Behind the Lens (Home in Carson Book 1)

by Renee Harless

  Before Cliff could knock, Amy opened the door wide and ushered them inside. She tugged Cliff into her arms, and then did the same with Alexis, before taking the flowers and side dish. While Amy greeted the others on the porch, Alexis took a moment to look around the foyer. It was formal, yet cozy. The perfect mix of the petite woman with a sophisticated blonde haircut and her rustic husband. With a keen eye, Alexis examined some of the knickknacks and pictures more closely. There was so much love and warmth in the room that it was practically overflowing with devotion.

  The group followed Amy toward the back of the house and through the open door leading to a well-groomed back yard. A gathering of kids played on a large wooden playground while the parents stood by chatting with each other.

  Alexis moved to follow behind Cliff, but Amy called out her name and asked her to help place the flowers in the vase. Though she didn’t know much about being a mother, Alexis knew the signs of trying to get someone alone to talk. Amy was about to host her own intervention.

  Using a stool, Amy rummaged through one of the upper cabinets above the refrigerator before locating a slender yellow vase. Alexis took the flowers and unwrapped them on the counter by the sink.

  “You’re planning on leaving him, aren’t you,” Amy said as she took a pair of kitchen shears and began to cut the flowers’ stems down to size. The tone in her voice wasn’t a question; she’s stating it as if she knew what had been running through Alexis’ mind since she learned of the children’s kidnappings.

  Not wanting to add fuel to the fire by lying, Alexis nodded and looked out the window as she said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I thought you were smarter than that.”

  Surprised, Alexis turned her gaze back to Amy to find the woman still working on the stems.

  “Pardon me?”

  “You’re going to run away. Your plan was to leave so that your father would follow you and leave us alone. Am I close?”

  Swallowing her tongue, Alexis could only nod. Somehow this small town mother hit the nail right on the head.

  “You see that man right there? The one chatting with my husband?” Alexis glanced out the window again, her eyes searching until they landed on Cliff and Joseph. Subconsciously she mimicked his wide smile. “The first year he lived in Carson, he only answered in grunts. For a while, I thought he couldn’t speak, but then as he got to know some of us, he opened up. Now, Cliff isn’t one to say a lot in general, but we got to know and love the man as if he were family.

  “Then, you came along. From the moment he first saw you something inside of him changed. You being here has brought out the man he always deserved to be. Do not take that from him.”

  “But. . .”

  “No buts. You both are worthy of more than you’ve been given in this life, don’t give up on it yet. Fight. See him the way that he sees you.”

  She let Amy’s words sink in. Maybe she was being a coward by leaving. And knowing that there wasn’t any guarantee that her father would leave everyone in the town alone was a big question mark hanging in the air. For all she knew, he may take out the town just in spite of her.

  “I’m so confused,” Alexis confessed.

  “Love will do that to you. Now, if you don’t mind. I’m going to get this shindig started and you are going to let everyone help come up with a plan that involves you staying.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She smiled as Amy pat her shoulder while walking out to the yard. From the kitchen, she watched as Joseph engulfed his wife in his arms, his love for her shining through with every touch and smile. Cliff looked up her way and the corners of his lips tilted upward as their eyes met.

  She did love him and Amy was right; she’d be an idiot to give this up. Walking toward him, Cliff met her halfway, leaning down to brush his lips against hers.

  “I love you.”

  Repeating his words, Alexis said, “I love you too.”

  “Are you sure that it’s not too short?” Alexis asked as she stared at her reflection at the town salon named Clipped. Shaking her head, her once long wavy tresses brushed the top of her shoulders.

  Behind her, the Connelly women beamed in the mirror. Cassidy, Sydney, Everleigh, Avery, Nikki, Norah, and Poppy formed a semicircle around the worn leather chair.

  “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I want to cut mine like that.”

  “No way.”

  “I’m so jealous.”

  “That is perfect.”

  The compliments rung out from their smiling faces and Alexis couldn’t help but glance at herself once more.

  The first step of the plan the group concocted at the Connelly’s barbeque was to give Alexis a makeover of sorts, even though she was pretty sure the women forced that point because they were itching at the bit to get their hands on her for girl time.

  “How will this help bring out my father?” she asked them and as their eyes darted off to various points of the room, she had her answer. “You know, if you just wanted to get together, then you could have just asked.”

  “Except Cliff doesn’t let you out of his sight,” Cassidy explained.

  “So, we had to do something drastic. This seemed like the best bet. And we wanted a chance to get you alone so we could learn all about what you’ve been doing to occupy your time,” Nikki added, definitely pinning herself as the most devious of the group.

  The girls began peppering her with questions about her love life before and after Carson, laughing when she answered them with a question of her own.

  “What love life?”

  The shop owner, Kelsey, a young woman with cropped hot pink hair, closed and locked the front door, then proceeded to hand out glasses of Champagne to the group. At Avery’s decline, the woman handed her a bottle of water.

  She joined their group just as Everleigh questioned Alexis about Cliff. She couldn’t help herself, never being “one of the girls,” this feeling of being part of a tribe was something she’d craved since she was younger.

  “He’s. . .just. . .incredible. I don’t have any other words to describe it. I mean, I knew that there was this passionate man lying beneath his hard surface, but I definitely underestimated him.”

  “And how is the sex?”

  “Wait,” Nikki called out, setting down her glass and grabbing a notebook from her purse. “I want to write this down; it may go in my next book. And please feel free to be as detailed as you want.” She winked at Alexis causing her to laugh, the glass of wine sloshing over the edge of the glass.

  “He’s an amazing lover. And not that I have many to compare him to, but I can say with certainty he will always be at the top of the list. He always makes sure that I’m taken care of at least once or twice before we get to the good stuff, you know? Foreplay is never forgotten.”

  “Ah, foreplay is the best. I can’t believe so many men try to skip over it. Like, if you want a blow job, I want you to play with my pussy and finger fuck me, am I right?” Sydney announces to the group, startling them all into silence. Whenever they’re together Alexis always noted how quiet she seemed around her family. Maybe the sips of Champagne were loosening her up. Sydney glanced around the room, taking in the women’s stared.

  “You,” Alexis said, breaking the silence as she pointed via the mirror to Sydney, “Are abso-fucking-lutely correct.” They shared a smile and the group began sending more questions her way about Cliff, Alexis answering as many as she could.

  “You know that isn’t his real name – Cliff,” Kelsey pointed out drawing confusion from the women. Alexis was aware of that fact, but apparently, she and Kelsey are the only ones. And now she couldn’t help ponder how the bright-haired beauty knew.

  “Do you know what it was?”

  “I know he never looked like a Cliff.”

  “I swear that man is as mysterious as Pandora’s box.”

  Turning in her chair, Alexis ignored everyone’s chattering and looked at Kelsey who stood beside her. “How do you know?” Someth
ing inside her tightened as she asked. Something that Alexis didn’t want to pinpoint, but could only describe it as an underlying hatred. Was this what jealousy felt like? Surely Cliff and Kelsey didn’t have a relationship like the one that she had with him.

  “Oh. . .Oh!” Kelsey’s eyes widen as she began to understand the uncertainty in Alexis’ question. “Cliff and I. . .no way. . .My uncle is the leasing agent for this building. I don’t even know what it is, just that it is not signed to a Cliff.”

  Her relief was instant and as she took a shuddering breath, she realized that she was farther into things with Cliff than she initially thought. She was all in hook, line, and sinker.

  The women stayed and sprinkled her with more gossip and stories as Kelsey twisted up Alexis’ hair in thin pieces of tinfoil. She was sure that if she stood outside, she’d get reception from Asheville. While she waited for the highlights to set, she made a plan with Sydney and Dylan to use the shooting range in town to practice. Though she had been in the all-clear from Logan regarding her shoulder, she had been wary of using it as she had before, relying on her non-dominant arm to do most things. But now that her father was closing in, she wanted to make sure that she was up to par with her skills.

  A timer on the vanity sounded and Kelsey helped to unravel the metallic mess from Alexis’ locks, smiling as each light brown wave came spiraling down. When her head was set free, Kelsey guided her over to the sinks to wash and shampoo the dye from the strands then took her back to the vanity for some styling.

  Alexis wouldn’t admit it, but as she looked at herself in the mirror, she liked what she saw. She couldn't let the girls have the pleasure of knowing that tidbit. Kelsey put a slight curl in her mane and the caramel highlights set off her naturally tanned skin. The color made her eyes look wide and bright, or maybe that was from the earlier thoughts of Cliff.

  After the styling, Cassidy had pulled out a plastic container that Alexis hadn’t seen since the late 1990s and began contouring and highlighting Alexis’ freshly cleansed skin.

  What stared back at her in the mirror was nothing short of a miracle. She couldn’t remember ever wearing more than a swipe of mascara, the thought of the makeup aging her always at the back of her mind. But what Cassidy had done made Alexis look young and refreshed. And her hair only complimented it.

  “Now, for the dress,” Cassidy stated as she closed the lid of the container.

  “What?”

  Everleigh stepped forward with the red dress Alexis had admired from the stack Cassidy had brought to Cliff’s home. She had complained that she had nowhere to wear the beautiful garment.

  “You didn’t think we’d let you get all dolled up and have no place to go, did you?”

  “I just thought. . .”

  “Well, Cinderella, you thought wrong. Come on now, your prince awaits.”

  Shocked, Alexis looked around the room, meeting the knowing gazes of the women she hoped to call friends. “You all set me up.”

  Piping in, Norah said, “Yeah, we’re really good at that. Come on. I can’t wait to see the look on Cliff’s face.”

  “Oh god, I’m going to need more than hair and makeup,” Alexis exclaimed. Her heart pounded inside her chest, sounding like a freight train to her own ears.

  “What, why?” Cassidy asked as she took the dress from her sister.

  “Because I’ve never been on a date.”

  She was going to throw up. Alexis was going to upchuck every morsel of her lunch all over this gorgeous red dress and black strappy shoes that were by far the prettiest things she’d ever had on her feet.

  Standing on the sidewalk outside of the salon, Alexis shifted from foot to foot as she waited with the gaggle of women behind her, their glasses of wine still firmly held in their grasps.

  “Guys, I can’t do this,” she told them, turning around and trying to push past them to go back inside the building.

  “You can, little ninja. You can and you will,” Cassidy told her as she gripped Alexis’ shoulders and turned her back around. “Besides, your man is pulling up now.”

  With her eyes downcast, she allowed her friend to push her back to the front lip of the sidewalk as an unfamiliar grey sedan pulled up in front of her. Confused, Alexis took in the sleek lines of the Porsche Panamera and wondered who had parked front of her, until the driver’s side door swung open, revealing a slacks-wearing ex-Army Ranger.

  Cliff.

  She almost didn’t recognize him with his dark hair slicked back, a light blue dress shirt pulled tightly against his chest with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and light gray slacks. She was rendered speechless as he moved to stand in front of her. Cliff was by far the sexiest man she’d ever met or had the pleasure of laying eyes on, but him dressed up took his appeal to a whole other level. Damn, he was panty-melting.

  “Wow,” she breathed out, Cliff smirked at her assessment.

  “You look beautiful, Alexis.” Reaching up, he grazed the back of his hand across her cheek in a touch so gentle it was as if he was afraid she’d disappear into thin air.

  Their gazes met and Alexis couldn’t look away, she was pulled to him with a force that she’d never known - it was electric.

  “Damn, I think I just came,” one of the women murmured. Nikki, she presumed. The women all joined in confirmation.

  “Let’s get to dinner, sweetheart.”

  With a gentle press on her back, he escorted her to the passenger side of the car and helped her slide onto the luxurious bucket seats. As he moved around the front of the vehicle, Alexis smiled as she took in the way his pants cupped the firm globes of his ass. She really did love his backside.

  “I really like what you did with your hair,” Cliff mentioned as he moved the car onto the street.

  “Thanks. I was tricked, as you know.”

  “Not all surprises are bad ones.”

  “True. So, tell me, where did you get this car?”

  “I just borrowed it. It seemed like the occasion warranted a nicer vehicle than the truck.”

  He appeared almost embarrassed at the admission and Alexis couldn’t help but reach over and grip his forearm. Cliff released his hold on the steering wheel and turned his hand over, interlacing their fingers together.

  “I prefer you with the truck,” she told him, hoping to ease his discomfort. “It suits you.”

  The car maneuvered over the winding roads taking them out of town and further into the mountains, Alexis admired the trek through the forest and meadows. As they approached a valley between the mountains, a large wooden and stone structure came into sight and Alexis gasped in awe at the enormousness of the place.

  “This was where Avery and Logan had their first date. I thought that maybe it was good luck. I hope that it is okay,” he explained as he parked the car in the gravel-filled lot.

  “It’s more than okay. I can’t wait to see the inside.”

  Whatever she had expected before, this was not it. The room, though cavernous and dark, gave a sense of warmth and intimacy in the space. She was amazed at the luxurious offerings the winery and restaurant provided.

  She and Cliff sampled the filet mignon and pecan-encrusted halibut for dinner, both of them exclaiming each bite as the best. They split a dessert of chocolate mousse and the creamy texture was so decadent that Alexis continued to steal extra bites when Cliff wasn’t looking.

  “Are you having a good time?” he asked nervously, the tips of his fingers running circles around the condensation of his water glass.

  “I’m having a great time. I. . .ugh. . .have a confession to make.”

  His ears perked up as the spinning on his glass stopped. “Really? What’s that?”

  “I’ve. . .never been on a date before.” Taking a deep breath, she rushed out, “I cannot believe I just told you that.”

  “No, I’m glad. I don’t want any secrets between us. And I find that fact hard to believe.”

  “Hard to believe, but true. Dates when you work all of the
time are few and far between.”

  “That makes sense, I suppose.”

  “Now, I do believe you said no secrets.”

  “True, I did,” he said clasping her hands in his from across the table. “I promised myself that I would wait until a better time, but I think we should get it out of the way now.”

  Alexis gripped Cliff’s hands tighter, both worry and excitement cresting in her veins. The conversation at the salon ran in her mind and she hoped that he’ll finally tell her what his actual name was. She hadn’t wanted to ask, afraid that it was a soft spot for him, wanting to wait for him to tell her himself, but curiosity had been eating away at her.

  “Sure.”

  She held her breath, anticipating his secret, wanting to have an authentic look of surprise.

  “Dylan, Preston, and I. . .we think you should work for Logan at the clinic until your father appears.”

  Chapter Eight

  It had been five days, seven hours, and thirty-four minutes since Alexis stopped speaking to him. After their date and his suggestion that she work in disguise with Logan at the clinic, she had argued vehemently on the car ride home, but he wasn’t changing his mind. He promised her that it was only temporary, but he knew she didn’t believe him. He didn’t believe himself either.

  Between her bout of curses and name-calling Cliff tried to explain that she could easily blend in at the location with the scrubs and mask as needed. When Logan had suggested it, Cliff saw a way to protect her that he hadn’t before. He was actually willing to use the assistance of others. Didn’t she see how big of a step that was for him? Apparently not, because for the fourth night in a row, he woke on the couch.

  God, he missed waking with her in his arms, with her body curled up against his, their slow breaths working in unison. It wasn’t just the sex or the intimacy, he just missed her – Alexis, the woman he loved.

  “How you hanging, lover boy?” Harlan asked as he slipped inside Cliff’s booth at his shop, just ending his stint in the apartment upstairs, monitoring the town.