“I’m so sorry, Jenna. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Jenna wiped the tears from her mom’s cheeks. “It’s okay, Mom.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll never forgive myself for not giving you what you needed then.”
“Oh, Mom. It’s really okay.” She hugged her mother.
Gavin came over, picked her up, and hugged her. “You’re a superstar, Jen. Always knew you would be someday.”
Her dad just sat there, tears streaming down his face.
“What song is that?” her mother asked.
“I wrote it.”
“She writes a lot of music,” Liz said.
She looked at her dad, who shook his head.
“Dad?”
“My baby. I had no idea.” He broke down and sobbed. Jenna laid the guitar down and went to him and hugged him.
“Don’t cry, Daddy.”
“You sing like an angel. I’m so proud of you. But your mother is right. We should have paid more attention to you and what you needed. We didn’t give you those singing lessons.”
“She wanted singing lessons?” Gavin asked with a frown.
“Yes.” Her mother swiped at the tears. “When she was younger.”
“So you’ve had this inside you all these years and you never told anyone?” Mick asked.
Jenna shook her head.
“You are such a dumbass,” Gavin said. “The only way you get what you want is to keep asking for it and keep pushing. You know how this family is. The loudest wins.”
Jenna laughed. “Yeah, I realize that now.”
“So what can we do to make sure your voice is heard?” her mother asked
She inhaled, let it out, and looked at her parents. “I want to open another Riley’s bar. A music club where people can come in and sing. And I want to sing there.”
Her dad cocked his head to the side. “Another bar?”
“Yes. I’ve done the feasibility study and we can afford it. But it means I wouldn’t run the original Riley’s anymore. I’d want to manage the new bar.”
“Do it,” her mother said. “You belong in a place where you can use the talent that God gave you.”
“How long have you been wanting to do this?” her dad asked her.
“Just…my whole life.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything before now?”
“Because Riley’s was your dream. And after your heart attack I had to make sure your dream stayed alive.”
“Aww, my little girl.” He made room on his chair for her to sit next to him, then tipped her chin with his fingers like he used to do when she was little. “Never live someone else’s dream for them. It’s not your job to chase my dream. I can do that. I’ll admit I got a little lazy and complacent, hanging out here with your mom. And knowing you were holding things down at Riley’s made it easier for me.
“I’m mad at you for not coming to us and telling us what you wanted to do, for wasting this amazing talent of yours for so long.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine, for not speaking up sooner. I was afraid I’d fail, afraid I wasn’t good enough.”
Her mother snorted. “You are definitely good enough.”
“She’s good enough for a record contract if you ask me,” Liz said.
“Maybe,” Jenna said. “Maybe not. All I want right now is to have a club where musicians and singers can come and try out their stuff. That would fulfill my dream. Anything more than that…we’ll see.”
Her mother pulled her from the chair and took her hands. “All we’ve ever wanted for any of our children is to follow their dreams and be happy. We’d be delighted for you to open up another Riley’s. We’ll make it work.”
It was like the world had opened for her, and all she could see was endless possibilities. She hugged and kissed them all.
“Thank you. You have no idea what your support means to me. But first I have to go find the man I love and see if I can repair the damage I caused. I’m afraid I might have lost him forever.”
JENNA GOT LIZ TO GET HER TICKETS TO THE FIRST playoff game tonight. She could have gotten club seats, but she wanted to be in the front row, right where the action was. She wanted Tyler to know she was there supporting him.
“These seats are freakin’ cold, you know,” Liz said. “We could be in a heated club house, with all the food and drink we want for free.”
“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Jenna said. “You’re the one who got us seats here before, if you recall.”
“Yeah, yeah. There was a method to my madness for that game. But now? It’s just f**king cold down here.”
“You are so high maintenance. It’s a wonder my brother puts up with you.”
“The things I do for love. And your brother adores me from the tips of my expertly painted toenails to the top of my gorgeous natural red hair.”
“Don’t make me gag.”
Liz laughed. “I never much liked the thought of having to deal with family. After all, I did my best to get the hell away from my own. But you Rileys? You’re all right.”
“You love me and you know it.”
“I do. I totally do.”
The door opened and the players started filing out. Jenna froze, not sure whether to turn and look for Ty or not. In fact, the thought of slinking down in her seat sounded appealing.
Liz elbowed her. “Your coward days are over, sweet pea. Time to woman-up and let your man know you’re here for him.”
She was right. She turned to face the players, and when Ty came out, he spotted her right off.
And frowned, then turned away and walked up the stairs toward the bench.
What had she expected, a dazzling smile and two thumbs-up? She was here to support him, not the other way around, so she clapped and yelled for the team when they took the ice for warm-ups.
At the face-off, Jenna tensed and didn’t let go the entire time. The game was intense, a knuckle biter as the Ice and Denver went at it as if this was the last game either team was going to play. There were plenty of penalties, only this time Ty wasn’t involved. He stayed clean, though he did plenty of bumping. When he crashed up against the glass right in front of her, she wanted to leap up and smack the guy who’d thrown him there. But Ty concentrated on advancing the puck, and when he scored, she screamed until she was hoarse.
The Ice were up two goals by the end of the second period, and Jenna’s jaw hurt from clenching it. Defense had kicked ass so far, keeping Denver scoreless and their shots on goal unremarkable.
Ty had paid her no attention, hadn’t once glanced her way through the entire game. Not that she expected him to. She wanted him concentrating on the game and not thinking about her. She wanted the Ice to win.
And when they did, shutting out Denver, she and Liz hugged and cheered along with everyone else in the packed arena. They waited until the crowds thinned, then went to wait on Ty outside the locker room.
“He’s so mad at me,” Jenna said, chewing on a fingernail. “I don’t know if he’ll even talk to me.”
“You have to open the dialogue door somewhere. This is where you start.”
The media kept them awhile, so Jenna paced back and forth, distracting herself by talking to a few of the wives and girlfriends of the players. Renee had texted her and asked her to give Eddie a big congratulatory hug for her since she was working at the bar tonight and couldn’t be at the game. The two of them had recently become exclusive, and Jenna was happy for both of them. They made a cute couple. So when Eddie came out of the locker room, she congratulated him and gave him Renee’s hug.
“I’m headed over to the bar now,” Eddie said with a wide grin. “Hope Malcolm’s got those steaks fired up.”
She laughed. “You know he will. And the first round for you guys is on me. I’ve already let my assistant manager know.”
Eddie kissed her cheek. “You’re awesome, Jenna.”
Eddie took off once Victor came out, and the trail of players coming through the door only made her more nervous, especially when she didn’t see Ty.
“He snuck out another way. He’s avoiding me.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “There is no other way. He didn’t sneak out. See? Here he is now.”
Oh, shit. He walked out the door and suddenly she had no idea what she was going to say. Fortunately, Liz got to him first, throwing her arms around him and hugging him.
“It’s a damn good thing you won tonight,” Liz told him. “I’ve got potential product endorsement deals on the line, so the further you go in the playoffs, the more deals and more money I can get for you.”
“Yeah, it’s the only thing on my mind when I take the ice,” he said.
“I’m sure it is.” She winked, then said, “Well, I’ve got to talk to the big boss for a few minutes, so if you two will excuse me.”
Liz made a discreet exit, leaving her alone with Ty, who leveled an expressionless stare her way.
It was her play.
“Great game tonight.”
“Thanks. Surprised to see you here.”
“Really? I don’t know why. I wanted to support you and the team.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And…I wanted a few minutes alone with you so we could talk.”
“I think we said it all the other night, Jenna. Not much to talk about. I’m tired after the game tonight.”
“I understand. We both said a lot of things the other night, but we need to talk. I need to tell you a few things.”
He laughed, the sarcasm clear. “There’s more than what you already said?”
“I deserved that. But it’s not what you think.”
“Okay. Spill it.”
“Not here. Come with me.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Ty, please. I know you don’t owe me anything. Not after the way I acted the other night. But if you’ll just give me an hour…”
She hoped and prayed he wouldn’t judge her on the last words she’d said to him the other night, that he’d give her a chance.
“Fine. You’ve got an hour. I’ve got to grab my gear in the locker room and meet with my coach for a few minutes. I’ll meet you at your place when I’m done.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
She left and found Liz, who was chatting with the Ice owner, so she stayed in the background until she finished up.
“How did it go?” Liz asked as they made their way to the parking lot.
“He’s still angry with me. I can tell. But he did agree to give me an hour.”
“That’s because he loves you.”
Her heart squeezed. “Does he? His voice was so flat. No emotion in it at all.”
They got into the car and buckled their seatbelts and Liz drove off in her usual crazy manner, but gave Jenna a quick glance. “Honey, you hurt him and men don’t take that well. They shove their emotions deep inside where you can’t hurt them again. In many ways they’re a lot like women, though they’d deny that.”
Jenna’s lips curved. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I am right. They like to pretend they’re tough and impervious to pain. Physically that might be true, but emotionally they can be hurt just like we can. Especially by someone they care about.”
“I hurt him. I know that. I have to fix it.”
Liz squeezed her hand. “Then go do that and win back your man. I need him in top shape for the playoffs.”
Liz dropped her off and she hurried to get ready, nervous as hell about what was going to happen.
When Ty pulled up in front of the condo, she ran outside.
He got out of the car, but she already had her keys in her hand.
He frowned. “What’s up?”
“We need to take a drive.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to show you something.”
“Jenna, I don’t have time for this.”
What he meant was he didn’t want to go. She had to convince him. This was make it or break it for her. “Make time. Please. It won’t take long.”
He shrugged. “Fine.”
He got into her car and she drove off. The silence was unnerving, but she knew idle conversation would be useless, so she used the time to prepare what she was going to say to him when they got there. She played it over and over in her head and by the time she pulled in front of the building, she thought she had it ready.
“What the f**k is this?”
What she couldn’t plan for was Ty’s response.
She got out of the car and keyed in the code she’d gotten from the real estate manager she’d called yesterday. Just as Ty had done, she’d asked for privacy to look over the building, telling him she was Ty’s business partner and she wanted another look at the place. Okay, she lied, but it worked. She went inside, assuming he’d be curious enough to follow. If he wasn’t, if he stayed in the car, her plan to make this all up to him would be ruined.
And she didn’t have a Plan B. She probably should have come up with a Plan B.
She walked into the space and stood in the center, smiling as plans began to formulate. She’d made notes, started to set up floor plans, but none of it would make sense without Ty.
“Why did you bring me here?”
She turned to face him, her heart pounding so hard all she could hear was her own blood rushing in her ears. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and prepared to face the music.