Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Kitt read the message, and then he read it again. His heart gave a little flip in his chest as he brought the truck to a complete stop in the middle of the trail. After a minute, he began to scold himself. “Stop! It’s not really anythin’ more than sex, so stop reading more into these words! It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s. Not. Real! He doesn’t really want you, you’re just fillin’ time.”
Kitt put the phone down without returning the message. He drove all the way to the barn with the phone sitting beside him. The big white elephant in the cab. Finally, when he came to a stop in front of the barn, he picked the phone back up, warring with himself until he sent a message back.
‘I’m sorry about my sister. Be careful.’ He barely had the phone clipped to his hip before another message came back.
‘Tell me what happened to already have you back to the super quiet attitude. Never mind, don’t answer that. I look forward to convincing you again that I’m for real. Have a good day playing sexy cowboy. I’ll try to call you tonight if I’m not already home.’
Kitt didn’t respond and refused to read the message more than once. He didn’t have the time to be playing phone games when there was so much work to be done. First on the to-do list, the maintenance on the discounted, yet still expensive as hell hay baler he’d bought at auction. Second, see if any orders had come in for all this hay he was about to have up for sale.
Chapter 14
The plane touched down in the bright California sun. The breeze outside was mild, and the temperature perfectly warm, just like always in sunny California. Austin made his way through a private entrance of the small executive airport. He kept his head held low, a ball cap pushed down over his eyes, and his Ray-Ban Avatar’s on, trying to hide himself as much as possible.
A private car waited for him at an exclusive side entrance, and Austin made it almost to the door before the stares started. Little side nudges caught his eye, and he knew he must hurry. He wasn’t fast enough. The pointing started, a few fans approached him, and the paparazzi who hung outside spotted the commotion. Austin never stopped his stride as he scribbled his signature on a couple of open notebooks. He ducked into the backseat of the waiting car within sixty seconds of stepping outside. It didn’t matter how his driver drove, they got surrounded almost immediately with the cameras snapping his picture, trying for any shot they could get. Austin had his phone programmed to alert him when his name was mentioned online, and before he got out of the parking lot, TMZ already posted their shots of him sitting in the car.
The mellow mood of the last few weeks evaporated completely. In its place, a deep disdain smoldered and slowly grated on his nerves. With all certainty, Austin never wanted back into this chaos. If Kitt had any real clue what this world was all about, he’d never again question Austin’s decision to leave.
The drive to his house in the hills of Hollywood took longer than it ever should have. The police finally got involved and escorted him to his driveway, and even then, it was a slow drive. People jumped out in front of the car, risking their lives just to get a shot of him. He even spotted Rich and Mercedes already there, cameras snapping away. They were the two paparazzi who had constantly plagued him over the last ten years. They never gave him a break, and now flung questions at him through the car’s side window, like he would ever answer any of them. Dozens of paparazzi blocked his way, even as the gate opened. A police officer stood on guard, keeping everyone at bay as they drove down the driveway.
Austin stayed tense and stone-faced the entire ride. He never looked at any of them. Instead, he kept his head slightly lowered making it harder to get a good shot. He resisted the urge to pull up Kitt’s picture on his phone for fear someone with a great lens might catch it. But, dear God, Austin’s dependent side needed to get a look at Kitt. Kitt represented peace, love and simplicity. Everything that was right in his world. In just a few days, Kitt helped to settle his soul and center him. Amazing, how a chance encounter allowed him to meet someone who so completely turned his world around in such a short time. The realization made Austin wish Kitt was with him now.
“We were quiet, no one knew, I swear. Just me, you, and the driver,” Seth said, meeting him at the car door.
“I know. I watched it fucking happen at the airport.”
They were in the back of the house with high fencing and security, but who knew who might get through. Austin kept his head low, hurrying into the open garage.
“Damn, this is going to complicate things.” Seth kept up with Austin stride for stride.
“Exactly my thought during the entire fucking drive here. Goddamn, I hate those mother fuckers. And those two asswipe fuckers were right there in the middle of it all. They had their cameras pressed against the window. I hate Rich and Mercedes! Goddammit, those fuckers need a life.” Austin raged as he stepped inside the garage and forced himself to calm down. After a minute, he shook his head, forcing the images out of his mind and concentrated on why he was here.
“How is she?” They slowed their pace, talking quietly like it was some big secret, that the people who worked here couldn’t possibly notice the female spiraling out of control right in front of them.
“Not good at all. She’s got herself locked up in the back room. She’s strung out. She’s missing tapings, and they’re telling me today, if she doesn’t get help, they’re publically canning her from the film.” Seth didn’t mince words, he was a straight shooter. It was one of the things Austin liked most about him.