♫ Three ♫
Jerith and Nicolette arrived home on a Wednesday evening. Nicolette found out that her hearing with internal affairs was scheduled for that Friday. She spent the next two days feeling edgy, but Jerith was there to help alleviate some of the tension.
One of the things they had decided while in Hawaii was that it was stupid for Jerith to continue to stay at the hotel. On Thursday they went over so he could check out and get his stuff. The rest of the band headed back to LA for the remaining two weeks of their unexpected break. Upon checking out at the front desk, Jerith found that Billy had not only checked out of her room and picked up her stuff, but their manager had already taken care of the bills up to that point. Jerith made a mental note to call Skyler and see how Billy was actually doing at the clinic; he had meant to the night before, but he’d been tired from the trip.
He and Nicolette left the hotel an hour after they’d arrived with the few personal things he’d had on the tour they’d just finished, most of which were clothes. He also carried a guitar case that held what he called his baby, a Les Paul that he had bought with his first big royalty check. It was sapphire blue with gold, orange, and red flames licking out from the edges. He had shown it to Nicolette up in the room, and she’d been sufficiently impressed, considering she didn’t know one thing about guitars. She could see, however, how important the instrument was to him, and that was what mattered.
Later that day, Jerith sat down to call Skyler’s place. He was surprised when Billy answered the phone.
“What are you doing there?” Jerith asked, mildly suspicious.
“Take it easy, Dad,” Billy said lightly. “Skyler sprung me from the nuthouse on Monday. I’ve been with him, and clean as a whistle, since then.”
“Uh-huh,” Jerith said, narrowing his eyes. “Let me talk to Skyler.” He was surprised when she only laughed and handed Skyler the phone. Usually she’d bite his head off for not trusting her.
“Hello?” Skyler said.
“Is what she just told me true?”
“It is. She’s been with me the whole time, and I can vouch for her sobriety.”
“Good.” Jerith didn’t exactly sound enthusiastic, but not displeased either. “Why’d she leave the clinic though? Wasn’t that a bit soon?”
“Jerith,” Skyler said, sounding frank, “you know and I know that Billy is a great little actress. She had them bullshitted to high heaven by the time I got there on Monday. It was a waste of time.”
“Do you think she’ll stay clean this time, though?”
Skyler was silent for a long moment. “Can’t really answer that one. She’ll never be totally free of the craving—it is an addiction and that isn’t curable. And considering the business you two are in, the temptation is always going to be there for her…” He trailed off, stopping short of telling Jerith he was always going to have to watch her if he wanted her to stay clean and in the music business. He figured Jerith could guess that much, which was affirmed by the deep sigh on the other end of the line.
“Yeah,” Jerith said, looking up at the ceiling. “That’s kinda what I figured. Well, thanks for giving it to me straight, Skyler. And thanks for keeping tabs on her for me.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Skyler replied simply, and Jerith was again surprised. Obviously there was becoming more to the relationship between Billy and Skyler than there had been before. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but he knew he had no say in the matter anyway, so why worry about it?
“Well, anyway, thanks.”
“No problem,” Skyler said. They hung up a few moments later.
“Well?” Nicolette asked, walking into the room a few minutes later. She had known he was calling to check on Billy and she had politely stayed out of the room. Now she moved to sit on the bed next to him, watching him patiently.
“She’s doing fine, I guess. Skyler checked her out of the center, but he says she’s been clean all week so far.”
“Did you talk to Billy?”
“Yeah, she sounded fine. Better than fine, actually—she sounded happy.”
“Okay…” Nicolette said, giving him a sidelong look. “So why don’t you sound happy?”
Jerith looked at her for a long minute, realizing she was getting to know him pretty well. He knew he hadn’t really said or done anything to tell her he wasn’t totally thrilled with Billy’s “happiness,” but she could tell. He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s something that Skyler said, or didn’t say, rather. He told me Billy’s going to have a constant battle with drugs as long as she’s in the music business, and I guess that means I’ll have to be her watchdog for a long time to come.” He scrubbed tiredly at his face. “I just want to play music, and be happy with it. Why does it have to be so damned complicated?”
“Would you want another lead singer?” Nicolette asked, already knowing the answer to the question.
“No,” Jerith said simply, shaking his head. “Billy’s it. She’s the band.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” Nicolette shook her head for emphasis. “You’re just as important as Billy is. You are the other half of Billy and the Kid, Jerith. She needs you just as much as you need her, believe me.”
Jerith stared at her for a long time, trying to understand how someone he’d met less than three weeks before had become so much a part of his life. Here she was telling him that he was important, that he mattered. She was supporting him, and not just to pay lip service. He could see that she really meant it.
“How’d I get lucky enough to hook up with you?” he said seriously.
Nicolette laughed. “Same way Billy was unlucky enough to hook up with me. And I’d say I’m getting the better end of the deal. I mean, Hawaii, concert tickets, limo rides, free groceries…” She trailed off, as if she was only giving a hint of the wonders he’d done for her.
“You’re worth every penny, too,” Jerith said, leaning down to kiss her.
He was still kissing her when Ryan appeared in the doorway. “Mom,” he said. He sounded upset.
Nicolette’s head snapped around immediately at the tone. “What, Ryan?”
“I, uh…” the young man stammered, looking from his mother to Jerith, then back to his mother. “There’s someone here, and… well…”
“Who?” Nicolette wondered if it was Mandy’s parents, or one of her officers. Maybe something had happened on the IA case, and they were here to tell her bad news. Nicolette’s mind raced around trying to figure it out. Ryan answered it in two words.
“It’s Dad.”
Nicolette felt Jerith tense almost immediately, as did she. “He’s what—here?” she said, trying to assimilate what he was telling her. “Not on the phone, but here?”
“Yes, Mom, here. I know the difference.” Ryan’s mind and heart were in turmoil too. He had been so shocked at seeing his father after three years that he had simply opened the door and let him in. Then he had turned and walked down the hall to his mother’s room without a word. Now his mother was staring at him like she was in shock, and he understood how she was feeling. “Are you coming out here?” he said finally, when she didn’t move off the bed.
Nicolette nodded numbly. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” She motioned him to go back out of the room. When he did, she turned to Jerith, not sure what to say.
“His dad called him,” Jerith said, remembering the older man at the luncheon before they’d left for Hawaii.
Nicolette nodded. “I knew he would. I just didn’t think John would come out here. I thought he’d call or something, but not come in person.” Her mind was whirling from the shock that her husband was actually back in their house at that moment. She hadn’t seen him in three years, and hadn’t even talked to him in two. Everything had been done in writing from that point, first notes between them, then letter between their lawyers.
“Well, he’s here,” Jerith said matter-of-factly. “What’re you going to do? And what do you want me to do?”
“I…” she started to say, then shook her head. “I’m going out to talk to him. What you do is up to you. He’s probably already surmised that you’re here—your car is in the driveway, and he knows I couldn’t afford to buy Ryan one for his birthday.” She said the last with an attempt at a grin.
“Fine,” Jerith said. “Then I’ll come out there with you.” Nicolette wasn’t sure if she’d heard a little bit of a possessive tone or if she was just imagining it.
She stood and walked toward the door. Jerith stood too, thinking it shouldn’t make him happy that she hadn’t even bothered to look in a mirror before going out to see a man she hadn’t seen in three years. Not that she had any reason to check herself; she looked gorgeous, as always. Jerith found himself feeling very possessive—Nicolette had not imagined the tone a moment before. He followed her out of the room and down the hall. He saw John Harris and immediately realized that he and her soon-to-be-ex-husband couldn’t be more opposite if they tried.
John Harris was tall, six foot three inches. He had a broad chest and muscular-looking arms, and his skin was dark from time out in the sun. His hair was black, curly, and cut short in what Jerith considered a “cop-type” haircut—neat, but not too closely cropped. John had brown eyes, which he now turned on Nicolette and subsequently Jerith as they came out of the hallway. His eyes narrowed.
“John,” Nicolette said, stopping three feet from her husband, out of arm’s reach. “What are you doing here?” Her tone was just short of polite.
John seemed taken aback by her cool attitude, and again his eyes went to Jerith, as if sure the blond-haired guitarist was to blame for it. “I was in town on business,” he said, his voice deep and strong. “I thought I’d drop by and see my family.” His emphasis was on the word my, and he’d stared directly into Jerith’s eyes as he said it.
“Well, I’m sure your dad will be happy to see you,” Nicolette said, not missing a beat.
John’s eyes went to her, narrowing just slightly. “I meant to see you and Ryan,” he said, his tone telling her she should have known that. It also told her that he didn’t like her new attitude toward him. He was used to his quiet, easygoing wife who deferred to him on just about anything. This wasn’t her.
“I see.” She nodded. She glanced back at Jerith, who was leaning casually against the doorway between the dining room and living room, and then she looked back at John. “Well, I’ll be busy, but you can of course see Ryan while you’re here.” She paused, looking pointedly at her son. “That is, of course, if Ryan’s free…” She let her voice trail off, giving Ryan an out on purpose. She wasn’t quite sure how her son was feeling about this whole thing, and didn’t presume to know whether he’d want to go out with his father.
“I do have school, and some practices,” Ryan said, but his voice held no real conviction.
“Well, maybe I’ll come by a practice or two,” John said, still eyeing Nicolette and Jerith but making a point of looking to his son.
Ryan shrugged. “Okay.”
John looked back at Nicolette. “And you’ll be busy all week?”
Nicolette nodded, not even bothering to look sincere. Jerith wanted to reach over and pat her on the back. She was handling this very differently than he’d expected her to. He had been half afraid she’d throw herself lovingly into her ex-husband’s arms, or at least cave when he questioned her. He could also see surprise and subsequent accusation in John’s eyes as he looked at him and Nicolette. Jerith made a mental note to find out why.
Later that night as they lay in bed together, Jerith questioned John’s obvious surprise at her defiance of him.
“He’s used to me giving him whatever he wants,” Nicolette said, shrugging.
Jerith eyed her, his expression serious. “Whatever he wants?”
Nicolette glanced up at him, taking in his look of worry. “Not this time,” she said, her voice very strong and sure.
“But before?”
Nicolette was quiet for a few minutes, then nodded. It was obvious from her mood that there was more to the story, but Jerith knew not to push her too much. He let it lie for the moment.
****
The two weeks following John’s arrival seemed to fly by, and before they realized it, Jerith’s departure for LA was imminent. There had been a couple of minor run-ins with John, but Jerith had kept his cool and deferred to Nicolette’s right to handle him. On one occasion, it had become very obvious to Jerith that John was ready to become physical to fight for what he obviously still considered his. Jerith too had been willing to defend his place in Nicolette’s life, but Nicolette had intervened. She had put herself between the two men, facing Jerith.
“Don’t do this, Jerith, please,” she said, her tone fueling John’s rancor.
“I’m not afraid of your little boyfriend, Colette. Just get the hell out of the way!” he bellowed, and reached out to remove her from his path. Nicolette surprised both of them by whirling on her soon-to-be-ex-husband.
“Don’t touch me, you sonofabitch!” she screamed. “Don’t ever touch me!” Her emerald green eyes blazed at John, her face set in a determined line.
John was momentarily taken aback, but then his eyes narrowed at her. “Don’t scream at me, Colette,” he said menacingly, taking a step toward her.
“Don’t even think about it,” Jerith growled. John’s eyes went to the other man then, and he saw cold, determined anger there, and was surprised. He had figured Jerith for a player, and that he was just playing Nicolette for the moment. He’d also assumed that when he’d returned, Jerith wouldn’t like the heat being turned on and would leave, but the long-hair had stood his ground. John was ready to take Nicolette by force if necessary, and to that end he again reached to move Nicolette out of his way. Ryan walked in at that moment, and everything stopped. Even John hadn’t been ready to draw blood in front of his son. The confrontation had been averted, and Nicolette had managed to keep the two men apart since then.
The night before Jerith was supposed to leave to go back to LA, Nicolette came home from work to find him sitting on her bed. She was two hours later than normal, and Jerith was on edge. His blue eyes watched her as she removed her work clothes and got ready to take a shower. He said nothing, and Nicolette knew he was uptight. She said nothing either, because she knew he had a reason to be.
She took her shower, blow-dried her hair, and put on robe, then walked out of the bathroom. Jerith was still sitting in the same place, staring straight ahead, but the look on his face told her he knew she’d been with John earlier that evening.
John had showed up in her office as she was leaving. He had told her he wanted to go somewhere and talk. When she resisted the idea, he told her he’d follow her home if she didn’t and that maybe then he could finish things with her new boyfriend too. Nicolette had been loath to allow another confrontation between Jerith and her soon-to-be ex, so she had gone to have coffee with him.
Now, looking at Jerith, she knew he would have been just as happy to have John follow her home so they could kill each other. Nicolette’s motivation was to keep Jerith from getting hurt. She thought Jerith might be able to hold his own against John, but she wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t willing to risk it. Jerith’s looks were part of his livelihood, and she didn’t want her relationship with him to endanger that in the slightest. John always fought dirty—she was well aware of that.
Now she stood watching him as his eyes flicked to her.
“You were with him, right?” Jerith said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.” Nicolette moved to sit down in front of him on the bed. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, so she had to sit farther from him than she would have liked. “He wanted to talk…” she said, trailing off as he nodded slowly.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice low. “He wanted to talk you into getting back together with him.”
Nicolette considered his words for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Yes, that was part of it. He also wanted to talk about Ryan. He said he wants Ryan to come to Boston during the summer…” Again she trailed off, this time as Jerith laughed, shaking his head sardonically.
“I’ll just bet he does,” he said, almost snarling. “Gotta get him away from that bad influence.”
“Jerith,” Nicolette said appeasingly, “Ryan is his son. Maybe he just wants to spend some time with him.”
“Yeah, and maybe I’m the pope.” Jerith’s blue eyes flashed as he looked away from her. He was silent for a long moment, and then his gaze fell on her again. “So?”
“So what?” she asked, looking perplexed.
“So, did you fall for it?”
“Fall for what, Jerith?” Nicolette sighed, feeling very tired suddenly.
“His line, his apology.” Jerith’s voice had taken on an edge in his impatience to know his fate. “Whatever crap he said to try to get you back. Did you fall for it?”
Nicolette looked at him as if just seeing him for the first time. “Is that what you think, that I’m going back to him?”
Jerith didn’t reply. He swallowed convulsively, his face taking on a pained look as he nodded, his eyes delving into hers.
Nicolette stood and moved to straddle his legs, sitting on his lap. She looked down into his eyes. “No,” she said simply, leaning in to kiss him. Jerith’s arms went around her, pulling her closer to him.
When their lips parted minutes later, they were both breathless. Jerith hugged her to him. His lips were right next to her ear when he whispered, “I love you.”
Nicolette sat motionless for a moment, digesting what he had just said. Then she moved to look down at him, her eyes searching his. “You do?”
Jerith’s lips twitched in a lopsided grin. “Yeah. Go figure, huh?”
But Nicolette didn’t let him off so easy. “But how? Why?” She shook her head. “When?”
Jerith looked at her for a long moment, as if trying to decide what to tell her. “I’m not really sure how. Why is obvious, and when, I guess tonight—tonight, when you didn’t come home, and I knew you were with him, I realized it. The thought of you going back to him, the thought that I might lose you… It twisted me into a knot.” He looked straight into her eyes. “I’ve never felt that way about anyone.”
Nicolette was surprised by what he’d said, but she was even more shocked by what she heard herself say. “I love you, too.” Her astonishment was evident in her voice. “I guess I didn’t realize until just now either. Wow…” she said, trailing off as the idea settled on her. She was in love with a man she’d met only slightly more than a month before, and on top of that he was a rock star of international fame, and he lived in a totally different city with a life she knew absolutely nothing about.
Jerith was grinning at her now. He could see her mind working, and that she was going to tie herself up into a knot if he let her continue. He did the best thing he knew how to keep her from overthinking what they had said to each other—he made love to her for the next few hours. Eventually they lay on the bed, spent and half asleep.
“When am I ever going to see you?” Nicolette asked, still breathless.
“Oh, Judas priest,” Jerith said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes ceilingward. “Doesn’t that mind of yours ever shut off?”
“No,” Nicolette said, propping herself up on an elbow and looking down at him. “And now that I’ve decided that I’m in love with you, I have this strange desire to see you every so often.”
“You’ll see me.”
“When?”
“What do you want, an itinerary?” He widened his eyes at her melodramatically.
“That would be lovely,” she said sweetly.
“I’ll have my secretary fax you one.”
“You have a secretary?” Nicolette asked, sounding surprised.
“No. I was joking.”
“See, that’s what I mean,” she said, hitting him on the shoulder. “I don’t even know you, outside of part of your childhood, who you dated last, what high school you went to, and that you’re a car thief…”
“That’s a lot,” Jerith said, laughing. “Considering the fact that strictly speaking we’re only on about our third date…”
“Oh, shut up!” She grinned. “That’s all past stuff. I don’t know anything about your life now, what you’re going back to in…” Her gaze shifted to the clock on her nightstand. “About seven hours.”
Jerith looked at the clock, surprised that it was that late already. He was driving back to LA in the morning. He had to get on the road by about 6 a.m. because he had a meeting with the record company at two o’clock in the afternoon. He looked back at Nicolette and saw the distress on her face. He relaxed against the pillows, pulling her back down to lie next to him. “What do you want to know? Ask me anything,” he said quietly.
Nicolette was quiet for a long time as she gathered her thoughts. “Well, I know you don’t have a secretary,” she said jokingly. “Okay… Where do you live? LA itself?”
“No, I live in Malibu.”
“On the beach?”
“Above it.”
“Do you have a dog?”
Jerith grinned in the semi-darkness; the bathroom light was still on. “No, no dog, no cats, no fish, no birds. Too much maintenance, and I’m never home.”
“Do you have a maid?”
“She comes in twice a week, whether I’m there or not.”
“Nice,” Nicolette said sardonically.
“Hey.” Jerith looked down at her with a grin. “I’m a big star—I can’t be cleaning toilets and stuff.”
Nicolette laughed. “Okay, so you have a maid. What about any other type of servants?”
Jerith raised an eyebrow. “Servants?”
“I mean, like a chauffeur, or a butler or something.”
“Chauffeur? You know I love my cars—you think I’d let anyone else drive me around?”
“Dumb question, huh?”
“Dumb question.”
“You said cars—how many cars do you have?”
Jerith was silent for a moment as he thought about it. “Well, not counting the Corvette back home, I have five.”
“Five?” Nicolette sounded stunned.
“Yeah, I have the Z4 you saw, a Maserati, a Barracuda, a Porsche 911, and a ’57 Chevy Nomad.”
“Wow.”
“Oh, stop!” Jerith said. “Besides them, the only real money I’ve spent was on my house and my guitars.”
“I don’t even know if I want to ask how much you paid for the house,” Nicolette said, grinning up at him.
“Three point two,” he said simply, looking at her pointedly. She knew he wasn’t trying to impress her—that wasn’t what Jerith Michaels was about—but she was impressed anyway, and shocked. She hadn’t really realized how much he actually possessed financially.
“Million?” she croaked.
“No, three thousand two hundred. It was blue-light special day in Malibu,” he said sarcastically, but his grin was humorous.
“Alright, alright, Mr. Michaels, you don’t have to get snippy,” Nicolette said, her tone just as light and humorous. “How many rooms does this mansion have?”
“It’s not a mansion, and it has six.”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “And what other financial wonders have I not discovered about you?”
“I have an extensive portfolio of stocks,” he said, mockingly pretentious. “And some money in the bank.”
“Some?” Nicolette was skeptical of his overly casual tone. “Just how much are you worth, Jerith Michaels?”
“In liquid assets?”
“Yeah, just the bare basics,” Nicolette said, eyeing him with a half-grin on her face.
“About two million,” he said casually.
Nicolette couldn’t head off the coughing fit that overcame her in her surprise. When she managed to regain her composure, she looked at him from the sitting position she’d moved into. “You have two million dollars at your fingertips?”
Jerith shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You have two million in your savings?”
“No, I have a million and a half in an IRA, five hundred thousand in savings and a hundred thousand in checking,” he replied easily.
Nicolette just shook her head and lay back down next to him. “And it doesn’t mean a thing to you, does it?”
“Nope. They could stop paying me tomorrow and I’d still play.”
“You love the music that much?”
“Yep,” he said, sounding so serious Nicolette glanced up at him. He was staring up at the ceiling. It was obvious he was very sincere in his passion for what he did. It wasn’t for the money; it was for the music.
“Good thing you’re good at it, huh?” She leaned over to kiss his chest.
He squeezed her shoulder. “Helps.”
They were silent then. Nicolette fell asleep in his arms, thinking that he was so different than the man she’d expected him to be when she’d met him. Jerith fell asleep thinking how much he was going to miss holding her every night once he was back in LA.
The next morning, Nicolette got up with him at 4:30. She made him coffee, but he didn’t want her to go to the trouble of breakfast. “I’ll grab something later,” he said, pulling her down on his lap and holding her close. It was obvious that he was very tired, and Nicolette was concerned about the long drive ahead.
“Are you going to be okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve done shows on less sleep. Don’t worry.”
“Sure, no problem.” Nicolette kissed his forehead, her lips lingering there as he held her tight. She couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes; she was going to miss him.
As if he could sense her grief, Jerith glanced up at her. “Hey, knock that off,” he said softly. “You’ll see me soon, I promise.”
Nicolette nodded, not looking convinced.
“I love you,” he said, staring into her eyes.
“And I, you.” She kissed him on the lips. They were both surprised when Ryan walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, Kid,” Ryan said, clapping the older man on the shoulder then moving to sit in the chair across from his mother and Jerith. “So you’re outta here, huh?” He glanced at his mother and saw the devastated look in her eyes. “Wow,” he said, smiling at Nicolette. “Mom, it’s not like he’s goin’ off to war. He’s just goin’ back to LA—it’s like an hour by plane.”
Jerith laughed, looking up at Nicolette with “I told you so” written all over his face.
“Oh shut up, both of you,” she said, smiling in spite of herself. “It’s not the same thing, and you know it.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jerith said seriously. “But we’ll make it work, I promise.”
The time flew by and before she knew it, it was six o’clock and Jerith had to go. She walked him out, holding his hand. When he got to the car, he turned to her. “How about you come out and see me in a couple of weeks?” he said. He’d obviously been thinking on it for a little bit, and he wanted to hear that she would.
“I’ll try, Jerith, but I’ve got so much to do at work now… Oh hell,” she said, looking angry.
“What?” Jerith said, surprised by her change in mood suddenly.
“It’s starting already, the reasons we can’t see each other, the obstacles, the trouble.” She sounded depressed and angry.
“We’ll work it out.” He moved to kiss her, his arms around her as he leaned back against his car, pulling her up against him. When they parted he looked down at her. “I got an idea,” he said, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out his wallet, and from that pulled out a credit card and handed it to her. “You use that whenever you want to come see me. Just hop on a plane and come down.”
“What if no planes are headed that way when I want to see you?” she said, being purposely difficult.
“I don’t care if you have to charter a plane. If you need to see me, you come, one way or the other.”
“And I suppose your record company will just be thrilled with your girlfriend showing up to take you away from your album.”
“You let me worry about that. I want you to come down whenever you want to, and I’ll try to come up when I can, okay?”
“Okay,” she said as she looked down at the credit card in her hand, sounding like a recalcitrant child.
“Hey.” Jerith reached out to lift her face to his. “I love you, and we’ll work this out, okay?”
“You win,” she said, smiling finally. “I’ll come in two weeks. I don’t care if I have to work double overtime till then—I’ll be there.”
Jerith gave her the brilliant smile that women all over the world swooned for. “Good. See that you are, Sergeant.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” she said, saluting him smartly.
Jerith drove off ten minutes later, after kissing her for that whole length of time. Nicolette watched him drive away, thinking about him and missing him already.
****
Billy and Skyler spent their two weeks together in companionable happiness. Skyler had gone back to work a couple days after Billy was released from the center, but he’d checked in with her frequently, even taking her on a mission with him once.
Billy, like Michael, had been impressed with his agent personality, even feeling a bit of shock at his exertion of his peace officer powers later that day. The afternoon after the mission, while driving through a local neighborhood he’d reached over and turned up his police radio. Billy had been surprised when he stopped the car and jumped out, pulling out his gun and pointing it at a man walking down the street, yelling for him to get down on his knees with his hands in the air. Billy had watched in fascination as Skyler went over to the man and, producing handcuffs from his back pocket, cuffed him and laid him on the grass.
“Don’t even think about moving,” he said as he walked back over to the car. He reached in, giving Billy a peremptory look. “Sorry,” he said, then talked into the radio. “This is Special Agent Kristiani, DOJ BNE. I have your 187 suspect here on… Lincoln Village Drive. Come back.”
There was a moment’s pause, and then a voice broke through on the radio. “Sergeant Tiegs, Sac SO. Thank you, Agent Kristiani. We’ll be right there.”
The sheriff’s department had shown up, taking the suspect into custody and taking Skyler’s statement. The sheriff’s sergeant had shaken Skyler’s hand, clapping him on the shoulder with his other hand. Billy had watched from the passenger’s side of Skyler’s Mustang, standing outside the vehicle now. She couldn’t help but be impressed by Skyler’s obvious authority and powerful presence at the scene. He had apprehended a murder suspect single-handedly. The man had had a gun on his person, which Skyler had taken off him and turned over to the sergeant. Billy realized Skyler had just risked his life to do a job for another agency—he’d gotten involved, and she was awed by it.
On the way home she frequently found herself watching him, trying to figure him out. Skyler caught her staring at him and asked why.
“I’ve never seen that side of you, Skyler.”
“What side?”
“Your cop side.”
“I see,” he said, grinning over at her.
“What?”
“What’d you think, Billy? That I just carry this gun to impress the girls?”
“No, I just didn’t really think about it. It’s not like I saw the gun a lot when we were together before, you know,” she said derisively. “It was usually in the pile of clothes on the floor.”
“Aww…” he replied, nodding.
Billy had also met his older daughter, and had had a chance to see Skyler with his grandchildren. Cassandra had shown up at the house one weekend, telling her father she was just checking on him. Her children, a boy and a girl, ages three and one and a half, threw themselves into their grandfather’s arms. Skyler played with both on the floor, laughing and looking very young in spite of the fact that he was playing with his grandchildren. Billy was surprised by the obvious affection he had for them. She’d never seen him with children; it was yet another side of him she had discovered. She’d begun to wonder if she’d ever really known him at all.
Her conclusion was further proven the morning she was set to fly back to LA. She awoke before him and lay watching him sleep. He was on his side, facing her. She reached out, touching his cheek, his chest, his arms, as if trying to memorize the feel of him. Skyler stirred and then opened his eyes, looking down at her. He craned his neck around to check the clock.
“What’re you doing awake so early?” he asked tiredly. They’d been up late the night before, because Billy hadn’t wanted to go to bed. She’d wanted to spend every last minute she could with him.
She shrugged, looking up at him. “I just woke up, and couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“Well, try,” Skyler said, closing his eyes again.
“I can’t, Sky. I’ve been trying for the last hour.”
“Well, then I’ll do it for both of us.”
“No,” Billy said beseechingly. “Talk to me.”
“About what?”
“About what happens now.”
Skyler was silent for a moment, his eyes still closed. “In about two hours I’ll get up and take a shower, we’ll grab something to eat, and then I’ll take you to the airport. That good enough for you?” He opened one eye to look down at her cryptically.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Billy said, her tone taking on an edge. She hated it when he was like this. “I want to know what happens to us. Now that I’m going back to LA, will I see you?”
“At some points, I’m sure you will,” he said offhandedly.
“What the hell does that mean?” she practically snapped.
Skyler opened his eyes, looking down at her. Then he sighed, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. “What is it you’re looking for, Billy?”
Billy stared at him, not sure how to respond. “Oh, I guess something like you actually give a shit if you see me again.”
Skyler glanced down at her, but didn’t reply.
“Do you even love me?” Billy asked finally.
“Half the time,” he said lightly, but he still didn’t look at her.
“Half the time? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Skyler turned to face her again. “It means that we have lives, Billy, and it’s time to go back to them.”
“So you don’t want to see me.”
“Sure I do. Whenever you want to come up, do it.”
“But you won’t come to LA?”
“Nope.”
“Why the hell not?”
“What do you want from me?” he said tiredly. “Are you looking for some major commitment? ’Cause my major commitment days are behind me.”
“Why are you being such an asshole?” Billy said sadly.
“I’m not being an asshole, Billy. I’m being honest. You just don’t want to hear it right now.”
“I see.”
“No, I don’t think you do. What you want to hear is that I’ll move mountains to be with you, that I’ll take care of you for the rest of your days, that I’ll hold your hand every minute of every hour of the day. And what I’m saying is that I won’t. My mountain-moving days are through.”
“Are we back to you being old again?” Billy asked, her voice sharpening.
“No, we’re back to the fact that I’m not going to be there to hold your hand for you.”
“Then why did I do all of this? I stayed straight for you—I did it for you, and now you’re telling me you don’t care?”
Skyler was shaking his head, narrowing his eyes at her. “That’s where you can stop, Billy. You can’t stay straight for someone, and if that’s why you did it, then you won’t stay straight long. I guarantee it.”
“Does your attitude have anything to do with Theresa?” she asked then, seizing at any idea that would explain his blasé demeanor.
“Not even close.” Skyler shook his head. “But nice try. Terry doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
“You lied to me,” she said quietly.
“About what?”
“You said you’d help me. You said you’d be there.”
“And I did, and I was. What do you think happened this month? I was here. I tried to help you.” Skyler sounded a little bit hurt now.
“Yeah, and now you’re telling me that you couldn’t care less what happens to me once I go back to LA.”
“Is that what you think?” Skyler said, shaking his head. “I do care, Billy. I care a lot. But I’m not going to be some crutch for you to lean on. I can’t do that, and you don’t need it. You’re a big girl, and you’re going to have to take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, fine, whatever,” she said, looking away from him.
“Hey, if you’re looking for someone to worship you”—he gestured to the window above him—“there’s probably a million guys out there that would be happy to fill the bill for you.”
“That’s not what I want. I want you.”
“Billy.” Skyler reached out to pull her back to him. “You have me. I will see you, I will talk to you, I just won’t make some kind of commitment I can’t live up to.”
Billy said nothing for a long moment. Then she nodded, looking resigned. “Okay,” she said finally, knowing she wasn’t going to get anything else out of him at that point.
Three hours later they stood at a gate in the airport. Billy had been relatively quiet since their conversation that morning. She was feeling lost already; knowing that he wasn’t going to be pining for her didn’t make leaving any easier. Her feelings had ranged from despair to anger, but she’d contained them all. She didn’t want to fight with him now. Turning from the window, she looked up at him. He was watching the planes on the runway. Billy blew her breath out in a sigh. “You know, the least you could do is try to look ugly,” she said, grinning at him.
His light green eyes looked down at her then, and he smiled. “Would that help?”
Billy considered the question for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think it’s possible. You’re too goddamned good-looking for your own good, Skyler James Kristiani.” With that she reached up and pulled his head down to hers to kiss him.
When their lips parted Skyler noticed that a lot of people were looking at them. He grinned down at Billy. “More fodder for the tabloids.”
There had been numerous stories in the tabloids about Billy, and the mysterious “cop” that had “abducted” her from her hotel room. There had been stories about Billy’s drug problem, and a lot of lies about her overdosing, dying, and the like. But the main thing everyone seemed to want to know about was this man Billy had been seen with. It had come out that he had been with her at the concert in Sacramento, and that he was indeed a police officer, but that was all anyone knew.
There had been one picture in the paper of Skyler in the blue room at the concert. He was leaning casually against the wall, watching Billy talk to the press. He looked good in the picture, and many a woman had thought Billy a lucky girl. There had been another picture released a week later of Skyler and Billy kissing in the blue room and a close-up picture of Billy looking suspiciously around moments later. The press had a field day with that one. They claimed she’d gotten into a cat fight with some of the women in the room because they had been watching Skyler too closely. They had interviewed one of the groupies who had been there, and she claimed Billy had slapped her, pulled her hair, and scratched her when she made an innocent comment about Billy’s “beau.”
Billy had laughed at that one. “Yeah, I get into fights all the time right before concerts, gets the blood pumping!”
Skyler had been surprised at the voracity of the press. He’d been irritated at the lies they had told, but happy they hadn’t found out much about him. Being a special agent helped; his DMV record was highly confidential, and his personal vehicle had a non-traceable undercover plate. Short of Skyler doing an interview with one of the tabloids, there was no way for them to find out about him.
When the airline called for boarding on Billy’s flight, she kissed Skyler again, holding him tight. “Even if you won’t miss me,” she said softly against his cheek, “I will miss you.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to miss you,” Skyler chided softly, kissing her again—which just seemed all the more poignant to Billy. She moved out of his arms and toward the gate, not looking back. The last thing she wanted him to see was the tears in her eyes.
Skyler watched her go, and knew that the reason she didn’t turn around was because she was crying, and he felt a little guilty about their conversation that morning. He knew he’d been rough on her, but he hadn’t wanted her thinking he would be there to save her at the drop of a hat. He had no intention of getting into anything really intense with her; he knew it would be too hard to do. The idea of having a relationship with Billy was like the idea of jumping out of a plane without a parachute and hoping you landed on something soft three thousand feet down. Skyler was well aware of Billy’s effect on him, and he had no intention of allowing her to exercise it. So if that meant putting her off before she had a chance to get really needy and demanding, then so be it. That was what he had done. He was sure Billy would be just fine, with or without him.
What he wasn’t sure of was her sobriety. Skyler hadn’t fooled himself into thinking she was off cocaine—she wasn’t, she was just on a kind of hiatus from it. Like he had told Jerith, as long as she was in the business she was in, the temptation would always be there, and he didn’t think Billy had the motivation to avoid giving in to that temptation just yet. Not even Jerith’s threat to kick her out of the band held enough weight with her. Skyler wondered just what it would take to make her kick the habit. He just hoped that her “lesson” wouldn’t kill her in the process.
When Skyler got home that evening he was chagrined to find that he was on the news. The story showed him and Billy kissing at the airport. Fortunately, it was a short piece that just recapped all the stories up until that point. “Must have been a slow news day,” he muttered to himself as he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. As he walked by the kitchen phone it rang. He reached over and picked it up.
“Skyler, it’s Terry.”
“Hi there,” he said, sitting down at his kitchen table and stretching his legs out in front of him.
“So I saw that you’re a big star now,” she said mildly, smiling.
“Oh yeah, big star. And a letch and a mystery man—you name it, there I am.”
Theresa laughed. “Yeah, yeah, always the ham. So how are you, anyway? You don’t call, you don’t write…”
“I know,” he said apologetically. “I’m sorry. Billy was here for the last two weeks and I didn’t have time to do much of anything.”
“Uh-huh,” Theresa said, and Skyler could hear the reproach in her voice. “Why was she there and not at the center you checked her into?”
“She wouldn’t stay there—she said they were giving her too much crap.” Skyler rolled his eyes, realizing how he sounded.
“Like she wouldn’t say anything to get out of there,” Theresa chimed in, as if reading his thoughts.
“Yeah, I know, but what was I supposed to do? She’s a full-grown adult, and I couldn’t exactly force her to stay there.”
“So you had to bring her home with you.”
That made him feel even more used. “Okay, okay, the inquisition can cease now, Terry. I’m guilty as charged, and I shall pay my penalty,” he said, sounding every bit the accused.
“I’m sorry.” Theresa sounded genuinely so. “I just hate to see her take advantage of you, especially after that little stunt she pulled.”
“I know, I know.” Skyler knew nothing he said was going to appease her at this point. “How’s your car?” he asked, hoping to change the subject.
“Nice transition, Skyler. Very subtle,” Theresa said, grinning again. “My car is running great, as a matter of fact. I have a very good mechanic, you know.”
Skyler smiled. “Yeah, he’s good, huh?”
“Oh yes, incredible.”
Skyler knew by her tone that she wasn’t talking about her car anymore. “Ah,” he said, feeling almost embarrassed. One minute he was kissing Billy goodbye in an airport, the next he was trading sexual barbs with his ex-wife.
“Don’t tell me,” Theresa said in the ensuing silence. “I’ve embarrassed you, right?”
“I, uh… well… I guess I’m just not used to this kind of double playing anymore,” he said, surprised at himself.
“Well, that’s a good sign. It means you may have actually grown up.” Theresa’s tone was light, but her meaning obvious.
“Terry,” Skyler said, knowing he sounded like a real jerk at this point. Twice in one day seemed to be a record for him.
“Don’t worry about it. I know what field we’re playing on, and who the players are. I’m not blaming you, or even mad, for that matter. I just wanted to check up on you, that’s all.”
“Okay.” Skyler wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Oh, and I did want to remind you that Chelsea has her play coming up here next week. You can make it, can’t you?” Theresa said, almost sounding like her usual self again.
“What night?” Skyler asked, remembering that Chelsea had the lead in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
“Next Friday at seven thirty.”
“I’ll be there. I’ll take myself off the flight schedule for that day.”
“Good. Chelsea’s really excited about it, and she really wants you to see her.”
Skyler grinned. “I said I’d be there.”
“I know, I know. Maybe we can all have dinner afterward.”
“Sounds good.”
They hung up a few minutes later, after discussing what time they’d meet for the play. Skyler went to bed that night thinking about how strange his life had become. Because of Billy, he was now friendly with Theresa again, and his daughter and son seemed to respect him suddenly, like being with Billy was some sort of accomplishment.