by Kimball Lee
“Yes ma’am, drive safely Miss Hale, seatbelts fastened and observe the speed limit.” He said, looking her in the eye without a hint of emotion. He had certainly aced the Special Ops ‘give nothing away’ poker face, that was for sure.
“Hey look, Sky. Keller and Mia are leaving together and did you notice that they both looked way, way satisfied this morning?” Hadley said as Sky sat her bags down by the Jeep and pulled a knit cap on over her corn silk hair.
“I did notice, wow! Keller is so hot but he’s had his head in the books for way too long now. Atticus used to tease him that he’d have to become a Manhattan gynecologist if he ever hoped to see a Victoria’s Secret model naked,” Skyler and Hadley laughed, but they both knew it was best to put thoughts of Atti and Holden as far away as possible. Holden would come back for Hadley but as for Atticus and his hard-headed logic, his love life was anyone’s guess.
“Good, great, Skyler’s coming with us!” Reef said, tossing her bags into his Jeep and his uncharacteristic display of enthusiasm and Sky’s blushing cheeks weren’t lost on Hadley.
Watch out Atticus, you could get what you’ve been asking for. Sky just might get over you at last, Hadley mused as she watched Reef hovering awfully close to Sky which seemed to make her giddily happy. Hadley had been attracted to Reef when they first met, and who wouldn’t be? The man had the rough and tough attitude, pretty face, and ‘hotter than a smoking gun’ body going on in the best possible way. But she was in love with Holden and even though Reef Townsend was tempting, his attentions hadn’t been enough to wipe Holden from her heart or mind.
Hadley had said her goodbyes to Alex and her mother earlier and it was obvious that they were ready to get into full honeymoon mode as soon as all the guests who’d stayed the night gathered their belongings and left the estate. That much luxury wasn’t an easy thing to leave behind but Alex had cars and drivers hauling friends and relatives to the airport ASAP now that the balloon rides and picnic breakfast was done and the over-the-top Christmas gifts had been distributed. Bly had arranged for several of Charlie’s best friends from San Diego along with their families to accompany him to the ski house in Aspen for the next week. Bly and Charlotte were driving Charlie to the airport now to meet up with them and the Bly International jet would whisk the group off for an opulent and fun filled week while the newlyweds enjoyed some much anticipated time alone at Palomar Villa.
*
“So your mother is okay with us staying at her farm for a few days?” Skyler asked Reef as the Jeep passed under the arched sign proclaiming ‘Welcome to Alice-Anne’s Farm’. “Hadley sort of explained the drill, how your mom helps people who need to change their lives and stay under the radar. That’s so cool that she’s like this green-living guru, I mean Alice-Anne’s Farm changed the way we think about how we use the land and giving back. But you know that and I’m rambling, guess I’m nervous. Hadley also said she doesn’t like people who are in the media like actors or models.”
“Don’t worry,” Reef said as they parked in front of the house and without thinking he leaned over and kissed her lips lightly. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to do that. Okay, so it looks like at least one of my brothers is here, let’s hope it’s the good one.”
“I’ve forgotten, which one is the good one?” Hadley asked as they walked up the driveway that was festively lit with dozens of flickering candles nestled on a bit of sand inside small brown bags that were a known as ‘luminarias’.
“Traeger is far and away the good twin, Cade is an opinionated judgmental control-freak jerkoff,” Reef said without hesitating.
“Aw, come on, tell us how you really feel!” Hadley said and they laughed and shivered in their coats as the frigid wind blew down from the mountains and settled into the valley.
“Merry Christmas, darlin’,” Alice-Anne said, flinging open the heavy wooden front door and hugging Reef with all her might. It was clear by the slight slur of her words and her wobbly stance that she had dipped heavily into the eggnog. “And you brought another celebrity home with you for Christmas, isn’t that sweet? Hey there, I’m Alice-Anne and you are… Skyler Thomas, the cover girl, is that right?”
“Yes ma’am. Sky is fine if you like, thank you for letting me come out here with Reef and Hadley,” Skyler said and then she noticed two men who were almost identical in appearance sitting at a table playing cards.
“I’m out, you’ve won all my money Traeg, I always knew you were a poker cheat,” the man who was a little taller threw his cards on the table and walked toward Skyler, Hadley and Reef but he never took his eyes off Hadley’s face.
“Oh, Hadley, Skyler, this is my eldest son, Kincade,” Alice-Anne started but he finished the sentence for her as he took Hadley’s hand firmly in his.
“Cade Townsend, and I assume you are Hadley Hale?” He said, his eyes narrowing as he stared far too deeply into hers.
“Hadley, just Hadley,” she said, and felt an odd thrill of apprehension rush to the pit of her stomach. Reef had seemed dangerous when she first met him but his brother seemed— menacing. “Nice to meet you?” she said and regretted that it sounded like a question rather than a statement. He smiled slightly, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and she was shocked that it ignited a darkly delicious fire at her core.
Kincade Townsend was tall and broad shouldered like his younger brother Reef, but with dark glossy hair that was combed back and away from his handsome face. His eyes were a haunting shade of azure and they were as large and hypnotic as the eyes of a hawk. They seemed to change color as they swept over her, blatantly taking note of every inch of her body as well as every angle and nuance of her face. She blushed to the roots of her hair when his gaze settled on her mouth and didn’t bother to move on. She had been blessed with Finn’s decadently full luscious lips and she had considered them one of her best features but the way Cade Townsend was staring so openly made her imagine the things he might like to do her succulent mouth. Nervously she licked her bottom lip and his eyes shot immediately to her eyes and narrowed dangerously so that her pulse quickened and it was as she were balancing on the edge of something deep and perilous.
“Traeger darlin’ are you gonna come over here and meet our guests, and where is Pedro?” Alice-Anne asked as she walked to the bar and pursed her lips in exasperation when she picked up a tequila bottle and discovered it was empty. “Pedro just loves to visit with Hadley and I’d bet my bottom dollar he’ll be half in love with Sky in no time at all. Sky, you certainly are as stunning as a long-stemmed Texas rose. Oh here we are, this is my second boy, Traeger, he and Kincade are identical twins if you hadn’t noticed. Cade, do you have any tequila up at your cabin, sugar? I’m all out and this is Christmas night, I just can’t deny our company a blender full of my famous ‘Cow Town’ margaritas. Have you ever been to Ft. Worth, Hadley? I grew up there, you know, it’s close to Dallas but worlds apart. Dallas is nothin’ but big hair and bigger bank accounts. Ft. Worth is old-money and history, it was built around the cattle industry, cowboys drove herds of Longhorns along the Chisholm Trail all the way to Kansas.”
“Thank you for the history lesson, mother,” Cade said, forcing his eyes away from Hadley and giving Sky a quick dismissive glance. “I would imagine I have a bottle of Patron in the freezer. Hadley, could I interest you in a short ride with me to see the lights on the lake down the road? There quite a spectacle at this time of year, something about the atmosphere and the altitude.”
“Oh, sure, why not?” she stammered, still reeling from his powerful crystalline gaze.
“Traeger, this is Hadley Hale and her friend Skyler,” Cade said catching Hadley’s hand and leading her out the front door before she could say a word.
“I know who Hadley Hale is. You’re the only person on the planet who doesn’t watch movies, Cade. There’s more to life than CNBC, maybe you’ll figure that out one of these days!” Traeger shouted after them, grinning and raising an eyebrow.
*
Ha
dley wasn’t sure what was going on with her thundering heartbeat as Kincade Townsend ushered her into his quaint log cabin. She had felt a distinct spark of electricity when he’d taken her hand to help her out of the SUV and then again when his hand skimmed across her lower back as she entered the cabin.
Think of Holden think of Holden I’m in love with Holden. This man is bad news, his own brother said so. It’s just that he’s off-the-charts hot and gorgeous and unknown, and his eyes are blazingly intense, it’s only curiosity, that’s all I’m feeling. She told herself, the dialogue ran through her head but she couldn’t deny her body’s reaction to him. Her panties were uncomfortably wet and her stomach felt like a million butterflies had been set free.
“Step out on the back deck if you like, the view of the stars reflecting off the lake is amazing. It’s nature’s very own light show. I’ll just grab that bottle of Patron from the freezer and then I’ll join you,” he said and it sounded more like a command than a suggestion.
Normally she would have bristled at his tone of voice, ordering her around as if he had every right to do so. She didn’t care for overbearing men, Holden was as manly as they came but he wasn’t tyrannical about it. Holden knew how to settle back and let Hadley run the show but when it came to sex he was excellent at taking over and making her body hum and vibrate and sing a very happy tune.
“Red or white?” He asked, appearing in the open doorway with two glasses in one hand and two bottles of wine in the other.
“Red, I suppose. It’s cold out tonight so room temp is probably best. You’re right, the brightness of the stars seems to be magnified by the dark mountains all around; it really is a spectacular sight. And all this pristine land as far as the eye can see belonged to your grandparents. That’s a pretty cool inheritance,” she said and they clinked their glassed of red wine and each took a sip.
“So, I don’t keep up with celebrities but I am acutely aware of who you are. I live in Malibu and there’s an enormous billboard with your face and body plastered for all to see and admire right by the exit to my house. Normally I would drive past without ever giving it a second glance… but you, Hadley Hale are difficult to ignore,” he said and somehow it didn’t sound like a compliment.
“You live in Malibu? I kind of figured you for a northern California type, like not into the pollution and traffic of L.A. But yes, there are a few of those behemoths scattered around the world I’m told. One in Times Square and I think in Tokyo and London… It’s the Hollywood ‘fame machine’ and all that goes with it. I hope you didn’t see the movie because I had a pretty intense…”
“Love scene? Or should I say sex scene? You’re a good actor, Hadley, there’s no denying that. I don’t normally go to movies but I enjoyed your work in the film very much. Reef tells me you have an awards ceremony to go to and he intends to be your escort. I think he and Skyler have hit it off so you might want to see if some other lucky man might want the honor.”
“I can see something brewing between Sky and Reef and I’m sort of hesitant about it, their getting involved I mean.” Hadley said, sipping her wine and pulling her faux fur jacket more tightly around her. “I have a childhood friend who offered to escort me, I’ll probably give him a call. Unless you were about to offer to go with me. I should warn you,” she laughed, the wine warming her blood and loosening her tongue. “These events are not that much fun, there kind of a pain in the ass to be truthful. I have to stop and sign autographs and have my picture taken and answer the same questions about who designed the dress I’ll be wearing. But, that’d be great if you’re up for going. I mean since Reef’s probably gonna dump me for Sky!”
“Oh, I see. You wanted Reef to take you?” Stepping toward her but stopping himself from touching her by leaning against the porch railing instead.
“No no, it’s not that at all. I have a boyfriend… a serious boyfriend. Reef was just filling in for him since he’s away right now. No, I’m just over-thinking it because Sky and my brother are in love with each other but…. It’s complicated. My father passed away last year and my brother won’t let himself be happy now. He has some perverse need to go up against death and I’m not sure what he hopes the outcome will be. I do know that he’s in love with Sky but he has insisted that she get on with her life and not waste her time waiting for him. I didn’t expect this attraction to happen between her and Reef and I think it’s the best thing ever on one hand but on the other hand I know my brother will wake up one day and he’ll want the woman he loves to be his and only his. You know how men can be… or not.”
“Hmm, yeah I see what you mean. Reef said your brother is seriously into the SEAL teams and intends to devote himself to military service until he turns thirty. That’s another point of contention, Hadley, you’re part of Alexander Bly’s family and your brother is his heir, its common knowledge. Atticus Hale or Atticus Bly— it doesn’t really matter, the name Bly attracts attention. My family is all about avoiding attention, we stay under the radar, we offer protection to those who want and have the right to disappear from society. Now your mother is married to Alex Bly and she’s the infamous American Jock centerfold…” He said, looking out toward the lake to avoid the wary look she was giving him.
“My mother was not a centerfold, and if I’m not mistaken your father is a common criminal who doesn’t do very well keeping his name out of the headlines. Not to mention that I went with Reef to his clubhouse and he had my mother’s magazine pictures blown up bigger than Dallas and framed on the wall!”
“Yes well, my father maintains a certain distance from our philanthropic work but his reputation serves to keep many undesirables at bay. Men who might come to the farm in search of fugitives usually think better of it because they know the Four Horsemen Motorcycle Club feels an obligation to offer their full protection to those we take under our wings. I hope you don’t mind if I’m blunt, Ms. Hale— my mother’s farm is not suited to celebrities who draw attention by simply being who they are. As well, my father has a certain element of secrecy that is better left uncovered. You are obviously a nice young woman, but I don’t agree with Reef’s decision to bring you into our world. Nothing personal you understand, we’ve always kept a low profile for ourselves and for those who depend on our absolute discretion.”
He reached out just then with one long-fingered hand and brushed a drop of wine from her lower lip with his thumb. He let it linger against the soft seductive fullness longer than necessary and finally turned away to hide the massive erection that had sprung to life just that quick.
Hadley Hale. How had he become so enamored just by seeing her face on a billboard and her body on a film screen? It simply wasn’t like him at all. Reef had mentioned in passing that he knew her and that she was totally down to earth and not at all caught up in the celebrity hype, which Cade had found impossible to believe. Celebrities craved the limelight and surely she was no different from the rest, conceited and vain, narcissistic and shallow. But Cade had gone to see her first movie at a little art-house cinema in Santa Monica and he was hooked. It was ridiculous and shameful for a twenty-eight year old man to have an adolescent crush on a girl he had never even seen or met. And she was young, not yet twenty from what he’d managed to unearth about her personal life. The truth was that she kept a fairly low profile, her mother had been famous years before and there were rumors that her father had been much more than just an average attorney.
“Your brother was right about you. You are a self-centered arrogant egomaniac. How dare you even begin to think you can just toss me into the basic ‘Girl goes to Hollywood and drinks the Kool-Aid’ mold? Celebrity means nothing to me, I’ve wanted to be an actor, a serious actor, since before I can even remember. I want to act, that does involve a bit of posturing and posing for the media and excuse me for being blunt, but fuck you for thinking you know me. You’ve seen my face on a billboard and most of my body on a film screen, well guess what? You don’t know jack-shit, Mr. Townsend. Take me back to your mother
’s house, please. I can easily get back to civilization from there, you are way too fucked up for your own good.” Hadley drained the wine glass and tossed it over the porch rail and into the lake and then she walked through the cabin and slammed the door as she left.
“Hey. Hey! Hadley get in it’s freezing out there, you can’t walk back to my mother’s house. Come on, the entire family will kill me if I let you get sick… please get in the car,” Cade said and he pulled in front of her as she walked along the road so that she had to stop. He got out of the car and stood in front of her with his hands planted on his hips. They were both illuminated in the car’s headlights and Hadley could see an array of emotions play across his face. He was stunningly handsome and sexy as all fucking hell as he stood there broad-shouldered and narrowed-hipped with his jacket pushed back and his thumbs hooked in the belt loops of his baggy jeans. He stared down at her with those disarming eyes and the emotion that settled on his face was not judgment or disregard— it was an animalistic need to possess her. “I wish you would get in the car… I wish I could trust you… I want to be the one to go with you to that awards bullshit… and I want to take you places you’ve never been before.”
“I’m freezing.” It was all she could manage, so he held the car door open for her and his hand caught in her hair as the wind blew through the long tosseled strands.
*
The main house on Alice-Anne’s Farm was large and sprawling in the 1930’s hacienda style that was well suited to the California landscape. It had been built during the Great Depression with money from crops harvested by the poorest of poor iterant farm hands. The Kincade family who owned the land and passed it down to their granddaughter, Alice-Anne, had made buckets of money from their prodigiously fertile land when most Americans were starving to death. But they had been philanthropic even then, feeding and housing their workers well and providing the latest in healthcare and medicines. Alice-Anne’s grandfather, Traeger Kincade, was of German and Irish decent and he had come to California with a hardy work ethic and a dream. He made it his life’s mission to establish a farm and a way of life that could exist independently, giving back to and enriching the land and the people who worked to harvest its bounty.