Fifteen Minutes

it? Her all-consuming pursuit of those things was the reason she and Cal had fallen apart, the cause for the break in her relationship with her dad.

It was the reason that tonight she sat alone in her multimillion-dollar New York flat while her kids took their baths and shared bedtime reading with Cal two hours away. What would become of them? Her mother was right about childhood. The time didn’t last. One day all too soon her kids would be teenagers, and then what? Paparazzi would catch them slipping into bars with other celebrity kids, sleeping with people they barely knew, probably far older than them. They would spend their lives chasing the same stardom that had always defined their mother.

Was that what the future held for her kids?

Kelly had barely eaten dinner that night, and now she felt sick to her stomach. Kai and Kinley, her babies. They would probably reach high school age and give interviews to People magazine about how they hated their mother, how she had chosen fame over playing with them.

Tears fell onto Kelly’s cheeks and a series of quiet sobs began to build. From this view she didn’t feel like the luckiest girl in America. She didn’t want to spend another hour with her trainer or get up early for another shot of Botox. She couldn’t see an end to her fame. But she could feel something she hadn’t felt before tonight.

The prison walls.

More tears poured down her face, and she did nothing to stop them. Chandra had said she didn’t really have friends. Wasn’t the same true for her? Tonight she should’ve been reading to Kai and Kinley, helping them get ready for bed. Talking to her husband about how they’d fallen so far from the people they used to be.

Kelly could barely breathe for the sobs that choked her. She realized as she wept that for the first time since she could remember she wasn’t worried about whether her eyes would be swollen in the morning.

She was lonely and broken and worried about her heart. Her kids. Worried about her future. Her life.

How terrible that she hadn’t talked to her parents in forty-eight hours. Her dad’s situation wasn’t stable. She was about to open her computer again and check her e-mail, see if her parents had updated her on her father’s condition, when her cell phone rang.

The sound made Kelly jump. As she answered it she caught a glimpse of the caller ID. It was her mother. “Mom!” She sounded awful, her nose stuffy. “I was just thinking about all of you. How’s Dad?”

“Honey . . .” Her mom clearly had been crying, too. “He’s worse. He has an infection.” She paused. “His fever is very high.”

Panic pulsed through Kelly. She was on her feet, pacing, pushing her fingernails through her hair. “What . . . what happened?”

“We don’t know. The ambulance came.” Her voice broke. “I can’t lose him. Please . . . can you come? He’s . . . he’s in trouble.”

“Dear God, no.” She whispered the words as more tears blurred her eyes. She wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t ready to say good-bye to her daddy. Not yet.

“Kelly?”

“I’m sorry.” She fought through her sorrow. “Yes, I can come. Of course. I’ll find a way. I’ll see if the show’s private jet can get me there before sunrise.”

Her mom told her the details, which hospital, which room. “Cal’s already here. He has the kids.”

“Right.” The kids! Kelly felt dazed. She finished the call and dropped to her knees at the edge of the sofa. Kelly had completely forgotten about Kai and Kinley going with Cal to Greenville this weekend. Cal had arranged the visit through Kelly’s manager. Rudy had shot a quick e-mail to Kelly explaining that Cal wanted the kids to have as much time as possible with their grandparents. Kelly felt horrified. Until her mother’s call she had completely forgotten where they were. What sort of mother did that make her?

The tears came harder and she collapsed over the edge of the sofa. For the first time in too many years, more than her next heartbeat she cared about just one thing.

“Dear God. Jesus . . .” she prayed out loud. Spoke His name out loud. And though the words sounded foreign, a peace fell like rain around her. “I need to get home. I . . . I have to be with my family. Please . . . help my dad. Help me get there in time.” She was shaking, overcome by the strangest mix of emotions. A peace like she’d never known and a fear big enough to consume her.

“Is it too late for me, God?” The sobs kept coming. “I turned my back on You.” She squeezed her eyes shut, her fists pressed to her face. “Stubborn pride.” Anger strangled her voice. Who had she become? Celebrity was nothing but a snare. Running after a body and Botox and a boyfriend barely out of college. What had she been thinking? “Plain old stupid. That’s all it was, God.” Sadness and frustration came in waves, fury at her years of selfishness.

All of it consumed her until she had no more tears to cry.

The urgency of her father’s situation drew her back to her feet. She found her phone and called Samuel Meier. “There’s been an emergency.”

And like that pieces fell into place. An hour later Kelly flew out of LaGuardia on the Fifteen Minutes private jet. Three hours after that she rushed through the front door of the hospital, up the elevator to the seventh-floor intensive care unit. She found the waiting room and there they were.

Kai and Kinley and Cal.

The kids looked sad and tired but mostly confused. When they saw her they ran to her, their eyes flooded with relief. Mommy was here. All was right with their world. Kelly stooped down and hugged both of them. What was she thinking, missing so much time with them? She had no answers for herself. As she stood, empty and exhausted, Cal came to her. Their eyes met and in a single heartbeat there was no broken relationship, no affairs or unkind words, no years of estrangement.

“Kelly . . . I’m sorry.” His eyes were red, his cheeks tearstained. He loved her dad as much as she did.

“No. It’s my fault.” She stared at the floor, struggling. When she looked up, his eyes held a love she’d forgotten. She took a step closer. “I’m so sorry, Cal.”

They came together in a hug that only a husband and wife could share, close, connected in body, heart, mind, and soul. Never mind what had happened or where things might go from here. She had no real answers, and whatever they decided none of it would be easy. But here and now with their kids sitting nearby, the hug was the most right thing in the world. They stayed that way for a full minute, not speaking.

Because for the first time in a long time, no words were needed.

chapter 22

A strange uneasiness had become part of Reese’s existence. The feeling woke her up each morning and breathed fear against her while she showered and curled her hair. It was something she couldn’t shake even in the happy moments each morning with her parents. The uneasiness sat strangely next to her in the car on the way to work and shared a saddle with her while she helped Toby and AJ at the Lowell Therapeutic Equestrian Center. AJ was feeling better, her serious symptoms gone for the time being.

But even that didn’t help the way Reese felt.

Especially today when the first live performance of Fifteen Minutes would air in a little over an hour. She parked in front of Zack’s house and skipped up the stairs. She wore white shorts and a light blue T-shirt. Her face and arms were tanned from being on her horse, and humidity made the back of her neck damp. Still, despite the smoldering heat something cold ran through her blood. She hesitated before knocking, leaning her forehead against the Dylans’ front door. Her heart pounded in her chest.

Please, God . . . I don’t want to feel this way. If something’s going on with Zack, if You’re trying to warn me, then make it clear. Otherwise, please give me peace.

As she started to knock, Grandpa Dan opened the door. “Well, hello.” He leaned on his cane, his smile kind, gentle. “It’s the big night.”

“Yes.” She stepped in and hugged him. “You excited?”

Grandpa Dan looked as troubled as Reese felt. “I’m not sure.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “What about you?”