The Last Goodbye (The Women of Independence) (17 page)

* * *

Fleet danced sideways when she stepped
from the ATV that had taken her to the stable.

“It’s okay, Boy,” she said soothingly.
“It’s me.”

“Little One, you look... different.” Enrique
was trying not to stare.

Danielle twirled around and the gown
flared gracefully. “I guess you’ve never seen me in a dress like this.”

“You look beautiful.” His voice was
throaty. “I think you’re going to need the step stool.” He handed her the reins
and brought out the rarely used step stool.

Danielle lifted the voluminous folds of
the skirt. “Thanks, Enrique.” She settled in the saddle, thankful that she’d
thought to wear shorts under the dress. “Wish me luck,” she said, suddenly
nervous, and urged Fleet forward.

Guided by Marty, Danielle rode into
position. She’d been briefed earlier on the route they wanted her to ride, and one
of the crew had draped the gown artfully over the horse, leaving her lower legs
bare. Now that she was mounted, her nerves had calmed and she could appreciate
the beauty of the scene. Scott had been right; the sun’s rays burst through the
trees, creating a magical atmosphere.

“My God,” murmured Scott from his
position beside the cameraman. “She’s beautiful.” He spoke into his headset.
“Have her do a quick run-through so we can be sure she’s got it right, then
we’ll roll.”

Fleet seemed to know that something
special was happening. Ears held high, he trotted across the meadow, his coat
magnificent in the golden sunshine.

“Perfect,” said Scott, checking the
angle of the sun. “We’re good for another hour, so we’ll do several takes and
Grayson can pick the one he likes the best.”

Marty gave Danielle the thumbs up. “That
was good. Give me one more, exactly like that.” He smiled. “You’re doing
great.”

Danielle was halfway across the meadow
when she heard the whine of the jet engine. Fleet balked at the unfamiliar
sound and she patted him reassuringly. “That’s Grayson,” she whispered in his
ear, wondering if Fleet could sense her nervousness. “Let’s show him how it’s
done.”

* * *

Enrique met Grayson at the airstrip in
Jake’s old jeep and drove him to the camera set-up. He hopped out and strode
toward Scott.

“That was great,” Scott was saying into
his mic. “Might as well do a couple more, since the light is holding.” He
pushed the mic away and turned to Grayson. “As usual, you were right about the
light. It’s going to be breathtaking.” He nodded toward a pair of binoculars on
a chair. “Want to watch?”

“No thanks.” Grayson’s response was short.
He was staring at the woman on the horse. He had no idea that Andrea was such
an accomplished rider. Tall and straight in the saddle, she looked as though
she’d been born there. Backlit by the sun, her hair tumbled down her back, a
golden halo against the trees.

Watching her move, his body stirred.
Where had that come from? He didn’t even like Andrea, but watching her astride
the horse, he wanted nothing more than to pull her down and make love to her.
He glanced at the First, grateful that Scott was otherwise occupied, and hadn’t
noticed his response.

Scott put a finger up to his earpiece.
“Say again?” He frowned and looked up at the sun. “All right, but tell her to
be careful.” He shot a quick glance at Grayson. “She wants to gallop on the
last shot. We already have three or four good takes; might as well give it a
try.”

Grayson watched as the woman and horse
flew across the meadow, the horse’s tail like a wind-blown flag. Blonde hair
streaming out behind, the rider threw back her head and laughed, the sound pure
and free.

“That’s Danielle!” Grayson grabbed the
binoculars and quickly focused. Her face was flushed, and she looked more
beautiful that he could ever have imagined. “What the hell is she doing out
there?”

“It’s a long story.” Scott filled him
in.

“Jesus.” Grayson raised the binoculars
again. Danielle was speaking to Marty, and they laughed together. “She’s
fantastic.”

Scott adjusted his mic and spoke to the
Second AD. “Grayson is here. Good call on that last ride; he liked it.”

Scott spoke to Danielle and she looked
up the slope. Grayson stepped out into the open and looked down at her, willing
her to come closer. Proud and defiant on her horse, she returned his look, then
bent down and said something to Marty before guiding Fleet up the hill.

She pulled up and looked down at him,
her expression unreadable. “Crawford,” she said after a moment, her words revealing
no emotion. “You came back.”

He grinned up at her. “I said I would.”

Fleet snorted, as though speaking for
his mistress. “Yes, you did. Too bad you didn’t keep your word.”

Grayson felt the blood drain from his
face. “My word? What in the world are you talking about?”

Danielle’s gaze flickered over to Scott,
then back to him. “I think you know.” She clucked at Fleet and they rode off,
headed for the stable.

He stared after her, confused. He felt
as though he’d walked in half way through a movie, and was struggling to catch
up.

“Great work,” he said absently to Scott,
throwing a brief nod in his direction. “I’ll see you later.”

He strode after Danielle and was almost
running by the time he got to the stable. Alone in the dim interior, she was
still on her horse, staring into the distance.

He approached quietly. “Danielle? What’s
wrong?”

She turned slowly. “You left,” she said,
her words barely audible.

“Yes.” He caressed her foot, the only
part of her he could reach. “I did, but I told you I’d be back.”

She looked down and tried to pull her
foot away, but he held tight. “No, you didn’t,” she said, but her voice was
uncertain. “Did you?”

He released her suddenly. “What do you
mean? I left you a note telling you why I couldn’t make our dinner date. I gave
it to Esperanza.”

 Danielle frowned. So much had happened
in the past couple of days she was having trouble putting events into
chronological order. “You gave Esperanza a note?”

“Yes.” His tone contained all the
desperation he felt. Had she really thought he’d left without saying goodbye...
and after he’d promised. “I made you a promise, Danielle. I wouldn’t break
that.”

“But...” She cocked her head to one
side, trying to make sense of his words. “I didn’t get a note.” She thought
back to the day he’d left, piecing together everything that had transpired. “I
finished painting the roof, and came back to get ready for our date.” She
blushed. “I even wore my hair down. Anyway, when I came downstairs, I learned
that Enrique had hurt his leg; Jake and Esperanza had taken him to the
hospital.”

“How is he? Is he all right?” Grayson
looked around as though Enrique might pop out of an empty stall.

“He’s on the mend.” She was suddenly
shy. “Would you help me down? The skirt on this dress makes it almost
impossible...”

“Gladly.” He held her by the waist and
lifted her down, pulling her close to his body. His fingers itched to be buried
in her hair, but he held back, satisfied to breathe her in. “I’m so sorry you didn’t
get my note,” he said, feeling the tension slowly ebb from her body. “I
wouldn’t hurt you for anything, Danielle. You need to know that.”

“I wanted so much to believe you,” she
said, touching her fingertips to the stubble on his cheek. “This last couple of
days I’ve gone back and forth between never wanting to see you again and then
worrying because that might happen.”

“And now?”

Her gaze dropped to his lips. “I’m glad
you’re back, Grayson, but you leave tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, so don’t you think we should stop
wasting time?” He slid a hand into her hair and pulled her closer. His lips
brushed over hers; tentative at first as he watched her respond, then he
deepened the kiss, probing between her lips with his tongue.

Danielle sighed and slipped her arms
around his neck, holding nothing back. Her kiss was as honest as everything
else about her, and he felt himself becoming aroused as her breasts crushed
against his chest.

“Whoa,” he said, his voice ragged with
emotion. “You make me want things I have no right to expect.” He kissed each of
her eyes with infinite tenderness. “Besides, Enrique could come in at any
moment.”

Somewhere in the background, Fleet
whinnied impatiently.

“Sorry,” she said, her eyes alight with
mischief.

“No, you’re not, and I love it,” he
said, planting a quick kiss on her swollen lips. “Give me a minute to settle
Fleet down, and then we’ll go in the house and find that note.”

“
Senor
Grayson, you’re back.” Esperanza
greeted him enthusiastically. “I hear your plane.”

“Hola, Mamacita,”
he said,
swooping in and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“You stop that,” she said, giving him a
friendly swat. She turned to Danielle. “You look beautiful,
Mija
.”

Grayson slipped his arm around
Danielle’s waist, and they faced the housekeeper together. “Esperanza,” he
said, “do you know what happened to the note I gave you?”

She looked blank, and he spoke more
slowly. “Right before I left. Do you remember I gave you an envelope for Danielle?
You said you’d keep it safe for her.”

“Oh!” Esperanza clapped a hand over her
mouth. “I remember.” She looked from Grayson to Danielle, and her eyes grew
large. “You didn’t get it?” She turned to the shelf above her little office
counter and searched between the books. “I put it here to keep it safe from
prying eyes.” She turned around with an envelope in her hand. “I’m so sorry,
Senor
Grayson. Enrique got hurt and...” She held out the envelope, clearly distressed.

“We understand.” Danielle accepted the
envelope and spoke soothingly. “We were all worried about Enrique.” She leaned
into Grayson for a moment, savouring the solid comfort of his body.

He guided her into the great room. At
the foot of the stairs, he tipped up her chin. “It breaks my heart to think
that you believed I would leave without saying goodbye, but I didn’t want to
say that in front of Esperanza.”

“Thank you for that, and I’m sorry I
misjudged you.” She glanced up the stairs. “I’d better go up and get out of
this dress.”

“I suppose so.” He let his gaze roam
over her, memorizing the way she looked. “But it will be a shame.”

She laughed lightly. “Where will you
be?”

“Somewhere on the property. I need to
touch base with Sean, then get together with Scott. He’s probably looking at
that footage.” He started to walk away, and then turned back. “Shall we go to
town for dinner tonight? It won’t make up for the other night, but...” His
words trailed off.

“Can we decide later?” her fingers
tightened around the envelope. “If we do go out, we won’t need a reservation.”

“Okay, we’ll play it by ear.” He strode
away, his mind already back on the film. “See you later.”

* * *

Deep in thought, Danielle didn’t notice at
first that Carmen’s bedroom door was open. The actress looked up, and her eyes
brightened.

“How did it go?” she asked. “I was going
to come down and watch, but I decided to do some laundry instead.” She
carefully folded a shirt and placed it in an open suitcase.

“You’re packing.” Danielle felt foolish for
stating the obvious.

Carmen smiled sadly. “Yes, I thought I’d
do it now.” She looked around the room as though memorizing it. “It feels like
I just arrived, and yet in some ways I feel like I’ve always lived here.” Her
gaze fell on the envelope in Danielle’s hands.

“It’s from Grayson.” She spoke quickly,
not wanting the actress to think it was from Jake. “He left it for me before he
got called back to LA, but it was misplaced in all the excitement when Enrique
was hurt.”

“Oh, no.” Carmen’s tone was sympathetic.
“That would have saved a lot of heartache.”

Danielle nodded and wondered how the
other woman could be so compassionate when her own heart was clearly broken.
“Will I see you tonight?” The house was going to seem empty without Carmen’s
company.

“I’m not sure. I might eat in my room tonight.
Ten o’clock comes early.”

“The plane leaves at ten?” Danielle
hadn’t allowed herself to think about it.

Carmen picked up her cell phone and
checked a message. “Yes, ten.” She crossed the room and gave Danielle a gentle
hug. “So if we don’t get a quiet moment to say goodbye, I want to say that I’ve
enjoyed knowing you, Danielle Flynn.” She pulled back and looked into
Danielle’s eyes. “You’re a remarkable young woman.” Tears started to well up in
her eyes and she turned Danielle toward the door. “Now go, before I embarrass
myself.”

* * *

Danielle slipped out of the gown and
pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. It felt good to be back in familiar clothes, but
it had been fun playing dress-up.