Her dad frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you all about that later. Right now there’s something I need you all to know about me.”
“Is she a lesbian?” Mick asked Tara. “Is this one of those coming out things where she’s going to tell the whole family at once?”
Tara elbowed Mick in the ribs. “Would you just shut up?”
“Jenna isn’t a lesbian,” her mother said. “I’d have known about it years ago if that were the case.”
Jenna rolled her eyes and waited for her family to finish talking about her. “And you all wonder why I never tell you anything.”
“Go ahead, honey,” her mother said. “We’re behind you one hundred percent.”
She sucked in a breath and let it out. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Gavin groaned. “I have a game in six hours, Jenna.”
She ran outside and grabbed her guitar, then came in.
“A guitar?” Mick asked. “What’s that for?”
“Shut. Up.” Tara rolled her eyes at Mick.
Jenna got her guitar out of the case, then took a seat in the living room and began to play, figuring that would be better than an explanation. She sang one of the new songs she’d penned the other day, pouring her heart into the song about losing someone because you made a mistake, because you weren’t honest with your feelings. She let her soul and her emotions come through, giving free range to her voice, uncaring what anyone thought at that point because she sang that song for all she had lost, for the pain she had cost someone she cared about. When she was finished, she looked up at the stunned faces of her family, and smiled, blinking away the tears.
“Sonofabitch,” Mick finally said. “Where the hell did that voice come from?”
Her mother stood and ran over to her, clasped her hands around Jenna’s face. “My darling girl. You have an amazing gift.” She kissed her cheek. “And you asked for those singing lessons when you were a little girl. I just thought it was a passing fancy. I had no idea.”
She saw the tears welling in her mother’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Jenna. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Jenna wiped the tears from her mom’s cheeks. “It’s okay, Mom.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll never forgive myself for not giving you what you needed then.”
“Oh, Mom. It’s really okay.” She hugged her mother.
Gavin came over, picked her up, and hugged her. “You’re a superstar, Jen. Always knew you would be someday.”
Her dad just sat there, tears streaming down his face.
“What song is that?” her mother asked.
“I wrote it.”
“She writes a lot of music,” Liz said.
She looked at her dad, who shook his head.
“Dad?”
“My baby. I had no idea.” He broke down and sobbed. Jenna laid the guitar down and went to him and hugged him.
“Don’t cry, Daddy.”
“You sing like an angel. I’m so proud of you. But your mother is right. We should have paid more attention to you and what you needed. We didn’t give you those singing lessons.”
“She wanted singing lessons?” Gavin asked with a frown.
“Yes.” Her mother swiped at the tears. “When she was younger.”
“So you’ve had this inside you all these years and you never told anyone?” Mick asked.
Jenna shook her head.
“You are such a dumbass,” Gavin said. “The only way you get what you want is to keep asking for it and keep pushing. You know how this family is. The loudest wins.”
Jenna laughed. “Yeah, I realize that now.”
“So what can we do to make sure your voice is heard?” her mother asked
She inhaled, let it out, and looked at her parents. “I want to open another Riley’s bar. A music club where people can come in and sing. And I want to sing there.”
Her dad cocked his head to the side. “Another bar?”
“Yes. I’ve done the feasibility study and we can afford it. But it means I wouldn’t run the original Riley’s anymore. I’d want to manage the new bar.”
“Do it,” her mother said. “You belong in a place where you can use the talent that God gave you.”
“How long have you been wanting to do this?” her dad asked her.
“Just…my whole life.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything before now?”
“Because Riley’s was your dream. And after your heart attack I had to make sure your dream stayed alive.”
“Aww, my little girl.” He made room on his chair for her to sit next to him, then tipped her chin with his fingers like he used to do when she was little. “Never live someone else’s dream for them. It’s not your job to chase my dream. I can do that. I’ll admit I got a little lazy and complacent, hanging out here with your mom. And knowing you were holding things down at Riley’s made it easier for me.
“I’m mad at you for not coming to us and telling us what you wanted to do, for wasting this amazing talent of yours for so long.”