“I don’t think so, Isaac. You guys need your time…” she trailed off, shaking her head.
“Time? When do we not spend time together?” I paused for a second, contemplating what I had just said. “Never mind, that was a rhetorical question. But that’s not the point. Tay has Megan with him, and you’re the only person I can think of who can help me cope with being on the road.”
“What about Zac?” she asked.
“What about Zac?”
“Won’t he feel awkward? Isn’t Reagan leaving tomorrow?” she reminded me. I shrugged.
“That’s not helping your case, Ms. Harvard Law School Grad. You are a bigger comfort to Zac than Taylor and I put together. Yeah, think of it like that. You’re not going on tour for me, but for Zac,” I explained hopefully. Willow finally smiled at me, defeated. I couldn’t help but feel my heart jump a little.
“I don’t know, I’m still new here and my boss might not let me…”
I jumped out of the seat in excitement. “There’s no way he won’t let you! You represent us, Hanson, and if we feel that we need you to be with us, then he can’t tell us no. He needs our business. Now will you please just accept?” I demanded. Willow couldn’t help but laugh a little at my determination, but she finally nodded.
“Okay, I’ll tour with you,” she agreed. I grinned and went over to give her a hug.
“This will be great. It’s almost like vacation, but not, you know?”
“No, not really. But I’ll find out, I guess,” Willow laughed.
“Good show,” she commented, grinning at us.
“Where did Will go?” Zac asked, sitting down on the couch across the room. Megan shrugged.
“Tour bus maybe? I’m not sure,” she answered. I looked at Zac absently for a moment. He really had clung on to Willow the past few weeks we’d been on tour, much like he had when he was younger. Losing Reagan really had taken a toll on him, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get over it completely or not.
“I am starving… let’s go get some pizza or something,” Taylor suggested. I agreed, feeling my stomach grumble from lack of nutrients. Meg took Taylor’s hand as they headed towards the door, and I looked back at Zac.
“Are you gonna come with us?” I asked him. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, I’m good, thanks. I think I’ll go find Will and just hang out or something,” he replied. I frowned a little.
“I think you should come, it would be good for you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. Thanks. Have a good time,” he insisted, his voice sounding slightly testy. I shrugged and turned to walk away. Out in the hallway, I hurried to catch up with Taylor and Megan and our bodyguard, Jason. I nearly collided with Willow when I rounded a corner on my way to the back exit.
“Hey, where are you going?” she asked, smiling.
“Just our for some pizza with Tay and Meg. I would invite you, but Zac seems to have claimed you for the evening,” I told her with a slight grin. Willow’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, ok. I’m being traded off, I see. Well, don’t get too jealous…” she teased, then waved and then headed off towards the dressing room where Zac was.
“How are you feeling?” Willow asked, sitting in a chair beside me in the dressing room. I closed my eyes and sighed, hanging my head over the back of my chair.
“Miserable, thanks. How about you?” I replied.
“Not too well, actually. One of my friends is going through a rough time right now and there’s nothing I can do to make things easier for him,” she admitted. I opened my eyes a little and smiled at her.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure your friend knows how much you care, and I’m sure he realizes just how lucky he is to have a friend as caring as you are,” I told her. Willow smiled and took my hand, giving it a little squeeze. Then she gave me a secretive little grin.
“You know, I was just looking over the tour itinerary, and we’re going to Columbus, Ohio in three days,” she stated knowingly. I shrugged a little.
“So?”
“So… I have a little ‘day trip’ planned for us.”
I gave her a suspicious look. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing, just a little drive outside the city. I do believe our presence is requested at the home of…oh, what’s her name?” Will paused dramatically to think, a smile spreading across her face. “Oh that’s right. Kathryn St. Pierre?”
“You’re kidding me!” I exclaimed, getting up out of my chair. “That’s Reagan’s aunt’s house.”
“Oh, is it? I was unaware of that…” Willow teased, standing up also. “Well, what a coincidence.”
“Wait, our presence is requested there? Meaning me too?” I asked.
“Well, no, not exactly. But Kathryn doesn’t have to know that you’re there. I can take Reagan on a walk or a drive and oh, well what about that, somehow we could all be in the same place at the same time. Imagine that.”
“You would do this for me?” I asked her anxiously. Willow smiled and nodded.
“Who am I to get in the way of love if given a chance to reunite it?” she answered, and I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly and nearly lifting her off of the floor.
“You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met! I can’t believe it…” I said, finally letting go of her. I couldn’t stop my smile from nearly breaking my face. “Wait, how did you know where she lives? I didn’t even know what part of Ohio she lived in.”
The secretive smile returned to Willow’s face. “I never reveal my sources… although I can remind you that I have friends in high places and I managed to pull a few strings…”
“Thank you so much,” I said, giving her another suffocating hug. “You have no idea what this mean to me.”
“I don’t know, I think I can guess a little,” Will said, smiling at me.
“I can’t believe you’re here. Did my parents give you the address?” Reagan asked. I smiled at hearing the sound of her voice.
“No, but I have other sources,” Willow answered.
“It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad to see a familiar face. I really miss everyone in Tulsa.”
“And we miss you. Some more than others, as you can probably guess.”
“How is everyone doing?” Reagan questioned. The voices were getting closer.
“They’re all fine. Megan is feeling better, Tay is happy to be back on tour, Ike is still...well, he’s Ike,” Will answered with a laugh.
“And Zac? How is he?” Reagan asked. The footsteps stopped, and I mentally prepared myself to step out of my hiding spot and see them.
“Zac is struggling…” Willow answered slowly.
“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one,” I stated, joining them on the road. Reagan turned to me with a look of surprise, and her eyes lit up. Willow smiled and stepped back, watching our little reunion. I stepped over to Reagan and grinned at her. “Hey babe, you miss me?”
“You have no idea…” Reagan trailed off, throwing her arms around my neck. I grinned at Willow over Reagan’s shoulder and she winked at me, then headed off down the road to meet up with Isaac at a café where we were all going to meet later. Reagan pulled away a little to look up at me, and smiled. I took her hand and led her back to the little patch of tress where I had been before, where we could be hidden from view of the street and spend time together in peace.
“I couldn’t wait that long,” Zac answered with a smile, holding my hand and kissing my fingertips. “All thanks really goes to Willow. She set this all up. I didn’t even know where to begin to look for you.”
“We owe her one big time,” I agreed.
“Big enough to make her Godmother, even,” Zac blurted. I gave him a thoughtful look.
“Do you really want to?”
“Want to what?”
“Duh, Zac, do you even listen to yourself when you talk?” I teased, bumping his shoulder gently. “Do you really want to ask Willow to be the baby’s Godmother?”
“Yeah, I think that would be nice. It’s up to you,” he replied. I nodded a little, thinking the idea over in my mind. I felt Zac let go of my hand and slip his hand slowly onto my flat stomach. “How are you doing? I’ve only been around my mom and my aunts when they were pregnant, but this is different.”
“How?”
“I want to be more involved,” he answered truthfully. I smiled and put my hand over his.
“I want you to be too,” I agreed. Then I sighed a little. “So if we want to start sharing the duties here, I’ll give you the morning sickness, and the stretch marks, and the mood swings, and the labor pain…”
I trailed off laughing when Zac shook his head. “No no no, that’s not exactly what I meant,” he stated.
“I know.”
“How about holding your hair when you get morning sickness, telling you you’re beautiful despite the stretch marks, putting up with the mood swings with minimal complaint, and holding your hand during the labor pains?” he suggested. I smiled and rested my head in the crook of his shoulder.
"That sounds fine,” I replied. We sat there quietly for a little while, just sitting together and holding hands, catching up on time lost over the past month. Finally, I sighed again. “Zac? Will you come back and visit me here soon?”
“As soon as the tour is over, I’m gonna look into staying up here until we can go home together,” he answered. I looked up at him cautiously.
“Really?”
“Yeah… don’t act so surprised. Where else would I want to be?” he questioned, hugging me tightly against him with one arm. I smiled and leaned up to kiss him.
“I’m glad. I knew deep down that we wouldn’t be apart for long,” I whispered. His eyes sparkled as he kissed me again, and we heard somebody clearing their throat behind us. Startled, we split apart and looked over to see Taylor standing there, an embarrassed half smile on his face.
“Excuse me for interrupting, but isn’t that the start of what’s gotten you into this whole mess?” he joked lightly. Zac held up his hands innocently.
“Hey, I didn’t do anything,” he insisted. I smirked.
“That’s not fair, you played a fair share in this. I do believe you were there too,” I insisted, and Zac grinned. Tay made a face.
“Okay, I don’t think I needed to hear that, so I’m going to ignore it. Anyway, your aunt just called Willow’s cell phone and wants you to come home,” he said. Zac and I exchanged sad looks, but I knew that I had to go. We stood up and brushed grass clippings off our clothes, then followed Tay out to the street to meet with Willow and Isaac. Ike smiled and gave me a hug.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“I'm good, if not a little homesick,” I answered truthfully.
“You’ll be home sooner than you know it,” he stated. I nodded, then turned to hug Zac goodbye.
“Please come back for me,” I whispered, holding him tightly.
“I will,” he promised.
“Come on, Ike. They’ll believe your reasons. They trust you,” Zac insisted.
“Exactly, which is why I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that trust,” I explained to him. He looked disappointed, but Taylor sat forward from his seat on the couch in the tour bus.
“Well, you could always tell mom and dad you’re moving there for a girl, which isn’t all a lie because Reagan is a girl,” he said thoughtfully. Zac’s eyes lit up again.
“Exactly. That’s right. You’re moving there for a girl, and 5 months down the line things just don’t work out and you decide to move back,” he added, getting more and more excited. I narrowed my eyes at Taylor.
“Gee, thanks for your help,” I said flatly. He shrugged.
“I’m just trying to help both sides here. Zac will get to see Reagan and you won’t have to lie to mom and dad. Besides, I know a few people in Columbus, I’m sure we could hook you up with some girls there. Then it really wouldn’t be a lie,” he told me. I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“I don’t need to be ‘hooked up’ with any girls, thank you,” I replied shortly. Taylor sighed softly.
“Isaac, Isaac… when are you going to see the light? This thing you have for Willow is really holding you back. It’s obvious that you two are only going to be friends. That’s all she wants, so that’s all it will be. Period.”
“You give up so easily,” I commented, opening my eyes and giving him a nasty look. “I’m not giving up like that only to turn my back on opportunity.”
Taylor shook his head a little, but didn’t say anything. Zac started waving his hand in front of us impatiently. “Excuse me, but can we get back to me now please? We need to figure this plan all out.”
“Well, see, there’s this girl there, and…” I trailed off with a shrug, hoping that I wouldn’t have to explain anymore. Dad still looked skeptical. “I met her there during tour and we really hit it off, and I want to spend a little more time there getting to know her.”
“Just how long are you planning on staying there?”
“I don’t know. A few months at first, I guess. If things work out, maybe longer,” I answered, feeling myself stumble over the words a little. I couldn’t believe I was doing this.
“I don’t know about this, Ike. Ohio is really far to go for a girl…” he stated, shaking his head. “But if you really feel the need to do this, then go ahead.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised that he had accepted it so easily. He nodded and I looked at mom, but she wasn’t smiling. Something in her eyes told me that she wasn’t so easily accepting, and I swallowed thickly before looking away. My mother always had a sixth sense about her children, and she knew when something just wasn’t right. “Right, okay. So, I’m gonna go tell Zac. Maybe he could stay with me for the first few months, to help the transition or something.”
“That would make me feel a little better, yes,” dad agreed. I managed to smile a little before going upstairs into Zac and Mackie’s room. Zac was waiting impatiently, sitting on his bed and fidgeting with his Discman. Mackie was lying on his bed doing homework.
“Hey Mac, you wanna excuse us for a second? I gotta talk to Zac,” I said to my youngest brother.
“We’re family, whatever it is that you have to say to Zac can be said to me as well,” he replied, not looking up from his notebook. I went over and closed his text book, and he looked up at me with annoyance. I gave him a pointed look, and he sighed. “Fine, whatever. It’s not like this is my room or anything.”
“Thanks, Mac,” I said, waiting until he was out of the room before looking Zac. He gave me a hopeful look, and I nodded. He grinned.
“Oh my God, you are the coolest person in the world. I can’t believe this…” he trailed off, laughing a little. He jumped off his bed and started pacing around the room. “Ok, we gotta pack, I have to get Will to call Reagan and tell her what’s going on… When are we leaving?”
“Calm down a minute, Zac. Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked hesitantly, and Zac stopped walking to give me a serious look.
“Of course,” he answered without even having to think. “I would do anything to be with Reagan. I love her.”
He went back to walking around, making plans in his head and muttering a little. I chewed on my bottom lip as I watched him. “That’s what’s bothering me,” I whispered under my breath.
“Nothing. I was just asked to drop these contracts off with you,” he replied, placing a stack of papers on the corner of my desk. I gave him a confused look at I flipped through the papers.
“Contracts for what?” I asked. He shook his head.
“I have no idea. I was just told to deliver them to you,” was all he answered. He backed up to leave, but paused in front of the door.
“Forgive me for asking, but are…how are things with the Hanson clients?” he asked. I shrugged a little as I looked back down at the papers in front of me.
“Fine, why?”
“No reason, I was just curious. They seemed really adamant about getting you this job as their lawyer,” he stated.
“Well, they’re friends of mine from way back. I didn’t ask them to get this job for me, but I’m not complaining either,” I explained to him. He nodded slightly, and I narrowed my eyes a little. “Why, is something wrong?”
“No, no, of course not,” he insisted quickly, then grabbed the doorknob and pulled it closed behind him. I stared after him, shaking my head in confusion for a moment before going back to my work. Later that evening, as I was leaving, I couldn’t help but notice that Alex was definitely watching me leave. I looked over and made eye contact with him and smiled, but he looked away quickly. I couldn’t help but feel a little curious at his actions, but just shrugged them off as I started the drive to the Hanson’s house.
“Hi honey, how is work going?” Diana Hanson greeted me when I let myself into her kitchen in Tulsa. I gave her a tired smile, and she laughed. “Oh, I’ve seen that face before.”
“It’s more work than I anticipated,” I admitted to her. She nodded sympathetically as she put a casserole into the oven.
“I understand completely. That’s how I felt about the whole music business thing when the boys first started. I couldn’t believe all of the things that they had to do! I got tired even thinking about it all,” she told me. I grinned.
“I remember, quite well,” I agreed. I grabbed an apple out of a basket of fruit on the table, and she shot me a disapproving glance. I raised my eyebrows innocently. “What?”
“Don’t ruin your appetite,” she reprimanded. “I’m making casserole, and I am expecting you to stay for dinner.”
“No argument on my part.” I laughed, then put the apple back into the basket. It was nice to feel like “one of the kids” again, like I had been before when I was younger. Diana had always treated me like another of her children.
“That’s what I thought you’d say,” Diana teased. “And by the way, Isaac will be joining us as well.”
I raised my eyebrows again, this time in suspicion. “Oh really?” She nodded, and I gave her a suspicious look. “How convenient.”
“Well, this is his family, and yours too of course. I just thought we’d like to all have dinner together tonight…” She trailed off, giving me an innocent look.
“Really? So Zac, Taylor, and Megan are coming too?” I asked. Diana looked thoughtful for a moment. A half smile crept onto my face. “Diana…?”
“Actually, I don’t think they are coming. Something came up…” She shook her head and looked away, but I could tell that something was up. Still not entirely convinced of her innocence in the matter, I stood up and walked over to the counter.
“Can I help you with anything?” I offered. She smiled and nodded, then shoved a cutting board at me. I helped her cut cucumbers and tomatoes to put in a salad, noticing that there wasn’t much food, considering that the dinner was being prepared for 7 people. “Diana, is this all you’re making…?”
“Hello?” A voice called from the front hall. A pleased look crossed Diana’s face.
“Oh good, Isaac is here!” she exclaimed, then wiped her hands on a dish towel before hurrying out of the kitchen, leaving me with my suspicions. I went back to cutting vegetables until the voices in the hall got louder. I looked over my shoulder at the doorway to see Isaac following Diana back into the kitchen. He looked surprised when he saw me.
“Oh, hey Will, I didn’t know you were coming over for dinner,” he stated. I smiled a little.
“Neither did I,” I agreed, giving Diana a pointed look. She ignored me, grinning at her son, before suddenly looking surprised.
“Oh my gosh, I just remembered that we were invited to a friend’s house for dinner tonight!” she said, putting a hand to her forehead. Her act did not fly over my head, although Isaac seemed to buy it.
“Oh, well, do you want me to come back over some other night this week?” he asked. I smirked as Diana shook her head.
“No, no, no, you stay. I made all this food…” she trailed off, finally looking me in the eyes. She smiled innocently as Walker poked his head into the room.
“Are we ready to go?” he asked, then looked around and noticed Isaac and I. “Oh, hey guys. Are you both coming with us?”
“Uh-” Isaac started.
“No, they’re staying here. I’m ready to go though. Are the kids in the car?” Diana rushed out of the room, hurrying her husband along the way. Ike gave me a confused look.
“Ok…” he trailed off. Diana stuck her head back into the kitchen, then smiled at me.
“We’re going now. You two have a good dinner. Don’t worry about cleaning up,” she insisted. Then she disappeared just as quickly. Isaac still looked confused, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation Diana had set us up in.
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