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“You better treat her right,” one of the women said to him. “She deserves to be treated like a queen. Don’t disappoint us.”
“My goal is to never disappoint,” Sawyer said. He glanced at Piper, who raised a brow. It was nice to hear someone defend her for once today.
As the girls made their way to the candy bar, there was a commotion at the door. A security guard argued with Faith, preventing her from entering the room.
“I have an all-access pass. He’s my brother, for goodness’ sake!”
“She’s family, Kyle. Let her come on in,” Piper said. These guards didn’t even know the good guys from the bad guys.
Faith’s face was flushed and her eyes focused on her brother. Sawyer stepped around Piper to meet Faith halfway. “What’s wrong?”
“You need to come with me. Right now,” she said, grabbing his arm.
“We’re almost done. Can you wait a couple minutes? What’s the matter?”
The door opened again and the woman from Thornberry’s came in, dragging Dean behind her. “You all act like you’re protecting the gosh darn president! Let me through!”
The hair stood up on the back of Piper’s neck. She ran over to Sawyer and pulled him back. How in the world had she gotten backstage?
Sawyer’s body went rigid. Piper watched as the bodyguards tackled the woman to the ground. Arena staff and security flooded the room. Hunter rushed in and stood beside Dean, but both did nothing but gape at the scene unfolding in front of them.
As the woman screamed, Faith tried to pull the men off her. “Let her go! Get your hands off her. Dean, tell them to stop!”
Piper’s panic skyrocketed. Faith was trying to help the woman who was here to do heaven knew what. It was hard to breathe.
“That’s the woman from Thornberry’s,” Piper gasped. “Why is your sister helping her?”
Sawyer was frozen. His eyes fixed on the thrashing woman on the ground. One of the guards lifted Faith off her feet and tried to carry her away from the melee. Dean snapped out of his stupor and demanded that Faith be released.
“Sawyer, do something. Tell them to stop,” Faith pleaded.
“What is happening?” Piper asked as Heath shouted for someone to call 911.
Sawyer took Piper by the hand. A mix of confusion and horror contorted his features. His breathing was as labored as hers. He licked his lips and swallowed hard. Turning his head, he looked Piper in the eye.
“I think that’s my mom.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE LAST TIME Sawyer had seen his mother, he was four years old. He’d gone to bed like always, figuring in the morning she would be there to make him breakfast and read him his favorite stories about wild horses that no one could break.
Only that next morning, his mom had not been in the kitchen cooking up eggs and bacon. She hadn’t been in the laundry room, folding his dad’s flannel shirts and jeans. She hadn’t been out in the barn, feeding the horses or mucking the stalls. She was gone and she never came back.
“Sawyer, tell them to let her go,” Faith said again. “She’s our mother.”
Heath would have none of it. “Don’t you dare let her go,” he warned the guard pinning her on the floor. “Mitch, help me get Piper out of here.”
Mitch and Heath stood on either side of her and led her out, leaving Sawyer standing in the center of the room with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Faith got away from the bodyguard holding her and ran over to their mother. She pushed the guard away and helped the woman to her feet.
“We’ll take her to Sawyer’s dressing room,” Faith said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Sawyer’s feet were cemented to the ground. He couldn’t follow as they left the room with Dean. The small group of fans there for the meet and greet cowered in a corner. Lana tried to apologize to them, but it was clear she was at a complete loss for what to do beyond that.
Hunter came over and placed a hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s go to your dressing room.” He tugged on Sawyer’s shirtsleeve.
“How did this happen? Where in the world did she come from and how did she get back here?” Sawyer asked as they walked down the hall.
