Redwood Bend

work because I love it and also despise a lot of the ancillary bullshit. I do it because I want to. Millions of people who are trying to just get a part in a commercial would kill me to have a tenth of the opportunity I have had, and believe me, I don’t take that for granted. But, Dylan, when I decide to take on a part, I’m happy. If this makes you unhappy, find another way.”
“It’s probably going to be six months of shooting,” he said. “And it’s a frightening amount of money.”
“How are you handling the family?” she asked.
“I’ve said no, I’ve changed my cell number, I’m ignoring them, but I admit, they make it hard. They’re everywhere, it seems.”
“And your mother?”
“Cherise is the hardest to ignore…” She was his mother. He hated her and loved her. That she would use him was so painful. And so predictable.
“Yes, I can imagine,” Adele said. “So, when do you leave for Montana?”
“In a few days. I’ll fly back to Northern California where I left my bike. I’ve decided to rent a truck and haul the bike home. After the last few weeks, I don’t think I’m up to a long-distance ride on the Harley.”
“How long will the drive take you?” she asked.
“A couple of days,” he said. “But I have a little unfinished business in Humboldt County…”
She lifted a thin, meticulously honey-colored brow and said, “Indeed?”
Oh, indeed.
Dylan had to see her once more. Katie. She didn’t want him, he got that. He’d called her, given her the new number, asked her to call and she hadn’t—he got the message. His own fault, he admitted. And she didn’t think their lives matched; didn’t want to get mixed up with some Hollywood kid and he couldn’t blame her. But it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel complete. “There’s a girl,” he told Adele. “She doesn’t want to be involved with an actor. Actors have rotten reputations for little things like fidelity. But I like her. I’m going to give her one more chance to reject me. I just haven’t suffered enough yet.”
“Listen, Dylan, there are lots of ordinary families who grapple with lousy relationships and plenty of actors who marry for the long-term, quite happily.”
“I know. I just want to stop in Humboldt County and see her, make sure she’s doing fine, that she feels the same way she did when I left—that she isn’t interested. Because I think if we had a little time…”
But they didn’t have time.
No matter how hard it was, no matter how tempted he was by her, he had to try to make her understand what he was feeling. He wasn’t just some irresponsible pretty boy. A gentleman would find a way to say, “You’re important and I’m going to miss you.” To leave as though nothing that happened between them mattered, that was just wrong. He was going to fix that. Even if he was the last person she wanted to see right now.
Then he’d go back to Payne, lock down the little airport, leaving Lang, Sue Ann and Stu in charge, and he’d go make a movie. Why not? He’d save his company and he’d do it himself, not the way his extended family would have done it, not by taking handouts.
First mission—see Katie and apologize for abandoning her on a moment’s notice.
He dreaded it.
He couldn’t wait.
He was scared to death.
When he got back to Humboldt County a couple of days later, he rented a truck, loaded his Harley in the back and drove to Virgin River. He stopped off at Jack’s for a beer and a meal, killing time and bolstering his courage before facing her. He was afraid if she cried he’d never be able to leave, to do what he had to do. If she was furious with his unannounced appearance, it might take him a lifetime to convince her he wasn’t a low-life loser to treat her as he had and he’d never be able to leave her. If she threw her arms around him…yeah, he’d never be able to leave her.
He had a second beer and barely touched his dinner.
Katie visited Mel Sheridan, the friendly neighborhood midwife, who confirmed what she already knew—pregnant. In addition to an appointment for an ultrasound in Grace Valley to determine an accurate due date and a bunch of vitamins, Mel insisted on running a battery of tests for STDs. This was a very sensible precaution under the circumstances.
“Failed condom?” Katie asked Mel. “Seriously?”
“It’s been known to happen,” Mel said. “Or maybe brief contact before or after the condom… Whatever it was, Katie, it’s the real deal. Do