Broken Hollywood (Sparrow Sisters Book 1)

by Lora Richardson

  Anger and adrenaline coursed through me. If this man thought he could steal from Otto, he was sorely mistaken. I put my hands on my hips and shouted, “Put your hands up! Drop that money and put your hands in the air.”

  He looked up, noticing me for the first time. I glared at him, trying to infuse my look with as much venom as I could. He looked surprised, but not guilty at having been caught. And he didn’t drop the money. He tilted his head slightly to the side, and it was almost like he recognized me. I didn’t know who he was—probably an out of town hiker taking advantage of the empty gift shop. I cleared my throat. “Drop the money,” I demanded. “And don’t you dare try to leave.” I let my backpack swing forward, trying to keep my eyes on him and fish my phone out of the front pocket.

  He sighed and tucked the money into the drawer. He closed it with a slam. “I’m not stealing.”

  “Tell that to the police.” My fingers scrambled around in my backpack. Where was my phone? My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might pass out. Because he was trying to steal in broad daylight where anyone could walk in, I thought he might be stupid enough to tell me his name. “Who are you?”

  He cocked his head to the side, his surprised expression growing moreso. “You don’t know?”

  “Why would I?” Then it dawned on me, and all the color drained from my face. My heart went from pounding furiously to stopping cold in my chest. I was mortified. This was Otto’s grandson.

  He looked so different up close. His face wasn’t what I’d imagined when I saw him from behind yesterday. It was...well, to be perfectly honest it was the most gorgeous face I’d ever seen. He had big, dark eyes and full, pink lips. He would have been pretty if not for the sharp jaw and strong nose. I made a mental note to ask Otto to see pictures from when he was young. I wanted to see if Otto had been this ostentatiously beautiful in his youth.

  I forced myself to stop gawping at him and brought my backpack to the counter and put it in the locked drawer. I faced him, certain my embarrassment was all over my face. “I’m sorry. That was terribly rude of me. In my defense, I thought you were stealing from the register. But obviously I know who you are.”

  He looked away, lips pressed together, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He nodded, staring out the front window.

  “You’re Otto’s grandson, Jesse Morgan.”

  He looked back, the surprise once again all over his face.

  Otto emerged from the office then, giving us a wide, beaming smile.

  “There you are, Cat. I wondered if you were feeling well. It’s not like you to arrive so late.”

  I took a deep breath, and smiled a genuine smile at him. “I’m fine. I just needed the morning to clear my head.”

  Otto walked closer and put a hand on each of our shoulders. Grinning and looking between us, he said, “Cat, this is Jesse. Jesse, this is Catherine. She goes by Cat. Oh, how I’ve dreamed of this, I must say. To have my two grandchildren together in one place, in this place, does my heart a world of good.”

  Jesse visibly recoiled. “My mom had another kid?”

  “No, no—” Otto raised a hand to calm him, but Jesse rushed on.

  “So you had another kid, who then had this one?” He sounded so angry.

  I put my hands on my hips and took a step forward, fully irritated at the way he was speaking to Otto, and at what he was insinuating. “You listen here,” I began, ready to defend Otto, but stopped when Otto raised his other hand to silence me.

  Otto stood there between us, the only calm one in the room. He chuckled. “There are no secret babies, Jesse.” He turned to me and smiled, then looked back to Jesse. “Cat needed a grandfather. I needed a granddaughter. So, we made it so.”

  Jesse’s nostrils flared. “You have a grandchild.”

  Otto put his hand back on Jesse’s shoulder, but his head hung a little lower. I knew Otto was thinking about what he’d told me all those years ago—that he wanted a grandchild around as much as I wanted a grandparent. That we’d both been without, so we were a perfect pair. “Indeed I do,” he said, finally.

  Needing to put an end to this for Otto’s sake, I stuck out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Jesse. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here in Alden.”

  Jesse shifted on his feet a moment, studying me with those gorgeous eyes. I lifted my chin. Finally, he nodded and stuck out his hand. I moved my hand forward and placed it in his, and the moment our palms touched, something sparked and shot up to my elbow. Unsettled, I shook his hand quickly, and pulled mine away.

  Otto took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Cat, there’s an hour before the first tour. In that time, can you please show Jesse around the caves and explain what we do here? Maybe start by showing him the boats?”

  Not one to hide my feelings since I knew good and well they were all over my face, I said, “Can’t you do it?”

  “I’m feeling tired today.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. He was never tired. He may be old, but he had more energy that I did. He wanted me to do this for some reason, and I couldn’t fathom why. But it seemed things between him and Jesse might be fraught, so I would do whatever Otto wanted me to do if it might make this easier on him. “Okay.”

  I grabbed two helmets with headlamps and handed one to Jesse. I got two bottles of water from the fridge in the corner. “Never go in the caves without another person or water,” I said.

  He took the bottle, meeting my eyes with his angry ones for a moment before looking away again. He might be gorgeous, but he was rude. And okay, I’d been rude too, but I’d apologized and was trying to make nice. He was still being rude.

  I gathered a few more supplies—flashlights, the tour script, the maps, some energy bars, and put it all in my backpack. “The tour groups park on the other side of the cave. We start over there, with the boat tour, then we walk the easiest passage that leads from the river into the main cavern. They end up in the gift shop where they can buy something before they leave.” I still brought crinoids in for Otto to sell. For some reason, even though folks could go to the creeks themselves and get them for free, they were fascinated by them and liked to fill little drawstring bags of them for five dollars.

  I walked through the front door and led the way around to the other side of the caves. I didn’t look back, but I could hear him walking about six feet behind me. It was a little unnerving, the way he followed me through the trees without saying anything.

  To be honest, he was a little unnerving. I’d never been in the presence of someone so good-looking. I put that right out of my mind. He wasn’t just good-looking, he was ten thousand leagues above me, and I wasn’t the dating sort anyway. I was Cave Girl and that suited me fine. I would not be intimidated by a set of pretty lips and intense eyes. To strengthen my resolve, and to show Jesse I wasn’t afraid of him, I decided to ask questions. “So you’re visiting Alden for a while?”

  A grunt was his only response.

  “How long do you think you’ll stay?”

  The sound of his footsteps brushing through the undergrowth stopped. So I stopped too, and turned back. Jesse looked right into my eyes. “I don’t know. As long as it takes.”

  “As long as it takes for what?”

  He shrugged. “Can we get a move on?”

  I watched him a moment before turning back to the worn path through the trees. He clearly didn’t want to talk to me, a complete stranger. I could understand that. On a whim, I veered off course, picking up a long, thick stick on the way. The ground turned rocky, the grass and trees thinning. Jesse followed without questioning me.

  I stopped and faced him. “We’re above the Cavern. See this hole?” I paused to tap the earth beside a small hole, about a foot in diameter.

  Jesse regarded me skeptically for a moment, then walked closer, peering down at the hole.

  “It's a cave blowhole. When it’s cold, warm air comes from the hole.” I waved my hand over it. “It feels cool to me, though, on this warm day.”

&n
bsp; Jesse waved his hand over it, too, and I admired his curiosity. As much as he was grouchy, he was interested, and that went a long way with me. “Matteo taught me about this. He found a cave by locating blowholes. Like other scientists, he used infrared technology to detect above ground temperature differences that result from blowholes and indicate a cavern is underneath. Of course, Otto and Emily just stumbled across their cave opening. That’s the one I’m taking you to.”

  Jesse crouched on the ground and peered into the hole. I waited for him to look his fill. When he stood and brushed off his hands, I led the way back to the path.

  After a good ten minute hike, we came to the parking lot on the other side of the trees. I unlocked the gate and we went through, leaving it open for the visitors who would arrive soon. We had to crouch to clear the low cave entrance. On the other side, you could stand, and I flipped on the light switch to reveal a small desk, a smaller cavern than the one out front, and the sound of rushing water.

  “There’s electricity in here?”

  “In this part. In many of the passageways we have battery operated LED lights on the walls. And of course, the tougher passages don’t have any lights, so the people can get the real cave experience. Matteo was the one who told me about the cave mounts with LED lights. Otto was resistant at first, but I think the kids appreciate the light. We have colored lights that are pretty neat.”

  “Matteo. Is that your boyfriend? The guy who helped you change your tire?”

  I turned to look at him, stunned. He saw me this morning? He saw me lose my ever-loving mind out on that back road? What a wild day this was turning out to be. “You mean this morning?”

  He nodded. “I was out for a jog.”

  “I didn’t see you.” My cheeks heated. What part had he seen? Did he see Keaton helping me change the tire? Or had he seen before that, when I’d screamed and thrown my lug wrench, acting like a total baby?

  “There was a man helping you change your tire. Was that Matteo?”

  My shoulders dropped in relief. He hadn’t seen my temporary fit of overwhelming rage. “That was just Keaton. He’s my sister’s...well, he’s a friend of the family.”

  Jesse didn’t take his eyes off my face. His gaze was pretty intense. Something about the way he looked at me made me keep talking. “Matteo’s a caving friend, not my boyfriend. Good grief, no. He lives in Missouri. I don’t have a boyfriend.” I stopped talking but he was still looking at me. Uncomfortable under his stare, I blurted, “And I don’t plan on it any time in the next ten years.”

  One side of his mouth curved up.

  I spun around and headed toward where we kept the boats. “Anyway, we go down this little passageway.” I pointed to the relatively large opening in the side of the cavern. Jesse peered inside. It was lit every five feet with an LED light, but it curved so you couldn’t see the end of it.

  “Is it a long tunnel?” he asked.

  “No, only about twenty feet. Are you claustrophobic, Jesse?” I asked. I’d dealt with plenty of claustrophobic people, and I thought I could help him if he needed me to.

  “No,” he said, and went into the tunnel first.

  I rolled my eyes at his back and hitched up my backpack. Why did so many men need to pretend they had no fears? “Never lead when you don’t know where you’re going.” I said.

  “It’s a twenty-foot hallway. I’m sure I can handle it.”

  “You’re right, but so am I.”

  He turned back, and in the glow of the light by his head, I could see something in his eyes. I could have been mistaken, but I thought it was respect. He flattened himself against the wall, and gestured for me to pass. As I did, I caught his scent. He smelled good. Really good. I shook my head at myself. I did not need to be thinking that way. This was Otto’s grandson. He of the beautiful face, sure, but also he who never visited. If I ever fell for a man, it would be one who valued family as much as I did.

  We came to the end of the passage, the sound of the river louder now, and walked into a large, open area. It was well-lit here, too, so people could see to board the boats. I explained the process to Jesse—how many we could fit on a boat, how sometimes for large groups I chaperoned one boat and Otto took another. The boat ride was almost a mile and took about twenty minutes, but after it was over we stopped and showed them a few of the smaller caverns, and then they could walk the easy trail to the gift shop.

  The whole time I spoke, he listened carefully, taking in every word. His brow was furrowed slightly, as if he were trying to memorize my speech.

  “What’s that?” he asked, nodding his head toward the large opening across the river that was blocked off with yellow caution tape.

  “That’s a challenging trail Otto and I are working on surveying.”

  “Surveying?”

  “Yeah. There are a lot of passages in this cave system. Small tunnels, big caverns, all kinds of things we haven’t discovered yet.” I could feel my face shifting into one that betrayed what a thrill this was to me. Valerie said it was me having a cave-gasm. I forced my mouth flat.

  “You mean all the caves haven’t been explored yet?”

  “Exactly. Otto’s been trying to map every single passage. He and Emily worked on it relentlessly. But even after all these years, there is still so much to explore. Some of the passages start out large and then narrow to a space too small to fit through. Sometimes we can see that there’s more on the other side, and occasionally we find it when we come from a different angle.” I pointed to the caution tape. “That one’s really exciting. It has a lot of openings and possible paths. We have to figure out the best path, and make sure it’s safe. We almost have it. We hope to open it to the public by the end of the summer.”

  Jesse’s head tilted to the side, though he had his arms crossed as if he were guarding himself. “You love my grandfather.” It sounded hard, like an accusation.

  I blinked. “Of course I do. He’s my grandfather, too.”

  Chapter 6

  Jesse

  This woman stirred up a mix of emotions in me. I was angry she thought I was stealing from the cash drawer. I was angry she seemed able to be civil when I felt anything but. I was jealous she was here for Otto when I wasn’t, and that she soaked up all that grandfatherly love that was meant for me. I felt like she swooped in and took my place.

  And that made me feel guilty. It was my fault I hadn’t been here, at least these last few years.

  But I was absolutely euphoric that she didn’t seem to recognize me as a famous actor. That never happened these days. Never. I appreciated starting with a clean slate with her. This was a chance to be myself with someone who had no preconceived notions of who I was.

  And surprisingly, I was irritated at that Matteo guy. I was irritated that he taught her things about caves that made her eyes sparkle while she looked at me with disapproval. And I was relieved that neither Matteo nor the guy who changed her tire was her boyfriend. But I was frustrated at myself for even thinking that way.

  Of course, the undercurrent of sadness that was my life now remained my dominant emotion. She’d asked when I was leaving. I wasn’t thinking at all about the future right now. I couldn’t even seem to think two hours ahead. I didn’t want to think about it, but I eventually had to go home. Melancholy filled the air like a fog when I thought of leaving Grandpa again, of leaving this peaceful place. It was clear I couldn’t stay here.

  I blamed this emotional confusion on my already over-taxed mental state. I was not in a place to think clearly, let alone feel clearly. I closed my eyes for a second, took a breath, and then met Cat’s eyes.

  “Why are you so angry at me?” she asked, returning my gaze. “Is it because I thought you were stealing?”

  I flinched. Clearly she sensed my turmoil. “No. Of course not.”

  She took a step toward me, her tiny body entering my space bubble, and lifted her chin in defiance. “What is it then?”

  What was she doing? I took a step back and tight
ened my arms where they rested on my chest. I pressed my lips together, letting her know I wasn’t going to talk about it.

  She rolled her eyes. She was even pretty when she was angry at me. “Clearly you’re mad. At me, most likely. I don’t know why you’re here, I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m just trying to do what Otto would want me to do.”

  I took a breath, my nostrils flaring. Emotion was rising in my chest. Everything was right on the surface these days, and she was bringing it forth like salt draws the liquid from a vegetable. Flustered, I spat out, “You stole my grandfather.”

  She didn’t back down, didn’t avert her eyes. “I did no such thing.”

  Her calm demeanor inflamed me. “You spent the last who knows how many years doing things with him that were mine to do. You took my place.”

  She paused, then in the quietest of voices, she said, “Well, where were you?”

  I hung my head, her words and her soft tone instantly deflating me. I sighed, and paced the ground for a moment. “I apologize. It’s not your fault I wasn’t here.”

  “You got that right.”

  I snapped my gaze to her, and saw the sparkle in her eyes. She grinned, and the beauty of her smile knocked me back a step. “Now stop being angry at me for doing your job, and help me change the batteries in these headlamps.” She walked to a gray, metal cabinet and opened it. Stacks of hardhats with headlamps filled the shelves. “Everyone on the tour needs to wear one. We use rechargeable batteries, and we change them every few days, depending on how many tours we have, just to be safe.” She pulled a hat off the shelf, grabbed a screwdriver from a pile beside them, and began taking off the battery panel.

  I walked over, grabbed a hardhat and a screwdriver, and copied her actions. She pulled out a box of batteries, and in silence we changed the batteries in at least two dozen lamps.