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The woman turned to the computer, her hesitation still apparent. “There’s a flight to Seattle that connects in Detroit and then in Las Vegas.”
“What if I want to change my plans when I reach Detroit?” Her mind was already whirling. Anyone worth their salt would try to track her down by looking at flights that were leaving this airport. But if she took a flight that was meant to land in Seattle, only to switch planes in Detroit and go somewhere else, that would give her some extra time.
The ticket agent’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward. “Any suspicious behavior is usually a red flag,” she said under her breath. “I don’t recommend doing something like that.”
“But it can be done,” Emma pushed. “I can go to a ticket agent in Detroit and change my flight?”
Her shrewd gaze grew even more so. “Ma’am, are you in trouble?”
Emma stilled. Then she nodded before glancing over the top of her sunglasses briefly. “Yes. I’m trying to hide from an angry boyfriend.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Have you called the police?”
She shook her head. “I’m not ready for that step yet. And the judicial system being what it is…” Emma let the woman fill in the blanks. “Please tell me you can help. I just want to find a place to lay low.”
She nodded and kept typing. “In Detroit, there are a few other options. You could fly to Salt Lake, Denver, or Dallas within an hour of landing.” She handed Emma a printed ticket over the counter. “Just do exactly as you said. Find a ticket agent and ask them to change your flight.”
Emma took the ticket. “Thank you so much,” she said as she pushed her sunglasses more firmly up the bridge of her nose. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Over the next several hours, she sat in economy with others who didn’t pay her much attention. Why would a famous musician take a small puddle jumper from a no-name airport to Detroit? They wouldn’t, unless they either had a mental break or an epiphany.
Once she landed in Detroit, she played a game of eeny-meeny-miny-moe and landed on Denver for her next destination. She fiddled with her jewelry and her glasses, trying to make sure no one recognized her as she got into more populated areas. Once she touched down in Denver, she opted to change her mode of transportation.
Outside of the airport were several Greyhound buses, just begging for her to take one of them off to places unknown. Once again, she played her game and climbed aboard one that she had no clue where it might end up. It wasn’t until she was thirty minutes on the road that she considered turning on her phone. She was sure she had several missed calls, not only from Rachel but probably from Jessica, too.
Her sister would be livid that she wasn’t brought into the loop on this charade, and why wouldn’t she be? They were as close as two sisters could be. Emma would have to make sure to find a place that sold burner phones—ones without a GPS tracker built in. Perhaps then, she might have the ability to get the peace and quiet that she needed in order to maintain control over her mental state. She didn’t want a repeat of what had happened before. That’s why she’d hired Rachel in the first place.
Emma leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Colorado Springs had been mentioned, and she’d arrive there soon enough. Once there, Emma could find a hotel and make plans onhow long she’d be staying. Rachel couldn’t fault her for needing this break. No one could, as far as Emma was concerned. Sometimes a woman had to take control of her own destiny for a while before returning to the real world.
Emma drifted off to sleep and was only roused when bright lights turned on. She winced and opened her eyes to find the bus was clearing out. She scrambled to her feet and looked through the window. She’d never visited Colorado Springs before, but she knew it was bigger than the town she was currently looking at.
A large, lit sign outside hung over a building filled with windows. Sal’s Diner looked like the perfect place to get a bite of food and figure out where she’d ended up. Then again, Emma was exhausted. Maybe she could do some exploring tomorrow. It had to be at least midnight, and eating fried food on an empty stomach wasn’t going to bode well for her.
She gathered her things and hurried off the bus and into the cooler evening air. Her eyes scanned the immediate area, landing on a small motel across the street and down a block or two. It would suit her needs well for the time being. And if she didn’t know where she was, then she was almost a hundred percent sure that no one else would either.
A smile touched her lips as she hurried across the street and toward the building with the word “vacancy” in bright, red lettering. Tomorrow, she would venture out. Tonight, she was going to get a much-needed reprieve from being Emma Hart.
2
Caleb Keagan
The countryside could be both a vast, endless expanse and, at the same time, so small that Caleb yearned for something more. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about Carter and what his twin was up to. Maybe he’d been the smart one. Out of the two of them, Carter might have been the one who got what he wanted in life and all because he took a chance.
Caleb rested his folded arms on the saddle horn. There was one thing he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere else but here. The sunsets in Colorado were something else. Red and orange bled into the deep purple and blue on the horizon. There was something so soothing about being out here. Even when he thought he might need more in his life, Caleb was able to stand back and accept that this was where he was meant to be. He was a cowboy, and on his family’s ranch was home.
He peered back toward the house and the barn. If he were to head home, he already knew what he would walk into. Liam was celebrating his engagement to Margot. They were having a big dinner with all the Keagans, including those who had married into the family.
It wasn’t that Caleb didn’t like his new in-laws. They were all generally likable. No, his aversion to going home had more to do with the way he’d treated Liam when his brother had started dating Margot. It wasn’t hard to see just how much on the wrong side of things Caleb had been.
In truth, Caleb was embarrassed that he’d been the only one who wasn’t supportive. He could be happy for Liam and Margot’s impending nuptials without wanting to be the reminder of the hardships the couple had gone through because of Caleb’s trust issues.
Trust.
He still stood by his opinion that trust needed to be earned. A person who didn’t demand the truth right from the start was completely naive. The world was filled with terrible people who didn’t care about anyone but themselves.
There were countless times when Caleb had seen this sort of behavior, from celebrities on television to politicians running various governments, right down to crooked salesmen who only wanted to make a quick buck.
Caleb had even seen people in his own town do things that weren’t becoming of someone with morals. His own twin had made some pretty hefty mistakes.
