Seth sat at The Blue Suede Shoe, a popular bar in town, with his brothers, Gavin and Eli. They’d come over to play pool. Earlier, Eli’s wife, Cora, had been to a Christmas Tea with a group of teachers from New Horizons and had decided not to come. She was getting the kids to bed and relaxing at home. But Aiyana had agreed to babysit for Gavin’s wife so that Savanna could join them after she returned from a shopping trip. She was running late because she was fighting traffic, trying to get back from LA.
“So... Eli told me that Tia Beckett is in town,” Gavin said as they drank a beer while watching a program that showed one video snippet after another of hilarious skateboarding, bicycling or other accidents.
“He what?” Seth turned to glare at Eli. “What part of Don’t tell anyone don’t you understand?”
“I haven’t told anyone,” Eli said, instantly defensive.
“No? You mean other than Cora and Mom and Gavin—”
“They’re family,” he interrupted. “That doesn’t count.”
Seth rolled his eyes before leaning in and lowering his voice. “She’s terrified the paparazzi will find her and start hounding her again. This town might feel safe to us, because we’ve never experienced anything like having people camp outside our homes, hoping to get a picture they could sell, but to her, it’s a serious threat.”
“No one in our family’s going to tell anyone,” Eli assured him.
Gavin cast him a sheepish look. “Except...I’ve already told Savanna.”
“Oh, hell,” Seth said.
Eli and Gavin laughed, but Seth didn’t think it was funny. He glowered at them both until they quit.
“Come on. Our wives won’t tell anyone. You trust every person who knows,” Eli said.
Seth couldn’t argue with that. But still.
“What’s she like?” Gavin asked. “Is she as gorgeous in real life as she is on the big screen?”
He hesitated before saying, “The accident did some damage.”
Eli seemed surprised. “I saw a few bandages on her face, but she wasn’t paralyzed or anything. And most wounds heal. Hers will, too, won’t they?”
They would heal, but the scars they left behind would never go away. It’d been a month since the accident, and from what he’d seen, there couldn’t have been much improvement. But he supposed anything was possible. It was early yet. “Maybe,” he replied.
“Savanna and I liked her movie,” Gavin said. “It was funny but poignant and sort of real.”
“She’s got some talent.” Eli grinned. “And no one’s as pretty as Cora, but Tia’s got gorgeous eyes.”
“They’re incredible,” Seth agreed. “That hasn’t changed.”
A stir over by the bar caught their attention. Several people were talking at once, and whatever they were discussing seemed to be generating more and more interest, because a crowd was forming.
“What’s going on?” Gavin asked.
Seth shook his head.
Eli stood. “Let’s go see.”
Seth wasn’t particularly interested when he followed his brothers to the other side of the room. He didn’t live here and couldn’t imagine whatever it was would concern him. He ordered another drink while Eli and Gavin tried to learn what all the commotion was about. Seth was tempted to tell them it didn’t matter, that they should go play another game of pool because he had to get home and start work soon, when he heard Tia’s name.
“What’d they say?” he asked Gavin, suddenly as interested as they were.
“I couldn’t hear, but I see a friend over there,” Gavin said. “I’ll ask Ben if he knows.” He nudged his way through the group. “What’s going on?” Seth heard him ask some guy with a full beard.
Ben gestured at a slouchy-looking guy in a flannel shirt over a white T-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans that had big cuffs at the bottom. “This guy was just asking if we’ve seen Tia Beckett, the movie star. He claims she’s in town.”
Seth caught his breath, hoping Gavin wouldn’t do anything to give Tia away.
“The one who was in that accident?” he heard Gavin say.
“Yeah,” his friend replied. “Have you seen her? Because I sure haven’t. I’d remember that.”
“I haven’t seen her, either,” Gavin said. “What about everyone else?”
After the rest of the people in the group shook their heads or mumbled a negative response, Gavin addressed the guy in the flannel shirt. “How do you know she’s here?”
“That’s what I was told.” He pulled some business cards from his pocket and started handing them out. “If you see her, would you give me a call?”
“What do you want with her?” Eli asked as everyone took one.
The guy looked up. “We have some business together.”
“So you know her.”
A smile curved his lips. “Yeah, we’re friends.”
Seth wanted to believe this guy was truly a friend, since Tia desperately needed one, but he didn’t get that feeling. He was too old to be the ex-boyfriend she’d labeled as controlling. And the fact that he didn’t take care of himself made Seth doubt he was an actor.
Was he a paparazzo? Part of an industry that made money off the fame of others?
Seth couldn’t wait for Gavin to return with the dude’s information. He was eager to see if there was a company or something else, besides his name, to indicate who he was.
There wasn’t. The card read only Ray T. Kouretas and provided a number.
It was late when Seth returned to the house, but he could see light gleaming around the blinds in the guesthouse as he got out of the car, which led him to assume Tia was still up. He wondered what she was doing; she’d mentioned that nights were long and hard to get through. Since they were often the same for him since Shiloh died, he felt for her.
He considered knocking to tell her what he’d heard at The Blue Suede Shoe. If anyone beyond his family learned she was in town, word could easily get back to Ray Kouretas. The man wasn’t making any secret of the fact that he was looking for her. She had no ties to this area—no family or history here—so people would have no reason not to tell him if they saw her, especially because those in Silver Springs generally tried to be accommodating. But she was struggling to get back on her feet as it was. He didn’t want to make her recovery more difficult. She was already being cautious. What more could she do?
Besides, he didn’t really know who this Ray Kouretas was, so it could be a mistake to spook her. He might do it for no good reason.
He let himself into the main house, where Kiki greeted him by barking like a dog. Having a parrot that imitated a dog might be a good way to scare off any would-be intruders, but that made it no less annoying.
“It’s fine, Kiki. It’s just me,” he shouted and shoved his coat in the closet before grabbing his laptop.
As soon as he settled into the recliner in the living room, he signed onto the internet and typed Ray Kouretas into Google.
Several links came up, but none looked promising. There was a LinkedIn account and a Twitter account for a man who went by the same name, but the small round picture attached to each didn’t fit the guy at the bar.
Seth tried other queries—names of the paparazzi, how the paparazzi get jobs, places where paparazzi sell photos—to learn how the industry worked. He thought this guy’s name might pop up somewhere. But the best article he found said that most members of the paparazzi didn’t reveal their names. They kept a low profile because what they did was so invasive and contentious. They had to remain anonymous to avoid backlash.
Seth was also surprised to learn that a good paparazzo could make half a million dollars for one picture, depending on the subject, the clarity, the timeliness, and so on. Most didn’t make nearly that much, of course, but they didn’t have to get up and go to work every day, either. They could follow whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted and hang out and drink coffee or talk on their phones while waiting for an opportunity to make a buck or two. All they needed was a good photo every once in a while, and they could earn a living.
Was Ray trying to take pictures he could sell?
If so, there was nothing on the internet connecting him to that line of work. But that didn’t necessarily rule him out.
Seth shut down his laptop, then stared at the business card Gavin had passed along to him. Maybe he should just call Ray and see what the guy had to say.
He checked the clock. It was after eleven, but Kouretas had been at The Blue Suede Shoe when Seth and his brothers walked out. Even if he’d left shortly after, chances were good he wouldn’t be asleep quite yet.
After blocking his number, he bowed his head and examined the grain of the hardwood floor beneath his feet as the phone rang.
“Hello?”
Music blared in the background; Ray was still at the bar. “Are you the one looking for Tia Beckett?” Seth asked without preamble.
“I am,” he said. “Have you seen her?”
“I might have.”
“Where?”
“What’s in it for me?”
There was a slight pause before the guy said, “You’d be doing her a big favor.”
Seth began to pace. “Come on. You expect me to believe I’d be doing her a favor?”
“Can you give me the particulars? Exactly where she’s at and when she might be going out?”
“Maybe.”
“Just a sec.” The music faded before going silent, suggesting Kouretas had just stepped outside the bar. “How much are you looking for?” he asked a moment later.
Seth had no idea what to say. He was just leading this guy far enough along that he could be certain of his intentions. “Half.”
“Half of what? I don’t even know what I’ll be able to get.”
“It’ll be a lot, though, right? For the first picture of Tia Beckett after her big accident?” If that wasn’t what Kouretas was after, this was where he’d make the correction...
“There are too many variables,” Kouretas replied. “I don’t even know if I can get a good shot.”
Bingo. He was a paparazzo, all right. “What if I can get you one?”
“If you can tell me where she is, and you can make it possible for me to get the shot—a good one—I’ll give you ten percent of whatever I make.”
“Ten percent?” Seth scoffed. “Dude, you’ll get nothing without me.”
“I don’t need you that badly. I know she’s in town. I’ll just keep looking until I find her.”
“How do you know she’s in town?”
“I have it on good authority.”
Who the hell was giving this guy his information? “What if she’s leaving soon?” Seth asked.
He laughed. “She’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“She’s house-sitting for some rich dude while he spends the holidays abroad, and she’s taking care of his parrot. Am I getting warm yet?”
Seth felt his stomach tense. “She was, but now she’s going home to spend Christmas with her family.”
“Sure she is,” he scoffed. “Who is this?”
Seth wanted to say he was someone who would never let Kouretas get what he wanted. But that would only give away the fact that he was now scared for Tia—and if Ray smelled blood in the water, he’d keep circling until he did get what he wanted. “Someone who knows where Tia is and who’s willing to make a deal.”
“You won’t give me your name?”
“You don’t need my name. And if you don’t want the information I have, I’ll just go to someone else who’ll pay more.”
Seth sensed a change in attitude. “Don’t do that,” Ray said. “I’ll go twenty-five percent. But that’s the best I can do. There’s already someone else in the deal.”
“Then, have whoever led you this far take you the rest of the way,” Seth said and hung up.
Who could’ve told Ray where Tia was? She didn’t seem to be communicating with anyone. But he wasn’t with her all that often. Maybe he didn’t really know. This proved there had to be at least one person who knew she was in Silver Springs—and that person didn’t seem to be very trustworthy.
With a sigh, Seth went to his bedroom, where he could peer out at the guesthouse. He could still see a glimmer of light around the windows. He was once again tempted to walk over and warn Tia. But there was no reason this couldn’t wait until morning. Why make the night any longer or harder?
He sent her a text message, just to touch base. You okay?
Although he checked his phone periodically as he worked over the next several hours, he never received a response.
It was dawn when he was finally exhausted enough to sleep. Before dropping into bed, however, he looked out the window and saw that her lights were still on and couldn’t help wondering what she was doing.
“Breakfast is ready!”
Tia dragged herself out of the depths of sleep. Someone was banging on her door. Again.
“Tia?”
Seth. Of course. What was this—Groundhog Day?
She groaned as she rolled over. She’d fallen asleep on the couch again. The last thing she remembered was watching rerun after rerun of The Office—which was about the only thing that could cheer her up these days.
“Go away!” She tried to go back to sleep, but the next thing she knew, she heard Seth singing Christmas carols outside her door. Deck the halls with boughs of holly...
“What are you doing?” she called. He couldn’t even sing!
“Just sending a little Christmas cheer your way,” he called back. “I managed to sleep for a few hours, so I happen to be in a good mood. You?”
She sat up and stared daggers at the door. “No, I’m not in a good mood. And I don’t want any Christmas cheer. What’s wrong with you? Can’t you just leave me to my depression?”
He laughed. “Nope. It’s that time of year. If I have to enjoy it, so do you.”
She suddenly remembered reading that his wife had died at Christmastime not too long ago. Was that why he hated the holidays? “What do you want from me?” she asked.
“I made breakfast. The least you can do is help me eat it.”
“No breakfast for me.”
“You have to be hungry.”
“Hunger has nothing to do with it. I’m getting fat.”
“Because you’re eating junk food. If you eat real food, you might be able to lay off that stuff.”
She doubted it, but she’d do anything to stop him from singing when he began to belt out Joy to the World.
“Okay! Stop it,” she yelled. “I’m coming.”
“Great. See you in ten minutes. Otherwise, I might have to come back and sing The Twelve Days of Christmas, and you know how long that song is.”
She managed a grudging smile. “I’ll save us both the agony. But you’re going to have to give me a minute. You woke me up. I haven’t even showered.”
“Just pull on that ratty robe and come over,” he said.
“Ratty? Did you just call my robe ratty?”
“You have ten minutes before I start singing again.”
She frowned at the empty box of Andes Chocolate Mints she’d found in a cupboard and devoured last night. She needed to have some groceries delivered.
“See you soon!” he called just when she’d thought he left.
“Are you going to do this every morning?” she asked.
“I might. But today we have something important to discuss.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “What could we have to talk about that’s important?”
“I’ll tell you when you come over.”
“Is it something I’m not going to like?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“I’d rather not answer that question. It’s going to be okay. Just come over.”
“You said I could have ten minutes,” she grumbled and shuffled to the bathroom so she could at least comb her hair and brush her teeth.