When Kira pulled up to the facility Thursday morning, she wasn’t prepared for the scene in front of her.

A whole slew of cars and vans were outside of the facility. Crowds of dozens of people milled around, holding cameras.

She was assaulted when her car came into the parking lot.

What the heck?

She got out and a reporter stepped into her personal space. “We are here, outside Red Rock Drug Rehab, where it has been reported that B.C. Knight has had an illicit affair with a woman by the name of Kira Moonwater.” The reporter stuck the microphone in her face. “Ms. Moonwater, do you have a comment?”

Kira rushed toward the facility, shaking her head, feeling her heart rate kick up. What the heck?

The reporter still tried to shove the microphone into her face. “Kira Moonwater, do you want to tell your side of the story?”

A bunch of security guys wearing black SWAT-type outfits formed a barrier in front of the door. Dr. Schneider was there, yelling out to them, “Let her through!”

The security parted and she heard snaps of cameras and felt the flashes on her skin. She thought she might have a heart attack.

When she got to the lobby it was a mixed scene. Clark and Tricia, both staring at her with accusing looks. Gary and Tina and Zoe, giving her expectant looks.

Gary frowned at her. “Why did you sell him out, Kira?”

She was stunned. “What?”

B.C. was instantly at her side, taking her hand. “I spoke to Dr. Schneider. Would you mind if we went to his office?”

Nervous would be the lame version to describe how she was feeling. More like…horrifically horrified. “They said we had an illicit affair?”

B.C. patted her hand. “They lie, just ignore it.”

The very center of her chest was trembling. Ignore it? Ignore all those people shoving microphones in her face. Precipitously she realized…this was B.C.’s life. What the heck had she done by getting involved with B.C.? Could she handle this?

They got to Dr. Schneider’s office and B.C. waited for the doctor as he closed the door behind him.

Dr. Schneider scowled and pointed to B.C. “I didn’t want this to happen.” He rubbed his balding head nervously.

B.C. put his hands up. “I know. I’m so so sorry. I take full accountability.”

The doctor looked stunned.

“How can I make this right?” continued B.C.

Kira’s mind was whirling with craziness. “It’s my fault too,” she said robotically. “I shouldn’t have let myself get close to a patient. I shouldn’t have—”

B.C. scowled and shook his head. “I am not your patient.” He pointed at Dr. Schneider. “I might be his patient, but not yours. Plus, this is not your fault.”

Although she appreciated his heroics, she found herself shaking her head and apologizing again to Dr. Schneider, but B.C. kept interrupting.

Finally, she threw her hands up. “I need to leave.”

“What?” both men said at the same time.

She walked toward the door. “I’m sorry, I…Nana would be so ashamed I did this to you, Dr. Schneider. You gave me a job, you’ve helped me try to figure out how I can sell my remedies. I never should have put you in this position and now all this crazy is upon you.” She turned to B.C. who had that grim, crossed arms, military face on.

“I’m sorry, B.C. I can’t do this with you. I can’t.” She rushed out, down the hall, ignoring all the looks, and back through the paparazzi, knowing her whole world had just exploded.

* * *

Later that night Kira sat on the porch. It was getting dark and she’d had this nervous energy all day. Self-loathing. She’d watched some of the news and she couldn’t understand how the story had leaked.

Kevin sat heavily beside her drinking a bottle of water. He was dusty from all the ranch work. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

She sighed. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. Did you see the media report that I had an illicit affair?”

Kevin burst out laughing.

Which wasn’t what she expected. His laughter interrupted her victim-ness. “Why are you laughing?”

He grunted. “Kira, come on, you’re…” He gave her a speculative look.

“What?” Now she was feeling offended and didn’t know why.

“Did you have an illicit affair?”

“No.” She answered instantly.

“Then,” he said and threw up his hands. “Why are you upset?”

She felt better with her cousin by her. He was always so good to her and made her look at things differently too. “I don’t know.”

He shook his head. “You can’t be afraid of what people will say, Kira. People say a lot of stupid stuff.”

She let the words sink in. It was true. Her mind flashed to B.C. and how he must be feeling.

Kevin turned to her. “So what are you going to do, Cuz?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, are you going to the premier?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“Does he want you to?”

“I don’t know.”

Kevin pulled out his phone and showed her a bunch of texts from B.C. “He’s telling me he’s going to be here tomorrow for a tour and dinner, then he’s going to take you to L.A. for the premier.”

Her heartrate quickened. “No, he’s not,” she said adamantly.

Kevin sighed. “Kira, listen.” He reached out and put his hand over hers. “I like B.C.”

This was unusual for her cousin. He mostly stayed out of her business most of the time unless she specifically asked him. “You do?”

He nodded. “I see potential in him.”

She had to laugh because it sounded funny how he was acting like a father would act.

Kevin shrugged. “The guy won’t stop texting me about how the love potions could be made into a book and he could do the commercial and how we could get a company to produce the recipes and that’s how you could pay for Julliard.”

She waved a hand into the air in dismissal, but it touched her that B.C. was trying to enlist Kevin’s help. “I don’t need his help.”

Kevin squeezed her hand. “Do you remember what Nana used to say about true love? About how it was a lot like charity.”

She hesitated, then thought of the lecture. “The bible verse: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own.”

Kevin pulled his hand back. “I like B.C. I think he’s always lived kinda like this. Maybe he’s had to modify it. Instead of giving away plane tickets, he’s taking care of you in other ways.”

She felt regret for just leaving him earlier.

Kevin reached behind him and pulled a letter out of his pocket. “This came for you today.”

Her heart nearly stopped. It was a letter from Julliard.

He shoved it at her. “Open it.”

Her hand shook as she tore it open. She scanned the letter quickly and then let out a laugh. “I got it.”

Her cousin was pulling her up and out of the chair and swinging her around.

They both held to each other, laughing.

He let her go and took the letter, reading it himself, then smiling at her. “You got it!”

She laughed.

“What are you going to do, Cuz?”

She stood and walked away. “Excuse me, I have a call to make.” Without hesitating, she went to the front of her house and out the front door, pushing his number.

He answered on the first ring. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Her voice was light, breathy.

“Hey,” he said, sounding unsure.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

Her heart hammered in her chest, then she asked. “I realized that you just want to help me fish.”

“What?”

She got choked up. “Nana always said you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or you can teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”

“I’m still not understanding you.”

“You want me to be successful with these potions so I can support myself. So I can go to Julliard if I want.” Tears suddenly streamed down her face. “You want to help me without buying me.” Gratitude washed over her.

He let out a light laugh. “I guess that’s true, I just wouldn’t have said it like that.”

She hated and loved the fact this man was so good to her.

“Thank you, B.C. for offering to be in my commercial for my love potions, I’m going to take you up on that offer.”

For a second there was no response then he said quietly. “Thank you for letting me help.”

She sniffed. “So, I have a question about this premier.”

For a second he didn’t respond, then he let out a light laugh. “You’re coming?”

She laughed. “I need a question answered.”

“Okay.”

“Umm…” she was feeling nervous thinking about this Hollywood lifestyle. “Where do you go, when you don’t want to be with the guests?”

“Oh.” He sounded confused. “You mean at the after party?”

“Yeah.” She was searching for something to talk about. Something that would make it feel normal.

“Well,” B.C. cleared his throat. “You see, Travis SanBrook’s mansion is notorious. So after we go to the premier, we’ll go to his house and it has all these English gardens and it has a ballroom. I like the English gardens. There’s a fountain with water coming out of fish’s mouths.” His voice trailed for a minute. “I like to just go out there and be alone.

Her heart still pounded hard. “I’m sorry, B.C. I shouldn’t have left today. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I was in trouble.”

“It was my mom.”

This took her off guard. “What?”

“My mom called and told me I should thank her for helping to catapult my career back into the media’s eyes.”

Kira grunted, unbelieving, but very much believing the women she’d seen that day at the facility would do that to him.

He scoffed. “I realized today, Kira, that I don’t care what people think or know. I just care about the truth. I actually talked to God about it.”

“You did?” Her heart thudded inside her chest. She liked that he’d said this.

“Yeah, I’ve been talking to him on my runs and today—this was the main topic. Truth. This is what I want in myself and this is what I want with us. I don’t care what the media says. I can’t care. I just care about the truth.”

She thought about how much he’d changed since she’d met him. How much she was changing too. “You’re pretty amazing, B.C. Knight.” She said his name like an announcer would say it.

He laughed. “So are you.”

Then she started laughing and laughing, almost hysterical laughing.

“Hey, I’m still on the phone, Moonwater. I’m going to take this personally.”

She laughed even harder. “I’m laughing because of how much I’m screwing it up too. I think the bottom line is that I feel I’m not good enough and I hate it.” Holy cow, she’d just had therapy.

“I feel the same way. I was even torturing myself today that you would get back with Spence or something.”

It hit her…he had the same insecurities she did. “I want to be with you.” She really did.

“You do?” He asked.

She could tell he was smiling.

“I do.”

“Good, Moonwater, cause I want to be with you, too.”

It felt so funny to her that this was their teenage love confession awkwardness happening. “Good, we’re in this together from here on out.”

“Sounds perfect.” He said.

“Oh, and I have to tell you something, since we’re being real.”

“Okay.”

“I applied for a scholarship.”

“You did?”

“I never thought I was good enough to apply before. Spence would always joke that only the really good kids had scholarships, but I applied right after Nana passed and I got it.”

B.C. let out a whoop. “That’s awesome!”

She laughed. “I am good enough.” She said, her voice shaking.

“Yeah you are.” B.C. confirmed. “You’re amazing.”

It was so humbling to hear him say that. “Thank you.”

“I’m so happy for you,” B.C. said.

“Thank you.” She wiped beneath her eyes. “But I realize too, that I want to come back to the ranch at some point, too.”

“Why not?” asked B.C. “You can have both.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I think I can.” She laughed. “And I might like to hang out with this movie star in L.A. sometimes, too.”

He let out a sigh. “That sounds amazing.”

It was strange to her that she could see a future with this man. See them hanging out at the ranch, in L.A. or anywhere. She just wanted to be with him.”

He sighed. “Well, tomorrow, I’ll leave this place and be out there. I don’t know when, but sometime for dinner?”

She smiled. “I’ll cook something.”

“Perfect.”

Happiness surged within her.

“Then we’ll drive to L.A. and you’ll spend the night, in your own room, at my house. My security guys will chaperone. I’ll tell them to lock me up when we go to our separate spaces at night. Like the old movie Wolfman, where they used to have to shackle him. Do you remember that?”

She laughed again, unable to picture Wolfman. “Okay.”

“Night, Moonwalker.” His voice was low.

“Night, Movie Star.”