by Elena Aitken
Byron looked at him with his mouth open. “Is that really all you have to say? I totally expected to you be more excited. After all, your girlfriend can’t be all that happy that Bridget’s around. I know I’m not the only one who saw the article.”
No, Byron definitely wasn’t the only one who’d seen the article. He knew Milena must’ve seen it, even though she hadn’t said anything to him. The fact she hadn’t mentioned it to him made him believe she was okay with it all. Besides, he didn’t need to prove to her that there was nothing going on with Bridget. She’d told him she trusted him completely. Besides, it went deeper than trust between them, and he was positive that Milena was feeling it too.
No, Bridget was no threat. Not to anyone.
But it definitely would make life easier if she was gone.
“I’ll tell you what,” Cal said to his friend. “I’ll wait till it’s confirmed by Jade, and then we’ll talk about how excited I am.”
As if on cue, the door to the rehearsal room flung open and Bridget stormed out. She saw Byron and Cal, shot each of them a glare, and turned back to Jade, who came out right behind her. “You’re going to regret this,” she spat. “I’m the best thing that ever happened to the show. It will be a dismal failure without me. When you come crawling back, asking—no, begging for me—I won’t be there.”
“Bridget,” Jade tried to get a word in. “I didn’t say you were off the show.”
Cal struggled to keep his face neutral.
So close.
“You might as well have said it.”
Jade shook her head. She looked tired. As though the weight of the world was on her shoulders, and maybe it was. Producing a show like this couldn’t be easy, let alone with the new husband and a baby on the way. Cal felt bad for his new sister-in-law, but he had to shelve those feelings in order to concentrate on the conversation that was playing in front of him. “What I said,” Jade tried again, “was that you’re going to have to make some changes and work extra hard in order to be ready to film in a few days, or we would have to look at other options.”
“Other options? Like her?” She pointed past Jade into the room they’d just come out of. Cal knew without seeing that Bridget was pointing at Alison. If anyone bothered to ask him, he would be more than happy to have Alison play the role of Gwen. She was ready. Plus she was better. But nobody was asking him, so he kept his mouth shut and kept watching.
A moment later, just as he’d expected, Alison appeared from the room. Cal was impressed. What could be a major career-defining moment for her was playing out right in front of her, and still the woman managed to look poised and in control. It was just another reason Cal thought she was better for the job. Way less drama than dealing with Bridget.
“Alison has been doing a very good job filling in for you while we waited for your arrival.” She’d done better than a very good job, and they all knew it. Jade’s diplomacy was impressive. “And we’re running out of time, Bridget. It was your decision not to be here earlier, when we needed you. And it is beyond me why anyone agreed to that. But that’s the situation we were in.”
“It was Peter who approved that decision,” Bridget yelled at her. “As far as I know, he’s still the boss around here. And you have no right to be treating me this way. My agent will get Peter on the phone and sort all this out.”
Jade shook her head. “Do what you need to do, Bridget. But ultimately I hope that what you need to do is the same as what you should be doing, which is learning your lines and showing up to rehearsal instead of running out of here in a huff.” Jade crossed her arms and stood her ground. “Because at the end of the day, Peter may be my boss but he will defer his judgment to mine. We have a show to put on, and if you’re not ready for filming, that’s a problem. And right now, you are not ready. And I think that when I tell Peter exactly what’s been going on around here, he will agree with me.” Jade turned her attention to Byron and Cal. “I’m going to give Bridget half an hour to calm down. Rehearsal will start at ten.” Jade scanned the little crowd that had gathered. “I expect everybody to be there.”
Jade turned and walked the opposite way down the hallway to her office. Cal expected Bridget to storm off in a huff to go call her agent the way she had threatened, but to his surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she crossed the distance until she stood in front of him. She narrowed her eyes until the face he once thought beautiful was twisted and ugly as she said, “I blame you for this. The fact that you are playing Ian is purely nepotism. And if you had been more welcoming of me as your co-star, this wouldn’t be happening right now. I don’t know what you think you’re doing dating some townie girl, and playing the role of the TV star, when you clearly are a nobody. But whatever it is you think you’re doing, think again. Because I will be the star of the show. And if I’m not, it’s not just you who will suffer. It will be that chubby little girlfriend of yours too. Remember that, Cal.”
He was so taken aback, he couldn’t think of anything to say until she was gone.
“Dude.” Byron smacked his arm. “What the hell was that? Was she seriously threatening you?”
Cal nodded. “Sure sounded that way.” He shouldn’t be worried; after all, Bridget was just blowing smoke. Looking for someone to blame for her own ineptitude. But Cal knew Bridget, and he knew what she was capable of. And most importantly, he knew that if Bridget was threatening Milena, she wouldn’t hesitate to follow through on that threat.
And whatever else happened, he wasn’t going to let Bridget hurt the woman he loved.
The last thing Milena expected when she walked into the kitchen at eight on a Wednesday morning was to see her dad standing at the counter. She jumped back a little and almost dropped the stack of files she was holding. “Dad! What are you doing here?”
“I live here. And the last time I checked, I was the one paying the bills.” He lifted his eyebrows at her, but his smile gave him away. “Besides, I decided to take the day off.”
Her dad never took the day off. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time he’d even taken a sick day. Something was up.
“The day off? Are you feeling okay?” She dropped her files on the table, walked over to the counter, grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee, resisting the urge to check his temperature before she sat at the table. “You don’t take days off.”
“I do today.” Her dad wouldn’t meet her gaze when he said, “And I feel great. I just decided it would be nice not to work today. Besides, I have a ton of vacation days built up, and I think this town could go one day without me looking after things, don’t you?”
She actually wasn’t sure they could. Cedar Springs depended on Grant Hill to keep things running. As the town manager, her father basically had a hand in all the day-to-day details of town operations. Everything from garbage collection, to maintenance, to construction jobs. There was a reason why he’d never taken a day off.
The town needed him.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said slowly. “And you do deserve to take a break now and then.”
“Damn right I do.” He crossed his legs, took a sip of coffee and watched her closely.
Milena was fairly sure he knew she hadn’t come home the night before. But she also knew that she wasn’t a child and she didn’t have to answer to him anymore, or tell him where she was going. Just the way he didn’t have to explain things to her. She shook her head, silently chastising herself for giving him a hard time. “You’re right, Dad. You should take the day off. But what on earth are you going to do?”
He took another sip of his coffee. “I was thinking of going to check out the Springs.”
She almost spat out her coffee. “As in, the new resort? Or the natural hot springs in the hills?” She couldn’t decide which was weirder: picturing her dad at the fancy resort, enjoying spa treatments, or imagining him soaking in the very hot pools where she and Cal had—no, she wouldn’t even think about that.
“The resort.” He took another
sip, completely oblivious of Milena’s reactions. At least, if he wasn’t oblivious, he was doing a great job hiding it. “I keep hearing about this fancy new place, their excellent food, their pools, and their massages. It’s about time I go check it out for myself. After all, I am nothing if not a supporter of this town.”
Milena couldn’t argue with that. But still, it was strange. Very strange. “Okay… Enjoy yourself then.”
Her dad laughed. “Don’t look so surprised, kiddo. There’s a lot more to your old man than you even realize. For example, I know you are out with that McCormick boy last night.”
It was the craziest thing, but with just a few words, Milena was reduced to a sixteen-year-old, afraid about upsetting her father. She glanced over at him to see his eyebrows raised in question, waiting for her response. “I was…”
“And I also happen to know that he’s in the entertainment industry.”
Milena couldn’t help but feel chastised. Her dad had never said anything about her romantic life before, not that there’d been much to say. Except for everything with Michael. And he certainly hadn’t said anything about that situation. She’d always wondered why he’d never told her how he felt about Michael, or stepped in when Michael was a jerk.
“He is,” she said, focusing on the conversation. “His name is Cal McCormick. And he is starring in that new show that’s going to be filmed in town. I guess I didn’t realize you were interested.”
Her father shook his head and sat down his coffee mug with a thunk. “Milena Hill,” he scolded. “How can you think that? How can you really think that I wouldn’t be interested in my own daughter?” He looked hurt and Milena immediately felt bad.
“Dad. It’s not that I thought you wouldn’t be interested. It’s just… I guess…” She took a breath and thought about not saying anything at all, but they’d already come this far, she might as well say what needed to be said. “Honestly, I thought you were happy just to let me make my own decisions when it came to love.” Her dad was silent for a moment. Milena had never said so much to him before. Not in regards to her love life or anything really personal. She held her breath, waiting for him to speak.
“I’ll tell you,” he began. “When you started dating Michael, I didn’t see what you saw in him. But it wasn’t for me to see. I knew that if I said anything against him, the only thing that would happen is that you would be mad at me. I wasn’t going to take that risk. Besides, I saw how happy you were with him. At least at first. All I ever want for you, kiddo, is to be happy. When you asked me if he could move in, I said yes because it was going to make you happy. I’ve regretted that decision every day since. I should have said no. I should have told you right then and there what I thought of him. But I didn’t. And I regret that. But please don’t mistake my silence back then for lack of caring. It was anything but.
“I’ve always just wanted to see that smile on your face. The smile I’ve seen over the last few weeks. I assume it’s a smile that this Cal McCormick has put there. I’ve never seen you smile like this before. And I don’t think that I even realized how unhappy you were before. At least not until lately now that I’ve seen how happy you are.”
Tears pricked at her eyes, but Milena blinked them back. She never cried in front of her dad. He was a man who respected hard work, not sappy emotions. “Oh Dad, you don’t know how—”
He held up his hand to silence her. So she let him finish. “Your relationship with that Michael Malone taught me a lot, kiddo. And mostly it taught me that you’re a strong woman and you can take care of yourself. It also taught me that you deserve to always have a smile on your face and to know what real love is. Which is exactly why I want to meet Cal McCormick. I want him to sit down across from me so I can look into his eyes, and know without any uncertainty if he is worthy of my little girl. But something already tells me he is.”
It took everything Milena had not to burst into tears at her dad’s completely uncharacteristic show of emotion. Instead, she nodded and bit her bottom lip. “Okay,” she said. “How about I arrange for us to have a drink at the Grizzly Paw, so you can meet him? Tonight?”
Her dad nodded with satisfaction, but then quickly shook his head. “Yes. But not tonight. I have plans.”
Her dad never had plans. It was weird enough that he was taking the day off work, but now he had plans? Something was definitely up. “Doing what?”
“Kiddo, you’re not the only one who has things going on. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my day off started.” He took his mug to the sink and rinsed it out, before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Go sell some houses, kiddo. I’ll talk to you later.”
Milena sat, stunned, for a moment and watched him go.
It wasn’t until she heard the closing of the front door that she snapped out of it and finished her mug of coffee. Whatever it was that was going on with her dad, she’d get to the bottom of it. But first, she needed to get some work done, and like her dad said, she needed to go sell some houses.
With her list of clients and potential clients growing ever longer, the last thing Milena should have been doing was shopping for a house for Cal. But when she fired up her computer and scanned through the listings, instead of looking for the perfect four-bedroom family home near the school that the Williams family wanted, she found herself looking at lake view, log cabin styles similar to what the other McCormick brothers had. Something that would be perfect for Cal.
And her.
It was way too early to have such thoughts, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. When she closed her eyes and pictured her future, it was with Cal. In Cedar Springs. Living in a house on the lake very much like the one she’d found his older brother Mitch. Or maybe tucked up in the trees? It didn’t really matter as long as she was with Cal.
Milena had never had such fantasies when she was with Michael. She’d never imagined her life beyond the next week, let alone an entire future—a wedding, kids. But everything was different with Cal. The fact that she could see that far into the future with him after only a few weeks was scary. But also, so very perfect.
“Have you had any luck finding the Williams family a house yet?” Estelle called to her from across the room. “Because I think I might know a place that would be perfect. Of course, it’s not on the market quite yet, but it will be.”
Milena quickly shut the window she was looking at and peered out from her computer screen to see Estelle by the front window of the office. “What place is that? I’ve looked at all the listings and I have a few new places lined up to show them, but I don’t think any of them are quite what they’re looking for.”
“Like I said. This house isn’t on the market yet, but word on the street is that the owner is thinking about downsizing.” Estelle grinned at her and turned to look out at the street. “It’s very important to keep one ear constantly tuned into the talk of the town. I know you’ve been a little preoccupied lately, but—”
“Not too preoccupied to do my job,” Milena argued. “But I haven’t heard about this property you’re talking about. Are you going to tell me who it is?”
Estelle laughed. “Of course, darling. And I know you haven’t heard about it—I haven’t told anyone about my plans to sell yet.”
Milena almost spat out the water she was drinking. “What?” She pushed her chair back and crossed the room to join Estelle at the window. “You? You’re selling your house?”
“I’m thinking about it,” she said, but her smile gave her away.
“Where? When?” Milena shook her head. Her heart beat rapidly and she could barely hold a thought. Estelle was leaving town? She couldn’t leave. Estelle was like a mother to her. She was the only mother she had, and she just couldn’t… “I’m just…this is crazy, Estelle. I can’t…Where are you going?”
“Settle down, Milena.” Estelle laughed warmly and pulled her into a quick hug. “Don’t worry, darling. I’m not going anywhere.”
To hear Estelle say she wasn’t going any
where settled her, but only a little. “Why do you want to sell your house then? I don’t understand.”
“It’s too big for me,” Estelle said. “And it’s a good time to sell. As you know, Cedar Springs is blowing up and family homes are in high demand. My house would be perfect for the Williams family, don’t you think?”
It would be perfect. Estelle’s house checked all the boxes on their list and then some. If she could show them Estelle’s house, there was no doubt they’d fall in love immediately. The only problem was, it wasn’t for sale.
“It is perfect.” Milena eyed Estelle carefully. “But it’s not for sale. Is it?”
The older woman shrugged noncommittally and walked back to her desk. “Not yet. But soon. And maybe for the right price.”
Milena’s head spun, trying to keep up to her. Was she selling her house or not?
“I’m taking the rest of the day off,” Estelle announced, changing tacks quickly and efficiently. “I’m sure you can handle things around here.”
Milena nodded and then shook her head. “It’s only nine in the morning. What do you mean, you’re taking the day off?”
First her dad and now Estelle. The world was definitely off its axis today. Either that, or Milena had fallen into some kind of twilight zone.
Estelle picked up her purse, but notably left all her files in their neat piles on her desk. “I haven’t had a day off in years,” she said. “And I thought it would be nice just to relax for a day. I won’t have my cell phone on, so if you have an emergency—not that I could possibly imagine what kind of emergency you would have—don’t think about calling me.”
Stunned, Milena shook her head and watched Estelle walk to the door. “Wait,” she called out, stopping her. “Where are you going?”