Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (37 page)

“Ty if you do this, she will have no privacy
and she’ll have to be surrounded by bodyguards twenty-four hours a day. She
will lose what few moments of peace she gets when she’s just herself,” Steven
said bitterly.

“All right, shows over. Everyone out. I wanna
talk with my grandson-in-law. You too, Frank. Move!” Max said irritably.

Sam watched everyone pile out of the room.
Before she fell in line, she shot a concerned look at Ty and quietly closed the
door.

“Okay, game time is over. You and I are goin’
to stay in here ‘til this is settled once and for all,” Max informed Ty. He
watched Ty grab one of the armless chairs in the room and drag it over to place
it in front of him. He straddled the chair, rested his arms along the back of
it, and looked squarely at Max.

“Talk old man, and it had better be good.”

If it meant compromising with Max to get her
back, then he would swallow his pride and compromise. He wanted her back no
matter the cost.

“One day Son, yer gonna thank me, ya know?” Max
said smugly.

“If that day comes, hell will have frozen
over,” Ty said testily.

“Funny thing that. Ever hear a global warmin’?
People would never imagine that ya could buy swampland in Greenland, but it’s
comin’. Might want to reevaluate that thought, Son. Who knows, hell just might
have an ice age and then where’ll ya be?” Max stated, laughing.

Alex walked the secluded beach, watching the
waves as they crashed into the sand. They reminded her of the turbulent
emotions roaring inside of her, not silenced by the beauty surrounding her,
only increased by it. She kept replaying the look on Ty’s face as she fled the
ranch. It floated through her mind, various images playing over and over of him
standing there. Fighting not to dwell on all the lost dreams that were swept
away by her actions, she watched the surf. It was a cold reminder, mirroring
her thoughts, a parallel to the recent disaster at the ranch. She could never
go back. What had happened couldn’t be undone. Everything they had shared was lost.
The sooner she accepted that Ty must despise her by now, the better off she
would be. Feeling the tears finally break free to roll down her cheeks, she
mourned what could have been. Giving in to her tears, finally surrendering to
the pain that was as deep and vast as the ocean she was seeking comfort in. She
dropped to her knees in the wet sand, clutching her chest, struggling to
relieve the terrible ache there. She cried uncontrollably, the sobs racking her
small frame as the sounds of intense grief tore from her throat, rising from
the depths of her broken heart. She knelt on the beach, rocking to the rhythm
of the surf, crying until there were no tears left to shed and a merciful
numbness spread through her.

Exhausted, not only from her spent emotions,
but from the grueling flight that had brought her to Selero, Italy, she just
wanted to sit in the sand. Jen, her assistant, had booked her a villa near her
sister, Jack. Alex came to the coast knowing her sister would be close if she
needed family or a friend. Jack didn’t know yet that she had arrived. She was
working on a prototype for some big name car company in Italy, and was only a
phone call away, but she just couldn’t bring herself to dial just yet.

Alex stood, watching the sun as it crept below the
horizon and realized she had been so absorbed in her pain and thoughts of the
past that she had completely lost track of time.

Reluctantly, she turned toward the villa. The
coming darkness was a cold reminder that she would be alone in her bed tonight,
without Ty’s arms to hold her close. The pain still building inside her turned
to a razors edge at the thought of being without him. She wondered if he was
still at the ranch or if he had left as she had. He would get in touch with her
attorney to finalize their annulment. She suspected he would file the papers as
soon as he could, not wanting to be connected with her or her family any longer
than was necessary. She dreaded the conversation that would ensue with her
attorney in regard to the annulment.

When she returned to the villa, she was so
drained she dragged herself to the large bedroom suite. She didn’t even have
the energy to undress so she just curled up on the soft bed fully clothed.
Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Ty. She needed to sleep,
to give her mind the oblivion it craved, but her body yearned for something
that she knew she would never be able to have again. Alex grabbed one of the
pillows and clutched it to her. She could feel the tears threatening again, and
she let go. She cried out her pain again as she curled up in the fetal
position, clutching her pillow.

When she woke the next day, Alex headed for the
shower, her lazy movements showing her lack of enthusiasm. She had barely
slept. After showering she shrugged into a pair of comfy jeans and a loose
t-shirt and ran her fingers through her damp hair. She went down to the kitchen
to fix breakfast, not feeling any more optimistic than when she had first woken
up. She tried to force herself to take bites but ended up spending more time
moving the food around on her plate than eating it. Finally giving up, she
scraped it into the trash and rinsed her plate.

She spent the day walking along the beach and
sitting under a tree watching the turbulent water as it crashed into the shore.
She couldn’t even seem to find enough energy to work on finishing the album.

She was missing Ty. So much that it was tearing
her apart inside, not being with him or being able to touch him. She picked up
the phone repeatedly, all set to call the ranch, but she would always hang up
before she could finish dialing the number. In the evening she dragged herself
up to her room, to sleep, to dream about Ty and being in his arms.

The days went by. She kept to the same routine,
but the nights were by far the hardest. After a week, she decided to call her
attorney to see if Ty had contacted him yet. After explaining about their
marriage, the attorney told her he would start the paperwork for the annulment.
He also informed her that Ty hadn’t yet contacted him.

She grew more depressed as the day dragged on.
The time for her to leave for the studio to work on the album was drawing
closer. Alex decided she liked the seclusion she felt at the villa and wondered
if the band would consider working on the album there instead of the studio.
Besides, she really didn’t want the press or anyone else knowing where she was.
She picked up the phone and dialed Mark, her guitarist.

Alex didn’t tell Mark where she was; just that
she was at a location big enough to accommodate the crew. There were plenty of
rooms for all the band members, and their wives if they wished; the villa was
equipped with three guest bungalows. Alex refused to even inform him what
number she was calling from, she told him she would call back in one week to
find out if they were willing to join her. He agreed to contact the other
members and wait for her call.

Mark didn’t question her about her marriage. If
Steven had told him about it, he didn’t mention it. He probably figured if she
wanted to discuss it with him, she would.

Alex dreaded seeing Steven. She knew he would
drill her mercilessly when he arrived. She thought about what she would tell
him all week, apprehensive about that conversation, but she forced herself to
call Mark as she had promised. She wouldn’t borrow trouble by worrying anymore.
He answered on the first ring, and said everyone in the group was a go.

She gave him her location, and asked that no
one be privy to the information except people the band fully trusted and those
who were concerned with the group. He gave her his word that only the band and
the necessary employees would know where they were going to be.

Two weeks before the band was scheduled to
arrive, Alex had just come back from the beach for lunch when someone knocked
on the front door. Assuming it was a neighbor or someone who was lost she
opened the door, and froze.

Ridge stood on her doorstep dressed in a black
suit. He looked like a nightclub bouncer.

Reacting on instinct she moved to slam the door
when Ridge’s words froze her movements. “Don’t slam the door, I'm by myself. I
swear.”

He watched her move slowly, cautiously glancing
behind him as though she wasn’t sure he was really alone, before opening the
door fully. He couldn’t believe the change in her. She looked almost wraith
like now. Ridge suspected she hadn’t been sleeping much or eating properly
since she’d left the ranch. He knew she wasn’t the only one suffering.

“What do you want, Ridge? If it’s about Ty I
don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” Alex said seriously.

“Okay, not a problem. Can I come in please?” he
replied, hopefully.

Alex sighed and moved away from the door,
gliding down the hall that led toward the back of the villa and the living
room, knowing Ridge would close the door after he entered.

Turning around to regard him coldly, she felt
as if she had gotten her heart rate back under control. Seeing Ridge at her
door was a shock that had left her legs threatening to give up on her, not to
mention the impact of thinking Ty might be with him.

“Nice digs,” he said as he set down a bag that
she hadn’t even realized he was carrying. He reached up to remove a pair of
expensive sunglasses covering his eyes and shuffled his feet nervously.

“What do you want Ridge?” Alex demanded, opting
to forego the niceties. She wanted to be alone. She didn’t like Ridge intruding
on her privacy. She was happy wallowing in her own self-misery, alone.

“The production company sent me; they thought
you would need a bodyguard given that you are here all alone,” he said very
quickly, as if he had been rehearsing that line for some time.

“The production company?” she asked
skeptically, raising a well-sculpted brow.

“Yeah, they’re in charge of supplying security
for you and the group, aren’t they?” Ridge asked, already knowing the answer.

“Only when we’re at concerts or making public
appearances, which we’re not, and have no plans to for quite some time. We’re
getting ready to work on the album,” she countered, puzzled.

She watched him move to one of the chairs and
sit, through narrowed eyes, she followed suit and took a seat on the plush
sofa.

“Well, there’s new management and they say you
and the band will be having security around the clock from now on,” he was
trying to sound professional, like he did this regularly.

“What new management? And when did you start
working for my grandfather? I would think it would take more than money to get
you to leave Ty’s employ?” Alex asked sadly, assuming that her grandfather had
somehow bought his loyalty.

“I still work for Ty. He’s the new management.”
He sat watching her closely, waiting for his words to sink in.

He saw the color leave her face as she absorbed
the news. She just sat there on the couch, not moving, as still as a statue. He
started to get nervous, he didn’t know if she was in shock or not, but sitting
there so still was unnerving. It was eerie.

“Ty took the job working for my grandfather
then?” she asked softly, watching as Ridge nodded his head. “Why?” She almost
sounded like she didn’t care. Almost.

“I don’t know Alex, maybe you should ask him?”
He watched her face go even whiter, if that was possible, at his suggestion.
“Maybe it had something to do with the multi-million dollar bonus your
grandfather gave him!” he joked.

“So he sent you? Why?” she asked staring
straight ahead, not meeting his eyes.

“He knew that you would be more inclined to
have someone around that you were familiar with.”

He saw her take in this new information. He
accepted the fact that she didn’t want him here, or anyone else for that
matter, but he needed to stay. Whether she realized it or not, Alex needed him.
If she continued as she was going, she would make herself physically sick.

“So he sent you to babysit me, is that it?” she
asked in a flat tone, appearing almost lifeless in the way she asked, almost
monotone, like no emotions touched her.

“No, he just wants someone here with you so
you’re not by yourself,” he said, trying to convince her to let him stay.

“Do as you please. There are rooms upstairs,
pick one out for yourself. I’m going to go lay down.” She rose to her feet,
turning slightly before leaving the room to say dispassionately, “Please, just
stay out of my way.”

She had to get away from him; the memories were
coming so fast and so hard, just from being around him. She had started to feel
numb before he had arrived; now it was all coming back and she was starting to
feel everything again, but still had no way to deal with the gripping pain.

He let out a long breath as he watched her
leave. He didn’t know whether to be sad or content that she had given in so
easily. Glad, he decided, because now he could watch over her. But, he was
saddened by seeing her give in so easily, it was heart wrenching because it was
as if the life had completely gone out of her. There was no fight in her anymore,
no spark, just nothing but an empty shell of what he knew her to be. The boss
wasn’t going to like this, not one bit.