Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (36 page)

She suspected he could have put up more of a
challenge if he had wanted to but had chosen to be lax in following Max orders
for whatever reason. Looking around, she saw the men staring at her with a mix
of admiration and apprehension. Martha and Sam were laughing wholeheartedly at
Frank for even attempting to restrain her.

“Lady, you are dangerous!” Ridge exclaimed.
Recovering from the startling display, he started to laugh at the expert
maneuver she had used on poor Frank.

“That was awesome! I’ve seen Boss and Ridge use
that move, they make it look so easy, but I’ve never been able to do it! Where
the heck did you learn that?” Parry was awe struck.

“A martial arts expert taught me after my first
album hit it big. I wanted to be able to protect myself if I needed to.” She
shrugged. “Parry, Ridge, Tennessee,” she nodded at each of them, “it’s been an
adventure. Take care of your boss for me,” she instructed.

Alex suddenly felt sad at the prospect of not
seeing them again. Heaving her bag off the table as if it weighed nothing, she
retrieved her sunglasses and quickly slid them on. She swung around, not
wanting to turn back, afraid if she even glanced behind her she would finally
break down and find herself without the strength to leave. Alex, hearing the
distinct swoosh of powerful blades slicing through the air, knew that the
chopper was beginning its descent out back. She crossed the kitchen with the
unmistakable sound of the others’ footfalls following her.

Leaping from the porch, she made her way toward
the helicopter as it came to rest on the rear lawn. Once settled, the pilot
swung his door open and slipped out. As she approached, the pilot ran out to
meet her. He took hold of her arm at the elbow to guide her in. As she twisted
around, half inside, she glimpsed Ty on the porch with the others, and froze.
She sensed she would never be able to wipe his expression from her memory as he
realized she was surrendering to the inevitable; departing now instead of
later.

The pilot gained her attention and she gathered
from his hand signals that they needed to lift off now if she was going to make
her arrival time for her scheduled flight. Alex let the pilot help her into her
seat and get strapped in before he secured the door. She sat watching Ty’s face
through the glass as the pilot returned to the controls and started the steps
to liftoff. Her eyes fixed on him as she felt the tears begin to cascade down
her cheeks, seeing only him until the pilot swung the chopper around and she
lost sight of him. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, overwhelmed
with the pain of what she had done.

Ty had awoken to the unmistakable sound of a
helicopter circling above the house and had assumed that reporters were trying
to get pictures from the air. Alex was not in his room, which had sent him
searching for her. Finding her room empty, he raced down the stairs to the den.
Catching a glimpse of someone leaving the dining room, he headed their way. As
he came out onto the porch, he was confronted with the sight of Alex walking
toward the chopper, which was now nestled into the grass.

He felt as if he was in a nightmare. He
couldn’t get the picture of her boarding the chopper out of his mind. He kept
replaying how she had looked, her clothes and make up, the anguish on her face
as she had flown away. She was not coming back.

Going back into the house, he moved swiftly to
the den. When he reached the piano bench, he lifted the lid to see if Alex’s
papers were there. It was empty. He slammed the lid closed and started pacing.
He could not understand why she had done this. It just did not make sense.
Maybe she couldn’t accept being married to him. But if she was in love with
Steven, why hadn’t Steven gone with her? He glanced up and noticed for the
first time that everyone had followed him into the den. They stood there,
staring at him.

Ridge could see his boss wasn’t taking very
well the fact that his wife had literally flown the coop. He suspected Ty was
in shock. Hell, he was. Ridge never would have guessed that she would just up
and split like this. He glided over to the liquor cabinet. It was only eight in
the morning but he had a suspicion Ty was going to need a drink. Hell, he’d
probably be joining him before this was over.

“Ty what happened last night?” Sam asked
softly.

“Nothing! None of this makes sense! Why would
she just leave?” he inquired softly, almost to himself.

“She left this for you.” Parry moved to place
the envelope in Ty’s out stretched hand. Everyone watched as Ty ripped it open.
Parry held his breath, waiting for his boss to go ballistic. This was
definitely the calm before the storm. Boss was going to hit the ceiling, and it
wasn’t going to be a pretty sight.

Ty began to read what Alex had written.

Dear Ty,

I’m sorry for leaving
this way, but I don’t see how we can make this work. I can’t pretend to be
something I’m not. Parry will explain. I left the number for my attorney, not
Max’s… contact him. My attorney will know how to reach me when you want to file
for an annulment.

Love, Alex.

Ty felt like he was going to pass out. He barely
felt Ridge ease him into a chair. Suddenly he swung his bewildered gaze to
Parry. “She said you would explain… ” he questioned Parry, urgency lacing his
words. He watched the color drain from Parry’s face.

“The woman hates me! I’m not telling him! Forget
it; I like my head where it is thanks. I think I’ll just go finish my
breakfast. See ya!” Parry scrambled for the door.

“Parry, so help me, I will give you a month of
guard duty out in the Mohave Desert watching over a cactus!” Ty bellowed,
barely containing his wrath.

He froze and slowly turned toward him,
petrified that he was serious. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d be
lucky if that was all his boss did.

Ty didn’t understand anything anymore, and if
Parry had information about Alex he would have to beat it out of him if he
didn’t start spilling his guts and fast.

“Parry, he needs to know. If you don’t want to
tell him, then show him.” Steven leaned casually against the back of the sofa,
his arms and legs crossed, obviously enjoying seeing Ty sweat for a change. He
watched Parry as what he’d said finally dawned on him. As he flew to the DVD
player in the wall unit, Steven suspected she had fled because she feared the
life he would have had to lead because of her career. She was trying to protect
him.

“Oh, sure…yeah, good idea. But which one? I
personally like the earlier stuff, but maybe I should put on something more
recent?” Parry rambled excitedly as he rummaged through the DVD’s.

“Parry, if you want to keep breathing you will
get to it. NOW!” He didn’t understand what exactly they were discussing, but
whatever it was, he apparently had to know.

“Play the kitchen scene, that’s a classic,”
Steven said in a mocking tone. He knew Ty would be familiar with the video’s
story line. He glanced at Parry as he loaded the disc into the player, and then
glanced at the others. Everyone held their breath. Sam and Martha shared a
worried expression. Ridge stood beside his boss holding a glass in his hand,
which was filled with straight bourbon. Max sat on the piano bench with Frank
standing behind him, who seemed calmly unaffected by everything.

“Hold onta yer socks folks,” Max informed
everyone with a chuckle.

Ty was glaring at the old man when he heard the
music start and hastily swung his eyes toward the screen. As he watched, he saw
Steven storm into a kitchen where a woman stood with her back to him, reaching
for a glass.

As he watched the video, it was as if he was
watching himself and Alex years ago. Every detail was burned in his memory. He
didn’t have to watch this to remember it. As the video went on, it would shift
from the scene in the kitchen to the woman standing alone on a balcony, singing
her heart out in the pouring rain. As he studied her in Steven’s arms, the
lyrics she was singing started to register. She sang about lost love and
unfulfilled desires, the haunting melody filling the room, bringing with it
memories of the afternoon by the swimming hole. It was the same song Alex had
been humming that day. Only this time she sang about her love for the man who
was no longer a part of her life. He shook his head, dazed by what it meant.

He leaned forward in his seat scrutinizing the
woman whom he assumed was Fire. He felt the shock wave pass through his body.
Alex resembled this woman when she was without her glasses, and when her hair
fell unbound about her face. Slowly his brain began to process the information
it did not want to readily accept. Alex was Fire. He realized the screen had
gone black and the last haunting note of the song was winding down. Fire’s
identity was her secret. He keep trying to tell himself that he was nuts for
even thinking it, but he had seen the proof.

He recalled bits of their conversations, things
Alex had said. He began to understand why she despised the press. He remembered
calling her Firecracker and the way she had looked at him after that. He
replayed her explanations about working with the band and with Steven, about
cooking on the tour bus. Her jetlag when she had arrived. He had assumed that
she had flown in from L.A., as she had allowed him to believe, but he now
realized that she had flown in from somewhere else.

The “Mystery Man” Martha had mentioned, wasn’t
Steven. He glanced at Steven. He understood that when Alex had been talking
about her and her mystery man getting married, he had just assumed that man was
Steven. He had jumped to quite a few conclusions.

He remembered everything that Parry had said
about the videos following a story line; it was their story.

He remembered what Parry had asked about the man
in Fire’s videos. About how he had broken her heart, and if the man would ever
return. He was the Mystery Man.
I’m the cause of her broken heart and the
man Fire’s songs are about.
Alex hadn’t been working on set designs. She
had been in the den composing. The soundproof room would have let her play the
piano without anyone hearing her.

Ridge saw his boss trying to put all the pieces
together; it was a lot to take in all at once. Ridge leaned over and wrapped
Ty’s hand around the glass. On automatic pilot, he raised the glass to his lips
and threw back the drink.

Swallowing it, he felt the heat of the drink
hit his gut and spread through his blood stream, bringing him out of his
stupor. He raised his eyes to Steven and started to laugh at what he had imagined.
Alex isn’t in love with dream boy. She is in love with me, and had been
since she was seventeen! Which is precisely why she tried to keep me at a
distance.
She was concerned he would humiliate her again if he learned the
truth about Fire. Her videos would be proof enough for Ty to know how she
actually felt about him. He felt the truth hit him hard.

“Hey, let us in on the joke.”

He looked at Steven. “Forget it, Parry. Where
would she go?” he asked anxiously.

Ty stalked over to Steven. He didn’t feel threatened
by Steven’s relationship with Alex any longer. Steven had been someone in her
life to remind her of him.

He had to locate her. He needed to explain the
past completely. They could figure out a future together if they just
communicated openly and stopped running from their past.

“I don’t know. If she left, she probably plans
to go into hiding for a while. Her blackberry will probably be turned off.
She’s done this before, when the press has hounded her. She just up and
vanishes. It could be days or even weeks before she contacts anyone. There
isn’t anything scheduled for the band for over a month, we’re on vacation
remember?” he replied honestly.

Ty could not believe his luck. The way he was
explaining things it could be up to a month before he could get to her. He
swung his gaze to Sam hoping she would know how to reach her.

“Sorry Ty, but Steven’s right. If Alex decides
to go to ground no one can find her.”

“That’s not completely true,” Max said smugly.

Ty pivoted on his heel to face Max, glaring daggers
at him.

“What do you know old man? If you know
something, you had better tell me. Now!”

When Max didn’t answer, he took a menacing step
forward, as did Frank, preparing to protect Max. Max waved them back. He could
see the boy was upset by being unable to go to his granddaughter. He knew he
was in love with Alex, and she with him. They just kept letting their
stubbornness get in the way.

“If ya want her found leak it to the press.
Tell them that Alexandria Stone is Fire and that you are her husband. Let the
press tracker her. They won’t stop ‘til they do, blood sucking leeches…”

“You can’t be serious! You’ll create the worst
media circus that has ever happened to this family!” Sam wailed. “Ty, he is
just joking. Trust me he hates the press more than we do.”

Sam could see that he was actually
contemplating this insane ploy. She understood that he wanted her back, but she
would lose the freedom she cherished as Alex. If Ty released her identity she
would lose even the minimal reprieve she had when she wasn’t Fire.