Heart of Steele
Authors: Randi Alexander
Hot Country Series, Book 2
by
Randi Alexander
“HEART OF STEELE: HOT COUNTRY SERIES, BOOK 2”
Copyright © 2014 Randi Alexander
*~*~*~*
Edited by E Felder
*~*~*~*
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are either the product of the author’s
imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales
is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a
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from the author.
Other Books by Randi Alexander
Tracy Hartman sat in the tall makeup chair staring at her
reflection in the studio’s dressing room mirror. Her long blonde
hair framed her hot, red face, and shock glazed her green eyes. The
four other women who shared the room for the video shoot had made
themselves scarce when she’d come stumbling in.
She lifted her hands. They shook like a
Hollywood earthquake.
Had she actually just punched Steele McLairn,
country music’s hottest superstar, in the mouth?
The pain in the knuckles of her right hand
confirmed it.
Pressing her icy fingers to her burning
cheeks, she concentrated on breathing. “What did I do?” She’d tried
getting her point across to him by yelling, but when he’d given her
that trademark smirk of his...
Dropping her head into her palms, she let out
a shaky sob. She may as well cry, no sense in preserving her
makeup. She wouldn’t be doing any more filming today. Maybe not
ever again.
She should get up and change out of the
studio’s costume. Red, spike-heeled cowgirl boots, short shorts,
and pink T-shirt, tied up under her breasts seemed a little cliché
for a country music video, but it was the hot look this year.
The knock on the door echoed like the final
act of a horror movie.
Her heart thudded. Here it was, her ‘getting
fired’ scene, but in real life. “Come in.”
Steps sounded behind her, the door closed,
and a hand, warm and large, rested on her shoulder.
“Tracy.”
She jerked. It was Steele. She lifted her
head and stared at his reflection in the mirror.
He’d taken off his black cowboy hat. His
short, dark hair looked like he’d run his hands through it. A lot.
His gray-green eyes held confusion instead of the anger she’d
expected to see.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but all
that came out was a sorry croak and the first breaths of a full
meltdown.
His lower lip was swollen, and the side of
his mouth glowed bright red. It’d bruise for sure. Why had Steele
come instead of sending the studio rep or someone from his
entourage? He wanted to fire her himself?
He swung her chair around to face him then
lifted his palms. “What the hell happened?” His low Texas accent
usually gave her gooseflesh, but now it chilled her.
Hell, she’d started this fight with a strong
right cross, now was her chance to finish it in a more mature way.
Sniffing back tears, she swallowed hard. “I’ve never hit anyone
before. I don’t believe in violence.”
“Coulda fooled me.” His tongue touched the
puffiness on his lip.
“I have no excuse for what I did.” She shook
her head, hoping her brain would shift into gear. “When I heard
what you said on the phone...” Now, her anger rose up again. How
could he say such horrible things about her friend Reno? How could
he encourage Chase to turn his back on his family?
“What I said on the phone?” His brows
dropped. “To my dad?”
Tracy’s galloping thought processes skidded
to a halt. “What? Your dad?”
Steele narrowed his gaze on her. “I was
talking to my dad when you started yelling.” He worked his strong
jaw. “Then you clocked me a good one.” He shrugged. “I know I was
using some inappropriate language, but goddamn, Tracy.” He fisted
his hands. “You gotta admit you went more than half-crazy.”
Oh God. He’d been talking to his father. Not
to Chase, not about Reno and tiny baby Joy. Mind-spinning panic
gripped her. She’d just made a complete idiot of herself and ruined
her career—worst of all, hurt one of the nicest guys she’d ever
met—for absolutely no reason. Closing her eyes, she wished the
clock would turn back an hour.
Steele paced to the far end of the room and
back. “Are you going to explain yourself? Or do I need to have you
arrested?”
Tracy’s eyes popped open and she looked up at
him.
He had that smirk on his face again. The one
she hadn’t been able to resist smacking off him earlier.
He could do it, too. Have her arrested for
assault. She needed to explain this, make him realize she wasn’t
certifiably insane. “I’m sorry, Steele. I thought you were talking
to Chase. I made a terrible mistake.” She had to get out of there.
“Please, don’t file a complaint. I promise you’ll never see me
again.”
“Wait. Chase?” He ran a hand through his
hair. “Why would I be talking to Chase about...paternity?”
While he was on the phone, he’d used the word
“bastard,” not “paternity.” Tracy saw honest confusion in his
stare. He hadn’t heard about the baby? Steele and Chase were best
friends, and with their buddy Ryder Landry, they were known as the
Hot Country Triple Threat. She’d just assumed Chase had called
Steele to share his fatherhood news with him.
She slowly reached to where her purse sat on
the makeup counter. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
When Steele leaned back on the counter across
from hers and crossed his arms, she made her move. Grabbing her
purse, she jumped off the chair and half-ran toward the door, her
spiky boot heels tapping on the tile floor. “I’m really sorry. You
won’t ever have to worry—”
An iron grip circled her upper arm and swung
her around. “Hang on.” He let her go immediately. Probably afraid
she’d take another swing at him. “You need to tell me what the hell
is going on, Tracy.”
He took three steps and stood between her and
the door. “And it’s going to happen right now.”
Sucking in a slow breath, she nodded. “You
deserve an explanation.” She’d handled this so terribly wrong, she
could at least give him the good news in a non-crazy manner.
He gestured to the small couches that formed
an ‘L’ in one corner of the room.
Tracy walked to the middle of one and sat,
expecting Steele to sit on the other couch, but he plopped down
right next to her. He was the most amazing-looking man she’d ever
met, and she’d met many handsome guys in LA. His long, black lashes
framed incredible green-flecked gray eyes. The dark slashes of his
eyebrows looked almost sculpted.
One of those brows lifted, and his full lips
tightened. “Is this going to happen soon?”
She fingered her purse strap. “Reno just told
Chase today that they have a baby.”
Steele’s mouth dropped open. “What? How did
that happen?”
Tracy opened her eyes wide.
He waved a hand. “No, that’s not what I
meant. How did he not know about the baby until now?”
“Reno left for France, found out she was
carrying his child, but when she came back and tried to tell
him...” She shrugged. “Well, you know how Chase is. He pushed her
away before she could break the good news.” Tracy rolled her eyes.
“He rationalized it by saying it was the best thing for her.”
Steele crossed one booted ankle on the
opposite knee and laid his arm on the back of the couch, his hand
brushing her shoulder. “Ain’t that a kick in the ass.” He looked
around the room, then back at her. “So, why’d she wait until now to
tell him?”
“Chase showed up at her place today.”
He gave a long, low whistle. “I bet that
shocked his good ol’ boy heart a bit. Good for her, though, waiting
until that hardheaded cowboy got his brain on right and went
crawling back.”
Tracy gave a small smile. Steele’s assessment
of Chase Tanner was accurate. The man was a billionaire country
rock star, but had no common sense. At least he hadn’t, until
today.
She shifted to the edge of the couch. “So, of
course I assumed you were talking to Chase. About baby Joy.”
“Joy.” One side of his mouth lifted. “I can
see Reno choosing that name. You got a picture of her?” He sat
forward. “Of the baby, I mean.”
“Um.” She hadn’t been prepared for that
question. “Yes. On my phone.” She opened her purse and started
digging.
A humming sound came from the couch. “That’s
my damn phone.” Steele pulled his buzzing cell from his back
pocket. “I’d better take this. It’s the seventh time he’s called
since...” He shrugged his eyebrows.
Tracy glanced down to see a long crack on the
phone’s face. That had to have happened when it went flying after
her punch. She needed to buy him a new one. And forego groceries
for a week.
Steele put the phone to his ear. “Yeah?” His
brows drew down and his jaw tightened. “How long?” He looked at
her. “She’s right here.”
Finding her phone in her purse, she kept an
eye on Steele. What was going on now? Worst case scenarios flitted
through her brain. The police, his attorney, the actors’
union...
He listened silently for a few minutes then
huffed out a breath. “Okay. Let me think about that and I’ll call
you back.” He paused, listening. “I understand that, but I need to
think.” He ended the call.
Staring at the phone, he tapped his booted
toe on the floor.
Tracy waited, not really wanting to hear what
he was about to say.
“Okay.” He leaned closer. “Show me baby
Joy.”
“Huh?” She blinked. “Oh, right.” The man
could change tracks faster than a bullet train. She accessed her
photos, enlarged the latest one Reno had sent her, and handed the
phone to him.
“Oh.” Steele’s face softened and a sweet
smile curled his lips. “She’s the spitting image of her daddy.”
Tracy leaned closer and looked. “She is.
She’s got this one face she makes when she’s...” She circled her
hand. “Making a mess in her diaper, that looks just like him.”
He laughed, loud and happy. “Yep, Chase
always has a shitty smirk on his face.” He handed the phone back to
her. “He’s a lucky man.”
She tucked her phone back in her purse, her
stomach clenching now that reality was about to slam back in on
them. “I don’t know why I reacted so inappropriately to your using
the word ‘bastard’ before, but...” She faced him. “I apologize, and
I promise you’ll never see me again.”
“Tracy.” His voice sounded like her high
school principal when she’d been called into his office. “It’s not
going to be that easy.”
“But if you’d just let me—”
“It’s gone viral.” He tapped on his phone,
accessing something.
“Viral?” What was he talking about? They
hadn’t been filming when she’d slugged him. Oh God, this was not
good.
Voices came from his phone as he handed it to
her.
She took it in her quivering hands. There she
was, her back to the camera. It had to have been taken by a cell
phone or small camera behind the scenes, because it shook a bit,
and she could see the whole set.