Page 18 of Everybody Needs a Hero

Biting her lip,Tess wasn’t sure what to do. Drew had proven to be her rock all day. Calm, resourceful, and willing to do whatever was needed to help. Tess hadn’t realized it, but suddenly parting ways with her would leave a void. Having her near had helped comfort Tess. Still, she couldn’t exactly keep monopolizing the woman’s time and attention indefinitely.For crying out loud, we barely know each other, she thought.So why do I feel so attached?Finding herself having to fight back emotions, Tess plastered on her famous smile to hide how she felt. “Of course, you should head home,” she said. “I can’t imagine I’ll be getting any word on call times for the morning with the phone lines down. But the state of emergency can’t go on forever.”

“No, certainly not. Not in Los Angeles,” Drew agreed, starting to back away. If Tess wasn’t mistaken, Drew appeared hesitant to leave.Does she have new feelings to deal with too?Tess wondered. For some reason, she really hoped so. As complicated as the reality of an attraction between them might be, Tess wasn’t ready to be done with Drew Andersen. Their relationship might have started off rocky, but over the last eight hours, things had changed.And I look forward to exploring some of these feelings. But asking her to come to stay with me now to make me feel more secure doesn’t make any sense.

For the moment, they both had other things to do. “Well. See you soon then,” Tess said. “Drive safely. Please.” Smiling, Drew nodded and turned to leave. Unable to let her go yet, Tess took two steps and grabbed the woman’s shirt sleeve. “And maybe, you know, try to get a call through to me? To let me know you’re home safe and that everything is okay for you.” She shrugged, suddenly feeling a little foolish for asking Drew to check in with her. “Or at least a text.” Drew might not feel anything toward her, but Tess would still worry about her. “Anyway, in case I can help with anything. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Drew said, smiling but with seriousness to her tone. “I wanted to help you, and I’m glad everything worked out and your daughter is safe.” Without another word, she kept walking to her Pathfinder. Tess watched her go, uneasy with her leaving, while Ashley came up beside her.

Her daughter wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m impressed with your friend Drew. She’s special, isn’t she?” Ashley asked, and Tess nodded.

“Surprisingly so,” she said distractedly, waving as Drew pulled away from the curb. She watched it until the vehicle turned the corner and was out of sight. Only then did Tess refocus on the task at hand—getting the three of them to her home. She turned to the production assistant holding her walkie-talkie in her hand. “Any luck on getting us a car?”

Rachel gave a brisk nod. “It’s on the way,” she said. “Although the carpool operator did want to warn you traffic everywhere is a mess. The trip home could take a long time.” Tess didn’t bother to tell the woman she was well aware of the state of the traffic problem. Only thanks to Drew’s patience, excellent driving skills, and ability to navigate in chaos was she able to be back with Ashley at all.

Tess nodded. “I understand,” she said with a glance toward Bryce. “I want you to come to stay with us for a while. It’s the least I can offer.”

“Really, that’s unnecessary,” Bryce started, but Tess shook her head.

“Don’t try to change my mind. My house in Beverly Hills has seven bedrooms,” she said. “There’s plenty of room for all of us. Frankly, I’m rattled. Having you around will help.”

Ashley hugged her mom a little tighter. “Same with me,” she said, looking at Bryce. “Thanks, Mom.”

Pleased everyone was on board with the plan, Tess saw the black limousine come out of the gate toward them. The sight filled her with relief. Finally, they were going home.

Fifteen minutes later,Ashley sat in the back of the limousine with her mother waiting for Bryce to get her stuff from the low-end motel room where she had stayed the night before. “Thank you for letting us come stay with you for a while,” Ashley said, making her mom smile.

“I’m not letting you more than I am insisting,” Tess said. “I wouldn’t be able to stand being alone and not knowing where you were.” She reached out a hand, and Ashley took it. “I was terrified.”

Ashley squeezed her mom’s hand. “So was I, but it’s okay now.”Thanks to Bryce,she thought, looking out the window to catch sight of Bryce stepping out of the room with nothing but a large, green military duffle bag. Realizing that was all the woman had made Ashley a little sad. During their long talk on the phone the night before, Bryce revealed her father had recently passed away. The house she grew up in was sold to pay hospital bills. Even though Ashley thought she heard traces of sadness in her voice, Bryce had played off the loss, saying that it didn’t matter because she was due to go back to the Marine Corps soon. Still, the one bag seemed like so little in the grander scheme of things. Not that Ashley needed material possessions, although she wanted for nothing growing up. She simply hadn’t wanted much. Many children, including some of her peers, were spoiled rotten living the plush life she did, but the desire for fancy clothes or expensive cars never interested her. Probably because her mom didn’t put much stock in it either. They lived a simple enough life while Ashley grew up. It was true, the house in Beverly Hills was large, with a pool and a part-time housekeeper, but it was only to keep up pretenses in a lot of ways. If she and her mom were suddenly put in the position to live with much less, Ashley knew they would persevere.

Not as well as my rough and ready girlfriend though, Ashley thought, holding Bryce’s hand once she was back in the limo. She paused.Did I just think of her as my girlfriend?Although it seemed impossible to be so attached that quickly, Ashley did not doubt that she wanted the woman to be a big part of her life. The fact Bryce was in the military would be something to overcome, but Ashley already knew she was worth the effort.She risked her life for me. Ashley was convinced the act was more than out of duty to help others. The way Bryce looked at her, even before the earthquake, made her think there was more.

Plus, there was the way Bryce sat close to her and held her hand as they rode toward Beverly Hills. That heat Ashley felt from the contact was much more than friendly. There was chemistry between them. She was sure of it.

“Sorry about all the traffic, ma’am,” the limo driver said, interrupting Ashley’s thoughts. “But it’s been a hell of a day. That little earthquake caused people to start acting stupid.”

Ashley watched her mom frown. “Not sure I’d have called it a little earthquake,” she said. “Not if you were in the middle of it.”

“Right,” the driver corrected. “Of course not. Even a four-point one shake can cause problems. Wasn’t the “big one” though is what I meant.”

Ashley and all Los Angeles were aware of the threat of the “big one.” A cataclysmic earthquake that leveled the city. There was even an official Earthquake Preparedness month. Still, after feeling the shock of being near the epicenter of even a small quake, Ashley didn’t believe the average person could fathom the experience. She hoped the scientists were wrong in their calculations that the area was due for a massive disaster.

Even though no one else in the car responded to his comments, the driver kept talking. “That wasn’t the worst part today though. Did you hear?” Ashley didn’t answer. She had a pretty good idea of what the man was about to say. After a beat, he tilted his head, clearly confused by his passengers’ lack of curiosity.

“What was the worst part?” Ashley finally asked to get the conversation over with and move on.

The driver shook his head as if disbelieving what he was about to say was possible. “A tsunami,” he answered. “Like out of a movie. Here in Los Angeles. Can you believe it?”

Ashley could see the wave crashing into the boardwalk all over again. “Yes, I can,” she said, and they were silent the rest of the ride home.

15

Standing in the kitchen of her intact home opening a cold bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, Drew looked back over her crazy day. To think she was looking at dailies with the film’s director and trying to decide what to do with Tess at the start of the day. It was a decision she was fretting over until the woman showed up at the door of the trailer confessing she read Drew’s book. For some reason, that action had touched Drew.Is that why I jumped at the chance to drive her to find her daughter after the earthquake?she wondered.Or is there more there I’m not willing to face?She couldn’t be sure. After twenty years of reacting to emergencies, she wasn’t lying when she told Tess it was second nature to help. Thinking back over their conversations in the car, Tess hadn’t gone along with her explanation that instinct was the only reason Drew acted as she had. Pausing, she tried to recall the woman’s exact words, but in the mix of all the chaos, she couldn’t come up with it.Only that she thought I was special. She frowned.Could the beautiful, talented, and extremely sexy Tess Landish think that about me?It seemed unlikely. She must have misunderstood.And I need to make sure I don’t start doing crazy things that will embarrass me later.

After pouring a glass of white wine, she wandered into the living room that overlooked the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean far below. When she bought the house a few months ago, her brother teased her about it. “I said to buy a house in Malibu,” he said. “Not on some cliff looking down on it.” Watching the white lines of waves rolling in, she was glad she didn’t listen to him. Although the tsunami that hit further south hadn’t touched Malibu, the thought it could have made her shiver.What a horrible, scary thing to have happen, she thought, taking a sip. The cool liquid tasted refreshing after a very long day.Thank God Ashley was all right.She paused, thinking about Tess’s daughter and the woman who saved her.Bryce. The Marine.

The obvious connection between the two had surprised Drew. Tess made it sound like they barely knew each other, but the chemistry between them was unmistakable. Although she had long brown hair and a gentle nature about her, Bryce had some more masculine mannerisms that would have clued Drew in that she was likely a lesbian.But I never would have guessed Ashley liked women, she thought. Although not a fan of news from the internet, she didn’t remember ever seeing headlines about Tess Landish’s daughter being gay. She hadn’t even seen it on a tabloid in a grocery store line. Considering how much Ashley touched Bryce, even in front of the studio’s production assistant, she assumed it wasn’t a secret.Maybe it’s not a big of a deal as I remember things used to be. Growing up in a small town in Texas, being queer was a bad thing. So much so, Drew never let herself go there in her mind as a teenager. Even after she moved away, the reservations stuck with her as an adult. Standing at the window tonight though, thinking about the day and especially about Tess, made her think about the topic again.

A few times working at the hospital, Drew found another woman attractive. She always chalked the feelings up to respecting the other person’s skills as a nurse or a doctor. One thing was for sure though. She never acted on any of her emotions. Even when she woke up from a dream where she was touching another woman, one that left her feeling aroused and a little confused, she refused to pursue it. Instead, she kept to herself, and never dated or let anyone get close to her. There were many lonely moments over the years, but she got through by throwing all her energy into work.But I don’t have work to distract me 24/7, she thought.And now there is suddenly Tess in my life to confuse me.The lead actress in the movie meant so much to her.I’m too old to start thinking about a relationship with anyone, especially a Hollywood megastar who happens to be a beautiful woman. As she sipped her wine, she made a resolution—steer clear of Tess Landish.

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