doing it.”
“I don’t think any of us truly understand what happened.” Alice’s voice was softer than usual. She was trying to console me, though that was well out of the realm of possibility at this point. “Maybe you should sit us all down and explain it.”
That sounded like pure torture. “Or maybe I’ll just go back to my job as a waitress and muddle through until the rest of you realize that you can’t control my life. How does that sound?”
“As if you’re crabby.” Alice smiled. “I don’t blame you. That dinner was ... brutal. She really doesn’t realize what she’s doing. In her mind, you’re throwing away something great and she can’t get behind that.”
“I’m not throwing it away. They threw me away.”
“I get that, but I don’t quite understand why after that first book.”
“You’re only as good as your most recent book My first book did well. My second book bombed. You don’t get a second chance after a bomb like that.”
“But ... I thought you were supposed to write three books for them. That’s what you said.”
“They cancelled the contract for the third book after losing so much money on the second.”
“How can they do that if you have a contract?”
“They just can.” I stared at the bush across the street for a long time, lost in thought. Finally, I shook my head and returned to the here and now. “It’s not my job to hold her hand through this. I’m doing the best I can. I can’t bolster her and myself at the same time.”
Alice pursed her lips and nodded. She was oddly pragmatic at times and she had that look about her now. “I think the true problem is that she’s worried about you and Hunter. If you two get together again, I don’t think anything will drag you apart. That means you’ll never have another shot at a hit book.”
A sudden rush of anger coursed through. “Really? Hunter again?”
“You spent the afternoon with him. People say you were together at Deadman’s Hill.”
I was stunned. “How can anyone know that? We were alone.”
“Ha!” Alice jabbed out her finger and did a hip-wiggling dance that made me want to kick her into a bush. “I knew it! When I couldn’t find you at the restaurant I figured you were off somewhere with Hunter. I played a hunch and said Deadman’s Hill because you guys used to hang out there.” She pumped her fist and looked to the sky. “I’ve still got it.”
I faltered, unsure how to proceed. “You were just guessing?” I asked.
She nodded and grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I promise not to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me.”
Alice had a price when it came to information. I had no doubt she would dangle it over the head of anyone she thought would pay ... and right now the only person who might be interested was my mother. If she thought she was fooling me, she was sadly mistaken.
“Don’t tell my mother.” I was firm.
Alice adopted an air of innocence. “Would I do that?”
Oh, she would definitely do that. I knew she would be scampering inside to do just that the moment I left. The notion made me tired. “You know what? Do whatever you want. I’m exhausted. You think this is all a game, but it’s my life. You guys wonder why I was so anxious to get out of here. This is why. Stuff like this.”
Alice looked taken aback. “There’s no reason to be such a baby.”
“No? I just want five minutes of peace, Alice. I’ll never get that here.” I stormed around the front of the car and tugged on the door, my mind going to the afternoon in the woods with Hunter. I’d been at peace then — well, except for the way my lips wanted to throw a party whenever he was close — but that was the only time my mind had been quiet since I’d returned to Shadow Hills.
“I think you’re overreacting,” Alice said as I slid into the driver’s seat. “This is just the way family is. We’re all up in each other’s business.”
“I’m sick of it. I just want a little quiet ... and privacy ... and contentment. At my age, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.” I slammed the door before she could answer and brought the car to life.
What she had to add didn’t matter. She was right. This was the nature of family. It was also the main reason I’d