Morning Man (26 page)

“How about the one happening in Texas on the first of October.”

“Texas?” He shrugged. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“I’m not one of your weekend trollops, Tack. I can see right through your act.”

He raised his palm. “Hand to God, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That phone call you got last night.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

She squinted hard. “Who was it from?”

“I wasn’t ready to tell you yet, but if you really must know, a real estate agent returned my message.”

She folded her arms and shook her head. “I knew it. I knew it all along.”

“You know, Dayna, I really wish I was a Goddamn mind reader, but I’m not. Can you please enlighten me as to what’s going on in that head of yours?”

“You’re leaving.”

He blinked. “I am?”

“I read the message beside the phone. Galveston, October first? You’ve got another gig lined up and didn’t want me finding out until after you got into my pants.”

He laughed. Then he laughed some more.

“Fuck you,” she growled.

“Is that what you’ve been all hot and bothered about this morning?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Sugar, why didn’t you just tell me? We could’ve cleared this whole thing up hours ago.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped through until he found the business card and handed it to her. “Trish Galveston–Gal-ves-ton–is the realtor who called. I inquired about some property up for sale at the reservoir.”

She blinked. “Oh.”

“See? I’m not going to Texas, or anywhere else.”

“Maybe not this time, but it won’t be long before you do leave. You said yourself you wanted to get out of Columbus because you had an expiration date, remember?”

“Yeah, I did say that. Weeks ago. And since then, something has changed. You. You’ve changed me.”

“No,” she said. “A radio guy never changes. Once a gypsy, always a gypsy.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you. If I happen to get a call from Galveston, or anywhere else for that matter, you’re not only the first person I would tell, you’re the one I’d want to take with me.”

She looked at him. “You know it’s funny, but CJ said that very thing to me a few months before he moved here. Look how that turned out.”

“I’m not sure how many ways I need to prove it to you, baby, but I’m not CJ.”

“I’m tired of chasing after someone who won’t stand still.” Her voice quivered. “I swore I wasn’t ever going to do it again.”

“I’m telling you right now, you don’t have to chase me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“And I’m not going to put my life on hold waiting to see if you ever will, either.”

His heart plummeted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I need a chance to be by myself for a while,” she said, sniffing back tears. “The PD up at Big Country Q-Ninety-two in Calgary needs someone to co-host their morning show.”

“Calgary? Are you serious?” She couldn’t possibly mean it. Dayna certainly had a flair for the dramatic, but this was unreal. “You can’t just up and leave for Calgary.”

“I’m sure it’ll be easy for Bonnie to find a replacement to fill my pajama top. She’s probably got a stack of applic–”

“Cut it out,” he demanded.

“As for the spot I left in your bed this morning, I have no doubt you’ll find someone to fill that vacancy by Saturday night.”

The adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream and pounded in his ears. “I mean it, Dayna. Stop talking like this.”

Her chin quivered. “If it hurts this much already, what’s going to happen in a couple of weeks? In a few months? What if we actually stake a whole year or two in each other before it all falls apart?” She began to sob. “I have to go now before things between us get any deeper.”

“I’m already in deep here. I love you,” he said, pleading. “You can’t leave me.”

“I can’t stay, either.” She shook her head. “Everyone in this stupid town knows about us and that humiliating pact. I’ll never be able to look anyone in the eye.”

“Running away is not going to solve anything.”

“I’m not running away.”

Bonnie’s knock interrupted them. “Everything okay in here?”

Dayna stood up, still crying. “No.”

“Oh, dear, what’s the matter?”

“I can’t sign the contract either, Bonnie. I’m sorry. I appreciate everything you’ve done in giving me this opportunity. I realize I haven’t even been here long enough to finish out my probationary period but–”

Her eyes widened. “Dayna, no.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to need some time off. I’m going out of town and when I get back, I’ll likely be giving you my notice.”

Bonnie shook her head. “Well, I won’t accept it under these circumstances. You’ve had a very emotional morning and you’re making an irrational decision under duress. Take a little time off, then come back next week when you’re thinking clearer.”

“No, I’ll be gone for at least a couple of weeks, maybe more depending on how things go,” she said. “There’s an opening at a station in Calgary that I want to explore. Call Bucky Dawson and ask him yourself.”

Bonnie’s glare zeroed in on Tack. “What have you done?”

Feeling like he’d just been hit by a bus, he sat speechless, trying to process what was happening.

“Don’t blame him, it’s not his fault. This is something I need to do for myself.” She stood up. “I’m sorry that I’ve let you down, but this is probably for the best.”

Tack followed her to the door, desperately grabbing her by the wrist. “You can’t just suddenly announce you’re leaving and expect me to–”

“Please, don’t make this any harder on me than it already is.” She flung open the door and walked out into the hallway.

“Dayna!”

She stopped and turned to him.

He met her where she stood and cupped her precious face in his hands, deep pain searing in her eyes. “Don’t do this to us. We are so good together.” He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “And we’re just getting to the really good stuff.”

“I know.” She laughed softly. “I’m glad I don’t know what I’ll be been missing.”

“I already do.” He held her so tight he thought they both might break into pieces. “Promise me this is only a temporary thing.”

“I can’t promise anything, cowboy, including when or even if I’ll be back,” she whimpered, her tears soaking through his shirt. “This just might be the spot where we need to take two different roads. I don’t want you waiting for me.”

“No. I’m not going to say goodbye.” He slowly pulled back from their embrace and took off his Saint Christopher medallion, putting it around her neck. “Until you return, take this with you. For safe travels.”

“Tack, I can’t,” she said, holding the silver disk in her fingers. “This is yours.”

“So are you,” he said, pressing his lips against her forehead.

She hugged him tight, burying her head against his shoulder again.

“Go out there and do whatever it is you need to do, sugar,” he whispered. “And whenever you’re ready, you come back to me.”

Then he kissed her like he was kissing her for the very last time, and let her go.

Chapter 16

Dayna called Bucky Dawson from the cab. It wasn’t quite nine AM in Calgary, but he was in the office and pleased to hear that she’d scheduled “vacation time” to try out for the morning show. Minutes later, his assistant had secured a seat for Dayna on the next non-stop Air Canada flight from Columbus to Cowtown.

The front door slammed with brute force as she hollered for CJ, hoping it would be a rude awakening. “Get your ass out of bed!” She threw her suitcase on the couch and began cramming it with as much clothes as the seams and a sticky zipper would allow. She heard one loud stomp upstairs, followed by clomping across the floor.

He stumbled half way down the stairs in his t-shirt and boxers. “What the hell are you doing home this early?”

She tore open the closet door and unloaded an armful of drycleaner-wrapped outfits that Ohio had never gotten to see. “I’m leaving, you son of a bitch.”

“Finally.” He smiled, hanging over the railing. She wished it would suddenly give way so he’d come crashing down and snap his pencil neck.

“I really mean it. I’m leaving this house. I’m leaving the station. I’m leaving Columbus.”

“Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry, we won’t bump into one another if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m putting several state lines and an international border between us.”

“Jesus, Day, you’re hightailing it to Mexico?”

“Canada, you moron,” she said, closing the flaps of one cardboard carton and retrieving another from the closet. It had been a pain in the ass to be living out of boxes all summer, but it did make for a quick and tidy getaway.

“With Collins?”

“No, I’m going alone. You made damn sure of that when you fed our story to that hack at
The Rumormill
.”

He combed his fingers through his bed head hair, making it stick out even more. “
The Rumormill
? That wasn’t me.”

“What kind of idiot do you play me for? It mentions you by name.”

CJ turned and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. She couldn’t imagine he actually knew how to use his computer for anything but porn.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed through the floor. “Who said all this?”

“You did, you fucking ignoramus prick!”

“No, I didn’t!” He stormed down the stairs again. “I swear, Day, that wasn’t me.”

“Right, CJ. Just like it wasn’t you who slashed my tires. Or sent the hate mail.”

“Slashed your tires? I didn’t…I mean, I’d never–”

“But you’ll cop to the hate mail?”

“No. I mean, yes, I hate you. But not enough to bother licking a stamp to say it when I have no problem telling you to your face.”

“So, you never sent anything to me the station?”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, all right. There was one thing, but I hoped you’d never find out about it.”

She folded her arms and waited for the truth.

“I sent flowers on your first day of the morning show.”

“Yeah, I did get flowers that day. Those were from you?”

“I didn’t sign the card because I didn’t want you to know. I just wanted…bah. Never mind.”

“Wanted what?”

“I wanted you to know someone was listening and thought you did a half-decent job. That’s all.”

Her lips curled into a smile. “You know, I was happy until you came along. You made me fall for you and drag my sorry ass all the way to Ohio just so you could dump me. And then,
then
, after that you have the nerve to send me flowers? Gawd.”

CJ started to smile too. “I really am a prick, aren’t I?”

“But you also gave me a place to stay,” she said in a begrudgingly appreciative tone. “A lumpy, musty place to stay, but a place to stay nonetheless. Thank you.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” he said. “So, all this time you thought I was doing these shitty things behind your back?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Maybe one of Collins’ throwaways went all psycho-stalker on you.”

She pressed down on the suitcase lid and fought with the stubborn zipper until it finally closed. “Yeah, maybe. It doesn’t really matter anyway.”

“So, what happened? Lovers’ quarrel?”

“No.”

“Catch him in the act with some ho?” His eyebrows shifted. “With two hos?”

“I just need time to figure some stuff out and while I put some space between us, I thought it might be good for me to try something new.” She lugged her bulky suitcase off the couch and the load plunged to the floor with a heavy thud. “And God help me, there better not be any attractive, smooth-talking radio jocks up in Calgary. I only want to work with disgusting, repulsive boors from now on.”

CJ put on a pair of shorts and helped Dayna lug her things out to the curb. “You gonna drive all the way up to Canada?” he asked, watching as she packed the Beetle’s compact trunk full.

“No, I’ll leave my car at the airport and figure out what to do with everything in a couple of weeks. If I get the job in Calgary, I’ll come back and get my things. If I don’t, then I’ll fill up the tank, buy a road map and head someplace else.”

She slammed the trunk shut and smiled. “Well, this is it.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking a little sadder than she’d imagined he’d be watching her go. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out the way we originally planned.”

“Me too,” she said, fingering her key ring. She wriggled off the brass house key and put it in CJ’s hand before giving him a goodbye hug. “Just so you know, I still hate your guts. Probably always will.”

“I hate you more,” he said, still holding her tight. “But, hey, the offer’s still good if you wanna, you know, scratch that itch one last time before you go…”