He set his jaw. “It was never about not loving them, but after the lawyers got involved, my parents treated me like a stranger.” He held out his hand to me as though offering proof. “In the five minutes I just spent with them, my dad couldn’t say anything nice, my mother slid in one accusation after another, and my brother thinks I’m out corrupting nuns.” The corners of his mouth tilted up as he said this—as though he couldn’t maintain his anger in the face of such a suggestion.
I stared back at him. I’d done nothing for the last month but worry about my own family falling apart, and he and his parents had walked away from each other. It seemed like such a waste. “So you retaliate by refusing to let them have any part in your life.”
“That isn’t true.”
“You don’t tell them what’s going on with you at all, do you?”
“I don’t have to. That’s what
People
magazine is for.”
I put one hand on my hip, immediately engulfing it in flannel. “You wouldn’t even tell them the truth about us.”
He shrugged. “They asked how long we’d dated. What did you want me to do—check my watch and say, ‘About six and a half hours’?”
I sent him a disbelieving look. “You consider this a date?”
He leaned back on the counter with his arms folded and didn’t concede the point. “I bought you dinner. I kissed you.”
“It was yogurt and a muffin from a gas station, and you were pretending I was Maid Marion when you kissed me.”
“I kissed you before that.”
“No,
I
kissed
you
before that.”
He let out an exasperated grunt and closed the distance between us. “Okay, fine. Does this count?”
Before I realized what he was doing he put his hands on my shoulders, bent down, and kissed me. Some people will do anything to win an argument. I shouldn’t have let him. I should have pushed him away and accused him of trying to corrupt nuns again. But I didn’t. I wound my arms around his neck, kissed him back, and felt my heartbeat double.
He finally lifted his head and smiled down at me.
“Okay,” I said. “That counts, but it still doesn’t change the fact that you’re not trying to work things out with your family.”
He let out a groan and stepped away from me.
I watched him distance himself from me. “I would pay any amount of money to still have a relationship with my brother when he’s seventeen. You can have that if you want. Think about what you’re losing.”
We regarded each other in silence for a moment. His eyes remained hard. I hadn’t changed his mind. He ran a hand across his hair. “Look, it’s late. We both need our sleep.”
As he walked past me, I said, “After we go to Henderson, will we ever see each other again?”
He paused in the doorway. “I’d like to.”
“I’d like to too.” I smiled at him, even though his statement was less than decisive.
He said good night, and we went our separate ways. The phrase “I’d like to” echoed through my mind all the way back to my room.
I’d like to. And I’d also like to travel around the world. I’d like to win a gold medal in archery. I’d like to fly. I’d like to save my brother’s life.
He was a huge star who could have his pick of Hollywood starlets, and I was a nobody from Nevada. No, I was worse than a nobody; I was broken glass. Why would he choose me when there were women like Esme and Karli fighting for him? I doubted I’d ever see him again after tomorrow.
Chapter
15
It took me a while to get to sleep, but if I dreamt of the Grim Reaper, I didn’t remember it. The next thing I knew, Mrs. Raleigh opened the bedroom door. She put my stack of clothes on the dresser, and I blinked at the muted light coming through a crack in the curtains. “What time is it?”
“Almost seven. I thought you’d want your clothes when you woke up.”
“Seven?” I got out of bed so fast I momentarily went dizzy. I tried to do the math. If we were two and a half hours away from Henderson, and then he spent half an hour with Jeremy—he wasn’t going to make it to work until two o’clock. He’d have to speed both ways. “Where is Steve?” I asked. “Is he ready to go?”
“Oh, no, he just got out of the shower. He hasn’t even had breakfast yet. I’m making pancakes and eggs.”
“That’s really nice of you, but Steve wanted to leave early—” I grabbed the clothes from the dresser. I needed to change, and I couldn’t do that with her standing in the room.
She walked to the curtains and opened them all the way. “I think he’s worked things out with the studio. He called them this morning.” There was a lightness in her step that hadn’t been there last night, and her voice sounded happy. “He said a big breakfast would be fine. It will be done by the time you get out of the shower.”
I took a fast shower and hurried getting ready anyway. It was odd to see my hair brown in the mirror, as though even my reflection wasn’t sure who I was.
When I walked into the kitchen, the entire family sat around the table eating. It seemed so tranquil. If I hadn’t been part of the kitchen scene last night, I wouldn’t have known they didn’t get along.
Mrs. Raleigh held out a pitcher of orange juice to Steve. “Would you like more?”
He spread a dab of butter onto his pancake. “No, thanks. I’m fine.”
An empty seat waited for me, but I didn’t take it. Instead I caught Steve’s eye. “We have time to eat?”
He motioned to the chair. “It’s all right. Sit down and have breakfast.”
“Yeah,” Adam added, “you’re not getting out of telling us how you met Steve.”
“Steve wouldn’t tell us,” Mrs. Raleigh clarified with a teasing smile that reminded me of her son’s. “He said we’d have to hear the story from you.”
I sat down. “Did he?”
Mrs. Raleigh handed me the pancake plate, and I took one. I was glad Steve was talking to his parents but less thrilled by his choice of topics. I poured myself a glass of orange juice.
“So did you meet on the
Robin Hood
series?” Mr. Raleigh asked.
I glanced at Steve. He took a bite of his eggs so he wouldn’t have to speak. Since I probably was never going to see these people again, I decided I could improve on the truth. “Actually, no. We met at an archery contest. I beat Steve, by the way.”
“You beat Robin Hood?” Adam laughed as he cut through a pancake. “Is that possible? My faith in the show has been completely destroyed.”
“It was his overconfidence that cost him the match,” I said.
“No,” Steve said, “I think it had something to do with your being president of your archery club. She didn’t let me know about that beforehand.”
I smiled at Adam. “You can see it’s a sore subject with us.”
“One of these days we’ll have to have a rematch,” Steve said.
I laughed and ate my pancake. Then I took another. The breakfast went on in the same light tone, with Steve and his family making small talk about the show and old family friends.
I thought the subject of my relationship with Steve had completely passed, but out of the blue, Mrs. Raleigh said, “I’m surprised I haven’t seen anything about you and Annika in the tabloids.”
“Well, that won’t last,” Steve said. “They caught us yesterday and followed us halfway here. That’s how we damaged the car. We went over a median to lose them.”
Adam leaned back in his chair. “It’s nice to see your driving hasn’t changed over the years.”
Steve glanced at me but didn’t correct his brother.
I said, “I hope we don’t run into paparazzi today. I’m wearing the same clothes. They’ll either think I have a very limited fashion sense or you’ve taken up with a homeless girl.”
Steve didn’t even crack a smile. He looked down and turned the fork in his hand slowly. “About today,” he said, returning his gaze to my face. “I called Dean’s assistant and told him I wouldn’t be in until the afternoon, but Dean called me back himself and told me they needed me in this morning. I have to leave for Burbank as soon as the rental car company drops off a car.” He glanced at his watch. “Which should be any minute now.”
My mouth opened to protest, but he went on. “I’ve talked to Adam about it, and he can drive you to Henderson today. Ron will book me on a flight to Las Vegas tomorrow night. I’ll come to the hospital as soon as we complete shooting for the day.”
It hurt to swallow. The words felt ragged as they came from my throat. “I already told my family I was bringing you with me.”
“I know. Unfortunately, the studio needs me.”
“My brother needs you more.”
His voice was thick with resignation. “I’m sorry. I tried, but it didn’t work out. I’ll be there tomorrow night.”
My fork shook in my hand, and I had to put it back down on the table. I could feel the weight of everyone’s stares on me. The clank of silverware at the table had gone completely silent.
I tried not to panic, or at least not to show that I was. “Jeremy has to see you before the surgery. He needs to believe that his wishes have power so he won’t be afraid, so it will go well. I explained it to you—”
Steve leaned toward me. “Annika, my visit isn’t going to make a difference in the outcome of the surgery.”
He might as well have said he didn’t care. It felt as though all the air had gone from my lungs. “Don’t say that. It isn’t true.”
His tone came out smooth, painless. “I can’t hold up the entire production schedule. I’m under contract.”
I wanted to say, “How can you do this to me?” but it was a stupid question. I’d only known him a day. What had I expected? And what had happened to me, anyway, that after one day I felt the two of us knew each other intimately? I would have moved heaven and earth to fulfill Jeremy’s wish. Steve wouldn’t even skip a day of work.
Steve’s family had all gone back to their breakfasts, pointedly pretending that it wasn’t awkward to hear all of this.
“Tell Jeremy I’ll be there tomorrow night,” Steve said. “He’ll understand.”
Jeremy might, but I refused to understand. My voice came out as a whisper. “What if tomorrow night is too late?”
The doorbell rang. Steve glanced in that direction and then back at me. “It won’t be.” He pushed his chair away from the table. “That’s got to be the car.”
Everyone watched him. The warmth, all the feelings of coziness had drained from the room.
Steve stood up but turned to his father. “I’ll have Ron wire some money for the towing charge. Let me know how much it comes to.”
An edge crept into his father’s voice. “You don’t have to. We can cover it.”
“You shouldn’t have to cover it. It’s not your car.”
“You don’t need to pay us anything. We don’t need your money.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Am I?”
Mrs. Raleigh put her hand to her mouth, but didn’t say anything. Adam looked up at the ceiling.
“Fine,” Steve said tightly. “Do whatever you want. It was great to see all of you again.” He turned and strode toward the kitchen door.
Mr. Raleigh said to me—although clearly for Steve’s benefit, “It’s always been this way. His job takes precedence over everybody else.”
Steve stiffened and muttered something under his breath, but he didn’t turn around. After a moment, the front door slammed shut.
I turned my attention back to the table and felt numb. Steve was right to have given me the news after breakfast. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to eat.
No one spoke. I felt them watching me, pitying me. I struggled to find my voice, and I looked over at Adam. “When do you want to leave?”
“Give me a few minutes. I’ve got to call someone about getting assignments.”
I was making him miss school. It made me feel even worse.
Mrs. Raleigh stood up and cleared dishes from the table. I helped her, trying to be polite, trying to do something so I didn’t have to think about what to say to Jeremy when I got home.
The genie ran into a problem with Robin Hood.
Would Jeremy ever believe me about anything again?
If I had been thinking straight, I would have made Steve talk to him on the cell phone beforehand, but maybe Jeremy wouldn’t have liked that. Robin Hood never used a cell phone on the show.
As I helped her with the dishes, Mrs. Raleigh threw worried glances in my direction. “I’m sorry it’s been a difficult trip for you,” she told me. “I hope things go well for your brother.”
“Thanks. And thanks again for letting me stay here.”
“Maybe you’ll come back sometime.”
I hesitated. “Maybe.”
She read her own meaning into my hesitation. “It hasn’t always been this way between Steve and his father. They used to get along so well. I keep hoping . . .” She rinsed off a plate and slid it into the dishwasher. “Maybe you could talk with him about it. Sometimes a woman’s influence can—”
I didn’t let her finish. I couldn’t explain to her why I had no influence on Steve and why any conversation I had with him after today would be very limited.
“I have talked with him about it,” I said. It was, after all, the truth. We’d talked in the bathroom last night. “I already told him he should work on his relationship with you.”
“Really?” Mrs. Raleigh asked. The gratitude in her voice made me feel guilty. “What did he say?”
“Well. . . .” I couldn’t tell her that he’d brushed off my words, not while she looked at me so hopefully. “He’s stubborn—you know that—but he’s also said some nice things about you.” As I spoke, Adam and Mr. Raleigh walked into the kitchen. Their conversation died as they listened to mine.
I struggled to think of anything nice Steve had said about them. When that failed, I decided elaborations were in order. After all, I didn’t owe Steve any honesty. He’d run off and left me with his disgruntled family.
I looked over at Mr. Raleigh. “He told me about how you were a police officer and how worried he was when you got stabbed. He said when he works on Robin Hood and he needs to portray bravery, he thinks of you.”