Falling Star (Combustible Book 2) (18 page)

Kyle winced. “Get her the number. I’ll talk to Mila and see if she can convince her, if you can’t.”

“I’m hoping she will. Ella wants to have a normal life. I’m not sure anyone can do that when they’re constantly looking over their shoulder.”

“But if she has a stalker out there, she may need to,” Kyle explained.

“For now. We need to figure out a way stop him.”

“How do we find a man when we don’t have anything to go on?” Kyle asked.

“We get answers from her, somehow,” Trent muttered, walking back to the kitchen to finish getting everything ready for the grill.

“What’s the plan? How can I help?”

“I don’t know yet. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

Trent grabbed his phone to make a call.

Chapter 22

Once Mila left, Ella hurried upstairs and turned on her laptop. She sat down and found Ryan’s email.

Hey Angel,

It was good to see you yesterday. Better to hear you may have found a man who will treat you right.

Hope you aren’t paying too much attention to the news, but it looks like we made the headlines, at least in the tabloids. So far, no one has figured out I was meeting you, but Shannon’s worried about you. So am I.

Don’t worry, the photographer didn’t get a good picture. The police in some Podunk town arrested him. Apparently there was a warrant out for his arrest, something to do with causing an accident involving another actor.

Stay safe. Don’t forget. Once everything settles down, we need to get together. Maybe I can meet your new man and make sure he’s a good guy.

Love ya,

R

Ella sat back with a frown. As much as she hated checking all the bullshit sites, it was better to know what was going on than hiding in the dark.

She found dozens of articles about Ryan and his new
secret lover
. At least, Shannon always had a sense of humor about the rumors. Not everyone did.

She sent a quick reply to Ryan and wrote another email to Sam, asking him to please respond. Then she took her time getting ready. She went for a completely different persona from her onscreen one. She curled her hair, now a lighter color, and put the glasses back on.

Once again, she found herself wondering how long she could get away with the disguise. Sooner or later, someone would figure it out. She could only hope the community had accepted her by then.

Half an hour later, Ella gathered the appetizers she’d made and headed across the street to Trent’s house.

Tina opened the door with a wide grin. “Hi, Ella. Let me help.”

“Sure,” Ella answered. Tina took both trays of food and headed out to the back yard.

Before she could follow, Trent came in with a cautious look. “Hey, I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming.”

“Told you I’d be here.” Chewing her lip, she nodded at the stairs. “Can we talk a minute?”

“Sure, everything okay?”

She shrugged. “Just… well, let’s talk.”

He took her hand and led her upstairs. “By the way, you look great.”

She offered a nervous smile. How would he take finding out she was a nutcase? Wait, she’d already shown him that. Still, it was another thing to admit it.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked softly.

She opened her mouth, but the words died on her tongue.

He took her hands. “Please tell me you aren’t pushing me away already.”

“No.” She sucked in a breath and blurted out, “But Mila mentioned you work with a guy who went to counseling for a traumatic event. Thought maybe he could give you the number.”

Trent nodded and caressed her face. “I was talking with Kyle, and no, I didn’t confirm his suspicions, but we thought it might be good to bring it up. I have the number, but Metcalf is downstairs. He doesn’t know what happened to you, or the circumstances, but he wants to help if he can.”

She shifted out of his reach and turned away, trying to process her emotions. On one hand, he cared enough to risk her anger. And he hadn’t revealed any real details. Still, she didn’t want it public knowledge about her nightmares and panic attacks because of some asshole.

Trent moved in front of her and lifted her chin, looking into her eyes. “Look, I realize I may have overstepped my bounds, but I’m falling for you. You don’t have to talk to him, but you said yourself, you want the number.”

“Yeah, I do. But I don’t want everyone to know what’s going on with me. I’m not comfortable with you talking to him without asking me first.”

His head tipped to the side. “What about Kyle? He’s in the middle of this whether or not any of us like it. You talk to Mila, and both Mila and I talk to Kyle. And I keep it vague, but I may slip at some point. He’s her husband. I don’t imagine they keep many secrets.”

“I’m not worried about Kyle. He wouldn’t betray Mila. And I don’t think you would purposely betray me like that, but it’s my story to share, not yours.”

“I’m sorry. Kyle is my sounding board. Metcalf, he went through the same kind of thing. Not exactly, but he had panic attacks, nightmares, couldn’t go into fires. He’d been a firefighter for years before the shooting. I want to help, Ella, tell me what to do to make this right.”

“It’s fine. Next time, please talk to me first. I’m standing here asking you to get the number from him, and you did one better. I can’t exactly complain even though I don’t want to share my mess with everyone.”

His eyes narrowed. “Hey, we all have things we need to deal with.”

“Some things are uglier and harder to get past than others.”

“Nothing about you is ugly,” Trent admonished.

She held up her arm, showing him the scar. “You’re wrong. Doesn’t matter, though. Please, introduce me to your friend.”

He ran his fingers over the scar. “Not ugly, just another part of you.”

She sighed, glancing down at marred red flesh on her wrist. “It is ugly. I’m lucky it’s not worse.”

Trent pulled her arm and lightly kissed across the scar. “I beg to differ.”

A slow smile spread on her face. “Okay, introduce me to him.”

He leaned down to brush his lips over hers before taking her hand. A blond man stood on the porch next to Kyle. She’d seen him in town with the other guys a few times. His smile had always been kind.

Trent held her hand as they approached him. “Hey, Dave, this is my girlfriend, Ella Cross. Ella, this is Dave Metcalf.”

Ella glanced up at Trent, who smiled back at her, silently daring her to argue. Turning back to Dave, she held out her hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Same to you. Trent believes I could help you with something, if you don’t mind talking.” He motioned out into the yard.

Trent squeezed Ella’s hand and bent to whisper in her ear. “I’ll be right here, grilling. If you need me, just call my name.”

She nodded. “I appreciate that.”

Dave walked under a tree at the back corner of the yard. Ella followed and glanced back at Trent, whose attention was locked on her. She faced Dave and took a slow breath. “Not to be ungrateful, but what did Trent tell you?”

“That you woke up clearly stuck in memories of a hard time. That a while back, he showed up one morning when you were still in bad enough shape you canceled your run.”

Better, and fewer details, than she’d expected.

“I’ve been there, Ella. Sounds like you haven’t hit rock bottom, and that’s good. Means it may be easier for you to get past it, with help.”

“I want help. I don’t want…”
him to win.
But she wasn’t ready to finish the thought out loud. Not to a stranger. No matter how much he wanted to help. “I don’t want to be afraid.”

He smiled sadly. “Fear isn’t the enemy. You can find your strength through fear.” Dave placed a card in her hand. “That’s the number for my therapist. Dr. Eisman helped me immensely.”

“Thank you.”

“If you ever want to talk, my number is on the back. Trent’s going to have a hard time listening without getting angry. He’s too close to you.”

“Yeah. But he means well.”

Dave’s lips quirked in a crooked grin. “He does. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have called me. Don’t be too upset with him.”

“I’m not. In fact, I asked him if he knew someone I could talk to. He just happened to contact you first.”

“He watched me hit my lowest point. I endangered the whole crew because I refused to admit I needed counseling. They rallied together and got me the help I needed. The guys took turns dragging my ass to therapy.” He laughed softly. “You’re lucky to have someone who knows a little about what you’re going through, and would do anything to make it better. Some people can’t handle it.”

“I definitely am. Thank you, Dave.” Knowing someone who had been through trauma made her feel like less of a freak.

Chapter 23

“You don’t need to go,” Trent practically pleaded as Ella opened the front door.

She turned back with a soft smile. “Blaze and Tina are still out back. Spend time with your family. I’ll be right across the street when you’re done. You can come over then.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” he admitted. For as much as Tina smiled, she was sad. He didn’t know how to help her. He worried seeing her brother with a woman brought back memories of her good times with Randy.

“Yeah, but your sister needs you. I have a feeling she’s trying to work up the courage to talk to you about something. So stay. I’ll go. You know where to find me.”

Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. “Do I get to stay the night?”

Stepping back, her dazzling eyes locked on his. He wanted to take the glasses away, but he understood why she wanted to hide. “I’m hoping you will. If you don’t mind another panic attack.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I helped you calm down enough to sleep soundly last night.”

“Hmm, you did. Now go visit with Tina and Blaze. Call when you’re ready, and I’ll unlock the door.”

He kissed her softly, needing another taste. “Hopefully, she doesn’t stick around long. I’m ready to spend the rest of my evening with you.”

She pushed him back. “I’ll see you soon.” Ella slipped out before he could protest. He caught the door and watched her walk across the street, smiling when she turned back to wave before stepping inside.

“You’re so happy,” Tina said. He turned back to catch her sad smile. “Who’d have thought you’d settle down.”

He groaned. “Come on, I’m not that bad. Yeah, I like women, but I avoided one night stands.”

“Yeah, but you never stuck around long. It might be early to say for sure, but this seems different. I’ve never seen you look at a woman like you do her.”

“Yeah, which is why I don’t want to mess it up. I want her to stay. She calls to something inside me I can’t even explain.”

“It’s love. Whether or not you’re ready to admit it.”

Trent smiled. “It’s early still. Don’t jinx it.”

“Can’t jinx love. Either you find it, or you don’t.”

He sighed. “Yeah, but sometimes love is destructive. I watched what happened with you and Randy.”

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t very lucky. He dragged me down. I’m finally out of that hole.”

He didn’t bother saying he hoped so. Instead, he squeezed her hand. “Finally ready to move on?”

“Sure am. I need to be a better mother to Blaze. I need to sort out my life. At one time, I had dreams that got pushed aside when I blindly followed my heart.”

“I’m glad you’ve come back to us.”

“Me too. Now, Blaze and I are going to take off. I’m signing up for classes at the community college first thing in the morning. Wish me luck.”

“Much luck.”

“Go to Ella. She gets nervous without you beside her. Pretty obvious to anyone who watches… you calm her nerves. What is she afraid of?”

“Someone hurt her. She got away, but the experience still affects her.”

“Go take care of her. And thank you for inviting us.”

“You’re always welcome here.” He hugged Tina, then remembered what Ella had said. “Wait. Was there anything you need to talk about?”

“No. I’m happy for you, though. I’m going to go hang out with my boy.”

Trent picked up Blaze and hugged him too. “Hey kid, take care of your mom.”

“I will. Give Ella a hug for me.”

Trent grinned. “You got it, buddy.”

Blaze took Tina’s hand the second Trent set him down, and off they went.

Trent gathered what he needed for the next day and shoved it in a duffle bag. Maybe he could convince Ella to let him help set up the boutique, which she was planning to start the next day.

He knocked on the door. No answer. So he knocked again. Louder this time.

When she still didn’t answer, he called her.

“Trent, are you here?” she answered immediately, her tone frantic.

“Yeah. Where are you?” He couldn’t keep the worry out of his voice.

“I’ll be down in a minute. Sorry.” The tremble in her voice put him on high alert.

“What happened?”

He heard something slam upstairs and refrained from pounding his fist against the door, or better yet, his shoulder to bust it down. Then a thundering sound coming down the stairs set his mind at ease… slightly.

She threw open the door, tears in her eyes. “Come in.” She turned and headed for the kitchen.

His eyes widened, and he nearly yelled at her about not needing to turn to alcohol. To his relief, she opened the refrigerator and pulled out the tea. He didn’t completely understand why he kept expecting her to reach for a bottle. She wasn’t Tina. He knew that in his heart.