Page 6 of Seeking Her Studs
I close the clasp around my neck on the delicate thin chain that dangles Gram’s small silver cowboy hat charm.
“Patricia, take a vacation. I won’t be needing anyone where I’m going.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Blaire
I might have overestimated what I’m capable of on my own. I didn’t let any of my team follow me on this trip and already it’s been a disaster.
I managed to get through the flight with no big issues besides an occasional autograph. But once we landed at Jackson Hole Airport, I realized I had to wait for my own luggage and find my own taxi.
Easy enough. Right?
Wrong.
When my disguise of a hat and sunglasses stopped working, a crowd started following me and taking pictures with more and more aggression. Then obviously I panicked because I have no bodyguards with me, so I found my luggage and I sprinted out the exit to the first taxi I saw. Which also meant cutting a long line of angry onlookers.
The front-page headline opportunities for tomorrow are endless. Maybe they’ll go with: “Blaire Evans’ Bad Behavior: Snubbing Fans and Stealing Cabs”. Or if they’re already speculating about a breakup, it might be something like, “Blaire Breaks Hearts and Bolts Home”.
Home.
Is that where I’m headed? Solace Springs was my home when I was little, but I’ve lived in Los Angeles three times longer than I did in Solace Springs. And I haven’t been back since Gram’s funeral almost five years ago.
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years. I’ve done at least six movies since then, which somehow feels like a more accurate measurement of time.
“Back in Solace Springs.” My taxi driver points out. He’s an older gentleman and had mentioned he actually lives in Solace Springs, although he doesn’t look familiar. “Where do you want to be dropped off?”
I lift my gaze from my phone where I’ve been doomscrolling news of my fake engagement. I take in my surroundings. The familiar wooden shops on Main Street are still painted in bright pastel colors. The sight slows my anxious heartbeat. It’s been five years, but nothing has changed.
Except that’s not true. Everything has changed. Gram isn’t here anymore.
“Right here is great.” I offer as I twist her charm around my neck.
He pulls up to the sidewalk and pops the trunk. I hand him my credit card and a hefty cash tip, as if money could clear my bad karma for cutting all those other people.
“Thanks much,” he says flatly as he hands me back my card and a receipt. I’m thankful for the normalcy of the interaction. Sometimes it feels like Solace Springs has an invisible bubble around it and as soon as I enter it, people stop treating me as someone special but just a girl who used to live here. Or maybe the man has no idea who I am. It’s certainly possible, although unlikely.
He jumps out of the front seat and walks to the trunk to get my suitcase. I step out of the cab and smooth out my white linen pants. The cooler summer air of Wyoming goes straight through my breezy linen outfit. I take a deep breath that’s so fresh it tastes like it came straight from the snowcapped Grand Teton mountain range that lines up on the horizon in welcome.
“Here you go.” The cab driver lifts my luggage onto the curb. He goes to leave but then seems to think better of it. “Oh, and Miss Evans?”
My head snaps up to meet his gaze. So he does know who I am?
“Money might fix things in Los Angeles,” he says the city’s name like a swear. “But around here, you gotta work for forgiveness.”
I knit my eyebrows in confusion. Is he talking about cutting all those people in line? What could I even do at this point for them?
I open my mouth like a dying fish, unsure of what to say. But it doesn’t matter, he’s already slipping back into the front seat.
I face the town as a steady flow of unease rushes back into my body.
Not a great welcome.
But I’m here. And…
Well, I didn’t plan much more after that. My life is always so over-planned that I think I assumed I’d fall into some type of plan without really even trying.
But I’m here, I say to myself again and take another deep breath.