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Dale was quiet for a moment.
“You know, yesterday, if Greg had told me that, I would have thought it was the end of the world,” he said softly, stroking my cheek in the dark. It hurt a little—it was the one the stepbeast had backhanded me across. But I didn’t tale Dale that.
“Now…” He kissed me, soft, slow, sweet. “My world is very small. Everything else can fall away. You’re all that matters.”
I knew exactly how he felt.
Dale said we wouldn’t sleep, but we did, wrapped up in each other, both of us holding on to the one thing that mattered—each other.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The news was out by the time the car dropped us at home.
“I’m so sorry, son.” John hugged Dale the minute we got in the door. “I called Tyler, left him a message. We’ll straighten this out. What a mess!”
“Thanks, Dad.” Dale met my eyes over John’s shoulder. So sad. He’d done everything he could to keep this secret from the man who raised him and now the whole world knew.
I hugged John tight and smiled when he kissed the top of my head and said, “Welcome home.” We’d decided not to tell him about the stepbeast. Not now. Chelsea had talked to the cops and they all agreed it was best to keep Dale’s name out of any reports. The story of the stepbeast’s assault was fourth page news. Tyler Vincent and Dale Diamond, on the other hand, were front and center.
“Are you hungry?” John asked. “I can make you something…”
“Pancakes?” I asked hopefully.
“You got it.” He gave me a wink. “Go put your stuff away. It will be good to have you home for a while.”
A whole week. And Black Diamond was still playing shows at night. Then the tour would move up the coast, through New Hampshire, ending in Maine. Dale carried his bag and mine up the stairs. I opened the door to his room and he dropped the bags on the floor, leaping onto the bed with a groan. I laughed and flopped next to him.
“A real bed!” I exclaimed. “Oh bed, I missed you, bed.”
“I think we need to check the springs.” Dale sat, bouncing a little. “Just to make sure.”
I wagged a finger at him. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Hi you guys.”
I looked over at the open door, startled to see Chrissy standing there. I prepared myself for an onslaught.
Instead, she came in, shutting the door behind her, and said quietly, “I have to tell you something.”
Then she burst into tears. Dale looked at me, stunned. Then back at his sister. I just shrugged. I had no idea who this new Chrissy was or what she’d done with the old one.
“It’s all my fault,” she said, coming over to sit on the bed. Dale moved, making room for her between us. “But I swear to God, I didn’t know he was a reporter!”
She’d met him at the mall. He seemed interested in Dale, wanted to talk about him a lot, but she figured he was just curious about her family. She claimed she was as surprised as anyone else when the story came out and she was listed as an “unidentified source.”
“I didn’t mean it,” she sobbed. “I swear I didn’t mean it to come out. I thought he was just…interested…”
“He was interested all right.” Dale sighed, putting an arm around her shoulder. “Hey. Come on, it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” She leaned against him, shaking her head. “Tyler is going to do something… bad.”
Dale snorted. “What?”
“Mom said if it ever got out… he had a plan. Some sort of plan.” She met her brother’s eyes and she really looked scared. “She said it would ruin everything.”
“Mom said that?” Dale frowned, looking over at me. I shrugged. I didn’t trust this new Chrissy—if past behavior was any indication of future behavior, she was up to something.
“She said if I ever confronted him with the truth, he’d do… something.”
