Don't Shoot the "Messenger", Ch. 6

         “Absolutely Not!” He was livid. He loved his daughter, but there was no way in hell she was going to share a bedroom with Cole Thornhart.

        “Dad, it’s been over a year. I miss him.”

        “You can keep right on missing him.“

        “Dad, be reasonable. You’re the one who invited him here. You knew we were living together before the trouble, I don’t see why you’re getting all hot about it now.” Even as she said it, Starr wished she could make the words disappear. One look at her father’s face told her she had just made a very big mistake. She had seen this anger only once before in her life; it was the day her father discovered the black widow spider crawling toward Baby Jack’s hand.

        Todd had gotten very still and there was no mistaking the cold anger settling on his face. “Would you care to repeat that!” It was said softly but with such menace Starr wondered if Pete had come out. She had been right in her father’s face and his tone and expression caused her to suddenly back away.

        Blair had been trying to stay out of the conversation. She had warned Starr a while ago that she should have told her father everything about Cole, but Starr had insisted that there was no need for her dad to know about she and Cole living together since Cole was in Statesville. She had only been listening half-heartedly, while Starr was trying to plead her case but when Starr dropped her bombshell, and then backed away from Todd, she knew she had better intervene quickly. Blair moved to his side and place a hand on his chest. She could feel it beating a mile a minute and knew how stressed he was at that moment. He seemed unaware of her and she knew his anger was taking him over.

       Todd couldn’t stop himself, his imagination went into overdrive. The scene in his head was vivid like he was observing through a vid cam. It was a small apartment, and two people were tangled in each other's arms making love. Something didn’t feel right, he had never been a voyeur. Why was he seeing this? The guy seemed to really be enjoying himself and the girl was too. They were naked and touching everywhere, then the focus suddenly zoomed in on their faces. No! It couldn’t be. It was Starr, here with some guy. What the ..! That was his daughter! No one touched his daughter like that! He wanted to tear them apart and break the guy in two, all he could see was red, he was on fire. Then he felt a touch, like a cool breeze, heavenly against his fevered brow. He closed his eyes, turning his cheek deep into the cool sensation, it felt so good, the disturbing scene dissolved with the touch. From a distance, he heard someone talking.

      Blair placed her left hand gently on his cheek. “Todd. You don’t want to do this. She’s your daughter.” At the touch of her hand, he had closed his eyes. He moved his head closer into her palm and she knew he was beginning to listen. “Todd, open your eyes, look at Starr.” She watched his eyes flutter open and fasten on his daughter. Then she saw his tears.

      "God, what did I do? Was the look in Starr’s eyes, fear? “Starr?” It all came flooding back, the conversation, and Starr telling him about living with Cole. The coldness overtaking him. He had almost gone off the deep end on his own daughter. He realized Blair was standing next to him and reached for her hand. She had stopped him from making the worst mistake in his life, but he still had to take that look out of Starr’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Starr.”

Starr had watched everything unfold and it had been surreal. He had been so angry and it had alarmed her, she didn’t believe for one moment that he would have hurt her, but she had only seen Pete react that way. From her mother’s actions and words, she realized she was finally seeing her father truly angry, it was a little daunting to see what he fought to keep hidden all this time. She saw his tears and knew he was sickened by the idea that he might have frightened her. She had to let him know his anger would never drive a wedge between them.

She moved to him and encircled her arms around him, even as he tried to back away, stiff, afraid to touch her.“Dad, I love you. You got angry, it’s not the end of the world. I was just surprised because it has happened so rarely with me. You’ve always put my welfare ahead of anything. I’m not afraid of you.” She looked up into his eyes. “Do you understand? I’ll never be afraid of you.” As she held him close, she felt his stiffness crumble.

Relief washed through him at her words, Todd wrapped her close into his arms, kissing the top of her head. Blair moved in and hugged them both. Todd needed the support at that moment more than he wanted to admit.

A few minutes later he separated from them and made his way to the bar. He poured himself a stiff drink, gulped it down and poured another, then he turned to face his daughter. He took a deep breath and plunged in. “Before you get mad at me, I’m asking that you hear me out. Okay, so you and Cole lived together before he went to prison. I get it. You’re in love, but I need time to wrap my head around all this.” His eyes met Starr’s, pleading with her to understand. He continued talking. “He’s the father of Hope, but you’re not married. Not to mention, he still needs to recuperate from his wounds. We’ll set him up in the Key West Suite, and I’ll..” he shuddered and took another drink. “I’ll try to mind my own business if you should choose to visit him occasionally. That’s the best you’ll get from me, Starr. Deal?’ He held out his hand.

Starr smiled, there was the dad she remembered. She put her hand in his. “Deal.”

At the hospital, Larry had given Cole all his instructions for the care of his wounds and he was told a nurse would be out once a day for the first week to monitor his condition. Cole just wanted to leave. He was nervous, now that the day had arrived. He was going to Starr’s home to recuperate. It still bothered him that he would be living in Todd Manning’s house, but after their conversation the other day, he was sure he had made the right decision. To have unlimited access to Starr and Hope was worth everything to him. Cole looked out his hospital window and spotted a limousine pulling up to the entrance. There was his ride

.

To Cole’s surprise, Shaun walked into the room. “Hey Cole, How are you holding up? I’m here to take you to Dragonheart. I guess you don’t have too much stuff, so let's get you out of here.” He went into the hall and returned with a wheelchair. “Don’t give me that look. You know it’s hospital policy. Besides, I don’t think you’re quite ready to make any lengthy walks just yet. You need to take it slow, believe me, I know from experience.”

Cole seated himself in the chair and Shaun began rolling him to the exit. “I’m just curious Shaun. When did you go to work for Starr’s Dad? What’s he like? I mean you worked for the other guy.”

“Not all that long ago. There was some trouble and he offered me a job to watch over his family. The guy pays real good money and I like him. He’s different and not really what I expected, especially after working for Jake. I know you and the other guy didn’t get along, but this Todd is a big improvement. Whatever you do, don’t tell Tea I said that. She’s still mourning.” They exited the hospital and Shaun opened the car door and helped Cole enter. Cole had been hoping Starr would come to get him, instead he found himself sitting opposite Todd.

“Get settled Cole, the ride’s not too long, but it is up on Llantano mountain.” Todd grabbed a couple of sodas and handed one to Cole. “I know you were hoping for Starr, sorry to disappoint.” Todd opened his soda and then had to take a call.

Cole drank the soda and watched Manning work. He was disappointed, but prison had taught him it wasn’t good to get your hopes up, they would inevitably be ripped from you. He could wait to see Starr. He knew that was a reality at the end of the ride.

           The car ride from the hospital proved to be the first of many unpredictable moments with Todd Manning. Cole had caught Todd looking at him several times and he thought he was going to say something, but silence remained. He knew something was on Todd’s mind, but the guy wasn’t going to share. When the car came into the clearing, Cole couldn’t help the “wow” that escaped from his lips, and he caught the momentary smile that flashed across Todd’s face. Shaun pulled up to the front door and waited with a wheelchair, as Cole stepped from the car. Cole frowned. “I can walk, you know.”

“Sit, you look like you’re going to keel over. Besides this will make Starr want to take care of you.” Shaun said, smiling. With that in mind, Cole sat and let Shaun wheel him in.

Cole could hardly keep in his astonishment. The place was fantastic. Talk about a far cry from prison. He had always liked The Penthouse. It had seemed like something Starr’s dad would have gone for. Her Aunt Dorian’s house LaBoulae was just too stuffy for him, but he had to admit he had never figured Todd Manning would have a home like this. He turned his head, slowly taking it all in. The dragons at the entrance; totally awesome.

“Close your mouth Cole, unless you want to catch flies. It is pretty impressive, wait until you get a gander at your room.” Shaun placed Cole’s belongings on his lap and Cole realized he was so out of place.

Starr was standing on the upper landing. She had heard the talking, just as she was finishing the final touches in Cole’s room. She looked down and saw Shaun talking to Cole, who was looking around in amazement. “Cole, you’re finally here.” She ran down the stairs eager to get to him. “Shaun I’ll take him from here.” She hugged Cole, kissing him quickly and then realized her father had just come through the door. “Hi Dad, I was just going to give Cole a tour and then take him to his room.” She tried to keep things light, given the earlier conversation.

Todd nodded, “Hope the place is to your liking Cole.” He left them in the hall and walked to his office and shut the door.

Starr was stunned. Her dad was definitely full of surprises. She crouched down in front of Cole. “Did my dad come up with you?”

“Yeah, I had been hoping you would come, but he was there in the car when I got in.”

“Did he say anything to you? Did he seem upset?”

“No. Why would he be upset?”

Starr bit her lower lip and looked down the hall towards her father’s office. “He just found out this morning that you and I lived together. I was trying to convince him to let you join Hope and me in our suite.”

Cole looked at Starr in surprise. “You were? What happened?”

Starr smiled weakly. “Let’s just say he didn’t take the news too well.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t kill me before I got here. It was strange, I got the impression he wanted to talk about something, but he didn’t say a word. In fact, he handed me a soda and just worked for most of the ride. I take it we’re not in the same room?” He loved just being close to Starr and knew he could stand whatever decision her dad had made.

Starr blushed and then nodded. “You’re right we’re not. But you’ll love the room.  Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the house.” At that, she began wheeling him through the rooms.

           Cole had thought the front entrance was impressive, but the house was unbelievable. He loved the music studio room and the game room. Then, Starr wheeled him into the kitchen and breakfast room and he marveled at the open expanse of windows overlooking the back of the house. The view was terrific and he thought back to the lack of view his jail cell had had. “I can’t believe I’m here Starr. Every night in that cell, I would go to sleep dreaming of you and Hope and being outside the walls of the prison, free. I keep expecting to wake up and find myself back in that cell.”

Starr grabbed his hand. “Cole, this is real. You’re here with your daughter and me. We’re going to be fine.”

Blair spoke up, she had been watching Starr show Cole around and had also noted the way he was starting to fidget in the chair. She saw him wince and said. “Starr, maybe we should get Cole up to his room. He’s probably getting tired.”

Starr took a good look at Cole and saw how pale he was. She saw his jaw clench and knew he was trying to disguise the pain he was feeling. She had been so happy to have him there she had forgotten about his wounds and the fact that he had been lying in a bed for several days. “Oh, Gosh, Cole why didn’t you say you were hurting?’

“Starr, I’m fine. I wanted to see the house. I’ve been cooped up in a room at the hospital and before that my cell. This has been great. But you’ve only shown me the downstairs. I have a question? I’ve seen stairs everywhere. If we’re going up, I think I might need some help with the stairs right now?”

Starr grinned. “No you won’t, you just sit back and relax. Enough of the tour, let’s get you to bed.” She wheeled him through the great room and back down the hallway where her dad’s office and the playroom were located. She seemed headed for the end of the hall when suddenly she stopped and pressed a button. Cole watched in surprise as the wall panel slid open to reveal an elevator.

“You’re shitting me. You’ve got an elevator in this house?”

“Dad said he wanted every comfort. That included this. “ Starr pushed Cole in and hit the button for the second floor. It was actually great because the elevator came out right next to Cole’s suite. “This hallway has two suites. The Key West Suite which is yours, and the Techno Suite, which is Jack’s and Sam’s suite.” She stopped and opened the door to Cole’s room and wheeled him in.

Cole could only stare. “Starr, you’re kidding me right. This is my room?” He had lived in California for a long time, and the room reminded him of home and the beaches there. He heard water flowing and rolled the wheelchair to the sun terrace and stopped abruptly taking in the small beach and pool of water flowing continuously. He looked at Starr as she came to stand next to him. The evening sun was beginning to come into the room. “I thought you said your dad was upset about us living together.”

“He is.”

“Yet, he gave me this room.”

Starr thought about it and realized her dad was upset, but still very much a romantic. She looked down at Cole. “What can I say. He loves me.”