Chapter 27
A driver took Austin from the studio to the Ritz Carlton in downtown New York City.
Apparently, the buzz of his announcement had already made it through the gossip mill.
It didn’t seem to matter that the Late Show was in overdrive, trying to get the editing done before the ten-thirty broadcast. It still leaked, but that was fine.
It just meant more people would watch the show tonight to see if what they heard really was true.
Austin’s driver pulled to the side entrance of the hotel, which was secluded from the general public.
Austin palmed his phone, checking his messages to see if anyone had heard from Kitt.
After he’d landed in New York, he’d sent Sam and his guys out to try and find the cattle drive.
It was a shot in the dark, but he felt he had to try.
Kitt’s reaction was his only concern, and now the worry set in. It stayed foremost in his mind. His phone rang and Austin gripped it tightly, looking down at the screen. He answered on the second ring.
“How do you feel?’ Cara asked.
“Good. Nervous. I don’t know. I wish I could’ve talked to Kitt before I did the show,” Austin said as he came through the door to his suite, loosening the knot of his tie.
The little panic in his heart was growing.
He could hear Seth talking in the background, and Cara recited what he said.
“Good Morning America’s booked you at seven thirty.
They don’t know why, except you want to be on the show. ”
“Good. Then back to Texas, right?” Austin asked, tugging the tie over his head.
“Did you stop them from booking more? I have to get back to Kitt. I don’t know when he’ll be home, but it’ll be tomorrow and I need to be there.
” He’d shrugged off his jacket, the tie now gone, and he rolled up his sleeves.
He put Cara on speaker as he stalked across the room to the mini bar.
Austin pulled open the cabinets, found a bottle of vodka and opened it.
He did little more than pour it in a glass before he took a big swallow.
His brow furrowed as the liquid burned its way down his throat.
He could feel some of that long-standing old anger at this world filter in, but he pushed it out.
He only had himself to blame for how this happened.
“Austin, do you want me to go there tonight? I can wait for him. Either at his house or yours… And someone has to tell Lily and the girls,” Cara said.
“Shit, I forgot about that. Kylie’s away at college. If she can come home for a little bit, that would be best. Get her a ride home. If she can’t, get security on her. Shit, Cara, can you go there until I can get back home?”
“Yes, I’ll leave right away.”
“I’ll call Lily myself right now. I’ll tell her you’re coming there.
I’ve got security tight around them, but let me see if I can get Kylie home tonight.
Cara, handle anything that comes your way.
Use anything you need, but get them all taken care of.
” Austin abruptly stopped speaking when there was a knock at the door.
Once he opened it, the room service waiter entered, carrying a tray of food. “Let me know when you get there.”
Austin disconnected the call and stood silently watching the server set his dinner on the table.
He’d been a part of too many situations where room service wasn’t really who they said they were, and left with photos of him or some story of what they saw in his room.
Austin wasn’t taking any chances tonight.
He signed the ticket and walked the waiter out, handing over a twenty as he closed the door behind him.
Lily was a speed dial away.
“Lily, it’s Austin. I need to talk to you.”
“Is Kitt okay?” she asked, sounding a little panicked.
“Yes, I think so. Look, Lily, I need to tell you some things, and I need to ask you to please keep them to yourself. Well, at least for the next few hours.” He actually gave a harsh laugh at what he just said.
He thought the bubble of laughter might sound a little hysterical and grabbed the vodka before strolling across the living room to sit on the sofa and kick his feet up on the coffee table.
This was going to be the first of many conversations just like it, and he needed the practice.
“Lily, let me start from the beginning…”
=?=
The cattle ran easily through the back fence of Micah’s pasture.
It seemed like they were just as tired of this little exercise as the rest of them.
The excitement of the trip was drained, leaving a bunch of exhausted, irritable teenagers and even more irritable adults.
Overall, it turned out to be a good exercise for the kids.
It let each and every one of them know how hard life used to be for a cowboy, and in Kitt’s opinion, it taught the importance of an education.
He’d spouted that thought over and over during the trip, hoping it would sink in.
Kitt got every head inside the fence. Micah’s boys stayed back there with him, helping to guide the herd in. The others scattered, trying to find their parents who were scheduled to pick their offspring up.
Micah’s land sat off the road. This gate was several miles from the main road, and Kitt weighed his options.
He could easily sneak out the back, loop around, and be home in about fifteen minutes, or he could go tell everyone bye and help get the kids off.
As he made the decision to sneak off, something caught his attention.
He saw Austin’s security guys close by. There were four or five of them on horseback riding straight toward him.
Mike was leading their way. They were all in full gallop, driving their horses with a hell-bent purpose.
It took a second for him to realize they were riding to him.
“Rusty, get the gate!” Kitt yelled. He would have dismounted, but the concern of seeing them all headed his way had him riding Bullet around the cattle, causing a bit of a stir.
That’s when Kitt saw Micah. He was on horseback, a few hundred feet behind Mike and the security team.
The look on Micah’s face said it all. Kitt instinctively knew; they’d been outed.
“Kitt, go out the back way! Lily and the kids are at the house and safe! Austin’s outed, you’re outed, and the press’s swarming the place!
” Mike yelled out, barely slowing down as he rounded the herd to the back gate.
Micah came from the other side and Kitt did little more than follow as Austin’s security did their best to surround him.
Micah was off his horse and unlatching the gate, opening it wide.
As Kitt got closer Micah held a tabloid up for him.
Kitt grabbed it as he rode by. The front cover was a full-body shot of him in the nude, his privates blurred out, his robe billowing around him.
Kitt’s heart fell from his chest. His eyes looked directly into Micah’s who stared straight back at him.
“Go!” Micah reached out, slapped Bullet on the flank, kicking Kitt into gear.
He urged Bullet on, driving him forward in a burst of power.
The exhaustion from just a few minutes ago was gone, and adrenaline fueled both man and horse.
They rode hard, circling back around several miles until, hidden in the dense forest surrounding Micah’s property, Mike finally motioned for them to stop.
Sam, the security guard Austin talked to the most, stayed right beside Kitt the entire ride.
“He left you a message on your voice mail and this on his table. I brought it with me because I’m not sure it’s safe to go back to his place right now. Austin has all of us on your place,” Sam said. Mike just sat quietly staring at him. No one else said a word.
Kitt pulled his phone from his pocket. The battery was low, but there was a weak signal.
He dialed his voice mail. There were so many messages from reporters it took a minute to get through them.
Kitt was in shock, he felt numb, a little disjointed, and his thought processes faltered as his eyes focused back on the tabloid picture. When had this picture been taken?
Finally he got to Austin’s voice mail. He listened to the whole thing, and then restarted it, listening to it again. Austin’s voice was desolate. His words were sad, and Kitt’s heart hammered too badly to hear everything clearly.
“Where’s Lily and my sisters?”
“They’re at the house, protected. We’ve kept everyone off your land. The horses are secure, Jose’s with them. We’ve put all our energy into your place, per Austin.”
“Where is he?” Kitt looked around at the men as heat scorched his face. They were all on horseback, riding like pros, and every one of them knew about their relationship. But, the evidence in his hand had him blushing like a schoolgirl.
“In flight back here.”
“What happened?” Kitt asked.
“It’s in the note he left for you, sir.”
Okay, the sir was new, and it somehow made Kitt more anxious than he already was. He looked up at Mike who quietly stared at him, quiet. Kitt tore open the envelope and pulled the letter out to see Austin’s handwriting.
It’s completely my fault. I should have deleted those pictures.
I thought the email account was secure and have no idea how anyone found out it was mine.
I’m doing the only thing I know to do, and that’s to get it out in the world before the tabloids throw you under the bus. And they would do just that, Kitt.
I’m so sorry. I wish I could speak to you before I do this. Please do what my security tells you to do. They’re trained in this. I’m so sorry.
All my love,
A