Page 80 of See You There

Luke walked to the glass doors leading to the deck and peered out. “There’s a grill out here. I could do burgers or something. We’ll need charcoal and lighter fluid.”

Dahlia added the items to the shopping list. “How long will we be here? For food, I mean.” She waved her pen at the pad.

“I think we should plan for a week.”

Dahlia’s stomach sank. “You think it will take them that long to arrest Hank? I have the premiere to prepare for…”

“First, they have to find him, but that doesn’t remove the threat. They’ll need enough evidence to arrest him. That could take a few days.” Luke smiled when she began tapping the penagainst the pad. “We won’t miss it. I have people looking for Hank, in addition to the police. We’ll find him.”

“What’s Chandler saying?”

“I’m not sure they’ve talked to him yet.” He moved to the front door. “Do you need a baseball hat or something?”

“For what?”

“So that you’re not recognized?”

Dahlia smiled. “I’m not famous like that.”

“They plastered your face all over the city. Not only have you been doing your press tour in Atlanta, but now you are on the news because of the shootings.” Luke’s expression was stern. “We can’t take any chances.”

“I doubt people up here will have seen it?”

“There’s no way of knowing. This area is also extremely popular with tourists from Atlanta. They come up to the mountains for the cooler air and river rafting. Hang on.” Luke rummaged in his bag and pulled out a slightly worn black baseball cap. “Here.”

Dahlia took the hat and shoved as much of her thick hair under it as she could and followed him to the truck.

After they’d bounced down the rutted gravel drive and turned onto the narrow road that led to the highway, Dahlia consulted her list. “We should keep it simple. Like you said, burgers, chicken…” Luke hummed a sound of agreement. “I noticed there aren’t any towels, so we’re going to need to pick some up.”

“I need pillows and sheets for the couch,” Luke added. “I found a fire pit at the back of the house when I was on the phone. It’s just off the deck stairs. Do you want to get some wood?”

“I’m not sure this is fire season.” Dahlia glanced out the windshield at the glaring sun. Even though it was several degrees cooler than the city south of them, the day was heating up quickly.

“It could be nice at night. It cools off up here. I could—What? You don’t think I know how to start a fire?”

Dahlia hadn’t meant to snort out loud.

“I’ve been camping before,” Luke said. “Well, once anyway.”

Dahlia laughed. “Don’t worry, city boy. I grew up in a place that looked a lot like this.” She waved her hands at the trailers they passed on the side of the road. “It was just a lot flatter.”

Luke arched a brow. “Really?”

“Really. I hated it. Couldn’t wait to get away.” Why had she told him that?

“I never would have guessed.”

Dahlia could feel his curiosity across the cab of the truck.

Item #3 Let people in, be more open.

Luke had proven himself trustworthy over the last few days, even if he didn’t believe Dahlia was. She wanted that to change. She wanted him to look at her the way he had before. The only way she knew to make that happen was to explain.

“Victor sent me to a lot of classes so peoplewouldn’tguess where I was from.” Dahlia looked out the windshield with a sad smile. “Country, when it’s cute, is desirable in the entertainment industry. He didn’t want the less attractive bits of my life to come out.”

Luke frowned. “Meaning?”

Dahlia bit her lip. This was harder than she’d expected. Ten years of hiding the truth made it hard to open up.