by Anna Sugden
Ty was the first to speak. “Emily! What is wrong with you? Is it a full moon today or what? Everyone’s going full-bore crazy around here! And Cole, for the last time, get your effing hands off that woman!”
Bree was close to his side now, and the heat emanating from his body took her breath away. His grip was rough, just short of painful. He glared down at her then back at his brother.
“She grabbed for my niece and I damned sure want to know why.”
Ty nodded in understanding. “I get that. But everyone’s safe now, so let her go.”
Cole looked down at Bree, and her face flamed with humiliation. This day was turning into one hot, glorious mess. He slowly loosened his hold on her, and she took a step away, rubbing her wrist.
“Emily.” Ty looked at the girl who was clearly his daughter. “What on earth is wrong with you, girl?”
Emily’s eyes were still bright with excitement, and her voice was breathless and quick.
“Daddy! This is Bree Mathews! She’s famous! She’s from Hollywood! And she’s standing here in our restaurant!” The men clearly had no idea what she was talking about, and the words started tumbling out of her mouth. “Oh, my God! Don’t you know? She was Miss California and a runner-up to Miss America. Then she married Damian Maxwell, the actor from that big hit TV show about high school from a few years ago, Drama in the Halls. Remember? He played the hunky coach? And then...” The words were coming fast and furious as Emily recited the timeline of Bree’s life. “Then his show was canceled and he and Bree went on the reality show Hot Hollywood Housewives. She was supposed to be the ‘good girl’ of the group, and the other ladies were so mean to her. By the third season, Damian was doing drugs on camera. When she caught him with Jessica Darling, one of the other wives on the show, Bree had an epic meltdown.”
“Emily,” her father said, trying to intervene. But his daughter was on a roll.
“She flipped an entire table on its side in a restaurant. It was awesome! Anyway, even though she divorced Damian, they tried to keep her on the show for another season, but she refused. Now she plans events and stuff for famous people, and she wrote a cookbook, and I heard she might get her own show on Bravo. Some people hate her because they say she ruined Damian’s career. He hasn’t had a hit since she left him, but of course that’s not her fault. Daddy, she’s famous. And she’s standing right in front of us!”
Emily finally stopped for air. Bree dropped her head, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Three decades on this earth, and her entire life had just been recapped in breathless detail by a teenager in less than a minute. And the highlight was that she flipped a table over in a crowded restaurant. That was what people thought of when they saw her. What did that say about her choices? About her values? About her?
“Are you filming something here? Is that why you’re here?” Emily was bouncing up and down now. “You are, right? You’re filming? Why else would you be in a place like Russell? Oh, wow...”
This was her chance to protect herself, and Bree took it. She plastered on her best pageant smile.
“Yes. Yes, we’re filming here. But it’s a huge secret. That’s why I didn’t want you to take the picture. No one can know about it, or it will all be ruined. I’m just here checking things out, but if the press finds out, we’ll have to find a new location to go to. I didn’t think anyone would recognize me out here...”
Cole snorted. Again. “So you didn’t think we had television? Or the internet? Or teenagers?”
Damn his arrogance.
“Look, it was all very last minute, and I didn’t know the show was popular in rural...in the country...places like this...” She closed her eyes, trying to think of a way not to sound offensive. But she never thought anyone would recognize her here in the boondocks.
Emily was still focused on the idea of a film crew arriving. “You’re doing a ‘Bree in the country’ kind of thing? That would be so funny! Maybe we’ll have a dance here at The Hide-Away and you could film it! Daddy, you’d let me waitress, right? I could be on TV!”
Ty looked at Bree in confusion, and she figured she’d better settle his daughter down a bit.
“I’m sure we can figure out a way for a pretty girl like you to be part of the show.” The girl beamed at the compliment. “But it’s critical that no one, not even your very best friend, knows that I’m here right now. Seriously, I’ll have to leave and never return if word gets out. You know how it is once news starts spreading on social media. The press will be here in a heartbeat, and I can’t have that...”
“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die. I won’t tell anyone if you’ll promise that my friends and I can be part of the show. I didn’t get the photo of you before. Y’all moved too fast.”
Ty swiped his finger across the screen on Emily’s phone, which he still held. He nodded.
“She’s right. No picture. And she won’t ever be taking pictures of anyone without asking permission first, right?” He gave his daughter a stern look and handed her phone back to her.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I promise. I just lost my head...”
Bree smiled. “It’s all right, Emily. Just remember to keep my secret, okay?”
Emily nodded, hugged herself and danced back into the kitchen.
Bree grabbed the hamburger in front of her. A girl had to eat, right? She took a large bite of it and sighed. This burger alone might make up for the lousy day she was having.
She wasn’t at all surprised to hear another grunt from Cole.
“You proud of yourself, Hollywood? Lying to a nice kid like that?”
She was too ashamed to have any fight left in her. She wiped her mouth with a napkin before answering, and her voice was barely a whisper.
“No. No, I’m not proud at all.”
Ty’s voice was low. “Then why did you do it?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing the air out slowly through her lips. She didn’t care about Cole’s opinion, but Ty deserved the truth. She raised her head and met his puzzled gaze.
“I thought it would be kinder than telling your daughter that someone out there wants to burn me alive. Because that’s what the truth is. I have a stalker, and the whole situation has taken a bad turn. I’m trying to lay low for a while until they can find him. Nell’s daughter, Caroline, is my cousin’s friend, and she suggested I come here.”
Her gaze dropped back to the bar, and the room fell silent. Ty turned and took a bottle from a shelf. He poured the golden liquid into a shot glass and slid it into her hand. She downed it with one swallow, welcoming another burn. She looked up and nodded, and he refilled the glass. But this time she took just a sip before taking another bite of her burger.
“Someone’s threatening to kill you?” Ty asked.
She shrugged. “Or worse. He says he needs to ‘cleanse me by fire’ to remove my sins and make me worthy. He broke into my beach house Saturday while I was gone and burned all of my clothes, because he thinks I dress like a whore.” She took another sip from the glass. “And he sent a threatening message to my cousin’s home in New York while I was there, even though I hadn’t publicized the trip. So now I’m on the run.”
She tried to give Ty a smile, but felt her mouth trembling, and bit down on her lower lip to steady it. Cole, who’d been still and quiet at her side, inhaled sharply. She looked over, but he turned away, staring at Ty. Once again, the brothers carried on a silent conversation. Cole shook his head abruptly, but Ty just glowered at him. Cole’s shoulders slumped and he nodded as he took a step closer to Bree. He lifted his chin toward the shelves behind the bar.
“Give me a hat” was all he said.
Ty handed him one of several Hide-Away ball caps for sale above the cash register. Cole moved behind her and put his hands on either side of her face, making her gasp. He pulled
her hair back and through the opening of the cap, creating a ponytail as he pushed the hat low on her head. Before she could protest, Ty started to explain.
“If Emily recognized you, someone else might. Cole will take you out to Nell’s place in his truck. He lives out that way. That fancy car is no way to lay low in this part of the country. My guess is half the town already knows there’s a ninety-thousand-dollar Mercedes parked at The Hide-Away. Leave me the keys and I’ll pull the car around back, then take it home after dark and put it in my barn. I’ll see if my wife, Tammy, can take you shopping for something a little more...casual. We’ll tell people you’re a college friend of Caroline’s. Everyone loves Caroline Patterson...er...McCormack. She’s married now, right? She married that guy from Boston?”
Bree nodded, feeling stunned. “Yeah, they got married in Barbados. Look, why are you doing this? You don’t know me, and you don’t even like me.” She looked over her shoulder at Cole. His close proximity was making her nervous.
Cole arched an eyebrow at her. “Call it that ‘Southern charm’ you were looking for. We help people in trouble down here.” His mouth twitched again. She decided that was the closest thing to a real smile the guy had. “Even people we don’t like.”
Copyright © 2017 by Jo McNally
ISBN-13: 9781488016875
A Perfect Strategy
Copyright © 2017 by Anahita Sugden
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