Chapter Twenty #2
He then hopped on the next plane, made his way to the Ride No More Ranch, and discovered that things weren’t all he’d been led to believe.
Huck and Jayce—along with Adam, who was staying at the ranch now that he was dead—tried to convince him that Beau was out fencing in one of the far ranges and couldn’t be reached.
Leon never left things to chance. He’d attached a tracking device to Beau’s guitar case before Beau left New York and knew he was somewhere high in the mountains. Huck could either be honest with him, or he’d call the Feds.
The tracking device came as no surprise revelation to Beau. Leon had expected him to run so he’d been proactive. All of which led Beau to the conclusion that his agent could use more clients to help him redirect some of that excessive suspicion.
“I didn’t know you could ride,” Beau said.
“There are lots of things you don’t know about me.
” Which was Leon’s way of saying that he was in full agent mode, and he hadn’t ridden into the mountains for fun.
“A private concert for a rich sheik from some dinky Middle Eastern sand trap is one thing. But announcing it to the whole world isn’t going to make the network happy with either one of us, and I prefer it when the people writing our paychecks are happy.
Next time you need to work on your brand, I’ll sign you up for a bit part in a network Western instead. ”
“I like it here.” Beau frowned. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You did.” Leon tapped the table. “Does your fondness for this place have anything to do with the good-looking brunette in the butt-ugly dress?”
“Maybe,” Beau said. “Okay, yes. But not entirely. Burning Scrub has something good going on. Maybe not good, exactly.” He hadn’t polished off an entire glass of Kool-Aid.
“I’m pretty sure the church is a front, because other than Benny, no one seems too hung up on religion.
They donate a lot of money to charities, though.
Except donate might not be the right word.
The phrase gives them a cut is a more accurate description. ”
Leon held up a hand. “I’m getting the picture, New Jersey. At least this place has made you look more like a cowboy. You’ve built up some muscle.” He squinted. “Tell me more about the brunette. You sleeping with her?”
“Boundaries, Leon. I can’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“It’s my business because I’m the one who’ll have to deal with it if she shows up nine months from now with a baby, claiming it’s yours, and she’s willing to sell the story to whoever will pay. Which will not be you, just so we’re clear. So, what’s the deal between you two?”
“I love her.”
There it was. Straight and simple. He loved her. Admitting it to Leon, whose main interest was money, ranked up there with stripping naked in public, but saying it out loud made it real and there was no taking it back.
“That has to be the worst declaration of love I’ve ever heard,” Leon said, leading Beau to wonder what the actual count on that was. “We need to work on getting you more in touch with your feelings. Your music will thank you. Does she love you, too?”
“I think so. I don’t know. It’s complicated.
” Beau told him how Belle had ended up in Burning Scrub.
“I asked her to leave with me, and she said yes, but because she’s angry about a few things, not because she wants to leave.
Once she cools off, she won’t follow through.
Besides, she can’t afford to buy out her contract, and neither can I.
That means she’s got four more years here.
The kind of publicity I’d bring if she were connected to me wouldn’t be good for Burning Scrub, either, so there’s that to consider, as well. ”
One item in all that caught Leon’s attention. “Who says you can’t afford to buy out her contract?”
“They paid for her medical training. It’s four hundred thousand dollars. There’s also a penalty for reneging.”
Leon whistled. “Four hundred thousand…” Dollar signs clicked in his eyes as he ran through Beau’s options.
“That’s a lot of money, but if you tighten your belt, you could manage.
For starters, cut off your ex-wife, and the sooner the better on that.
No woman would be okay with you giving Jennifer money forever, and Belle sure as hell shouldn’t have to ask you to stop. ”
Beau noticed that Leon wasn’t offering to tighten his belt to help. But his agent was right. It was time to cut Jen off so they could both get on with their lives.
Not that it would make any difference to Beau’s current situation.
“Mavis and Benny will never allow Belle to leave, not even after her contract is up, or if I pay it off. They’ll use needing a doctor as a reason to keep her here.
That was likely their plan from the start.
Besides…” Beau might as well accept it as truth.
“Leaving isn’t likely something Belle really wants, either.
Not right now. They might not be the family she dreamed of, but they’re all the family she’s got. ”
“Are you willing to give up everything and move here to be with her instead?”
This was where Beau had to be brutally honest with himself, as well as his agent, and most importantly Belle, because he’d been through one failed relationship already, and he had some experience in that regard under his belt.
“I worked too damn hard to get where I am in my career. Besides, that kind of sacrifice in a relationship is going to leave one of us very unhappy, which means it won’t be long before we’d both come to regret it.”
Leon nodded. Beau could see his brain working and didn’t know whether to feel hopeful or scared or a combination of both.
“Okay, then,” Leon said. “As long as I can be confident about what it is that you want, then I have an idea. I just need to think about it for a bit to make sure I’ve got everything covered.
Before I do that, I want a proper introduction to Annabelle Forsythe.
I’d like to know what she wants.” The wrinkles on Leon’s pronounced brow ridge deepened into furrows.
“Then, I’m going to put some fear into Sheriff Sheik from Djitania, because if any photos of your performance tomorrow night show up on the Internet to upset the network, I want him to understand exactly how sorry he’ll be. ”