and the rewards sparse.”
“Sounds a lot like the acting profession,” Aaron muttered. “Including all the bullshit.”
Ben had to smile at that. Aaron reminded him a lot of Kaiden. “I’ve never felt the urge to act so I’ll take your word for it.”
“So, why do you do it if it’s so hard?” Spring spoke up. She was quieter like her mother.
“Because it’s in my blood, I suppose,” Ben replied. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”
“Did you ever even try anything else?”
Silver poked her sister. “This isn’t an interrogation, Spring.”
“It’s okay. It’s a reasonable question and I don’t mind answering it,” Ben said. “I went to college on a football scholarship. Realized I wasn’t ever going to be good enough to compete professionally and kind of lost interest in the whole idea.” He winced. “I dropped out after a couple of years. I missed my home.”
“Well, at least you tried something different.” Spring looked pointedly at her father as she spoke. “Which is what I’m going to do.”
“Good for you.” Ben nodded, aware again that there was something going on that he was missing. “Ranching might be hard work, but staying in this business must be crazy hard.”
“It is,” Silver said, and also looked toward her father. “I’m thinking about starting a production company where I can acquire projects that I love rather than having to deal with another person’s vision.”
Phil set down his fork. “Where did that idea come from?” He glanced at his wife and then at Silver. “You’ve never mentioned being interested in that before.”
“Maybe because I’m twenty-six and I’m now being cast as someone’s mother while my male costars get to play parts when they are forty years older than the woman? I’m sick of it, Dad.”
“It’s only happened once, Silver, and Drew has apologized for Oscar’s behavior, and he still wants you for that part.” Phil paused. “He called me today to ask why he hadn’t heard back from you.”
Silver gave an exasperated sigh. “Why is he calling you? Why isn’t he calling me directly? I’m not a child and I don’t need you controlling my career.”
“You know why I took control.” Phil glanced over at Ben. “And I don’t think it’s fair for us to be having these discussions in front of our guest, do you?”
Ben met Silver’s frustrated gaze and held up his hands. “Hey, don’t mind me. I’m from a big family. Sometimes stuff needs to be said.”
“You also know that I was telling the truth about not going back on drugs, so you owe me, Dad.” Silver pointed her fork at him. “You need to take a step back.”
“Yeah,” Aaron and Spring chimed in at the same time. “Silver’s got this.”
“I’m not sure why all this hostility is suddenly being turned on me, but I sure don’t appreciate it.” Phil stood up. “If you want to talk to Drew, Silver, I suggest you go ahead, and I’ll keep out of it.”
He nodded stiffly at Ben. “It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, son. I hope to see you tomorrow before you go.”
As soon as the door shut behind him, Aaron whistled.
“Wow, he’s in a snit. Maybe we’re finally getting through to him.”
“You’re not being fair.” Mrs. Meadows spoke up. “He’s very upset that all his hard work for you over the years is suddenly being called into question.”
“No one’s saying that, Mom,” Spring said patiently. “We just all want to do different things, and Dad seems stuck in the past. Silver and I aren’t little girls anymore who can be pushed into any project he wants. We’ve paid our dues and made our money. Silver doesn’t need to work for the rest of her life!”
Ben hadn’t thought about how wealthy Silver might be, but he sure was thinking about it now. It was just another huge chasm between them when he barely had five thousand bucks in his savings account. She could probably buy the whole of Morgan Valley and not even notice.
“I think you are all being very mean to him,” Mrs. Meadows continued. “He’s always wanted the best for you.”
Silver reached out and took her mom’s hand. “Then help him understand that he needs to move on. Don’t you want to spend more time with him? Wouldn’t you like not to have to be going to auditions and premieres and all that stupid stuff?”
“I suppose that would be nice,” Mrs. Meadows admitted. “He’s been working so hard for the last twenty years to advance your careers, and he