“Why the hell did it never occur to me until this minute to get a house in L.A. to keep them away from the ranch?” I looked away in disgust.
“Because the tax break you get by being a Texas resident is worth it. And you’ve been pretty good at avoiding this shit, especially given the bounty on a photograph of you.” He slid his glasses back on. “What do you know about Randall Hedley?”
“He’s a pain in my ass,” I grumbled unhelpfully.
He gave me an unimpressed look.
I got some glasses and filled them with the whiskey my brother always sent to commemorate the start of a new film. It was going to be that kind of night.
Zegas took a long sip. “This is good bourbon.”
“It’s Balcones Single Malt Whiskey. Straight out of Texas,” I said proudly, like I’d had a hand in making it. “You figured out the connection between his company and Texas Power?”
“Over the summer, Hedley spent a weekend on a lake with some of the executives from the power company.”
I leaned forward. “Is that right?”
“I’m digging into those relationships. For now, that’s all I’ve got. I’ll let you know when my guy comes up with something concrete.”
I gulped down a long swallow of whiskey. “Your guy the same as Daniel’s?”
“Sometimes. In this case we split the difference. Since this is time sensitive, we’ve got our two best on it.” He gathered his notepad and shoved it in his briefcase. “I’ve filed a motion to request to delay the hearing on the grounds the proposed project isn’t scheduled for three more years. Might work. Might not.”
“Can you practice law in Texas?” I rested my forearms on the smooth wood of the table.
“When my best client lives there, hell yes I can.”
“I should be your best client given how much money I’ve paid you over the years.”
“And you’ve kept my wife a happy woman and therefore off my ass so I can do whatever the fuck I want to.”
My chair scraped on the floor as I stood. “Do I need to get Mulaney in on this? She’s a big shot in Houston. Knows some of your kind.”
The look he fired my direction was disintegrating. “I just upped your fee for that.”
I gripped his shoulder as he picked up his case. “We can’t lose that ranch.”
“Jacobs, I thought you knew by now. I don’t lose.”
I leaned against the door after I saw my lawyer out.
“Security is sorted.” Muriella twirled her phone in her hand and propped herself against the console table.
“You do work for Daniel I don’t know about?” I folded my arms over my chest, impressed she’d taken initiative.
“Nope. I leave it all up to him.” She straightened the two sets of keys on the table. “He said he should have someone there within an hour. A team will follow soon after.”
I let out a long breath. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Making this whole thing easier.”
The threat of a smile played on her lips. “Are you planning to spend the night against the door?”
“My spicy-mouthed girl is back.” I was grateful for the distraction.
“You prefer the sweet one?”
“Both.” I rested my hand on the doorknob. “Speaking of mouths, I apologize for mine and my attorney’s.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary.” She held my gaze, the space between us crackling with energy. “Guess I should give you a key.”
She held up her keyring.
“You asking me to move in?”
She tilted her head to the side. “You can stay while you shoot your movie.”
“What about after that?”
The key landed in my palm.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Gives me a little time to work on it.” I pushed off the door, unable to stand the distance.
I stopped within an inch of her, close enough to ease my need without touching. Just because we were growing more comfortable didn’t mean I could forget about her boundaries.
“Vivian said hi.” Her voice was breathy as she gazed up at me.
“Still awkward between you guys?”
“Better. But with Daniel, it was all business.”
She yawned. “I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted.”
I followed her down the hall and paused in her bedroom doorway. The urge to kiss her was almost unbearable, but I refrained. “Sweet dreams.”
“Good night.”
It could’ve been my imagination, but her steps were hesitant as she retreated into her room. She looked over her shoulder at me where I still stood in the same spot. I wanted an invitation that wasn’t going to happen. Not tonight. One day.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Stone
“You mind telling me exactly what in the hell is going on?”
My brother’s hiss in my ear had me sinking down on the living room sofa.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at church?” I returned casually. That’s where Muriella had gone. I’d wanted to go with her, but decided against it with all the media coverage flying in my direction.
“I would be, but we can’t leave the ranch!” he shouted. In the background, I heard a bird squawk and a gust of wind hit the microphone.
“At least you didn’t have to pretend not to sleep through Pastor Adams’ sermon.” I propped a booted foot on my knee.
“That’s not the point,” he growled. “And the girls might not be able to go to school tomorrow, asshole.”
I straightened. “Where’s the security?” I’d been assured that was sorted out. Now Mitch was telling me something different.
“Down at the edge of the property. Those vultures were cleared from the gate, but now they’re down at the road where we can’t tell ‘em to leave.” Oh, man, was he pissed off.
“I’ll get somebody on it,” I said through my teeth.
“I ain’t calling about the damn circus.” A truck door slammed and an engine came to life. “Why didn’t you tell me about this shit with Randall Hedley?”
I shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. The way he sounded, if I’d been standing in front of him, he’d knock my ass out.
“It’s nothin’,” I brushed off, running my fingers around the buttons on the TV remote.
My face flashed on the screen. I left the volume muted, unable to keep from reading the closed captioning at the bottom: The question everyone wants answered is: Where is Stone Jacobs? Spotted on set in New York two days ago, he hasn’t been seen since. He vacated his Four Seasons suite before Thanksgiving; his current residence is unknown. Is his disappearance related to the threats he recently made against one Randall Hedley of Austin, Texas? When we find out the answers, you’ll be the first to know.
I switched off the TV and tossed the remote on the coffee table.
“Nothin’?” Mitch boomed into the phone. “From what I heard, it sounds like a whole lot of something. Is Hedley circling around the ranch again?” He continued without letting me getting a word in, “You wouldn’t threaten him for no reason.”
My jaw worked as I thought about the conversation. “I didn’t threaten him.”
“Stone, I heard the recording. You threatened the hell out of him,” he argued.
I rubbed the back of my neck and searched for an explanation that wasn’t a lie, but also wasn’t necessarily the truth.
“He, uh, he’s brought up this napkin bullshit again. I told him to leave it alone and lost my cool. Son of a bitch made it sound worse than it is.” I spread my knees and leaned forward, dropping my head.
“Why’s he calling you about that? He after money or what?”
I sighed and put my hand over my face. “I don’t know what he’s up to.” That was a partial truth.
Mitch was quiet a minute, and I prayed this half-assed explanation was enough to get him off my back.
“All right, fine.” The engine noise behind him died. “Don’t tell me
what’s happening. But whatever I find out when I start digging, don’t expect me to come running to you about it.”
“Don’t be like that—”
“I’m not the one lying to my family.” The sound of a fist banging on the dash made me grip my knee to keep from smashing something.
“Everything’s gonna be fine.”
“Meaning it’s not right now,” he deduced, his voice more in control. “My daughters, your nieces, heard the tape too. They’re asking me and Jules if something is going to happen to the ranch. They’re scared, and quite frankly, after this conversation, so am I.”
I pushed to my feet and moved to the window. Traffic zoomed past below. People strolled along the sidewalk. And I was up here, trying to figure out how to protect my family without involving them.
“You take care of the ranch and don’t worry yourself.” I winced as soon as I heard myself say it.
Silence. It stretched long and wide to the point I wasn’t sure if he’d say anything else. But then he did.
“I’ve supported your dreams. Been proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished. But maybe you’ve been away from home too long, forgotten where you come from. In this family, we don’t lie to one another. We work together. Fame has changed you.”
I swallowed around the baseball-sized lump in my throat. I’d been lying for so long about my career, it was second nature. He’d never know I didn’t want to do it, that I hated being away from all of them. That he thought fame had turned me into a person he didn’t like gutted me.
“When you decide to stop lying to me, call me. Otherwise, I don’t want to talk to you.”
More silence. I looked at the screen. He’d hung up.
I pounded the wall and pressed my forehead to the window. Muriella had been right that keeping the trouble with the ranch a secret would come back to bite me in the ass.
I’d pissed off my brother, worried my sister-in-law and nieces, and was a half a breath away from Mama and Daddy hearing a spliced conversation I didn’t want them to. I put a hand to my face. It was only a matter of time before someone in town told them about it. Maybe it was better to keep that paparazzi barrier between them and town so nobody could get out to the ranch.
Hell, we weren’t in the olden days. I’m surprised that old rotary phone in my mama’s kitchen wasn’t ringing off the hook. Wasn’t often I made headlines like this; more fodder for the folks in Burdett who didn’t have shit else to do but gossip.
I twirled my phone in my hand. Better call Granddaddy to warn him Mitch was onto us, and that meant everybody else was sure to follow.
“Mitch called.”
Muriella set her purse and a pizza box down on the kitchen island where I was parked on a barstool waiting for her to return from mass.
“Did he find out about the trip?” She slid the box toward me and grabbed some drinks and napkins.
“If only.” I opened the lid and my stomach grumbled. “This looks good.”
“It’s from Dino’s. Best in the city.” She hopped up on the stool beside me and picked up a slice. “So what happened?”
“He heard the tape.” I tore off a bite and chewed harder than necessary.
“You had to tell him the truth.”
She shifted so her knees were toward me, but I couldn’t look at her.
“Not exactly.”
“Then what exactly?”
I dropped the slice back into the box and wiped my fingers, unable to look at her.
“You lied.” The disappointment in her voice was worse than what my brother had said to me.
“No, but I didn’t come clean either.”
A short blast of air puffed from her nose. “Why won’t you let him help you and your grandfather? He knows something is going on, so I don’t understand.”
I bounced my knee up and down. “He said my nieces are scared. I picture them listening to that recording a million times, dissecting every word.” I flicked at the pizza box. “Hedley may have spliced it, but there’s enough truth there to read between the lines.”
“You aren’t protecting them if you hide the truth.”
I jerked my gaze to her. “They’re kids. They don’t need to worry with this. And everybody else? They’re trying to operate a ranch. We’ve got animals and crops to tend to. It ain’t easy work. If I can take this burden, then that’s what I intend to do.”
“But now they know something’s going on, and you’re keeping them in the dark.”
“They’re better off there,” I said stubbornly.
“No one is ever better off in darkness.”
I squeezed my eyes shut at the quiet strength behind her words. Damn it, we weren’t talking about the same thing here. Yet I couldn’t shake the image of a young girl locked in a shipping container with only a small peephole for light.
I sucked in a breath, grappled to center my thoughts.
“I can’t tell them,” I finally said, my eyes meeting hers.
“You can.”
“I don’t want to.” I couldn’t drag them any further into this mess, and more than anything, I didn’t want to hurt them.
“I can’t support this decision, but I’ll respect what you choose to do.” She smoothed her napkin in her lap.
“I need to keep them away from the media. Can you help me do that?”
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “How? If I were in Texas, I could just unplug the internet.”
I pointed at her. “That’s not a bad idea.” I sent a text to Granddaddy to do just that.
“Stone…” she admonished, even as it appeared she understood.
“Do you think I’ve changed?”
She tilted her head. “No. You’re constant.”
“Mitch says the fame has made me forget where I come from.” The accusation still hurt. What if he was right? I spent so much time keeping stuff from them, maybe I’d forgotten what was real and what wasn’t.
“He doesn’t like being lied to.”
“And I never go home. I flaked out on Thanksgiving.” I reached for my tea, wishing it were something stronger.
“You know how to fix this.”
I chewed on a piece of ice. “No. I really don’t.” Coming clean now wouldn’t do a damn thing except maybe make my brother not think quite so little of me.
“Yes you do. Tell the truth.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Muriella
Stone cracked the tinted window of the truck, and cool air hit my face. When he’d asked if I wanted to take a drive, I jumped at the chance to escape the apartment. Since the conversation with his brother and then his disagreement with me, he’d been in a somber mood, and I hadn’t had a lot of luck bringing him out of it over the last few hours. It was hard to see him so unsettled.
I hooked my phone up to the sound system and fiddled with the screen until Stevie Nicks began to sing. I only knew of one way to get his mind off his problems. “This is how I feel.” My cheeks heated, though my gaze remained steady on him. “Like the room is on fire when you’re near.”
He braked as the parking garage gate rolled up and stared at me. “Me too.” He tugged on the brim of his ball cap. “Wait. You mean that in a good way, right?”
“I’m not sure sometimes,” I said quietly. “But yes, mostly in a good way.”
He drummed the steering wheel and looked at me suspiciously. “Did something happen at mass today?”
“You mean because I’m not denying my feelings?” My mouth twitched.
“I know we’re taking this slowly, but half the time I’m not sure if you like me or wish I’d go away.”
My laughter echoed through the cabin. “Neither am I. And both can be true.”
“I’m happy you feel comfortable enough to talk to me, but what’s brought this on?”
“I promised myself I’d try. We’re in a relationship,” I pretended not to notice that his eyebrows met his hairline when I said that, “and you deserve my best. Even if it came from t
he right place, you lied to your family. That’s made me see I’m tired of lying to myself when it comes to you.” I sagged in the seat. Admitting the truth in rapid fire was draining.
“We’re taking a drive more often,” he said as he pulled out onto the street.
“I would’ve told you no matter where we were.”
He raised a brow. “You planned on doing it upstairs?”
I fiddled with the hem of my sweater. “No.” I looked down. “Maybe it is the truck.” Something about the confines of the cab had the feeling of a confessional. It felt safe, as if what I said here was in confidence and would remain protected.
“Hey,” he said. I dragged my eyes over to him. “I appreciate the effort.”
“I spoke with Father Jude after mass, not really about you. Mostly about how hard it’s been for me to forgive Daniel.” I pulled an index card from my back pocket.
“What’s that?”
“He confessed he had an issue with forgiveness too. He wrote down 2 Corinthians, chapter 2, verses 7 and 8 for both of us to carry.” I ran my finger along the words. “It says, ‘You ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.’”
My eyes stung. It really hit home for me. As angry and hurt as I was, I didn’t want Daniel to feel the same, because I did love him so much.
“Pretty powerful stuff.”
“I tried to call him to work things out. He didn’t answer.” I clutched the card, wishing it was the soft leather of my Bible instead.
“You can try again later.”
I mumbled my agreement, though I was disappointed I hadn’t been able to reach him. Stone eased the card from my fingers and propped it on the touchscreen display where we both could see it.
I reached for his hand and threaded our fingers together. I only held my breath for a second before I relaxed. He lifted our joined hands and pressed his lips to the back of mine. I kissed his knuckles in return.
Three Dates (Paths To Love Book 2) Page 15
