Caught in the Act (The Davenports) (22 page)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

T
HE PLAYHOUSE WOULD
be packed that night. It was a good hour and a half before the show was set to start, but already the parking lot was full. A line of people formed at the main entrance, wrapping around two sides of the building, and there were four police officers standing guard among the crowd. Their stance was feet spread, thumbs tucked inside their utility belts, stern expressions on their faces.

Cat wanted to smile. They looked so tough. She’d seen these very officers around town several times over the last two weeks, and not once had any of them done anything but offer pleasant greetings. They looked downright lethal tonight.

She sat in the passenger seat of the dark SUV parked at the back of the building, peering out through tinted windows and dreading having to get out.

She’d personally rather be at home, with her kids curled up at her sides.

In fact, she’d made arrangements to soon do just that. The instant she’d pulled into the six-car garage of the Davenport home, she’d felt adrift. She didn’t know what would happen with her and Brody at this point. She was furious with her mother and didn’t see that changing anytime soon. And she desperately missed her kids.

She’d been without them for over two weeks, and that—she’d decided—had been enough. Not to mention, she didn’t want them having to deal with paparazzi without her around.

Bringing them up here wouldn’t shield them, of course, but if she went back to Atlanta, the cameras would simply follow. At least for the foreseeable future.

So she’d bring her kids up early. They’d still get their trip to Maine—now to be even longer—and Cat could finish out her responsibilities with the playhouse.

And maybe she and Brody would . . . she didn’t know what. They hadn’t exactly broken up that morning, but they had parted ways. It was too difficult at the moment to consider anything else.

Also, he was still a Harrison.

Not that she’d let that be a deciding factor for her, but if this was truly just a fling, then maybe it was time for the fling to be over. No need to exacerbate things for only a few more days.

And if they were more than a fling?

Well, she was hoping time apart would answer that question. She would still tell him about Annabelle. Eventually. But she had to figure out “them” first. There was the saying that absence made the heart grow fonder, and she supposed they were about to put it to the test. If the test failed, then all the hoopla could go back to normal much sooner.

Vega and JP had offered to go ahead and bring Becca and Tyler up this week. They would arrive Wednesday morning, just in time for all of them to participate in the installation of the park’s main play area. The kids couldn’t work within the main area, but Cat’s project manager had made arrangements for a kid-friendly zone so no one in the community would feel excluded. It even came with babysitters.

“Looks like a busy place,” Stone Walker said from the driver’s seat. Stone was a security guard out of Boston. She’d hired him and another guy that morning, along with making arrangements for one of the family’s regulars out of Atlanta to travel with the kids.

Her second security guard had been left at the house while Stone had driven Cat into town. Nothing unsafe had happened so far, but with the number of people currently in the area looking to score a great shot, she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Wonder how many of them actually have any interest in seeing the play,” Cat mused.

She slumped in the seat when a couple of women she recognized from around town glanced in her direction. Most everyone would be looking for the sedan she’d been driving. They hadn’t yet figured out that Stone had arrived, or that he’d come with his own vehicle.

“I’d say you could read the script backward tonight and no one would notice,” Stone remarked. “Or just mumble for an hour and a half.”

“I suspect you’re right.”

Three cars over, a door swung open, and a graying head slowly emerged. It was Annabelle Hollister. Suddenly, a swarm of cameras and microphones headed her way.

“Oh, no.” Cat shot up. “We’ve got to help her.”

She had her door open and was out of the vehicle before Stone could stop her. Her appearance brought more people over and caught some of them trying to make an important decision: go after Annabelle or go after Cat.

Thankfully, Stone made everyone’s decision for them.

He was a big guy. Six five, at least three hundred pounds. Though he was in his fifties, he was solid muscle. With his wraparound shades and bald head, he looked more than scary.

As he approached, people backed off. Cat hurried to Annabelle’s side, wrapped her arm around the woman, and hustled them both in the back door. She left Stone to deal with the mob.

Once inside, she pulled Annabelle into a small room. The woman looked a bit shell-shocked.

“Are you okay?” Cat asked. She ran her hands over the other woman, checking Brody’s mother over as if she were frail and had been attacked by starving gorillas.

Annabelle gave a nervous laugh. Her fingers flitted down her own body as if to check for herself that she remained intact. “That was quite a crowd,” she finally managed.

“Insane, right?”

“And you deal with situations like this a lot?”

“No. Not a lot.” Then Cat winked, hoping to lighten the mood. “Only when I hang out with big-name people.”

Annabelle’s green eyes lightened, and some of the shock seemed to lift.

“I’m so sorry you’ve gotten pulled into this mess,” Cat said. She wrapped Annabelle in a hug. “You shouldn’t be subjected to this madness.”

“The way I see it, I’ve had thirty-four good years that I haven’t had to deal with it. Thirty-five if you count the months I was pregnant.”

“Good point,” Cat allowed. “But still, this is my fault, and I feel horrible about it.”

“How do you figure it’s your fault? Did you sleep with Arthur Harrison, too?”

Cat jerked back. “No.” Then she realized how rude she’d sounded, and held out her hands in apology. “Not that it was wrong for you, of course.”

Annabelle laughed. “Of course,” she agreed. “But I should have known better.”

“Maybe. But if Brody and I hadn’t . . .
been seen together
, none of this would have happened.”

“But if you and Brody hadn’t
been seen together
”—Annabelle mimicked Cat’s words back to her—“then he wouldn’t have gotten a peek at what he’s been missing.”

“Excuse me?” The change of subject caught Cat off guard.

Annabelle trained her eyes on Cat. They’d turned serious. “Forget the craziness going on outside for a moment. Forget everything else that might feel like a big deal. Brody cares about you, Cat. Surely you can see that.”

Cat nodded. She hadn’t expected a lecture from Brody’s mom tonight. “I care about him too. I always did. But
he
shouldn’t have to deal with this, either.”

Annabelle snorted. “Why not? What makes you so special?”

This wasn’t going at all how she’d thought. She’d just wanted to get Annabelle safely inside the building.

“I’m just saying,” Annabelle added, “that I was fully aware of who Arthur Harrison was when he and I were
seen together
. I have a bit of a leg in this game as well. I played my part. And you shouldn’t let any of it determine where you and Brody go from here.”

Clearly Brody had been talking to his mother.

“What did he say about it?” Cat asked.

“About you?” Annabelle shook her head. “Nothing. But I’m his mom. He doesn’t have to say anything. I can see it in his eyes.”

Cat had seen it in his eyes, too. As he’d said good-bye to her at her house earlier that morning, he’d stood there an extra minute longer. She didn’t want it to be over between them. She didn’t want the madness that was going on around them. And she didn’t want it to be her mother who’d done this to them.

That worried her a lot.

Talk about a line being crossed. If her mother had leaked this—and Cat very much suspected that she had—then the game had changed. Forever.

You don’t hurt family to help yourself.

“Where is he?” Cat asked now. She hadn’t seen Brody’s car in the lot, and he wasn’t there with his mother. “He should be here. You shouldn’t have to deal with this by yourself.”

“I sent him on an errand.” Annabelle’s eyes softened. “Mostly because I wanted to talk to you.”

Cat arched a brow.

“I saw you in the parking lot. I was waiting for you to arrive. And I knew you’d send your big guy over to help me if those crazies out there got too close.”

“You did, huh? How about I hire you your own big guy to watch out for you?”

“No need, dear.” Annabelle patted her cheek. “I’m just fine. Plus, no one wants to hear what an old lady has to say.”

“I think you may be wrong about that. And you aren’t that old.”

Annabelle glanced behind her as the back door of the building opened momentarily and the outside craziness could be heard. Stone appeared in the doorway to their room, took a quick look in, and disappeared on the other side of the wall.

“Wrong or not,” Annabelle continued, “don’t you worry about me. This will pass, and things will go back to normal. But I wanted to tell you something.” Guilt flashed across her face. “To apologize, actually.”

“For what?”

“For those two times you called the house.”

Goose bumps lit down Cat’s body.

“I should have told Brody about them back then. I’m sorry.”

Words got stuck in Cat’s throat, but she managed to push them out. “I understand my mother had something to do with that.”

“Didn’t mean I had to go along.”

Cat swallowed. She would not let herself cry over this. Annabelle Hollister had not known that Cat had been calling about her granddaughter. “I imagine you were doing what you thought was best for your son.”

The moment was quiet, though there was still madness going on around them. Doors slammed, voices could be heard from outside. Someone yelled down the hallway an instant before the sound of feet hurried away.

“I was,” Annabelle agreed. “A mother has a need to protect her child, as I’m sure you’re aware. You have two beautiful ones of your own. But I might have been wrong this time.”

Cat couldn’t say anything else. She didn’t blame Brody’s mother for what had happened in the past. She’d had her son’s best interests at heart. No doubt Emma Davenport hadn’t simply said, “Don’t call.” Her mother had known who Brody was. She would have used that against both him and his mother.

Cat probably would have made the same choices as Annabelle. No mother should have to choose between protecting her child from others and letting her child be loved.

She closed her eyes on a wave of grief, and for the first time in her life, she felt like her own daughter could have forgiven her for giving her up. Deep down, Cat hadn’t wanted her child to be raised by Emma Davenport. And at sixteen, if Cat had kept her, she knew Emma’s influence would have played a heavy hand.

Annabelle would have grown up being just like Cat.

And that wasn’t what she’d wanted for her daughter.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Brody’s mother pulled her in for a tight hug. “Things happen for a reason. You two have found each other again. It’s up to you this time. No one else. You get to choose your path.”

Her reassurances only made it worse.

Tears overflowed from her lower lashes, and Cat let Annabelle Hollister rock her gently in her arms. It was nice. It made Cat happy for Brody that he’d had such a caring mother throughout his life. Everyone deserved that.

A quiet clearing of someone’s throat sounded at the door, and Cat lifted her eyes to find Clyde standing there. He wore a grave expression, and Cat’s heart broke even more. She suspected she knew what was coming next.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Carlton.”

“Clyde,” she interrupted. She pulled out of Annabelle’s arms and wiped at her eyes. “After all this time, call me Cat.”

Clyde nodded. “I’m sorry, Ms. Cat, but . . . well . . .” He looked worriedly down the narrow hallway where Cat knew other members of the crew were coming and going. Then he turned back to the small room. “Laura’s up to speed now.”

Meaning he wanted Laura to step in as the lead. Cat nodded her understanding. She brought too much baggage with her. “I’ll get my things.”

“It’s not that we don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for us—”

“I get it, Clyde. You have others to think about. The playhouse to think about. It isn’t safe right now. I understand that. I saw what happened last night, and that was before this latest news broke.”

Clyde nodded sadly, and Annabelle patted Cat’s cheek once again.

Cat squeezed the other woman’s hands. “I’m sending Stone back to help you,” she said. “No arguments.” She looked at Clyde. “And I’m paying for extra security here until things die down.”

Sadness lay heavy inside her. She didn’t want to leave, but it was for the best.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Cat. Maybe you can be in another play sometime. Next year?”

She gave him a small smile. She
had
planned to come back next summer, but now . . . she just didn’t know. She’d have to see how things went with Brody.