“I think that’s crap.” She stared at him, hands clasped in front of her. “It’s an excuse.”
“That may be, too. I’m not an expert on your mother. Never claimed to be.”
“You have just as important a job, Dad. People depend on you, but you don’t walk out on me.”
“At times I do.” He felt compelled to be honest.
“No, not like that. You may leave me with Uncle Beau or Aunt Fiona, but you always come home. I don’t go months without seeing you.”
“True. Unfortunately, this is the reality of two parents who aren’t married with one having custody, honey. I wish it was different.”
“Mom wouldn’t have let it be different and she’d never be happy here.”
He took another sip and watched Carlee twirl her hair, wondering when she’d gotten grown up enough to understand all this.
“Leia was my friend, Dad.”
He set his cup down before the contents could slosh, not expecting the rapid change of topic even though he should have. “She still is.”
“You changed that. You slept with her and changed that.”
Zach stared at her, fumbling for something to say. He finally settled on a version of the truth, as he’d discussed with Beau. “I have some complicated feelings about Leia. I think she would say the same thing.”
“I was important to her. Now you’re more important, Dad.”
He shook his head. “That’s not true.”
“How could it not be?”
He floundered for an answer. “Did Leia say something to you?”
“No.” She traced the edge of her mug, the cream nearly melted and she hadn’t taken a sip. “She’s just like Mom. Big career. She’ll leave and forget I even existed. My feelings won’t matter.”
He opened his mouth to counter that and then snapped it shut.
Wasn’t that exactly what he was thinking? Had thought that ever since she’d bought the house? Ever since he’d handed her phone back for her to deal with Banning? Ever since they’d made love?
He reached across the table and took Carlee’s hand. “I’ll still be here, honey.
“Great, Dad. Thanks.” She escaped from the table and he let her go, her sarcasm biting. After all, he was only a father and he couldn’t make magic happen.
.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Two days later, Leia flicked through the news channels for Hollywood reporting and hit the redial on her cell phone.
No answer.
Where was her damn manager when she needed him?
Granted, she’d been ignoring him pretty much for most of the holiday season. But he was getting paid to be handling the sudden explosion of lies on the airwaves about her.
She supposedly was coming out of rehab to a fourteen city tour, a movie deal, and the launch of her signature clothing line. She didn’t have a clothing line and a movie deal was news to her. The fourteen city tour wouldn’t be unreasonable except Cale had never said a thing.
Another channel had that she’d fired her band and her next album had been put on hold due to financial woes. Really?
She left another message with Cale and hung up. Scrolling through her address book, she found the number for Eli Jones, her lead guitarist, and hit the send button.
He answered after the first ring and responded to her greeting. “Leia? About damn time you called.”
“Happy New Year’s to you, too.” She hit the mute on the television.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you since before Christmas.”
“I’ve been sick and out of the loop. Why?”
“Cale fired us two days before Christmas.”
“What?” Her feet slid off the coffee table and hit the floor. “He can’t do that.”
“Well, he did. With all these rumors in the tabloid. I didn’t know what to believe. What do you want me to tell the rest of the band?”
She stood and began pacing. “You’re my band. You’re not fired. Understood? As far as I know, all the rumors aren’t true. I’m not in rehab. I’ve been sick.”
“Gotta admit that scared me some. We’ve been together a long time. I tried to call and call and to catch up with you at your house in Beverly Hills, but you are never there.”
“I don’t live there anymore Eli. I bought a house in Colorado. I’ll give you all the details soon. I’ll call Cale and get to the bottom of this.” She hung up, feeling sick inside.
She’d gotten Eli’s voice messages, too, and had put off calling him, so focused on Zach that she hadn’t wanted to get back to real life. But the reality was that people depended on her for their livelihood, their careers. She’d been self-indulgent and irresponsible to keep herself apart for so long. Yeah, she’d needed to while she was sick, but the minute she was released from the hospital, she should have checked in and kept this from happening.
The doorbell rang. The noise in the quiet of the house jarred against the light speed of her brain and she rushed to the door. Zach stood holding his hat, his badge prominent on the dark green jacket.
She slapped a hand to her heart and took a deep breath. “Zach, you startled me.”
He gave her a strange look, then was all business. “I hate to ask, but can you keep an eye out for Carlee? I have to go into the office for court and she wanted to stay home in bed.”
“You want me to check on her?”
“If you would. I should be back by four at the latest. Beau’s tied up at the lodge and Fiona and Ryder went to Wyatt’s for his annual New Year’s Eve bash at his restaurant tomorrow night.”
“What about Denise?”
“She’s gone. Two days ago. Some big news story breaking, although I have yet to hear what it was.” He took off his hat, fingering the brim and then shifted it back into a perfect fit on his head. “I’d just appreciate an eye out. No boys, no parties.” He gave a half-laugh.
She nodded, pleased he’d come to her. “I can do that. I’m not her favorite person right now, though.”
“Neither am I, so we’re even. I’ve gotta go. Judge hates people being late, his sheriff especially.”
“Okay. I got this.” Some of her fluster must have gotten through, because he stopped for a moment on the cusp of leaving.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, usual superstar problems.” She gave him a weak smile. “It’ll sort itself out.”
“Okay. I appreciate this.” Then he was gone. No kiss. No hug. No “can I see you later.”
She slowly shut the door, bombarded with the notion that both sides of her life were crumbling under her feet and not entirely sure anything good was going to come from the collapse.
Four long hours later, she dumped the remnants of the coffee pot in the sink and opened a bottle of water. Her nerves were fried. An intense search of the internet turned up more gossip, or she should say more than usual.
She picked up her cell phone to call Cale’s secretary for the sixth time in an hour. The phone rang in her hand. Cale. Finally.
She took a deep breath so she’d sound normal, not like some strung out psycho. “Hello, Cale. Happy New Year.”
“About time you surfaced.” His tone wasn’t promising.
“I’ve been sick so I’m laying low and resting my voice.” One truth.
“Sick? Why didn’t you call?”
She rolled her eyes. “Managed it myself, Cale. That’s not what I called to talk about.”
“Where are you? Let’s meet.”
“I can’t do that.” She took a deep breath. “I’m at my home in Colorado. Weather’s not great for traveling.”
“You don’t have a house in Colorado. So why don’t you tell me where you really are before it hits the tabloids.”
“I have a home in Colorado, Cale. I bought it last fall.”
There was a long pause before he finally answered. “You’re not supposed to buy anything that size without running it through me first.”
His harsh parental tone ignited her temper.
“You aren’t supposed to fire my band!”
“We talked about that. They’ve gotten stale.”
“I told you that no one fires my band.”
“I pay the bills around here, Leia, and manage all the interests. You sing.”
“Wrong. You wouldn’t have a job without my singing. Every single detail better be coming through me or maybe you need to find a new job.”
He was silent for long enough to make guilt and regret rise to clog her throat.
“Are you threatening to fire me, little girl? After everything I’ve done for you?”
The derogatory tone of “little girl” popped the bubble of emotion in her throat and made her temper spike. “Define everything, Cale. You certainly didn’t sing on the albums. You certainly didn’t bring your talent to the table to exploit. You certainly weren’t along for the city by city exhausting tours. You’re supposed to be working for me not against me.”
“Without me, you wouldn’t have become a household name.”
“Without you, there would have been another manager to make me a household name, but maybe he’d respect my opinion. Get me my financial statements. I want them in forty-eight hours or I’ll call an accounting firm to audit.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Leia. There isn’t any need for all that, honey.”
“You shouldn’t have fired my band, Cale. Fair warning. Clear everything else through me or we’ll be splitting company.” She hung up on him, too furious to think straight.
Her only lawyer was Cale’s lawyer, so she couldn’t turn that direction. She wanted to pitch a fit, throw a few things and scream. She settled for slapping the counter and swearing loudly for two full minutes.
Then she looked out the window and saw a piece of paper flapping on Zach’s front door. It hadn’t been there thirty minutes ago. She called Carlee’s cell phone, but the girl didn’t answer. She called Zach’s house and the answering machine picked up.
“What are you doing, Carlee?” She hadn’t seen or talked to the girl since Zach left four hours ago. She didn’t want to lean over her shoulder and make the girl think she wasn’t old enough to be watching out for herself, but it wouldn’t hurt to run over and find out what the note was and see if she needed anything.
She tromped to the closet and pulled on a pair of boots and a heavy coat. Grabbing a stocking cap and a pair of mittens, she bundled up and made her way across the street, struggling against a small breeze and intense cold. She stomped snow off her boots on the steps and stepped up to the note.
Dad, I’ve gone to a friend’s for a while. I’ll be back home soon. Carlee.
“Dammit, Carlee. You were supposed to tell me first.” She knocked on the door against all hope that the girl had already come back and just forgotten to remove the note.
No one answered.
She checked both entrances and they were locked. Which brought to mind a disconcerting question. Zach had a key to her house, but she didn’t have a key to his. Could there be any more poignant reminder that she wasn’t a fixture in his life?
She strode back across the street and went inside, quickly dumping her winter garb over a chair in the living room and reaching for her cell phone. She called Carlee’s number and when she didn’t answer again, she left a terse message. She didn’t want to call Zach and admit she’d lost his child. She called the ski lodge and asked for Beau instead.
“Yeah, Leia. What’s up?”
“Thanks for taking my call. I know you’re busy.”
“Never too busy for you. What you need?”
“Well, Zach went to court and left me to keep tabs on Carlee. Only I haven’t heard from her at all. I assumed she was still at the house, only I went over and there’s a note to her Dad on the front door telling him she’d gone to a friend’s.”
“She didn’t tell you she was going?”
“Nope. Zach said he told her to keep me informed. I didn’t want to intrude if she wanted some alone time and she isn’t too happy with me right now, but I don’t know who her friends are to start looking.”
“I’ll have my secretary make a few phone calls, see if we can find her. Her friend Hanson lives two blocks over on Eagle Circle, second house on the left. You might check there while I check the others. Did you call Zach?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’ll call you back if I hear anything.” Beau hung up and Leia went in search of her car keys. She struggled back into her winter garb and went to the garage.
Zach had periodically started her car while she’d been sick, item number seventy-four of the things he’d taken care of for her while she’d been sick. She hit the garage door opener and got in the car. It started on the first try and she carefully backed out into the street.
She could bring thousands to their feet with a song and her voice, but she couldn’t drive in snow. Fortunately, there were tracks that were nearly bare, so she did her best to stay in the lane. She easily found Hanson’s house, parked and went up the walk. The bell was answered on the second ring.
“Oh my gosh,” the girl gushed when she answered the door. “Leia Shae.” She wore black leggings with thick neon pink socks. Leia’s face was plastered on the T-shirt that hung on the girl’s slender frame. Her smile was pure silver from braces, but her eyes flashed pure delight.
Again, after all this time, she had to question why she hadn’t met any of Carlee’s friends. It was like she’d penetrated the town to a certain level, but the belonging level still eluded her.
She shook off the feeling and smiled. “Hi. Are you Hanson?”
The girl nodded, her head bouncing the pigtails. “I’m a big fan.” A light blush filled her face and Leia was charmed.
“Well thanks for that, Hanson.” She stumbled on the sentence, a month of sickness and being out of the public eye making her skills a tad rusty. Better to get on to why she’d come.
“Have you seen Carlee? Is she here?”
The girl’s eyes shifted. “No, she’s not here.”
“Hanson, did she call you, tell you where she was going?”
She looked at Leia with pleading in her eyes. “Please don’t make me rat on her.”
Leia stood there for a minute, the cold whipping around her, her stomach in knots imagining all the things the girl could get into. For all her understanding of her father’s job, she was naïve and protected and that’s the way it should be “That implies there is something to rat about. Where did she go? You have to tell me.”
“If I tell you, you can’t tell her I told you.” The girl looked behind her and down the hall. “And you can’t tell my Mom.”
“I don’t want to make any trouble for you, hon. I just want to find Carlee before her Dad gets home.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “She went to Tanner’s.”
Leia dipped her head and leaned closer. “Tanner who?”
“Tanner Douglas. He’s in high school. He was having a little party and invited her to come. She was all excited. I told her she shouldn’t go. He was too old for her, but she wouldn’t listen.” Hanson bit her lip. “I’m a horrible friend.”
She squeezed Hanson’s shoulder. “No. You’re a good friend. Carlee doesn’t know how good. Do you know where he lives?”
“Other side of town somewhere. I don’t know exactly where.”
“How did she get there?”
“He came and got her. We talked for hours this morning about what she should wear. I mean he’s sixteen.”
Leia’s gut twisted. Sixteen to her twelve. “Thanks, Hanson. You’ve been a big help. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
The girl brightened. “I’d like that.”
Leia scurried to her car. Once inside, she shed her gloves and started the engine to blast the heat and picked up her cell phone.
She hesitated a moment, but then realized Zach had to know. No sixteen-year-old boy hung out with a twelve-year-old girl without an agenda. Zach would have a conniption, but he probably knew where this kid lived, too.<
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She dialed his cell phone and waited, but it went to voice mail. Her luck today. She left a brief message for him to call her immediately and then dialed Beau.
“Leia, anything?” He answered.
“Yeah, Hanson says she went to a party at Tanner Douglas’s house. She didn’t know where he lived.”
“He’s in high school. Football team. What in the hell was she thinking?”
“She was thinking that an older boy was paying attention to her and he picked her up. Where does he live? Do you know?”
“Let me think. Lives with his Mom. I’ve seen her at football games. She works at the bank. Let me have my secretary find it. Hold on a second.”
She tapped her finger on the steering wheel while she waited, impatience eating at her and alternately fuming at Carlee and then blasting herself for not paying closer attention. Beau came back on the line.
“Deer Hollow, 2406.”
“Where exactly is that from my house?” Her stomach clenched at having to drive a long distance on the icy roads and promising herself Carlee would get a good talking to before Zach had his punishment time.
“Take a left on the third road past the Hardware store and go down about a mile. Take a right on Deer Valley, then down I don’t know how far, but watch for the Deer Hollow sign.”
“I’ll find it.” She turned on her GPS and programmed in the address. “I’m leaving now. I’ll call you when I find her.”
“I’m leaving, coming down the mountain. But it’s going to take me a bit. They are plowing and sanding. Did you get Zach?”
“No. Voicemail. Probably still in court.”
“I’ll keep trying. You just find Carlee.”
She promised and then hung up. The drive was treacherous in spots and had Leia’s hands shaking, but she found the house easily enough.
What she hadn’t expected was the cars, about twelve of them, parked haphazardly around the small house at the end of the dead end road around the small green house. The Christmas lights around the eaves the house were all red and flickered brightly in the cloudy afternoon light.
Pumpkins, Cowboys & Guitars Page 66
