Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) (21 page)

I didn
’
t want Zane taking the blame for
this.
“
That
’
s
mommy
’
s fault. I never told Zane about
you. He just barely found out and he wanted to come meet you as soon as he
heard the news.
”

“
So
why was Grandpa yelling?
”
Dustin
’
s eyes were wide and still seemed
confused.

“
Your
grandpa is really mad at me, Dustin, and he has every right to be,
”
Zane said.
“
I didn
’
t treat your mom the right way and
it hurt her really bad. I didn
’
t mean to hurt her, but I did. Now
that I
’
ve found you both, I
’
d like to fix that and make things
better
—
if your mom and you will let me. Is
that okay with you?
”

I couldn
’
t stop crying as he took all the
blame on himself, leaving Dustin
’
s image of his grandpa intact.
Seeing the two of them together was something I
’
d
always dreamed of but never thought I
’
d live to see. My heart was so full
right now it felt like it might burst.

Dustin looked up at me.
“
He
looks like the guy in the Soldier Force video game.
”

I laughed.
“
I don
’
t
think that
’
s him, but he is an actor.
”

“
Actually,
I am the guy in the Soldier Force video game. I did the voice-over work for the
video and modeled for the character. Did you know that
’
s the next movie I
’
m making? I
’
m playing Captain Jase Dean in
Soldier Force the movie.
”
Zane grinned, looking like a
kid himself. In that moment the resemblance between father and son was so
strong it was uncanny. It was as if I
’
d had nothing to do with the
creation of Dustin. He was the spitting image of Zane, just with shorter hair.

“
You
are? That
’
s so cool!
”
Dustin said, awe filling his eyes.

“
If
it
’
s okay with your mom, maybe you can
spend some days on set with me and watch some of the filming. When I
’
m not shooting scenes we can play
video games together in my trailer. How would you like that?
”

“
That
would be awesome! You live in a trailer?
”

I giggled.
“
No sweetie, that
’
s just where he rests when he
’
s at work
—
kind of like his personal office.
He actually lives downtown in a giant skyscraper on the very top floor.
”

“
You
do? Can we go there?
”
Dustin seemed to be totally
excited.

“
I
’
d be happy to take you there, any
time you want, as long as it
’
s all right with your mom.
”

“
Can
she come, too?
”

Zane glanced up at me.
“
Both
you and your mom are welcome to do anything with me that you want. I just want
to get to spend time with both of you.
”

I wanted to kiss Zane right now. He was handling this
perfectly and I loved seeing the instant connection forming between father and
son.
“
Dustin, why don
’
t you take your dad over to see our
house? You can show him your room and whatever else you want. I
’
ll be over in a minute. I just need
to talk to Grandma real quick first.
”

My poor mom looked like she was still in shock. I
handed Zane my key ring and showed him which one to use.

Straightening, he stared at my mom.
“
For what it
’
s worth, Daphne, I sure am happy to
see both you and Brent again.
”
Reaching up, he rubbed his
cheek.
“
Tell Brent he packs a good punch. I
’
m probably gonna need an icepack.
You can also tell him I know I deserved that hit and a whole lot more. If he
needs to keep hitting me so he can feel better, that
’
s fine with me. But I also need him
to realize this is my family and I
’
m not going anywhere. We
’
ve been apart for too long and I
won
’
t let anything come between us
again. I
’
ve never stopped loving Aubrey,
despite all my mistakes. I intend to make things up to her and Dustin the best
I can
—
with or without your blessing, but
I hope it will eventually be with.
”

“
Zane
.
 
.
 
. I don
’
t know what to say.
”
She seemed totally flustered.

“
You
don
’
t need to say anything. If either Brent
or you want to talk to me, I
’
m happy to do that too, in private.
There
’
s no need to draw anyone else into
it. We can settle this one way or another between ourselves.
”

Her eyes flickered to Dustin and then back to him.
“
I understand. Thank you for the
offer.
”

“
My
pleasure. Let
’
s go see your room, shall we,
kiddo?
”
he said, and Dustin practically
dragged him out the door as he began listing all the things he wanted to show
him.

As soon as they were out of sight, I closed the door
and turned back to my mom.
“
I
’
m
so sorry. I handled that all wrong. I was hoping if Dad didn
’
t know what was happening that he
’
d be too shocked to react. Guess I
was way off base on that.
”

“
Zane
didn
’
t even try to protect himself,
”
Mom replied, still staring at the
door.

“
No,
and he never will. He believes he deserves anything Dad can dish out to him,
which is why we need to talk Dad down. I can
’
t
have this kind of tension going on between them all the time, and Zane can
’
t be walking around with bruises,
especially while filming.
”

“
Your
dad won
’
t touch him again. The surprise is
over. He can work on calming down now. Besides, you heard him. It
’
s not just Zane
’
s treatment of you that has him
fired up. There
’
s a lot of personal pain there for
him. He feels like Zane abandoned all of us.
”

“
He
did,
”
I replied with a heavy sigh.
“
And he feels terrible about it.
”

“
How
’
d you find him?
”
she asked, her curiosity finally
getting the better of her.

“
He
found me, actually. He
’
s been struggling with some
substance abuse issues and he found out I was working at Sunnybrook and was
admitted there. I almost had a heart attack when I realized my patient listed
as John Carpenter on my chart was actually Zane. It
’
s been a very trying time for me
and I wanted to talk to you about it so badly, but I couldn
’
t.
”

“
He
’
s a drug addict?
”
She looked mortified, glancing at
the door as if she might jump up and bolt after Dustin.

“
He
’
s used a lot,
”
I replied honestly.
“
Apparently the way he left the past
between us has been eating him up really bad. I
’
m
certain that
’
s not the only reason, but it was a
large part of it. He turned to substances to try and suppress the pain and it
finally caught up with him.
”

“
Are
you sure it
’
s wise to leave him alone with
Dustin?
”

I grimaced, but understood her reserve.
“
I trust him, Mom. Really, I do. He
’
s been just as brokenhearted as I
have been.
”

“
It
sure doesn
’
t seem that way to me. Not if one
believes the things all over the covers of those rag magazines at the
supermarket.
”

“
When
have those things ever been accurate, Mom?
”

“
Is
he denying being with a parade of women then? Because apparently there
’
s a viral video going around right
now that
—”

“
Mom!
That
’
s enough. Yes, he
’
s struggling with some things, but
he
’
s trying to fix them. I want to let
him. I want to repair my mistake, too. Those two need each other, and I need
both of them. Hopefully Dad and you can figure out some way to forgive him,
because I have, and I
’
m the one he wronged. If something
goes awry now, I will take all the blame, but I
’
ve
always believed people can choose to take their life in a new direction. Yes,
we got sidetracked, but now we have a chance to try and change that and find
the happiness we
’
ve always wanted. I
’
m just asking for you and Dad to
allow us to try and find that place together. Hopefully someday you can find a
way to forgive him, too.
”

She was quiet for several moments before she looked up
at me.
“
Please be careful, Aubrey.
”

“
I
will, Mom. I swear. I know all the signs to watch for. If Zane falls, I
’
ll know. It
’
s my job to know. But you
’
re gonna have to trust me.
”

She nodded, sighing heavily.
“
Then I will try and talk to your
dad.
”

“
Thank
you.
”
She rose and hugged me before
walking me to the door.

“
On
a totally separate note, I can
’
t believe how good looking that kid
has gotten. I know we
’
ve seen him in pictures and movies,
but I think he
’
s better looking in real life than
he is even on the big screen. That
’
s saying something.
”

 
“
He is pretty hot, isn
’
t he?
”
I
replied with a smile.
“
It can be quite distracting,
actually. I swear sometimes I forget what I
’
m
thinking.
”

“
He
probably feels the same about you. The two of you always made such a beautiful
couple together. People are going to think you
’
re
a celebrity also.
”

“
Whatever.
”
I shook my head, laughing.
“
Although I did spend last night
with him on the Red Carpet. He even bought me a Dominic Florin gown, and Chico
Bellefonte himself did my hair and make up! Can you believe it?
”

Eyes widening, she stared at me. She wasn
’
t as into the fashion scene as I
was, but she still knew the names. Everyone knew who those people were.
“
I thought you were at a work
function last night?
”