Chapter 20 Sutton
Sutton
I walk around my plot of land, my face back to normal and my lips now able to suck a straw. The immunotherapy wasn’t too bad, and with any luck, with a few more treatments, my reaction to bees will be minimal.
“So, the living space will go here, facing north. The view is spectacular.”
I follow Griffin’s gaze. He’s right; you can see most of the town from up here.
Rolling hills, my privacy still protected, but I’m elevated enough that only drones would be able to get pictures of me.
The media uses drones all the time, but out here, someone will spot them and probably shoot them down. That thought makes me grin.
Sawyer and Annabelle’s place is right next door, but next door is still more than a hundred yards away. His place is surrounded by a high steel fence combined with large green hedges. But we both agreed to cut out a walkway, so that I can walk over to him and he to me at any time.
“I want to put in a guesthouse out back, over on the side near Sawyer’s. For my mom or my security team.” My mom’s welcome to stay with me anytime she wants, and I’ll have more than enough room. But maybe having her own permanent place to stay might suit her better.
“We can make it work. You have one of the bigger plots on Billionaire Boulevard. Hudson and Huxley’s ranch down the road is the biggest, and Tanner’s is about the same size as yours. So you have plenty of room.”
“What about yours?” I know he has a plot here; the fact that we’re all neighbors is nice.
“Mine is a good size, but I chose seclusion. I’m a little more hidden. I don’t have the views.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Do you need privacy?”
He’s a builder. Out of all of us who live up here, I’m the one the media stalks.
“I like to be left alone. Don’t like a lot of people, prefer my own space.”
I can see that about him. A little grumpy, set in his ways.
“You got a girlfriend? A wife?” I know he doesn’t, but I want to see his reaction.
“Nope. I travel too much. I don’t have the time to invest. Kids give me hives.”
I huff a laugh. At least he’s honest.
“So, where’s the pool?” Griffin pulls out the plans, and we get a feel for the space. He’s done an amazing job. I now understand why he’s the most sought-after builder in the country.
“Pool, large deck, hot tub, sauna are all along here. Entrance to your gym will be here, and the tennis court over here. We could probably fit in a helipad here if you want it?”
I look at the drawings, imagining it all. Is it too much? Probably.
“Let’s do that. What about this space?” I spot an area that’s clear of any dwellings.
“Gardens. Unless you want something else?”
“Can your landscaper put something in for me?”
“My landscaper can do anything.”
“Beehives.”
“Beehives?” Griffin looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. Is it suicide? Death by stinger? Will my brother write that on my gravestone? Died by a stinger because he had a stupid crush on the diner girl.
I nod. “Just one or two.”
Griffin thinks for a moment. “What if we put a full vegetable patch, hives, fruit orchards, that kind of thing could work? We can build a little cottage shed. Somewhere you can store all the equipment. The bees could then utilize the garden to pollinate, and you’d get a nice garden honey, then.”
There’s that word “pollinate.” Nikki mentioned it the other day. Am I the only person who doesn’t know this shit?
“Yeah, bees are apparently important for gardens…” I say, thinking about it all.
“They are. I have a client out in Southern California who talks about them all the time. Apparently, they’re dying all too quickly, which isn’t a good thing.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well, they have that Save the Bees charity now. Sounds all a bit peculiar, but it’s probably warranted.” Griffin moves around the block, but what he says piques my interest. A Save the Bees charity? I need to look that up.
“A cottage shed would actually be nice. We could match the building design to the guesthouse. Put some flowers around, make it a welcoming spot. You could have an open firepit, chairs, somewhere to sit in the evenings, away from the main house.”
“Do it.” I nod eagerly as I follow him around, and he chuckles. “What’s so funny?”
“I never really thought an action movie star would be into cottages and gardens, that’s all.”
“Can’t be fighting crime all the time.” Making movies, building my celebrity is all I’ve ever known. Outside of that, I have no hobbies. I’m not sure what else I’m good at or what else makes me tick.
“I used to love watching movies as a kid… Don’t really get the time for them anymore.”
“What do you do outside of work?” Maybe Griffin has a cool hobby I could try.
“Oh, I started working young. Had to make something of myself. I put my head down, and I haven’t pulled it back up since.” He’s so successful, and starting something from nothing takes time, commitment, focus.
“Surely, you do other things? Do you read? Do you hike?” I press, wanting to know more.
“Don’t really have the time…”
“Well, I’ve learned you need to make time, so feel free to jump on the bee bandwagon, you know, since we’re going to be neighbors and all.” I change the tone of the conversation, and he huffs a laugh.
“Right, like I need to be chased by bees. I gotta run. Call you with the updates. Frame will start going up tomorrow, and it’ll be quick from there on. My teams work around the clock, and they’re fast.”
“Thanks, Griff.” I shake his hand and watch him walk to his truck.
I wave goodbye, then walk around the plot slowly, wondering briefly if I’ve lost my damn mind.
I think about LA; my house there is undeniably amazing, but there’s no yard.
I'm up in the hills, but my view isn’t this incredible, and my neighbors are assholes.
So is Sawyer, but at least I’m related to him.
The more I think about it, the more foreign LA feels and the more comfortable Whispers does.
I don’t know why, but thinking about LA has my chest tightening.
I feel stressed and don’t have a strong desire to go back.
Not for good anyway. Here in Whispers, I kind of like the sanctuary of it. The gardens, the trees, nature.
But what does that all mean?
Maybe I can live here and fly in and out for filming.
Lots of people do it. Hell, Sawyer still flies to New York often, and Connor and his girl Daisy fly to New York every month as well.
Although if I move here more permanently, I know that’ll bring a lot of people to town.
Tanner might like it. It’ll bring more business to the distillery and to the local shops.
Journalists, fans, celebrity spotters will all come. It’s not a totally bad thing.
It’s fucking crazy, but I feel like it’s the right decision.
With a renewed sense of purpose and my shoulders lower than they have been for a while, I pause, looking up at the clouds moving overhead.
Another shower threatens sometime soon, no doubt, but I think I have time for a quick hike.
It’s something I couldn’t do in LA because of all the fans and media who would follow my every move.
But out here, I’m trying my hand at it. I see an opening in the pines and walk over, looking at the fields to the woods nearby.
Trying to get my bearings. I have no idea where they lead, but I won't go far.
The last thing I need is to get lost before it rains.
Striding through the trees, it feels good to move my body.
My gym sessions are great, but there’s something about walking and discovering new things, breathing in fresh air and letting nature lead the way.
I get lost in my thoughts, hiking up a small hill, surrounded by the forest. Spotting a large log overturned, I take a seat.
Looking around, I get that same contradiction as I did at Nikki’s the other night.
Not sure whether the forest is welcoming or a frightening place to be.
I wonder who owns this land. I like being here in nature, in solitude.
Alone with my thoughts, the fresh breeze, the silence.
There’s no one around, and I didn’t ask Sawyer if there are bears in Whispers.
Something I probably should've asked. That’s all I need. To be mauled by a fucking bear.
Then I feel it. A fat hamburger raindrop hits me from above, and I look up, not able to see much as the cloud cover rolls in and the trees block any sunlight.
“Shit.” I jump up from my tranquil spot and start speed-walking. The pines seem different than when I came through before, and after about a hundred yards, I realize I’ve walked in the wrong direction.
I stride to my left, wondering what way I came, the woods now all looking the same, nothing distinct showing me the way home.
I’m starting to understand that being lost in the fucking woods is now a clear possibility.
I grab my cell but have no service. It shouldn't be a surprise, since the forest is dense and I’m in the middle of fucking nowhere.
In my haste to turn, I trip. The soil is wet from all the recent rain, my leg sliding.
A tree branch catches my shin, scraping it.
“Fuck!” Frustration nips at my shoulders as I lean over to grab my stinging shin before my foot gives way on the slippery soil again.
I’m falling fast, straight down a small ravine.
Sliding like a fucking kid on a playground slide, I land hard on my ass, about fifteen feet from my track above me, the drop not one I can climb.
“Motherfucker…” My teeth clench, angry, frustrated, and hoping like hell I don’t spot a bee out here.
Looking around, nothing is familiar. I have no idea where I am and no idea what direction to walk in.
I grab my cell again and curse when I see I broke it in the fall.
It’s now completely useless. This is why I don’t do nature.
What the hell was I thinking? With no cell service and no one knowing where I am, I push off the mud and grass and try to stand on my injured foot.
“Ahh, dammit.” My foot isn’t broken, but it’s starting to bruise already. I limp a few steps, trying to warm it up, the pain still shooting through my ankle, but it's bearable. If only Hollywood could see me now.
I step along an opening in the trees before I see a small track.
Thinking it must lead somewhere, I limp along, all the while the rain falls, the sky darkens, and I question how much more of an idiot I could be.
No one knows where I am. At least Griffin would give them a time and day, although he’s probably already on his jet, flying to his next job, working while he travels.
As the forest gets darker, I spot a little light up ahead. So I hobble a little quicker as the rain falls a little faster, hoping like hell that someone is there.