She arched a brow. “Two?”
“He can take one back with him if he doesn’t want to drink, but I plan to drink a whole bottle myself.”
“It’s going to be like that, is it?”
“Deacon’s warning pissed me off more than I realized.” I stomped to my sleep area. “’Scuse me while I scrub away the day.”
Her tablet chimed “Charles says the food will take at least an hour.”
“Thanks, Molz. You’re a brick.”
“Keep on saying so.”
Despite its modest size, the RV’s bathroom was okay for showering off. I made short work of that, dried my hair, and dressed carefully. This time, I’d wear straight leg jeans and hiking boots and long sleeves under a flannel shirt to stay warm and prevent any more nature-related mishaps.
I spritzed cologne overhead and walked through it—the spicy fragrance I always wore carried notes of amber and tobacco and exotic tea. It wasn’t possible to smell better than sea air and evergreens, but my mother had drummed the practice into me.You can’t be fully dressed without perfume.
Mother. What was I supposed to remember about her? “Hey, Molly?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you get in touch with Dad about Mom?” I hated being her cash cow, but I didn’t want her running up endless debt either. It’s why I’d taken the watch gig. The print ad work almost exclusively fed my mother’s piggy bank.
“I believe his reaction included the words ‘profligate’ and ‘can of whoop-ass.’”
“But he’s going to deal with her.” Because I couldn’t. Not anymore.
Like a lot of Hollywood kids, I worked while my mother worked the system. She might not have been able to touch my income, but she was always actively looking for an opportunity to profit from my success. Whether gifts came in the form of travel or merchandise, there was always a sweetener. A little something in the deal for Mom.
I thought about quitting.
At one time, I thought about all the ways a person can quit, until Dad put a stop to the feeding frenzy.
“Oh, honey. Never fear,” said Molly. “We’ve got you covered.”
“Thank you.” I stepped out of the bedroom. “What do you think?”
Her mouth fell open. “You look like Zoolander and a Brawny Commercial had a baby. How do you even own those boots?”
“I hike. You know I hike.” I glanced down. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing. I’ve just never seen you wear them. It’s kind of a whole new you. Is this because Wilder’s straight?”
“No!” Did I look weird or something? “I don’t want poison ivy or Lyme disease.”
She tilted her head. “That does make a certain amount of sense.”
“All day we were flitting about the woods as though we were at Boy Scout camp, and I never even thought about poison ivy. Shows how dumb actors are.”
“You were never a Boy Scout.”
“I go camping with Dad. I don’t know why I didn’tthink. I feel like I could have prevented what happened to Maddie and Gina if I’d been paying better attention.”
Her gaze softened. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.”
“They asked me to help them make a TikTok dance video and I thought they were playing me, you know? I thought I’d end up the butt of one of their stupid jokes.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her voice went soft.
