Page 12 of Trusting Blake
I turn and find Mom in a wide-eyed state of shock. She must have heard the commotion, but like me, did not expect Dad to turn up on the property at this hour. Her hair is piled messily into a bun, loose strands framing her bare cheeks, and she wipes her eyes as though she can’t believe what she’s seeing. Half asleep, she seems younger, somehow. More vulnerable.
“Marns,” Dad pleads, and I’m shocked at the genuine shake in his voice. He takes the porch steps two at a time until he’s standing right before us all. “I’m here to seeyou. We really need to talk.”
Mom, Sheri, and I are like one big barrier of rage. Instinctively, I broaden my shoulders and straighten my posture, ensuring Mom is kept behind me. I feel this overwhelming urge to protect her.
“You opened the gate for him?” she asks Sheri.
“Trust me, I was severely tempted to leave him to be picked to pieces by those vultures out there, but I have to consider the neighbors,” Sheri says, arms still folded over her chest, and when I steal a quick peek at her, I notice she hasn’t taken her eyes off Dad yet. She is most un-Sheri-like – who knew she could be this bold?
“And you broughtRuben?” Mom adds, eyes narrowed, as she spots the plume of smoke emitting from the aloof figure in the distance.
“Marns, please hear me out,” Dad begs, and I stare at him, wondering what has happened to my badass, confident movie star of a father. The dad who insists on performing his own stunts. The dad who has mastered the perfect Hollywood smile full of charm. The dad who always looks a million bucks. “You left without giving me a chance to explain.”
Mom places a hand on my shoulder. “You sure do have a lot of explaining to do, Everett.Alot.And not just for me, but for everyone here. Mila, Sheri, your father. You’ve made a real mess – and you need to fix it.”
“I know,” Dad agrees, bowing his head.
“Marnie,” Ruben says guardedly as he returns, tossing his glowing cigarette butt to the ground with complete disregard for the ranch. He steps in line next to Dad on the porch and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you worry. He’s here to talk things through. Right, Everett?”
Dad shrugs off Ruben’s arm at the same time as Mom purses her lips in disbelief at Ruben’s blasé attitude, like this is just another publicity slipup that he’ll work his magic to resolve. But the weariness in Dad’s features, in his whole being, makes it clear that even he knows that negative publicity is the least of his concerns right now.
The Harding family is in a total crisis.
“Please, everyone, just come in off the porch,” Sheri urges again, running a hand over her fatigued face. “This isn’t the time or the place.”
Mom is the first to move. She turns around and disappears into the living room, and I copy Sheri when she stands back from the door to allow Dad and Ruben to enter. Dad’s discomfort is palpable, and Sheri keeps pressing her lips together, as though to keep herself from making any remarks about Dad not having been in this house for years. Ruben, on the other hand, gazes coolly around the house as if it’s a museum piece. Like, what? He’s never seen floral drapes before?
As Sheri locks the front door, I start for the living room too, but she grasps my wrist.
“Mila,” she whispers, staring intensely into my eyes, “you do realize the entire ranch is covered by security cameras, right? Not just the gate?”
Oh.
Ohhhh.
“You saw me?” I ask, feeling my chest tighten. Well, there goes my escape route out of this ranch. Sheri has me all figured out already.
“We have motion detection,” she continues, releasing her grip on my arm. “The alerts woke me up. I thought somebody was trespassing and I was getting ready to call the cops, but then I spotted this highly suspicious young lady in short satin PJs sneaking around like Juliet herself.” She cocks her head and raises a brow. “And as for her Romeo. . .”
“I’m sorry,” I say sheepishly, hugging my arms around my chest. “We were only talking. I won’t do it again.”
“Just tell Blake to be careful on those walls,” she says.
“How’d you know it was Blake?”
Sheri scoffs, but it turns into one of her sweet smiles. “Who else would it be? That boy can’t stay away from you. He spent the morning blowing up our landline, remember?”
Oh, yeah. Right. I forgot about that.
“Mila, I’m the only one who ever checks the cameras, okay? So if you ever. . . miraculously disappear. . . I’m the only one who will know how you did it.”
I furrow my brows at her, then brighten.
“Does that mean—”
“Shhh,” she mouths, pressing her index finger to her lips. “Now, let’s endure the chaos and recriminations brewing over there.”
Together in our PJs, we move toward the living room, but my head is spinning even faster. Sheri is so much cooler than I first gave her credit for. I feel united with her, like we are allies in this messed-up life. I reach out and give her hand a squeeze.
