Crazy Little Thing Called Love

MCD-Chapter Six

I didn’t know what came over me. Latent fatherly instincts, maybe? In any case, for the past week and a half I couldn’t stop watching Trick and Kenzie. He was a good kid, but that was my daughter he was spending an awful lot of time with. Every time we took break from shooting, he would waltz right back over to Kenzie, who was all smiles and giggles.

Would it even be right to remind him that was my daughter and threaten bodily harm if he hurt her? I was pretty sure Kenzie would not appreciate that. For now, I kept my mouth shut. If she was going to hang out with anyone in Hollywood, I guess it was acceptable for that person to be Trick. I’d never heard anything of him being a heartbreaker. He didn’t seem the type. Then again, it never hurt to ask Trick himself.

Ugh, that name. Even though I knew Trick was just a nickname, it still bothered me to call him by it. Who would willingly call themselves Trick? If that name made even me nervous, imagine what a real dad would feel like.

Beside me, an obnoxious ringtone began going off incessantly. It took about five seconds to realize it was Kenzie’s cell. Oh, thank God! A valid reason to get her awayn from that boy!

"Kenzie!" I called, as she was halfway across the set. What exactly were they talking about that couldn’t be said one foot away from me? "Phone!"

She looked up at me and then back at Trick, biting her lip. "It’s probably just my mom. Can you just answer it for me?"

I startled at that and just stared at the phone. And what if it was Nat? That was enough to get me not to want to answer my daughter’s phone. Would it really be that bad if it just went to voicemail? Ugh, but then again if it was Nat, she’d assume the worse and probably call the brute squad on me or something. Anything to give her incentive that I was a bad father; just as she always believed I would be.

"Hello?" I answered before I could second guess myself.

There was a slight pause and then, "Who is this?"

My shoulders slumped slightly. I would recognize Nat’s voice anywhere. Was she playing coy, or did she really not recognize mine, too? "It’s Brad."

"Oh." Another pause. "Where’s Kenzie?"

Was that accusation in her tone? I sighed. "She’s hanging out with her little friend." Oh, damn. I always hated it when my parents called my girlfriends me "little friends". Had I really just done that to my own daughter? "It’s fine, Nat," I said when I knew she was about to scream at me. "I can see them right here."

"And where’s here exactly?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Oh, you know, just this barbaric club in L.A. Kenzie’s thinking her new calling is being a cocktail waitress," I snapped. "Where do you think, Nat? She wanted to come with me for filming."

"Well, I just wanted to be sure….."

I let out a humorless chuckle. "God, Nat, where the hell do you think I’d take her? She’s only eighteen years old, for God’s sake."

"I was only nineteen when I had her," Nat pointed out.

I drew in a sharp breath. The last thing I needed was to be arguing with her over the phone. It was all we’d done when I’d flown to Tennessee. "I’ll tell Kenzie you called."

"Why can’t I just talk to her now?"

"She’s busy, Nat."

"Just let me talk to my daughter, alright?"

I rolled my eyes, biting back a retort. Amazing how I’d thought that after all these years Nat and I might’ve had another chance. Already I could tell that was never going to happen. "Kenzie!" I called again. "You’re needed!"