Chapter 4
Ellie scrolled down the long list of Hollywood attorneys who specialized in parent-child legalities. She recognized a few of them, like the guy behind Cora Brinker’s emancipation case and the woman who helped Devin Marquis gain emancipation when he was just sixteen.
Since Geneva showed up at Wild Buck’s Ranch, bless her, she’d given Ellie forbidden access to the internet, and Ellie had gotten more acquainted with the legalities surrounding contracts, money allocation, plus the outcome of several parental/child disputes.
Sure, Ellie was an adult now, but if she wanted to get out of her current contract, she might have to prove fault with the prior agreements her father had signed on her behalf.
"You know what?" hollered Geneva from the patio hot tub.
Ellie glanced over her shoulder, where the sliding door was cracked open. "Yes?"
"I think I'd like to move out here."
Ellie couldn't bite back the laugh that sprang up her throat. "Yeah, right. You wouldn’t last a day in a place like this."
"You forget, dear, I've already lasted an entire week. I thought I was made for eternal summers, but it turns out I might actually enjoy all four seasons.”
True, Geneva had been there a week, but she’d spent that week knowing she could go back to the city anytime she wanted. If that woman sold her penthouse and moved to Montana, she’d go stir-crazy before the first day was through.
“You’re missing out,” Geneva continued. “The leaves are changing colors out here; it’s spectacular.”
"I've looked out the window,” Ellie said.
"Why don't you step away from that laptop and try to enjoy yourself? You're viewing this getaway all wrong. It's not a work trip. It's supposed to be a relaxing retreat. A luxurious getaway from your day-to-day. I thought you wanted that."
Ellie shook her head. “According to the court order, it’s supposed to be a time of reflection, repentance, and recommitment to being my best self.”
“Yes,” Geneva agreed, “and in case you get out in time to play the role of Melody, you should be getting reacquainted with the script. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve forgotten most of it by now.”
Ellie groaned.
“Hey,” Geneva said, “why do you think I came out here? I said I’d make this more like a luxurious getaway, and you’re turning it into some prison sentence, staying inside all day, scrolling obsessively on that laptop.
I could get into trouble for giving you so much internet time, you know. You’re supposed to unplug.”
“Umm, hmm,” Ellie said, closing out the court case tabs and typing her name into the search bar. Photos of her arrest popped onto the screen. She hurried and closed that tab, too, but it didn’t stop the burning that spread through her like fire in a windstorm.
She shut the laptop and slipped off the barstool.
Ellie didn’t care about what critics thought of her, but she did care what her fans thought.
And she especially cared about the way young, impressionable children viewed her.
She’d tried to be a better example than that in her life, but she’d failed big time.
She’d gotten swallowed into the world of distraction with her friends, and for a while there, it felt nice.
Still, she could admit that it wasn’t the proper way to cope. Heck, she’d done enough movies to memorize the morals behind them. Everyone had their breaking point, and Ellie had hit hers long ago. She was lucky her rock bottom hadn’t sunk any lower than it had.
“If you hurry and get in your swimsuit,” Geneva said, “you can join me for water aerobics in the hot tub.”
Ellie shuffled toward the sliding glass door, slid it open enough to lean in the doorway, and let out a pitiful groan.
"You're a terrible host,” Geneva accused, “has anyone ever told you that?"
Ellie chuckled. “Host? Is that what a prisoner becomes when they have visitors—a host?”
Geneva lifted her arms high over her head and swayed them gently as the water dripped down her skin. "Oh, stop it. So dramatic. You like having me here, and you know it.”
Yes, she did; Geneva always had a way of making Ellie’s abnormal life feel normal somehow. She was more like a mom to her than her own mom, and she’d treated Ellie a lot like a daughter over the years.
"We're meeting with your caseworker on Friday,” Geneva said as she lifted a leg impressively high out of the water. "I'd like to report that you’ve been cooperative, but you haven’t. I want to say you’ve been participating in the activities here at the ranch, but that’s not true either.
If you insist on sitting around for another week, the judge will probably make you fulfill the full 60 days here instead of allowing you to fly out to Dallas for filming. ”
That was true, but Ellie wasn’t sure which was worse.
She didn’t want to stay there or fly out to Dallas for production.
But she also didn’t want to let everyone down.
As it was, they’d already shifted the production dates—a catastrophic, not to mention costly, inconvenience in the industry—and if Ellie forced them to go with her understudy instead of showing up now, they’d have done it for nothing.
Ellie might be a lot of things right now—resentful, entitled, confused—but she wasn’t inconsiderate.
A whole lot of people had put their faith in her.
Besides, in less than two years, she’d be free to do as she wished.
She sucked in a breath and nodded, forcing herself to accept the facts: if she ever wanted to get out of here, she'd have to step outside of the private cabin and get involved. “Fine,” she said, “I’ll meet with the rehab guy, like you said. I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“Not just that,” Geneva said. “You need to try some of the fun stuff too.”
“Fun stuff? Like what? Charades around the campfire with pork and beans on a tin plate?”
Geneva morphed into a swan pose. “Very funny. They have tons of stuff. Everything from dancing to crafts, live music beside the bonfire, horse time.”
“Horse time?”
“You can meet them, interact with them, ride along a scenic trail. I’m doing that one. I can’t wait. And I saw the horse guy, by the way. He was…very attractive for a man your age.”
“Is that his official title? The horse guy?”
“No. He had a country-sounding name. And he was a volunteer. Said he used to come with his parents until they died. Years later, he’s returning to the ranch to give back.”
A spot of warmth stirred in Ellie’s heart. “Really?”
“That’s what he said. They were giving him the third degree up front. Accusing him of volunteering as some lame attempt to meet you. Well, they didn’t say your name, but they referred to a certain somebody, which I knew to be you.”
Ellie considered that. “You said the media didn’t know where I was.”
“They don’t. I mean, one small-timer said this is where you were headed, but everyone else thinks you’re at that place in Maui.”
Ellie sighed, wishing she was in Maui. And as if on cue, her mind drifted back to the conversation she’d had with her dad.
She couldn’t get away from it for more than minutes at a time.
She tried to focus on the legalities—ways she could get out of the contract—and leave the terrifying tidbits—like Wolf’s inappropriate involvement in her career—in the dark, forgotten corners of her mind.
But that didn’t stop the fear from fanning through her. “Isn’t it Sunday?” she asked, wondering if it was too late to catch a service. “I need some Jesus.”
“Honey, everyone needs Jesus. I've been worshiping since I got here," she added. “With a view like this, it’s hard not to.”
Ellie swept her gaze over the dying trees, failing to see the beauty. "I never knew you were so into nature."
"Me neither, but it turns out that I am. And while you dip your toes into the goings-on this week, I plan to dive in and taste it all."
Ellie shook her head, surprised by Geneva's reaction to the ranch. As long as she'd known the woman, her one true passion—outside of her job, that was—was fashion. Even if that meant showing up to the Montana ranch in a pink pair of Western boots with diamond-studded jeans.
“I’ll dip more than my toes in,” she said. “I’ll get wild, go all the way to my ankles.”
"Okay,” Geneva said, “but promise me something, will you, hon?"
Ellie pulled in a breath and held it, her chest growing achy and tight. She was tired of making promises.
"Don't do it just to say you did. Don’t go about your time here like it’s a check list. Try to really let yourself unplug and sink into another world. I think it could be good for you. Things aren’t as bad as they seem.”
If Geneva only knew. Ellie lifted her gaze to catch a glimpse of the crystal blue sky.
Against the backdrop, she guessed the view wasn’t so bad to look at.
Part of her wanted to confide in Geneva, to let her know just how low Dad had gone over the years.
But for whatever reason, Ellie couldn't find it in her to expose him for the crook he was.
She could, however, participate in the weekly goings-on to earn a good report for her case worker.
She could even pretend she was enjoying herself if it meant making Geneva happy, too.
After all, if there was one thing Ellie was good at, it was acting.
She’d view her time there as part of the job.
She only wished she could count it as her last.