Elias

  Cade nodded toward the ranch house. “June’s inside putting little Stan down to sleep,” he said. “You want to come up for a beer? I know she’d love to have you over.”

  “Sure,” I said. "Just let me get cleaned up and I'll be over in a few."

  After I'd showered and changed, I walked over to Cade and June's place. The sun was low on the horizon by the time I walked over, the sky all lit up like a watercolor painting, all pinks and purples and reds. I breathed in deeply, the smell of the evening air like a soothing balm.

  “June won’t say so, but she’s the biggest fan of yours,” Cade said. “She’s pretty much tickled shitty that you’re staying here. I mean, I don’t watch your movies - no offense.”

  I laughed. “None taken,” I said. “I haven’t exactly branched out beyond chick flicks.” I paused for a moment, trying to consider how to say what I wanted to say. “I’m here on the down low, though - you understand that, right?”

  Cade opened the front door to the house and motioned me inside. “Yeah, I gathered that,” he said. “You’re not the first person I’ve hid in West Bend.”

  He opened the refrigerator and withdrew a beer, popping the top and handing it to me. “Local brew,” he said.

  I took a sip. “It’s nice. So you’ve hid other celebs out here? You and June running some celebrity witness protection program?”

  Cade smiled, but the expression was drawn. “That would be something, huh? No, just have some experience with helping people lay low, that’s all.”

  “I appreciate it,” I said. “I won’t be here too long anyway. I imagine it’s not going to take all that long for someone to figure out how I’m here, all on their own.”

  Cade nodded, taking a drag on his beer. “You checked the internet or anything?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I was avoiding it. Why?”

  “June said it’s on the web.” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t pay attention to all that gossip shit, but she checked it today, said she wanted to make sure no one was pointing to you being out here. Said you were in a rough spot.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. I walked in on the fiancé and my sister going at it.”

  “I can take him out if you want,” Cade said. He paused. “Just kidding. Sniper joke, sorry.”

  “You were a sniper?”

  “Marines, yeah,” he said. “A long time ago.”

  “Elias was in the Navy,” I said.

  Cade nodded. “Explains the leg,” he said. That was the extent of what he said out loud, but I could tell his mind was churning. It was written all over his face. I wanted to know what he was thinking about Elias, but I didn’t ask.

  “You know, I’m actually not mad about it,” I said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

  “About what?”

  “Viper and my sister,” I said. “I was, when it happened, but I’m actually not upset about it now. Is that weird?”

  “Shit,” Cade said. “I say, fuck ‘em. But I’m the last person to tell you what’s normal fucking behavior.”

  “What’s this about fucking behavior?” June asked, sliding her arms around Cade’s chest, as much as she could with her belly in between them. “How was your ride, River?”

  “It was great,” I said. “Haven’t been on a horse in a long time.”

  “I was just telling River that I’m not the person to ask about normal behavior,” Cade said.

  June laughed. “He’s really not,” she said. “Is there ice cream in the freezer?”

  “Brought it home,” Cade said. He rolled his eyes. “Speaking of normal behavior. You’re like a page out of a pregnancy manual.”

  “I know,” June said, putting a spoon in the carton of ice cream and bringing it to her mouth before she stopped, eyes wide. “Oh. Did anyone else want any?”

  I laughed. “I’m okay with the beer.”

  “This is my beer replacement,” she said. “Want to take this out on the porch? If we wake little Stan, it’s going to take forever for him to get back down, and I just don’t think I can handle another round of putting the toddler down for bed.”

  “If there’s any question of who wears the pants in this family, it’s Stan,” Cade said. “He’s like a mini dictator.”

  Outside, we sat in the cool evening air.

  “I was just telling River that you’re practically stalking her,” Cade said, grinning at June.

  “What?” June leaned forward in her rocking chair and slapped his leg. “You did not. I am not stalking you!”

  I laughed. “It’s okay,” I said. “As long as you don’t boil a bunny or something, leave it on my stove.”

  “I didn’t tell her you were stalking her,” Cade said, turning toward me and dramatically mouthing the words, “completely stalking you,” while June slapped him again on the arm.

  “Stop,” she said. “She’s actually going to think that. He was crawling up my ass because I looked you up on one of the gossip sites, and I really felt bad about it. But in my defense, I just wanted to see if anyone was talking about where you were.” She glared at Cade. “For research purposes only. That’s it.”

  “Was anyone talking about it?” I asked. I was suddenly nervous.

  "Well, they're talking about it now," June said.

  "June," Cade's voice sounded like a warning.

  "No," I said. "I want to hear it, whatever it is."

  "It's all just talk," June said. "Stupid stuff."

  "They saw Elias," I said.

  "There's video of you with him at a hotel in Vegas," June said. "Driving off in his car."

  My heart sank. I had basically pushed a giant pause button on my life, running out here, and I wasn’t ready for it to start up again. I didn’t want reality intruding on this.

  Not yet, anyway.

  I wasn't even sure exactly why. But I knew there was something about being here in this place that made me want to just stay like this for a while. Even if I knew that was unrealistic.

  "So you're going to have some people show up here," Cade said. "Probably soon."

  "When was the video posted?" I asked.

  "It looked like it was this morning," June said.

  "Okay," I said. "I knew it was coming."

  "A bunch of tabloid reporters and bullshit," Cade said. "Anyone shows up, we can keep them away from the house."

  I sighed. "Thanks for the offer," I said. "But they can be really obnoxious. And you've got a kid."

  Cade cleared his throat. "When I said we could keep them away, it wasn't a suggestion. That's what the hell is going to happen. This here's not public property."

  June shrugged her shoulders. "He's real stubborn like that, River."

  I nodded. "Okay, then."

  "There is one more thing..." June's voice trailed off.

  Cade rolled his eyes. "Junebug," he said. "She doesn't need to see that shit."

  "I'd want to see it," June said. "If I were her. Just so I had all the information in case I was making any decisions."

  "I'm going on the record as saying this isn't a good idea," Cade said.

  "Just grab the laptop for me," June said. After he went inside, she turned to me. "There is something you should see. When I searched today, it was all over the place."

  Cade returned, laptop open in his hands, and gave it to June. He shook his head. "I'll let you be the one to decide before I throw in my two cents," he said.

  June fiddled with something on the screen, then turned the screen to me. "Here," she said.

  I watched as Viper appeared on screen, sitting on a sofa in our house. My ex-house. He had a new guitar in his lap. I'd smashed his old one. "This song is dedicated to my fiancé, River. I know you're out there listening, and I just want to say..." I stared, numb, as I listened to him launch into song. "Baby, I'm so lost without you here..."

  When his musical apology was finished, I shut the computer and handed it back to June before I sat down. "Huh," I said.

  June and
Cade shared a look, then seemed to each be studying the floor of the porch.

  "Well, that was something." I barely got the words out before I was overcome by a fit of giggles.

  Cade and June didn't say anything, just stared at me, and I paused long enough to say, "I can't believe I was going to marry that fucking douchebag."

  Cade grinned. "See, Junebug?" he asked. "I knew she wasn't going to fall for that bullshit. That was a stupid ass song, too. Shit, the part about the hole in his heart?" He screwed up his face in disgust. "I don't even have words for it."

  "She still needed to see it," June said, smiling. "It was really bad, though. The part where he said he could see into your soul and he knew your soul wanted to be with his?"

  I howled with laughter. "That's embarrassing."

  "For him," June said.

  "For me, too. What was I thinking?" I asked, more to myself than to them. "I was going to actually marry that guy."

  Cade grimaced. "Screwing your sister aside," he said, shaking his head. "Any guy who writes a song that lame should just be taken out and shot."

  "He's a huge star," I said, my voice soft. I felt numb, detached from everything. I shook my head. "I don't know why I didn't see what a douche he was before. Nothing's really changed. He's always been like this."

  "Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of your nose," Cade said. He reached over and grabbed June's hand, and she patted it, smiling as she looked at him.

  The sound of a car engine and the crunch of gravel cut through the evening air, and I saw a car pull into the driveway of the bed and breakfast. It might have been early evening, but I could still see whose car it was, plain as day. And who was stepping out of the car.

  I heard June's voice, soft, like it was meant only for Cade. "Speaking of seeing what's under your nose..."

  I walked over to the bed and breakfast. Elias had stood there for a minute on the front porch, probably thinking I was still pissed off at him and just not answering, before he noticed me coming across the lawn.

  "Hey," he called.

  "I didn't expect to see you here," I said. I crossed my arms over my chest. Even if he was looking sexy, standing there in a pair of tattered jeans and this t-shirt that made his blue eyes look even bluer, he'd still been a jackass earlier.

  "I fucked up," he said. "Snapping at you, saying it was none of your business. I was being a shithead."

  "No kidding," I said, but I felt my resolve softening. Especially now that I knew why he'd been so touchy about his past. I could understand that kind of thing. "You want to come inside?"

  "Nope," he said, crossing my arms over my chest.

  "Okay, then," I said, taken aback. I guess he was still being a shithead.

  "Came to see if I could take you out."

  "Like on a date?"

  "Yep," he said.

  "I don't know." I was wary, thinking about the possibility of being noticed out in town. "I don't think it's a good idea. The tabloids, they've got video of you and me at the hotel in Vegas. I'm sure they're tracking me down even as we speak."

  Elias nodded. "I already thought of that," he said. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

  "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" River asked.

  "Nope," I said. "You'll see in just a minute." Up ahead was the turn off, this little indentation on the side of the road that only fit two cars at any given time. It was just us, given the fact that it was early evening. No one else would be out here this late.

  I'd been out here earlier this afternoon.

  I turned off the engine, and River looked at me warily, stepping out of the car. When I popped the trunk, she laughed nervously. "I don't suppose you'd tell me if you had a trunk full of tarp and duct tape and stuff, would you?" she asked.

  "Pulling over here does make me look like a serial killer, doesn't it?" I said.

  "That wasn't really an answer."

  "Yeah," I said. "Me and my fucking bum leg, we're a real good killing team." In my head it sounded like a joke, but it came out more bitter than I intended.

  River narrowed her eyes when she looked at me. "Do people feel sorry for you when you talk like that?" she asked. "Seems like you get by just fine to me with that bum leg of yours." Her back was toward me as she looked around. I watched her draw in a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling. "Besides, wasn't it Ted Bundy who kept a crowbar in a cast on his arm? Lured his victims with his injury and his good looks."

  "Are you saying I'm good looking?" I picked up a headlamp and handed it to her.

  "It's tacky to fish for compliments you already know are true." She turned the lamp over in her hands.

  "Put it on," I said, sliding the band on mine over my head.

  "Sexy."

  "You want to fall down the trail or what?"

  "You're taking me hiking?" she asked. "I was kind of thinking dinner, a nice glass of wine, but sure."

  "Well, I can't exactly get rid of a body in a restaurant, can I?" I asked. "It has to be the woods."

  River narrowed her eyes and glared at me. "Har-dee har-har."

  I picked up the picnic basket from the trunk.

  "Is that a picnic basket?" she asked. "You own a picnic basket? You don't exactly seem like the type."

  "What type is that?" I asked.

  "A girl." She stuck her tongue out at me. It was a childish gesture, but one that immediately made me smile.

  "Maybe I've got a crowbar in the basket," I said. "Ever think of that?"

  "True," she said. "You want me to carry something here?"

  "Nope. Everything else is set."

  We hiked down the dirt trail, and she clutched my hand a few times when she skidded on pebbles. I wasn't sure if this was something she'd like or not. Someone like her probably didn't do shit like this, I thought.

  "Hiking down here," she said. "It's still all right with your leg?"

  I had her hand in mine, from when she skidded a minute ago, and I hadn't let go. "Yeah," I said. "I'm not an invalid."

  "Didn't think you were," she said. "Just asking if you had one special for working out and stuff."

  "Oh," I said. Christ, I was edgy when it came to her. Or maybe in general, I wasn't sure. "Yeah. I've got a running one. It's in the trunk of the car, actually." I paused for a beat. "With my crowbar, you know."

  She laughed. "Well, I guess if anyone were going to take me out in the woods for a date, I guess I'm glad it's you."

  Christ, as soon as she uttered the words take me, I was hard. I set down the basket, and stopped and pulled her against me, her back pressed into me. I slid my hands down her arms, pinning them at her sides, and I felt her shift against my hardness. Goose bumps dotted her arms, and the fact that she responded to me like that drove me nuts. She made a sound, this cross between a whimper and a moan, and it made me fucking crazy.

  My face was near her neck, and I inhaled her scent, drank her in. She turned her head to the side, and when I grazed her neck with my lips, I felt her knees buckle.

  At least I could be sure she was just as turned on by me as I