27. Chapter Twenty-Six
The damage to the houses in Enderlin is nothing short of devastating. Tessa grabs Bri”s hand in the backseat of the SUV as they drive past Bri”s childhood home. As far as she knows, her family still lives there, but there”s an equal chance they”ve moved. Tessa”s family was from a smaller town untouched by the tornadoes, which is the only bright side to this entire situation.
”It looks relatively unharmed,” Tessa says.
”That”s good. That should hopefully mean no one was hurt.”
Tugging on her hand, she forces Bri to look at her. ”You don”t have to feel guilty for not being here. Or for them being here. What they”ve done to you and how they treat you is not your fault. And it certainly is not your responsibility.”
Bri knows Tessa”s right, but it doesn”t take away the guilt she feels. ”I feel like I should have donated more than I did.”
”You donated more than enough. Plus, you”re here, which means media coverage will also be soon to follow. The more media coverage, the more funding they”ll get through donations.”
The vehicle passes by Mr. Hanks” house, and Bri lets out a sob. It”s completely flattened, the roof lying on the front porch. ”Oh, God.”
Tessa can”t seem to find the words either and just pulls her into her arms.
”Stop the car,” Bri squeaks out, and Bobby pulls alongside the curb. As soon as the car stops, she hops out.
”Bri,” Tessa calls and hurries after her. ”Be careful. It”s not safe.”
She doesn”t care. This is the home of the only father she had in her life. Someone who cared about her unconditionally. The man who showed up when the only other person around was Tessa.
A large wall lies facing the sky with blood pooled on it, and another lies next to it with a smaller amount. ”Oh, God, Tee. This is where he was.”
Bobby hurries over before Tessa, and he wraps his arms around her, catching her, as her legs give out and a cry of anguish that starts in her stomach and works its way out sounds.
”I”m so sorry,” Tessa says and takes over for Bobby as they sit on the ground.
”He was right here. He died right here. The only man who never let me down is gone, Tee. What am I going to do? I feel like I”ve lost everyone but you. I have lost everyone but you.”
Holding Bri tightly, Tessa lets her sob into her shoulder. ”We”ll get through this. You have me, and you have a whole team of people who care about you. I mean, look at them. Every security guard on your payroll stands around us blocking you from the view of anyone around who might see. And don”t forget about the fans you have. The fans love you. Even through everything with Easton and Kace, they”ve stuck by you.”
”If I lose my fans, I lose my team.”
”You aren”t losing anyone. I promise, okay?”
”Can we do anything?” Oscar asks.
The man returned towards the end of February. His daughter passed just a few days after the New Year, and he”s been a different person ever since.
”I, uh, I gave him one of my awards a few years ago,” she says. ”It”s probably destroyed, though.”
”What does it look like?”
Sniffling, she wipes her nose. ”It”s a glass pyramid. It was when I won Best Songwriter.”
Oscar and Bobby start flipping over walls carefully while the others start looking through the broken pieces. Bri stares in awe. These men do love her. She knows she compensates them well, but this isn”t just because they work for her. This is nothing short of pure generosity.
”I think I found it!” Zip yells.
He holds up a clear award, and she”s shocked to see it completely intact. There isn”t even a chip on it. ”That”s it,” she says and lets out a sob as he brings it to her. ”It”s perfectly fine.”
”There was something under it,” Bobby says and picks up a metal print of Bri and Mr. Hanks at her first headlining concert. ”I think it”s safe to say he loved you, Bri.”
”He, uh, he lost his son in a car accident. His wife left him shortly after that, and he didn”t have any other family. Even with all of that, he never let it harden him. He became my inspiration when I had moments where I felt like it would be easier to become bitter. I”d call him, and he”d help me. I don”t know who I”m going to call now. I don”t want to become cold and bitter.”
Bobby hurries over to her and picks her up to set her on her feet. His hands grab her shoulders, and he looks into her eyes. ”Bri, you are not capable of becoming bitter. Bitter comes when people don”t have kindness in their heart, and you, my girl, have more kindness in your pinky finger than most people have in their entire body. You have one of the largest hearts I”ve ever seen in anyone, and that”s exactly why everyone loves you.”
”Told you so,” Tessa says and winks.
Lip quivering, Bri hugs Bobby tightly. His strong arms around her feels more comforting than she expected, and she”s thankful for all of these men in her life. ”Thank you.”
”Bri!” Nia calls and hurries over. ”Sweetie, you”re never going to believe this.”
”What?” she asks and wipes her tears as her head of security releases her.
”There are four NHL teams volunteering. No one knew they were showing up, and they came with bodies, very hot bodies, and necessities.”
Tessa stands and crosses her arms, a knowing look on her face. ”Which teams?”
”Well, one is obviously the Twisters. Their stadium is flatter than this house.”
Bobby shoots her a glare, and even Nia looks shocked at her comment.
”Who are the others?” Bri asks and holds the award and picture against her body.
”I”ll give you one guess on one of them. Seems he doesn”t want to give up on you, sweetie.”
”The Bootleggers?”
Nia nods. ”Every single one of them. And, I know this probably isn”t something you want to hear, but Kace Lyons is looking particularly buff. Looks like his coping mechanism comes in the form of weights in a gym.”
”Let me guess... they”re at the site we”re headed to?”
”Yes, ma”am. Will that be a problem?”
She shakes her head. ”No, this isn”t about me or him. This is about the town.”
They climb back into their vehicles and drive to the command center. She”s about to tell them to turn around when she sees Kace with Rudy and Brett, but then she sees something else that makes her blood run cold.
”Is that your mom?” Tessa asks. ”Walking towards Kace?”
”Oh, this is not good. Bobby, we need to interfere. Now!” Bri says and jumps out of the car.
Her father and brothers quickly follow her mother. Tessa hurries after her and tells Bobby, ”We need to get them out of here.”
The screaming from her mom starts before they”ve taken three steps. ”You have some big balls coming out here after what you did to my daughter, you asshole!”
Kace turns around, as does the rest of the team, and he narrows his eyes at her. ”Who are you?”
”Who am I? You didn”t even bother to learn your fake girlfriend”s family? You humiliated my Bri, and now you show up here? What? To try and make yourself look better? Tough luck, bucko.”
”I don”t think people who live in glass houses should throw stones, Mrs. Waters.”
Bri almost laughs until her mother points a finger at him. ”You should be ashamed of yourself!”
”Stop it!” Bri shouts and hurries over. ”Enough!”
”Excuse me?”
”You don”t get to play the devoted mother now. Not after you refused to answer my calls when I found out about the tornado and wanted to know you were all okay. You never called me back or even bothered to send a text message. Until just now, I didn”t even know if you were alive, so don”t act like you care about me at all.”
Placing a hand on her chest, her mother gasps. ”How dare you shout at me?”
”How dare you attack him?” she cries. ”You haven”t spoken to me since the last time my lawyers sent a cease and desist with all the lies you get paid to share. And this was after you cut me off from the family because I got a lawyer to stop you and Dad from forcing me into a conservatorship. The moment the judge said you had no legal standing, you cut me off.”
The cameras all focus on them, and her mother’s fake tears start. ”I don”t know how I raised such a spiteful girl. You were always so sweet.”
”Oh, cut it out,” Tessa says.
”You”re one to talk. If she looked at everyone around her exploiting her, you”d be put right in the spotlight,” her father says. ”Followed by this meathead.”
”Enough!” Bri shouts. ”If you want a scene, I”ll give you a scene, but we”ll take it elsewhere. We”re not going to continue interrupting people who showed up to help your community. My community. The community that used to be mine before you made it too ugly to be in.”
Her mother scoffs. ”That”s real-”
”No, your need for attention does not trump the pain and suffering the others in this town are going through. Your house stands tall and barely damaged. You got lucky, so start acting like it. No one owes you anything, especially after the millions you took from me before I turned eighteen and blew through like tissues. Back off, Mother.”
Her brother, Brandon, steps forward. ”Same old Brianna. Always the ungrateful, spoiled brat.”
”Yeah, you think you”re better than the rest of us because you live in a fancy apartment in New York while we”re a family of five barely making ends meet in a three-bedroom house?” her other brother, Mark, says.
”The house has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. And you still live at home? Brandon, you”re over thirty. And Matt? Aren”t you, like, twenty-eight?” Tessa interjects.
”Twenty-nine last week,” Bri says. Her head nods to Todd. ”And he”s twenty-three.”
Tessa laughs. ”Yeah, you have it hard. Your sister stopped paying for everything like she did when she was younger and too young to have a say in her finances. Then again, I know how much your parents took from her, so the fact they lost fifteen million shortly after they no longer collected her paychecks, it”s not exactly your sister you should be mad at. She more than paid them back. With a thousand percent interest.”
”You”re a bitch,” Todd says and steps forward.
”What are you gonna do, Todd? Hit me? I kicked your ass when you were twelve, and I can do it again,” Tessa says, stepping forward.
”Don”t worry, Tessa. You”re not the one I”d like to smack.”
Kace tosses down the board he holds and steps forward, forcing Todd backwards. ”What”d you just say? Did you just threaten Bri Waters?”
”No, I said I”d like to smack my sister.”
The media swarms around them all, and Bri wants to curl up into a hole. Kace doesn”t back down, though, and her security team also starts closing in on her family.
”Your sister is Bri Waters. I don”t give a shit if she”s your sister or not, you never hit a woman. And you never even threaten it. Not unless you want your ass handed to you.”
”You think you”re tough? Wait until I kick your ass for threatening my brother,” Brandon says, backing Todd up.
”Brandon, are you serious right now?” Tessa asks with a laugh. ”Do you see him? He”s the size of a three-story house while you”re a freaking porta-potty.”
Bri hurries to stand between Kace and her brother as the rest of the Bootleggers and Twisters back up her ex. ”Stop it! Everyone, stop it. Kace, he wants you to hit him to sue you. My family will do whatever they can to try and get money in any way other than actually working for it. Don”t let him sucker you into it.”
”He threatened you.”
”And it”s not your battle to fight. Not anymore,” she says and turns to her family. ”And I”m done fighting. If you want nothing to do with me because I stopped paying your way through life, I”m done hoping you come to your senses and decide to love me. Not anymore. I know what real love is, and I know what a real family is. This? This isn”t it.”
Her father laughs. ”From him? Your fake boyfriend?”
”It wasn”t fake for me. But I”m not talking about intimate love. I”m talking about familial love. Mr. Hanks was always there for me the way you should have been. He”s the father you stopped being a long time ago, and it kills me to know he”s gone. You walked away when I no longer served a purpose for you, but he stayed. And he never wanted anything from me. He just wanted to be there to see me succeed. You wanted me to succeed to profit from me, and this isn”t worth my effort anymore.”
Turning, she motions for everyone to leave her family alone, and Kace pulls her to the side. ”Are you okay?”
Her eyes take in his even more muscular body, and Bri knows Nia wasn”t lying about Kace putting on some muscle. He looks good. Really good. Plastering on her fake smile, she squares her shoulders. ”I”ll be fine. Thank you, guys, for coming to help. It means more than you”ll ever know.”
”I called the moment I saw Mr. Hanks” name on the screen of fatalities. How are you holding up?”
Tears fill her eyes, and her lip quivers. ”You know, you”d think I”d be used to losing people in my life by now, but I never thought he”d be one of them. This one hurts. It really, really hurts. His funeral”s next week, and they”ve asked me to sing at it. I have to somehow figure out how to do that without falling apart. But that”s what I do, right? Luckily, I”ve gotten practice recently on performing like my heart isn”t completely shattered.”
Her words affect him, but he doesn’t snap back at her like she wishes he would. Having him angry would be so much easier to deal with than being so damn nice.
”You don”t have to put on a front. I think everyone knows and expects you to be upset.”
She sniffles and steps out of his reach, forcing him to drop his hand from her arm. As much as she loved the feel of his hand on her, she doesn’t have the strength to stay steadfast in the decision she knows was the right one. ”Thank you again, Kace. I”ll be fine. Don”t worry about me.”
Hurrying away, Bri climbs into the SUV and feels like she just ran a marathon. Her heart races, her lungs scream for air, and she wonders if she might pass out. She needs to get away from here and get herself together before she can even think about facing Kace again.
”That was awesome!” Tessa says as she climbs into the vehicle. ”Did it feel good to finally tell your family off for once?”
She lets out a breath. ”It was really cathartic, yeah. It needed to be done, but I never realized just how selfish and lazy they really are until today. I just hope the press doesn”t tear me apart.”
”I don”t think that”s a problem,” she says and scrolls through her phone. ”Babe, they”re praising you. Oh, this is even better because your mom, dad, Brandon, and Todd are getting roasted. They”ll never get a dime to talk shit again.”
It”s the last thing Bri intended to do when she came out here, but it needed to be done. Now, she just needs to figure out how to get through this funeral in one piece. What else could possibly go wrong?