“I think so,” Claire said, looking dazed.
“Mom! Stop.” Sara stepped forward and pulled Claire away from Rose. “She has a life here. A good, normal life. She’s not going to California or anywhere with you. Leave her alone.”
“Just because you crashed and burned...” her mother began.
At the same time Claire asked, “Don’t you think I’m good enough?”
Sara squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the sharp stab of pain Rose’s words caused. She focused on Claire. “Honey, of course you’d be amazing. That’s not the point. It isn’t all fun and glamour. It’s not a good place sometimes. There are a lot of bad people in show business.” She threw a glare at Rose. “People who only care about themselves.”
“Maybe it would give me something in common with my mom. If I was famous she might come be with me instead of...” Her voice trailed off and she swiped under her eyes.
“Oh, Claire.” Sara enveloped in her in a tight hug. “Why are you doing this?” she asked her mother over Claire’s shoulder.
Rose smiled sweetly. “I came here today to talk to you about this house. Richard wants to stay in Colorado until you decide to sell. I need a something to keep me busy. Claire is a lovely girl. Maybe she’s it.”
Sara’s throat tightened. “Leave her alone, Mom.”
“You know how to get rid of me,” Rose said softly, and tapped the corner of the bed where a stack of paperwork sat. “Are you ready to sign?”
Sara swallowed against the lump of regret balled in her throat. She’d spent years avoiding Rose, and now she wanted nothing more than to get rid of her mother. But not at the expense of her grandmother’s dream. Selling would be simple and give her the money she desperately needed to repay April and get her own second chance.
Yet what would it cost her soul?
She’d given up on so much in her life, compromised her hopes and values to make life easier. She was done running from the hard stuff or letting other people bully her. If nothing else, being in Colorado had made her see that she could live life on her own terms. She had something to contribute. Her mother wasn’t going to rob her of that so soon.
“I’m not selling, Mom. Not now. Not to Richard.”
Rose’s delicately arched eyebrows lifted. “Well, then—”
“And you’re not spending any more time here. I want you to leave.”
“This was my childhood home, Sara.” Rose dabbed at the corner of one eye.
“You hated it here. Counted the moments until you could leave. I know the story by heart, so don’t try to change it.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed briefly. “You always were an ungrateful child,” she said on a huff of breath. “Because of me you had every opportunity to succeed.”
“Because of you I didn’t have a childhood.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Serena.”
“I quit being dramatic years ago, Mother. Now I’m trying for normal.”
“Normal is boring.”
“I’ll take that, too.”
Rose made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. She wrapped one arm around Claire’s small shoulders. “I’m so looking forward to getting to know you better, dear,” she said, and flashed a smile at Sara. “I’ll make a few calls to agents this week, then see if I can find a decent photographer to do some head shots of you. I bet the camera will love you the way it does your mother.”
“That would be great.”
Sara opened her mouth to argue but before she could get a word out, Josh appeared next to her. “There won’t be any photographers or agents for my daughter, Ms. Wells.” His voice was controlled, but Sara could see a muscle tick in his jaw.
Her mother’s smile broadened. “Mr. Travers, how nice of you to join us. Have you been listening from the hallway?”
“Long enough to know this discussion is finished, ma’am. And I’d appreciate if you’d stop filling my daughter’s head with your celebrity mumbo-jumbo.”
“She has star potential,” Rose cooed.
“I believe Sara asked you to leave.”
“Daddy, don’t be rude,” Claire said, crossing her arms across her chest. “Sara’s mom wants to help me.”
“You don’t need her kind of help.”
Tears welled in Claire’s wide eyes. “You don’t understand anything,” she yelled, and tore past Josh, her angry footfalls echoing from the stairs.
Rose pressed her soft pink lips together. “Well, that’s unfortunate. How do you think her mother would feel about a chance at Claire making it in the big time?”
Josh felt his blood turn from boiling to ice-cold. He knew exactly how Jennifer would feel—thrilled about an opportunity to meet bigger Hollywood A-listers and score better drugs. While Claire’s mother was still one of the most beautiful women in the world, she’d lately gotten more press for her partying than her photo spreads. She’d even lost her contract as the face of one of the big cosmetic companies because of her extracurricular activities.
The only saving grace was that the further she spiraled out of control, the less Jennifer took an interest in Claire. Josh planned to go back to court and file for sole custody once the ranch was stable and profitable. He didn’t figure Jen would fight him, but that would change if she thought Claire was useful to her.
He took a step toward Rose. “Stay away from my daughter and out of my family’s business,” he commanded, not trying to hide his anger.
To her credit, the older woman didn’t flinch. “It’s too bad you’re building your business in a house that should rightfully belong to me.” She tapped one finger against her mouth, a slight smile playing at her lips. “Claire really is lovely. Plus she has a budding flair for the dramatic. I like that in a girl.”
Sara moved in front of him before he could wrap his hands around Rose’s birdlike throat. “Enough, Mother. The house belongs to me. I’m telling you to leave. Now.”
Rose backed away, palms up. “I can take a hint, honey. But I’ll be back. One way or another, mark my words.”
“This isn’t The Terminator, Mom.” Sara leaned in and said softly, “Are you so desperate to keep your boyfriend that you’ll stoop this low this to get what you want? I always thought you had a replacement guy waiting in the wings. I guess things get tougher as you age. How sad.”
Josh watched Rose’s perfectly bronzed cheeks turn a deep shade of pink. “I don’t know what I did to deserve such an awful daughter,” she said with a sputter. “I gave up everything for you and this is how you repay me? You were a horrible, colicky baby and a demanding child. You couldn’t even make something of the career I practically gift wrapped for you. Does it make you happy to watch your own mother struggle when we both know you could help me if you wanted to? You make me sick.”
He saw Sara’s sharp intake of breath as Rose stormed past them both, slamming the door shut in her wake.
“Okay, then,” Sara whispered after several moments, her back still to him. “That was fun and a great trip down memory lane.” She said the last with a laugh that caught in her throat and turned into a strangled sob.
Josh reached for her and slowly turned her so she was facing