Having made her purchases and now outfitted with a better disguise, Alex made her way through the airport to her gate. No one made a fuss over her, so either her disguise worked, or she had overreacted by dressing up all cloak-and-dagger like. Once she boarded the plane, she removed her accessories and settled down for the long flight home.
Alex turnedher phone on once the plane landed in Houston. She had several missed calls, a few texts, and several voicemails from her mother and father. While the plane taxied to the gate, she listened to the frantic messages. The press had found her family. Alex groaned and buried her face in her hand.
“Is everything okay?” the lady next to her asked.
Alex reassured the woman she was fine, just beleaguered by things piling up while her phone was off. Once the doors opened, she collected her things and made her way into the terminal, looking for a quiet corner to call her parents.
Her mom answered on the first ring, her voice shaking, yet abrupt at the same time. “Alex, are you okay?”
Alex’s brow furrowed in confusion. She couldn’t tell if her mother was scared or angry. “I’m fine. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Oh, we’re fine, but these overbearing reporters won’t leave us alone. We figured out afterward what was going on, but we were confused and upset when they first mobbed us.”
The speaker overhead announced the boarding status for a flight in the terminal.
“Alexis, where are you? The background is noisy.”
“I’m in an airport. I’ve been on a plane for ten hours and just landed. What happened?” Alex closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand.
Debra inhaled sharply. “Okay, let me start over. A reporter approached your dad in town asking a bunch of questions about you, and Dad reacted as you’d expect. Told him to go jump in a lake and mind his own blankety-blank business.”
Alex chuckled at her mom’s way of cursing and at the image of her dad in “grumpy” mode.
“Yes, well,” Debra continued, “when he arrived home, more of them were on our front lawn. The nerve! I was out back in the garden, so I didn’t realize they were there. They were shouting at him. He ignored them and came inside to call Bill.”
“Who’s Bill?” Alex interrupted her mom.
“Bill is the sheriff, dear. Anyway, your father called the sheriff who came and chased them away, but they kept coming back. Or maybe new ones showed up. Either way, Bill made them move off the property and back to the highway. Some are still there, if you can believe that. Hold on, sweetie.” Shuffling noises came across the phone and her mom’s next words were muffled. “I’m talking to her now, Tom.” Another scraping noise came across the phone. “Okay, I’m back. Are you still there?”
“Yes. Mom, are you guys okay?”
“Yes, we’re fine now. But we were so confused until we saw the news. Some breaking story came out about you and Finley. The local station picked it up and I’m fairly certain we’ve been on TV. What do we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what do you want us to do? How should we handle it?”
“I have no clue. I’m barely handling it myself. Oh, and I bought a freaking hat. I am wearing a hat and sunglassesinsidethe airport.” Alex shook her head and steadied her breathing. “I guess for now, keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll check with Fin and his people to see if they have tips for dealing with this.”
“Okay. Don’t let those vultures bully you, Alex.”
Alex smiled. “I never do, Mom.”
“If you can get past the invasion of privacy issue, the whole thing is rather exciting. We’re suddenly famous! The girls at my bridge club will be so jealous.”
“Hmm, speaking of… maybe watch what you say. You never know when a stranger is listening or when someone else will pass on what they think is a juicy piece of gossip.”
Her mom snorted. “It’s not like you’ve shared much about your personal life anyway, Alex. But I take your point. You be careful too, sweetie. Oh, lord, something crashed in the garage. I better check on your dad.”
“Okay. Talk later.”
“Bye-bye.”
Alex sat quietly for a moment, taking stock and shoring up her defenses. Hopefully, she’d made a big deal out of nothing and nobody would be waiting for her in the baggage area.Okay, girl, you got this, she told herself.
She did not have it. Not in any way, shape, or form. As soon as she passed through security and down to baggage claim, they hounded her. Luckily, the call to her mom had allowed enough time for her suitcase to make it to the conveyor belt. Alex seized the bag and walked away without ever slowing down. She managed to catch a crowded elevator where she aggressively blocked anyone from boarding with her luggage bag. She beamed a big fake Southern smile at the stymied photographers and was rewarded with several flashes going off in her face. Once the doors closed, she moved to the side and shrugged to her fellow passengers, who watched her with mouths open.
She walked to her car without incident and drove home, slowing down as she approached a line of cars parked along her street. Sure enough, as she neared her duplex, she saw people congregating in the driveway.
