Page 63 of Seeking Her Studs

This better have damn well been worth it, Gram, or you just upended a lot of lives for no reason.

Immediately, I’m overtaken by the smell of Gram’s perfume and it’s the knockout punch to my already fragile composure. Tears fall before I even start reading the damn thing. I move my body so that Patricia can’t see me. I need this moment to myself. I clear my eyes with my shirt and read.

My Dear Blaire,

What can a little old lady like me give to a worldwide superstar?

Well, I can think of many things.

Hollywood has gotten more of you than I have, and I don’t blame you one bit for that, my star. In fact, I’m in awe of the life you’ve created for yourself. But I want you to have something of mine that you can’t get in Hollywood… the truth.

It’s an ugly truth though, and you’ve seen enough ugly truth for a lifetime. So I decided to coat it with some sugar, just like I did when giving your stubborn little self some medicine.

So here’s some sugar. If you fulfilled my wishes, then you’ve spent some good quality time at the ranch with the entire Rile family.

I grimace. Gram didn’t know their parents passed away. Of course not, it happened the week of her funeral. My stomach twists, thinking that maybe I’ll never get the entire story. I read on.

Hope and Dennis Rile are as good as they come. But likely you won’t spend too much time with them because I know you and you never could stay too far away from the Rile boys. They’re good people, too, just like their parents raised them to be.

And I really need you to know what good people are. I need you to know that they exist, truly. And that you shouldn’t settle for anyone else. I’ve seen the parties and the glamourous peers you spend your time with. And I bet that’s all very exciting. But do they make you feel safe? Do they see you for you? Because the people of Solace Springs did that for me when I needed it most. And my biggest hope is that you’re reading this letter knowing exactly what I’m talking about because you experienced it, too.

Now for the bitter part. I wasn’t a good mother to your mother. And I believe she, in turn, hasn’t been a good mother to you. It’s no excuse. I just want you to know that it’s not your fault she turned out the way that she did. That doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held accountable. It just means that it’s not your fault. It’s taken me my entire life to admit this to myself, and I don’t want to waste another life by not making it clear to you.

This last request is a big one. I know it’s putting a lot of pressure on you, but here goes. I beg of you, break this wicked cycle. You already have the fame I was chasing instead of being the mother I should have been. You already have the money your mother has always been chasing. But neither of those things means a damn thing if you’re not right with yourself. Do whatever you need to do and do it right. If anyone can do it, it’s you. Especially if you’re surrounded by some good people.

I love you forever, my star.

Love, Gram

Well, damn it, Gram. Tears fall in heavy streams down my face.

What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Briggs

“You practically just escorted her out of here,” Reese yells as I come back into the house after giving Blaire the envelope from her Gram.

“It was the right thing to do,” I say grimly.

Of course, I don’t want her to leave. Her closing the door on me was absolutely fucking brutal. I was literally dreaming about what would be on our fucking wedding menu on the drive home. How could things have changed this quickly?

“Fuck the right thing to do.” Reese slams his hand down on the kitchen table.

“You yelling about it isn’t going to solve the damn problem,” Colt says darkly from the corner of the kitchen.

“You should have turned the car around and headed back to the cottage,” Reese points at Colt accusingly.

“And then what?” Colt raises his voice. “We pull Kaylee out of school and live life off the grid? Praying they don’t find us there, too?”

As much as I’m so damn angry at Blaire picking up and leaving here, I can’t blame her for the decision. In fact, it’s part of the reason we love her. That was insanity back there. And exposing Kaylee to public ridicule for no choice of her own just isn’t fair.

But I can’t believe these are our only choices.

It feels too cruel. And she didn’t even give us time to process it.

“Fuck, I know,” Reese concedes as he falls back against the kitchen island and crosses his arms. “I’m just so damn angry.”

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