Free Accidental Family by Kristin Gabriel Page B

wrongly assumed that meant Max didn’t know where to find me.”
    “Maybe the resurrection of Savannah Corrington on Another Dawn set him off again.”
    “That’s what I thought.” Rowena pulled up the stool behind her and sat down. Her shoes pinched, and she knew before long her feet would start to swell—along with her stomach. Now that the entire town knew of her pregnancy, she could start shopping for maternity clothes. “Did I ever tell you the executive producers of Another Dawn approached me last summer and offered me the role again? Along with a generous signing bonus.”
    Maureen tucked the letter into the envelope. “No, but I wondered. I take it you turned them down?”
    She nodded. “I like my life here. At least, I did before Alan Rand came to town. I guess it could be worse, though,” she said, suppressing a shiver. “At least Max hasn’t shown up yet.”
    “He sounds mentally unstable.”
    Rowena shook her head. “Max might go to extremes, but I don’t think he’s actually crazy. Just very controlling. He wants to direct the people in life like he directs the actors on a set.”
    “What if the letters never were from Max? What if it was just a coincidence that you stopped receiving them after your confrontation with him?”
    “I suppose that’s a possibility.” Then she shook her head. “No, it sounds too much like him to be anyone else. Declaring his undying love at the same time he’s trying to make me feel guilty.”
    Maureen set the letter on the counter. “I think you should contact the police. Just to be safe.”
    “They won’t be able to do anything. Not on the basis of one letter and not unless Max makes some kind of overt physical threat. I’ve been through this before.” Rowena thought back to those years she’d lived in New York. How isolated she’d felt in a city with over seven million people. Strange how it all seemed like a lifetime ago.
    Maureen scowled. “Did this Max ever try to hurt you?”
    She hesitated. “One day after shooting on the set, he wanted to take me out to lunch. This was after I’d broken up with him and I knew he wanted to try to resurrect the relationship. When I refused to go, he tracked me down in the parking lot, grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward his car. I was dragged several feet before the security guards finally intervened.”
    “That’s horrible,” Maureen exclaimed. “Please tell me he was arrested.”
    “I filed a police report, but the producers of the show convinced me not to press charges. They promised to make Max stay away from me, and surprisingly, he did.”
    “But you still left the show.”
    “Max was just one of the reasons. Did I ever tell you how I got the role of Savannah in the first place?”
    Maureen smiled. “No, but I’d love to hear it.”
    “I never planned to be an actress. I wanted to be a hairdresser like my mother. Making people feel good about themselves is the best feeling in the world. So I went to cosmetology school, then got lucky enough to land an internship on Another Dawn to assist the stylists there. I learned some fabulous tricks of the trade.”
    “Like helping my two little girls look good again after they decided to play hairstylist with each other.”
    Rowena laughed. “Yes. I love my work. I did back then, too. But one day a director rushed in and grabbed me for a walk-on role.”
    “A role that grew into one of the most popular characters on daytime television.”
    Rowena nodded. “Max was the director who discovered me. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I stayed with him as long as I did. But eventually, I found myself spending more and more time in the hair and makeup station. After the last confrontation with Max, I decided I just wasn’t happy anymore. So I told the show I wanted to leave, and that’s how I ended up here.”
    “Do you ever miss acting?”
    Rowena smiled. “The acting bug never bit me that hard. I’m perfectly content taking part in the Christmas