Page 43 of Rockstar Untamed
“Two,” Grady said proudly, “Flori loves being pregnant for some reason.”
Sailor grinned. “I wouldn’t know about that, but you two sure do produce gorgeous offspring.”
Grady grinned his thanks. The rest of the dinner was fun as Sailor and Grady watched Claudio and Soleil bicker and tease each other in the way only siblings could.
Later, Grady asked Sailor about her art and Sailor looked surprised. “I told him,” Soleil interrupted, smirking. “Both Bodhi and I have seen what she can do, Grady, although she is very good at hiding it.”
Sailor was surprised. Yes, she loved drawing, and would often sit sketching in the evenings while Bodhi and Tim played computer games, but she hadn’t noticed Soleil taking a particular interest in her art.
Grady nodded. “Listen, have you heard ofThe Quilla Chen Mallory Foundation?”
Sailor shook her head.
“It’s named for my sister-in-law, and through it, Quilla, Flori and I all work towards giving emerging artists a helping hand. We’re very much looking for tutors for a Los Angeles office we’re thinking of opening. Would you be interested?”
Sailor’s cheeks flushed. “Grady…look, that’s very kind, but I’m nowhere near qualified. I just sketch for a hobby.”
Grady smiled and took out a business card. “Well, then, keep in touch…maybe there’s some other area you’d like to get involved in.”
As Sailor and Soleil were being walked back to the hotel by Claudio, Sailor couldn’t stop thinking about Grady’s offer. Maybe shecouldbe useful, and she could actually use a focus right now. Suddenly she felt a new energy inside of her, as much as she loved Bodhi and their life together, she needed something of her own to feel a connection to the earth. If their relationship was made public, she wanted to be more in this life than just Bodhi Creed’s girlfriend.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t see Soleil on her phone, and Claudio dropping back to walk with Sailor.
“Hey, kiddo. How do you like Seattle?”
She smiled up at him. She had liked Claudio from the first, his fun-loving side coming out when his sister or Bodhi was with him. She also felt she could talk to him about anything. “I love it, so beautiful.”
“You know, Bodhi was raised here for much of his childhood? That’s where we met him. Our father was working with Boing at the time, as was Bodhi’s dad, and they became friends so when he brought us over on school vacations, we would all hang out.”
“I never knew that,” Sailor said, smiling. “That’s cool.”
“He’s my brother,” Claudio said, and almost too late, Sailor realized that he was giving her the ‘Don’t hurt my brother’ talk, in a very sweet, subtle way. She nudged his shoulder with hers.
“Don’t worry, Claudio, I’d rather die than hurt Bodhi, Tim, or any of you. You are my family now, and you’ll never know how grateful I am for you all.”
Claudio, seemingly satisfied with this, kissed her cheek. “Good girl. If it’s any help, I’ve never seen Bodhi so wiped out by love. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Sailor was touched. “Claudio, I can promise you…we will all be happy together if I have anything to do with it.”
She had no idea how soon that promise would be broken.
“Bart Foy has gone very, very quiet,” Bodhi announced at breakfast a few weeks later. “The Feds leaned on him about Stuart Lawson, but he covered his tracks very well.”
Sailor looked at him unhappily. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
Soleil spooned the last of her yogurt into her mouth. “How do you know all of this?”
“I have a contact at the Bureau.”
Soleil grinned. “Impressive.”
Bodhi grinned, but Sailor didn’t smile. “It’s when he goes quiet that I start to panic,” she lowered her voice so Tim, who was running around packing his backpack for school, wouldn’t hear. “Back in the commune, it meant someone had stepped out of line and that bad times were coming. Dark times.” She felt tearful, and Bodhi stroked her cheek.
“What is it?”
Sailor just shook her head. “Just…a hidden enemy, you know? It’s harder to stay ahead of them.”
“Ahead of who?” Tim had rejoined them without Sailor seeing, and for a second, she floundered for an answer.
