by Taylor Hart
She seemed to process his comment. When she laughed, he could see her whole body relax. “Oh my gosh, this whole thing is so weird.”
“It’s all going to work out.”
Chapter 12
Jewel couldn’t get over how surreal it was to be arriving with Grant Kent. As they got off the jet and got into his red Ford truck, she looked around at the snow-covered mountains and reminded herself this was really happening. The freezing cold, such a contrast to LA, certainly helped with the reality check. Luckily, his truck was toasty because someone had already had it waiting for them.
Nervous angst wove through her as she thought about meeting her mother. “I guess we could just go there.”
“Right. Which art gallery is it?”
“Ahh.” Her hand shook as she pulled her phone out and brought up the email. She had to wait a second for her cell service to connect. “Just a sec.”
Grant drove out of the airport, and she noticed the streets were piled with snow even though there was lots of sunshine.
“Man, sorry, my hand is shaking. Give me a second to find the email.”
“Do you want to go change first?” he asked, as if sensing her apprehension.
“Yeah.” Relief swept over her, and she leaned back, taking in the snow. “Dang, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen snow before.”
“Are you serious?” He turned to her, giving her a skeptical look.
She grinned at him. He was from Colorado originally, if she remembered correctly, so he wouldn’t understand. “We didn’t have a lot of money and never really went out of state. If we took a vacation, it was south to the beach.”
His confused, horrified face stared back at her. “You mean to tell me you’ve never played in snow before?”
She shrugged and stared at the sparkling layer of snow across everything. “It’s beautiful.”
“Can’t waste all this fresh powder.” He turned on to a side road, and they drove away from the main road for a minute.
She wasn’t surprised with all the things she’d heard about Wyoming and open space, but it appeared they were on some ranch. He stopped the truck and got out, running around to her side and opening the door. Cold air rushed in.
She shivered. “What are you doing?”
He laughed and took her hand, coaxing her out. “Throwing you in the snow. Better put your phone down, or else it’ll get wet.” He shut the truck door and took a couple of steps, scooping her up and dropping her in a huge pile of snow.
Cold burned where it touched her skin, but she loved it. She giggled.
He fell back next to her, causing another poof in the snow. “Whoo-wee! It’s chilly, but it’s nice and soft powder.” He suddenly started flopping around.
She looked up and stared as he moved his arms and legs.
“This is called making snow angels, Polka Dot. Try it.”
She giggled again and did what he was doing. “This is exactly what you did in Save the Date,” she laughed, feeling like a kid again.
Grant clambered to his feet and reached out to her. “You watch my movies.”
“Hardly ever,” she said, though she accepted his hand.
“Right.” He cocked an eyebrow.
Jewel considered their work. “They do look like snow angels.”
He chuckled. “Yes, they do.” He’d taken off his sunglasses, and his perfectly blue eyes met hers. They were breathtaking. Just like on the big screen.
Reaching out, she brushed her hand across his head. “You have snow in your hair.”
The moment went slow and sticky, and then he reached out and mussed her long hair. “So do you.”
With a giggle, she found another spot with untouched snow, turned around, and let herself fall into the snow again. “Let’s make another one.”
He roared out a laugh and moved to her other side, falling back and moving his arms and legs back and forth.
This time, she got up and reached for him, but he had a wicked glint in his eye. He pulled her back down to him, then picked up snow and tossed it at her.
“Ahh—what are you doing?” But she was already gathering some snow and making a snowball in retaliation.
“You catch on quick, Polka Dot. We’ll have a good old-fashioned snowball fight.”
She threw hers and caught him right under the jaw. They laughed, and for the next ten minutes, it was on. Unfortunately, she lost most of the time.
Eventually, she noticed she was freezing. “Cold.” Everything around her had been soaked, and her fingers were ice.
He laughed and trudged to the truck, holding open the door for her. “Yep, we’re going to have to get you some dry clothes.” Rushing around, he jumped into his own seat, and they took off. “We should buy you a good coat.”
She dismissed this idea. “We’ll only be here one night. I don’t think I need clothes. I’ll just change. It’ll be fine.”
Giving her a doubtful look, he said, “Okay, we’ll change at Sloane’s house. Then it’s off to meet your mom.”
“Sounds good. Are we really staying at your brother’s house?”
He shrugged, acting like it was no big deal.
She remembered her father had told him he didn’t want them staying in the same room, and she worried about the money if they had to get a hotel. She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. Take me to a hotel. You go visit your brother.”
“You’re my fiancée, remember? Don’t worry, Sloane’s not even there right now. He’s touring. I texted him, and he’s fine with it.”
“I … this is too much.”
Nonchalantly, he turned on the radio, and country music filled the truck. “Don’t worry about it. You know how all the country artists have copied Montana Cruz and Texas Waters and bought places up here to ‘get away and write.’”
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to be staying in Sloane Kent’s house.”
Rolling his eyes, he said, “How come I feel like you’re more excited about staying at his place than you are about coming to Jackson on Grant Kent’s jet?”
Her nerves buzzed with excitement. If Grant only knew all the movies on her DVR were his movies. “Is it hard on the ego, Hollywood, to have so many famous brothers?”
Looking offended, he put his hand to his chest. “I was meaning to tell you, if your official nickname for me is Hollywood, the name is not very original.”
She laughed, liking the way this man teased her more and more. “Maybe it’s not as creative as Polka Dot, but it seems more fitting.”
They rolled up to a gated subdivision, and Grant rolled down his window, reached out, and punched in a code. The gates opened, and she was astonished to see huge mansions clustered together on lots that looked like they were a couple of acres each.
He winked at her. “I like Polka Dot.”
Speechless, she stared at the mansions they drove by and decided he was definitely out of her league. It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. They were here to find her birth mother. They would change and go to the gallery. Then it would be done.
What would happen after she found her mother?
As if he could sense her thoughts, Grant told her, “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.”
Chapter 13
Grant gave her a tour of Sloane’s house, feeling proud of his brother. “I actually haven’t had a chance to get up here since he bought it. But it’s nice, isn’t it?”
They stood in the large kitchen with beautiful granite countertops, staring out of floor-to-ceiling windows that showed off an amazing view of the Teton Mountains.
Jewel had pulled her hair back and put it in a hair tie at the nape of her neck. It looked like it was actually curly when wet. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but stopped himself.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “I mean, amazing.” Her lips turned up and she stared out the window. “Snow is so peaceful.”
He nodded, liking her interpretation of it.
They stood in silence for a moment. Then
she said, “Uh, should we change and go try to find her?” He saw a flush of red on her cheeks.
He reprimanded himself for making her do the full tour. “I’m sorry, yes. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, they were both changed and in his truck, heading down Main Street. The address of the art gallery was easy to find. Grant pulled up to the curb and cut the engine.
Turning to Jewel, he noticed she wasn’t moving to get out of the truck. He studied her while he waited for her to feel ready. She looked beautiful. She’d done her hair in soft curls around her face and had re-applied her makeup. Her fitted jeans, white top, and yellow summer jacket made him smile, because he knew she would be freezing if they were outside any length of time. The jacket was all but useless here. Depending on what happened with her mother, he didn’t know how long they would end up in Jackson. They hadn’t really discussed it.
Noticing she was breathing fast, he thought about how she seemed to be getting even more nervous instead of calmer. “Are you ready?” he asked.
She smiled, and her eyes fluttered. “I’ve been thinking about meeting her for so long. All I can think of right now is that stupid song from the movie Annie. Ya know, the old movie Annie? The song about the mom sewing and the dad cooking and Annie’s kind of idealization of her parents.”
He didn’t want to admit to her he’d never seen that movie before. “Yeah.”
Hesitating, she narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. “Well, anyway, here I go.”
“Wait.” He jumped out and ran around, opening the door for her.
Looking surprised, she took his hand when he offered it and let him help her out. “A gentleman.”
It made him feel good to be one. “Mama taught me right.”
She smiled hesitantly.
Dang, he hated to see her so nervous. “Let’s go.”
“No. You’re not coming.”
“Sweetheart, I’m in this, so I’m coming.”
“Please. I know that you clearly have the whole ‘protect’ thing going on, especially after my father’s instructions, but I need to see my mother by myself.”
Letting out a sigh, he imagined she probably did want to see her mother for the first time by herself. “Okay, I’ll be waiting here.”
He watched her disappear into the gallery and could hear a chime go off. This was how he’d imagine a parent would feel sending their kid off to kindergarten for the first time.
For some stupid reason, his mind flashed back to that day. To little Elsie’s body on the ground, the president and himself both reaching for her.
Pressing a hand to his forehead, he sucked in a breath. Usually, he didn’t think about “the incident.” Ever since Will had brought it up a few days ago, it was like the memory was waiting for him, taunting him. It also didn’t help when he’d seen Jewel’s dad be so protective.
It got cold, and he restarted the truck. He surveyed downtown Jackson. He’d been there a couple of times, and it did have its charm. Sloane was actually friends with a bunch of the bigwigs in Jackson because of his association with Montana Cruz, Texas Waters, and Hunter James, a rich oil tycoon. In fact, Grant had been invited two years ago to one of the most exclusive wedding receptions in Jackson for Sterling Pennington—the other big-name movie star that owned a gallery here. He looked around, wondering where Pennington’s gallery was. He’d met Pennington a couple of times at Hollywood soirees, and he’d met his wife, Summer, too. They seemed like nice people. Good people.
He checked the clock on his truck. Ten minutes had gone by. Nothing. He imagined that if this was a reunion with her mother, it might take a while.
So he settled into the truck, flipped on the radio, and grinned as one of his brother’s popular songs, “Fire and Ice,” came on. Good-naturedly, he sang along and then decided to turn it down and call Tom to see how things were going in Maui with Emily Times. He still couldn’t believe Tom had hooked up with his old flame. She’d been their neighbor most of Tom’s life.
Tom answered after the first ring. “Hey.”
“So, the neighbor girl.”
“Yeah, so what?”
“Nothing, it’s cool.”
“I can’t talk. I’m getting ready for her boss’s wedding.”
This was crazy. “How did you end up being her date?”
Tom let out a light laugh. “Bro, I’m going to have to take you through the details at a later date. Suffice it to say, I want her back, and I’m not letting her get away this time.”
More crazy talk. “So quick, bro?”
Tom grunted. “Not quick. It was always meant to be.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Hey, Will said you all talked about me and my stupid pride when it came to Emily.”
“True.” Grant laughed.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re not going to believe it. I’m actually in Jackson at Sloane’s house, helping Ari’s acting teacher find her birth mom.”
“I think you might have me beat in the crazy department.”
Grant rubbed his hand over his forehead. “I think you might be right.”
Tom sighed. “When it’s right, it’s right.”
“Yeah.” Grant suddenly wondered if that was really true. Did it just happen and you knew it was right? He’d dated a lot, had a bunch of girlfriends, but he’d never thought he’d felt it was right.
Tom laughed. “Maybe some of the fruitcake curse has rubbed off on you too.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“This old lady came into the fire department a couple of weeks ago and wanted to thank us. So she brought this fruitcake, and she insisted all of us eat some. Then she told us it would bring us true love.”
Grant liked it. “Sounds like a movie.”
“Right? I gotta go pick up Ems. Check you later.”
“Bye.” He pressed end and stared at his phone, tempted to check his social media, but not wanting to deal with the annoyance of what the media outlets were saying about him and Tracy. And what his PR people would be putting out about them. He was sure they were attending some fancy party. But he didn’t have any time to check, because Jewel came rushing out of the gallery, and it looked like she was about to cry.
Hopping out of the truck, he rushed to her side and opened the door. “What happened?”
“She’s not there. I spoke to her husband. Can we please … can we just go?”
Grant hopped back in and took off. She looked really upset. “Jewel, what happened?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she wasn’t crying per se. “I walked around, and no one seemed to be there. But it was open, so I kept walking around. Finally, an older guy came out. I asked if a woman named Trudy Simon was there, but the guy said she wasn’t. I didn’t know what to do.” She broke off and shed more tears. “He told me he was her husband.”
Grant hesitated. Something else was going on. “Did you tell him you think she’s your mother?”
She shook her head. “All I could think about was that she had a husband. And maybe she might have a family.” She looked sucker punched. “I froze. Then I told him I was interested in some artwork. The husband, whose name is Russ, told me she was spending the next week in Park City—” More tears squeezed out of her eyes. “—with her son.”
“I’m sorry.” Grant reached for her hand, and surprisingly, she didn’t pull it back. “I’m sorry.”
She blinked. “She left me in a hospital, abandoned me, and now she has a son? That she kept?”
Grant felt her pain and squeezed her hand, knowing she still needed closure. “I don’t know, but I think we should go back and find out when she’s coming back so you can talk to her.” He pulled her into him. “It’s okay, Polka Dot.”
They sat like that in the truck with her in his arms.
Selfishly, he realized he liked holding her, comforting her. He didn’t like what she was going through, but he liked being there for her. “What do you want to do?”
<
br /> She shrugged. “The husband was adamant about how cool the art show she’s doing in Park City is. It’s held at the Park City Resort.”
Grant’s heart raced. “Then we’ll go there.”
“Really? I don’t want to ask you—”
The decision was already made for him. “I’m in this, Jewel, so you’d better just let me take you to Park City.”
She tugged her hand back, mopping beneath her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but thank you.”
The truth was that he didn’t know why he was doing it either, but doing this with her, doing something purposeful, made him feel good. “Earning those wings.”
She laughed. “Right.”
He drove toward his brother’s house, but then he veered off the road to a store. “How about I cook you dinner tonight? We stay here and rest. Then we’ll go to Park City tomorrow.”
She sighed. “I hate how much time and cost this is to you.”
It was refreshing to him that she was the kind of woman that cared about inconveniencing others. Whipping out his phone, he shook his head. “It’s not an inconvenience, and I have another brother who lives just outside of Park City, so we’ll stay there.”
Tom answered on the first ring. “Told you, kinda going to a wedding.”
“Sorry. Can I stay at your place the next couple of days?”
“What?” Tom sputtered out a laugh.
“I need to stay in Park City. My, uh, friend thinks her relative might be there.” He didn’t want Jewel to think he’d been talking about her.
“O-kay. Uh, sure.”
“Do you not want me staying?”
“It’s in process, man.” He sighed. “I don’t think it’s up to movie star standards.”
Grant rolled his eyes, not loving that his brother was affirming that he was a prima donna. “It’ll be fine. Where’s the key?”
“Okay, the rock by the door, but you’re going to have to dig out the snow. There’s been a lot of snow up there.”
“It’s fine. Thanks, bro.”
“Wait,” Tom said.
“Yeah?”
