Liv's Journey (11 page)

The morning's planned events were low-key, owing to the possible hangovers of the attendees. It gave Trey and Ace a chance to make some conference space and for the cleaning crew to do their job as well.

Ace was getting into his truck when Trey walked outside. "Give me a ride, bro?"

"Sure," Ace said. "I know you left your truck at the old house last night."

"Yeah. I had enough liquor that I didn't want to drive, and I thought the walk would do me good."

They got into Ace's vehicle and slammed the doors shut. "Did it?"

"Not really." He thought about that. "Kinda."

The truck revved to life and Ace backed away from the house. "Liv has you twisted in knots, doesn't she?"

"She's got her issues."

"Don't we all."

"Yeah, well. I haven't quite decided how involved in her issues I want to become."

"Pretty outside isn't necessarily pretty inside."

"She's pretty inside, too, but has some problems with trust. And there's somethin’ screwy about her relationship to food. She might have an eatin’ disorder."

"She's not rail skinny. How could that be if she had a problem like that?"

"I dunno. I can't figure it out."

"Do you want to? Figure it out, I mean."

They parked in front of the old house. "She's got baggage, Ace, but I think I'm fallin' for her."

Ace pulled the key out of the ignition, but didn't open the door. He gave Trey a thoughtful look. "What about your worries about deployment?"

"They seem less important at the moment."

Ace nodded. "Don't let your dick tell you what to do."

"I'm not. That's the least of it."

The door hinge squeaked a little as Ace got out. Trey met him around the front of the truck. The air was cooler today, and clouds were accumulating.

"I'm sure you can handle it, Trey."

"Thanks. I'm gonna try."

Chapter 7

By five o'clock, Trey hadn't come by yet and Liv worried that he wasn't going to show up at all. She didn't know if she should go find him so that she could discuss the blackmail attempt with him, or handle it on her own. If she dealt with it by herself, she would be kissing any hope of a relationship with Trey goodbye. But with his no-show during the shoot today, that might be the case anyway.

Indecision made her fretful. Gabriella bounced over with a big smile. "That was a good session, Liv. I love what you did with your hands."

"Thanks." She didn't want a conversation, she wanted peace so she could think over her situation and make a plan.

"So…Trey's not here today?"

"Why would he be?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes dramatically. "To see you, silly. He practically drools when he is near you."

So his interest was apparent to others. Why couldn't Liv accept it and build on it? Why did she have to question his motives so often? "I think you're overstating it, Gabby."

"Fine. Are you saying you're not interested in him? 'Cause if
you're
not, I sure am."

It would kill Liv to watch him and Gabriella together. Raindrops began to fall on the tent overhead and Liv thought they were the perfect counterpoint to her mood. "He's a little old for you, don't you think?"

"Is he? How old is that?"

"About 29 or 30, I think." Liv took a bottle of water, trying to appear nonchalant though her insides were knotted up like burl wood.

"Ten years older. That's not so much. Anyway, I don't care. I think he's a hunk."

Yes, he was a hunk. He was tall and gorgeous, intelligent, and had a sexy Texas drawl that was like honey in Liv's ears. "Don't you think he ought to decide what he wants for himself?"

Gabriella laughed. "I have my wiles."

Trey's truck pulled up, startling them both. They watched him saunter over, his boots crunching on the pebbles and gravel of the parking area. He tipped his hat. "Ladies."

"Hi, handsome," Gabriella said, an invitation in the twinkle of her eyes.

Liv wanted to slap her, and the feeling was very unwelcome. She turned to Trey and smiled. "Hi, Trey."

He grinned. "Do you have a minute, Liv?" He turned to Gabriella. "Would you excuse us, darlin'?"

Liv bristled at the use of that term of affection for anyone but herself. She tamped it down. She was just edgy.

"Sure, Trey. Come over and let's chat when you're done with Liv."

Liv thought the younger woman said "done" like she meant
permanently done.
Nevertheless, she smiled politely and said something noncommittal to Gabriella as she walked away. Then she turned to Trey. "I'm glad you came by. There's something urgent we need to discuss."

His look of concern was endearing. "I'm sorry I'm so late. There was a trail ride this afternoon, and that takes a lot of settin’ up and puttin’ away."

She sighed, trying futilely to calm her nerves. Time was running out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that you had some sort of obligation to be here. I realize you're busy, and…well, after last night, I wasn't sure you'd come at all."

The rain pounded now, and the big drops found their way into the tent from its open sides. Trey took her arm and steered her toward the center of the cover, where they were more out of the wet. "To be honest, angel, I wasn't sure I should."

Liv looked down at the trampled dirt, her heart heavy. So that was it. She'd screwed up and that was the end. She deserved it. "Why did you?"

"I'm stubborn, I guess."

That was puzzling. She looked up into his face. There was straight honesty there.

"I think we have somethin' special goin' on and I don't want to walk away from it."

Her heart did a little spin. "I'm glad you feel that way. I feel that way, too."

He smiled. "Good enough. Now that we have that settled, let's go have some supper. I want to take you back to the house."

His family would be there. Her stomach roiled. First things first, though. "I need to talk to you first, Trey. That photographer from the other night called my agent. He's trying to blackmail me. Well, blackmail
us
."

"Shit. I was afraid of that. What does he want?"

"$50,000 for the worldwide rights."

He whistled in response to the number. "Damn. I don't know how those rights things work, but would that keep you safe from further blackmail attempts?"

"Yes. He'd be breaking copyright law if he published the photo anywhere. I could sue him. The basic idea is that we buy the photo rights. If we pay him, he'll sign a contract giving up all his rights to the photo. "

"A contract, huh?" He appeared to think it over. "I should find him and knock out his teeth. I had hoped the picture was messed up or he had second thoughts."

"No such luck, Trey. And you can't go after him. He's within his rights to sell the photo or blow it up to building size and hang it from the Empire State Building if he wants. We were in a public place."

He sighed. "Have you seen it?"

"My agent has."

"We don't have much choice then." He put his thumbs in his front pockets. It reminded Liv of his father, Leo, that first time she'd seen him. "I'll write out a check when we get to the house."

Now it was Liv's turn to frown. She hadn't expected an army major to have $50,000 lying around. "You don't need to do that, Trey. I can afford it."

He was shaking his head before she finished the sentence. "Nope. No, ma'am. It was my fault, and I'll pay for the picture."

"Trey. It was both of us. And it's really only me who'll be a laughingstock."

"I thought we covered that."

"Yes, well…" It was hard to argue with him. In many respects he was right. But, there was still the question of his having to pay. "I don't mean to pry. I know it's none of my business. But how is it an army major has so much money to throw away?"

"Re-enlistment bonuses, hazard pay, lots of savin’, and, most of all, the Boot Camps." His smile told her that he wasn't irritated by her nosiness.

"Oh."

"I was gonna buy a little house just outside of the fort."

His plans were ruined. Although it wasn't entirely her fault, she felt awful for him. The money was no issue at all for her. She'd made bundles on the Paris runways and in magazine ads. But for him, it was a means to an end. "Really, Trey. I wish you'd let me pay."

"Nope. No more argument about it either." He brushed his callused fingers over her cheek.

She wouldn't argue with him, but she couldn't let his dream slip out of his fingers for the sake of one scummy photographer. She'd take care of the payment and make the deal with the photographer. Now that they'd agreed the creep should be paid, Trey didn't need to be involved further. Decision made, she smiled and snugged her cheek into his hand.

"Now come on and let's get goin’. I want to get out of this rain and settle in for a little home style food and drink."

Her smile slipped. What lie could she tell to get her out of eating in front of his family? Was a lie necessary? Couldn't she trust him not to be disgusted with her? Guilt at the very idea of lying further washed over her like a sick miasma. "I don't know, Trey."

"Look, angel, I know you have some kind of problem with food. I don't know what it is, but it worries me. Do you have an eatin' disorder?"

Panic raced through Liv's bloodstream. She thought she'd been subtle, but apparently not. Now he wanted an answer, and she didn't like having to explain something she didn't understand herself. "I'm fat." The word was like a suicidal sword to the gut.

He frowned, but didn't respond right away.

"I know you keep telling me that I'm perfect the way I am, but Trey, you didn't see me before. You don't know how beautiful I used to be." She heard the tears in her voice and tried to calm down.

Instead of saying anything he pulled her into his arms and shushed her.

"I don't care if I have to say it a thousand times, Liv. Or say it in a thousand different ways." He petted her hair and held her against his body. It was warm there and so comforting. "You are not fat. You are an angel."

She wanted to cry, to laugh, to crawl right into his pocket and be part of his every movement. The fact was, she loved him. It was terrifying and so one-sided. She was sure to get her heart broken, but she couldn't help it. And she wanted to believe him when he said that she was fine the way she was. She tried hard to believe it. If he could see her as beautiful, why couldn't she?

"Are you tryin’ to lose weight, darlin'? Is that why you're so uncomfortable around food?"

"I'm not anorexic, if that's what you're concerned about, Trey. I'm really not. I was pretty close to falling into that trap, working on the runways, but before I could get there, I realized that I was miserable and had to do something about it. I stopped watching every calorie. Stopped telling myself that the hunger pangs were really bloat from being too full." She turned up her face and looked into his eyes. "I will never forget the day I had buttered popcorn at a movie screening.
Buttered!
It marked the end of the line for being a size zero. I was done with being hungry."

"You're still unhappy though."

"I put on twenty pounds in a year. Suddenly, I had hips. It looked like someone else's body. Someone I would have disdained for being overweight before. Part of me wants to go back to zero, and the rest wants to be defiant and love myself the way I am. I'm much healthier now than I was then. But the habit of counting calories and going hungry doesn't go away."

"You can do it, honey."

"Maybe. I don't like eating in front of people because then they can see what a pig I can be."

He kissed her forehead. "You're not a pig, Liv."

"I hate it."

"Let's take it slowly. Come have dinner with me and my family. Try a little of everythin’. Not a lot, a little. Enjoy each bite. You are lovely as you are; I think you're beautiful and so will my folks. We won't think you're a pig…unless you lick your plate. Now, that would be over the top."

She giggled against his chest. "I'll try not to lick."

His lips traveled over her temple and down to her ear. "I'll give you somethin’ to lick, darlin'."

Her cheeks went hot and she laughed. He was so easy to love.

* * *

Trey's family traditionally ate supper in the big kitchen, and that night was no different. Jackie was home from nursing school for the summer, and brought her current beau to dinner. Ace was there, since he lived on the ranch, and so was Leo Journey.

Consuelo made a fine dinner, piling platters high with steak and chicken, and all the sides the Journeys enjoyed. Liv looked quite uncomfortable confronted with so much food, and stared at it in indecision, biting her lower lip. Trey took her plate and put a little bit of this and a little bit of that on it until he'd provided her with a small taste of everything offered. She looked relieved and gave him a sweet thank you as he handed the plate back to her.

Conversation was lively and warm, his family accepting her easily in their home. She was a little shy but soon opened up. It turned out that she had a lot of funny stories about her travels, and the discussion was often punctuated with laughter.

After dinner, Liv insisted on helping with clean up, and she and Jackie laughed together as they washed and dried the dishes.

For Trey, it was gratifying to see Liv fit in so well. She'd been part of a much faster crowd for so many years, he'd been a little concerned that she'd stay on the outside. But he realized he should have known better when he considered exactly how warm and welcoming his family could be.

As the two young women did the dishes, Trey took the opportunity to talk to Ace and his father about the blackmail attempt. Although Jackie's boyfriend was a little wide-eyed at the spanking detail, neither Ace nor Leo found it uncomfortable.

"So, this shit-head is gonna get $50,000 for bein’ in the right place at the right time," Ace pointed out. "Must be nice to have such good timin’."

"You're certain that no crime has been committed, son?" Leo's face was lined with concern, but his posture remained relaxed.

"I called Geoff Carson before dinner," Trey answered. "It took him about thirty seconds to make it clear that the guy had the rights to the picture. Nothin’ we can do but buy it from him."