Chapter 3

 

The fireman was brash and unapologetic, but he did save Willy, and for that Bex felt like she owed the jerk which was why she stood in front of the firehouse with a six pack in her arms and an appreciative smile on her face.

The only time she’d ever been in a firehouse was on the set of one of her movies. The façade was meant to look like a firehouse but the inside was nothing more than a few fake walls that made the space appear much larger than it actually was. It was nothing like the real building standing in front of her now filled with real history and stories of heroism.

Her cellphone vibrated in her bag, and she pulled it out, glancing at her publicist’s phone number and declining the call. Notifications popped up on her screen, including twenty-two missed calls and a few texts from Calla.

It wasn’t her fault this town had shoddy service. She ignored the icon that told her she had one too many voicemails and shoved her phone back into her bag. She wasn’t ready to deal with anything yet or listen to her publicist talk damage control and her manager scold her for her stupidity.

She knew running away from her problems wasn’t the answer, but taking a vacation from them? Well, there was nothing wrong with that. She deserved a vacation. She’d filmed back to back films without a week’s rest in between. Afterward, she was on the promotion circuit, going from one talk show to the next. She was tired of putting on a smile and acting happy to see everyone.

Last week was her first week away from the grueling schedule, and what an absolute disaster that had turned into. She managed to escape undetected and planned on hiding out for as long as she could. In order to do that, though, she needed to make peace with the cranky fireman. The cranky fireman who had the sexiest gray eyes she’d ever seen despite the fact he mostly glared at her with irritation since she met him.

The garage door of the firehouse was open, so she let herself in, walking past the bright red truck that seemed to sparkle in the early afternoon sun. She looked around, admiring how clean the place was. It was pretty impressive, or at least she assumed it was. She wasn’t exactly sure.

“Hello?” she called out into the abyss. Her voice echoed around her as she waited.

A head covered in dark hair popped out from a back room. His deep rich brown eyes widened as he took her in, and that was when she realized she wasn’t hiding behind her sunglasses. She had pushed them up on her head, putting her face on full display for anyone to see.

Chase hadn’t recognized her, but this guy obviously did.

“Hi,” she offered with an awkward wave. She cursed herself for being so careless. Someone would take a picture, post it to social media, and her cover would be blown. Sarah assured her the people would respect her privacy, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t innocently reveal her location. A single picture had the power to completely destroy her current serenity, and she couldn’t let that happen.

He blinked his eyes like she was nothing more than an illusion.

“You’re…” he said but never finished his sentence.

“Miguel?” a silky, smooth voice said from behind him. The sound was familiar and void of the contempt it was filled with yesterday. “What is it?” he asked as he stepped around the star struck fireman.

One dark eyebrow lifted as Chase’s gaze met hers. His navy blue t-shirt clung to strong muscles that she could tell weren’t earned in a gym but by hard labor. His shoulders were broad, his arms and chest thick and muscular leading down to a narrow waist and long legs. Masculinity rolled off of him in mind shattering waves.

He was far from a pretty boy, but that didn’t make him any less appealing. If anything, it made him that much more attractive with his rugged air and impressive stature.

His dark brown hair with hints of copper was cut short on the sides and only slightly longer on top, framing his sharp features and highlighting his piercing gray eyes. She found herself looking up to meet his gaze even though she wore four-inch heels.

“What are you doing here?” Chase asked, and she wasn’t surprised when the question wasn’t followed with a smile.

“You know her?” Miguel asked, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar.

“I rescued her cat yesterday.”

“She’s the crazy cat lady?” Miguel exclaimed.

Crazy cat lady! According to the tabloids she’d lost her mind and was spiraling, but they had no idea what they were talking about. “Excuse me? I am not crazy.”

Chase met her gaze. “That’s debatable.”

Her head reared back at his quick retort. Nobody talked like that to her other than her manager when she did something to tick her off. For the most part, people refused to upset her. She should probably feel insulted, but all she felt was relief.

She shrugged. “And here I thought I’d be nice and bring you a thank you present. I think I’ll just keep this six pack for myself.”

“That’s fine. I don’t really drink anyway,” Chase said, and she looked down at the six cans in her hand. She knew she should have called Sarah before assuming the man drank. For all she knew he was a recovering alcoholic and she was mocking him with her thank you gift.

She always did that—acted before thinking something through. It got her in trouble time and time again yet she never could get herself to stop and think first. It was something she needed to work on.

Embarrassment worked its way up her neck and into her cheeks, a burning inferno that was surely turning her skin a horrid blotchy red. “I’m sorry,” she said and spun for the door.

***

“No!” Miguel blurted out, his hands flinging out in front of him as if he could magically stop her from leaving. “I mean. Chase, where the hell are your manners? Ms. Shepard, I’m sorry for Chase’s behavior. Would it be any trouble to get a picture with you? My wife loves you.” Miguel slipped out his cell and held it up.

“As long as you keep it for yourself. I kind of don’t want people to know where I am.”

“I’m okay with that.”

“A picture?” Chase asked, looking at Miguel like he’d lost his mind. The girl was pretty, with her long brown hair, flawless skin, and big green eyes, but a picture with her? And how in the world did Miguel’s wife know the crazy cat lady? And why would she want a picture of her with her husband?

Miguel held his phone up, and Rebecca leaned in, flashing a bright white smile that could light up an entire room as Miguel took the shot. Chase looked on as more questions popped into his head.

Why in the world was she hiding out? Was she in trouble? Was someone after her? Why was she in Red Maple Falls? She better not bring trouble to his town.

“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded.

“Dude,” Miguel said, turning to Chase openly staring at him. When Chase didn’t speak, Miguel said, “That’s Bex freaking Shepard.”

“Who?” he asked then shook his head. “No, her name is Rebecca.” Miguel obviously had her mistaken for someone else.

“Technically, it’s both,” she said. “Bex is a nickname of sorts.”

“And?”

Miguel rolled his eyes, and his hands slapped against his thighs. He made a show of being part shocked and part appalled. “Oh come on. You’re not that clueless.”

Chase glared at him.

Miguel moved closer and lowered his voice. “She’s one of the biggest actresses of this generation. Like huge. They call her Hollywood’s It Girl.”

Chase didn’t watch many movies. The town’s only movie theater sat right off of Main Street and consisted of two screens that accommodated a mere twenty-five people each. The popcorn was stale, the floors sticky, and they hadn’t had any new releases since the industry switched over to digital and the theater couldn’t afford to upgrade. Chase had seen every movie they had at least a dozen times.

At home they only had basic cable, so really the only movies he watched were whatever his sisters put on that he usually fell asleep to ten-minutes in, or whatever zombie movie Miguel had on at the station. Other than that, Chase barely even watched TV unless he was checking the weather, which most of the time he just checked on his phone.

“So what?” Chase asked. “I’m supposed to bow down because she’s some Hollywood royalty?” There was nothing Chase hated more than rich people expecting the world to hand them everything on a silver platter. Life was never easy for him, and maybe it made him bitter, but he wasn’t about to apologize to the woman just because she was some big celebrity he’d never heard of.

Miguel’s jaw slacked, eyes going even wider.

“I don’t expect that at all,” she said, sidestepping Miguel. “And honestly I don’t care what Hollywood calls me. That’s just another part I play.”

“Who exactly are you then? Rebecca the crazy cat lady I met yesterday or Bex Shepard?”

“I told you… I’m not crazy.” She laughed, and the sound was strangely infectious. His lip quirked at the edge as she continued. “But I am a little bit of both Bex and Rebecca.” She looked down at the six pack in her hand then blinked up, catching his eyes. “I’m sorry to have bothered you. I’m going to go now.” She held the six pack up like she was unsure of what to do with it then shoved it into Miguel’s arms and hurried for the door.

Chase watched her walk away, her shoes clicking loudly against the concrete floor and echoing through the garage. He turned to Miguel, his eyes filled with so much unspoken judgement, and Chase knew he’d messed up. Without a single word from Miguel, Chase took off after her.

She was trying to make peace, and there he was still being a jerk. He wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t really drink; he didn’t, but how the hell was she supposed to know that? He only drank on certain occasions because he didn’t want to turn out like his father.

Yeah, he messed up, and he was going to fix it.

He caught up, and she startled as he came to a stop in front of her. “Look Rebecca… Bex… whatever your name is.”

She shrugged, a slight smile visible at the corner of her mouth. “Rebecca is fine.”

“Rebecca it is then.” He tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m sorry about how I acted in there. How I acted yesterday. Believe it or not, I’m actually a nice guy.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” she said, but there was humor in her tone.

“Let me make it up to you. Let me take you out to dinner.”

Her brows furrowed. “Why? Because now you know I’m a celebrity?”

That was the last thing that crossed Chase’s mind. If anything, he didn’t want word to get out to the town that he was rude and unwelcoming to a town visitor. Plus, he wanted a chance to show Rebecca he wasn’t the jerk he kept coming across as. When she wasn’t accusing him of scaring her cat, he actually found her rather appealing. The whole celebrity thing wasn’t even a thought in his mind. “I couldn’t care less about that.”

“It just looks rather convenient.”

“It’s not, I promise.”

She studied him for a moment as if she could figure out his whole life story with her eyes. “I’ve been used a lot in my life.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. People can be assholes.”

“Why the change of heart? Ten minutes ago, I’d swear you hated me.”

“How could I hate you when I don’t even know you? Just call it a bad day. Okay a couple of bad days.”

Her eyebrow arched, and he assumed she wasn’t buying what he was selling.

“Fine. If you must know… I hate cats.” Then added, “With a passion.”

She laughed. “What?”

“Go ahead, laugh it up, but it’s not going to change a thing. I hate them, they hate me, and whenever I have to get one out of a damn tree it sets me on edge. I still have scars on my shoulder from my first cat rescue.”

She placed a hand over her mouth, but it barely covered her laughter. “That’s really sad,” she finally said.

He went to argue, but it was a moot point. “Yeah, it kind of is.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked up at her a smile forming on his face.

She slipped out a pen and paper from her bag. “My mother always told me you should never leave home without the essentials.” She held up the pen with one hand and the paper with the other before resting the paper in her palm. She scribbled and handed it to him.

He looked down at the number in red ink.

“Old school,” he said.

“I don’t trust technology. Don’t lose that; people would pay thousands to get their hands on it.”

“Thousands?”

“The whole Hollywood It Girl thing.” She shrugged, letting the rest of her thought falter.

He smiled. “I won’t lose it, then.”

“Good. Call me later, and we’ll set up a time for dinner.” She started walking down the sidewalk, and he watched as her hips swayed. She stopped, turning back to face him. “By the way. Smiling is a good look for you. You should try it more often.”