Page 98 of Rowdy Hearts

“Honey, your dad was a miserable SOB who deserves to rot in hell. He’s a piece of shit, but he gave me you and your sister, which is the only reason I didn’t murder him in his sleep. But not all men are like that.”

“I know. Rowdy’s nothing like that.”

“Then trust your instincts. You’ve been doing pretty damn well up to now. Though it does seem kind of sudden.”

I nodded, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth until it hurt. “It was. Maybe too fast. How fast is too fast?”

“No one can answer that for you, hon. You have to trust your instincts. Mine are shit, especially about men, so I can’t help you there. Are you gettinganyred flags?”

“No, and his family’s amazing. I think… he’s too good to be true.”

“Well, in my experience, that’s usually the case. I mean, if he seems perfect, that’s probably a signal to run. Because no one’s perfect.”

“He’s not perfect. He’s a little cocky, but he’s not a dick. He’s confident but not too much. He’s kind and funny and Krista thinks he’s the best.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“He lives in the middle of Pennsylvania, and I don’t see that ever changing.”

“And that’s a dealbreaker?” Mom’s brows rose again. “When you can basically work from anywhere now? And the middle of Pennsylvania is only about three hours from the city. You know that, right?”

Yes, I knew it, and I’d been thinking more about that. Krista and I didn’t have to stay in the city. I would still be close enough to drive in for meetings and auditions.

“But Krista loves the city.”

“Krista would love living anywhere you are. You’re her home, hon, not a city or a building.”

I stared at my mom like I’d never seen her before, my lips parted as if I was going to say something, but nothing came out, which made my mom laugh.

“You know, sometimes your mom actually knows her shit.”

Shaking my head, I huffed out a laugh. “I never doubted that. You were always the smartest person in the room. And you showed me how to be strong. I want to be strong for Krista.”

“I wasn’t always the smartest or the strongest. But it’s nice to know you think that. And that old saying, with age comeswisdom, that’s pretty much true. Which is why you need to have me with you when you go to meet this asshole.”

And we were back to the problem I’d been avoiding. “I can’t screw this up.”

I’d been planning to walk into Rodney Feeney’s office with my lawyer and tell him if he mentions my daughter’s name in print in any way, shape or form, I’d slap him with a lawsuit so fast, his head would spin. But now I was doubting everything.

My mom smiled again, but, this time, it held a bite. And I pitied anyone who was the recipient of that bite.

“We won’t. Now, here’s what we’re going to do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Rowdy

It didn’t takeme as long as I thought it would to get to New York City, but it still left me with a lot of time to think as I drove.

Traffic along I-78 moved pretty fast and, yeah, I had a lead foot. I also had a reason to get where I was going as fast as possible. I needed to be there for whatever Tressy was dealing with. Show her I’d stand by her side no matter what.

“You did take a shower before you left, right? I mean?—”

“Rainy, I know you’re just trying to distract me right now, but I still need that address.”

Her long-suffering sigh streamed through the car speakers, making me grin even as tension continued to bite at my ass. “All right, I got it. Geez, you’re grumpy. I don’t know why you just didn’t ask Mom for it before you left.”

Because I didn’t think about it. Hell, I’d almost been to the state line before I realized I didn’t know where Tressy lived, except somewhere in Chelsea. But I didn’t tell my perfect sisterthat. She would’ve had a plan and a backup plan before she left to do what I was going to do.

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