Chapter 2

CODY’S STORY

My free time the last week of filming had been used finding out what I could about M.E. Welch’s literary agent.  I had located their Los Angeles office and intended to be there Monday morning.  I didn’t care if I had to wait all day for Julie Patten, I would take Jennifer’s advice and not take no for an answer. 

Every night since I had finished the book I was haunted in my dreams.  Suddenly I could not escape this vision of a woman, a beautiful woman with flowing, wavy auburn hair and the kindest golden brown eyes.  The kindness in this woman’s eyes was laced with hurt and sadness and fear though and that made me uneasy.  Each night she appeared to me in my dreams, this mystery woman, and by week’s end I was drained and exhausted, both mentally and physically. 

Monday morning came and I tried to put on my professional best.  I had shaved my beard and was dressed in slacks, a button down shirt and a suit jacket.  Despite my exhaustion I needed to make the best impression possible.  I drummed my hands nervously on my steering wheel as I drove across town.  Parking my truck, I took a deep breath before I walked into the office building.  

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking back over the last year and everything that had happened in my life to lead me to this moment. I mean, really, I was just this small town boy from Mississippi. I’d gone to the same school, with the same kids, my whole life. Our school was so small that everyone had to take part in everything to make things work and happen. And that included school plays. Most of my friends did it because they had to. But me? I did it because I loved it. After the first play I was hooked and it became my life.

I went to college on a full theater scholarship. The last semester of my senior year this talent scout came to campus, casting roles for this new trilogy of movies that were supposed to be the big new thing. I auditioned and amazingly got one of the leads…and my life had been in fast forward ever since. That scout was right. The movies had been breakout hits and my life had changed literally overnight. So much so that I was now walking into this literary agency with the thought that maybe, even at the tender age of 24, I had enough clout to make this dream a reality.

With that I took one more deep breath and put on my best and brightest smile as I approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me, is Ms. Patten in her office this morning?” I asked sweetly, trying my best to dazzle the poor girl.

“Do…do…do you have an appointment?” she stammered as she looked up, recognition written all over her face.

Good! It was working.

“No, but it’s very urgent that I speak with her.  Would you mind telling her that Cody McAllister is here to see her, please?” I grinned, showing as much of my charm as possible.

“Oh!  Yes, sir, Mr. McAllister.  I’ll see what I can do.  Please have a seat.” She blushed, gesturing to the waiting area.

I had barely gotten comfortable before I heard footsteps approaching. 

“Mr. McAllister?” I heard from behind where I was seated.

“Yes?” I asked as I stood and turned.

“I’m Julie Patten.  You wanted to see me?” she asked. 

So this was Julie Patten.  I smiled at her warmly as I walked to her, extending my hand.

“Yes, yes I did,” I said, shaking her hand.  “Ms. Patten, I’m sure you’re extremely busy and I really appreciate you taking time to see me.”

“Not at all.  And please call me Julie.  Why don’t you follow me to my office?” she said, turning and waiting for me to follow.

Funny somehow she didn’t seem at all shocked to see me.  It’s almost like she expected me or something.  She turned into a spacious office lined with cases full of books.  As I took a seat in front of her desk I was immediately drawn to picture sitting on the shelf behind it. 

Julie of course was in the picture but smiling next to her was the loveliest woman I’d ever seen.  Wavy auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders.  She had the most infectious smile on her face.  What captivated me though were her eyes.  They held so many emotions…love, pain, warmth, hurt, joy, sorrow and hope.  It was the woman from my dreams!  What in the world was going on?  I don’t know how long I had been staring at the photograph, nor do I know how many times Julie had said my name before I heard her.  I do know when I finally pulled my attention away from the photograph I realized I had been holding my breath the whole time. 

“Mr. McAllister, are you ok?” Julie asked.

“Huh?  Oh, yeah, I’m fine.  Thanks.  And please call me Cody.” I smiled, shaking my head, trying to pull it together.

“Well, Cody, why don’t you tell me what brings you to see me?” she said returning my smile.

I reached in my bag and pulled out the copy of “Where the Trail Ends” that Jennifer had given me.  I held it up for Julie to see.

“This is what brings me here, Julie.  I am here to do whatever I can to make this book into a movie.  I have to see it made and I have to be the one to play Travis,” I said emphatically.

“Really?” She smirked.   “And why is that?”

“Because, and I’m not sure you will understand this, but I feel like this character was written for me alone,” I said plainly, staring down at the book in my hands.

I heard her gasp and I looked up quickly to see a look of shock cross her face.

“What did you say?” she said softly.

“I said this character was written for me.  I don’t know any other way to go about this other than through you.  M.E. Welch is such a mystery that he or she may as well not even exist.  What can I do to convince you or convince them to allow this to happen?” I begged.

“Do you know anything at all about M. E. Welch?” Julie asked.

“Nothing,” I replied.  “Absolutely nothing.”

She was very quiet for a quite a while.  It looked like she was fighting an internal battle as to what she should do.  I finally heard her sigh in resignation as she made her decision. 

“Cody, before I go any further in helping you with this I’m going to have to ask you several questions.  You’re going to have to be brutally honest with me here, ok?” she said sternly.

“Yes, ma’am. Of course,” I said, my Southern accent flowing off my tongue as I focus intently on what she was saying.

“First of all, I need to know that I can trust you, completely.  M. E. Welch’s identity is such a closely guarded secret that in fact, other than Ms. Welch herself, I am the only one who knows her true identity.  If I give you this opportunity, I have to know that I can trust you to never reveal who she really is.  She has her reasons for keeping this secret and they are completely necessary, I assure you,” Julie said.

She waited for my reply.  I had to think how best to handle this.  I knew I only had one shot at this. How in the world could I convince this woman what a good heart I had?  How could I show her in the limited time I had that I was completely trustworthy and loyal to a fault?

“Ma’am, I know you don’t know me and I know I have a reputation of being a goofball and a guy that is just a pretty face, but somehow I think and hope you can see that there is a lot more to me than that.  There is something about the way you’ve reacted to me being here today that gives me the impression that you’ve been expecting me for some reason.  I can promise you that I will guard this secret with my life as if it were my own.  I will not betray your confidence,” I said hopefully and intensely.

“Honestly, she’s going to kill me for this,” I heard Julie mumble as she looked down, shaking her head. 

I felt my attention again drift to the picture just over Julie’s shoulder.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw her follow my gaze.  To my dismay she turned and picked the picture up off the shelf and brought it rest on her desk. 

“I see you’re quite taken with this photograph,” she said simply.

“Who is she?” I begged breathlessly. 

“This is my dearest friend Mary Elizabeth,” she said, handing me the frame.

“Mary Elizabeth,” I repeated.  “Hello, my dream girl.  She’s beautiful.  Her eyes,” I breathed, tracing my fingers over her image.  “Mary Elizabeth. Oh!  Oh man!  Mary Elizabeth.  M. E.  This is her?”

“Yes, Cody, this is M. E. Welch.  Better known to the rest of the world as Mary Elizabeth Matthews,” she said hesitantly.

“I have to meet her,” I said urgently, moving to the edge of my seat.  “Please. Whatever I have to do to make that happen, I’ll do it.”

“Why do I suddenly get the feeling this is no longer just about making a movie?” she smiled softly.

I felt myself turn about ten shades of red.  What the heck was wrong with me? 

“When can you go to Texas?” I heard Julie ask as I continued to stare at the photograph. 

“What?  Texas?” I asked, jerking my head up in confusion.

“Mary Elizabeth lives in Texas.  West Texas to be exact. The only way you’re going to get to meet her is to go to her,” she said matter of factly.

“I can leave tomorrow,” I said instantly, without hesitation. 

“How long do you have available to be there?” Julie questioned.

“I have about a month or so off right now,” I said thoughtfully.

I watched Julie pick up the phone and dial.  I continued to steal glances at the captivating Mary Elizabeth as I heard Julie begin to speak.

“Mary?” she began.

Woah!  I didn’t realize she was calling her.  I felt my heart suddenly start to race.

“Good, good,” I heard Julie reply.  “Are you going to be home Wednesday?  I don’t know, sometime mid-morning?”

She looked over at me to see if I was ok with what she was offering. I nodded my encouragement.  I would do whatever it took at this point.

“I’m having something delivered to you and you need to be home to receive it.  Don’t ask me any questions, ok?  Just trust me.  You’ll love it!  Ok?  Great!  I’ll talk to you later, ok?” she said, hanging up and turning her attention back to me.

“Ok, Cody, here’s the thing.  You’re basically going to have to go and surprise her.  If she knows you’re coming, I think she’ll just disappear.  I’ll prepare her as best I can without actually telling her what’s going on.  Just know she’s going to be shocked when you show up and she may be pretty resistant to you being there at first.  Please just be persistent.  Don’t give up on her, ok? If you really want this part, it’s something you are going to have to work for, understand?” she said, waiting for me to respond.

I nodded my understanding and waited for her to continue. 

“Believe me when I tell you that she needs this and she needs you even if she doesn’t know it yet and won’t admit it.  I get the feeling from meeting you that you might need her just as much,” she said, offering a small smile.  “But you’re going to have to be patient and understanding and open minded.  Prepare yourself for that.”

She turned to her computer to pull together some information and directions for me.  I stared down at the picture again and processed everything Julie had said.

“Julie, I don’t get it.  Why would me showing up at her door be that big a deal?  I’m just a guy,” I said in confusion.

“Just a guy?  Hardly.  Man of her dreams is more like it,” I heard Julie mumble under her breath.

Man of her dreams?  What the heck? 

“I’m sorry Julie.  What did you say?” I asked, thinking maybe I had misheard.

“What?  Did I say that out loud?  Just forget I said anything,” she said, turning beet red and refocusing on her computer monitor.

I guess that is what she said.  Now I just had to figure out what she meant by it.  I mean, I knew Mary Elizabeth was quite literally the woman of my dreams, but what in the world could I possibly mean to her? 

Julie booked a flight for me Tuesday afternoon into Midland.  I would stay there Tuesday night and then drive to Mary Elizabeth’s ranch Wednesday morning.  Julie had no further advice to give me past what she had already shared, so I was left to my own wonderings and worries between now and then.  While I was excruciatingly nervous about meeting Mary Elizabeth, Wednesday morning couldn’t get here soon enough.