all the amenities of a lavish full-sized house - fully equipped kitchen, Jacuzzi tub, big screen TV, stocked bar - and probably was nicer than most people’s houses, but Derrick had lately been longing for his ranch back in Montana. He had been living in the trailer out here in the bush country of Australia for nearly five months. Next summer’s sure-to-be blockbuster starring everyone’s favorite star was about a white man who had been raised by an Aborigine tribe in the outback of Australia. The script was good and the location was breathtaking but a part of Derrick just wanted it to wrap up so he could go home.
When he was working it was one thing: he had always been able to fully immerse himself in a role (that’s how he had gotten so far in life) and totally block out everything that was Derrick Stone. But the problem came when the camera stopped rolling, the cast and crew returned to their respective trailers, and Derrick was left alone with his thoughts. Never before had he felt so antsy and melancholy at the same time. He knew exactly what it was, though he didn’t want to admit it: Gracie.
She had left so abruptly and without any explanation except for that weak note. It wasn’t like her. But then, how did Derrick really know what was like her or not? He barely knew the woman. He had tried to tell himself that over and over again for the past five months. They had spent a wonderful two weeks together, but essentially she was just another woman who was after his money. Right?
When he read the note he had wanted to hop in his car and chase her to the airport. And he almost had, but he’d been ambushed by Anicka in the kitchen. He’d forgotten all about her and their meeting with Gary Carlisle the night before. Anicka had been chosen for the role of the heroine in Derrick’s new movie. (From Derrick’s experience Anicka couldn’t act her way out of a cardboard box, but that just went to show how much his opinion mattered in Hollywood.) Carlisle thought it would be great publicity if the two of them staged a reunion. It would ensure great ratings for the movie if the romantically entangled co-stars were actually involved in real life. Or, re -involved, as it were. They could set it up perfectly, the agent explained; their love rekindled in the romantic Australian outback. Anicka had been one hundred percent in on the scheme, she was just as into appearances as Carlisle. Derrick wasn’t so sure. They spent the greater part of the night discussing it between martinis. Before Derrick knew it, it was three in the morning. He wanted to get Gracie’s opinion on the scheme before making any final decision. She was in bed by the time he got back, so he went to bed himself, graciously allowing Anicka freedom of the guest house.
But then Gracie hadn’t been there in the morning. He had wanted to find some way to contact her for weeks. But something had made him stop. Maybe she truly didn’t want to have anything more to do with him. He hadn’t heard anything from her or from the lawyers. And then he had left for Australia the next week and everything with the movie had been moving so quickly that he’d barely had time to think about it.
Back in the trailer Derrick was ready to turn in for the night when his iPhone began to ring. The caller ID read: Montana. It was someone from the ranch. Happy to hear a familiar voice, Derrick answered the phone.
“Mr. Derrick,” came a child’s breathless voice from the other end, “it’s me, Benny. I need to ask you a question.”
“Hi, Benny, I’m glad to hear from you! Is something wrong?”
Derrick heard squabbling in the background, as if two boys were fighting over the phone. “Stop Alex!” he heard Benny shout. Alex was Benny’s older brother by two years.
Then Benny came back on the line. “When the baby comes can we get a pony? Alex says that he can learn to ride on Calypso like we did, but daddy says riding’s in our blood. And so I told Alex that