“House?” Piper whispered to herself. “Thanks,” she said. Then remembering her gratitude, she turned back.

  “Naomi, thanks for all you, Meghan and Ally did for the crew and me. I know everyone appreciated it.”

  Naomi smiled. “Just wait till you get the bill.” The older woman winked. For Naomi, that was a compliment.

  Looking over, Piper stared toward Cal’s ranch. It was impossible to see from where she stood on this side of the hill. If she’d been on the scaffolding, the house would be visible. Had Cal gone home? Maybe. She no longer saw Jake or Lauren. He hadn’t said good-night. She and Cal had worked together for so long, they each knew what the other would say. They’d said good-night for weeks and they never parted without saying something. How could he leave like that? She felt lost without him.

  The last time she’d seen him, he was talking to Rance Wilson, a highly sought-after stunt coordinator. He’d spoken to several other coordinators, too. Piper thought they might just be interested in how she and Cal came to redesigning and pulling off today’s epic.

  By the time everything was put away for the night, and the last guests had departed, Cal had not appeared. Piper flirted with the idea of going to his ranch, but discarded it. It was late and she was exhausted from both the physical activities and the drama that preceded it. Pulling her phone out, she punched in Cal’s number. The call went straight to voice mail. She listened to his strong voice. At least she had that.

  * * *

  PIPER WAS GOING to miss that monstrosity when it was gone. The huge skeleton looked back at her as if it was angry that she had conquered it. Standing on the porch the following evening, she looked out on the remains of the day. The sun was setting and the day had been long. She had several students, all with questions about the stunt. Apparently, the stories in town had been amplified, and since they were children without filters, they gave her several versions of what the day before had been like. Thankfully, they only talked about the stunt and not the aftermath of her confrontation with Xavier.

  For years she’d thought about him and the accident. For weeks she and Cal had worked on re-creating the stunt that resulted in it. She already missed the crew that had tirelessly built the structure and Tamara’s direction of the entire complex web of details. The huge amount of people that contributed had all gone back to their usual lives. Except for Tamara, who was leaving in a couple of days, Piper was alone.

  Now it was over.

  She should feel elated. She had for a while last night, but the little bit of revenge she got against Xavier wasn’t as sweet as she thought it would be. She’d set out to prove herself right. Or as Cal said, to prove Xavier wrong. Both things happened.

  And now the carnival was over. Outside, she strolled along the porch and claimed a chair. Only the debris spreading across the lawn and the massive skeleton were left as reminders of the frenzy that had occurred just twenty-four hours ago. Soon a cleanup team would come to clear the last remnants away, leaving only the memories of her time working with Cal.

  “Reflections?”

  Piper almost jumped at the sound. Looking to her left, she saw Cal leaning against the porch post. Her heart thumped. “I can’t help but think about how the day went.”

  “It went amazingly. It’s been a long few months in the making,” he said.

  Longer than he knew, she thought. And in the coming months, she was sure they would be longer than any that had come before.

  Pushing away from the porch post, he lowered himself into the chair next to hers.

  “Soon it’ll all be over,” Piper said.

  “All but the monster out there.” Both Piper and Cal glanced at the steel structure.

  “What are you going to do with it?” he asked.

  They had talked about building the skeleton, the materials needed, how much it would cost, the labor, but never what would happen to it when all was said and done. Yet she had a solution.

  “I spoke with one of the film schools. Actually, they approached me. I’m donating the apparatus, lock, stock and barrel.”

  “That’s great,” Cal said.

  Again Piper thought how she would miss it when it was gone. It reminded her of all the time she and Cal had spent together. They did well as a team. She would miss that, too. And she’d miss him.

  “I guess our collaboration is over, too,” she said, looking out over the ranch and keeping her voice level.

  “It was fun,” Cal said, glancing at the metal structure. “Once I got over the fear that you’d hurt yourself.”

  She nodded. “I felt like the old me, that as long as I hit every beat on time, nothing would go wrong.”

  “I’m glad you were confident. My heart was working overtime until you finally came off that inflatable pad unscathed.”

  “Thanks for being concerned about me.”

  Cal met her eyes, then slightly turned his head. The sun was setting, so she couldn’t see his expression, but she was almost sure she saw something there that he didn’t want her to see. She felt as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it.

  “You should get a lot of Hollywood offers now,” he finally said.

  The moment was lost.

  “Yesterday, there was a ton of talk about your abilities, your gutsiness, your ability to cover all the bases and keep things safe.”

  “I saw you with a number of coordinators. They had just as many compliments about you.”

  Cal gave her a lopsided grin. “I enjoyed the last few months. It was like a new world, one where I used my knowledge and skills on something that was more personal.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you.”

  Piper’s heart did another flip.

  “It was like this meant so much to you that I got caught up in it as if it was my project, too. I felt good about it.”

  “I know what you mean,” she said. She felt the same. It was different because it was him, because she felt something for him. “By the way, what did Rance have to say? I saw you and him chatting.”

  “He spent a lot of time with me. One of the things was he wanted me to use my influence with you to get you to join his team.”

  Piper nodded. “He’s got one of the best companies. I’ll consider it.” She’d had several offers pour in, but she hadn’t committed to anything yet. She knew what was stopping her. Cal. He was the unknown. What about the two of them? Was there a them? Could there be a them?

  “What will you do?” she asked. “Do you have plans to leave? Begin another engineering job somewhere in the world?”

  Piper struggled to keep her voice normal. It almost cracked when she said world. He could be going anywhere. The ranch was an anchor. She could picture him there, even if she knew he’d left the Valley.

  “I have a few things I’m considering.”

  A few, Piper thought. That was more than two. She knew Cal was a sought-after engineer. Her experience had told her he was efficient, methodical, and he took in all the angles to make sure the outcome was as planned.

  His was a world where Piper didn’t fit.

  “What about you?” He broke into her thoughts. “I guess you’ll have to decide soon if you’re going back to stunt work in Hollywood or if you and Tamara are going to go into business together. You got both, exoneration and getting back to what you love doing.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “I got what I wanted.” Her voice was flat. Piper understood the cliché of being careful of what you wish for. She wanted the truth to come out, but she knew there was always a cost to that. Her cost was that she and Cal were done. She’d fallen in love with him. It didn’t matter that both of them weren’t looking for a relationship. Cupid didn’t take requests. The small cherub decided on its own who would be tapped to fall in love.

  “So are you going to take one of those jobs or what about you and Tamara?”

  “We haven’t talked about joining forces yet. The knowledge is so new. This isn’t the time to make decisions.”

  Piper hoped he’d understand that he shouldn’t make any decisions at this time, either.

  She stood up and leaned against the porch railing, facing Cal. “Seems like we all have decisions to make,” she said.

  Cal nodded. “Along these lines, I’m leaving tomorrow for an interview.”

  Piper was sorry she was facing him. She didn’t want him to see her expression. Yet she didn’t turn away. “How long will you be gone?”

  “A couple of days. Three at the most.”

  “Interview?”

  He answered with a nod.

  He was already leaving, Piper thought. Whoever he was seeing would go out of their way to convince him to work for them.

  She would.

  She had to get used to being alone again. She would take one of those jobs in Hollywood. Maybe with Rance. The work would do her good. It would be without her running in and out of Cal’s house and having Naomi fix her fried apples. It would be without a metal skeleton in her backyard. It wouldn’t be dancing with him or riding a horse.

  She wondered if he would think of her when he was somewhere under a full moon and she was inside a soundstage.

  * * *

  HE’S GONE. It was Piper’s first thought when she woke the next morning. She might as well get used to it, she thought over her first cup of coffee. The excitement outside was history now and Piper sat enjoying a quiet moment alone.

  It didn’t take long before her solitude was broken by a slamming door and rushing feet.

  “You’ll never believe what’s happened.” Tamara practically danced with excitement. Her voice was high and her smile was larger than Piper had ever seen it. She carried an open bottle of champagne and two flutes.

  “What are we celebrating?” Piper asked. “At nine o’clock in the morning?”

  Taking a moment to make mimosas, Tamara poured them into the glass flutes. She handed one to a confused Piper, who accepted it.

  “First to you and the successful stunt you pulled off.” She waved her glass and danced around in a circle. “It was a kick in the gut to all the naysayers who mistakenly blamed you.”

  “They know the truth now,” Piper said without malice. “And I didn’t do it alone.”

  Tamara raised her glass in salute. “To success,” she said. They both drank.

  “What is the second thing?” Piper asked.

  “Second!” Tamara paused dramatically, giving her a Cheshire cat grin. “To me.” Again she raised her glass. “I’m going to be an actress.” She pronounced it awk-tress.

  “What?” Piper sputtered. She didn’t drink or say anything further. She bounded up from the chair she was sitting in. “That’s wonderful.” For a moment she couldn’t say anything else. Then she hugged her. They did a little circle around the room. Piper pushed back. “What happened? When did you decide this? I thought you wanted to start a stunt company.”

  “I do and I will, but Edmund King called me a few minutes ago. We had a long conversation. He said he liked my work on the screen and that he’d seen me in a few of those stand-in episodes I did under those emergency-we-need-an-actress roles. The bottom line is he wants me to play a role in his next movie, an on-screen role.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Piper said.

  “Neither can I. I was floored.”

  Obviously, Tamara couldn’t stand still. She moved back and forth as if her feet were on hot sand. “It was all I could do not to sink to the floor. Of course, I’ll have to do a screen test.”

  Piper’s melancholy was wiped away with the news. “You’ll be great. I’ve seen you act. I’ve seen you play the main role while we were doing a stunt and the talent wasn’t on the set. Thankfully, someone else recognized your ability.”

  “I’m to play a supporting role, the sister of the main character. And you’ll never guess who the lead is.”

  “Tell me.” Piper wasn’t going to do the guessing game. Cal’s leaving had been stressful and she was still reeling from Tamara’s about-face. Besides, there were too many actresses for her to choose from.

  “Anna Gavin.”

  Piper’s mouth dropped open. Anna Gavin was the hottest property in Hollywood these days. Her box office receipts toppled all the records.

  Piper screamed for joy. She hugged Tamara. For the second time, the two women jumped around the kitchen like two energetic thirteen-year-olds who’d just discovered they had dates with the hottest guys in school. “What a place to start.”

  “Speaking of starting, I have to go pack.”

  An hour later, Piper waved goodbye to her friend. She watched as Tamara drove her rented Jeep down the long driveway. Dust followed her. The place seemed even more lonely after she was gone. Despite Tamara’s good news, which Piper was happy about, she felt as if she was in limbo. That nothing was solid. She’d proved herself. She had job offers, yet she didn’t feel that anything was settled or would be settled.

  Not until she accepted that she and Cal had no future. She was sure that when he returned, he’d let her know which job he’d accepted.

  And that would be the end.

  * * *

  THREE DAYS AT the most, Cal had said when he left. Piper worked through her days as if she were on autopilot. She taught her lessons and fielded the phone calls that came in. Each time the phone rang, she hoped it would be Cal. But today, he should be back. Piper couldn’t explain how happy she felt knowing she would see him.

  She didn’t take time for breakfast. Maybe Naomi would have some fried apples ready when she got there. Swinging her leg over Silver’s saddle, she let the wind blow her hair back as she covered the distance between the two ranches.

  Quickly tying the horse to the post, Piper knocked and opened the back door in almost one single movement. She was so used to just letting herself in that she didn’t think to wait for permission.

  Heading for the office, she was stopped by Naomi’s voice.

  “Missing him already?” Naomi asked.

  “Cal isn’t home?” Piper picked up on that. She stopped, turning around. “Where is he?”

  “He didn’t say.”

  “You talked to him?”

  Naomi stopped working and looked her directly in the eye. “He left me a message saying not to fix breakfast.”

  “That’s all?”

  “You know he’s a man of few words.”

  Emotion clogged Piper’s throat. She was well aware of that. Since he left her porch three days ago, she hadn’t heard one word from him.

  “I suppose I’ll go back to the ranch. I wanted to thank him again for all he did for me.”

  “Yeah.”

  The way Naomi said it, Piper knew the older woman understood that was not why she’d run into the kitchen and headed straight for Cal’s office.

  Pushing her hair back, Piper didn’t respond to Naomi’s comment. Naomi was always busy. She was unloading the dishwasher and putting things away. Since Cal hadn’t been there in days, probably neither had Naomi. When Naomi left the room for a moment, Piper glanced at her phone. Quickly, she dialed Cal’s number. It rang once and went straight to voice mail.

  Waiting for the beep, she spoke even though who knew when he’d get the message. She wouldn’t say anything about his interview. Softly, she said, “Good morning, Cal,” and that was all she recorded, but she touched the phone as if she were brushing her hand over his.

  Where was he? She entertained the thought of calling Jake and Lauren but decided against it. Naomi knew he was out of town. If a mishap occurred, Jake would let either her or Naomi know. No need to create problems where there were none.

  The truth was she missed Cal. They needed to talk, but he apparently had fallen off the edge of the world.

  She was still staring at the phone when Naomi returned.

  “Sit down,” Naomi said.

  Piper did so and Naomi sat a breakfast plate in front of her as if she’d known Piper would come by. The fried apples she ladled on it reminded Piper of Cal. Everything these days reminded her of him.

  “He didn’t say where he was going?” Piper said again.

  Naomi shook her head.

  “He’s interviewing,” Piper said, more to herself than to Naomi. “He told me that before he left.” Piper couldn’t really blame him. He had to look out for his own life and career. They’d been focused on hers. She felt guilty for not thinking about what he would do after.

  She’d tried to push him leaving to the back of her mind. That hadn’t worked. Today, she was sure he’d be at the ranch. The two of them worked so well together. But Piper had done something she vowed to never do again. She hadn’t thought of the future. She hadn’t allowed herself to think beyond the stunt. She figured she could return to Hollywood, resume her career. But she hadn’t thought of what Cal would do, how she’d feel about no longer seeing him, no longer being able to come and go in his house and office to discuss the project. The stunt was over. They had no reason to continue their routine.

  But he’d kissed her and she’d kissed him. There was a promise there. At least it was for her and that was something they needed to talk about.

  She was disappointed in herself. Her career wasn’t the only one at stake here. Cal had a life, too. They’d agreed to not get involved, but her heart hadn’t paid attention. She was involved. She was in love with Caleb Masters. She hadn’t told him and she was unsure of his feelings. Yet their actions had spoken of something good. He’d kissed her. He had his arm around her waist as they walked together. That could have been part of the moment, part of the exalting energy of the day. How many times had she seen that in a movie? The couple fighting at the beginning, then working together and falling in love. For her, that had always been fantasy, the effort of some writer to manipulate the feelings of a movie audience.