When The Runway Went South

by Lois Kasznia

  "How did you find me?"

  "I can't reveal my resources. I promised I wouldn't say anything because I don't want anyone fired."

  "Kat told you, didn't she?" Ally sat up which forced Caleb to sit up too.

  "She had a hand in it," admitted Caleb sheepishly.

  "She only knew about the hotel," began Ally putting two and two together. "But how did you find out where I would be?" Ally wanted answers. "Did you see me spill my drink?"

  "Yeah, I almost decked that dude, instead, I asked that lady to accidentally bump into you. She wanted to help. When she saw him grab your arm, I didn't have to ask again."

  "And you followed me in the cab," continued Ally. "In the city of New York, how did you find me?"

  "Fate?" Caleb smiled and looked at Ally. "Don't worry about it. I'm here."

  "You're not going to tell me." Ally looked at him in frustration.

  "I called Henri's secretary," said Caleb dejectedly. "I bribed her with a gift certificate to Tiffany's."

  "You did? Alice? Oh, Caleb, she's going to take you to the cleaners," laughed Ally.

  "Isn't it worth it?" Caleb looked hopeful.

  "What about your farm? Who is taking care of it? Caleb, as much as I love you, you should be at home." Ally became concerned and started to get dressed, but Caleb stopped her.

  "Jeb is taking care of things for a couple of days. He'll call me if he needs anything."

  "What about the cattle thieves, Caleb?" Ally didn't feel totally convinced Caleb could afford the time away.

  "We've got the rangers, police and Jeb watching. Ally, I'm not going home without you." Caleb had drawn her into his arms.

  "You did all this for me?" Ally couldn't believe it. "I didn't want to come back to Texas if it meant you weren't in the picture." Ally kissed Caleb. "It would break my heart."

  "Well, shoot. I reckon you're stuck with me." He held Ally in his arms. "Now, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

  "I've got the whole day to myself. Then on Monday, the show is over at lunch and then I fly back to Texas." Ally led Caleb back to the bed. "Now, where were we?" she asked seductively.

  "Right where I want to be," murmured Caleb as he lowered himself onto Ally.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "Ally, is that your phone?" Caleb had been awakened by the unusual ring tone.

  "Oh, God." mumbled Ally from deep within the bed. "Who is calling me at this hour?" She got up, fished her phone out of her purse and glanced at the display. "Henri?" She answered the call. "Henri?"

  "Where did you go last night?" demanded Henri. "You left Enrique all alone. To make it up to him, we have arranged dinner at seven-thirty tonight. My limo will pick you up."

  "No!" shouted Ally. "You promised me the day off. Henri, I'm not interested in Enrique."

  "He's worth a lot of money to us, Ally. Please do it for me?" begged Henri.

  "Oh, Henri, why do you put me in these situations? He made me very uncomfortable. Did it ever occur to you that I have other plans? Do you only think of yourself? I came here to do you a favor and now you're pushing my buttons," warned Ally. "I should walk away right now."

  "But, Ally, Enrique wants to get to know you better," said Henri. "Think of it, Ally."

  "The answer is no and if you don't buy it, Henri, I will leave tonight."

  "Okay, okay. I'll tell him that you're feeling under the weather," rushed Henri knowing he had pushed Ally too far. "You will be there tomorrow?"

  "Only if I don't have to go out tonight." Ally hung up the phone and looked over at Caleb, who had a bemused expression on his face.

  "Enrique?"

  "The guy I spilled the drink on. He wants to ‘get know me better’. What a pig." Ally shook her head in disgust.

  "I think it's funny how you threatened to walk out on Henri."

  "At this moment, he would have a heart attack if I did," giggled Ally.

  "That's right," said Caleb as he slapped his hand to his forehead. "You give men heart attacks."

  "I am not amused at all, Mr. Strait." Ally glared at him momentarily, but she couldn't stay mad for long. "So, since I have the whole day free, what do you want to do?"

  "Order room service," said Caleb as he reached for Ally and began to kiss her.

  "Did I say food?" challenged Ally.

  "Ally, you're going to kill me yet," moaned Caleb as he stretched out onto the king size bed. "You're going to make me into a lazy man."

  "Ha." snorted Ally playfully. "Great. Blame it on me." She rolled on top of him and smiled. "Did you have your heart attack yet?"

  "It's happening now!" Caleb rolled Ally off, grabbed his chest and curled into a ball.

  "Caleb, are you serious?" Frightened, Ally reached for him. Caleb's hand shot out and grabbed Ally and pulled her onto the other side of the bed. "Caleb, don't kid about something like that. You had me scared." Ally pulled herself up out of bed.

  "I'm sorry," said Caleb trying to stifle a laugh. "I've got good genes and after last night, I think I got enough exercise." He fondly tousled Ally's hair. "When are you going to show me New York?"

  "I don't think you'd like it," said Ally truthfully. "It's nothing like Texas."

  "Do I get to make up my own mind?" Caleb asked Ally.

  Ally stared at him and gave him the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to see New York? She would show him. They made love once more in the shower.

  Ally decided to take Caleb to Times Square, Central Park and anywhere else he wanted to go. Together they strolled, arm-in-arm through the streets. Caleb became quiet as his eyes took in all of the sites; the vendors on the sidewalks, the rush of people moving along, the outfits people wore, riding in a taxi and the traffic.

  "There are more taxi's than there are cars," he commented to Ally.

  "Yup, you do not want to get caught driving around in this traffic," confirmed Ally.

  "All of these folks." Caleb shook his head. "I'm starting to feel claustrophobic. You're right, Ally. I miss my land."

  "I knew you would," smiled Ally. "It's where you grew up, I guess. I mean when I lived in Indiana, the big city of New York called out to me. But as I grew older, I longed for a different place and Kat talked me into moving to Texas."

  "I'm glad she did." Caleb grabbed Ally's hand and squeezed it affectionately. "I'm glad y'all didn't move back to Indiana."

  "I had thought about it at one time," teased Ally.

  "Ally, about tomorrow after the shoot." Caleb pulled Ally from the throngs of people walking into the entrance of their hotel. "You're coming home with me, right?"

  "What do you mean? Henri has a plane for me to fly into Love Field after the show. I'll be home around six tomorrow night." Ally looked at him with concern. "Why?"

  "What's wrong with my plane? After the show, I'll fly us home." They had reached the elevators and were on their way up to Ally's room.

  "You have a plane?" Ally shook her head in amazement. "You know how to fly a plane?"

  "Hell, yeah, I just don't have the hangar by the house. It's parked at private air strip in Argyle." Caleb lowered his voice to a whisper. "I want to make sure you do come home." His lips closed on Ally's possessively.

  "I'll clear it with Henri." Ally felt light-headed with happiness.

  Ally's wake-up call came at the crack of dawn and she moaned in frustration. She really didn't want to do this. She'd rather stay in bed with Caleb's muscular body wrapped around hers.

  "What would Henri say if you didn't show up?" asked Caleb, his eyes still closed and his unrelenting body holding Ally prisoner.

  "He'd probably send the police in," murmured Ally. "But I have to do this, Caleb. I made a promise and I don't want to go back on my word."

  Slowly she got out of bed and padded to the shower. When she finished, she put on jeans and a tee shirt and started to pack her things. She looked over to find Caleb sound asleep in bed and felt jealous she couldn't stay with him. A little mean streak in her surfaced and she walked over and sat on the bed
. "Hey, big guy," she said as she gently touched his face.

  "What?" Caleb still didn't open his eyes.

  "I'm getting ready to leave now."

  "Why?" Caleb cracked open one eye and gazed at her. "You look like a regular person with the torn jeans and those big sunglasses."

  "Yeah, once I get there, there will be hours for makeup and hair. There's no point in me attempting it myself. It's their show. But, Caleb, after the show, where should I meet you? Back here at the hotel?"

  "Are you packed up?"

  "My suitcase is over there." Ally pointed to the luggage by the door.

  "I'll pick you up after the show."

  "I'll be there." She reached down and gave him a solid kiss on the lips before she left.

  The sun started to break through the early morning fog as Ally descended from the cab. Walking into the building, she signed some autographs and headed back stage for the dressing rooms. As she entered, she gagged at the smell of cigarette smoke, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Ally spotted Henri fussing about, already in a tizzy over something.

  "Ally, I'm over here, dear." Henri motioned for her to come see him. "Denise will do you hair and makeup and this is the line up."

  "Denise," said Ally flatly as the girl looked bored to death. Denise just chomped on her gum and stared at Ally. They had known each other for a long time and never really cared for each other. Denise did wonders for Ally's look, though, which is why they still kept her around.

  "Things haven't changed," commented Ally as she felt claustrophobic being surrounded by all the chaos of the event planners, the greeters, the designers and the press. Henri tried to shield her away from as many people as he could.

  "Ally, did you come back on the scene?" One reporter snapped her photo and Henri shoved him out of the way and safely got Ally to a private room. Denise worked away on her while Ally sat there stoically. Ally kept her sanity by thinking about Caleb and how the whole relationship turned out. She felt so treasured that he had flown here to be with her and refused to go home without her. She smiled and sighed.

  "So, where have you been?" inquired Denise. "Not that I missed you."

  "Ditto."

  "You're done here," Denise replied haughtily and left the room.

  The designer's assistant walked into the room and introduced herself to Ally and helped her get into the first gown, when the door opened behind her. Looking into the mirror to see who had entered the room, Enrique stared at her lewdly, his eyes assessing every part of her body. Ally felt violated. Turning around, Ally sputtered, "What are you doing here?"

  "Where were you last night? I wanted to have dinner and conversation with you." Enrique never took his eyes off of Ally's body.

  "Uh, Enrique? Eyes up here." Ally rudely lifted his chin. "I had other plans. Now, please leave. I have a show to do."

  "I just love a woman with spirit." Enrique leaned comfortably against the door jam, letting Ally know he had plans to stay.

  "I'm going to ask you politely one more time. Leave!"

  "As a friendly reminder, I'm paying for this show," Enrique said in a firm voice.

  "So? Is that a threat? I don't care. This is my last job. Your threat means absolutely nothing to me." Ally turned to the assistant who stared at Ally’s tongue tied. "Would you please get Henri? This is totally out of line." She glared at Enrique, who finally got the message and left slowly.

  "You haven't seen the last of me yet," he warned Ally. He closed the door softly.

  "I think you're in trouble," said the assistant.

  "Ask me if I care," said Ally defiantly. "Talk about a creep. He makes me so angry".

  "What's the problem?" asked Henri, as he burst through the door. The assistant had left to get the outfits that Ally would be wearing.

  "The trouble is that damn Enrique. He just came in here unannounced and he's threatening me. As if he owns me. I will not submit to him because of his money. I can walk right out of here, Henri. You know that."

  "Now, now calm down," said Henri flustered. "I'll talk to the producers. After the show you don’t' have to worry about a thing." Henri left just as the assistant came back in followed by one of Ally's arch rivals, Monique.

  "That dress belongs to me, why is it going to Ally?" Monique snatched the dress from the rack and stalked out the door.

  "You get back here," cried the assistant and ran after Monique with Henri in tow. After a brief conversation with the designer, the dress went back to Ally.

  "I don't miss this place at all," cried Ally as the assistant helped her get dressed.

  As Ally walked out on stage, her persona changed to that of a supermodel. The blinding lights took her far away from this place and she pranced down the aisle, stunned when people stood up to give her a standing ovation. She faltered slightly, but resumed her composure and continued her walk. Ally faltered again when she saw Caleb sitting in the front row smiling and cheering with the rest of the crowd. How did Caleb get a seat? She regained her balance once again and finished her walk ready to change into the next outfit.

  "You think you're so great," warned Monique as she passed by Ally. "Just you wait." Ally totally ignored her. She had other things to worry about, which didn't include Monique.

  Caleb had done some sweet talking with Henri's secretary to get this seat at today's fashion show. He felt totally out of place and silly, but he wanted to see what Ally had given up for her life in Texas. His pride for Ally swelled at the standing ovation she had received and started to worry that maybe she would stay and not go back with him. The engagement ring in his pocket weighed heavily on his mind and he wondered when would be the right time to propose to her? He wished he could do it after the show. He sighed, realizing he would have to wait. Caleb's phone began to vibrate alerting him to an incoming call. He glanced at the display and saw Jeb's cell phone number. Not a good sign, he left the room while he took the call.

  "Hello Caleb, its Gracie." Her voice was strained and worried.

  "What's wrong?" Caleb's heart thudded in his chest.

  "It's Jeb. He's in the hospital. They don't know what's wrong, but he's not conscious. He had just hopped off his horse and he passed out in the barn. Thank goodness Marcus saw him and called nine-one-one."

  "I'll be there as soon as I can," said Caleb now worried about not only Jeb, but his ranch.

  "Marcus said he'd look after things, but, Caleb, I'm scared." Gracie burst into tears.

  "I have to make some arrangements, but I'll be there as soon as I can." Caleb tried to think of his plan of operation. He had to get a message to Ally somehow. He had to get back to the ranch, but he promised to take Ally with him. Caleb felt torn. He went back into the audience and sat down trying to gauge his plan of action. Ally had gone back on stage and he sighed as she walked by. Caleb leaned over to the woman sitting next to him.

  "Um, excuse me," he started. The woman turned to him and smiled. "Uh, could you tell me when this will be over?"

  "I don't know. It shouldn't be long, though." She glanced at him in amusement. "You don't look like the fashion type. Are you bored?"

  "You've got me hog-tied," said Caleb with a smile. "I need to get a message to Ally Duncan, how can I do that?"

  "You and every other man," she sighed, no longer interested in Caleb.

  "She's my girlfriend."

  "I don't buy that." She seemed disgusted.

  "I know, but it's true. She's living in Texas now and I promised her I'd take her back after the show. But a problem has come up and I have to leave now. Honestly."

  "Looks like they're ending it now," she pointed out to Caleb as the models lined up towards the front of the stage. "If I were you, I would try and go backstage to see if you can catch her." The lady stopped talking and watched stunned as they witnessed Ally falling into a heap on the stage.

  "Oh Lord. What happened?" asked Caleb.

  "Your days out here are over," sneered Monique as she purposely pushed Ally down while keeping her poise.
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br />   "What are you doing?" screamed Ally as she twisted her ankle trying to break her fall. "It's my ankle! I think it's broken."

  Pandemonium broke out as people rushed up on the stage to assist Ally. However, Caleb reached her first. "What happened, Ally? Are you okay?" Caleb engulfed her into his strong muscular arms while Henri and Security rushed onstage.