Page 70 of Bad Seed

She unlocked the dead bolt, then the safety chain, and stood on her tiptoes for a goodbye kiss that made her ache.

“You’re definitely good,” she said. “I know you’re going to be busy with the Fallin event. Don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Pay attention to whoever delivers room service. If you don’t know them, tell them to leave it in the hall.”

She nodded.

He was halfway out the door when he stopped and turned around. “Love you.”

Her heart skipped. “Love you, too.”

And then he was gone. She quickly locked everything back up and thought about going back to bed. Instead, she started a cup of coffee brewing and headed for the shower.

***

Jason Banks was still reeling from being chastised by a total stranger and angry at his daughter for ruining his plans. It was eight o’clock in the morning for him, but it was 3:00 p.m. where Judith was and he needed to talk to her. He glanced in the mirror before making the call, as if it mattered whether his graying hair was in place and that he had yet to shave, and then called his wife.

***

It was a cold, rainy day and Judith was curled up with a book on the sofa in front of a blazing fire, with a cup of tea cooling on the side table when her phone rang. When she saw the number pop up, she put the book aside and answered.

“Jason, darling, how are you? Everything okay?”

“We need to talk,” he said. “I think Harley has a man in her life.”

Judith sat up straighter. “Really? How do you know?”

“I called her last night and of course we argued. She never listens to anything I say. Unbeknownst to me, she handed her phone off to this man, and when he heard me call her an ungrateful bitch, he had the audacity to read me the riot act, then add a vague threat to it before he hung up on me.”

“You shouldn’t have argued. Why do you always do that?” she said. “And it was despicable of you to callyour own daughter a bitch. If that man is interested in Harley, at least he seems to have her best interests at heart.”

“Bullshit!” Jason roared. “He threatened me.”

“And you threatened someone he loves,” Judith said.

“You’re no help,” he said.

“You’re the one who called wanting absolution for being a jackass. I cannot give you something you do not deserve. I love you. Have a good day.”

Jason was mumbling and muttering beneath his breath, but managed to respond in a socially polite manner. “I love you, too, of course.”

Judith rolled her eyes. “Of course, you do,” she said, and hung up.

But now she was excited. She wanted to know everything. Ignoring the time difference, she made a quick call to her daughter. The call rang and rang, and then went to voicemail, which irked her no end. But she left a message anyway and hung up.

Harley was on the hotel phone ordering room service when her cell phone rang. She hadn’t eaten breakfast and now she was too hungry to wait for lunch, so she was having a late brunch and calling it even. She heard it ringing and checked after her order was made, but after she saw it was her mother, she guessed her dad had called her to whine. She didn’t want to talk to either of them, ignored it and went back to work.

***

Even though the food for Josie Fallin’s fan club event was coming together without issue, both the baking and cooking sides of the kitchen were running hot, trying to keep up with orders from the guests in the dining room, the room service orders, and the foods that would be in Fallin’s buffet.

From Brendan’s end of the line, he was pulling hot rolls and cherry cobblers out of the ovens right and left. Cherry cobbler à la mode was the requested dessert for the Fallin event, and they were feeding two hundred people at the event. Every sous-chef and junior chef on-site was double-stepping today. It was an all-hands-on-deck event.

Liz Devon was in her element. The decor was western chic, exactly what Josie had asked for, and the playlist of music was her songs. The gift bags for the attendees were at the door, ready to be handed in as the guests arrived, and Josie was texting Liz nonstop, checking and rechecking to make sure everything was perfect for her attending fans. Her event began midafternoon, and she was double-checking security for her arrival.

“Yes, our security has been notified, as well as the local PD who’ll manage outside traffic as well as the vans shuttling fans from the parking lot at the music venue to the hotel and back,” Liz told her.

Josie sighed. “I know I must be a pain in the neck. I don’t mean to doubt your expertise, but my fans are really important to me, and I want everything to beperfect for them. I can bounce with the delays and mistakes, but they come a long way and spend their hard-earned money just to see me and take pictures with me, and, well, you know the drill. A simple dinner today is going to mean the world to them.”

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