Chapter 79 - Find a Way

Jon was restless. He paced around the villa, moving from room to room without any thought to where he was or where he was going.

Since he had left the range, his mind had been going a hundred miles an hour, trying to find the answer. He knew there had to be way… there had to be… to allay Cate’s fear of trusting him with her heart.

Jon knew Cate wanted to be with him. He had seen it in her eyes, tasted it in her kiss. And he wanted to be with her. They were two of a kind. They needed to be together.

The only thing standing in the way was… reality. She was a cop, he was a rock star. It was amazing that they had found each other at all. And after this experience it was probable that their paths would never cross again, unless they made it happen.

Jon frowned. How could he remedy that problem? It had been his life experience that there was no obstacle that couldn’t be overcome with hard work and determination. That had to be true in this case. Every time he had wanted something badly enough, he had done whatever it had taken to get it. He had sacrificed, compromised, bullied, and begged. And he could count on one hand the number of times he had failed.

He didn’t intend to fail now.

But how could he possibly create a situation where he and Cate could be together all the time? Their careers were far from compatible. His required frequent, often exotic travel and a grueling schedule. Hers required her constant presence at the Center and strict adherence to an unyielding timetable. There was no way either of them was going to quit, to give up their life’s work.

Jon shook his head in frustration. There has to be a way….

Looking around, Jon realized he was in the bedroom. He stared at the bed and his heart ached. Less than 24 hours ago he had carried Cate into this very room. He had held her, kissed her, made love to her, lost his soul to her, in that bed. And now the last thing he wanted to do was to sleep there, without her.

Jon sank onto the long bench at the end of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and running a hand through his hair. He stared into the darkened fireplace for a long time, turning over the dilemma in his mind.

Then he stood and walked over to the closet, retrieving his briefcase from a shelf inside the little room. He carried the heavy leather case out to the living room and dropped it onto the ottoman. Jon sat on the couch, then dialed the combination and popped open the locks.

He reached inside the briefcase and pulled out his movie script, tossing it aside on the couch. Then he removed a thick sheaf of papers from the top pocket. He dropped the contract on the ottoman and began to thumb through it, looking for a certain section. He found it, read through the text several times, then dog-eared the page to mark its place in the thick document.

Pulling his Blackberry from his belt and grabbing a legal pad and pen, Jon propped his feet up on the ottoman. Then he did what he always did when he was confronted with a challenge. He started to work.