One Day His (The Someday Series Book 2) (2 page)

After taking a deep breath, I explained the reason that I knew we
had
to be here but hadn’t voiced up until this point. “No, I have to do this. My mom’s not just an actress. She’s a very rare brand of celebrity. She’s one of the few entertainers that, in this digital age, has not only managed to cultivate but also
maintain
a major air of mystery about herself. No one knows anything about her private life or what she does behind these closed gates. Who she really is.

“Obviously, you and I know the reason for that. The public at large does not, and it drives them crazy. They salivate for any little tidbit about her that they can pick up. Seriously, we’ve been pursued to the ends of the Earth just for one photograph of her doing something personal or unexpected. Even going to the
grocery
store is a major event. It’s crazy.

“And that craziness is without anything happening that is out of the ordinary. That’s just standard operating procedure. But now, something’s happened that is extremely public and extremely unexpected. She’s gotten in this car accident, and it was under ‘suspicious circumstances’ no less. Believe me, the press is going to be on this like sharks sniffing blood in the water. If I’m not here to give them their sound bites, they’d find me. I’m her only close relative. They would hunt me down, no matter what it took. Coming here, and facing it, is the only way to protect
my
life. I have to do this.”

Jace’s strong fingers stroked my hair as I spoke, and he kissed the top of my head when I finished. Then he squeezed his arms extra tight around me. “I am so proud of you. You’re the most incredible girl I’ve ever met. You amaze me. Even though I know this is the last thing you want to do, you’re here, ready and willing to face it. Not complaining, not making excuses—just doing it.”

Then, moving slightly back, Jace cupped my face with his large hands and gently tilted my head up. When my eyes met his, he spoke in a low, authoritative tone that sent a tremor through my body.

“Just know that, no matter what happens, I will be by your side every minute. I’m here, and no one is going to hurt you. Do you understand? No one.” He inhaled loudly through his nose, and I saw his nostrils flare as pain flashed in his eyes. “It kills me that there’s nothing I can do about what you’ve gone through, how you’ve been treated in the past.” His thumbs brushed against my cheeks as his tone softened. “I know it’s not enough, but all I can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

I looked up into Jace’s eyes, my own eyes shining with unshed tears, as his words spread through me, filling me up completely, even to the deepest edges of my soul. “You have no idea how much that means to me. It’s
more
than ‘not enough.’ It’s
everything
.”

While I still had the strength to do it, I disentangled myself from Jace’s embrace. Even though I believed the words I had said to Jace about needing to come here and face this, and I knew that, when push came to shove, I absolutely would stand in front of the flashing cameras and do my part, the temptation to just stay there, huddled safe and secure in his arms, was almost overwhelming. Removing myself from that warm circle of security was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

“Well,” I said with grim determination, “I guess we’d better just do this, then.”

Cat

J
ace grabbed our
bags from the bed of the truck and we started walking towards the front door. When he saw me turning down the path that led to the back, I noticed a strange expression flash on his face. But instead of commenting on it, he pivoted and began following me towards the staff entrance. Insecurity began to creep into my consciousness as I realized that it might be strange to him that I didn’t use the front entrance.

“I’ve always just come in this way,” I explained, the words rushing out. In a tone that was unnecessarily defensive, I continued my rambling rant, “The foyer’s too big and formal. Cavernous, really. That entire part of the house just gives me the creeps. I hate it. Plus, I saw a movie once that a chandelier fell on someone and killed them and it looks exactly like the one that’s hanging in th—”

Jace pulled the strap of his duffel bag up on his shoulder as he interrupted my babbling. “This way is good,” he assured me in a calming voice, “I like this way. It feels very behind-the-scenes. Anyone can walk through the front door. You have to know somebody to walk through this door.”

“You have to know somebody to walk through the front door, too.” I snapped at him. After which, I immediately wanted to do a face palm.

I had no idea why I was blurting, rambling, and even being defensive. Jace had dropped everything and driven all night long to be by my side and face this circus of terror. He was the one person who absolutely did
not
deserve to be at the receiving end of any of the irrational responses being here inspired in me.

After taking two large strides, Jace stopped in front of me. With the hand not holding his bag, he reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair that had fallen in my face, tucking it gently behind my ear. Then he softly kissed me on my forehead before speaking quietly, in an intimate tone.

“No matter what happens after we walk through that door, I want you to know that I love you, Cat, and
nothing
and
no one
is going to change that.” A small smile crept up his face as he leaned farther down and kissed me briefly, then said against my lips, “Not even you.”

How did I get so lucky?

I mean…seriously. I’m really asking. How in the freaking world did someone like me—a socially awkward, tongue-tied, shy girl (who not only babbled uncontrollably when nervous but also got snippy) end up with this rock-solid guy who knew exactly the right thing to say in any situation? Who radiated safety, calm, and protection? Who had made it clear in so many different situations that he loved me unconditionally?

I had no idea what I had done to deserve it, but I
did
know what I was going to do now that I had it. Enjoy it. Enjoy every second of it.

I returned the kiss, letting myself
feel
his warm lips against mine until he pulled away, much too soon for my liking.

“Thanks,” I said, making a conscious attempt to express as much sincerity as possible through my voice. I wanted him to really be able to hear how grateful I was for his strong presence. “I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you here.”

He squeezed me reassuringly. “You’ll never have to find out.”

Feeling the strength of his words infuse my soul, for the first time since I’d found out about my mom’s accident, I was ready to face this.

As we continued down the path, the delicious smell of roasted meat and exotic spices drifted through the air, and a warmth filled me as I realized that, for the first time since this roller coaster had begun, Jace was going to meet two of the most important people in my life—Don and Rachel.

When I was a kid, the only glimmer of stability and light in my dark and chaotic world had been the couple that took care of our house—and, in many ways, took care of me. Don was a jolly old guy with a quick smile and an even quicker wit. He had a slight Southern accent that he played up sometimes for comic effect, especially to make his wife, Rachel, laugh. Rachel was a plump, grandmotherly figure who had been my rock all through my childhood and teenage years. She had grey hair that she always wore in a bun, merry eyes framed by wrinkles that matched her husband’s, and a soft, mellifluous voice that had sung me to sleep many times.

Somehow I knew, without ever being told, that they had only stayed at the house of horrors all these years because they couldn’t bear the thought of leaving me alone in that house with my unpredictable mother. I was beyond grateful to them. I loved them to death. And now, I was excited that I was going to get to introduce them to Jace.

When we reached the back door, I punched in the access code. It immediately unlocked and the glass door slowly opened. At the click and swoosh sound, my heart stopped for a moment and nerves threatened to overtake me again. This was it.

Swallowing over a lump in my throat, I led Jace through the mudroom and into the kitchen. As we stepped through the doorway, I saw Rachel standing with her back to us at the stove, a perfect bow on the bright-red apron she wore tied at her waist, very intent on whatever was in the pot she was stirring. An audiobook was playing on the boom box she always had sitting next to her on the counter. She was so focused that she hadn’t heard us come in.

I opened my mouth to alert her that we were there when I heard the words coming through the speakers. Instead of saying hello, I heard myself blurting out in surprise, “Is that
Fifty Shades of Grey
you’re listening to?”

“Ahh!” Rachel squealed and jumped in the air, her arms waving wildly, splattering brown gravy from the end of the wooden spoon she was holding all over the backsplash of the stove. She whirled around, wielding the spoon in a defensive stance, her eyes wide and wild.

I placed my hand over my mouth to hold in the laughter I felt bubbling up inside me. Not only from the fact that, after hearing the recording for a few seconds longer, I knew for certain that it was in fact
Fifty Shades
, but also because Rachel was currently crouched like The Karate Kid ready to take on an intruder and she just looked so cute.

As recognition dawned on Rachel’s round face, her lips pursed before she shifted and pressed the stop button on the CD player. Then she turned back around, squaring her shoulders a little huffily. “Well, if you recognize it, I guess you’ve read it, missy,” she said, standing up straight and imbuing the words with a quiet sense of defiant dignity.

“She makes a good point,” Jace offered quietly from beside me.

I felt myself blushing and feeling a little bit busted as Rachel put down her spoon and rushed over to give me a big hug. She held me tight and I lost myself in the comfort and warmth of her maternal embrace.

“Oh, my girl. It’s so good to see you, lamb. Even if you did scare the living daylights out of me.”

While still wrapped in Rachel’s bear hug, I made introductions. “Rachel, this is Jace. Jace, this is Rachel.”

Rachel released her hold, stepped back, and looked Jace up and down appraisingly, an approving smile gracing her face. “Well, young man, you certainly seem to be a very strapping fellow. I trust you’re taking care of our Cat?”

Jace slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. “I’m certainly doing my best, ma’am.”

Okay, I won’t lie—the whole “ma’am” thing kind of made me swoon. I hadn’t known that I was such a sucker for chivalrous good manners. But it was working for me. Big time. In fact, Jace’s whole opening my door, had been one of the first times that I realized I was starting to develop feelings of
trust
towards him. Not feelings of lust, mind you—those had been firmly entrenched long before Jace had opened that first car door for me—but it was that moment when I started to believe that I could rely on him, that he would take good care of me.

“Hey, hey, hey there!” Don’s voice came from behind me, booming out his customary greeting that had always reminded me of Fat Albert. “There’s my girl! How in the Sam Hill did you manage to get here so fast, young lady? You better not have been speeding.”

“No, sir. I wasn’t even driving,” I explained as, once again, I found myself enveloped in another all-consuming hug, this one from Don.

I felt the scratchiness of his stubble against my forehead and smelled the freshly cut grass on the front of his overalls. I breathed in deeply, wanting to commit this moment to memory, to freeze it in time. Everything good about home was encapsulated in these two people, and I wanted to enjoy every second I was able to spend with them during the few days Jace and I were going to be here.

Thinking about Jace reminded me that I hadn’t introduced him to Don. I turned to face him. “Jace drove. Jace, this is Don, Rachel’s husband.”

Jace extended his hand to shake Don’s and gave him a small, solemn nod. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

After the quick greeting Don stepped back, impressed. “That’s a firm handshake, son. I’ve always said that you can take the measure of a man by the sturdiness of his shoes and the firmness of his grip.”

Immediately, all of our eyes darted to Jace’s shoes, including Jace’s. He was wearing steel-toed work boots today. We were in good shape. When I looked up and met Jace’s gaze, we shared a smile.

Rachel shook her head affectionately. “Now, you know I love you, lamb, but I’ve got to shoo you out of my kitchen now. I’m in the middle of making supper, and you know how I feel about distractions.”

“I can help,” I offered, not wanting to leave the safety of the kitchen and face the house full of memories that awaited me through the swinging kitchen door. “I wanted to catch up.”

“Oh, we will, we will,” Rachel assured me. Then, perhaps sensing my hesitation, she suggested, “But right now, why don’t you take your young man out back and have a lovely romantic stroll on the beach? How’s that, lamb?”

Rachel gave her husband a “look” and Don hustled us quickly out the back door, his cheerful voice booming, “All right, now, youngins. Let’s leave the master to her creation. You kids go and have a nice stroll on the beach. I’m gonna get your bags taken up to your room. Jace, you’ll be bunking with Cat. It’s just…safer that way. But no
funny business
, ya hear. Now, go on with ya. Get.”

When the door shut, a chill ran down my spine and my stomach began to churn again. Their behavior was so strange.
Never
before had I gotten the feeling that they were trying to get rid of me. So why now? Was it because of Jace? Did they not think it was appropriate for me to bring a guy home?

I leaned forward, practically pressing my ear to the door. I could hear their hushed voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Everything okay?” Jace’s worried tone snapped me out of my eavesdropping. He began rubbing his hand up and down my back in a comforting motion, which made the disturbing sense of foreboding that had settled on me disappear completely.