Red Lines (14 page)

“What does Evan say about it?”

“He tries to prepare me for anything that’s going to be released so I have a heads up, but it doesn’t mean I like it any more. And then last night I guess a bunch of people from the set went out together and Emmy was there, and then they got caught by the press when they left the bar.”

“Kind of like how they got us?” Carly asked.

“Yes¸ I guess it was like that.” Haven sipped the vanilla latte. “I know it doesn’t mean anything to him and he’s just trying to protect me, but I hate it.” She stared at Carly. “I hate it. I think I hate her too.”

Carly leaned closer. “I’ve known Evan for a while.” Haven bristled at the reference—she still didn’t know how close their past was. There never seemed to be a good way to ask either of them. “And he’s the kind of guy who likes to take charge; he likes to call the shots. I guarantee you he doesn’t like this situation any more than you do.”

“I know, but it doesn’t change anything.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t, but you’ve got to give him some slack. At least he’s trying. I know he’d rather be here in Texas with you than out there. He hates L.A. He loves you.”

“Maybe our timing is off. We shouldn’t have met yet.”

“Don’t say that. You met exactly when you were supposed to.”

Haven sighed into her latte. Riding off into the sunset with her movie star was turning into more of an eclipse.

Carly stood up. “You know what we need to do?”

“What?”

“We need a girls’ day.”

“But we have to finish the album.” Haven suddenly felt guilty for sabotaging their writing session. She knew Carly’s time was precious.

“Whatever. We can do that later. We have to get you out of this funk. Heartbreak is one thing—that you can at least channel into music. Funk is the wasteland for creativity. We can’t have that.” She tugged on Haven’s arm. “Spa day on me—nails, hair, facials—the whole works. Come on!”

Haven reluctantly stood from the couch. “I guess.”

“I promise, by the end of the day, you’ll feel ten times better and will have a whole new outlook on this relationship crisis. Let’s go.”

Carly turned off the lights behind them and pointed Haven toward the elevators.

H
AVEN LOOKED
at her reflection in the salon mirror.

“So what do you want to do with it?” The stylist dumped her auburn strands on her shoulder.

“You know I think you should do something completely different.” Carly piped in from the chair next to hers.

“Like what?” Her hair had always looked the same.

“Oh, I know what would be a cute. You should do a chin-length bob.” Carly flipped through a hair magazine and pointed to a picture with a similar style.

“I can even add in some bangs,” the woman offered. She swooped the front of Haven’s hair over her forehead to show her the effect of the look.

“Really? That sounds drastic.” She studied her hair. It already seemed like her highlights from the summer sun were fading. Her locks were drab, just like this depressing rain. Maybe they were right.

“Definitely.” Carly smiled. “I change my hair all the time. Keeps things interesting.”

“Ok, let’s do it.” Haven nodded at the stylist. “Give me a whole new look.”

“You got it.” She swiveled Haven in the chair, taking the mirror out of her view.

Two hours later, Haven admired the change in her appearance. She almost didn’t recognize the girl in the mirror. She looked older. Sophisticated. Glamorous.

“Holy shit, girl.” Carly whistled. “That is the perfect hairstyle for you. I need that look next time.”

“You think?” Haven cupped the ends in her palm. They reached just below her chin. She shook her head feeling the new weightlessness. The bangs were shaggy and chunky.

“Absolutely. Now, come on. We have pedicures next. And there are cocktails.” She winked and bounced toward the next room in the spa.

Haven climbed out of the salon chair. Her rainy-day funk was starting to evaporate.

H
AVEN THREW
her bag into the recliner in the great room and turned on the TV. As soon as she saw the latest “Evmy” pictures, she turned to ESPN. Football coverage was welcome after all of that crap. She didn’t want anything spoiling her good mood. It had taken a full day of pampering to achieve.

Her phone rang and she fished it out of her bag, turning the college football rundown on low volume.

“Travis! Hey.” She smiled and settled back into the leather chair. It had been weeks since she had talked to him.

“Hey, how’s it going?” His voice sounded tense.

“Something’s wrong. I can tell.” She realized it was odd he was calling at all. Things had been better between them, but they would never be the same. She missed the way it used to be, when they were friends, before they had crossed a line. She just thanked God they hadn’t slept together. There may have been no recovering from that.

“I don’t know how to tell you this.”

“Just spit it out. Is everyone ok?” She was sure her parents would call if someone were sick.

“Yes and no.” There was a long pause before he continued. “There’s no easy way to say this. Everyone knows, Haven.”

“Knows? Knows what?” There was no way he was talking about this morning’s headline with Evan. No one on Perry Island cared what happened in Hollywood.

“They know about Betra and your dad.”

The walls fell away and Haven blinked hard. “They know? Who knows?” She lifted her hand to run it through her hair, but it was all gone. She felt the emptiness when she got to her chin. Panic hit her. “My mom. Travis, tell me my mom doesn’t know.”

“That’s why I’m calling you. I thought you would want to know.”

“But how? Why?”

“Nell caught them at Betra’s shop when she went to pick up some gifts for her grandkids. She ran out of there so fast, she ran into a car and had to be airlifted to Norfolk for leg surgery.”

“Oh my God.” Haven was trying to picture the scene.

“She was so surprised and in so much pain, she kept screaming about what she had seen in the shop. Everyone heard it. There was no way it wasn’t getting back to your mom at that point.”

“When did this happen? Have you seen her? How is she?”

“No, Nell’s still in recovery.”

Haven tried to swallow her instant guilt. She was asking about her mom; she hadn’t thought to check on Nell. “And my mom? What about her?’

“My parents haven’t seen her and neither have I. Do you want me to go over or something?”

“No!” Haven couldn’t imagine the embarrassment it would cause her mom if Travis showed up on her doorstep. “I’ll come home. I can be there tomorrow.”

She looked around the ranch. All she had to do was throw some things in a bag, and she could catch a flight tomorrow, maybe even borrow the jet.

“Aren’t you kind of busy out there?” Travis asked.

She regretted the spa day with Carly. They could have knocked out another song, but there wasn’t anything to be done. Her mother needed her and she had to get home.

“It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing more important right now. I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry I had to call you about this.” Travis’s voice was low.

“I’m glad you did. If anything comes up, let me know. Ok?”

“I will. See you soon.”

“Bye, Trav.” She hung up the phone and raced up the stairs.

She started tossing clothes in her suitcase. She could barely see what she was packing. The tears were heavy and thick. She slid to the bathroom floor and buried her face in her hands.
How could he do this?
She sobbed.
How could he ruin the safety her mother had?
Destroy a life of memories? A life as a family?

All she could picture was her mother alone in their big house, hiding from the windows, wringing her hands with worry. Everyone in town feeling pity for her. Haven’s chest tightened, knowing that everyone who passed by would shake his or her head and think: “What a shame. Poor Maura Owen. She didn’t see it coming.”

She curled into a ball and let the tears fall on the marble floor.

E
VAN RUBBED
his eyes. He had been dumped, and then got the girl back in a matter of ten hours. He was completely exhausted and wiped out of every emotion. Fake breakups were challenging, especially when they mirrored his own life. He was ready to wrap for the day, but Archie wanted one more take on the make-up scene. It had to be epic. It had to jump off the screen and tear at the audience’s heart.

He had never kissed someone so many times in a row. Well, other than Haven. It almost felt as if his lips would be black and blue. Emmy didn’t hold anything back. At times, her lips were like a vicious tiger attacking him to save her life, and then in an instant they were tender and soft. She was all over the place.

There were moments when Evan thought he had tackled more in this role than any other in his life. The physicality of playing a spy wore him out, but it also invigorated him. This role took him somewhere he didn’t know he was capable of going. He could feel it. Reluctantly, he admitted he was growing as an actor alongside Emmy. Dexter Red was someone he was supposed to be, no matter how up and down this roller coaster had been.

Evan still hadn’t talked to Haven, and it had to be close to midnight in Texas by now. He prayed she had listened to all his voicemails as much as he hated leaving excuses on a recording. He looked at Emmy, who was ready to start again. He whispered to the makeup artist that he needed Chapstick before they started the scene. His lips might not survive another round of an Emmy reconciliation.

He coated his lips and stepped in front of Emmy, waiting to hear, “action.”

“How do you think things are going today, babe?” She wrapped a cool palm around the base of his neck.

“Fine.”

“Fine? After all this, that’s what you have to say?” She pulled back to look at him. “We might as well be shooting a detergent commercial.”

“It’s better than fine, I guess. We’ll have to see it on playback.”

“You have got to be kidding me, Evan. We’ve spent an entire day together pouring our hearts out, and you want to see the playback? You don’t feel any of it?”

He felt eyes on him from the perimeter of the set.

“Em.” He lowered his voice. “Come on, don’t make this about us. I think the scenes are great. You’ve really taken it to a new level today, ok?” He didn’t know how to satisfy her without saying what he knew she wanted to hear. He wasn’t about to go there.

“Really?” Her eyes raked over his lips as if she were about to devour them again.

“Yes, really. Those kisses are going to burn a hole right through any screen they’re played on. Ok?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I haven’t been too much for you?”

He laughed. “At times, but keep it coming. I can take it.”

“We’ll see about that.” Her eyes gleamed. “We still have one more round.” Her hand slipped back to his neck.

Evan braced himself for what he was sure would be another stunning Emmy performance.

“Action!” The set was silent and he looked into Emmy’s eyes, and then leaned down to kiss her.

Once Archie was satisfied that he had captured every possible angle of their lip lock, he called it quits for the day. Evan pulled the robe tightly around him, and headed back to his trailer. He didn’t care about the clothes that were piled on the floor—those belonged to Dexter. He had a pair of boots and jeans in his trailer he couldn’t wait to put on.

The door latched behind him and he slumped on the couch. What a damn long day. He quickly dialed Haven. Maybe he could catch her before she fell asleep.

Someone answered, but all he could hear were muffled sounds.

“Haven? Is that you? Where are you?”

He realized the muffles were actually sobs.

“Darlin’, what’s wrong? Where are you?” He sat forward on the couch.

“I-I can’t talk about it.”

He breathed. “At least you’re talking. Please tell me what’s going on. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening. Just tell me if you’re ok.” He wondered if he needed to hang up and call Bud.