Page 16 of Rowdy Hearts

I tooka breath and then another, trying to get my heart rate back to normal.

Krista was fine. No one had taken her. We were safe here.

Wherever here was exactly. I really should drag my ass out of bed and find out.

And oh my god, was it really almost eleven-thirty? I had no idea what time I’d gone to bed last night, but I hadn’t slept this late in… Well, I couldn’t actually remember when I’d slept this late. Not even as a teenager, because I’d always had somewhere to be. On set. A press event. Rehearsals. Classes.

I really must’ve been out of it last night. With a sigh, I let myself fall back on the bed again, careful not to close my eyes, because I was afraid the next time I opened them, it’d be closer to five.

Instead, I stared at the ceiling. The plaster design riveled anything I’d seen in an exclusive New York brownstone and the chandelier was crystal.

Whowerethese people who lived in the middle of nowhere in a freaking mansion and had taken in a couple of strangers and let them sleep in their home?

I needed to find Krista, thank Raffi for her hospitality and get back on the road to…

Where are you going exactly?

Hell if I knew. What I did know was that I needed to get myshit together, but after the night I’d had, maybe I could give myself a little slack. Sighing, I let my head sink a little deeper into the mattress.

Last night had been a shit show. The stunt my mom had pulled… Ugh. I didn’t even want to think about it. But now that I had, I couldn’t stop. And the anxiety and panic began to eat at me.

Stop that. You’re safe here.

I really hoped that was true. But it still needed to find Krista. I couldn’t just let a woman I’d just met care for my child. What kind of parent was I to let a woman I’d just met take her?—

To breakfast.

Get a grip.

I pushed myself back to sitting, then read the note again, the anxiety easing just a little.

Krista was fine. She was safe with Raffi. I don’t know how I knew that so completely, but I did. We were safe here. Raffi would make sure nothing happened to my daughter.

But what kind of mother are you if you don’t check?

Tired. That’s what I was. I was so fucking tired. Anxiety. Stress. Fear. Anger. They all combined to make me exhausted. My business partners had been telling me I needed a break for months, but I’d brushed aside their worries and continued on like nothing was wrong.

And then last night had happened.

Maybe we can stay here for a while. Like a mini-vacation. Away from…everything else.

I remember Rowdy… with those dark eyes and scruffy beard and the hair I wanted to sink her fingers into… he’d told me something about the tire and needing a mechanic. Maybe we would have to stay for a few days.

Would that be such a bad thing? I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken time away from work. Maybe last year? This past summer, I’d made sure Krista had stayed busy with classes andcamps and everything New York City had to offer. But the agency Jen, Leon and I had taken over three years ago was still growing. It needed my attention.

But Jen and Leon were more than capable of holding down the fort on their own for a few days. Maybe…

Except I’d left a mess behind that I’d have to clean up eventually, because that’s what I did. I didn’t make messes, but I’d have to clean this one up because my mom would never admit she’d done something wrong, and this situation would all be my fault.

Shit.

My head started to throb, and my stomach chose that moment to growl.

Time to get up and start dealing with the shit show that my life had become.

Rolling out of bed, I headed to the en suite Raffi had shown me last night, when I’d barely been able to hold my eyes open. In the bright light of day, I noticed how lush it was. Marble shower and sink, a soaker tub, bamboo floors, gorgeous cabinetry. The room gave four-star hotels a run for their money.

Really, whoarethese people?

---