Why not Wyoming? (Wyoming Wilds Series Book 1) (22 page)

The tomato fell off her burger. Picking it up, she nibbled at
it. She smiled, thinking of CJ’s side salad. It wasn’t that she didn’t like
fruits and vegetables. It was just that she really liked chocolate, pasta,
potatoes, and anything deep fried. She’d probably eat a rock if it was deep
fried. Weight was always going to be a battle, but she refused to let it be her
whole life. She had visions of hiking and horseback riding in the beautiful
country surrounding CJ’s home. Those were things that were fun and didn’t seem
like work. That, along with taking care of the horses and having a healthy sex
life, just might whip her butt back into shape.  

Her cell rang. Annie frowned at the unfamiliar number. She
wiped her hands on a napkin, trying to decide if she should answer it. Worry
won out.

“Hello?”

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, yourself,” she said in a rush. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he reassured her. “I can’t talk long. This is my
satellite phone. There’s no cell service up here. I just wanted to let you know
that we’re going to spend the night and head down tomorrow.”

“In the snow?” she asked, voice rising. “Did something happen?
Are you going to be okay?”

“Annie,” he said, interrupting her panic. “Everything is going
to be fine. We’re going to stay in a small hunting cabin. We’ll be warm and
safe. I’m prepared. Trust me.”

She took a shaky breath. “Of course. Sorry. I mean, I trust
you. You know what you’re doing.”

“It’s okay and thank you. I called so you wouldn’t worry.
Depending on how Jon feels in the morning, it might be a slow trip down. But we
should be able to talk tomorrow night. Okay?”

Annie nodded before realizing he couldn’t see her. “Sorry. You
can’t hear my brain rattle. I’ll be fine. I’m sitting here scarfing down a
twenty-five dollar room service burger. I have it good. You guys be careful,
and call me when you can.”

“I will,” CJ promised. “I love you.”

The warmth of his voice wrapped around her, as comforting as
the arms that she missed so much.

“I love you too. Be safe.”

“Will do. Goodnight, baby.”

“Night.”

She bit her lip as the connection terminated. That had been so
sweet of him to use his precious satellite phone time to let her know he was
okay. Saving the number to her contacts, she tagged it
CJ SAT
. God and
CJ willing, there’d be other times when her man wanted to reach out to her from
the wilderness.

Picking her burger back up, she forced another bite as she
replayed the conversation. One of the movie guys was hurt or sick, slowing them
down. Either because of the man’s condition or the sinking sun, CJ had made the
decision to camp for the night. Were they at this cabin or still making their
way there? Whose hunting cabin was it? He’d said they would be warm and safe
there. CJ hadn’t seemed worried.

She licked her lips and tried to focus on finishing her food
before it was stone cold.  Her resolve lasted all of two minutes. Scooting
across the bed, she grabbed the TV remote and channel guide. There was no harm
in taking a quick peek at the Weather Channel.

The weather app said Buffalo, Big Horn, and Sheridan were all
still getting snow. It wasn’t heavy, but who knew how high up CJ was. She could
feel her publicist’s glare burning into her back. Like Cami had any room to
judge. Her cell phone was practically glued to her hand. Annie slid the phone
back into her jacket pocket and looked up at the next fan. She smiled at the
teen.  

“You’re really pretty when you smile. You should smile in your
next picture,” the girl said, tapping the author photo on the back of the book.

“Thank you. You’re the second person to tell me that recently.
I’m self-conscious about my fangs, so I tend not to smile in pictures.”

“At least you don’t have these,” she said flashing her braces
with a wide grin.

“Wow! Yours are colorful.”

“My mom’s an orthodontist. I’m her walking billboard.”

“Smart woman. She gets a beautiful model and an extra tax
deduction all in one,” Annie teased.

The teenager laughed.

“Could you sign this ‘To Beth’ for her? She had to go to a
stupid conference and was so bummed she was going to miss you. I’m going to
surprise her. Her birthday is in two weeks and she’s going to love this.”

Annie glanced at her watch. Signing the book, she slid it back
across the table. Leaning forward with it, she whispered, “Who’s going to sign
the note for school?” 

The girl held a finger up in front of her smirking lips.

“I learned to fake her doctor scribble in fourth grade.”

“Just be safe,” Annie said, shaking her head at the unrepentant
sparkle in the young girl’s eyes as she departed with the book tucked inside
her jacket.  

A squeal made Annie jump, her pen skittering across the page in
front of her.

“Shit!”

An excited fan waved a certificate for a two-night stay at
Mackinac’s historic Grand Hotel. Annie sank back in her chair and patted her chest
over her heart. Happy fans were a good thing. She had to admit that the
assortment of book memorabilia, gift certificates, and other door prizes Cami had
lined up to entice fans to come out was working. Not only were people showing
up, but they were buying the book.

Looking back up at the lady in front of her, Annie could feel a
blush creeping up her neck and across her cheek bones.

“Please excuse the language,” she said, reaching for a fresh
book.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve heard and used worse. And that
copy is fine. Telling the story behind the squiggle will make the memory of my
trip into the city that much more fun.”

“I like you,” Annie said with a wink. 

Reaching down into her bag, she pulled out one of the Mackinac
themed bookmark charms and tucked it between the pages before handing the book
back. She signed steadily for the next hour before things started to slow down.
Another half an hour and the trickle slowed to a drip.

Annie fussed, straightening the stuff on the table. The time
between people gave her too much time to stare at her phone. She hadn’t heard a
peep. Surely they were down off the mountain by now. She frowned. Maybe Jon was
worse off than they had thought. CJ had the satellite phone. He could call for
help if needed. This was what he did for a living. He would be fi—

“How’re you doing?” Cami asked, putting a steaming Starbucks
cup down beside her.

“Good,” she murmured, eagerly wrapping her hands around the
warm Styrofoam. Anything to distract her.  

“Are you hungry? You didn’t have lunch and only picked at your
breakfast.”

“I’m fine. The sugar and caffeine are keeping me going.”

Cami fidgeted with the crystal encrusted case on her phone
scanning the quiet store.

“Are we going to be okay?”

The question was unsure, very unlike the publicist’s normal
brassy attitude. Annie took a sip of the café mocha. What did she say to that? I
think so? Licking the foam off of her lips, she sighed. She went with the
simple truth.

“You’re good at your job, Cami. You push me when I need to be
pushed. Most of the time, you do it in a way that feels like tough love. Right
now, I don’t feel the love. I know this is your job, but I’m really tired of
everyone focusing on the dollar signs. That’s to be expected of the suits I
guess, but I think of you as a friend and that hurts.”

“I’m sorry I pushed so hard.” Cami looked around again, making
sure they were still alone. “I like you. Not just as a client or an author, but
as a person. I want you to succeed. Sometimes I think I want it more than you
do.”

Annie made a face at her, but Cami kept going.

“Money might not be the end-all for you, but I know you want
another publishing contract and that
is
up to the suits. They’re
watching us. You, me, this book—the brass are watching all three of us. They’ve
laid a lot of money out updating your backlog and marketing the hell out of
Mackinac
Monday
. We’re talking a lot more support than most books see these days. This
is make or break time and I’m all in. Neal has given me just enough rope to
hang myself. Any way we look at it, this is a job for both of us. If they don’t
send us checks, we don’t pay rent or eat.”

Annie shook her head.

“You’re right and you’re not. Writing isn’t just what I do,
it’s a huge part of who I am. Without writing, I think I would’ve gone out of
my mind after I lost my parents. I write because I have to, to stay sane. But CJ
makes me feel sane. When I’m with him I feel loved, safe, and happy. I want to
feel that. I deserve to feel that. I don’t want to screw it up. I’m not saying
I don’t care about my career. I just want both.”

Cami’s s lips twisted in a sympathetic grimace.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but the fairytale is hard to come
by for us career women. Your cowboy is already balking at money matters. What
happens if,
when
, you crawl up the New York Time’s Best Seller List and
you start talking six and seven figures? How’s he going to handle it when
you’re recognized on the street and he’s just your man? Or worse. Your toy boy.”

“Bite your tongue. If I ever get paparazzi popular, I will be
the one freaking out. Add another check to the plus column for moving to
Wyoming. Peace, quiet and anonymity. There, I can just be CJ Barrett’s woman,”
Annie said, the last words making her smile.

“Wyoming? Back up and search for that sanity you were talking
about a minute ago. I’ve been trying to convince you to move to civilization.
Why in the hell would you want to move to Wyoming?” Cami asked.

“Why not? CJ’s cabin is this cozy haven surrounded by mountains
and pines. It is the perfect writer’s retreat. Think how much I could get done
with no distractions whatsoever.”

“Other than a certain blue-eyed boy.”

Annie grinned. “He’ll be even more inspirational than the
view.”

“His brand of inspiration will lead to little blue-eyed boys
and girls. They will be a huge distraction.”

“Wow. Is that going to be in my next contract? No boyfriends or
babies to slow the writing machine down?”

“Of course not,” Cami said backpedaling. “All I’m saying is
that the wilderness might not be all it’s cracked up to be for your career.”

Biting her tongue until tears sprang to her eyes, Annie shook
her head.

“It looks like we’re done here,” she said, not looking up as
she started stowing away her signing materials.

“What does that mean?”

“It means it has been a long day.”

“I take it we’re not okay.”

A tinge of copper in her mouth made Annie ease up on her
tongue. A dozen sarcastic comments danced on the tip. She didn’t know if she
wanted to laugh or scream. No. They were not okay, but now wasn’t the time.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We have Pittsburgh
tomorrow and then three days off. Let’s just get through it.”

“Annie I—”

“I’m done talking about it,” Annie snapped and then sighed,
lowering her voice. “Let’s get something to eat and get on the train.”

Of course, the manager chose that moment to walk over. They all
seemed to have impeccable timing. Shouldering her messenger bag, Annie
plastered a polite smile on her face and pretended to be interested in the
numbers being tossed between the publicist and store manager. The word success
was good enough for her. Checking the weather app again, she frowned. Shouldn’t
they be down by now? CJ hadn’t mentioned anyone helping him with booking or the
secretarial side of things. Was there someone in Wyoming who knew when to be
worried about them? Even if it was his parents, it would seem like a good idea
for someone to know what the plan was. Kind of like a plane’s flight plan. It
helped to have somewhere to start looking for the bodies.

“Annie.”

The sharpness of Cami’s tone hinted that it might not have been
the first time her name had been called. The manager was staring at her.

“I’m sorry. I was checking the weather. What was that?” she
asked.

Another fifteen minutes of polite chit-chat and she was ready
to drop. Insomnia and starvation were taking their toll. Her stomach growled.
Annie rolled her eyes at her own body. If tonight was like the rest of the
trip, she’d lose interest in dinner after two bites and as tired as she was,
she’d toss and turn the night away. She couldn’t take much more.

Offering a smile and wiggling her fingers in polite parting,
Annie finally followed Cami out the door. She stumbled and shrugged off the
publicist’s worried hand. Wrapping her scarf tighter, she focused on putting
one foot in front of the other. One more day. Then she could climb into a blanket
fort and close out the world.    

Bells and sirens filled the air all around him in an endless
clamor. Blinking against the flashing lights, CJ scanned the crowd. Where in
the hell had they gone? Taking a drink from the cup in his hand, he grimaced at
the warm beer. He jumped at a tap on his shoulder. The busty redhead wasn’t
familiar. CJ frowned. Her scarlet lips were moving, but he couldn’t make out
the words.

“I’m s-sorry,” he stuttered. “Wha-what did you say?”

She leaned in, her breath brushing his ear so he could hear her
over the din.

“I asked if you could tell me what time it is. They purposely
don’t put clocks in these places so people don’t realize how long they’ve been
throwing away their money.”

He looked down at his watch and cursed. Was it really that
late? Shit. Shit. SHIT. As in he was in it deep. It had been early, before
noon, when they had made it back to the truck. Happy with the locales they’d
scoped out, his clients had wanted a drink and some fun before heading back to
Los Angeles. They’d refused his excuses and directions, insisting he accompany
them. The shit had really started flying when he’d tried to explain about
Annie. He wasn’t sure if it was the good-natured ball-busting that had finally
broken his will, or the hefty bonus, but he’d ended up chauffeuring them a couple
of hours over to the new Yellowstone Casino. That had been over eight hours
ago.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.” He’d forgotten she was there. “It’s a quarter
after eight.”

“The night is young.”

“Not young enough,” he muttered.

“It sounds like you’re having a rough day,” she said, bottom
lip pooching out in an exaggerated pout of sympathy. She stroked her hand up
his thigh. “I’m a really good listener.”

Lifting her hand off his leg, CJ gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m really late calling my girlfriend. I think I
better make that call and hope she still wants to listen.”

“Ouch. I understand, honey. Tell her it’s the casino’s fault. I
wasn’t kidding. They actually do screw with your head through the lighting and
the music and stuff so you don’t realize how much time is passing.”

“Good idea. If nothing else, maybe she’ll get distracted
Googling to see if it’s true and forget to be mad at me,” CJ said hitting the
button on the slot machine to cash out.

She gave a little wave. “Good luck.”

Pitching his warm beer, CJ headed for the lobby where it would
be quieter. He glanced back, still looking for his new client buddies. He
didn’t see them, but the redhead was leaning in to talk to another guy, tapping
her wrist in the universal mime to ask for the time. He shook his head. Smooth.
Taking a deep breath, he hit Annie’s number.

“Hello?”

She sounded out of breath.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey. Are you…Is Jon okay?”

“He’s fine. We made it down the mountain, and now he is
self-medicating.”

“I saw that they were getting snow in Buffalo and Sheridan. I
wasn’t sure what it might be doing at the higher elevations.”

“It wasn’t too bad.”

Hoots and hollers echoed through the lobby.  CJ watched a
couple of girls chase after fluttering bills as another one made it rain with
her winnings.

“It’s noisy. Are you in a bar?”