Harts of Arizona Series

by Yahrah St. John

  “Earth to Chynna,” Deacon said, waving his hand in her face.

  “What, what?” She laughed, swatting away his hand.

  “Is there something on your mind?”

  “Actually a few things,” Chynna replied.

  “Shoot.”

  “Well, I want to know what you think about Eli. How did he behave while I was gone?”

  “Demanding, same as always.”

  “Nothing else?” Chynna asked. She needed to know if there was any truth to Kenya’s gut instinct.

  Deacon shrugged. “He and Kenya butted heads, if that’s what you’re asking. You know how Eli is. He wants things his way, and Kenya gave him hell.”

  Chynna nodded as she took it all in. “But do you think he would do anything vindictive, you know, to get back at her or me?”

  Deacon didn’t answer for several moments. “Eli’s no angel, but harm you? I wouldn’t think so. Or at least I would hope not.”

  “Thanks, Deacon,” Chynna replied. She appreciated his input, but she wasn’t completely convinced. Who else wouldn’t want me involved with Noah? And Kenya had been pretty adamant that she thought Eli was behind the press leak. The doubts gave Chynna serious pause.

  “Something else is on your mind. Is it Kenya? Perhaps you should invite Kenya on the tour stop with us. Seems like she could use a pick-me-up.”

  Chynna nodded. “She did seem a bit subdued, didn’t she?” Kenya had returned to the mansion earlier that evening, said hello and had immediately gone to her room and hadn’t been seen since.

  “Yeah, since she got back from the Boys and Girls Club,” Deacon replied. He’d lived with Kenya for a few weeks and could read her moods, much like he could Chynna’s.

  “But how does the Boys and Girls Club fit in?” Chynna asked.

  “Well, according to Darryl, Lucas volunteers there,” Deacon said.

  “Ah.” Chynna understood. “She must have gone there to talk to him, and clearly it didn’t go as she intended. I’m going to go talk to her.”

  “Good idea,” Deacon said. “But you better get some rest tonight, because you haven’t been on stage in well over a month, so you need to be ready for tomorrow.”

  “I’m a consummate professional,” Chynna replied, smiling at her concerned manager. “I got this.”

  She rose from her bed and walked down the hall to one of her many guest suites, where Kenya was staying. She knocked on the door, and when she didn’t hear a sound, she entered.

  The room was dark because the shades had been drawn, and all Chynna could see was a lump under the covers.

  “Go away,” Kenya said from underneath the comforter.

  “That’s not going to happen, twinie.” Chynna came forward to sit down on the bed beside her sister.

  “I just want to be alone, okay? I don’t ask for much, so can’t you just leave me be.”

  “I would, if I thought it was in your best interest,” Chynna said, softly. “But I don’t think you need to be alone at a time like this, not when you’ve lost your first true love.”

  Kenya lowered the comforter from her head and lifted her head to stare at Chynna. “How did you know?”

  Chynna smiled. “I’m your twin. I know you better than you know yourself, and I’ve never seen you this crazy about a man before. You’re in love with Lucas.”

  Kenya fell back against the pillows again. “And there’s the rub, because he doesn’t love me back.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Chynna said. “The man who stood in my kitchen giving us hell had to be in love with you. How else to explain his reaction to our deception? If you’d meant nothing to him, he would have let it go, but instead he came here to tell you how much you’d hurt him. I believe there’s something there, Kenya.”

  Kenya shook her head in fervent denial. “There’s not.” Tears began spilling down her cheeks. “I swallowed my pride and went to him today on his turf and asked him for a second chance, and he slammed the door in my face. He told me he could never trust me, so there. It’s over. Done. Finished. Eli was right. Lucas will never forgive my betrayal.”

  “Eli?” Chynna frowned at the mention of his name. She’d been so focused on getting ready for the tour that she’d let her suspicions about Eli slide. “What does he have to do with this?”

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter,” Kenya said, “because it’s over.”

  “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. What did Eli say?” Chynna pressed. She had to know if Eli was stirring up more trouble. She suspected he was the man who’d picked up her phone and told Noah she’d had her fill of him, so it wouldn’t surprise her if he’d tried to derail Kenya and Lucas’s relationship too.

  “He told me the truth, which was that Lucas values honesty above all else and wouldn’t take me back, amongst other things.”

  “What other things.”

  Kenya pushed up the pillows behind her and sat up to face Chynna. “Well ... he sort of insinuated that I was using this scandal to revive my failing career and that I stole the role of Yvette from you.”

  “That’s bullshit!” Chynna jumped from the bed and began pacing the floor. “You did no such thing. I came up with the idea of trading places, so any fallout from it is my fault. And as for the movie role, I wasn’t cut out to play it to begin with. It should have been given to a better actress, and I couldn’t be happier that Carter chose you.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Kenya sat forward on the bed. “You don’t blame me? I mean, I have benefitted from all of this, and you’re still feeling the heat.”

  “Kenya,” Chynna said, coming back over to the bed and sitting beside her, “I’ve been in the business awhile, and I know the press is fickle. This will blow over, and they’ll be on to the next scandal, so I say ride this wave while you can.”

  Kenya smiled. “I’m so happy that we’ve gotten closer, Chynna.” She reached for her sister’s hand. “It really means a lot to me. I’ve missed our closeness.”

  Chynna’s eyes watered and she squeezed her hand back. “So have I, twinie. So have I.”

  Chapter 12

  Noah was excited as he sat in the limousine on his way from the Tucson International Airport to Chynna’s concert in Houston, Texas. He’d thought long and hard about Caleb’s advice and knew he was right. He couldn’t accept what some guy on Chynna’s phone had told him. He had to talk to Chynna directly and find out if she felt as he did, which was that he was head over heels for her. He suspected he knew the answer but wanted to hear it from the lady herself. And just as he’d done with Maya, he had a ring box in his blazer pocket to cement it.

  Rylee had gone with him to the jewelry store to help him pick it out. He’d been unsure of exactly what to get or if he was making a mistake by being so forward, but Rylee had surprisingly been one hundred percent behind the idea of springing a proposal on Chynna. Did his little sister know something he didn’t? She and Chynna were awfully close. Noah didn’t care. He was ready to make Chynna “Mrs. Noah Hart” and the rest of the world be damned. Somehow they would figure out how to make her life as a superstar work with his life on the ranch, because that’s what you did when you loved someone. You put in the time to make it work. And he loved Chynna. He loved her with all his heart, and he was ready to make it official.

  Rylee, his spy, had found out the code word he needed to use before the hotel staff in Houston to gain access to Chynna’s suite. Thanks to Rylee’s snooping, he would arrive before Chynna and would have time to prepare the suite and set the mood with rose petals on the bed, champagne on ice and more.

  Chynna would be shocked to find him there, but he’d finally tell her exactly how he felt.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to Houston?” Chynna asked Kenya the next day in the foyer of her mansion. They’d stayed up talking the night before until the wee hours of the morning, and no
w it was crunch time. Chynna was with Eli, Deacon, Fiona, Penelope, Megan, Derrick and Daisy, and they were getting ready to head to the airport on her private plan for her tour stop in Houston later that evening.

  “No, you go on ahead. I just want to stay here alone,” Kenya replied. She’d actually gotten out of bed and walked downstairs in her pajamas to send Chynna off, oblivious to the stares of disdain coming from the group.

  “But you shouldn’t be alone at a time like this,” Chynna said, coming forward to grab Kenya’s hand. Kenya was still smarting over Lucas’s brush-off, and she needed to be with her family, not be by herself at the mansion. Chynna’s entire entourage was clearing out and would be on the road with her. Kenya would be alone save for her bodyguards.

  “Why do you keep bugging the poor woman,” Eli asked, jumping in. “It’s clear she wants time away from this crowd. I bet you’re just dying for some time alone, aren’t you, sweetheart?”

  Chynna noticed that Kenya rolled her eyes in Eli’s direction, and it made her uneasy. If she confronted him about her suspicions, it would only cause a contentious relationship with Eli, and she had one more album to complete for R&K Records. She didn’t need the headache, but she also had to keep her wits about her and keep her eye on the crafty producer.

  “I’m actually going to have to agree with Eli on this one,” Kenya said reluctantly. “I would like the peace and quiet. You go knock ‘em dead in Houston, and remind your fans that there is only one Chynna James.”

  “Was there ever any doubt?” Eli whispered under his breath.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll go,” Chynna replied and squeezed Kenya’s shoulder for a quick hug. “But you’ll call me later?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Eli met up with Duke, one of his former buddies who’d served time in prison, at the same dive bar he’d met Lamar a couple of weeks ago. Duke looked worst than Eli remembered. He’d buffed up and had tons of tattoos and gold teeth, but would serve a purpose. Eli had fibbed to Chynna that he’d forgotten an important contract and needed to go back to the office and would meet her at the airport, giving him enough time to take care of Little Miss Kenya.

  She’d ruined his plans. His intention of leaking to the press that Chynna and Kenya had traded places was to get Chynna under control. He’d hoped that she would need his advice and be willing to do just about anything to get out of this mess. Eli had underestimated Chynna’s new resolve. Her time away had brought out her stubborn streak, and she was as bad as Kenya had been when she was playing her.

  Chynna refused to play by Eli’s rules anymore. Eli was sure that if he could just get Kenya away and back to New York, the Chynna he knew would fall into line. He’d already neutralized that cowboy Chynna had thought she might have feelings for by telling the dumb schmuck that he was a fling and she was on to the next man. And he’d believed him. Eli hadn’t heard a peep from him, which was music to his ears.

  He needed Chynna to focus on this tour and before long, on her fourth album for R&K Records. She didn’t need all these distractions from her sister and a new man. So he’d come up with a plan to get rid of her twin. Not permanently, of course, but if he scared her enough, Eli was sure he could push her back East where she belonged.

  And lucky for him, Kenya had fallen right into his hands. She was not only staying behind at Chynna’s mansion by herself, but he’d overheard her giving her bodyguards the night off. She was out of her mind given that it was still Chynna’s house and who knew if some unsuspecting stalker might make their way inside, which is what Eli was counting on everyone believing afterward.

  “So you just want me to scare her?” Duke asked. “Not rough her up?”

  “That’s right,” Eli said, nodding. He’d given Duke the address to Chynna’s and told him how to bypass the security guards at the front gate and how, without the bodyguards inside, Kenya would be easy pickings. “I don’t want you to harm her, just put the fear of God in her that she doesn’t belong in LA and needs to get back on home.”

  “Oh, trust me. She’ll believe me when I’m finished with her.”

  Eli slid an overstuffed envelope of hundred dollar bills toward him. “Glad to hear it.”

  Lucas glanced at his watch as he drove his Ferrari down the highway. He was running behind, and it didn’t look good that he would make it to the airport in time to board Chynna’s private plane to Houston. He knew as an owner of R&K Records that he should be there to support Chynna and help jumpstart the tour. But truth be told, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be there if Kenya wasn’t onstage.

  He’d never been big on traveling on tour to begin with, but when “Chynna” ... ahem, Kenya ... had arrived from Arizona, he’d been taken with her. He’d accompanied her to Anaheim and to Vegas because he’d had to be near her. And now that she wasn’t the one singing on his stage, his interest in going on tour had waned. Plus, he suspected his presence might stir up the paparazzi and a renewed interest in his relationship with Kenya.

  Kenya. Kenya. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or how sad she’d been yesterday when he’d told her there would be no second chances. He’d wanted to forgive her, but if he did, he was afraid to find out what came next. He was used to being on his own. He’d spent a lifetime keeping women at a distance from letting anyone in, but Kenya’s confidence and warmth had struck a chord with him. A cord he couldn’t break.

  Suddenly and decisively, Lucas took the nearest exit and did a U-turn to get back on the freeway. He had to go to her. He knew she would be at Chynna’s estate because Deacon had texted him that Kenya was staying behind to allow Chynna to shine. He suspected the manager was giving him a hint to get his act together and get Kenya back.

  Lucas would go to Kenya and tell her he’d made a mistake and that he wanted to start over. He owed it to her and to himself to see if the bond they’d created in the last few weeks could be made stronger with the truth. He’d chided her for not being honest with him for weeks, when the fact was he hadn’t been honest with her at the Boys and Girls Club. The truth was Lucas had fallen in love with her, but he’d been afraid to admit it to her let alone himself.

  Lucas just hoped that Kenya would forgive him too for turning his back on love and crushing her spirit when he’d sent her away. Accelerating on the pedals, Lucas prayed it wasn’t too late.

  Three hours later after she’d left LA, Chynna was surprised that she was nervous as she rode up in an elevator at the Four Seasons in Houston. She hadn’t been onstage in a month, and she was afraid that her fickle fans might boo her off the stage. She’d received a lot of flak in the press for her decision to allow Kenya to go onstage in her place. Some felt that she’d betrayed her fans, while others chalked it up to another Chynna moment and had moved on. She sure hoped that was the case tonight. Otherwise, it would make for a very long tour.

  “As soon as we get upstairs,” Derrick said in the elevator, “we need to start your hair and makeup. Daisy and I don’t have much time.”

  “We did cut it a little close on this one,” Deacon concurred. They’d left LAX late, thanks to Eli’s late arrival to the airport. But if anyone could get Chynna looking fabulous in an hour and half before they had to leave for the stadium, it was Derrick and Daisy.

  The elevator chimed that they’d arrived to the penthouse floor, and they immediately disembarked and headed for Chynna’s private suite of rooms. Most of her entourage went to their respective rooms except Deacon, Derrick and Daisy.

  Chynna used the key card she’d been given by the concierge to gain access to her suite and was surprised by the sight that greeted her: Noah.

  “Hey, beautiful,” Noah said, smiling back at her. Dressed in Levi’s and a plaid shirt, he looked out of place amongst the modern furnishings in the room, but Chynna was happy to see him all the same.

  Chynna didn’t hesitate rushing into his big, strong arms. He caught her and lifted her off her feet as she
wrapped her legs around his middle. She kissed him full-on, and it was just as good as she remembered. No, it was better because the time away had reminded her just how much she loved Noah.

  “Oh, my,” Derrick commented, fanning himself, behind her.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Eli said, entering the suite behind the group.

  It was Deacon who finally came up to them, still wrapped in each other’s arms, and coughed. Eventually, Noah lowered Chynna to her feet, and they separated long enough for Deacon to say, “I take it you must be Noah Hart.”

  Noah laughed a rich throaty laugh that sent chills through Chynna. “Yes, I am,” he said, offering Deacon his hand. “And you?”

  “Deacon.” Deacon extended his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “And I you.” Noah shook Deacon’s hand with his free hand while keeping the other around Chynna’s waist. “I heard you’ve taken care of my girl here.” Noah squeezed Chynna’s shoulders.

  Before Deacon could answer, Eli said, “Well, if you’re all done with the lovefest, we need to get Chynna ready for her show. In case you didn’t know, she has a show in less than two hours.”

  Chynna narrowed her eyes at Eli until they were slits. “I haven’t forgotten, Eli, but if you don’t mind, this is my room and I’d like a little privacy. I believe yours is down the hall.”

  “Chy—,” he began, but Deacon cut him off.

  “Allow me to show you out, Eli,” Deacon said, ushering him out the door. “Chynna will be ready downstairs,” he said, glancing at his watch, “in an hour. Isn’t that right, Chynna?” He looked over at his client.