, she still had some of Sharon’s DNA.
Tallulah let things build up and snapped, which was something she still needed to work on.
As long as people didn’t back her into a corner, however, she seemed okay.
I thought about suggesting Tallulah schedule regular sessions with Robin. I would even go with her. Not only would I like to meet the only positive adult influence Tallulah had in her life growing up, but I believed Robin was the key to Tallulah putting Sharon’s devastation behind her.
That was a problem for down the road, however.
“What are you going to get if you’re too highbrow for mac and cheese?” Tallulah asked, drawing me out of my reverie.
“I’m in the mood for a burger. I’m thinking WWE Smashburger.”
“That’s probably going to be messy.”
“I’m not wearing my work outfit. It will be fine.”
We made idle chatter. By the time our food came, I was more interested in watching Tallulah dig into her entree than I was in eating my own.
If macaroni and cheese was her favorite, then I would make it my mission to find the best macaroni and cheese in Vegas.
Something told me I was going to have a lot of options …
and that I would enjoy experimenting with her when it came time to sample.
I was about to suggest we have a mac and cheese hunt the next time we both had a day off together, which only happened about once a week, when I realized she’d gone rigid. She was looking at something behind me.
I turned, expecting to see a celebrity. Instead, I saw Ryder Stone.
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath, forcing myself not to grit my teeth. “Why does that guy show up everywhere we go?”
Tallulah didn’t respond. She’d gone white.
Confused, I looked over my shoulder again.
I was relieved that my father wasn’t with him this time—I still hadn’t confronted him about hanging around with Ryder—so I didn’t really focus on the woman sitting across from the Stone patriarch.
Until I did a double take. My stomach bottomed out when I realized who the chirpy woman with the electric-pink lipstick was.
“Is that…”
“Sharon,” Tallulah confirmed, finally finding her voice. “It’s Sharon.”
I had no idea how to respond. I sat silent for several long beats, organizing my thoughts. “Does she know him?”
“I didn’t think she did.” Tallulah looked well and truly baffled. “How would she know him?”
“Maybe they’re recent acquaintances.”
“Maybe.” Tallulah didn’t look convinced.
“She’s been hanging around the Stone, right?”
A scowl marred her beautiful features. “Yeah, I’ve seen her a few times. Luckily, she can’t get near the high rollers lounge.”
“Well, maybe she and Ryder ran into each other there when they were both skulking about.”
“I guess that fits.” Tallulah had lost interest in her mac and cheese and was rubbing the back of her neck. I’d learned it was one of her tells for when she was feeling anxious. “Why would he want to hang out with her, though?”
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t hard to figure out why someone like Sharon would want to hang out with him.
Ryder might have been out of power, but he was determined to get it back.
Sharon was the type who would glom on to the effort in the hopes that she would benefit if she helped him regain his seat on the board. Had Tallulah figured that out?
One look at her face told me that she had. She looked shell-shocked.
“Should we get the food to-go?” I didn’t want her to sit here and suffer. She’d been so happy only moments ago. That her good time was being ruined by Ryder freaking Stone and her mother from hell filled me with rage. I wanted to punch somebody.
“Huh?” Tallulah forced her gaze to me, and I could tell she was trying to work things out. She wasn’t even really listening to me. “No, it’s fine,” she said. “Sharon doesn’t notice me when we’re in a tiny living room together. She’s not going to notice me in here.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m not sure what there is to talk about.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I just need to think for a little bit. Is that okay?”
I nodded. Of course it was okay. “Whatever you need.”
She went back to her mac and cheese, and I stewed. Ryder Stone was definitely up to something. Perhaps it was time to figure out what and nip it in the bud. If he was going to be parading Sharon around, then I wanted him gone.
Where would I go to make that happen, though? Only one name popped into my mind. Zach. He wanted his father gone too. Maybe he could help me.