The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You

"Did you hear?" Cynthia says as she reaches down into the dessert case. "Penny and George say they've had some big-shot Hollywood types shooting out at their ranch all week."I smile as I pull three fresh coffee mugs from beneath the counter. "There's been a rumor or two." News travels fast in our town, but Cynthia usually manages to get the best dirt - if there's gossip about anything, she's the one with the full scoop. She hears everything. Our late-night shifts together are rarely dull.She pulls a lemon meringue pie from the case and sets it on the counter. The kitchen here at Dandelion Diner is open twenty-four hours, but after eleven o'clock or so all anybody really wants is soda, coffee, and dessert. Occasionally you'll have a group of teenagers stumble in well after curfew and order chili fries and onion rings, and a few local cops will stop by after their shifts for bacon cheeseburgers, but most people out at this hour end up at Chief's Tavern down the road. At least until t

Some places, seeing someone you don't recognize wouldn't be a big deal. But we don't get many strangers here. And any man that approaches a woman alone in the woods is suspicious, no matter where you are. And no matter how startlingly attractive he is."Stay back!" I yell.He's already well into the river, ignoring the rocks and just wading right through the water. He's at least six feet tall with shoulders as broad as a bear's - this man could overpower me easily if he wanted to. And in spite of his stunning looks, he also looks dangerous - there are tattoos running up his arms, and I think I even spot one curling around the side of his neck.I throw the rock. I'm not the best shot, but I manage to hit him right in the chest. He grunts and clutches his ribs, and I bend over and find another rock. This one is smaller, but my first throw seems to have at least made him pause. He holds up his hands, palms toward me."Whoa, easy there," he says. "I didn't mean to startle you.""Stay

"No," I hear myself tell him, to my own surprise. "I don't want you to go.""Good," he says with a wolfish smile. "Because I'm not ready for you to fly away yet."I'm not sure what to make of that answer, so I turn away and begin searching the water around the rock where I was sitting. My bare toes skim across the bottom, feeling for anything that isn't a slick, river-smoothed stone. Periodically, I bend over and run my fingers across the bottom, grasping around through the dark green water.They wouldn't have floated away, I tell myself. They're heavy enough that they would sink. But I'm not sure if that's just wishful thinking. My mind keeps going back to other things."Sorry for dumping on you like that," I say. "About my mom, I mean. We don't even know each other. You don't need to hear about all my problems.""I don't know," he says. "Sometimes it's easier to be open with a complete stranger."I glance his way. "You think so?""Yeah. Isn't it?""Does that mean you're going

- SEVEN WEEKS LATER -Remember everything I said about there being worse things than making a mistake?I may have been wrong about that."Somethin' wrong?" Cynthia asks me, wiping her hands on her apron.I look up from the menus I've been wiping down. "No, no, I'm fine." There's only one table of customers at the moment, which means we've spent most of the last hour cleaning up and readying the diner for the morning shift."Mm-hmm," Cynthia says, pursing her lips at me in that way she does when she doesn't believe a word I'm saying. "Something's going on with you. I can tell.""It's nothing, really," I insist, taking my soapy rag to a patch of crusty ketchup on one of the menus. Nothing I can talk about, anyway."Mm-hmm."I frown down at the stubborn dried ketchup, trying to think about anything else. It doesn't work.Cynthia comes over to stand beside me, nudging me with her hip. "I know you, Edie. As much as anyone in this town knows you. You've been distracted all shift." W

It's him. My mystery guy from the woods, the father of the baby I just found out I'm having, is on the cover of Celebrity Spark magazine. How is this even possible?My eyes dart around the headlines posted all over the cover. Finally, my gaze lands on the one I'm searching for - the one with his name:Not-so-model behavior: Raphael Fontaine kicked out of Hollywood hotspot after fight. And the photo certainly makes him look like a criminal - he's being escorted out of a club by two security guards, his shirt is torn open, and he's got the start of a wicked black eye.Can this really be the same guy who was so tender and understanding with me? Who gave me such a beautiful moment out in the woods? I don't know if I can believe it. Maybe the baby hormones are making me hallucinate."Edie?" Cynthia squeezes my arm again. "You're starting to worry me."I blink, drawing my eyes away from his familiar face."That's him." My voice is a croak."Who's him?""That," I say, pointing at the