“This house isn’t that big you know.”

Clara paced the kitchen floor. “I love him, Chris. I love him so much. I have to think beyond all of this and accept that he’s not that same man. I mean look, he got a job and put himself through college. He has two different degrees. What kind of druggie does that?”

“I’m just worried for you. I mean don’t get me wrong, I like the guy.” He lifted his hands in the air and let them drop. “You’re my little sister. I’m supposed to think no one is good enough for you.”

“I know. But I married him and he needs me in more than one way. He needs all of us. He needs the Kellers. He needs that love, that strength, he needs family.”

Christian nodded. “I couldn’t agree with you more.” He walked toward Clara and pulled her into a hug. “You have a huge support group. Don’t let us all down by not using us if you need us.”

Clara only nodded.

Christian let go and headed back for the stairs. “Oh, by the way, congrats on the tour.”

“Thanks.”

“Can you get me Savannah’s autograph?”

She snorted out a laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Clara was conveniently gone before Warner woke up. She had to be in Tom Wheeler’s office by noon and she had rehearsals all afternoon.

She had rummaged through Warner’s music and taken the pieces she liked best. It felt wrong to her, as if she were stealing them. But she left a note and a list. She was going to take them by the office supply store and have copies made first. She didn’t want anyone else stealing them either.

But before she dealt with her new found music career she needed to talk to someone. She’d called Darcy and asked her to meet her at the Starbucks.

After all, Darcy was as close to a sister as Clara had.

Darcy was already getting her drink at the counter when Clara walked in.

“I got yours,” Darcy called across the store and those in line watched her retrieve her drinks.

“Thank you.” She took the cup and carefully sipped.

“Do you want to go upstairs and talk in the board room?”

“No,” she was quick to answer.

“Oh, private conversation, huh? I love our sister time.” Darcy giggled and found them a table.

They both sat down and arranged their purses and jackets.

Darcy lifted her cup to her lips and peered at Clara from over the top. “Okay. So what’s the news? Are you pregnant already? That one I’ll let you have. I’m not ready until after the wedding. But since you went and got married first I assume you’re going to have a baby first.”

Clara shook her head. “No, there’s no baby.” Hadn’t that been on her mind too? She already had put a call into the doctor to get her back on the pill. She had been very optimistic and sure of herself the other night when she made a scene throwing out his condoms. But now, any little mishap—welcomed or not—wasn’t even something she wanted to think about.

Clara dove into Warner’s story, leaving no detail out. And when she was done she sat back in her chair and watched for Darcy’s reaction.

“You’re thinking about leaving him, aren’t you?” The question was posed, but Darcy sounded angry.

“No. Well—I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

“I should throw this coffee on you and wake you up.”

“What?” That certainly wasn’t what Clara expected.

“You’re judging him by the circumstances in which he was raised.”

Clara sunk into her chair and listened.

“You were born to a mother and father who loved you very much. Even when they weren’t together your step-father loved you and your parents were always around. You have aunts and uncles who love you and your grandparents are like no others. But what if—just what if your mom and dad didn’t work out again? What if Matt was an ass who beat you or worse? What if Arianna didn’t have her theater and didn’t care that you had talent? Then what?”

Clara’s palms were sweating. She didn’t like this.

“Imagine not knowing the people you called mom and dad all your life weren’t yours. Can you even imagine that?”

“Darcy, I didn’t mean…”

“No. You didn’t mean anything by it. But I know now what it’s like to have someone’s blood run through your veins that everyone hates. My biological father tried to kill you. Do you think about that when you think about that night? No. You probably don’t associate that at all. I’m your sister. He was a monster. Who would I have been had he not tried to kill me and Regan?”

Clara covered her mouth forcing back the sob she wanted to let free.

“Clara, who you are at fourteen, or eighteen, doesn’t define who you become. He’s clean. I can tell he’s not hiding anything from you like that. And he gave you all his music, right? You are now the artist of that music and he can’t sell it on his show. He has to come up with new stuff. That was unselfish on his part.”

“Oh, Darcy, what did I do?”

“You took an opportunity. Now go make something of it. I want to meet Blake Shelton and until you get into that crowd I’m not going to.”

Clara laughed a loud. “I love you. I’m glad that goofball brother of mine has you.”

“Yes, yes. You’re all lucky I came here looking for my missing piece. Now, I have a boring meeting with Zach and Ed. So I have to go back upstairs now. You go fix your marriage.”

Clara stood when Darcy stood and gave her a hug. She’d put her marriage back together after she rehearsed her stolen songs.

***

Beginning tomorrow Warner would have cameras following him three days a week. For today he was going to spend his time in his “studio” in the basement working on music.

He figured, as he wrote down the chords he’d just put together on the sheet music, that Clara leaving so early in the morning without waking him wasn’t a good sign.

He’d texted her a few times, but she hadn’t returned them.

How could he blame her? He’d dropped a heavy load on her last night and expected her to just understand. The good sign had been that his bags hadn’t been packed and by the door.

When he heard footsteps upstairs he checked his watch. It was already six o’clock. But there were more than one set of footsteps. There were many and they were coming down the stairs to the small apartment in the basement.