Flaming Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 2)

by Stoker, Susan

  Becky decided enough was enough, she was done letting Marissa make all the choices on the show. None of the men there might be attracted to her, nor she to them, but she’d be damned if she let the one man who’d actually shown some speck of thoughtfulness to her leave just because Marissa was acting like a small spoiled child. How she wished Dean could’ve been there. Although, she thought for what seemed like the hundredth time, that if he was, he’d probably be just as gaga over Marissa as the others.

  Robert did his typically dramatic entrance for the ceremony. He asked Marissa and Becky some questions about their day and then turned to get some thoughts from the men who were left as well. Marissa once again went first and named the men she wanted to stay on the show. Then it was up to Becky to choose who she wanted to say. She voted to keep Jose and because Alex wasn’t listed in her group of who was staying, he had to leave. Becky did it purposely just to piss Marissa off.

  “The choice has been made.” Robert boomed his line right after Becky named her last guy, once again with great dramatic affect. Even though they knew it was coming, it still startled both Becky and Marissa. Dammit. Becky hated when he did that.

  Marissa stormed up to Becky after the ceremony. “What the hell was that?!?” she shrieked. “You knew I liked Alex, and you knew I wanted Jose to go! You bitch!”

  “Look, Marissa.” Becky tried to say calmly and rationally. “You don’t get to make all the decisions on this show. I liked Jose, and I want him to stay. It’s as easy as that. We only get to pick who we want to stay, not who goes. Since you didn’t pick Jose, I had just as much right to ask him to stay as you did. I’m not going to go with whatever you want. I warned you before.”

  “You’ll pay for that, you heifer!” Marissa said ominously, obviously trying to be threatening.

  Becky ignored her, turned her back and went up to her room. She didn’t care anymore. She couldn’t even think about the stupid men on the show, about how ridiculous Marissa was being, or about the ceremony. Her head still throbbed from her fall, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

  As she lay in bed the last thing she thought about before she fell asleep was Dean and the way he’d looked at her so intently when he said he wanted to see her again. It was the type of look she’d always dreamed she’d get from a man, but never figured she would.

  * * *

  Jonathan knew Dean would be waiting for him when he got back to Dean’s house. It was around ten at night and he wanted to hear what Dean had to say about what happened at Devil’s Canyon. He knew Dean was probably the one who gave Becky a ride home, but he’d kept his mouth shut. For one thing, no one ever asked a camera operator for his or her opinion. He’d noticed another operator paying close attention to Becky and her conversation with Eddie, but he wasn’t sure of her name. He knew she was attractive, but he hadn’t had any time to get to know her. They’d always been put on different assignments so far on the show. He forgot all about the woman when he walked into the house and saw Dean sitting on the couch, staring off into space, not even watching the television that was on low in front of him.

  He turned and looked at Jonathan when he’d walked in and simply said, “It’s her.”

  Jonathan knew exactly what his brother meant. “Wow. What are you going to do about it?” he asked curiously.

  Finding their One was a huge deal in their family, but Dean and Becky had more than the usual amount of obstacles in their way. She didn’t live in the area and was on a reality show. Jonathan wasn’t even sure where else to start with the issues they had.

  “I was hoping you’d help me, bro’,” Dean told Jonathan.

  Without hesitating, Jonathan returned, “Of course, you don’t even have to ask. At least now I know why I was drawn to her earlier. Not because she’s mine, but because she’s family.”

  Dean nodded. He knew what he meant. While Jonathan might not be sexually attracted to Becky, somehow he knew she belonged in their family.

  If Becky was in trouble, once she and Dean got married, Dean knew Jonathan would lay down his life for her. It was the way it was. He’d do the same once Jonathan found his One.

  “Tell me what really happened out there,” Jonathan asked, settling down on the easy chair across from his brother.

  Dean recounted the story of how he’d found Becky sitting alone on the trail and her wounds.

  “She’s amazing, Jonathan,” Dean said, unable to hold back his praise. “I’ve rarely met another person, let alone a woman, with that kind of fortitude and courage. She didn’t cry once, she glossed over her injuries as if they weren’t hurting her. She’s not one to complain. I’ll have to watch her carefully in the future so she doesn’t hurt herself further by ignoring something that really could be wrong.”

  Jonathan nodded. “I’ve noticed that about her while watching her on the show. It’s as if the more those around her complain, the less she does. It’s confounding. She’d prefer to fade into the background than bring any attention to herself.”

  Jonathan proceeded to tell Dean about the night on the set and the most recent ceremony. “You would’ve been so proud of her, Dean. She finally stood up to Marissa, and boy was Marissa pissed. It took everything I had not to laugh at the look on her face when Becky said she wanted Jose to stay.”

  Dean had a hard time finding any enjoyment in the fact that not only was Marissa apparently pissed at his woman, but hearing about Becky choosing another man, even in the context of defying Marissa, made him crazy. She was his, dammit. This was torture.

  “How did she look? Did she get a shower? Was she able to see a doctor at all?”

  Johnathan said that while Becky looked tired, she was holding her own and seemed to be okay. The shower she’d obviously taken when she got back to the set did her a lot of good. She never said anything about needing medical attention and Eddie apparently didn’t even notice the scrapes on her hands.

  “I told Becky she could get in touch with you if she needed anything and you’d tell me, but I’m not sure she will. She’s independent and has a lot of honor. She knows she signed the confidentiality agreement and I’m not sure she’ll break it. She’s not one to ask for help, but I need to see her, to talk to her.” Dean looked at his brother expectantly.

  “I know, I’ll see if I can’t get to her tomorrow and talk to her. What if we take her one of those disposable cell phones? You know the contestants have no access to phones or computers, but if I can get her a cell, then you can call her or she can at least get in touch with you directly if she needs you, or wants to talk to you.” Jonathan suggested.

  “That’s a great idea.” Dean enthused. “I’ll go out in the morning and pick up a phone for her.” The two brothers sat in a companionable silence for a while.

  Dean broke the silence. “I appreciate your help, Jonathan. I have a bad feeling about the show, and I have no idea why. I don’t know if it’s because I can’t be near her, or if it’s because of all that you’ve told me about what’s happening on the set, or what. I don’t want any of the men near her, especially if they’re only using her to get near Marissa.”

  “She’s tough,” Jonathan told his brother seriously. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. We’ll work out a plan so you can talk to her throughout the show. That should make you feel better.”

  Dean nodded and Jonathan suddenly sat up and said excitably, “I have another idea…what do you think?” He proceeded to outline his plan to Dean.

  “I love it!” Dean exclaimed, thrilled that he’d be able to be closer to Becky over the next few weeks. They’d put the plan into action the next day. He’d get to see Becky sooner rather than later. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when he strolled onto the set. She’d be surprised all right!

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning Jonathan went into work earlier than normal and requested to meet with Eddie to put their plan in action.

  “Hey, Eddie,” he started, trying to look serious and trustworthy. “I heard about this
wealthy local guy who’s interested in the reality show business and wants to take a look at this show. I heard he was interested in backing your next show in the future.”

  It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Eddie’s nose flared and Jonathan swore he could even see his eyes dilating.

  “Who is it? Do I know him? Do you know how to get in touch with him?” Eddie was asking his questions so fast he wasn’t giving Jonathan time to answer any of them. He was conceited, rightly so, since his last reality show, Love in the Outback, was a huge hit.

  “I don’t know him directly,” Jonathan lied easily, “but I was able to get his name and number for you.” He handed over a piece of paper with Dean’s name and phone number written on it. He was sure Eddie wouldn’t take the time to actually investigate Dean and would take him at his word. Jonathan had no idea how he’d made it as far in show business as he had. Oh, well. As long as it would insure Dean unlimited access to the set and the house and Becky, all was good.

  Jonathan watched as Eddie quickly stepped out of the room and headed off to make the call, visions of dollar signs dancing in his head.

  * * *

  Becky was sitting in the house’s common area, reading a book when a commotion caught her eye. She looked over and saw Eddie talking to a man at the door. She looked back at her book. She wasn’t interested in the comings and goings of people from the house. She was actually bored and only half interested in her book, but Marissa wasn’t out of bed yet and there wasn’t anything planned for the day, as far as she knew, so she tried to entertain herself. Lord knew the guys who were hanging around weren’t entertaining her. They’d barely said two words to her this morning. She would’ve loved to have taken a walk, but that wasn’t allowed. She wasn’t allowed out of the house without an escort…i.e. a camera operator and an agenda.

  She was so engrossed in her book and so used to ignoring the production staff around her that she was startled to hear Eddie addressing her while standing next to the couch. She looked up and almost choked. What the hell? What was Dean doing there? Was he getting her in trouble? Was he in trouble? Had Eddie found out about yesterday?

  Dean watched as Becky tried to process his presence on the set. He wished Eddie would hurry up and get on with it so she could relax. He could feel her tension, her worry and dismay, and he wanted to reassure her that everything was okay, but he had to wait until he was introduced as he wasn’t supposed to know her yet.

  “This is Dean,” Eddie said importantly.

  Becky put her book down and stood up uncertainly, waiting for Eddie to continue speaking. God, Dean was just as hot today as he was yesterday. She nervously smoothed her hair behind one of her ears. God, did she look okay? Why hadn’t she spent more time on getting dressed today? Crap, Eddie was talking, she had to pay attention rather than continue to stare at Dean and imagine what he looked like without his shirt on.

  “He’s an investor and is interested in funding my next show. He’ll be hanging out watching the production of the show. Dean, this is Becky, she’s one of the stars.”

  Dean held out his hand to Becky. He couldn’t wait to touch her again, to feel her skin on his. Her skin looked so soft today. She looked healthy and full of life. He thought she looked good on the trail, sweaty and hurt, but now? Wearing comfortable clothes and relaxing on the sofa? Whoa. God, he had to get it together. If he wasn’t careful he’d embarrass himself, and Becky, by getting hard in front of Eddie. He shifted a little, telling himself to cool it and waited for Becky to grasp his hand.

  Becky took Dean’s hand and almost jolted at the feeling of his hand against hers. Again, she marveled at how it just felt right. How she felt safe with his hand wrapped around hers. Why did she feel that way? It wasn’t normal, but damn it felt good.

  “N-nice to meet you, Dean,” she said softly, trying to sound as if she was meeting him for the first time and she hadn’t had his lips on hers not too long ago.

  “The pleasure’s all mine,” Dean told her with a smile and secretly squeezed her hand before reluctantly letting go.

  Eddie continued to beam at Dean as if he was his new best friend. “Come on, I’ll show you around. Marissa will be down in a bit and you can meet her too.”

  As Eddie pulled him away, Dean looked back and mouthed, “Later” at Becky. She sat down with a plop on the couch. She was glad to see him, but shocked at the knowledge that he was an investor…or was he? She wasn’t sure she wanted him hanging around the set. She was already embarrassed at most of the things that went on, she didn’t think she could stand for Dean to witness her humiliation as well as everyone else.

  And then there was Marissa. Dean was good looking—okay, he was hot as hell, and even though he wasn’t a part of the show, she knew Marissa would set her sights on him too. She tried not to think about it, she’d already thought about it more than was healthy, but she couldn’t help herself. She thought he’d probably forget all about her once he met Marissa. Most men did. Overall she didn’t think this was a good idea at all.

  A bit later as Becky was going upstairs to change out of her “lounging” clothes and into her “show” clothes she was stopped by a camera operator. It was Dean’s brother. She could tell by his long hair and his resemblance to Dean, and he matched the description Dean had given her the night before to a tee. She hadn’t ever gotten a good look at him in the past because the camera was always in front of his face.

  “Becky, my brother wanted me to give you this,” and he slipped a disposable cell phone into her hand. “In case you need him, or me, our numbers have been programmed in. Be sure to keep it to yourself so Eddie, the director and the other contestants don’t find out about it. It’s also been set on vibrate so you don’t have to worry about the noise alerting anyone to the fact that you have it.”

  Becky looked at the phone in her hand and then back up at Jonathan in confusion. What was going on? Why would she need a phone? She was already confused about why they thought she’d need to contact them in the first place. It was all very confusing. She slipped the phone into her pocket.

  The baffled look on her face must have been telling because Jonathan said softly and urgently, “Look, my brother really likes you, and he wants to keep in touch with you, that’s why he’s on the set. He’s definitely not investing in any reality shows. It’s just an excuse to be here with you. He just wants to get to know you. He’s also a bit protective. He wants to be sure you have a way of getting a hold of someone outside this silly show…” He paused a bit to clear his throat. “…in case you need anything. And Becky…” He hesitated again, not really knowing how to say this next part, but wanting to say something to let her know she wasn’t alone. “Not every man is as shallow and dense as the men on this show are…give Dean a chance…” He didn’t give her time to respond as he turned and went the other way.

  Neither Jonathan nor Becky saw the camera woman quietly standing at the end of the hall. She smiled and then disappeared into a nearby room as soon as Jonathan turned and walked away.

  Becky clenched the phone in her pocket tightly. Wow, Jonathan and Dean were intense, but they were straightforward and didn’t seem to hold back what they were thinking. That felt so good right now because it seemed like everyone else she’d been around over the last few weeks never said what they really meant and they were all out for themselves. She wanted to feel embarrassed all over again about the show and what had been going on, but she couldn’t really.

  Jonathan’s words meant a lot to her. It was hard to live in a “reality bubble” and not get sucked into what was happening around her all the time. It’d be great to have a link to the outside world just in case she needed it. She tried to imagine herself calling Dean just to chat and just couldn’t quite make it work in her head. She knew she’d never call him out of the blue. It just wasn’t in her nature to make the first move toward a guy. It did make her feel better to think Dean thought enough about her to want to give her a way to contact him or his brother.
It lifted her spirits. She’d try to hold onto that feeling throughout the outing that was planned for the day. It was gonna suck. She knew it.

  * * *

  Dean sat and watched the dynamics of the people on the show. He was expecting Marissa to be horrible after what Jonathan had told him about the show, but it was hard to truly explain to someone who hadn’t met her and hadn’t seen how she acted, how bad she really was. He was sure she was a nice person, well, relatively sure, but on the show she presented a catty possessive side. She wanted all the men on the show to pay attention to her and she made sure to put Becky in a bad light whenever she could.

  Dean knew Becky was embarrassed to have him there, but he wanted to be sure to let her know that she had an ally. It didn’t seem like anyone else, especially not the director or Eddie or Robert, cared about her feelings. And the men on the show seemed to be just as bad. He honestly didn’t understand how they could not look past Marissa’s mechanisms and see that she was poison. How could they not see the beautiful person Becky was? Yes, she was his One and he was biased, but he’d always preferred a woman who was confident and beautiful on the inside to someone who was only beautiful on the outside.

  * * *

  Becky was beyond embarrassed. It was bad enough she had to endure the social events on the show, but now that Dean was there, it was worse. Holy crap. She went over in her head what she’d rather be doing at this very moment other than being on this show and having the man she wanted to like her, with every fiber of her being, watching her being humiliated. Gynecologist exam, dentist, having a broken arm set…geez, the list could go on and on.

  She was sure at any time he’d walk out never to come back. Hell, she wouldn’t blame him. Recently she’d been dreaming about walking out almost every day.

  She’d watched Marissa meet Dean with dismay. Just as she thought she would, Marissa simpered and fawned all over him. To be fair, Dean hadn’t seemed to give her any outward encouraging behavior. He was only polite, but Becky had learned the hard way that just because a man was nice to you didn’t mean he meant it. She’d seen it happen over and over on the show. The men seemed to want to get to know her, but inevitably conversation would always turn to Marissa and what she thought of the other men.