The Last Goodbye (The Women of Independence) (13 page)

“Grayson!” Danielle was standing on the
edge of the roof, looking over the side. “Am I glad to see you! I was just
thinking about jumping.”

He looked around frantically. “Where’s
the ladder?” He ran to the back of the building. “Here it is. Let’s get you
down from there.”

He propped the ladder against the roof.

She laughed nervously. “All of a sudden,
I’m frightened.” She fingered the harness release and peered over the edge of
the roof. “My hands are shaking so much I can’t adjust the length of the
harness. If I slide the last few feet will you catch me?”

He climbed the ladder and gripped the
edge of the roof. “I’ll catch you. Just line up with the ladder and you’ll be
fine.”

The treads on her climbing boots gave
her some traction until the last few feet, where she released the harness and
slid into Grayson’s arms. He backed down, allowing her to place one shaky foot
on the top rung of the ladder.

“I’m here,” he said, reassuringly.
“You’re doing fine.”

By the time they reached the bottom rung,
she’d regained her confidence but Grayson wasn’t about to miss his chance. He
lifted her into his arms and then they were kissing. Frantic, desperate kisses
that said so much more than words. She leaned against him, feeling his heart
pound in time with hers, and knew she could forgive him anything. But first...

“We have to get this fire out.” They
spoke at the same time.

Grayson led her to the back of the
building. “I don’t know what’s going on around here, but when I grabbed the
ladder, I noticed some buckets back here with water in them.” He picked one up
and handed it to her. “Somebody set this fire on purpose, but was prepared to
put it out. Come on, let’s toss this water on the flames, then run down to the
creek for refills.”

It took several trips to the creek
before they were convinced the fire was extinguished.

“When I saw you up there, and that
smoke...” Grayson touched the side of her face.

“What, Grayson? What did you think?” She
searched his eyes.

“I thought about how I never should have
left the first time. About how I should have forced you to listen. Danielle,
believe me, nothing happened between me and Andrea.”

She looked up at him, her eyes luminous.

“She called me this morning, wanting to
go over the scene one last time. I know how it looked when you saw me coming
out of her cabin, but the scene called for her to reach for Tyler and pull out
his shirt, and that’s what you saw.” He touched her face again, and then
trailed his fingertips down her neck. “I spent the night in my own room, Danielle.
Alone.”

Her smile grew broader as his words sunk
in. “I’m sorry, Grayson. It’s just...”

“I understand, but some day you’ll learn
to trust me. Wait and see.” He lowered his head to kiss her and she lifted her
lips.

A loud groan broke the silence. They pulled
apart, looked at each other, then at the building next to them.

The door stood partially open. Grayson
motioned for her to stand back and peered inside. Sunlight streamed in through
the cracks in the walls, throwing narrow bands of light over everything inside
the building. Old mining implements, carriage wheels, and a pile of rough
lumber were eerily transformed.

Movement in the corner caught his
attention.

“Who’s there?” Grayson called, taking
another step inside.

“Over here.” The words were barely
audible.

Grayson followed the sound. Hunched in a
corner, Kevin Fletcher had his hands up over his face. His hands and what was
visible of his face had been badly stung.

“Oh, my God, we need to get you some
medical attention.” Grayson pulled him to his feet and helped him walk outside.
Kevin’s eyes were rapidly closing.

“Wasp nest,” he said through swollen
lips. “Disturbed a wasp’s nest.”

The chain of events was becoming clear. “And
so you couldn’t come along and ‘rescue’ Danielle. Is that it?” Grayson’s anger
was building. “You idiot. I should leave you here to suffer.”

The would-be rescuer wisely didn’t
answer.

Grayson motioned angrily to one of the
SUVs the production company had rented. “Just get in my vehicle, and I’ll take
you to the hospital. I need to talk to Danielle.”

He walked to her side. “Did you hear
that?”

She nodded. She wouldn’t have thought anyone
could do such a thing if she hadn’t heard it for herself.

Grayson lifted her hand and brought it
to his lips. “I feel responsible. I told you he was harmless.”

“You didn’t know.” She looked around him
as Kevin climbed painfully into the vehicle. “Do you need me to come with you?
Because if not, I can finish here this afternoon, and you can keep to your
shooting schedule.” She lifted her shoulders. “I’ve got the hang of it now, and
the equipment is up...”

“You’re right.” He slipped an arm around
her waist and pulled her close. “I’d like to kiss you right now, but I suppose
that creep is watching, right?”

She gave him a saucy look. “I don’t
care.”

He groaned in frustration. “Well I do.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and released her. “Tell you what, let’s get away
tonight. Just the two of us. Go into town for dinner. Even if we end up at a
pizza joint, at least we’ll be alone.” He bent his knees so that he looked
directly into her eyes. “Okay?”

“I’d like that, Grayson.” She pushed
back a loose strand of hair. “I’ll finish up here as soon as I can so I have
time to get ready.” A blush coloured her cheeks. “Our very first date. I want
to look nice.”

“Just show up,” he said. “That’s all I
ask.”

His cell phone vibrated and he pulled it
out, studied the call display. “LA,” he said with a frown. “This could take
some time.”

She made a shooing motion. “You go on.
I’ve got lots to do here.”

He switched on the phone and started to
talk as he walked toward the vehicle. He was still talking as he drove away.

* * *

Khamsin’s ears pricked as Jake guided
him down from the lookout. “What is it, boy?” He’d been careful to watch out
for rattlesnakes. They liked the warmth in among the rocks, but this wasn’t his
horse’s usual reaction when he spotted a snake. As he pondered what was wrong,
the whine of a jet broke the silence and he looked to his left. The Starfire
Productions aircraft was flying down the valley, its landing gear already
extended. Jake turned around and looked at Sean, his eyebrows raised.

Sean’s gaze followed the jet’s descent,
then he turned to his friend. “Sorry, Jake. They called this morning and I
forgot to tell you. There was a problem with the footage we shot in LA before
we came. They need Grayson back in LA. It’s a quick turnaround. They’ll be in
and out in ten minutes.”

Jake grunted. He didn’t mind. The
airstrip was on dedicated land and there would be no problem.

They continued on in comfortable
silence, broken only by the roar of the jet engines taking off before they were
in sight of the stable. Both men were lost in thought as they neared the
paddock and it wasn’t until they heard Enrique call out that they realized
something was wrong.

“What’s... Oh, damn!” Jake spurred his
horse forward. The wide, heavy gate leading into the paddock was designed to
close of its own weight, but Enrique’s jeans had caught on the metal plate,
pinning his leg in place while the door swung shut.

The Mexican grunted in pain. Jake was by
his side in a moment, and relieved the pressure of the gate, but the damage had
been done and blood began to flow from the gash in Enrique’s thigh.

“Dammit, Enrique, what happened?”

“Doan’ know, boss.” He tried to walk,
but his leg collapsed. Jake supported him and motioned to his friend while he
headed for the stable. “Sean, go get Esperanza, would you? Tell her to bring
some bandages. We’ll bind him up and get him to the hospital.”

Sean found Esperanza in the kitchen getting
ready to start the evening meal and relayed Jake’s message.

“Dios mio!”
she cried,
crossing herself. She grabbed her purse from a kitchen drawer and a First Aid
kit from the mud room and bustled to the stable.

Jake applied pressure to Enrique’s leg while
Esperanza wrapped it in bandages, clucking over her husband the entire time.

“I come with you,” she announced to Jake
and he nodded.

“I’ll take care of the horses,” Sean
volunteered.

“Good.” Jake’s movements were quick and
efficient as he bundled Enrique into the Jeep. “I’ll call you later.”

* * *

The ranch house was surprisingly
deserted when Danielle got back, which suited her just fine. She’d managed to
splash some paint on her face and in her hair, so a shower was an absolute must
for her date with Grayson.

Humming softly, she took stock of
herself in the mirror as she dried off after her shower. She could braid her
hair with her eyes shut and rarely wore more than a touch of lipstick. And yet
Carmen had told her she was beautiful. She leaned closer to the mirror and
examined her eyes. Maybe the actress was just being kind, but that didn’t mean
she shouldn’t make an effort. She raked her fingers through her hair and let it
stream down her back. That was it! She’d leave her hair down tonight. That, and
perhaps a touch of eye shadow and some lipstick.

Her closet yielded a clean pair of jeans
and a blouse the rich colour of pomegranates. She dressed, stepped back and
examined herself. Not bad; she wondered if Grayson would notice that she’d made
an effort.

She checked her watch as she ran lightly
down the stairs. They hadn’t agreed on a time, but it didn’t matter; he’d get
here when he could. She’d just check on Esperanza.

Carmen was alone in the kitchen, standing
by Esperanza’s built-in desk, examining what appeared to be the housekeeper’s
menu plan.

“Hello, Carmen.” Something wasn’t right
here. “Where’s Esperanza?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? Enrique hurt his
leg this afternoon. She’s gone with Jake to take him to the hospital.”

Danielle’s heart leaped into her throat.
“Oh, my gosh. What happened?”

Carmen leaned against the counter.
“Something about the gate. It closed on his leg, and he got quite a gash. Jake
and Esperanza patched him up and they’ve taken him to the hospital.”

“But he’s going to be all right?”

“Yes. Jake assures me that he’ll be all
right.” Her cell phone vibrated. She checked the call display and held up a
finger. “That’s him now.”

She took a few steps away and her voice
softened. “Okay,” she said. “Tell her not to worry.” Her head came up and she
glanced at Danielle. “Yes, she’s here now.” She listened for a moment. “Okay,
then. See you later.”

She was smiling when she disconnected.
“They’ve stitched him up, but they want to keep him overnight. Apparently he
has a weak immune system and gets easily infected. So they’ll keep an eye on
him overnight.” She smiled. “And of course, Esperanza is going to stay with
him. She was worried about dinner, but Jake told her we could manage.”

Danielle nodded. “I’d forgotten about
Enrique’s susceptibility to infection. I’m glad they’re keeping him. When will
Jake be back?”

Carmen shrugged. “He didn’t say. He
wants to stay for a while.”

“Okay. I suppose it’s a good thing
Esperanza is so organized. I saw you looking at her meal plans. What did she
have organized for dinner tonight?”

“We’re lucky. Lasagna, green salad and I
think we’ll find garlic bread around here somewhere, because she has it checked
off.” She started opening drawers until she found some tea towels, and then
tucked one around her waist. “Esperanza is completely organized. All I have to
do is cook the lasagna noodles; the ingredients are ready and only need to be
layered. If you can find the garlic bread and the salad makings, I’ll do the
rest.”

“It’s a deal, but I won’t be staying for
dinner. Grayson and I are going to town for dinner.” She blushed. “It will be
nice to be alone for a change.”

Carmen paused in the act of getting out
a frying pan. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?” Danielle’s heart plummeted
when she saw the expression on Carmen’s face.

“Danielle, Grayson has gone back to LA.”
She set down the frying pan. “He left this afternoon.”

“But...” Danielle shook her head. “No.
You must be wrong. I just saw him a few hours ago.” She looked around wildly as
though he might come striding through the door. “He wouldn’t do this. He
promised.”

Carmen stepped back. “I’m sorry...”

“Did he leave a message? He must have
left something for me.” Her voice was starting to sound panicky, but she
couldn’t seem to control it. “He wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.”

The look on Carmen’s face was all the
answer she needed. He’d left. And he hadn’t said goodbye.