No One's A Fool (Revised & Complete)

Chapter 3

"Wrenna?" A voice calls from behind, and Wrenna spins around to find Don Henley standing in the hallway. Her face lights up when she sees him.

"Uncle Don!" She exclaims, running to hug him with the same enthusiasm she had as a small child. Don has always loved the way that Wrenna makes everyone feel like they're the only in the world when she sees them.

"Hey Birdie!" Don coos, employing Wrenna's childhood nickname as he wraps his arms around her. They embrace, and then he smiles at her. "Hey, I didn't know you were coming tonight. How did this happen?"

"Wren!" Another voice calls out, and Wrenna's husband Gabe coming up the hallway. As he nears, he and Don exchange greetings.

"This place is a maze!" He tells Don.

"Yeah, Bethel is like that." Don agrees. "So how have you been? It's been a while since we all caught up."

"We've been good." Wrenna answers, looking to Gabe for confirmation, and he nods.

"Yeah? Aurora's doing alright?" Don continues.

"Yeah, she's doing great. Growing so fast!" Wrenna gushes, pulling out her phone to show him a picture of the two-year-old. "We left her with a friend tonight so we could come here."

"How come you didn't tell me you were coming? You never come to Eagles concerts!" Don's tone was lighthearted, but Gabe – ever intuitive – noticed something more seeking behind his voice. He filed this thought away for later.

"Well, I actually met Joe Walsh a few days ago, and-" Wrenna began to explain, but Don cut her off.

"You met Joe?" He says, with more force than he intends. Gabe catches the split second look of concern cross Don's face, before he smiles again. "That's random. How did that happen?"

"I was meeting with my management, and he was in the same building doing Late Night. I have a friend who works for the show, and she asked me if I wanted to come up and meet Joe Walsh, so I went. I mean, I've grown up around you, but I've never met some of your bandmates." Wrenna explains.

"Eh, they're not all worth meeting." Don jokes, winking at her.

"No, he was very kind! I told him I'd never been to the shows, and he gave me tickets for tonight. Matt and Danielle are out front, but Gabe and I came to try to find you so we could say hi!"

"I'm glad you did. I always love seeing your beautiful face." Don says, warmly. They chat for a few more minutes, all the while Gabe notices how distracted Don seems to be. Eventually, an assistant comes to collect Don.

"I guess we'll go get our seats. Do you know if Joe is around? I wanted to say hi and thank him for the tickets."

"Last I saw him he was busy getting ready." Don says, knowing full well that Joe was finished getting ready ages ago, and that ten minutes ago Don had seen him playing games on his phone. "Why don't you come back by after the show?"

"Okay, cool." Wrenna agrees. "Break a leg out there!"

"Yeah, break a leg!" Gabe echoes the old theatre tradition.

"Thanks guys." Don shoots back. "See you both later!" He watches as the couple rounds the corner, and then he marches straight off to Joe's dressing room, throwing open the door without knocking. He finds Joe seated on a couch, still toying with his phone.

"Wrenna Nicks?" Don hisses. "Really, Joe? Really?" Joe puts his phone down, looking up at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Is she here?" He asks.

"Yes, she's her. Her and three friends, with the tickets YOU gave them!"

"So I gave her some tickets, man. No big deal." He shrugs.

"What are you doing Joe?" Don questions, crossing his arms. "Are you trying to get Stevie's attention?"

"I'm not doing anything, man!" Joe laughs, putting his hands up in a motion of innocence.

"I'm not stupid, Joe. You know who that girl is."

"Of course I know who she is!" Joe says, standing now.

"Does Stevie know about this?"

"I don't know." He answers, but his eyes can't seem to meet Don's now.

"Wrenna will tell her. They're very close." Don tells him. "Is that your plan?"

"I already told you, I don't have a plan!" Joe exclaims. "She came and introduced herself to me. We talked for a couple of minutes. She said she'd never seen the band play, so I gave her some tickets. That's it." He recalls.

"And all of that happened without her having any knowledge of what you did to her mother. I know that, because if she did know the truth, she wouldn't be here tonight. You can bet on that!"

"Well," Joe sits back down now. "Good thing nobody is telling her anything, then." He looks back at his phone.

"You do know Stevie and I are still very good friends, right?"

"I am aware of that, yes."

"So it concerns me when you're inviting her daughter Wrenna to concerts. I was there when you crushed Stevie the first time. I really don't want to see it happen again. Just be careful, please. It's been a long time. If I were you, I'd leave it alone." And with that, Don exits the room.