Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (12 page)

“Alex, I know you have issues with Ty,
but I think you’re being selfish,” Sam lectured in all seriousness.

“I am not. I never said you couldn’t
hate him too,” Alex replied, deadpan.

Trying not to laugh, and continuing as
though she hadn’t been interrupted, “Ty is the closest thing I have to a
brother. I’ve regretted not having him in my life, and this is my chance to
make amends for the past. And, I still think you should reconsider your relationship,
the sparks were definitely flying between the two of you at dinner,” she said
knowingly. “He cared about you very much at one time, more than he did about
any of us.” Sam stated in earnest.

“Oh, I know he cared, just not in the
way you think. I was just a joke to him. Just a child he had to deal with and
humor so he could get a pay check,” she said with conviction.

“If you believe that, then you never
really knew Ty. Alex you were special to him, we all saw it. Just like we all
saw how in love you were with him. As for money, he never took a penny from us
that he didn’t earn. Trust me, I know. Emma tried to give Ty some money once,
to pay for Jenny’s school clothes. He refused vehemently.” Sam knew she needed
the brutal truth.

Ty refusing money he didn’t earn from
her family was not a surprise. But she had never suspected that her family had
guessed her true feelings.

“Is that what this is about? Are you
trying to play matchmaker? If you are, I will pack my bags right now. I won’t
let anyone manipulate me like that again,” she said furiously. She felt
humiliated that Sam had guessed how she had cared for him. And it was all the
more painful considering that Sam had chosen not to tell her that she knew.

“Wow! That bad, eh?” Sam said,
whistling. “What did he do that was so terrible? You never did confide in any
of us did you?” Alex shook her head in the negative. “When you first left home
you refused to even listen to anything about the ranch when you phoned. It was
as if the ranch didn’t even exist anymore.”

“That’s not…” Alex stammered.

Cutting her off, Sam raised her hand.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you always asked about all of us, just nothing about
Ty or Jenny. We all knew something drastic had happen between the two of you,
just not what. Especially when Ty up and left the day after you did. We all
figured that was because you weren’t here anymore. Shocked?”

Alex was stunned by Sam’s revelation.

“You know you can talk to me, I will
never tell anyone what we discuss.” Sam placed her hand over her sister’s,
trying to comfort her. If Ty had injured her heart that badly it would go a
long way to explain why Alex never allowed herself to get close to anyone,
especially men.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Just
know I’ll never trust him again,” she said, gripping her sister’s hand. She
smiled gently at her to take the sting out of her voice.

“You could never see Ty’s faults; back
then he was your hero. You were always sticking up for him, even to Max. He
could do no wrong in your eyes,” she replied.

“Remember the time he forgot to close
the gate in the north pasture and Max was going to dock him a week’s salary
because we lost one of the cows? It had gotten out and had drowned in the
stream. You had never stood up to Max until that day. You argued with him for
over two hours. You convinced him that everyone made mistakes. Moreover, that
Ty and his sister would lose their home without Ty’s full paycheck. Do you
remember what you said to Max? You simply told him that he was always
complaining about having too much money and if he really hated it that much why
was he throwing away a perfectly good situation to do it? I’d never seen Max
turn so many shades of red and purple in my life!” Sam chuckled and watched
Alex smile at the shared memory.

Sam had missed her sister while she’d
been on tour. It felt good having someone to talk to who knew what it was like
to be one of Max’s granddaughters. Sam and her siblings had a special bond that
could never be broken, just by being the Stone Girls. They had to tolerate people
throughout the years that had injected themselves into their lives because of
their family’s fortune. Growing up had been difficult for all of them. They’d
never known if someone wanted to be their friend because they actually liked
them or because they thought by being a friend they had somehow hit the
lottery. If there was one thing Sam knew, it was that Ty and Jenny genuinely
cared about her family. But Alex had somehow lost that belief and nothing Sam
said could change that. Alex needed to work it out for herself.

“Maybe Ty just couldn’t live up to your
expectations, Alex. He was just a guy, you know. Maybe you should take your own
advice and remember everyone makes mistakes. Give him a second chance, maybe he
regrets what he did. It was a long time ago,” Sam said softly.

She had given her a lot to consider and
it was clear she was listening.

“I also know that if you give a snake an
inch it will still bite you when you’re back is turned. I know you’re trying to
help, but I just can’t bring myself to trust him again!” Alex cried, shaking
her head at the old memories and lowering her gaze.

“Then I guess there’s nothing to talk
about. Except you might want to think about why he affects you so much,
especially when no other man has ever been able to. You have gone out with
other men and no one touches your heart like he did. All of your songs are
dedicated to what you felt for Ty that summer. I know you won’t tell me what
happened, but just watching the videos, it gives a pretty good indication, hon.
I know the press has dubbed Steven as the mystery man in your life, but you
know, and I know, it is Ty isn’t it?” Sam questioned, looking pointedly at her
sister.

Raising her eyebrows, she lectured, “You
need to learn to trust again. You never let anyone get close to you except your
family. I can see how lonely it’s made you. Sometimes I think Fire was created
not only to keep the reporters away, but the world too. It’s time Alex. You and
Ty hit the pause button a long time ago, and now that he’s here, you should just
deal with it. Finally get it out of your system once and for all. This might be
your last chance to know for sure that there’s nothing left between the two of
you.”

Sam could see from Alex’s expression she
hadn’t considered that this might very well be the last time she would ever see
Ty again.

“I’ll think about what you said, but I’m
not promising anything.”

Why did things have to be so
complicated?
This was supposed to be my vacation.
She did not want to
analyze why she still felt something for Ty. She was happy believing she hated
him, and what he’d done.

Sam got up from the table, picking up
the plates to bring to Martha.

“I have some work to do, but if you
still want to watch a movie we can in a couple of hours.” She waited for Alex
to answer, knowing she was upset by what she had suggested she do. Alex had
some heavy thinking to do.

“I think I’ll turn in. I’m still tired
from the flight and if I don’t go to bed I’ll never be able to function
tomorrow,” she told Sam, standing up too.

Nodding her head, Sam headed out. She
suspected that Alex just wanted to be upstairs when Ty came in from the barn.
She still didn’t want to be around him or confront the past head on. Sam
smiled, knowing Ty would not be happy when he found that Alex had gone to bed
when he had specifically asked to speak with her.

Alex mulled over what Sam said as she
climbed the stairs. Seeing it from her sister’s point of view still hadn’t
altered her perception. Sam had been smart enough to guess that her songs were
about Ty when no one recognized who the mystery man in her videos was, most
just speculated at his identity. Most theorized that he was Steven, the lead
singer in the band, but some thought he was a man from Fire’s past. The fans
always searched for hidden clues, trying to unravel for themselves who her
mystery man was.

The band had repeatedly denied the
existence of the so called “mystery man” portrayed in the videos, insisting he
was just a character made up to depict a story line. Every song was different,
but if you placed them in a certain chronological order a vivid romance slowly
revealed itself. With each new release of a song and video, the plot was
rendered to the fans; bit-by-bit. Her listeners had quickly discovered the
hidden storyline and waited with baited breath to see each new release. They
were hoping for a happy ending to the ongoing fairytale.

She could relate to them. She had wanted
a happy ending once, but life hadn’t worked out that way.

Ty didn’t strike her as the type to
Google Fire or watch her videos on u-tube so the likelihood of him seeing one
was slim to none. At least slim enough that she felt she had nothing to fear.

Entering her room, she went to her big
duffle bag in the closet and pulled out her tablet of blank sheet music. She
sat cross-legged on the bed, retied her ponytail, and stuck a spare pencil at
the base. Right now she just want to lose herself in music, not think about the
“what ifs” where Ty was concerned, so she set to work.

Ty’s nights were headed toward long and
cold. A storm was beginning to break as he started for the main house. He
watched as lightning lit up the night sky in awesome shades of blue and purple.
Winter was on its way; he could smell it in the wind as it brushed his face,
bringing with it an anticipation that sent the leaves rustling but silenced all
other sound, even the crickets.

When he walked through the back door the
lights were dimmed throughout, calm replacing the storm. The only sound was the
creak of his steps as he mounted the stairs to the second floor. Wanting to
finish their discussion, he walked down the landing and stopped when he reached
Alex’s door. The unmistakable sound of her humming a tune drifted through the
door, causing his raised knuckles to freeze midair.

Her voice evoked the memory of the first
time he had heard her hum a melody. One afternoon after work he was hunting for
her when Emma pointed him toward the swimming hole they frequented. He found
her sitting on a swing by the water’s edge, the summer breeze blowing her red
hair around her face. She looked surreal. Her white sundress billowed out
around her as the swing swayed steadily back and forth. She looked older than
she was as she hummed a melody that haunted him to this very day. Alex was just
weeks from turning seventeen, but in that moment, she appeared older.

A wave of desire hit him, almost
dropping him to his knees in its intensity. The craving to give into it ate at
him as he stood there on the edge of the clearing, rooted to the tall grass. He
battled his conscience. The girl he had protected most of his life was now in
need of protection from him. It turned his world on its axis. He wanted her
with an appetite he had never experienced before then, or since. He had to
accept that she was growing up. Time had moved on, and nothing would be the
same between them. His honor dictated that he not act on his feelings, but that
he should turn and walk away. Instinctively, he recognized the need would just
grow as time passed.

That was the day his world split in two.
One part of himself needed to distant himself from her, and the other longed
just to be near her. Not revealing his presence, he silently followed his
honor.

In the coming weeks and months that
followed he stayed away from Alex, causing the rift between them.

The name of that song was still a
mystery. He had never acknowledged to Alex his presence that day, not wanting
to have to explain why he couldn't speak to her. It was safer not to ask the
melody.

Standing there as the past slipped from his
mind, he felt his anger rise. A growing knowledge replaced the memory of
moments before. Max was taking his revenge. He knew it as certainly as he knew
the sun would rise tomorrow. The man was probably rolling on the floor knowing
that he was once again protecting her from himself. Disgusted with Max as well
as himself, he marched away from her door and headed for his room.

That was what this assignment was really about.
He felt like a fool. Max was just dishing out payback for all the times over
the years that he had done the opposite of what the old goat ordered him to do.
He should have turned down this job, but money was money.

Reaching his room, he flipped on his
light, the only one on with the exception of Alex’s. He had noticed her light
was the last one burning upstairs when he’d approached the house. He suspected
she was still awake, but he knew he just didn’t have the energy to tangle with
her tonight; he was bone tired. He tossed his Stetson on the foot of the bed,
ran his hands through his hair, and looked at the wall as though he could see
through it into Alex’s room down the hall.

The storm outside would be a welcomed
relief compared to the one that would ensue between the two of them if he
confronted her tonight. His emotions were building like the storm, and though
he understood that he had to set things right with her, all he wanted was what
he had denied himself years ago. He longed to silence their differences by
igniting a passion so raw that any of her arguments would be burned to ashes in
its wake. Frustrated, he yanked his shirt over his head and crumpled it into a
ball before tossing it into the corner with much more force than was necessary.
He swore under his breath, muttering curses at the entire Stone family. He
wondered at how the hell he was going to seduce her into his bed?” He scowled at
the bed, silently complaining, “
And tonight will probably be the last night
I’ll be sleeping in a real bed anyway!