Secret Gifts (Steamy Version) (2 page)

“I don’t get it, Lois.” Megan reclined in her seat. “I mean, he’s just doing what he always does. Why should it matter so much?”

“Because, Megan,” she said her name with a malice Megan had never heard. “
Tumbleweed
is being billed as a wholesome, all-American show, with heroes kids can relate to, look up to. Something for people to believe in. And if Gage Mitchell insists on keeping up with the party boy image, he’ll be in breach of contract.”

“That doesn’t even—“

“The first season just wrapped, but the producers have already said they’d kill off his character in the premiere and find themselves a new hero if he doesn’t pull it together and fast.”

Megan sat back and watched Lois, afraid to ask the next question. “I don’t understand what this has to do with me,” she said after a moment.

“You’re going to be the one to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid between now and the premiere,” Lois said. “I figure if he can keep his nose out of trouble until the premiere, America will fall in love with his character, Wyatt Dean, and the producers won’t be able to afford to kill him off.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with me.”

“You,” Lois pointed a red nail at her, “are going to be the one to make sure he stays out of trouble.”

Megan almost laughed, the idea was so funny. “I don’t do television stars, Lois.”

“You do now.”

“But—“

“You’ll find your flight information on your desk when you get back.”

Megan’s head spun. “Flight information? But, where—“

“Canada. The mountains, to be exact,” Lois said. She turned to some papers on her desk and started flipping through them. “
Tumbleweed
films in Alberta. It’s above Montana.”

“I know where Alberta is.”

Lois looked up sharply. “Well then,” she said. “You’ll be familiar with the Rockies, then.”

“Of course.” Megan didn’t like where the conversation was going, or the tone Lois had taken.

“Good. Because I’ve booked Gage into the Castle Mountain Lodge,” Lois said. “He shouldn’t be able to get into too much trouble there and the press won’t know where to look for him.”

Megan shook her head slowly. “I’m not going—“

“You leave in four hours,” Lois said. She stood abruptly and pushed her chair back. “Unless you refuse to honor your commitment, of course.”

Megan knew what Lois was fishing for. “My commitment to this agency has never wavered, Lois.” Megan stood and faced the other woman.

Lois grinned and the look in her eyes made Megan sit again.

It was just a moment, but one long enough for Megan to realize exactly where she stood, before Lois said, “Then I trust you’ll enjoy your time in Canada.”

His dark aviator glasses couldn’t cover the bags under Gage Mitchell’s eyes when his driver pulled up at the front doors of Castle Mountain Lodge, but he put them on anyway.

It was better than nothing, and he knew enough even in his hung over state, that his manager, Lucas Stevens, would string him up if he walked into such a classy place looking like he’d partied for three days straight. Even if it was exactly what he’d done.

The door to the car opened and Gage instinctively covered his eyes with his arm. Whatever time it was, it was too early if the sun was still so high in the sky. And not for the first time, a wave of regret washed over him. The pounding head and churning stomach when he woke up wasn’t worth it anymore. Not that it ever had been.

When his eyes adjusted to the bright light, Gage got out of the car and took his time looking around. He’d never been up to the mountains before, which seemed ridiculous, but was true. He grew up in a small farming town in the middle of Indiana and all he’d known in his twenty-six years was corn fields.

That was, until that moment when a talent scout found him sitting on his tailgate, eating a burger. After that, things had happened so fast he’d barely had a moment to breathe, let alone look around.

The mountains loomed over him, making Gage dizzy when he tipped his head back and stared. He spun slowly in a circle, taking it all in. Breathing in the fresh air, he filled his lungs. It had been too long since he was out of a big city, away from the buildings, the noise, and the smog. Even filming
Tumbleweed,
just outside of Calgary, wasn’t really getting away. Not once you added in all the set pieces, trailers, and equipment.

“Mr. Mitchell?” A voice interrupted his private assessment of his surroundings.

Gage brought his head down, aware of how ridiculous he must look, gaping at the mountains like a child. He cleared his throat and looked at the woman who’d spoken to him. She had dark hair and beautiful green eyes, and while she seemed to be in charge, she clearly looked nervous to be speaking to him. He had that effect on women.

“That’s me,” he said.

“My name is Carmen Kincaid.” She held out her hand and for a split second, Gage considered kissing it, which is something his new persona would do. Instead, he reverted to his upbringing and shook the woman’s hand.

“I assume you're my new babysitter?” He couldn’t help the sarcasm that crept into his voice.

The woman's face hardened and she withdrew her hand. "Why you need a babysitter is your own business, Mr. Mitchell. But I am the manager of guest relations here at the Lodge and it's my job to make sure you have everything you need."

Shame flooded through him. "Well, I'm sure you'll do a good job," he said, and instantly regretted his choice of words. He glanced around for the cloud of paparazzi that followed him wherever he went. That little statement said to a beautiful woman would be eaten up by the press. "That's not how I meant it," he added quickly. "I mean, I—"

"It's fine, Mr. Mitchell." Carmen's face opened in a bright smile. "I know how you meant it. And don't worry," she added. "There aren't any cameras up here. I worked closely with the Grace Agency to be sure no one knew you were coming."

Gage took another look around. Besides the spectacular scenery that was the notable feature, there were no photographers. The endless parade of reporters that hounded him for any shred of scandal or misstep. And hadn't he done a good job fuelling their fire? "It is quiet," Gage said after a moment.

"You'll find the Lodge to be one of the most peaceful places you've ever been to. There will, of course, be other guests who will no doubt recognize you, but with any luck, we can keep the press away. And for the protection of all our guests, we've lowered the gate and added extra security."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Gage said. He took another look around. Lucas had been looking to keep him out of trouble, and by the looks of the place he'd found for him to hide, there wouldn't be any trouble he could get into. It was perfect.

He flashed Carmen one of his killer smiles and she blushed.

"Why don't I show you your accommodations, Mr. Mitchell?"

He followed Carmen into the main Lodge and tried to maintain his cool, detached demeanor. But it was hard when all he wanted to do was revert to his country boy roots. The place was amazing and unlike anything he'd ever seen with the rough timber beams along the vaulted ceiling and the oversized river rock fireplace that was the centerpiece of the room.

"What do you think?" Carmen turned and asked.

He hadn't realized he'd stopped walking. He cleared his throat and said, "It should do."

Carmen eyed him strangely, but didn't say anything. "Most of our guests like it," she said.

Dropping the persona he'd worked so hard to create, he smiled an honest smile and said, "It really is beautiful. I've never seen anything quite like it."

She smiled, obviously satisfied. "Well, let's get you checked in and you can explore everything Castle Mountain has to offer. I think you'll like it."

Gage smiled and for the first time in longer than he could remember, it was his own, honest smile. "I think you're right," he said.

He followed her to the front desk and quickly scrawled his signature. Lucas and his PR agency had taken care of most of the registration details. No doubt trying to make his exile as painless as possible. If only they knew the truth. The moment they told him about it, and after he got over the initial shock of being told what to do, he'd been looking forward to it.

"And I think that's all we need," Carmen said, when he slid the paper across the desk to her. "If you'd like, I can show you to your suite. We were told there'd be one other person joining you."

Gage tried not to roll his eyes. "That would be my latest PR rep."

"Oh yes, the babysitter you referred to earlier?"

Gage almost laughed at her perceptiveness. "That's the one. And whoever it is they found for me this time won't be joining me," he added. As if he was going to share a room with whatever agent they'd stuck him with after the last incident. “You’ll have to get them their own room.”

He saw the indecision cross her face, but she smiled and said, “Well, I'm sure we can—"

"Carmen, who's your new friend?"

Gage turned to see a beautiful blond woman wearing a uniform matching Carmen's. He gave her his trademark smile and lowered his sunglasses just enough to make eye contact, but not enough for her to see how bloodshot his eyes really were. "Well, hello," he said. "The name is Gage." He held out his hand.

"Gage Mitchell?" the blond asked with a giggle. "Well, it certainly is nice to meet you." She flipped her hair back and gave him what he recognized to be an inviting smile. He'd seen enough women in Los Angeles with that exact look on their face. Unfortunately for the women, it had the opposite of the desired effect on Gage. He'd seen it too many times.

He glanced over at Carmen and tried not to laugh at the look she was making where the blond couldn't see.

"Lisa," Carmen said. “As you know, this is Gage Mitchell. He'll be staying here for a while. As discreetly as possible," she added.

"Oh," Lisa purred. "I get it. Your secret is safe with me." She batted her eyes in a way that he was sure was designed to make men do stupid things.

"Nice to meet you, Lisa." Gage didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't want to give her the wrong impression. It wasn't worth it. "I'm sure I'll see you around."

"I'm sure you will." She ran her hand along his arm in a move that even he had to admit was bold. "It can get pretty quiet up here at night, but I happen to know a few things going on that will spice it up."

"I bet you do."

For a moment, Gage let himself get caught up in the web she was weaving. Old habits were hard to break. And she was beautiful, and clearly wanted to show him a good time and— "I don't think Mr. Mitchell is going to be very interested in anything spicy, Lisa."

"Oh, I don't know," Gage said before he could stop himself. "I've been known to enjoy a little spice from time to time."

"That's what I hear." Lisa slipped a little closer to him, until she was very much in his personal space. Gage knew he should pull away. Nothing good would come from getting involved with her.

He took her hand in his and lifted it from her arm. "Thank you, Lisa. But for right now, I think I'm going to spend some time getting to know the Lodge."

Gage released her hand and let it drop gently before turning to Carmen. "Thank you for your help, Carmen. I'll find my own way to the suite. I think I need a bit of fresh air first."

Carmen nodded and handed him his keys and a map of the grounds. "Remember, Mr. Mitchell. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate."

What he needed was space and time to think about the mess he'd made of his life. But something told him the women standing in front of him weren't going to be able to help with either of those things. He managed a smile and turned to walk away.

He was only a few steps away when he heard Carmen hiss at the other woman. "Lisa, we promised Mr. Mitchell's people he'd have a nice relaxing visit here. No parties. No drama. Now, cut it out."

"Lighten up. How often do you get a gorgeous movie star so close? Besides, you can promise his people anything you want, but isn't it about what he wants?"

Gage sighed and kept walking. That was the million dollar question. Wasn't it about what he wanted? And even if it was, what if he had no idea what it was he really wanted?

Gage followed his map and it led him to a pathway circuit that ran along the ridge of the mountains, and looked down below the valley. According to his map, there should be at least fifteen kilometers of interweaving pathways. The sun was shining and and the spring air was warm, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air so far up in the mountains. Just enough to remind you that summer was still a few months away.

Gage strolled through the trees, letting his mind clear and pretty soon his headache was gone and he could think a little clearer.

If he was still on set, he'd be in bed early, ready to film the next day. Despite his well-deserved reputation as a party boy, he took his work seriously. And he wouldn't jeopardize it, not for anything. Gage refused to be one of those actors who showed up hung over, or worse yet, still drunk, and couldn't remember their lines or caused a big scene. No, when it was time to work, he was all business. Stardom had come too easily, and he couldn't afford for it to be taken away.

The ringing of his cell phone shattered the quiet of the day. He didn’t even have to look at it to know who it was, but he answered it anyway.

“Lucas,” Gage said. “I suppose you’re calling to make sure I’m still alive?” He couldn’t keep the bitter tone from his voice.

“Gage, don’t be like that,” Lucas said. “You know I only want what’s best for you.”

A year ago, Gage might have believed that to be true, but more and more he was having trouble identifying the people in his life who actually cared.

“Well, I’m not drunk, there are no women in my bed, and I’m being every bit the model citizen you want me to be.” He kept walking while he listened to Lucas ramble on about how sending him to the mountains was best for his image and it was crucial in his career to present himself a certain way and other things. Gage basically stopped listening to him.