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Go she did, all while Silas stood there in the dirt parking lot and watched. He returned to his car too and cranked the AC. The little thing was more like a toy, and if he wasn’t actively using the accelerator, the air didn’t blow very cold.
He did have Holly’s number, and he warred with himself as he followed her back onto the ranch. She turned down the lane markedPrivate, and Silas almost drove his truck into the fence line he watched her dark blue SUV for so long. He hadn’t known where she lived, but he did now. Sort of.
He managed to keep his truck on the dirt road, and he got back to his cabin. He lived in one on the end of the row, a couple of women across from him. Hadley and Maddy lived in the one next to Laura and Josie, and the rest of the cabins were filled with men.
“Heya,” he said to Lowry, who put the largest spoonful of cereal in his mouth at the same moment. He lifted the silver utensil in a wave, and Silas grinned at the back of his head. He’d asked Lowry to go to lunch with him several times, but the man wanted to scarf down cereal and then nap on the couch. Driving to town cut into his time to catch some shuteye.
Silas went over to the table and pulled out the other chair. He sighed as he sank into it. “Guess who I ran into just now?”
Lowry gave him a wary looked, finished chewing, and swallowed. “Do I want to know?”
Silas wasn’t sure if he wanted Lowry to know. His mind blitzed, and he changed tracks quickly. “Rex Johnson. He said you two are the same age, and that he played on the football team with you.”
Lowry glowered now, and he didn’t remove his eyes from Silas’s as he scooped up his next huge bite of cereal. He opened his mouth and filled it with the sugary, multi-colored loops he loved. Silas laughed. “You said you didn’t do sports.”
“I didn’t,” Lowry said around his mouthful of milk and cereal.
“You played football. That’s a sport.” Silas didn’t care if Lowry had played sports or not. They’d just been talking one day while Silas put together a tomato salad—which was literally the one thing he knew how to do from his time in California. That and fruit salad. Lowry had teased him plenty about that. Then he’d tasted the tomatoes, herbs, and cheese, and he’d been begging for the salad ever since.
Lowry shook his head and swallowed again. “No,” he said. “I was on the team. I didn’t play. Did Rex mention that?”
“He said you were on the team with him. That’s it.”
“He’s not lying,” Lowry said. “I just didn’t play.”
“Why were you on the team, then?”
“My daddy,” Lowry said. “He was some big star, and I’m the oldest son. Of course, that means I have to play, right?” He took another bite of cereal, and Silas was used to him asking questions to answer them.
Silas grinned, but his phone pulled his attention as it chimed. It could be Holly. It wasn’t, but his step-father. He swiped the phone into his hand, his mood changing instantly. He didn’t give Lowry an explanation, and Lowry wouldn’t ask anyway. He was a good man—hardworking and decently clean around the house—but he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t pry, and that was just another reason Silas liked him.
“Colt,” he said to his step-father. “What’s up?” If Colt was calling, it was something. He wouldn’t waste his breath for no reason.
“Your mother said you left the show,” he said. Curiosity swam in his voice, igniting Silas’s irritation.
“Yes,” Silas said, once again employing the strategy of not saying more than required. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation, least of all Colt.
“I thought you liked playing Damian.”
“I did,” he said.
“Did you get fired?”
“No.” He hadn’t, either. His contract had run out, and he’d opted out of renegotiating. In essence, he’d quit, but the press release had said he and Pira—the television company he’d worked with—hadn’t been able to reach satisfactory terms. That was one-hundred percent true, because Silas had not wanted another contract.
He thought about Kyle Stewart and his country music contract. He wasn’t sure how to talk to Kyle, because he didn’t understand wanting to be beholden to a big company looking to make money off their talent.
Silas swallowed his bitter feelings. He knew plenty of people who loved making albums and TV shows and movies for production companies. They became big stars and they lived great lives they enjoyed. That simply hadn’t been his reality.
“We’re going to miss seeing you on the show,” Colt said, and that was code for,Now I won’t be able to brag to my country club friends about you.
The money Silas had been sending for his mama’s medical bills had stopped too, and Silas waited for Colt to get to that. It only took a couple more pleasantries that weren’t pleasant at all, and then Colt said, “You know, your mother sure could use a few dollars. We got another bill for her COPD.”
Silas drew in a big breath, held it, and then said, “I’m sure that’s true, Colt. I’m real sorry, but I don’t have anything to send.”
A beat of silence came through the line. “That can’t be true.”
“It is,” Silas said. He hadn’t told anyone about Alyssa’s deception and betrayal. She was probably lying on the beach, getting a massage from a hot guy, sipping a frozen cocktail—and his money was paying for it all. “I ran into some…trouble in the past six months. I’m working a normal job right now, and I don’t have much to spare.”
