Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (23 page)

"Brad, you're going to leave
now. I don't want to be pushed, and that's what you're doing."

He put a hand up, immediately
backing off. "Fine, fine. I won't push. I've got some time off, I'm. .
.er. . .in between jobs, maybe I could stick around for a bit―"

"No!"

"I won't get in the way. This
place looks interesting. Hiking, swimming, riding. I haven't ridden
since...since I was a kid. The place is big enough, you'll have your
space." He paused, then back-pedaled and said, "What's with you and
the cowboy?"

"Leave." The hackles rose
as he referred to Sloan as "the cowboy."

"I'd just like to know where I
stand."

Disbelieving, she stared at him
incredulously. "You and I stand in the same place now as that last day I
saw you," she told him baldly. "There is no us." Her words
sounded hollow, even to her. What was the matter with her?

"Okay, okay. If I can get a
room here for a couple days, can we just go easy, part as friends, at
least?"

She wanted to finish this part of
her life, once and for all. "I don’t care what you do."

"If they don’t have any
empty rooms, how about I bunk down here?"

Letting out an exasperated breath,
she said, "No!" She walked through the atrium door and stepped out
onto the deck.

"One more thing, Jacie."
He stopped in the doorway. He was jangling the change in his pocket, something
he did when he was tense. Her ears perked up.

"Bonnie, uh...she's out in the
car. She didn't come in because she figures you're really mad at her,
considering your earlier conversation."

She muttered an imprecation,
closing her eyes. Her stay at the ranch was turning into a three-ring circus.
"Gee, I can’t imagine why she would think that." He
didn’t move from the open doorway, but the change jangled furiously in
his pocket. "Bonnie called early this morning and said she was already on
the way here, so what took you so long?"

"Oh, you know Bonnie. She had
all kinds of stops to make," he said vaguely. "Listen, I'll catch you
later, babe, okay?"

She heard the front door close and
she leaned against the railing. She had suddenly landed in the vacation from
hell.

Walking around to the front of the cabin,
she saw Bonnie's dark blue sedan parked out front with the motor idling. As she
stepped in front of the headlights, the driver's door opened and Bonnie stepped
out.

"Jacie." Bonnie's voice
was low, hesitant, quite unlike her usually confident tones, yet she appeared
perfectly groomed as always, her blonde hair tied in a knot on her shoulder, a
burgundy silk coat hanging from her shoulders.

Bonnie moved forward to envelope
her in a hug, but Jacie stepped back. The other woman halted and frowned, her fingers
pulling nervously on the chain around her neck.

"Jacie?"

"Bonnie," she said
coolly.

"How are you?"

Jacie sighed. "Come
inside." She led the way.

In the light of the living room,
she surveyed the hectic flush coloring Bonnie's cheekbones. Curiously, she
wondered about the nervous energy driving Bonnie.

Bonnie put her hand out, then let
it drop to her side. "I'm sorry about this mess." She pulled a packet
of cigarettes from her pocketbook and lit one. "I saw the owner, what was
his name? Sloan? I saw him come out of the house after Brad went in. He didn't
look too happy."

Jacie gritted her teeth and
motioned Bonnie to the couch. The other woman perched on the edge of the
cushion.

"As I said earlier, I wanted
to make sure everything was okay with you. You know I've been worried,
especially since I talked you into this whole skydiving job. You sounded so
distant on the phone, almost angry. I really did think I was helping by
bringing Brad here."

"I told you not to bring
him."

Bonnie moved to the kitchen, ran
the water and extinguished her partially smoked cigarette. She turned around,
her back to the sink. "I’m sorry. You look great," she said
quickly. "When you're ready, say the word and I'll come and get you."

Abruptly, Jacie turned and walked
back toward the door. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Who knows, I
might stick around here. Where is Brad?" she asked.

Bonnie waved her hand in the air.
"He said something about lodging."

Jacie made no attempt to conceal
her rising anger. "I can't believe you did this."

"You're mad...but what else
could I do? He feels so bad and you said the police needed to speak with
him."

Jacie shook her head.
"Something else is going on."

Bonnie, in the act of lighting yet
another cigarette, paused. "I don't follow."

"You're a nervous wreck."

Bonnie tossed her lighter back into
her purse and stood up, her face now looking pinched and tired. "You sound
like you need a longer vacation, Jacie. You're getting mad at the wrong
person." She walked toward the door, then paused with her back to her.
"I'll leave. Sorry I intruded. I never meant to hurt you." Bonnie
half turned toward her, the words spilling from her lips. "I admit Brad
caught me at a bad moment. Yesterday was crazy and hectic. I let him persuade
me to drop him off here. His luck hasn't been the greatest lately, not that
he'd tell you. His car is at the bottom of a lake, and his apartment's been
burglarized."

"What are you talking
about?"

"There are people after him.
He didn't say why."

"And you bring him here?"
she said incredulously. "I’m trying to get my life straight, not
borrow more trouble."

"Bottom line is, he's been
haunting my office day and night, he wants to make up with you." Bonnie
turned back to her. "He really feels bad about you two splitting up, he
says it was the best time of his life."

Mouth tight, she said,
"Bonnie, this is none of your business." Taking a deep breath, she
said, "In the future, I don't want you patching anything up. He left me,
for God’s sakes. Do you think that feeling of inadequacy just goes
away?"

Bonnie's eyes widened. "God,
I'm so sorry. I thought maybe you were over that by now."

"It goes deep, Bonnie. How
would you feel about a man who took off when you were hurt?"

"I'm really sorry."

"I don't like what you've
done." She turned away. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was
over.

After a sleepless night, Jacie
walked into the lodge early in the morning to find Sloan wasn't anywhere
around.

The way they had parted last night
left her with a sick feeling inside. She needed to speak to him to set things right
but she didn’t know what she would say. How do you explain your old
boyfriend just happened to turn up at a most inopportune time? Would he believe
her if she said their relationships had been over for a year?

She saw Renee when she returned to
the stables.

"Renee," she said.
"Have you seen Sloan?"

"He left before first light.
He and Donny are bringing in the herds that have been pasturing all summer on
the other side of the ranch. It's a full three hour ride out."

"Thanks, Renee."

She decided to take a short hike.
Maybe some physical exercise would help still her rioting thoughts.

She had called deputy Bryant
earlier and told him Brad was at the ranch. She couldn’t help thinking if
Brad hadn’t shown up, she would have awakened this morning in Sloan's
arms. The thought caused a trembling to begin in her hands. Damn! Nothing ever
went smooth. She turned onto a footpath and concentrated as she climbed a steep
incline full of roots and stones.

"Jacie! Wait up."

Brad ran up the hill behind her.

"Are you following me?"
she demanded.

"I saw you leave the
barn."

Brad wore a dark T-shirt, jogging
shorts and running shoes on his feet. Apparently, he had packed several items
with the intention of staying. She kept walking. He was the last person she
wanted to see now.

He kept pace with her. His dark
hair was brushed neatly back from his forehead where hers was wild and damp.
That was the difference between them and Jacie supposed it always had been.
While he remained cool and in control, she was disheveled, her emotions flying
off in tangents.

"You know, Brad, I never
thought about it before, but how do you always manage to look so...I don't
know, never a hair out of place?"

He looked surprised, but then
smiled as if she had paid him a compliment. "Habit, I guess."

She shook her head. "Even
during the filming on Angel Falls. The wind was blowing, mist swirling through
the air, and yet you looked the same. Look at me, I've probably never had a
hair in place my entire life." She knew it was a minor difference, but it
underlined all the bigger differences that had made their relationship fail.
How had she gotten involved with him? Had she been so caught up in the image he
presented that she forgot what was important?

"You're always
beautiful," he said, his eyes sweeping appreciatively over her. "I've
never seen you otherwise."

She shrugged and walked on again.
"You'd be better off with someone like Bonnie."

Brad looked startled, then he
frowned. "Why would you say that? Bonnie's a dragon. She'd try to rule any
man dumb enough to fall for her. Anyway, I don't want her, I want you." He
grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"Don't." She knew her
protest wasn't as strong as it could be.

"I thought I’d let you
know I’ve got a meeting this afternoon with someone from the
sheriff’s department." His voice was low.

She tried to shrug nonchalantly.
"Fine." She stepped back, jamming her hands in her back pockets.

"Are they trying to open an
investigation again?" he asked curiously.

"It’s just routine
questioning. I’ve had a couple accidents and they want to make sure the
incidents aren’t related."

Brad narrowed his eyes. "What
do you mean by accidents?"

Jacie started to explain and then
paused. "Actually, I’m probably not supposed to be talking about it.
I guess you can ask the deputy to fill you in." She hurried her pace.

"Where are you off to?"
he asked. "Maybe we could meet up later and have a picnic for old time's
sake."

"Bonnie told me about your car
and your apartment," she said bluntly.

Losing his smile, he looked up at
the trees sheltering them. "I've had some tough luck."

"She told me about those guys
chasing you." He started to deny it, but she shook her head. "Are
they after money?"

His shoulders slumped. She noticed
the tired lines beside his eyes, the faint touch of gray in his hair.

"Yeah. Oh, Jacie, I'm in a
bind―"

"How much?"

"Eighty thousand."

She could hardly believe what
he’d just said.

"I was so sure my next movie
would be a hit, I just needed a little more backing."

"So you let that loan shark
back you again, just like before?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded. "Only the movie was
a flop, and now I'm basically in hiding."

"Maybe if you talk to
them―"

"I've stalled them as long as
I can, it's the end of the road." His voice took on a new note of urgency.
"Jacie, come away with me."

"What?" she asked
incredulously.

"We could live out of the
country, have a good life together. I've got contacts down in South
America." He tried to take her hand, but she backed away, shaking her
head.

"I’ve been to South
America, remember? It wasn’t something I want to repeat. We're totally
different, Brad. Maybe that's why things worked out the way they did. You go
for the pomp and splendor and don't care if people get hurt along the way."

"The camera loves you, Jacie.
We made a winning team. We can work together again."

She shook her head, the specter of
too many shadows between them. "You take too many chances," she said
somberly.

"Let's forget the past. Who
says we can't? I know I've made some mistakes."

"I have to wonder where this
change of heart comes from."

"It was a shock seeing you
hurt so bad. I was suffering feelings of guilt over the accident. I‘ve
always loved you."

He reached forward and jerked her
into his arms. The suddenness of his action knocked the air from her chest. His
dark head lowered. Jacie stared at his mouth, so close, the past sucking her
in. Brad’s mouth covered hers, and she breathed him in. Like a whirlwind,
their past flew through her thoughts. The good times, their fun times. . ..

Jacie stepped back, breaking the
contact. "I don’t love you anymore." It was the truth.

"Jacie," he said quickly,
his eyes alight, "it could be like it was before. We still care about each
other."

"It's so easy to see now what
I missed back then," she said, ignoring what he’d said. "I was
so busy being angry and bitter, I missed the most important part. Everything
you do is for show, it doesn't mean anything. I don't mean anything to
you."

There was a mottling of red on his
cheeks as he cleared his throat. "You know how we clicked, we were good
for one another. Remember those nights before the jump? We talked about
marriage―we went out and got a special license?"

"Which we didn’t use. I
got hurt before that."

His eyes narrowed. "It was an
accident―a terrible accident. You were in full control when your chute
opened."

"Was I?" Jacie frowned.
"I wake up at night sometimes, thinking I've missed something. There's a
blank there where my memory should be. If only I had the chute so I could look
at it. Those shroud lines shouldn't have failed the way they did."

"Are you saying someone messed
with your parachute pack?" he asked angrily.

"I feel like I missed
something."

"We'll never know what
happened. In the hurry to airlift you out the parachute was left behind. It was
nobody's fault, least of all yours. Stop worrying about the past. We owe it to
ourselves to think about us instead."