Seth’s eyes slowly scanned the room. She was in here somewhere. After he’d heard the computerized voice of the alarm system announce that someone had come into the house, he’d seen movement in the atrium. He’d assumed it was the woman he’d met at the guesthouse—who else could it be?—and thought she’d eventually come out and say something to him. But when he’d nearly encountered her in the entryway while walking his family to the door, she’d darted away, her long black hair flying behind her. And he knew where she’d gone because his bedroom suite was the only room close by.
What could she possibly want in his room? And what was Maxi thinking, having someone so strange take over the care of his property?
He was about to call out to let her know the jig was up. He had no idea if she was in the bathroom, had snuck out to the private garden—although the alarm would probably have notified him if she’d used a door to the outside—was hiding in the closet or what. But just as he opened his mouth, he glanced in the full-length mirror next to the TV and saw the bottom of her sneakers.
She was under the bed.
Rather than let her know he was on to her, he decided to teach her a lesson by trapping her under there for a few more minutes. And just to make her as uncomfortable as possible, he got his razor from his suitcase and stripped down to his boxers before sitting on the end of the bed to watch TV while he shaved. This was what he’d be doing if she weren’t around. If she was going to hide in his room, she had to understand that she might see more of him than she ever cared to.
He liked imagining how much it must’ve made her squirm when she heard the plop of his clothes hit the floor and could barely hold back his laughter. He was diabolical. The skittish creature he’d met had to be dying to escape. He thought the noise of his shaver might make her feel safe enough to crawl out and try to sneak back into the entryway, at which point he’d let her know she could come over to take care of the bird and the plants at designated times but could not invade his privacy by sneaking around the place.
Pretending to be searching for a good show, he flipped through television channels while he shaved and continued to keep an eye on the reflection in the mirror.
Her feet moved as she inched toward the edge of the bed closest to the door. She was getting ready to make a dash for it. He smiled to think how easy it was going to be to catch her.
But when she didn’t dare to try and he was finished shaving, he grew tired of the game.
Having earlier hauled the sculpture he’d created all the way up to the gallery/office on the top floor, along with some canvases and other painting supplies, he wanted to grab a shower before he started work. So he put his razor away, turned off the TV and left the room as though he was going into the kitchen.
Surely, she’d bolt now, he thought and hid on one side of the doorway.
He didn’t have to wait long. She came out of the room almost immediately. But when he stepped over to confront her, she was running so fast she barreled right into him.
Tia felt like she’d just hit a brick wall. Pain exploded in her right cheek, which wasn’t fully healed to begin with, and she stumbled back. She would’ve crumpled to the floor if Maxi’s new guest hadn’t caught her by the shoulders.
“What were you doing in my room?” he growled.
He was so much taller, she found herself staring at his bare chest and, somehow, through the fog of pain, remembered him taking off his clothes. She was afraid to look down for fear he’d taken off everything. But it was hard to be too concerned about nudity, his or anyone else’s, when her face felt like it was on fire. She struggled to blink back the tears that sprang up while trying to get some of the bandages, which had come loose in the collision, to stick like they had before. “I—I came over to take care of Kiki. You know...you know that’s my responsibility.”
“Is it your responsibility to sneak into my bedroom, too? Why’d you do that? Are you some kind of thief? What’s wrong with you?”
She tilted her head back to look up at him—and that was when the bandages and, probably, the tears registered. She knew because she could see the shock that came over his face.
“Oh, my god!” he exclaimed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you okay? What happened to you?”
“N-nothing!” Still rattled from the unexpected blow, she jerked away and stumbled to the door, leaving it standing open as she fled.
“Holy shit.” Seth stared at the square of pale yellow the porch light formed on the marble floor. He felt like a total jerk—and sort of ridiculous standing there in his underwear. The game he’d been having so much fun playing suddenly just seemed cruel. No wonder she’d hung back in the darkness when he appeared, unannounced at her door. No wonder she’d tried to slip in and take care of the bird without notice. She didn’t want to be seen. And he could understand why. Something terrible had happened to her. Before she’d managed to cover her cheek, he’d caught a glimpse of the red, angry scars underneath those bandages, and he knew her injuries hurt, because he could see the tears filling her eyes.
“I’m such an idiot,” he said with a groan. But...why hadn’t Maxi warned him? All the man had to do was send a quick text.
Tempted to go after her, he took two steps toward the door. He wanted to make sure she understood that he really was sorry. But he doubted she’d talk to him. He couldn’t imagine she would ever want to see him again.
After shutting the door, he returned to his room, where he found his pants and dug his cell phone from his pocket. He hadn’t heard from Maxi since he’d been told he could stay on the property. He needed to talk to him.
Drawing a deep breath, he hit the Phone icon. It’d been long enough since they’d communicated that Maxi should’ve been able to fly halfway around the world by now.
But what time zone would he be in? Would he be awake and available?
Seth paced at the foot of the bed while he waited for the phone to ring.
“Hello?”
Relieved that Maxi had answered, he stopped moving. “There you are.”
“What do you mean?” Maxi asked. “I only just got off the plane. Thanks to some congestion on the runway, we were stranded on the tarmac for hours, and we missed our connection. So now we’re stuck at Charles de Gaulle Airport and can’t get out of Paris for another eight hours. God, I hate flying. They make it as miserable as they possibly can, don’t they?”
“Who’s staying in the guesthouse?” Seth demanded without comment.
After a moment of silence, Maxi said, “I already told you. Tia Beckett’s staying there. Why?”
“You never gave me a name. Who is she?”
“You don’t know?”
Confused by this answer, Seth shoved a hand through his hair, which was getting so long it fell nearly to his shoulders. “How would I?”
“Do you live under a rock? She starred in my last film, Expect the Worst.”
“So she’s an actress.” Seth didn’t get out much, and he certainly wasn’t familiar with what was going on in Hollywood or the movie industry. He didn’t care about any of that. But the title of the film certainly seemed appropriate to this situation.
“Yeah. Why?” Maxi asked. “Is something wrong?”
“We haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot,” he admitted. “What happened to her face?”
“Oh, that. I thought I mentioned it. She was in a car accident shortly after the film’s release. Ran a red light about a month ago.”
“Was she drunk?”
“No. Alcohol wasn’t involved. But it just about destroyed her face. You can imagine what that would do to an actress. She’ll never look the same, no matter how much cosmetic surgery she gets, and that means she’ll be unlikely to get the parts she would’ve gotten otherwise, which is unfortunate. She’s talented. Really talented. I fully expect her to get an Oscar nod for my film. And I believe she deserves it.”
Seth cringed as he remembered asking her if she was the house sitter. “And this talented actress is here, taking care of your parrot?” No one would expect that, would they?
“She needs somewhere to stay until she can get back on her feet.”
“You mean to hide.”
“You could put it that way, I guess. She’s a big deal right now. The paparazzi have been in hot pursuit, and they’d love nothing more than to snap a picture of her injured face and sell it to the tabloids.”
Seth pictured Tia’s huge green eyes. Together with her dark coloring, they were spectacular. The second she’d met his gaze he’d realized that he was looking at something rare and beautiful.
“I’m providing her with some privacy so she can at least get through Christmas,” Maxi was saying. “The holidays are hard after a loss.”
Seth certainly understood that.
“And it’s nice of her to feed Kiki while I’m gone. My wife feels Kiki will be good for her, too, and I agree. They’ll provide each other with some companionship. It’s not like a bird cares that Tia’s no longer the beauty she was a month ago.”
Seth pinched the bridge of his nose as he imagined what she’d been through. “It would’ve been good to know what I was getting into.”
“I don’t see how it makes any difference to you,” Maxi said. “She’s staying in the guesthouse. You’re staying in the main house. I’d have you switch, so that she doesn’t have to come there to take care of Kiki, but you were excited to have my office for your work. There’s no space for what you do in the cottage. And it’s not as if I can move Kiki. I—”
“Of course not. I would never expect your pet to be put out of her home,” he broke in. “We’ll make it work. Don’t worry.”
“Except that I’m already a little worried. What happened between you two?”
Seth should’ve been more generous in his thoughts and assumptions, should’ve waited until he knew more before drawing so many conclusions. But he’d gotten so little sleep lately and was dreading the holidays so much, he’d taken his frustrations out on her. “I just...bumped into her and accidentally hurt her, and I feel bad about it.”
“You hurt her?”
Remembering the tears swimming in those incredible eyes made him want to kick himself. “Yeah, I thought... Never mind. It was a misunderstanding. But you forgot to let her know I was coming so...could you text her and tell her that...that I’m a friend and not as bad as she thinks? Let her know I feel terrible about our little accident.” It wasn’t actually an accident. He’d caused it. But he hated to own that. “Tell her I’d never purposely hurt her?”
“Okay. No problem. I got caught up and forgot about it, that’s all. I’ll do it right now.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you letting me stay here, by the way. The house is spectacular,” Seth replied, but it was difficult to focus on anything else when he had the image of Tia Beckett’s terrible scars fixed in his mind.
Not many things would be worse for an actress, especially one who was just becoming famous.
Tia filled an ice pack and held it to her face while lying on the couch. That little episode had been a disaster. Not only had she not been able to get in and out of the main house without being noticed, she’d also made the whole thing worse by attempting to hide. Maxi’s guest had stripped down, and she’d been under his bed like some kind of sick voyeur.
She was embarrassed for not simply stepping up and owning who she was and what’d happened to her instead of sneaking around, but the consequences loomed so large in her mind and she felt so fragile, she probably would’ve taken the same risk even if she had it to do over again.
Her phone signaled an incoming call.
She wasn’t going to answer it. She didn’t even want to look to see who it was. She was sure it would be Maxi wondering why she’d been in his friend’s bedroom. No doubt the artist next door had called right away to report her. She’d seen how angry he was when he caught her; he’d had a right to be angry.
What was she going to tell Maxi, who’d been so good to her? Would he tell her to go back to LA?
Maybe she should. She had no business here.
But she liked Kiki. Having something to care for gave her a sense of purpose that distracted her—for a short time, anyway—from the terrible thoughts that tortured her these days. Thanks to Maxi, she’d been set up in a situation she’d thought she could tolerate.
And then he’d gone and invited someone else to stay on the property...
“What’s happening to me?” she asked herself as the phone stopped ringing. She’d fallen into a nightmare and couldn’t wake up. And yet she’d been so careful to avoid getting caught up in the drugs, alcohol and sex scandals that ruined so many careers, especially in Hollywood. The last thing she’d wanted to do was to prove her family, friends and other church members—all those who’d been judging her for leaving—right. When she’d landed the lead role in Expect the Worst, her father had quoted Mark 8:36: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
She heard a text come in and ignored that, too. But after another thirty minutes, she had to glance at her phone. If it was Maxi, she felt too guilty ignoring him while she was staying on his property.
Sure enough, he’d been trying to reach her, and when she hadn’t answered his call, he’d resorted to a message.
Are you okay? Seth said there was an incident, and he feels terrible about it. He wants you to know he’s sorry and that he would never hurt you intentionally.
Putting the ice pack on the towel she’d gotten to absorb the condensation, she sat up to respond. She didn’t know how much her new property mate had told Maxi, but Maxi didn’t seem to be upset.
Or was that still coming?
Who is he?
Seth Turner. A phenomenal artist. Made the sculpture in the entryway when he was only eighteen. He usually focuses on the stages of a young man’s life, and the way he does it is so insightful. I’ve never seen anyone else be able to use negative space the way he does.
She assumed negative space referred to the parts of the sculpture that weren’t really there but were sort of assumed.
I have a whole series of his work in the library upstairs, Maxi added.
She didn’t really care about Seth’s work. She didn’t care much about anything these days except finding a hole she could crawl into.
What’s he in town for? A gallery showing?
She hoped it was something like that. Then maybe he’d change his mind about staying longer and leave after the show was over.
No. His mother lives in the area. Her name’s Aiyana Turner. She founded New Horizons Boys & Girls Ranch 20something years ago.
Boys and girls ranch? What’s that?
It’s a boarding school just outside of town for troubled kids. Aiyana does a lot of good for a lot of people.
So Seth’s home for the holidays?
Yeah. He said he was going to teach an art class at the school for his mother, so he’s probably home for that, too.
She sighed. Teaching sounded long-term.
I don’t want to get in his way, she wrote. Maybe I should head back to LA.
Definitely not! He won’t bother you. That’s what he wanted me to tell you. And there’s no way I’d trust him with Kiki. He’s a great guy—don’t get me wrong—but I can’t see him taking care of a parrot.
A tear rolled slowly down her good cheek—until she dashed it away. She couldn’t stay here. Not with Seth Turner around. But she didn’t feel as though she could abandon Kiki.
She couldn’t face returning to Los Angeles, either.
Briefly, she considered going home to Iowa. Her mother and father lived on a small farm, like almost everyone else of their faith. She could go back there, but she knew what she’d face. “I told you it was a mistake to go to LA,” her parents would say, and maybe she’d never summon the courage to stand against them and leave again. That community was so closed off from the rest of the world, it was like an alternate universe.
Besides, her sister and her sister’s husband had lost their house and barn in a fire, and her parents had taken in their entire family, which included five kids under the age of ten. Tia wasn’t even sure there’d be a place for her to sleep.
No, she couldn’t go home. She’d shrivel up and die if she had to weather their disapproval—the disapproval of the entire Mennonite community—on top of what she was going through already.
You’ll stay, won’t you? Maxi wrote.
She stared at those words. Certainly dealing with one temperamental artist would be easier than going back to LA, where the accident happened and there was a much greater threat of the paparazzi catching up with her. Easier than returning to her parents’ small farmhouse forty miles outside of Cedar Rapids, too.
Sure.
Thank you. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but everything’s going to be okay.
She sent a thumbs-up to make him think she believed that. But right now it didn’t feel as though anything would ever be okay again.
After putting her phone on the coffee table, she curled onto her side and put the ice pack on her face. She had a headache from colliding with Seth Turner, and the pain in her face seemed to radiate into her brain, but that was probably more from the nasal pressure and congestion caused by crying.
She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard pounding on the door. “Tia, it’s Seth.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she came back to full awareness. He knew her name and probably who she was—thanks to Maxi. But surely he didn’t expect her to answer. Even if he did, she wasn’t going to get up, let alone let him in. He could stand out there and knock for hours in the cold for all she cared. When she was feeling better, she’d get his number from Maxi and text him to work out a schedule. Then she’d go over to take care of Kiki when he was out of the house or busy working.
There was no reason their paths had to cross, not if they were careful.
“I know you probably don’t want to come to the door, and that’s okay. But I thought maybe you could use a hot meal.” There was a pause before he added, “It’s good old-fashioned comfort food from a little diner in town called the Eatery. I think you’ll like it. I got the fried chicken with twenty herbs, garlic mashed potatoes and gravy and the best gluten-free corn bread you’ve ever tasted.”
She wanted to say, “That’s okay. I’m good.” But she didn’t trust her voice not to crack, and she was afraid responding would only start a dialogue between them.
Besides, he didn’t need to bring her food. She’d had more than enough calories today. All she’d been doing was eating. She hadn’t had the energy to make anything tastier or healthier than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since she’d been released from the hospital, so it had been mostly snack food, but it wasn’t his responsibility to feed her.
She held her breath while she waited to see what he’d do next. Maybe he’d get mad, take the food and stomp off. She hoped he would. Then he’d know to stay away from her, and their cohabitation would be easier.
“I’m leaving it here by the door.” Surprisingly, he didn’t seem mad. He sounded patient, considering he’d just caught her lurking in his bedroom while he was undressed.
After that, she heard nothing. She listened carefully, but when several minutes of silence passed, she decided he must be gone.
Pulling up the blanket she’d dragged out to the couch earlier, she stared at the painting on the wall across from her. Black and white, with a simple, thin metal frame, it was conceptual, not a lifelike representation, but it appeared to be a woman caught in the throes of a scream that no one else could hear. As if to emphasize the anguish she was feeling deep in her soul, there was a dash of red filling her wide-open mouth.
Yes, Tia thought. I understand you because you’re me.