The Spiral Path (18 page)

Kenzie
laughed, feeling as if the Gradys were old friends. He hoped their children
appreciated how lucky they had been to be raised in this place, by these
people. "You're serious about selling?"

"Dead
serious," Grady replied, his light mood vanishing. "I'm calling a
real estate agent this week."

Kenzie
hesitated for an instant, checking to see if he was really sure about this. He
was. "I want to buy Cibola."

Absolute
silence. The Gradys stared at him.

"Since
I travel a great deal, I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend
here," he continued. "So I'd like to work out an agreement with you.
In return for my building you a house on the lake, will you stay on and watch
over the place?"

Alma
clunked her coffee cup onto the table. "Are you
serious?"

"Completely."

Alma's
eyes widened with shock. "You're Kenzie Scott, the actor! I knew you
looked familiar, but it never occurred to me a big Hollywood star could just
wander in!"

"I'm
shooting a movie about twenty miles away." He looked down at the
beautifully woven old Indian rug, knowing he must reveal something of his
private self in return for their honesty. "I have a home I love on the
Pacific, but in Southern California one is always aware there are millions of
people nearby. Cibola has the serenity of solitude. Since you're planning to
sell, maybe ... maybe it was meant for us to meet."

"Do
you have half a dozen homes all over the world?" Alma asked.

"Not
half a dozen. Just the California house, which I'd keep because of the amount
of time I have to spend in Los Angeles, plus an apartment in New York."

Overcoming
his initial shock, Grady said, "The place on the lake--would you put us out
if you decided you wanted a new caretaker?"

Kenzie
thought a moment. "You would own the house and the land it's on, but we'd
need an agreement that I'd have the right of first refusal, at a fair market
price, if you ever decided to sell. I wouldn't want strangers there."

Eyes
sparkling, Alma said, "So I get my double-wide trailer!"

"Actually,
I was thinking of one of those prefabricated redwood homes with a nice
deck." Kenzie smiled. "Since I'll be looking at it, I want the place
to be attractive."

Alma
and her husband looked at each other, and she gave a faint nod. Grady offered
his hand to Kenzie. "If you're not a raving lunatic, you've got yourself a
deal."

After two hours of
working out details, Kenzie headed back to the hotel. In the morning he'd call
his business manager and put the legal wheels in motion, but that handshake was
the real contract.

Money
could make things happen very quickly, and he wanted to be able to come here to
re-knit his raveled nerves when he finished shooting
The Centurion.
A
prefab house wouldn't be quite as easy as a double-wide trailer, but it would
still be fast, and the Gradys could choose a house that appealed to them. Alma
had happily agreed to do light housekeeping and some cooking when he was in
residence; he suspected she missed having a house full of children to care for.

Buying
a ranch on impulse might seem eccentric, but he had no doubts at all. He looked
forward to retreating to this place of tranquility whenever he wanted--and it
would have no memories of Rainey.

CHAPTER 10

A
s nightfall
obscured the spectacular New Mexican scenery, Val's eyes drifted shut.
She hadn't gotten much sleep since agreeing to work on
The Centurion.

She'd
been on the verge of backing out daily, but kept returning to the fact that she
needed a change. And maybe Rainey really needed her as well. In the meantime,
if being picked up by a Lincoln town car in Albuquerque and carried to the door
of her destination was typical of the movie business, Val could get used to it.

The
movie was headquartered in a sprawling, lodge-style resort hotel in the middle
of nowhere. A very upscale lodge, she saw when she checked in. Yes, she could
get used to this.

The
bellman was whisking her luggage away when Kenzie Scott walked in the front
door and headed toward the front desk. Val struggled with an impulse to go over
and deck him. Not that she'd be successful, unless maybe she stood on a chair
for a better shot. Unlike many stars, Kenzie Scott was tall and strongly built,
not pumped up like a bodybuilder, but with the overall fitness of a decathlete.

He
was also surreally handsome, with perfect, ruggedly masculine features. Though
she'd met him once when visiting Rainey, she'd forgotten the impact of his
looks, which had to be seen to be believed.

But
he'd made Rainey miserable, which deserved a decking in Val's book. Though as a
lawyer she knew that every dispute had at least two sides, probably more, she
turned off objectivity when her friends were involved. Especially when the
friend in question was Rainey, who'd bailed Val out more than once.

Since
Kenzie was the Big Star of this picture, Val would have to be polite to him,
but she'd save that for the next day, when she'd had a good night's rest.
Quietly she carried her hand luggage to the elevator so she'd be gone by the
time he finished his business at the front desk.

The
elevator doors had almost closed when they suddenly snapped open and Kenzie
Scott stepped in. Val withdrew to a corner as he glanced at the control panel.
There were only four floors and apparently they were both going to the fourth.
His gaze touched her absently. Then, dammit, he said, "You're Rainey's
friend Val, aren't you?"

She
nodded. "I just got in." Irritated by his lighthearted expression,
she added, "I suppose you've been out tomcatting around." The sound
of her words appalled her. She hadn't even started work, and she'd just gotten
herself fired by breaking the first rule of moviemaking, which was that The
Star was never, never to be annoyed.

Kenzie
looked startled instead of angry. "Actually, no. I did see a cat, but even
though it was female, I had no designs on its virtue."

Flushing,
Val said, "I'm sorry. I had no business saying any such thing."

"Probably
not, but you're Rainey's friend. It would be odd if you weren't partisan."
The elevator glided to a stop. He stepped back politely so she could exit
first.

Wishing
she could sink through the floor, Val stepped out, then had to pause to figure
out which direction her room was. Behind her, Kenzie said, "Do you need
help with your bag? It appears to have a rock collection inside."

Why
did he have to have that wonderful British voice? She pivoted and started down
the left-hand corridor. "I'm fine, thanks. I'm used to hauling heavy loads
around."

"And
wouldn't accept my help if I were offering free water in Death Valley." He
fell into step beside her.

She
smiled reluctantly. "Probably not. I'm famously stubborn. But I'll do my
best to be polite." Reaching her room, she slid the card key into the
slot. "Good night, Mr. Scott."

"Kenzie."
He smiled. "I always envied Rainey her friends. Good night, Val."