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"Yes, I do." He looks at me. "Don't get all worked up, cowboy. It's never been anything but friendship between us. I've always watched out for her. Her father's tried to get rid of me several times but that's one thing Alex has stood up to him about."
"Why doesn't she stand up to him about the other things?"
Nicco sighs. "It's a complicated relationship and I'm not a shrink, but her father's very good at laying on the guilt and knows just what to say to get Alex to do what he wants. It's taken me months and months to convince her to try this idea of running off, and it's all gone to hell." He rubs at his temples. "I just don't know what else to do."
"Well, if you two are done talking about me, I understand we've been invited to dinner." Alex stands in the kitchen doorway looking fabulous in a flowered dress and sandals. Hands on hips, she looks both annoyed and pleased about the two of us discussing her. "Let's go, you guys. Before I lose my nerve."
CHAPTER12
ALEX
"This is nuts. Nicco is being paranoid."
Nicco is afraid he was followed to the cabin so when we leave, I'm in Caleb's truck, but laying across the bench seat with my head resting on his thigh. Nicco even came over and buckled my seatbelt so it's sort of around my hips as I lay there.
He's driving his car. My car is in the garage. The cabin is empty and looks that way.
I think he's overreacting but I don't want to get Nicco all worked up again. I do sort of owe him for worrying him so much that he drove all the way out here to check on me.
But if he hadn't, I wouldn't have found out about Caleb. And he wouldn't have found out about me.
It's a relief to have that secret out.
Caleb rests his hand on my head and strokes my hair. "Is it so bad to be riding this way?"
"No," I say with a giggle, "but it seems sort of cloak and dagger to me. A bit much."
Caleb sighs as we pull out of the driveway. "I don't know," he says, his voice tinged with worry. "I looked at some of the posts online and people are going a bit crazy trying to find you. A couple of tabloids have even offered rewards for anyone who finds you or gives information about where you are."
A wave of panic moves through me. "I'm like a damned fugitive. From my own life. I haven't done anything wrong. I should be able to live in private if I want to."
"Is that what you want?" Caleb asks, his voice is gentle. "Fame is a hard thing to give up. And you're very talented."
"I guess I hadn't really thought about giving it all up. I just wanted a break for a little while. My head was so full of static, it seems. Do you know what I mean?"
I glance up at him and he gazes down at me with a wistful expression. "Yeah, I think I might. Seven years ago, on a beautiful fall day kind of like this one, my parents and little brother died in a car accident. Just like that. They were gone. I was only nineteen years old at the time. Barely an adult and the people who held my life together, the anchors of my existence, my parents were gone."
I touch his forearm on the steering wheel. Sadness emanates from him and it makes me want to cry for him. For them. "I had no idea," I say, feeling like a big baby for complaining about my life of fame and fortune when there were people experiencing heartbreaking tragedies all the time.
"After that happened, we all—my brothers and sister and I—reacted differently. Deacon went a little wild, but he's got that under control now. Thanks to Lissy."
I want to ask all about the people in his life, but I hold back my questions to let him tell me the rest of the story.
"Boone took off to college on the east coast where no one knew anything about her or our family. In fact," he pauses and chuckles, "her roommate, Kit, thought she lived on a little farm. But that's a story I'll let them tell you sometime. I know you'll like Kit and Boone, and Lissy too. And—"
I hold up my hand and touch his chest. "Please finish telling me about how that horrible tragedy affected you. If you don't mind. I was talking about the static in my brain and I am curious about your experience. Please."
"I guess I was avoiding the topic, though my family is pretty interesting." He pauses for a few seconds. "I sort of went inside. I got quiet. Lots of walks in the woods, fishing. And driving around. For a long time I couldn't go anywhere near this truck of my dad's. But eventually I saw it as a way to be close to him."
Caleb looks out the windshield and tears glisten in the corners of his eyes. I wonder what it's like to have a dad that you admire so much. "I'm sorry I never got to meet your parents. Or your brother."
"Eddie. His name was Eddie. He was a senior in high school. Quarterback of the high school football team." Again he looks off into the distance.
"Anyway, after that happened, I just withdrew into myself. Maybe to offset the chaos that seemed to be happening all around me. I mean, Adam stepped up and did a great job of taking over the operations of the ranch, and the hotel and other businesses. I guess I've never really told him how much I admire that. He was hurting and shocked just like the rest of us. He buried his head in work. Then he met Kit."
"Am I going to need a chart to keep track of everyone?" I ask. I'm starting to feel anxious about meeting all these people. They sound so accomplished. Plus it's obvious that they are important to Caleb and I want to make a good impression.
"It might take a little while to figure it all out, but don't worry, they'll love you."
