CHAPTER 27 - ONE YEAR LATER
CHAPTER 27
ONE YEAR LATER
COME ONE STEP CLOSER AND YOU’RE FINALLY GOING TO FIND OUT what it feels like to die,” Ness said menacingly. She raised the wooden stake, tightening her grip, as the biker-turned-vampire launched at her with a hiss, fangs bared. Without hesitation, she executed a flawless spinning kick, flinging her undead opponent to the ground and staking him through the heart in one fluid motion. His body twitched violently and his hands came up as if to wrap around her throat, but it was too late. He went limp.
“Aaand, cut! Amazing work!” Ian clapped as he came forward. Life behind the camera seemed to be agreeing with him. Gallivant hadn’t been picked up, but it had done what Ness had needed—gotten her back in the game.
She held out a hand to help Jamie, the ill-fated vampire, to his feet.
“You okay?” She dusted him off, jokingly checking for injury.
“Sweet kick. I thought you were going to take my head off.”
Daisy, still in costume, came over from where she’d been watching. The worn leather jacket and grimy jeans were her character’s trademark look. Ness, however, got black athleisure tights and a loose-fitting knit cardigan. At least she was comfortable.
“All the yoga helps,” Daisy explained. “Otherwise, it’s tough fighting supernatural baddies at her advanced age.” She draped an arm over Ness’s shoulder, exaggerating their not insignificant height difference.
Ness elbowed her. “Shut it, short stuff.”
“Are you insulting my girlfriend again?” Coco, who, judging by the watermelon scent traveling with her, had been vaping outside, sidled up. She’d just wrapped the first season of an edgy legal suspense drama and flown in that morning. She looked exhausted, but happy.
“Your girlfriend can defend her own honor, I’m sure,” Daisy said, leaning down to kiss Coco. “Have I mentioned how happy I am to see you?”
Coco pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around Daisy’s waist. “I’d listen to you say it again.”
“Let’s call it a day, folks! Great job!” Ian kicked off another round of enthusiastic clapping.
Crossroads, a supernatural crime-fighting series focusing on a mother-daughter duo played by Ness and Daisy, had been filming for four months. A full season release was scheduled on the Good Things Network in a few weeks, and test screenings were suggesting they might have a hit on their hands.
Ness was having the time of her life.
Her dad had been right about the endless opportunities to monetize her time as a castaway, but she hadn’t taken them. Instead, she’d signed a book deal to write about her early life in show business, her subsequent fall from grace, and how she’d learned from that experience. That story, she had realized, she had no problem profiting from.
The advance had allowed her to hire a property management company, and she was enjoying being a hands-off landlord. She’d considered selling out of the business entirely but couldn’t bring herself to do it. At her age, nothing in entertainment seemed certain.Well, nothing except the constant offers of fillers and a light tummy tuck.
Her assistant—yes, her very own!—Kyla-Mae joined her on the walk to her trailer, passing Ness her phone and a takeout container of salad.
“Audrey called. Drew Barrymore wants you on her show three weeks from Thursday. And Bradley and Kimberley want to confirm you’re attending Agnes-Hope’s baby welcome thing.” Kyla-Mae paused, waiting for Ness’s reply. She nodded a yes, wondering what one gifted one’s namesake.
“And . . .” Kyla-Mae paused just outside the door to the trailer and smiled. “There’s somebody waiting for you.” She waggled her eyebrows and walked away, already texting furiously.
Ness pushed into the trailer. When she saw who was sitting in her makeup chair, that smile turned into a full-on grin.
Hayes spun to face her, radiating giddiness.
“Ready?”
* * *
Ness did not like helicopters. They were loud and bumpy, and this one smelled like someone had lit a scented candle to cover the smell of other people’s fear.
Hayes caught her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. The setting sun reflected off his aviators. She could see herself in them and, she noted, she was looking great. Not just physically, though she was pleased with that too, but she looked happier than she could remember being . . . maybe ever.
Hayes’s crackly voice came through her headset.
“Almost there.” He pointed.
She looked out the window and, as always, the beauty of the island stole her breath. It hadn’t taken long for it to steal her heart as well.The water sparkled, supercharged deep blue against the dark green of the trees and gray-brown of the rocky cliff faces.
It was a quick ride, thankfully, from Vancouver to Galiano Island, and a simple trip to Seattle or L.A., which had made it an easy choice when they’d started looking for a place to call home.
The helicopter bumped through a patch of turbulence. Well, a relatively easy choice.
Hayes had suggested buying Ginger Cay so they could tear everything down and build a place to make happy memories to replace the creepy, near-death-experience ones, but Ness had taken a hard pass, unwilling to commit to relocating an unknown population of snakes. She’d consider a flyover, or a one-day picnic situation, max.
As they landed on Galiano on a flat patch of land between forest and ocean, Ness surreptitiously pinched the skin on the inside of her forearm, making sure this wasn’t all a dream.
Their bags unloaded, the helicopter took off again, leaving Ness and Hayes standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to a house nestled in the trees. Their house.
The lights had come on, timed through some new-age technological magic to coincide with their arrival. From where they stood, Ness could see the towering fieldstone fireplace and newly renovated kitchen waiting for them. It looked perfect, but she wasn’t ready to go in yet.
The sun was a sliver of orange on the horizon. Cold wind rustled their jackets and hair. In the water, a pod of orcas glided past, barely visible in the quickly fading light.
“Welcome home,” Hayes said, leaning his head to rest on top of hers.
And, maybe for the first time in her life, Ness knew without a single doubt that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.