“You know I’d do anything for you, kiddo. Including waking you up from your pretty princess dreams to let you know your friend is okay.”
“I don’t have pretty princess dreams,” she whispers. “In my dreams, I’m a dragon spitting fire and biting off bad people’s heads.”
Well. Fuck. Okay, then.
“That’s my girl,” I say, smiling and ruffling her curls again. “Go find your grandfather, he has ice cream.”
“Oh! It’s rocky road time!” She twirls a few times before running off, effectively forgetting the conversation we just had.For now, anyway. She’ll remember, soon enough. Like me, like my mother, Paige has a savior complex of her own. And Louisa Moreno is now in her circle of friends.
I’m coming to terms with my heart wanting to call her more than a friend. Family. Mine. Those words ring more true, even if I’m not ready to admit it. It’s too soon. Isn’t it? It was too soon when I considered Brenda mine. She wasn’t, not then. Or ever, really. The Brenda I knew was a lie she told me every day for damn near a decade.
I can now see all the things love blinded to me, then. Or whatever it was I was feeling. Now, I have Paige, which was worth all that I went through with my marriage. But I can’t let myself believe another lie. I can’t let another woman break her heart.
Maybe it’s best that Louisa returns to her life, now that she’s armed with more confidence and self-assurance. Maybe that’s what’s best for us both.
Except, the thought of it is like a river of pain forging its way down the center of my heart. It’s too late to give myself false warnings. Love has found its way in, like a root buried deep in the ground lying dormant for seasons until the perfect mixture of rainfall and sunshine brings it back to life.
Dammit, where is she?
It’s another hour before she calls. My phone barely gets the first ring out before I’m answering.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask instead of a normal greeting.
“Yes, sorry I didn’t call earlier. It’s been…a day,” she says, her exhaustion evident down the line.
“Are you at your hotel?”
“Just got to my room about five minutes ago. God, Grady, I’m tired. I’ve been in meetings since I landed.”
“Productive ones, I hope.” She was scheduled to meet with Micah, but that wasn’t expected to be lengthy, as she’d already seen a copy of the contract he’d written up for her.
“Very. We…Idecided to go public. Carolyn is angry with me. She’s good friends with Pierre, which is problematic. We’re trying to get ahead of it. Finally.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I’m sorry you have to go through that, I’m proud of you, or do I ask how big of a shitshow she thinks it’s going to become. My first thought is her safety, though.
“How mad? Does she know where you’re at?”
“Very mad, but no, she doesn’t know how to find me. Not in Stowaway or here in New York. I even chose a hotel nobody would expect me to stay at,” she tells me. “Just in case he heard I would be in the city for this shoot.”
“That’s smart.”
“I’m learning,” she says with a self-deprecating laugh. “Micah and I video-chatted with the new PR team. It took hours, but we’ve come up with what they think is the best plan. As soon as I’m on a plane back home, they’ll leak the story.”
“I’m sorry, Lou. I wish it wouldn’t have to be so hard on you.” Or any other woman trying to leave an abuser. She’s had it hard enough, she shouldn’t have to be scrutinized or be fodder for gossip rags, on top of all that. “I’m proud of you, you know?”
“It’s something I should have done earlier,” she dismisses.
“It’s something you needed to do in your own time,” I say. “You aren’t the same woman who showed up in Stowaway that rainy afternoon. You’ve found your strength again.”
“Again? I think this is the first time,” she says, once again attempting to brush off the compliment.
“Not true, Lou. I’ve seen your photographs. Your career has been remarkable and that took strength. Especially leaving home so young, you did that on your own,” I say. “One of these days, you should start accepting the amazing things you’ve accomplished.”
“You make it sound easy,” she says, then grows quiet, for a moment. “You make my life easier, Grady.”
“Good, it’s what I aim for.”
“I hope to return that,” she says. “Someday. For now, can you tell me something good?”
