by Elena Aitken
“Shit.” Ian shook his head.
“Right?” Cal challenged. “Not even Gwen is that public, is she?” It was no secret that Gwen lived her life almost completely in the public eye, but she had limits, too. And there was no question that she would never allow any intimate pictures of herself to be put online. Not if she could help it.
“How could you have let this happen?” Mitch asked, still sitting at the table. “You should know better. You’re in the public eye now, Cal. You can’t do things like this.”
Anger bubbled up inside him. But it was directed at his brothers. The woman who should have experienced his anger was likely hiding in her hotel room, waiting to see what Cal would do. “Dammit. This should never have happened,” Cal said. “Not in Cedar Springs. We weren’t in public. We were in a tent, for God’s sake.”
“With the fly off?”
Cal glared at Mitch. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Cal’s right. It doesn’t matter how it happened,” Declan said. “What matters is how we’re going to handle it.”
His decision was already made and talking it out with his brothers had only concreted that. They weren’t going to like it, but they’d see his side of it. They’d support him. He knew that. “There’s no way I’m letting these pictures go public,” Cal declared. “I made her a promise and I’m not going back on my word. Any of you would do the same for the woman you loved.”
“Love?” Ian asked.
“Oh, he’s obviously in love.” Declan smiled and smacked his back.
“Well then, that’s different.” Mitch finally stood from the table and joined them. “Because you’re right. If it’s one thing I know, it’s that McCormick men will do anything to protect the women they love. If you don’t want those pictures out, they’re not going out.”
“I don’t.”
Mitch clapped his hands together and nodded. “Then we’ll just have to think of something else.”
Chapter Eleven
It had been a long day in the office, but Milena was more than satisfied with it. She’d managed to list two more properties, meet with a young couple looking for investment property in Cedar Springs and even do a little research on Estelle’s property. She was confident Estelle would be happy with what Milena had found and if she was really serious about selling, there was no doubt that the Williams family would snap it up. She was just about to lock up when the bells over the door jingled, announcing a visitor. “Are you closed?”
Milena turned around, a stack of files in her hand, to see a very good-looking man dressed in worn jeans, work boots, and a t-shirt. Her mind immediately went to a new cottage on Main Street that would be perfect for a young man like himself but she immediately cleared her head of the thought. She had to stop thinking in terms of properties when she met people.
“Hi.” She put her pile down. “I was just about to close up, but I have a few minutes. What can I help you with? Were you looking to buy or sell?”
“Neither.” The man laughed. “I was looking for Estelle. I finally got some information she was looking for.” He held out a brochure.
“She’s not in today, but I can put it on her desk for her.” Milena crossed the room and took the paper. “Cedar Springs Heights?” The picture on the brochures showed a three-level condominium development with the lake in the background. As far as developments went, it was a fairly nice one, but nothing like that existed in Cedar Springs. “What’s this?”
“It’s for the new development that’s going in, just north of the public beach,” the man said. “Sorry, I’m Lucas.” He held out a hand. “Lucas Lee. I’m the general contractor on the job. It’s still not publicly known, but I was talking to Estelle about your office handling the sale of the units.”
“Units? Sale?” Milena’s head spun. “Wait a minute—this Cedar Springs Heights is going in here? In Cedar Springs?”
He nodded and grinned. “Aptly named, don’t you think?”
She tilted her head and couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. But…how did I not know about this?”
“Like I said, it was still being kept under wraps until the final permits were secured, but I just got word that it’s a go. Construction will start next month.”
“Next month?”
Lucas nodded. “The investors wanted to maximize on the growth going on here in town, and judging from what Estelle told me, there’s quite a demand for condos like these for both permanent residences and vacation properties.”
“There is.” Milena flipped through the pages, staring at the pictures of beautifully furnished condos. Obviously they were all an artist rendering or supremely photoshopped, considering they didn’t actually exist, but they were beautiful. When she saw the starting price, she thought instantly of at least four clients who would be interested in checking them out. Lucas was right—there was definitely a need for something like this in Cedar Springs. But she still couldn’t quite make sense of what he was saying to her. “Wait.” She looked up. “Did you say that Estelle was going to handle the sales of the units?”
“No.” Lucas shook his head, that same cocky grin on his face. “I said that Estelle mentioned your office would be handling the sale. We were still working out the final details for commissions. But I think you’ll both be very happy with the deal I’m willing to offer. Can we set up a time when we can all sit down and chat about this?”
“Of course. How about Friday? At eleven?”
“Perfect.” Lucas extended his hand again. “I look forward to our meeting. I’m very excited about this project, and I think it’s going to be a huge asset to the town.”
Milena had to agree. She locked the door behind Lucas and spent another few minutes staring at the brochure. Cedar Springs Heights would be an incredible asset to the tight real estate market in town, and if they were going to handle the sales of the units, it would mean she’d be even busier.
Excited, and needing to tell someone, Milena dialed Cal’s number. But he didn’t pick up so she sent him a quick text.
U busy?
His response came quickly.
Sorry, sweetheart. I’m with the brothers tonight. See you in the morning?
Milena tried not to be upset but the disappointment hit her in the gut. They’d spent almost every night together since they’d started dating. It felt weird to know she was going home to an evening alone and she didn’t want to tell him the exciting news over the phone.
But maybe it was a good thing. It might be good for her to have a night by herself, or she could call a girlfriend and have some girl time.
That idea depressed her because the truth was Milena didn’t have a whole lot of close girlfriends. Sure, she had friends, but when she was with Michael, she’d pushed most of her close ones away. It was easier to hide her misery if she held everyone at arm’s length. And then she was so busy pulling her life back together again that she hadn’t had time to make her friendships a priority.
Well, that should change.
Milena closed her conversation with Cal and dialed the number of an old friend.
Samantha picked up on the second ring. “Milena. How are you? Is everything okay?”
She ignored the flicker of guilt. “Hi, Sam. I know it’s been forever. But I thought I’d see if we could change that and maybe if you were free tonight, we could catch up.”
There was a pause on the line before Sam replied. “I would love to catch up with you, Milena. I don’t have to go down to the Paw tonight either, so we can actually meet up somewhere else.”
Milena released the breath she was holding. It wasn’t as if she’d made enemies with her old friends, but it was so easy to fall out of touch. She was long overdue to rekindle those connections and she was more than grateful that Sam was going to give her the chance. “I’m happy to come up to the Springs, if that works for you?”
Sam had married Trent Harrison, who was one of the owners of the new Springs resort along with his brother Dylan. After falling in love, and sub
sequently getting married, Samantha had moved up the mountain to live in the posh penthouse suite in the hotel across from Dylan and his wife Carmen and their toddler son. Of course Milena knew all this, and she’d known about the wedding, too. But there was so much more she was excited to catch up on.
“That would be great,” Sam said. “I’ll get Jax to make us one of his signature salads at the Stillwater for dinner. Does that sound okay?”
“It sounds more than okay,” Milena said. “I’m really looking forward to it. Is six okay?”
“Six is perfect.”
“See you then.” Milena took a breath and before she hung up, she added, “And Sam? Thank you.”
Milena could almost picture her old friend smiling on the other end of the phone when she replied. “It’s okay. Sometimes life happens and we get caught up in it.” She didn’t even need to explain what she was sorry for, because that was the kind of connection old friends had, and Sam understood. Milena had checked out of her life for far too long. But she was back.
“Are you kidding me?” Jade paced across the room before she spun on her heel and stomped back to the table. She slammed her palms down and stared at Cal. “No. Absolutely not. This is bullshit.” She stood and turned again, storming back toward the window.
Mitch was at her side, his arm around her shoulders. “Babe, you have to calm down,” he said. “It’s not good for the baby.”
Jade spun on him. “Don’t tell me what’s good for the baby. Because you know what’s not good for the baby? It’s her mother having to deal with this type of bullshit. I’m in charge of the show. Not Bridget, not Cal, not even Gwen and Ian.” She turned toward the couple and added, “Sorry.”
Gwen and Ian nodded and remained silent.
After the brothers’ meeting, Mitch had called Jade and Gwen. Everyone needed to be involved in this decision. Chelsea, and the boys’ mom, Maureen, sat quietly at the table, listening.
“Cal, I’m sorry that this is happening.” Jade worked to calm her voice as she addressed Cal. “But that is exactly the reason we can’t have Bridget on the show. She’s toxic.” She turned to look at Gwen and added, “You don’t want her playing you. She’s terrible.”
“I’m not denying that she’s terrible,” Cal said. “But this goes beyond skill, Jade. This is Milena’s life that we’re talking about. I can’t put her through this.” The more he thought about it, the more he was certain of what he had to do. He didn’t know how he was going to achieve it yet but he knew he would do anything to keep those pictures from coming out. That was his priority. Nothing else.
“We’re not saying that you shouldn’t fire her,” Mitch added. “What we’re saying is, there must be some other way. Something that can be done to protect Milena.”
Jade shrugged off his touch and went to stand at the window. She gazed out at the lake and the setting sun. Everyone was silent and finally after what felt to Cal like forever, Jade turned around. “Okay. Let’s try something else. I won’t fire her, not yet.” She held up a finger. “But I’m not keeping her either.”
Cal shook his head. “I don’t understand. I thought you were giving her a chance to improve before you let her go.” Not that Cal wouldn’t be over the moon if she fired her. The sooner he could get that toxic woman out of his life, the better. Every moment she spent in Cedar Springs was a moment that Milena could get hurt. He needed to get rid of her.
“I was just trying to follow protocol.” Jade finally relaxed enough to sit at the table. Mitch poured her a mug of tea and slid it in front of her. “Peter loves her.” She shook her head. “If I just get rid of her without explanation, Peter will be pissed. Besides that, as much as I don’t like her, that will be the wrong thing to do. There has to be cause. And there is plenty of it.”
“It’s not really my place to say.” Chelsea piped up from the corner and everyone turned to look. “But I hear things working at the Grizzly Paw. Especially when most of the cast comes in after a long day to decompress. And Bridget has never been part of that group.”
“And?” Cal was often part of the group that went into the Grizzly Paw, and he’d never heard anyone complaining about Bridget. Of course, nobody did much complaining at all around him. He wasn’t naïve enough to think it was anything about who he was. It was about who his family was.
“Cal, there’s a lot of things you don’t hear.” Chelsea smiled.
“So? What have you heard?” Gwen demanded. “What are they saying? It’s not about the script, is it?”
Cal shook his head and tried not to let her see him smile. Gwen had struggled early on with insecurities regarding her talent at writing the script. Not that she needed to worry; it was fantastic.
“All good things about the script,” Chelsea assured her. “Not such great things about the woman playing you, however.” It wasn’t really a surprise. They’d all more or less expected to hear her say that.
“What are people saying?” Jade sounded tired. And judging by the way Mitch was fussing over her, Cal wasn’t the only one who was concerned about it.
“I don’t need to tell you, Jade,” Chelsea said. “They’re talking about how terrible she is. And how they’re worried she’s going to be the reason the show doesn’t do well.”
Jade dropped her head into her hands.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Declan stood. “We can all agree Bridget has to go. We can also agree we don’t want Milena to get harmed in the process of getting rid of her.” There were nods and murmurs of agreement around the room. “So what are we going to do?”
Everyone was quiet for a moment but finally Gwen spoke up. “Cal, what if you told Bridget you’d spoken to Jade about her position on the cast?” Cal nodded and kept listening. “And what if you tell her that you’d convinced her to lighten up and give her a chance?” Gwen turned to Jade. “I’m still an executive producer of the show,” she said. “And my name is on it—hell, she’s playing me. I think I have a say. I’m going to go to Peter and I’m going to tell him that there have been murmurings around town, within the cast and crew that Bridget is not doing a good job. I’m going to leave you out of it.” She turned to Cal and continued, “I’m going to leave you out of it too. This will just be about me, and my concerns, and how I feel about the actress who is portraying me on the screen. If I have to, I’ll get Peter to come up here and see for himself. Don’t worry—I’ll raise a big enough fuss for us to get rid of Bridget.”
It sounded like a great idea. In fact, as far as Cal was concerned, it was the best idea they had. Maybe because it was the only one they had.
“This is going to delay filming.” Ian shook his head. “What’s our solution? Who’s going to play Bridget? We can’t afford to lose any more time.”
“Alison,” Cal said without hesitation. “She’s been standing in for Bridget from the beginning. She’s great. It should always have been her.”
Jade nodded. “Agreed. It should be Alison. And I will advocate for that.”
“Okay, I’ll make the call to Peter right now,” Gwen said. “Let’s get this ball rolling. Cal, first thing in the morning, go find Bridget.”
The last thing Cal wanted to do right then was talk to Bridget. He really wanted to go find Milena, tell her everything would be fine. And that he would protect her, and make sure nothing happened to her.
But he couldn’t.
She’d already texted him, and he’d blown her off. It was last thing he wanted to do, but it was what he had to do. He could not face her knowing that those pictures of her could be out in public because of his actions. No, he had to fix it. That was the most important thing.
Cal nodded in agreement. “Thank you,” he said to the group. They had all gathered there for him and his problem, and he had never been more grateful for a big, supportive family. “I really appreciate you all being here. I’ll let you know how things go with Bridget.”
He was almost out the door when a soft voice stopped him. “Cal? Walk with me.”
He waited for his mom to join him, and together they walked out into the evening. It wasn’t until they were down the steps and onto the tree-lined street that she spoke again. “You’ve been very busy.” It wasn’t a question, but Cal nodded nonetheless. “She must be very special.”
“She is. I really like her.” It was more than that, and they both knew it.
His mom called him on it. “I would say it’s a bit more than like, wouldn’t you?”
Cal laughed and agreed. “Yes. It is definitely a bit more than like. A lot more.” He turned to look at his mom. “I think I love her, Mom. I can’t even explain it. I just…it’s love.”
His mother smiled and took his hand in hers just like when he was a small boy. They walked in silence for a few moments, and Cal was hit with how long it had been since they’d walked on that exact road, hand in hand. At least ten years. It had been ten years since they’d all been back at the lake together. It seemed like only yesterday. And the way they’d all moved back in so seamlessly, it was as if they had never left.
Except they had.
They had left ten years earlier, when the boys’ father had made the announcement that he had another family and was leaving them. That family included her half-sister Chelsea and their other sister Amber, who was the only one not there with them. It was all a lot to take in. It would be a lot for anyone, especially for the woman who’d held it all together all these years.
“How are you doing, Mom? I’m sorry I haven’t asked.” He’d been so preoccupied with his own life, he’d largely forgotten that his mother was probably having a hard time being back in town. She’d come for Jade and Mitch’s wedding and they’d convinced her to stay with them for the summer. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded and squeezed his hand. “It’s okay,” she said. “I want you boys to live your lives and not have to worry about me. You spent too long, and too many years, worried about your mom. I’m a big girl and I can worry about myself.”
