Ch16

Brooks was sipping on lemonade and snooping through Claire's stack of movie scripts when he heard the front door open. He was sitting at the kitchen counter when a flustered-looking Anna hurried in.

"Sorry I'm late, Claire, the traffic was-Brooks!" she exclaimed breathlessly, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Hey," he said with a casual smile. "What's the rush?"

Anna Lowery's cheeks turned bright pink at the sight of him, and Brooks fought the urge to laugh. She was dressed in blue skinny jeans, flip flops and a conservative pink top-the exact color of her full cheeks. A leather messenger bag clung to her side.

"I . . . um, wasn't expecting you."

Brooks' smile grew wider at her obvious discomfort. "I'm a house-guest, remember?" he said with a teasing tone. "I'll be here for a while."

Anna's hands flew up to the pale blonde hair piled high on top her head and she attempted to smooth back the loose strands. "I remember. I just didn't think I'd be seeing a whole lot of you, that's all."

"And why's that?" he asked, unable to stop staring. She was delicately pretty, unlike most of the girls he'd dated in the past, yet for some reason, he felt himself drawn to her. She was soft, and sweet . . . she reminded him of Claire.

Anna turned away, clearly embarrassed, and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I figured you'd be busy most of the time."

Brooks let out a hearty chuckle. "Rock stars need a break, too, ya know," he needled, enjoying the fact that she was so shy. He wasn't used to females not throwing themselves at him. It made for a refreshing change.

"Oh, I didn't mean that!" she exclaimed in a hurry, the blush returning to her cheeks. "I just meant with everything going on . . ."

Brooks felt his face cloud over. "You mean, with the break-in?" he asked, knowing the incident was exactly what she was referring to. "I don't plan on going back to that bloody house ever again," he said roughly and pushed a hand through his hair in agitation. He took another gulp of lemonade and glared at the counter-top.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her timidly inch closer. "I'm really sorry," she began softly. "I hope I didn't upset you."

He turned and studied her through long lashes. It wasn't her fault. The truth was, the thought of going home to that big, empty house alone, scared him to death-a feeling he was not used to. "I'm sorry,"he apologized. "It's not you. I'm just sick over everything going on. I've never felt so . . . violated, you know? I'm used to being the one in charge, I'm not used to playing the victim."

Anna ventured forward a little closer, a sympathetic expression covering her face. "I can imagine. It must be difficult being the center of attention all the time," she offered, shaking her head. "I don't know how you manage."

He shrugged his shoulders and continued to study her. The way her golden hair framed her heart-shaped face, the way her cheeks blushed when she was in distress. Stop it! he scolded himself. She would never be interested. She's too nice-nice girls don't want guys like you. They're too smart.

"It's not always easy," he admitted slowly, surprised by his attraction to her. "You can never let your guard down. You've gotta learn to roll with the punches. I've made a lot of stupid mistakes over the years. Done a lot of things I wish I could undo." Why had he just said that?

Anna's face lit up with a hopeful smile. "That's the great thing about life. We can always start over, as many times as we need to. Each day is a new start . . . a new beginning." She looked down and then turned away again, as if she'd said too much.

He let out a long sigh. "That's what I keep telling myself. I've started over four times this week alone." He was being serious.

Without warning, a sliver of laughter filled the kitchen and Anna looked as surprised as Brooks felt. Her hand suddenly flew to cover her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you," she giggled again. "It's just . . . that was funny, what you just said."

And before Brooks could stop himself, he was laughing, too, and the more he tried to contain his outburst the louder he became. Every muscle in his body began to relax in a way he hadn't known in a long time.

And it felt good.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun blazed brightly as the navy-blue BMW disappeared down the winding road, taking Claire with it.

What an excellent turn of events! The Young Woman had not expected to catch Claire Ryan on camera, but she had-and the brunette beauty was looking anything but glamorous. The worried expression she wore on her face would perfectly match the scandalous pictures she'd caught of Miller embracing the young, curly-haired teenager. She could see the headlines now:

Claire Ryan Distraught Over Miller's Affair with Homeless Girl

The tabloids would eat that information up! And so would everyone else.

What the hell is Miller thinking? she wondered for the hundredth time. With a beauty like Claire at home, why in the world would he hook up with some dirty little tramp? Because guys don't think with their head, that's why . . . she thought in disgust. Stupid pigs!

The Young Woman could hardly contain her excitement. Her plan for the day included another trip downtown to see what else she could find concerning the mismatched love birds. Maybe she'd actually find the opportunity to talk with the young girl. Yes-that's what she'd do! Perhaps she'd even be able to get a real-life quote from her. But this time she needed to be smarter. This time she'd brought along her handgun. The weapon was tucked safely inside her bag, next to her new camera. No way was she walking downtown without protection again.

And she wouldn't be afraid to use it if she had to. After all, she had killed a man with her bare hands-practically. Nope, she was not afraid. The Young Woman wasn't scared at all . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Brianna Walters stared in horror at the soft blue plus sign that emerged in the center of the small screen.

Oh, God! No, it can't be!

She grabbed the empty box and read the directions for the sixth time in disbelief.

When Daddy finds out, he's going to kill me . . . and Brooks! Shrew threw the box across the white marble bathroom and it hit the wall, falling to the floor with a thud.

A cold sweat came over her as she realized another sickening truth. There'd been one other guy besides Brooks that she had been with.

Avriel Jordan.

How was she supposed to know who the father was? She'd had unprotected sex with both of them! What had she been thinking?

"Well?" Tiffany demanded loudly from the other side of the bathroom door. Brianna had forced her to wait in the hallway until she'd finished, and boy was she glad she had! She needed a minute to absorb the information before her stepmother learned the sickening truth.

What am I gonna do? she wondered, as visions of appearing on Maury Povich danced through her head. Slowly, she opened the door and came face to face with a wide-eyed Tiffany.

"Well?" she repeated anxiously.

Brianna held up the pregnancy test for her stepmother to see. Tiffany's blue eyes bulged and her hands flew up and covered her ruby-red lips. "Oh-my-God!" she exclaimed, breathlessly. "I cannot believe this!" Her face paled under twenty pounds of makeup.

"What am I going to do?" she asked quietly, hoping Tiffany had some words of wisdom to share in her time of need.

"I don't know," her stepmother began evenly, shaking her head. "But I do not want to be here when your father finds out."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Natalie McGee felt her blood begin to boil as she looked down at the lit screen of her ringing smart phone.

Dad . . . she sighed in annoyance.

If he was calling to harass her some more she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep herself from blowing up. What business was it of his where she lived, anyway? She was a grown woman, capable of taking care of herself. She didn't need him trying to swoop in and solve problems that didn't even exist. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and it was time he started to realize that.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted him as cheerfully as she could. It was best not to start off on the wrong foot. Oliver McGee had a reputation for being overly-sensitive at times, and she did not want to be the victim of his contentious wrath. It was times like these she really wished her sisters lived in town, at least that way his attention would not be blanketed over her all the time.

"Natalie," he declared formerly. "I would like to meet with you. Are you available?"

No, he was not going to do this again! He was not going to micromanage her life anymore!

"If this is about me moving again then I'm not interested," she stated firmly, attempting to cut him off before he even began. "I am perfectly happy where I am."

"No, no, Natalie," he sighed. "This is about something different all together. I've come up with a wonderful idea and I would like your opinion on it."

He wanted to discuss a wonderful idea with her-an idea that did not revolve around her moving? That was unusual. Her father didn't normally care what she thought about anything; much less ask for her opinion.

"Sorry, Dad, I can't right now. I'm on my way somewhere."

"Are you in the car?"

"Yes, I am."

"Natalie, you know it's not safe to drive and talk on the phone. You're going to get into an accident."

She just couldn't win with him! She was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. If she hadn't answered his call, she would have heard about that, too. "What's this all about?" she asked, ignoring his comment. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"Not really," he replied, stubbornly.

"Well, I can't meet with you now, so unless you want to tell me over the phone . . ." her voice trailed off, wondering what the urgency was all about.

Oliver cleared his throat, as he often did when he was about to drop a bomb. "What would you say if I told you I was thinking about putting together a Paradise Cove reunion? But instead of a television show, how about something bigger . . . like on the big screen?"

Natalie's mouth went dry and she could feel her heart begin to pick up it's pace. Her father was thinking about bringing back Paradise Cove? And not only that, making it an actual movie? Most of the cast had gone on and to enjoy tremendous careers. The very idea screamed blockbuster!

"You're actually thinking about doing this?" she asked, after a long moment of silence.

​"Tell me it's not genius?" he prodded, obviously proud of his scheme. "Now that I've made my first feature film and it was a great success, who wouldn't want to see it? Paradise Cove was well loved by the whole world! It's been translated into forty-four different languages and the reruns are still going strong. It's been called the most watched television show in the world!"

"But how do you know everyone will want to participate?" she questioned, unable to keep the doubt from her voice. "Claire, Miller, Brooks . . . Ashton and Juliana. They're all so busy these days."

"Because they're smart," he reasoned. "They'll recognize this for the brilliant idea that it is."

Natalie sat in her car, parked at a red light that had turned green several moments prior. It wasn't until a horn honked from behind her that she was jarred from her reverie.

"And what about Cecilia?" she asked, anxiety over all of the possibilities building inside of her. "Will that character be returning?"

He hesitated just a moment before responding. "Nat, you know we sent Cecilia away to boarding school in Europe when the show ended. I was, uh, sort of thinking she'd remain there."

"You mean . . . Cecelia won't be returning at all?" she asked, trying to keep the mounting disappointment from her voice.

"I haven't exactly got all the details worked out yet. We're getting way ahead of ourselves here," he laughed nervously. "Let's concentrate on one thing at a time and see if we can first get the cast back together. What do you say?"

Natalie let out a long sigh. "If you say so," she replied.

But inside her heart sank.

Will The Young Woman catch up with Miller downtown, or will she find something much bigger to hold her interest? Find out in Chapter 17!

Hello, and thank you for reading Fast Lane! If you liked this chapter I ask that you please vote, comment and share! Take a peek at the media section to find a picture of Anna Lowery!

(Chapter 16 approx. 2, 200 words.)