his gaze direct and steady on her. “Whatever’s wrong, you know if it’s worth fixing or not. If it is, then fix it. If not, leave it alone and move on. If I raised you to be strong, then that means I didn’t teach you to sit around and wait on life and happiness to happen to you. You go after it, Macy.”
And if something is standing in your way, you go through it.
Right. You go through it. Her dad didn’t say the words, but he had before. Many, many times.
She wondered how this man had allowed her to lie down for so long. Maybe it was only because he knew this was a point she needed to get back to mostly by herself. Maybe he knew her well enough to realize all she needed to get back to her fighting spirit was something worth fighting for. “You know, it’s good to get your speeches again.”
He grinned. “For such a long time, you didn’t want to hear ’em anymore. I’m afraid your break’s over, though. We’ve got work to do.”
In more ways than one. “I’m ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mezzanine Music wasn’t a place Macy ever had reason to visit. Hopefully that would never change, because after today, she might be banned for life.
“What does she drive?” she asked Candace over the phone, staring at the building as she sat in her Acadia and mustered her nerve.
“Actually, I don’t know.”
No way of determining if Raina was working today, then, without going in to find out. Cornering the girl at her job wasn’t the smartest way to handle this; she knew that. But there weren’t any other options. She didn’t know where she lived, and neither did Candace without asking someone and blowing the whistle on Macy’s plan. Besides, any meeting with this girl needed to be at least somewhat public so Macy didn’t end up decapitated in a ditch somewhere.
She smirked at the thought, absently surveying the large windows of the music shop. No sign of multicolored hair in there. “There’s a big Dermamania flyer in the window.”
“Yeah, Brian and the owner are friends. We trade advertising. He got Raina the job there when she first moved to town.”
“Is there anyone Brian isn’t friends with?”
“My parents?”
“Right.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“No, but what else am I going to do? I’m hanging up now.”
“Good luck. If I don’t ever hear from you again, I love ya.”
“Tell the detectives who I was meeting.”
“Got it.”
Well, here goes nothing. She left the safety of her car, unwilling to sit there long enough to see if the girl ever ventured outside for a break or a smoke or something. If she was even working.
And she was. As Macy pulled open the front door to a pleasant-sounding chime, Raina glanced over from the counter at the end of the large room, and Macy had the intense satisfaction of seeing her expression deflate a split second before the accustomed sneer appeared. It really was an unattractive look for such a pretty girl, but she didn’t give a shit. She would feel sorry for Seth, but it was his own fault for putting up with it as long as he had.
“What do you want?” Raina’s whiplash question turned the heads of a couple of guys checking out the guitars hanging on the wall.
“I’d like to have a word with you.”
Raina extended her arms to indicate their surroundings, giving Macy the “Hello?” voice as she said, “I’m at work right now?”
“I realize that. So let’s set up a time and place for later—public, please—and I’ll leave.”
“No. I don’t have anything to say to you.”
Macy crossed her arms. “That may be, but I have plenty to say to you. I can say it here and now, if you like. I bet I can say an awful lot before I get thrown out, and probably things you don’t want anyone to hear.”
A long-haired guy stuck his head out the door behind the counter, frowning at Raina and looking Macy up and down. “Is there a problem?”
Must be Brian’s friend. But she wouldn’t name-drop; she’d reserve that in case Raina said there was a big freaking problem and to throw Macy out on her ear. Surprisingly, she didn’t do that, blowing out a gusty sigh instead. “I need a few minutes, Dave. Is that all right?”
“Take it outside.”
Raina made barely an effort to walk around Macy as she headed for the front door, knocking into her shoulder. Such class. But she had accosted her at work,