Above Rubies (Rockland Ranch) (28 page)

             
The guys all offered dinner and a night out again and they agreed again to dinner, but no clubbing.  Kit hadn’t even dared tell them she was too young to get into a club legally, even if she'd wanted to, for fear they would think she was too young to play with them.  They went to dinner and waded through the cameras and fans again to do so.  Kit wondered why they were taking her and Joey’s photos when they weren’t even famous.

             
Back at the hotel after dinner, they got a call from Dante, Isabel’s brother, who lived not far from where they were.  Isabel had told him they were there and he and his fiancé offered to come by and get them to take them to a movie, or show them around town.  They knew he would entertain them without asking them to go anywhere or do anything they weren’t comfortable with, so they accepted and had a good time.  He had them back to their hotel by ten thirty and although that was eleven thirty Wyoming time, they were still rested the next morning to go to work. 

             
That wasn’t necessarily true for the rest of the crew.  Nick and Shane were late and looked tired when they got there, carrying mugs of coffee as they pushed through the front doors.  While they were waiting for them, Bryan Cole showed up.  Kit had heard Nick talking to him that first morning about working together on Saturday, but Joey was surprised, and didn’t appear too enthusiastic, when he came over to introduce himself while they hung out. 

             
He walked over to them and put out a hand. “Bryan Cole.  And you are?”  Kit thought he was good looking and funny, but Joey didn’t have much patience with him.  She still hadn’t warmed up to him as she went into the booth and they went inside and began to play.  They were working on another movie score that had a more subtle country feel, and Kit spent the morning playing and singing beside Bryan. 

             
He made her laugh when he teased her with his eyes as they sang the love theme. Nick laughed too, as he complained, “Bryan, I swear you can’t be serious for your life.  You’re supposed to make them think you’re romantic in the love song, not funny.  Knock it off.  We’re trying to work here!”

             
Bryan laughed. “Hey, it was her fault.  She was winking at me.”  Nick glanced at Kit for just a split second, until he understood that Bryan was still teasing her. 

             
Nick rolled his eyes.  “Let’s take lunch.  Maybe Bryan can get into a more romantic mood by the time we get back.”

             
They went out to another trendy restaurant and Bryan scored some points with Joey on the way to the car, when he got a bit testy with a camera man who practically hit her in the face with his lens as she walked by.  He helped her into the limo and sat next to her to ask her if she was okay.  Kit had been somewhat shaken up too and thought to herself, for the first time, that her new Karate skills might come in handy in this town.   

             
Inside the car, Kit and Nick looked at each other with a grin, when a few minutes later, they heard Joey say to Bryan, “No, I’m sorry.  I’m not terribly familiar with your music.  I always turn it off when I’ve heard enough of your lyrics to realize it’s just another crude or demeaning Bryan Cole song.”  Leave it to Joey to tell it like it is.  The others in the car just laughed at Bryan and teased him about his romantic prowess with the girls today.

             
Bryan smiled good naturedly as he took their ribbing, then turned back to Joey. “You’re ruining my reputation here, you know.”

             
She had the grace to look apologetic.  “Sorry.  I have my own reputation for being more forthright than is polite sometimes.  Please forgive me.”

             
Smoothly, Bryan said, "Maybe I need someone to be forthright with me once in a while.”

             
                                          ****

             
Later at lunch, when only she could hear him, he asked Joey, “Crude and demeaning, huh?”  He was smiling, but he looked her in the eye as he spoke, “What exactly did you mean by that?”

             
She looked down at her food for a moment and then thought to herself,
He’s honestly asking
.  She looked directly at him and asked, “Well, how long has it been since you did a song that didn’t include infidelity, promiscuity, or inappropriate descriptions of the female anatomy?” 

             
He took another bite and chewed it, before he smiled at her and said, “You did say you were forthright.”

             
She gave him a rueful smile.  “That word usually comes up just before I have to apologize again.  I’m sorry, I was rude.  Please forgive me one more time.”

             
He shook his head.  “No, you’re right.  The problem is, that kind of stuff sells, and this is my business.”

             
Joey turned back to her plate and murmured, “I guess at that point, you have to decide how much your personal integrity is worth.”  He turned to look at her without an answer and she honestly met his gaze. 

             
                                          ****

             
Two chairs down, Nick asked Kit if she was ever going to go out clubbing with him after work.  She gave him an apologetic smile.  “Nope.”

             
“I’d kind of gotten that impression.  Can I ask why?”

             
Candidly, she replied, “Honestly, I’ve had enough cigarette smoke and dealt with enough drunk people to last me the rest of my life.  But thank you anyway.”  She didn’t explain, and he didn’t delve.

             
“If partying is out, how about a quiet beach?” 

             
She searched his eyes and then said, “It sounds heavenly.”   

             
“If I promise not to crowd you, can I at least hold your hand?”  He gave her a hesitant grin.             

             
She laughed as she leaned her head against his shoulder.  “Sure.”

             
He leaned around her to Bryan. “Hey, Cole.  If I take Kit to a quiet beach tonight and hold her hand, can you entertain Joey?”

             
Bryan gave Joey a crooked smile. “I’m not sure.  She thinks my lyrics are crude.”

             
Nick replied, “They are.  So just don’t sing to her and you should be fine.”  Kit laughed again.

             
Bryan looked questioningly at Joey. “What about it?  I can just about bet you don’t want to go out drinking.  What about dinner and a movie?  I’ll let you pick.” 

             
Joey smiled at him reassuringly. “Dinner sounds great, but no movie.  There are too many people and cameras and women.  How about the other end of their quiet beach?  Or even better, take me to dinner and then drop me off at the hotel.  Then come back and get me at sunrise to go beachcombing.”

             
Nick and Bryan looked at each other and Bryan said, “I don’t dare even ask if I can hold her hand.”  This time Joey laughed.

             
                                          ****

             
After working through the afternoon, they took the girls back to the hotel to change, then came back to pick them up.  As they’d let the girls out, Kit glanced around at the people watching them get out of the limo.  She asked Nick if she could just come out to meet him at his car later, so she wouldn’t have to deal with the public quite as much.  It was refreshingly the opposite of what most women wanted, and made him laugh as they pulled away.  He wasn’t sure it was completely complimentary, but she had a way of being completely, comfortably unfettered by status and he loved it.

An hour later
, when he got there in a plain black Mercedes that he assumed she’d be more comfortable in, he called from the parking lot.  As she stepped out of the revolving doors in a simple white cotton dress that showed off her coloring to perfection, he pulled the sleek car up and got out to open her door.  Both of them ignored the people looking at them. 

             
He fed her New York style pizza, smiling at their casual conversation as she wrestled with the cheese, then drove around and through a set of locked gates and into a private beach.  The sun was just starting to set and the ocean was as beautiful as he’d hoped, when he’d offered this. 

When they got close to the water
, she ran and kicked off her sandals and played in the waves and the foam.  He watched her, captivated, wondering why he’d never met anyone like her before.  She was completely different from other women.  She seemed as pure and unspoiled as the ocean breeze that blew her dress against her legs.  There was nothing artificial about this girl.  She didn’t fuss with her hair or makeup like most women and she'd never done any of the suggestive flirting he inevitably encountered. 

             
As she played he commented, “You act like you’ve never seen the ocean before or something.”

             
She laughed as she kicked water toward him.  “I haven’t.”

             
He stayed beside her for a half hour or more, while she waded and found shells and driftwood, watching the way her hair shone in the last rays of the sun and the muscles of her calves glistened with sea water.  Her dress showed off her figure and her tan and he could have been content to stay right there for hours, but she finally came back to him and shyly offered her hand.  By then it was all but dark and they walked hand in hand, in and out of the surf, each carrying their shoes and quiet with their own thoughts. 

             
They reached an outcrop of boulders and sat down to watch the moon come up.  When it was fully in the sky above the horizon, he asked, “Where did Dr. Mitchell find you?”

             
She leaned back against his shoulder to look up at the stars.  “In a guitar class at Utah State.  I couldn't read music and I thought he was going to throw me out of the class.” 

             
Nick smiled in the dark.  “I guess not, huh?  Did you grow up in Utah?”

             
“I grew up in Arizona and moved to Wyoming last December.  Utah State is just the closest university.”  She glanced up at his profile.  “Where did you grow up?”

             
“New York City, born and raised.  We lived on the seventeenth floor of a high rise apartment.  When I decided to be a musician full time, I came out here and I’ve been here ever since.  Unless I’m on the road.  It’s going on twelve years now.”

             
“You’re very good. I guess that should be a no-brainer when you’re this big of a star, but honestly, I wouldn’t have pegged you as I’ve found you to be these three days.”

             
Chuckling, he asked, “You expected all drugs and women and no brains, right?”  She looked up at him in the dark and laughed her musical laugh and he went on to admit, “Actually, for a while that was accurate, and I still have my moments.”

             
She leaned against his shoulder again.  “At least you’re honest.”

             
He considered that for a moment as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.  “I guess you’re right, although I haven’t really thought of it that way.  Things like honesty aren’t necessarily priorities in this business.”

             
She looked up at his profile, then looked back at the night sky and said, “I think you’re wrong and just don’t realize it.  Look at the people around you.  You would never have the trust and respect of your associates like you do if they didn’t think you were honest.  Even in just three days, I’ve learned to believe in you.  And I’m sure Dr. Mitchell would never have brought me with if he thought you were less than honorable.”

             
He smiled and leaned toward her to murmur, “You make me feel like one of the good guys and guilty at the same time.  What you don’t realize is that he brought you knowing you could handle anything you had to.  It had nothing to do with my character, thank goodness, because heaven knows I’m no saint.  Dr. Mitchell just recognized that you were as strong as they come.”

             
They were silent as she thought about this, the only sound the surf on the sand.  At length she asked, “Is that good or bad?”

             
He laughed as he stood up from the boulder to take her hand and walk again.  “I’ve never known anyone like you, Kit Star.  It’s good.”

             
After a while she had him take her back to the hotel.  When he offered to walk her up, she declined.  “We’re both too tired to face your fame right now.  I’ll just go up blissfully anonymous.  But thank you anyway.  And thank you for dinner and taking me to the ocean.  I‘ve wanted to do that my whole life.”  He went to kiss her and she smoothly turned away.  He gently kissed her cheek and she got out and walked in without looking back.

             
                                          ****