She sighed. “I'm really sorry.”
“What?” Jack pulled his attention from the spot in the forest where Lisa had vanished into the brush. “Sorry for what?”
“Lisa really wanted this weekend to be some alone time for you guys. Now I'm getting in the way.”
Jack chuckled. “It wasn't really Lisa's idea. I worked pretty hard to make her think she wanted to do this. But it was my idea, really. To get us alone, in a tent, together, away from prying eyes. Out here. For just a little while.” He smiled. “This is where we met, you know.”
“In the middle of the woods? On the side of a mountain?”
“Yep.”
“Really? Well, I'm super-sorry. This actually sounds really romantic. You guys are trying to be alone together and you have to run into me and my hot mess.”
Jack threw his head back and laughed.
“What?” asked Wendy. “No, really, I'm screwing everything up for you guys and I'm sorry.”
“You know,” Jack said. “Once I was complaining to Lisa about how we kept fucking everything up, how things could never run smoothly for us. And she looked me square in the eye and said, 'That's life, Jack. Get used to it.'” He smiled at Wendy. “And you know what?”
“What?”
“I have gotten used to it. Used to the fact that things never run smoothly. And I'm quite enjoying the ride.”
Just then, Lisa came bursting back through the forest. “I didn't lose it,” she said, laughing as she came up to them, holding aloft her phone. “It was in my other pocket the whole time!” She collapsed onto the ground next to Wendy and pulled up the video.
She was about to hit the play arrow when Jack cleared his throat. “Uh ...”
“Right,” Lisa said, handing Wendy her phone as she stood up. “Maybe we should give you some privacy.”
Wendy looked up, her eyes looking wide and apprehensive. “Okay,” she agreed quietly.
As Jack and Lisa melted into the woods, Wendy tapped the phone screen to let the video begin playing. But she immediately hit pause.
Oooooh! That cretin A.J. Carney. Why A.J.? Why why why? Wendy took a fortifying breath, clenched her teeth, and tapped the play arrow, this time making a fist to keep herself from stopping it again.
A.J.: This is about nude photos, you said.
Colin: Yes. I figured you were the best guy for the job.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wendy bit her cheek to keep from screaming.
A.J.: Does Wendy know about this?
Colin: God, no. We broke up. That's why I'm here. I need these pictures to go viral.
A.J.: Just like last time?
Colin: Just like last time.
Wendy whimpered.
A.J.: How much money are we talking about?
Colin: Money? Money for what?
Wendy caught her breath.
A.J.: How much money do you want for the pictures?
Colin: I don't want any money.
“You don't?” Wendy whispered.
A.J.: You're just going to give me nude pictures of Wendy Hunter for free?
When Colin bolted to his feet, Wendy almost cheered out loud.
Colin: What? No! I don't have any nude pictures of Wendy. That's sick. You think I would do that?
A.J.: You said 'nude pictures.'
Colin: Of ME.
A.J.: Of you? Who the fuck wants to see nude pictures of you?
“Hey!” Wendy wanted to punch stupid A.J.
Colin: I don't care who sees them. I just want you to take them.
A.J.: Take them?
Colin: Yes. I need you to take pictures of me, in the exact same poses as the ones of Wendy.
A.J.: What? Why?
Wendy's heart squeezed as she saw Colin sit back in resignation. Defeat.
Colin: I fucked up. Wendy said I couldn't ever be a part of her life, not really, because I didn't WANT to be a part of it. Not the public part. But it's who she is. Those pictures represent the absolute worst part ever of Wendy's public life. And her private life. So I need to show her that I want to be there. For all of it. Even at the very worst times.
A.J.: So you really want to do this?
Colin: Of course I don't want to do it. But no matter how much I don't want to do it, it won't be as bad as when Wendy was blindsided. This is the closest I can get.
A.J.: Why me?
Wendy realized she was squeezing the phone. HARD.
Colin: Because you're plugged in to all things Wendy. And that's what I need. An outlet to all things Wendy.
A.J.: What do I get out of it?
Colin: How the hell do I know? Whatever you guys ever get out of all this. Fame, money, whatever. The pictures will be yours outright to do with them what you will.
A.J.: Okay.
And there they were. Wendy gasped. Pictures of naked Colin, in all the poses she'd been caught in. Wendy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Colin was trying to be there with her, in her worst moments ever. He was trying to understand. He was trying to show her he would always be there for her. Not just for the good stuff, but for the bad, the mortifying, and the messed up moments no one could predict or design a game plan for.
But what was he sacrificing? The Dorm? And coaching? Would schools let a guy who got purposely naked for the paparazzi coach their kids? Probably not. Had Colin screwed over his entire life to show Wendy how much he wanted to be with her? But … he shouldn't have done that!
Oh God. And she'd run away. He'd given everything he had to her, and she'd made like a Pac Man ghost as soon as it turned blue.
Wendy stood up. She had to get out of the woods. She had to find Colin. She had to tell him that she would always be there for him, too. In his life. Paying attention. Not blundering through.
She wanted to run back to the car, but it was hours away and as she looked around, she realized she had no idea where she was. And she still had Lisa's phone. But she had to go find Colin. “Lisa!”
* * * * *
Colin pulled the rental into the Creekside lot. “That's her car.” And his voice held a disquieting balance of relief and apprehension.
Dan checked his inside jacket pocket. Then he zipped up against the uncooperative weather and put on his gloves. “Okay, Colin. Let's do this.”
Colin looked at him. “You sure?”
“You kidding?” And Dan actually smiled. “I'm in. We're going to find her. And she's going to be okay. And then you can talk to her. And whatever happens, happens. I'm ready. And I'm here.”
“Thanks. Let's go.”
They both got out of the car.
“I'm no tracker,” Colin said as they entered the main path behind the lodge. “But keep an eye out for anything obvious.”
“Will do.”
“We'll take turns shouting. Shout. Wait for a response. Shout. Wait. Sound good?”
“Yup. Got your water?”
“Check. Got yours?”
“Check.”
“Okay.” Colin took a deep breath. “WENDY!”
And so it began.
Chapter 61
LISA
“Do you really think she's going to be okay?”
I'm walking alongside Jack through the woods and I'm not even out of breath. I have to say, over the past two years, Jack has gotten really good at letting his pace match mine. Nice to know it's become second nature to him not to leave me in the dust. Or the mud. Or the—
“She's a grown woman and she wants to do this on her own. We pointed her in the right direction and she took it from there. What else could we do?”
“Follow her.”
Jack stops and turns to look at me. “How would you feel if you wanted to do something and some complete strangers didn't trust you to know what you were doing? And they wouldn't leave you alone and let you get on with it?”
“We're not complete strangers. She's Wendy Hunter and she knew who we were, too.”
“From magazine articles and TV! This is exactly how celebrities get away with a
ll sorts of horrible crimes.”
“Well, yeah, I mean, I would never leave kids with a celebrity ...”
“I'm not just talking about kids, Lisa. We watched that same episode of Above Suspicion. That actor was a serial rapist and killer, and getting away with it all because he was so famous and good-looking.”
I sigh, but kind of petulantly. “Touché.”
“Ha!”
“I don't know if I like it that you've become so good at arguing any given point with fiction.”
Jack bumps me with his elbow. “You love it.”
I grin stupidly. I can't help it. “I know.”
We stomp on like that for a few more minutes, shoulder to shoulder as much as the terrain will allow. “So you think she'll be okay?”
Jack stops walking. “I do. I put a tracker on her.”
“You did?”
“Yep. I think it's highly probable she'll get lost again.”
“And you just happened to have a tracker with you?”
“Lisa, I always have a tracker with me. Well, an extra one.”
“An extra one?”
“I've already got one on you. And I always bring an extra one when I'm with you, in case you lose your jacket or pack or wherever I stuck the first one.”
“Really?! You put trackers on me?”
“Of course. I don't want to lose you.”
“You don't?” I look up at him and he's looking down at me, smiling a smile that goes all deep and melty into those eyes of his.
“What?” I ask, feeling suddenly all shy and tingly.
Jack looks around. “Recognize this place?”
I follow his gaze and find myself looking up at the big rock we're standing right in front of. “Wait ...” I feel all weird and breathless. “Is this … is this …” My mouth opens in the hugest smile. “Jack! Is this the rock? THE rock? From the very first day we met? The one I kind of fell off?”
“Kind of? But yes, the very one.”
He pulls me to him and kisses me. And kisses me. And kisses me again. His kisses are pulling me under, making me forget how cold and wet and dirty I am.
His lips get softer. “What do you think?” he murmurs. “Look the same?”
“Hmmm ...” I lean back but Jack doesn't let me go. “No blood-smeared rope this time.”
Jack shrugs. “Well, the weekend's young.”
I laugh. “Pretty kismet we ran into Wendy Hunter. If we hadn't seen her fall and run to find her, we might not have run into this rock.”
Jack shakes his head. “Lisa, I've been trying to get you to this rock for, like, three weeks now. Three weeks and two days. And a few hours. Okay, four hours. Four and a half.”
“What?” I say. “Why?”
He steps back from me a tiny bit and slips a small box covered in purple velvet out of his pocket. “So I could give you a rock of your very own,” he says softly, deftly flipping the lid with his thumb. “One you could keep with you always.”
I—
I—
I—
“Jack,” I finally breathe, and I tear my eyes away from the diamond ring in the box to look at him. “Jack.”
He moves closer and reaches out, brushing his fingers along my cheek, into my hair. “What do you say, Lisa? Marry me?”
I start nodding. “Yes,” I say quickly. “Yes yes yes yes yes.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He pulls off one of my gloves and slips the ring on my finger.
Then with a cry, I leap at him and he hugs me hard, laughing.
“Lisa! Oh, God, Lisa! I was so nervous!”
I jump back. “What? YOU were nervous? Did you think I wouldn't say yes? Are you nuts?”
He nodded. “Pretty much. We've never done anything so … conventional.”
“Somehow, I doubt our marriage will turn out to be conventional.”
And then he kisses me again. So slowly, so gently, it drives me crazy. I sink into him, trying to get closer. His arms tighten around me, and we stumble right into the rock.
“Ow,” he says, laughing as he rubs the back of his head.
“Jack, are you okay?”
He smiles down at me. “I've got you, so … yeah. I'm good.”
“Wow,” I whisper, snuggling into him as he hugs me. “I can't believe you got me all the way back to our very first rock to propose.”
“You like that?”
“I do.”
“Good. And this time, if you rip my pants off, I won't really mind.”
I laugh, but then I get quiet.
“Lisa?” He looks down into my face. “What's wrong?”
“Oh, God. Jack, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm really happy to be getting married to you and everything … but ...”
“But?”
“But I'm still worried about Wendy. I think we should track her. What if she doesn't find her way out? It'll be dark in a few hours.”
Jack smiles. “And that, Lisa Flyte, is one of the reasons why I love you so damn much.”
Chapter 62
THE STORY OF WENDY AND COLIN
They'd been in the woods for nearly two hours, shouting every five to ten minutes.
So far, nothing.
Colin told himself not to worry. The rain had let up. Wendy had gear. Wendy was smart.
There was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
They could be going in the completely wrong direction. Colin's voice would only last so long. Wendy might be over ten miles away. She might be washed away in a flash flood. A bear might have picked up on whatever food she had with her. She had food with her, right? She might be cold and wet. It would be getting dark in a few hours.
Colin stopped walking and clenched his fists. Nothing to worry about. He sucked in a lungful of air. “WENDY!”
Wendy wendy endy endy endy.
Wait wait wait wait.
Silence. Silence. Silence.
“Let's both shout together,” he suggested to Dan, trying really hard not to sound as rip-shit terrified as he felt. “Further reach. What do you think?”
“Sure,” Dan agreed easily. “Count of three?”
Colin nodded.
“One, two, three. WENDY!”
Their combined shout reverberated through the wet trees. Wendy Wendy Wendy endy endy.
They waited.
“Hey!”
Colin whipped around to face Dan. “Did you here that?”
Dan nodded, smiling hugely. “Again on the count of three.”
They shouted in unison again. “WENDY!”
“Hey!” Off to the left.
They started moving that way.
“Did it sound … did it sound like two voices? A man and a woman?”
Dan didn't slow his steps. “Yeah, it did. Maybe she brought a guide with her? Maybe one of the kids from the theatre? I don't think anything's wrong. Or they wouldn't have answered in unison like that.”
“Right.” Colin put down his head and charged through the trees even faster. “Count of three.”
They shouted again, and stopped hiking long enough to hear the response.
“We're getting closer.” And Colin knew his voice sounded ridiculously excited.
They surged through the forest shouting intermittently, closing in on the return shouts, until they finally saw two figures through the trees. And then everyone started running toward one another. When they were almost on top of each other, Colin careened to a stop. He looked at the woman with the messy hair, hair shorter than Wendy's.
“You're not Wendy,” he said.
“No,” the woman agreed.
“But we ran into her about an hour and a half ago,” the guy pitched in. “And we know where she is.”
Colin sized him up, realized what the creep was saying, and launched himself at him.
Dan all but caught Colin in mid air, managing to get between him and the couple in the woods.
“Dude!” Dan shouted. “Chill! That's Jack Hawkins.”
&
nbsp; “Who the FUCK is Jack Hawkins?”
Jack, standing a few feet back now, raised one hand. “I'm Jack Hawkins.”
“And that's Lisa Flyte,” Dan added. “She's got a TV show.”
“What do you mean?” Colin shook his head like a dog who just climbed out of a pond. He looked at the couple. “You're friends of Wendy's? Did you all come out here together?”
Lisa stepped forward. “You're Colin Scott, right?”
Colin nodded, breathing hard.
“We came out here by ourselves, but we ran into Wendy out here.”
Colin's skepticism was obvious. “You just ran into her?”
“Actually,” Jack said, “we saw her fall out of a tree. So we looked for her and eventually found her.”
“She fell out of a tree? She was up a tree? And you abandoned her?”
“She's okay,” Lisa assured him. “She wasn't hurt.”
“So where is she now?”
“Looking for you.”
“Looking for me? In the woods?”
“She came out here to get away,” Lisa explained. “She didn't have the heart to watch the video, Colin. She saw that you sold pictures to A.J., so she freaked and ran away.”
Colin gripped his hair with both hands. “Oh Jesus oh Jesus oh Jesus.”
“It's not her fault,” Lisa began.
“Of course it's not her fault! It's my fault. It's all my fault. I am SUCH an idiot.” He looked up at them, his mouth setting into a grim line. “So she took off, thinking I sold her down the river like that Dylan asshole?”
“She did,” Lisa agreed. “But then I showed her the actual video.”
Colin looked around. “You got a signal out here?”
Jack spoke up. “She downloaded it.”
Colin's brows shot up. “You downloaded it?”
Jack crooked an arm around Lisa's neck and kissed her on top of the head. “That's my Lisa.”
Lisa looked at Colin. “Well, you're lucky I did. She watched the whole video and the next thing you know, she's yelling about how she has to get out of the woods and back to her car so she can find you.”
“But we saw her car when we parked. And we didn't see her along the way.”
“That's because she has no sense of direction and she's totally going the wrong way,” Jack says.
“And you LET her?”
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book 3) Page 23