Page 53 of Mason Wilder
They watched video after video, all at Kendall’s request. Her energy shifted. Instead of the playful bounce of her head, she was still as she remained fixated on the screen. She continually smoothed back the lock of hair that came loose earlier, trying to tuck it into the braid, annoyed that it kept falling loose. Two hours had gone by and Kendall was still asking to watch more videos, specifically requesting videos of rehearsal rather than live performances.
“Do you have any of when you were children?” Kendall asked Mason. “I would love to see them, if you do.”
“Nah. These are just of the band.”
“Oh.” Disappointment was clear in her voice. “That’s all right. I’m enjoying watching these.”
“You want to watch more?” Mason asked, surprised.
“No.” Kendall smoothed her hair back again and rested her hand on the braid at the back of her head. “It’s late. I’m sure you have things to do.” She stood and wrung her hands nervously. “Thank you for a lovely afternoon. I truly had a wonderful time.” She turned and took Tessa’s hands. “Thank you so much for your hospitality. It’s truly a pleasure to spend time with you.” Without warning, Tessa received a tight hug. When Kendall released her hold, she cupped Tessa’s cheek in her hand. “You’re a treasure, darling.” She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress several times, even though it wasn’t wrinkled, then took Mason’s hands in the same way she just held Tessa’s. “Goodbye, Mason. You’ve been a dear.” She hugged Mason, still hesitant about the display of affection and gently kissed his cheek. “I’ll ring you tomorrow.”
After Kendall left, Mason ran his fingers through his hair and let out an exhausted breath. “Man, she really enjoyed those videos.”
“How did tea with Mason’s birth mother go yesterday?” Sindy asked.
“Other than the excessive video watching, and the way Kendall barely blinked at the TV screen, it was really nice.”
“Excessive video watching?” Sindy asked with amusement.
“It was nothing.” Tessa wished she’d never mentioned it. Last night, she had debated on whether to say anything to Mason about it and decided she didn’t want to read into the way Kendall focused on watching video after video. She didn’t want to join in the crusade, even though she thought Kendall was acting a little weird by the time she left. “We had a very nice time actually. She liked the tea and made a big deal about it. Mason played the drums for her. She really enjoyed that. And we spent the afternoon watching videos of Prodigy. She was very impressed and kept asking to see more of them. By the end of the day I was about to throw my shoe at the computer feed so we didn’t have to watch another one.”
Sindy laughed. “You may have created a monster.” She grabbed her handbag. “Ready to go?”
“I’m ready.” They jumped into the Tesla and Tessa drove the short distance toward her parents’ home so they could go over some new designs for band merch with her mom. As she turned off the main road and onto the private street that led to the home she grew up in, two police cruisers passed in the opposite direction.
Sindy turned her head to see where they were headed. “What’s going on? There’s never police over here.”
“I don’t know.” An uneasy feeling settled in Tessa’s chest, like when you heard an ambulance siren close to home and you knew, in your gut, that something happened to someone in your family. She punched the code into the keypad that opened the private gate and hit the gas. She made it halfway up the driveway when she saw a pair of police cars parked in the semi-circle in front of the main entrance to the mansion. “Shit!” Her hands shook as she cut the engine, and she raced toward the front door.
“Take it easy,” Sindy called from behind Tessa. “Slow down. It’s probably nothing.”
“Mom?” Tessa called, frantically, before she even fully opened the door. “Papi? Dad? What’s going on?”
“It’s OK, sweetie.” Alyssa intercepted Tessa and Sindy as soon as they entered the house. “There was some suspicious activity on the security monitors early this morning. It was probably just a crazy fan.”
“Was anyone hurt? Did they steal anything?” Tessa’s voice conveyed wild panic, but she realized that it couldn’t have been too serious or her parents would have called her.
“No. Just someone lurking around in the garden and looking in the windows.”
“Looking in the windows?” Tessa practically shouted, alarmed at the invasion of privacy. Just then, Papi came into the entry foyer where they were all standing.
“It’s OK, princess.” He hugged her and she clung to him, feeling safe and secure in his protective embrace.
“No one’s hurt,” he reassured her. “We’re all fine. Nothing was taken. It was just a crazy fan. We’re having security patrol the grounds at night for a while. It won’t happen again.”
“Are you sure? Why are the police still here?”
“Yes, I’m sure. The police have been here studying the surveillance video for hours. They’re still talking to Mom and Dad.” He pulled back to look at her. “There’s no need to worry.” Then he looked over at Sindy. “Hi, Sindy. Sorry. We’re all a little rattled this morning. Where are the boys?”
“They went for a bike ride,” Sindy replied. “Tessa still doesn’t want to get on Mason’s motorcycle.”
Papi brandished a wide smile. “Good girl. Stay off that motorcycle. It’s dangerous. Why don’t you both wait in the great room until the police leave? It won’t be much longer.”
Tessa nodded and left with Sindy.
“That was creepy,” Sindy said, as she sat on the long couch in the great room. “Does that happen often? That someone climbs the gate and roams on the property?”
“No. This is the first I’ve heard about it happening.” Tessa thought back to when she was a kid. There used to be 24-hour security to ward off the paparazzi, but as they got older, having guards on the property day and night wasn’t necessary. By the time Tessa had turned 18 they had been dismissed altogether.
