Page 93 of Tell Me Again
“No,” she answered immediately. “I’ll never do that. If there’s anything she ever needs from me, I’ll be there for her. In a heartbeat. But if you ask me to stay away, I will. I won’t agree with it, but I respect that you’re her father. I’ll cut myself off.” She squeezed her eyes shut and felt the tears stream down her cheeks without bothering to wipe them away. She’d given up the ghost of her tough-girl image the moment she found Grace curled up on her couch.
“I thought you weren’t a crier.” His voice had gentled, and that was almost worse than the anger or the emptiness.
“I have allergies.”
“Sam.”
“Don’t.” Her temper, the self-defense mechanism she’d relied on for years, roared to life inside her. “Don’t try to pretend this isn’t awful. Answer the question. Are you going to keep her from me?” It was terrible enough to lose Trevor; a life without Grace seemed unbearable.
He stared at her and she felt herself wither under his scrutiny. She wiped her cheeks on the sleeve of her robe, but didn’t look away. She wouldn’t be the one to blink.
After a few moments he dropped his gaze to the floor. “We need a break. Whatever happens when these photos go public, it’s going to be bad for Grace.”
“I can protect her,” she protested, but he shook his head.
“Iwillprotect her. But I won’t forbid her from seeing you. Just give it some time.”
“Thirteen years. I lost thirteen years of knowing her already.”
“Then another couple of weeks shouldn’t be a problem.”
She wanted to rage at him. A problem? This was her life, her heart, and the future she’d thought would finally make her feel whole.
“If that’s what you want,” she answered, an eerie calm descending over her. She’d spent so many years forcing herself not to feel because the pain was too much. It was a trick she could depend on to get her through anything. She hoped.
His phone chirped at the same time hers vibrated on the counter.
“It’s Grace,” she said.
“Don’t answer.” He shoved his feet into the boots sitting next to her back door. “I’ll call her and explain. She’s got a three-day weekend coming up. I’m going to take her... somewhere. She’s freaked out right now and—”
“I can help. If you let me, I—”
“I’ve got it, Sam.” With one hand on the door, he turned back to her. “I’m sorry,” he said and walked out of her house.
She immediately picked up the phone and punched in a number.
“How bad is it going to be?”
She heard Peter suck in another puff on a cigarette. “She’s your niece. It will get a lot of play, especially for her. They’ll dig up photos of you and Bryce and play up the tragic death angle. Things are different now, Sam. Nothing is off-limits for these vultures. But you’re in the clear. A dysfunctional family history isn’t your fault.”
“Tell that to Grace’s father,” she whispered.
“Is she interested in modeling?”
“She’s thirteen, Peter. Too young.”
“You’ve seen the photos. That girl is the second coming of you, and there’s no one that exciting out there right now. The vultures are going to swoop in for her. No doubt about it.”
“I’m going to e-mail you the photos of me from that weekend. Offer them if they’ll bury the story about Grace.”
She didn’t need to explain which pictures she was talking about. There could only be one set that was worth enough to buy Grace her continued anonymity. A heavy silence and then her longtime agent and friend said, “No.”
“I’m not asking, Peter. I’m telling you. Let them run with those images if they’ll bury the photo of Grace.”
“Sam, you know what those pictures will do.”
She felt something brush against her leg and looked down to see Frank butting his head up against her thigh. She sank to the kitchen floor and allowed her hundred-pound dog to climb into her lap. His fur was soft as she ran her fingers through it, his warmth and steady breath calming her.
