Page 186 of Movers and Shakers

“I think the club is light. Does anyone else want a turn?”

Ruth took it and announced the club definitely was not light. I raised an eyebrow at Rose, but she shook her head and she sat next to me.

I turned to see Ruth miss the ball on the first swing.

“Not good at golf?” I teased. I was worried, yet I couldn’t help but egg on my sister.

“Hang on. I’m trying to remember how to coordinate my hands and eyes.”

The second time she hit it, the ball went about half the distance that Rose’s first shot did. Her score, however, was remarkably high, far too close to Rose’s.

“They have to inflate that,” I said.

“It’s the angle she hit it at,” Rose explained. “Mine went straight to the back.”

Knox went next, but didn’t hit it as far as Ruth.

As they teased each other, I checked on Rose one more time; she was watching Tom teach Max how to hit a ball in the other bay. The soft smile on her face told me I needed to watch too.

It took a bit of trial and error, especially when Max missed the ball on the first shot. Tom showed him again. Max’s excited face was worth it when he finally got the hang of it.

My eyes slid back over to Malia, who hadn’t yet taken the offer of a turn. She was on her phone, biting her lip.

“Do you want a go?” Rose asked, breaking my focus.

“Oh, yeah.” I took the club from Juno, who had just finished her turn. I’d never played golf, but it wasn’t hard to smack it across the field.

I only took three shots before I let Rose go again, and while she was distracted, I knew I needed to talk to Malia.

She obviously had the same thought because she gestured for me to follow her before I could even ask. We went to the opposite end of the level, out of Rose’s sight.

“What’s going on with the tour?” I asked.

“Mickey is no longer the guitarist.”

I blinked. “What? Is that why you two are off?”

“I’m supposed to be figuring out a replacement, which is why I’ve been on my phone.”

“What happened?”

“He hit on Lila and Justice fired him.”

“The concert is intwodays.”

And I could now see why Rose had nearly lost it in front of the restaurant.

“Yes. Justice thought she could strong-arm you into taking his place, so she didn’t think twice about letting him go.”

“You know I can’t step on that stage.”

“I do.”

“What are the other options?”

“We could use a studio recording temporarily.”

“But if you get caught, fans would be pissed the whole show isn’t live.”

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