Page 64 of Before the Encore

Madison held out her hand, and they shook on it, energy buzzing between them, the kind that set every inch of Madison alive with want. She stuck her hands into her pockets to distract herself, determined not to kiss her after the spiel she just spouted.

She held the door open, breath catching as Bonnie cast a lingering glance to her lips.

Damn. She wanted to kiss her.

But first things first.

No matter what happened with Bonnie, she wasn’t going to let the band down. In fact, tonight was going to be their best gig yet. She had a feeling.

But before they jumped back into rehearsal, she had an important matter to attend to: giving Frank the biggest noogie of his stupid life.

Chapter Sixteen

Bonnie

As Bonnie turned onto the long, winding driveway towards Thornberry Lodge, her grip tightened on the wheel. She brought her Audi to a crawl, admiring the manicured hedges and colourful flowers guiding the way. Large rose bushes, peonies, and purple hydrangeas sculpted the grounds, with people already sat on benches under blankets enjoying the rare English sunshine. A carer sitting with a resident waved as she passed. Bonnie returned the greeting with a tight smile, hoping her sunglasses masked her unease. She’d managed to keep her smoothie safe in her stomach so far, but as the large care home came into view, acid burned her throat.

The old manor house possessed buckets of rustic charm with its red-brick walls and tall, white-framed windows. And the gardens—and the surrounding forest—almost gave it a plucked-from-a-storybook feel. Almost.

Inside could be the princess’s castle or the guarded dragon’s keep. Bonnie wouldn’t know which version of her mum she’d find until she stepped through the doors. Yes, she could’ve called ahead, but then she’d be committed to visiting. That was probably why she’d chosen to come alone too. If she’d asked someone else, she couldn’t back out. She didn’t need another person judging her for being a bad daughter; she did that enough by herself.

Her heart kicked up a notch when she spotted her parent’s red Volvo in the car park. Bonnie had bought them the new car after her dad’s decision to move into the care home with her mum. She wanted him to have his independence, but judging by the blossom petals decomposing on the windscreen, it hadn’t had much use.

It’d taken years of battling with him to let Bonnie pay for her mum to have round-the-clock care. Her dad took early retirement, insisting he could cope, but full-time caring exhausted him. Their family home needed too much maintenance, and good days still required watchful eyes. Moments of confusion could spiral into anger and violence quickly, but her stubborn dad didn’t want strangers in their house. One day, Dad had fallen asleep on the sofa and Mum had wandered alone into town. She stepped into the road and got clipped by a car—luckily, the accident happened close to a roundabout and not at high speeds, but a few days in hospital and a broken wrist were enough for him to admit he needed help.

Bonnie parked her car under the shade of the blossom tree and cut the engine. Wind whistled through the branches, birds singing somewhere among the leaves. The care home loomed ahead, sunlight reflecting off the large windows. You can do this. You’re Bonnie Bloom.

But she didn’t move. Goosebumps rippled across her arms; her fingers flexed on the wheel. She wasn’t Bonnie Bloom. Not here.

The front doors opened, and two young men linked arms with an older woman, her wispy hair sticking up in all directions. They shuffled forward slowly before disappearing into the gardens.

Maybe she should come back another day. The care home seemed busy, and she was meeting Madison later. Her stomach tightened at the reminder of another conversation she wasn’t looking forward to. She rubbed her temples, trying to ease some of the stress building. There was one last show, one more day in England. She couldn’t keep putting everything off—even if the urge to run deep into the forest and live in the trees grew more temping by the second. She could spend her days foraging and carving art from the bark—and a diet of dandelions and yarrow must have some benefits, right?

Coward.

Running and avoiding had been her default response ever since…Well, ever since The Pop Factor. Instead of confronting her mentor, Rory Lukris, she’d run away and hid. Maybe if she’d done something, instead of letting so much time pass, it wouldn’t still haunt her. Maybe she’d be able to say his name without feeling sick. Whenever Rory was mentioned, her brain transported her back to that club and tied her up in chains. The helplessness…The embarrassment. She should’ve spoken to him about that night, but Bonnie couldn’t face it. It was easier to ignore him and pretend nothing happened. It might have been his party, but that didn’t mean he had any involvement.

She’d been a coward then, so it seemed nothing much had changed.

I’ll come back tomorrow before my flight.

The engine rumbled to life, and she released the handbrake, slipping the gear into drive.

Thornberry Lodge’s front doors opened again, drawing her eye, and a stone lodged in her throat. Dad, wearing his favourite navy shirt and jeans, dark hair cut short, stepped into the sunshine, linking his arm through Mum’s. He said something to her that made her smile, and Bonnie leaned forward on the wheel, like the air had been pushed out of her. She’s happy. It’s a good day.

Bonnie barely breathed as they shuffled off down the garden path together, their heads disappearing behind one of the manicured privets.

A tear wet her cheek, and she brushed it away, feeling silly.

She couldn’t leave now. Not with her mum’s smile replaying in her mind. It’d already been too long since she’d last seen her. God, has it really been six months?

The engine continued to hum, the radio playing low. She couldn’t leave the car either.

With a sigh, she turned the engine off and pulled out her phone, bringing up her contacts. She clicked on Katy’s name, then remembered it was Saturday, and she and Nathan were out visiting his grandparents today with the kids. She scrolled lower, hovering over Madison’s number.

She did offer yesterday…but asking Madison to visit carried a boatload of additional feelings and complications—it certainly wasn’t included in their schedule with Carmen. She scrolled past her name, scanning the rest of her contacts. A heavy sadness sank into her bones when she realised she didn’t have any other options.

She didn’t want to be alone, so she stabbed Madison’s name and hit call. Each ring echoed in her chest. She pulled her lip between her teeth. Maybe this wasn’t a good—