Scandal (Dirty Laundry Book 2)

by Jackie Paxson

  “Ok. Just know you always have a friend in me, Chrissy. No matter what happens I am here for you. I can say with certainty that not just me but my grandfather, too.” He gave her hand a squeeze before she stepped out of the car.

  Chrissy walked into the airport. This time around she allowed James to spend money and get her first class with all the bells and whistles. The ticket she had allowed her to cut the security line and spend her time waiting in the first-class lounge. She walked into the opulent bar that seemed to be pretty busy. When a stool opened, she perched herself on it and waited for the bartender to become available. Finally, the harried woman made her way to Chrissy.

  “What will you have?” she asked as she wiped down the bar in front of her.

  “I’d like a club soda, please.”

  The bartender nodded then retrieved her drink. Chrissy gave her the money then got comfortable. She had to wait three hours before her flight. All she had were her thoughts.

  “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” a woman about the same age as her asked.

  “No. Go ahead.”

  “Oh, thank God.” The woman plopped onto the stool. She appeared to be annoyed. “If I had to keep sitting where I was, I was going to strangle that woman.”

  Chrissy smiled at her. “Did something happen?”

  The anonymous woman waved her hand. “It might just be me, but I can’t stand when people talk on their cell phones loud enough for other people to hear. And let me tell you, this woman wanted everyone to hear her conversation. It was incredibly rude.”

  “Was it that bad?” Chrissy asked.

  Before the woman could answer the bartender approached her. She ordered a wine then sighed. It appeared the rude woman really got under her skin. Chrissy tried to look around without being obvious but couldn’t figure out who she was talking about.

  After taking a sip of wine, the woman sighed in relief. “Yes. It was really bad. From what I could hear she was bragging about ruining someone’s life. She cackled as if it was the funniest thing to ever happen. It was disgusting. I don’t know how someone could live with themselves after doing something like that to a human being.”

  “Did she say what she did?”

  “I’m not sure. It sounded like she stole a boyfriend or husband because her boss told her to. It sounded really twisted. I tell you I will be happy to be out of this dumpster fire of a state.”

  Before Chrissy could say anything more, they announced a flight boarding, and the woman downed her wine quickly. “It was nice talking to you.” she said. A curse escaped as she swung her purse onto her shoulder. “Fantastic, the loud talker is on my flight.”

  Chrissy looked where the other woman stared. Jane Foster stood there staring at Chrissy with an evil grin. She felt the world begin to spin. Jane walked past and out the door.

  “I hope that woman doesn’t sit next to me. Have a good flight.” The woman left with a sigh.

  With blurry vision, Chrissy said, “You, too.”

  Chrissy wasn’t sure what to do. Should she tell James what she’d heard? Waving the bartender over she asked for some vodka with her club soda. As she sipped, she made up her mind. Her fingers typed over her phone.

  Chrissy: Would there be a reason for your father to want me and Max apart?

  She sipped her drink waiting for a response. The cogs in her brain ran through every possible scenario. If things were a set up, then why didn’t Max just text or call her back if he wasn’t guilty. It also doesn’t explain the previous night with Dee Dee and Jane. When her phone vibrated, she snatched it off the bar.

  James: I don’t know. Why?

  Chrissy typed frantically. Her words came fast and furious as she began to realize that someone could have possibly hated her that much to want to destroy a love she had. The world of Hollywood really wasn’t one she wanted to be a part of. After she finally spilled everything the woman had told her she waited for James’ response. Her knee bounced as she stared at her phone. When it finally vibrated again, she picked it up so fast if flew out of her hand and onto the floor shattering.

  “Son of a bitch!” Chrissy cursed.

  She was just going to have to wait until she got back to Grandin to find out what James texted back. It was going to be a really long flight.

  Chapter 44

  Future Cat Lady

  Three Months Later

  “How the hell am I supposed to finish planning this fucking wedding without my maid of honor here?” Talia’s frantic voice trilled through the phone’s speaker.

  “You will be fine. I will be out there the week of the wedding and it will be fine.” Chrissy tried to calm the bridezilla.

  “Jeremiah isn’t any help, either,” Talia snapped.

  Jeremiah’s face filled the screen next to Talia. “Bridezilla here is being incredibly dramatic. I have been a delight to work with. Plus, I thought she was marrying the actor not becoming one.” He turned to Talia and said, “Oscar worthy performance there, cupcake.”

  “Shut up, ass.” Talia stuck her tongue out in a very mature way. “Plus, I need you here to help me birth this baby. I swear we better pull off this wedding before this demon spawn claws its way out of my vagina.”

  Chrissy grimaced. “Uh…I’m pretty sure it’s not a demon spawn that will claw its way out.”

  “You don’t know, Chrissy. It has been horrible.” She heaved a dramatic sigh.

  “Babe, are you calling our precious one a demon spawn again?” Zeke’s voice floated over the speaker.

  A hand rubbed Talia’s shoulder. She shrugged it off. “I told you, no touching ever again. It was your damn thinkin stick that did this to me. Touching immediately goes to bending me over the couch and…”

  “Whoa!” Chrissy and Jeremiah yelled out.

  “Too much information, Talia,” Chrissy said.

  Talia just shrugged then looked away from the phone. “You two need to leave so I can have a moment of girl talk with Chrissy.”

  Dread came over her. She knew what was coming. It had been the same questions the past three months. She didn’t know how much longer she could take Talia asking her about Max.

  “Ok. They’re gone,” Talia said.

  “Ok.”

  “Are you coming out for the premier?”

  “No.”

  The formal invitation for the premier of Canon Love, newly titled as Always in My Heart, had arrived the week before. She trashed it as soon as she opened it. She had absolutely no desire to go to that movie. It did hurt a bit that she wouldn’t get to see the finished product of it after she’d spent so much time working on it, but she was ok waiting for it to arrive to Grandin’s dollar theater in a few months.

  “Why not?” Talia asked.

  “You know why, Tall,.” Chrissy said with exasperation.

  “I know what you’ve told me is bullshit. Max won’t tell Zeke anything, either. What the hell happened? I just don’t get it. From what my mama tells me, your mama said she doesn’t understand, either. That she saw the love you two felt first-hand. How could that just go poof?”

  Of course, her mama had been talking to Talia’s mama. Dammit! Couldn’t people just let dead relationships stay dead?

  The bell at the desk rang. “Look, Tally, as much as I love rehashing my issues with Max with you every time you call, I need to go man the front desk. Love you. Talk to you later.”

  “Wait—”

  Chrissy pushed end before Talia could finish her thought. Throwing her phone onto her bed, she rushed out front. A cute couple stood, intertwined with one another.

  “How may I help you?”

  “We are the Andersons. I believe we have a reservation.” The girl smiled at the man. They were clearly newlyweds.

  Chrissy looked down the ledger and found their names. “Yes, I have you right here. You are in our Night Owl suite.” She turned and grabbed the keys for the room.

  “Thank you.”

  She smiled at the sugary sweet couple. If she weren’t
so jaded, she’d envy them. But she was only a few cats away from becoming a crazy cat lady. Shaking that thought out of her head she gave them directions to their room and told them when meals would be served.

  The man picked her up with a squeal and carried his wife up the stairs. Chrissy watched in both amusement and a bit worried in case they fell down the stairs or hit the slow-moving Mr. Sutter.

  “Ah, young love.” Mr. Sutter sighed.

  “I guess.” Chrissy shrugged.

  With his laser like stare he took Chrissy in. “You are too young to feel so jaded about love. You need to be open to all the opportunities the world may provide.”

  She let out a dry laugh. “I’m sorry, Mr. Sutter but I just don’t have the luxury of those kinds of thoughts.” She pointed toward the giggling couple who finally made it up the stairs. “That won’t be happening to me anytime soon.”

  He picked up his cane and pointed it at her. “You never know, girl. Now, I smell those scrumptious cookies your mama makes.” He walked slower than a snail toward the open doors of the dining area.

  Chrissy sat down at the desk catching up with paperwork she’d let go for too long. Throwing herself into the workings of the inn had helped her cope with the last few months. Mariah was back in school and it had been rough. She missed Tristan. Her attitude toward school had been declining with each day. Chrissy was at a loss for what to do with the little girl. Since the two of them had permanently moved back into the inn, Mariah had stuck to her grandfather like glue. Mariah wanted nothing to do with Chrissy. It was breaking her heart that she disappointed her daughter so spectacularly.

  “Mama, can I go with Papa to the library?” Mariah stood next to the desk.

  Chrissy had been so engrossed with her work she hadn’t even heard her approach.

  “Sure. Make sure you return the books you borrowed last trip.”

  Mariah held up the borrowed books and ran out the door. Shaking her head, Chrissy went back to the books until a shadow drew her attention to in front of the desk.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I don’t know. Can you?” a familiar voice asked.

  “James?” Chrissy jumped up from her seat.

  “Last time I checked.”

  Chrissy hugged him tight to her. He seemed skinnier and clearly hadn’t shaved in quite a while. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  His face sobered. “Can I get a room?”

  She blinked for a moment then said, “Sure.”

  Quickly, Chrissy entered him into the book, grabbed the key to his room then escorted him up the stairs. A million questions floated through her brain. She’d been hoping James would call her to catch up and plan a trip to Grandin. However, she hadn’t heard from him since the last text she sent him when she was about to fly back to Georgia.

  “Here’s your room. Dinner won’t be for a few more hours but there are snacks downstairs if you are hungry.”

  James nodded. “I will be down shortly.” His serious eyes met hers. “We need to talk.”

  An icy finger ran down her spine with his words.

  Chapter 45

  Always Daddy’s Little Girl

  Chrissy sat in the empty dining room with a glass of sweet tea. She had only taken about two sips out of the glass. Her worry gnawed at her. She let her mind wander to all that James could possibly talk to her about. Her worry dissipated then turned into a mix of anger and annoyance. Why should she be worried when he ignored her for the past few months? He disappeared on her when she needed him the most.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Her daddy’s voice broke into her thoughts.

  “James is here.”

  He nodded taking the seat across from her. “I saw his name on the registry. He come for a visit?”

  Chrissy shrugged and looked out the window. “I have no idea. I haven’t talked to him in a while.”

  Silence settled between them. There had been a chasm between them ever since the day he freaked out when she’d revealed she wasn’t planning on returning to California. Since her late-night return from her unplanned trip to California, she’d been avoiding her father. There were no words for her to say to him. She really had no reason to return to California.

  Her father sighed. “Chrissy, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while.”

  His tone had her snapping her eyes to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. I need to talk to you about that day.”

  “There’s nothing to say, Daddy.” Chrissy waved her hand, dismissing it.

  Her father blanched at her reaction. Through gritted teeth he said, “You may think there isn’t anything to say, but I need to say it.”

  “Ok,” she said.

  “What I said that day was incredibly harsh. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” Chrissy opened her mouth to say something, but he put up his hand. “Let me finish. It may have come out harshly, but I meant every word.”

  Chrissy looked down into her glass of tea. “Ok.”

  He reached across the table and held her hand. “I need you to live, Chrissy. I’m incredibly proud of the woman and mama you have become. I know Mariah was not planned. But you stepped up and did what you had to do. The only reason your mama and I bought this place was to make sure you would be secured if this was the life you desired.”

  Taking in a shaky breath he continued, “I’ve never seen you so happy than when you were living your life in California. Mariah flourished. I saw that first-hand when we saw you in Costa Rica. I know that wasn’t California but your happiness in the life you had was written all over you. It was a Chrissy I hadn’t seen since you went to college. You glowed.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Daddy.”

  “Say you will do everything you can to be that woman I saw there. That doesn’t mean it has to be in California or with Max. I don’t know what happened when you were out there, but you haven’t been the same since. Mariah has retreated into herself and all you do is work. Seeing you like that is killing me more than my weak heart.”

  A tear slid down her cheek.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Her daddy wiped away her tear. “Just promise me you will find that happiness again. If that truly means you stay here in Grandin,” he tried to hide his grimace but continued, “if it means that then stay here forever. But I’m going to be honest, Chrissy, I don’t think your forever is here.”

  Chrissy stood as did her daddy. She stepped into his warm embrace. The tears silently streamed down her cheeks. Every emotion she’d been holding back broke through. The safety and security that hug provided let her release everything she’d been holding onto the last few months.

  “Shh…it’s ok, honey. I’m here. You will always be my original munchkin.”

  A watery laugh came out. “I hate that nickname.”

  He pulled back and smiled down at her. “I know, but it got you laughing and out of your mind for a moment.” Amusement shone on his face.

  She smacked him on his rounded belly. “I should tell Mama you’re being mean.”

  Grasping his chest in a dramatic fashion he said, “You wouldn’t dare. I don’t think my old hide could bear your mama tearing another piece out of it.”

  “Another?” Chrissy asked.

  With a nod, he explained. “She tore one hell of a strip off me when I said those things to you.”

  “And I would do it again if you try to kick our daughter and grandbaby out of here without consulting me first,” her mama said carrying out fresh chocolate chip cookies.

  “I’m not sure if I like that any better Mama,” Chrissy said, snatching a cookie.

  She shrugged. “Oh, well. So, have the two of you finally talked? It was getting so chilly around here I thought I’d have to turn on the heat soon.”

  Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mama. It’s all settled.”

  “Good.” Her mama looked toward the dining room entrance. “I believe you have a visitor in need of assistance, Chrissy. Chris,
will you take that little heathen fishing, so she will stop playing in the mud finding worms.”

  The said heathen materialized covered in mud. “Mama! I’ve found a lot of worms.” She held up two fistfuls of worms.

  Chrissy grimaced when she saw her pockets moving too but before she could shoo Mariah out of the dining room, her daddy marched over to Mariah.

  “Come on, munchy. Let’s feed those worms to the fishes in the lake,” he said.

  Mariah squealed and grabbed his hand smooshing the worms in their hands. Chrissy’s father made a disgusted face when there was an audible squishing sound. When Mariah realized she’d just destroyed some of her bait her lip began to tremble.

  Holding back a laugh, Chrissy said, “Have fun, Mariah.”

  Tears instantly dried when she said, “I will, Mama.”

  “Alright!” Chrissy’s mama exclaimed. “You two need to get out of here so that James can either convince Chrissy to go back to working for him or to convince her to give Max a second chance.”

  Chrissy blushed. Dear lord, could the earth swallow her alive? She waited a moment waiting for her prayer to be answered. It didn’t happen.

  With a sigh, Chrissy turned toward a clean James, who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Come have a seat. Grab yourself a couple cookies while I get you some tea.”

  Chapter 46

  Answers Don’t Change Anything

  James sat quietly chewing a warm cookie. She watched as he closed his eyes enjoying the warm gooeyness of the chocolate chip cookie. In an effort to keep her mouth shut she bit the inside of her cheek. It must have been a bit too hard because she tasted the coppery tang of blood in her mouth. When the silence continued a few more minutes Chrissy’s patience failed.