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fifteen or twenty years her senior, and she didn’t want anyone—especially a guy very much the older woman’s type—wrecking the progress she’d made.  Jenna realized, though, that perhaps this moment could be a good learning experience for Olivia.  They could talk about it in their next session...as long as she could keep Olivia away from him until then.
    She had a duty to the cocky rock star too, though.  She hadn’t been counseling for decades, but she’d been doing it enough (along with a solid education) to know that he had that attitude as a way of protecting himself.  It was a classic case of wearing a mask.  She knew that part of it was probably due to his success.  She’d seen it happen before in a young woman from a rich family clueless about how the rest of the world lived.  In Ethan’s case, his band was recognized by the world as not only viable but insanely popular, and it would be easy to fall prey to the press and believe you were the best thing since sliced bread.  But just in the few minutes she’d been watching him, she was certain it was more than that.  She was convinced that Mr. Ethan Richards, guitar god extraordinaire, was covering up a lot of things with that cocky rock star mask—insecurity, feelings of despair, desperation, loneliness, and who knew what else.  Jenna might not be a psychologist, but she was sure she had an idea of what was plaguing Ethan.  Her only fear was that he might have come to her too late.
     

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
    BY THE END of the session, Jenna had asked Ethan to share a little bit about why he was there and what he hoped to get out of it.  She’d seen a slight shift in his demeanor—a good start—and so she shouldn’t have been surprised by his response.  His answer seemed genuine.  “Hi, everyone.  I guess you all already know who I am.  My name’s Ethan.  I…uh…I’ve had some issues with alcohol and a whole lotta drugs, and…uh…I’m just trying to get some help so I don’t go back to them again.”  He got quiet for a moment and looked down at his hands that he’d folded into one big fist.  “They have always been there for me, but they haven’t been good for me.  I want to find a way to break off that relationship.”
    Wow.  Jenna was impressed.  He’d started out with a huge shield around himself but, while she was sure he had a long journey ahead of him, it was something a lot more mature and far more revealing than she’d expected from a guy like him this early in the game.
    Coming from someone who’d thought she was as nonjudgmental as they came, Jenna felt a little ashamed for having thought that.  Still, it was her job to observe and coach, and she had to try to lead these folks down the right path.  It was refreshing that a guy like Ethan was already making strides.
    But she’d been doing this enough to know that false starts weren’t unusual either.
    She’d keep that to herself.  “Well, everyone,” she said as she stood, “nicely done tonight.  Is your fight over?”  A few of them murmured a negative response while she thundered, “Hell, no.”  She lowered her voice again.  “Is it going to get easier?”  She leaned forward, taking in a couple of people, and softened her voice further.  “Yes, day by day.  Will you still be tempted?  Yes…but even those temptations will ease off.”  She stood and turned to take in some of her other clients in the circle.  “Will you grow stronger?”  She raised her voice again.  “Hell, yes.  You can beat this.  You will beat this.  I know you can.  If you’re here, that tells me you’re strong.  You’ve suffered.  You’ve put in your time.  And now it’s time to soar free.
    “So, this week, I would like you to spend a lot of time thinking actively about a life without want…and by want , I mean temptation .  I know right now it’s hard to imagine yourself not thinking about the hold those things have on you.  Those