Previously...

Following Debralee's suicide, James convinced the D.A. to take Nathan off of house arrest, but could not get him to drop the rape charges.  Brooke continued to grow uneasy around Nathan, and blasted James for his callous attitude over Debralee's death.  Nathan taunted Renee over their past relationship.  Miranda met Leigh Purcell in Acapulco, a woman who knew James from a location shoot six year before.  Miranda and Brett's divorce became final.  Alex warned Brooke to be careful around Nathan.  James grew angry by Brooke's suspicions over Nathan.  Brett and Heather both moved into Hotel Terranova.  Heather resisted Brett's attempts to be friendly.  Later, Heather was carjacked and wandered deliriously back to Brett's room.

Episode 58

"David"

Heather woke up in Brett’s room at Hotel Terranova and sat up while she tried to get her bearings.  What was she doing there?  She looked around the bedroom and tried to shake the groggy feeling from her head.  Looking down at the scrapes on the palms of her hands, she suddenly remembered about the carjacking the night before.  She sunk into a feeling of gloom and slowly crawled out of the bed.

Sunlight steamed through the windows in the living room as she stepped out and saw Brett lying asleep on the sofa.  Details of the previous night slowly came back to her.  After the thugs took her car, she wandered deliriously a mile back to the hotel.  All she could remember next was winding up at Brett’s door and crying on his shoulder.  He must have held her until she fell asleep and then carried her into his bed. 

Looking down at his face as he slept, she caught a glimpse of a part of Brett that she’d never seen.  A strong, caring and sensitive side that seldom came to light.  It was quite baffling, she decided.  A man who could be so sleazy and corrupt, yet still made her feel safe in light of what had happened.

Brett opened his eyes and stifled a yawn.  Heather quickly tried to act like she hadn’t been watching him sleep.  She turned and smoothed down the oversized tee shirt she’d slipped into.

“Good morning,” Brett said and sat up on the sofa.  He rubbed his face and tried to force himself to wake up.  It had been a long night and he hadn’t slept well on the lumpy sofa.   “How are you feeling?”

She smiled and sat down in the overstuffed chair across the room.  “Better,” she said, pushing a lock of brown hair from her eyes.  “I don’t really know why I came here last night.  I guess I was pretty out of it.”

“No, I’m glad you did,” Brett said and stood up in a pair of boxers and nothing else.  “I called the police last night and reported what happened.  They said you could wait a couple of days before giving a statement.”

“Did they find my car?”

He shook his head and poured two cups of steaming coffee.  “Not yet,” he said and handed her a mug.  When she reached out and took it, he saw the scrapes on her hand and he quickly bent down and examined them.  “This looks bad.  We should get you checked out at the hospital.”

“No, that’s okay,” Heather insisted and pulled her hands away.  She felt uncomfortable with the way he held them.   “It’s just a few scrapes and bruises.  I’ll be fine.”

“At least let me put something on it,” Brett said and ran a wash cloth under cold water in the sink.  He went back and knelt down before her, dabbing the cool rag gently on her hands.  His eyes traveled up and caught her looking direct at him. 

“I should go,” Heather said and quickly stood up.  She went into the bedroom and slipped into her clothes.  “Thanks for everything, Brett.  I appreciate you letting me stay here.”

“You shouldn’t be alone,” Brett insisted and waited for her to emerge.  “Do you want me to call Jordan?”

A minute later she came out of the bedroom and ran her fingers through her hair.  “No, I don’t want to worry my father over nothing.  I’m just going back to my room to take a hot shower.  I’ll be fine.”

Before he could say another word, she was pulling open the door and racing out into the hall.  Once outside, she leaned against the door and tried to gather some perspective.  No matter how kind and gentle Brett had been after the whole nightmare last night, she couldn’t allow herself to forget all the despicable things he’d done. 

James had left the house early that morning and headed to his office at Blackthorne-Reynolds to have a breakfast meeting with Jack Fallmont.  They dined on coffee, juice and freshly baked croissants while discussing the pipeline in Denver.

“Things are going good with the pipeline then?” Jack inquired as he sipped his coffee.  “No more problems with the environmentalists?”

“None so far,” James replied.  “Particularly now that your nephew has given up on his injunction.”

“I want you to know, James,” Jack began, “that I had no say in what he was up to.  I mean, I knew that he and Samantha were having problems, but-“

“But you didn’t know that she was sleeping with my son?” James finished for him.  “Well Stormy knows that he nearly cost me my company because he couldn’t control his hormones.  I don’t think he’ll be making a mistake like that again, especially now that he’s running Sunset Studios by himself.  The last thing I need is Senator Fallmont pushing that injunction again.”

“I hate to unload this on you when things are finally going your way, James, but-“

“Oh great, what now?”

“I was at the racquetball club yesterday afternoon and overheard someone talking about Hotel Terranova,” Jack said.  “Specifically, that it was for sale.”

James frowned.  “That’s ridiculous.  Hotel Terranova isn’t for sale.  Who did you hear this from?”

“Oh, just a few of the yacht club regulars.  One was David Jenner,” Jack replied.

“Jenner,” James murmured to himself.  “Jackie Lamont's boy?”

“Jackie Lamont's boy,” confirmed Jack.   “Trying to make a name for himself since his father’s passing.”

James reached into his desk and withdrew a magazine.  “I was just reading an expose about him the other day in Image,” he said and looked at the cover which sported a full head shot of the attractive young man.  “I wonder what he could be up to.”

Stormy and Nathan were seated at the Polo Lounge with Eddie Distefano, dining on the world-famous brunch and waiting for Eddie’s equally world-famous father to show.

“I’m sure I told him to be here at ten o’clock,” Eddie said and looked around the dining room.  “Maybe he got held up.”

Nathan laughed and nursed a Bloody Mary.  “If I know Victor then he’s probably either hung over from the party the other night or he found himself in the company of some ladies.”

Stormy grinned and gave Eddie a wink.  “Eddie, what have you been up to lately?”

“You’d know what I’ve been up to if you bothered to call once and a while,” Eddie said with a wry smile.  “Just because we’re not business partners anymore doesn’t mean we can’t hang out.  I had to hear from Jordan Rydell about you and Heather’s divorce.”

“Yeah, I know, I’ve been sort of caught up in my own stuff,” Stormy replied.  “So what are you doing now?”

“I opened my own P.I. firm,” Eddie declared proudly.  “It’s a pretty sweet racket.  I specialize in trailing cheating husbands for Hollywood wives.  Dude, you gotta come by and check out my new office.  It’s su-weet.”

“No lack of clients in this town, is there, Edward?” Nathan asked.  “It seems there’s always a secret to uncover in Hollywood.”

Eddie laughed and picked up the script Stormy had brought along.  “Is this the film you want Dad to do?” he asked and flipped through the first few pages.

Nathan nodded.  “It’s an action-adventure movie about two brothers who get involved in organized crime,” he said.  “Ryan procured it from a very talented writer.  We’re trying to get Eric Autumn to direct.”

Stormy rolled his eyes.  He hated it when his uncle called him Ryan.  Hardly anybody ever did anymore and it sounded strange to hear it out loud.   “Nathan’s playing the other brother,” he said.

“The younger brother,” Nathan corrected him and flagged down the waitress for another Bloody Mary.  “Victor may be younger in years but I’ve aged much better than he has.”

Stormy and Eddie exchanged looks of amusement.  Glancing across the room, Stormy waited impatiently for Victor Distefano to arrive.  He wanted to pitch the movie to him so Sunset Studios could go into pre-production as soon as possible.  But as usual, his friend’s father was anything but dependable.

As if on cue, Victor strode into the restaurant and darted through a crowd of gawking onlookers.  He shielded his eyes with a pair of dark sunglasses and made his way to the table.

“It’s about time, you old so and so,” Nathan said with a grin and pushed a vodka gimlet across the table.  “I already ordered for you.”

“Perfect,” Victor remarked and swallowed half the drink in one gulp.  He was a tall, distinguished man in his late fifties with grayish brown hair, deep brown eyes and a thoroughly sexy tan.  He was the epitome of the well-aged Hollywood leading man.    “I’m sorry that I’m late.  My limo service hired a female driver.  Can you believe that?”

“Say it isn’t so,” Nathan gawked with a knowing smile.

“Pretty young thing.  She can’t drive to save her life, but she screws like you wouldn’t believe,” Victor continued, then gave Eddie a playful wink.  “What do you think, son?”

Eddie scrunched his face up and sighed.  “I think you’re one of those dads who shares a little too much about his sex life.”

Stormy laughed and listened in amazement as the infamous Victor Distefano gave graphic details about his encounter in the back of his limousine.  He knew that it made Eddie uncomfortable, mostly because since his mother died his father hadn’t slowed down with the women for a second.

“Dad, Stormy asked you here to talk about a script,” Eddie interrupted.  He could tell that his father was drunk, and it wasn’t even noon.  It was typical.   “Did you look at it yet?”

“Well of course I looked at it, Ed,” Victor said and threw his hands up dramatically.  He fished a bottle of black pills from his jacket pocket and swallowed one with a swig of vodka.  “I think it’s brilliant.  What did you think, Nathan?”

“I think it’s a go,” Nathan replied and leaned forward.  “Think of it, Victor.  The two of us starring in a movie together after all this time.  Our triumhpant return.  The fans will eat it up.”

“We’ll be the talk of the town,” Victor agreed and clinked his glass against Nathan’s.  “Not to mention all the fun we’ll have on those location shoots.  Booze and women.  The paparazzi will have a field day.  And you know what they say, a movie is only as big as the scandal.”

“Fantastic,” Stormy said with a satisfied grin.  “Shall I have the contracts sent to your agent?”

“Absolutely,” Victor replied, then waved to a waitress.  “I need another vodka please.”  He swallowed another pill, and then his eyes traveled across the room where Alex Reynolds had just entered the restaurant.  His face lit up and he rose to his feet.  “Now there’s a vision in white.”

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Stormy asked.

Alex looked at the table, growing rigid at the sight of Nathan dining with her son and former co-star of countless movies.  It was unsettling to say the least.  She quickly turned and darted back out of the restaurant.

“What was that all about?” Victor asked and sat back down at the table.

Nathan smiled, perfectly aware that Alex was still not used to his being back in Hollywood.  It was quite clear to him that she was coming unglued.

Miranda walked down the stairs at the Blackthorne mansion and started to the door when Brooke came out of the parlor and called after her.

“Good morning, Miranda,” she said.  “On your way to work?”

She nodded.  “Later.  I have an appointment with Dr. Farraday.”

“Is something wrong?” Brooke asked.

“I’ve just felt kind of under the weather since I got back from Mexico,” Miranda explained and tightened her purse over her shoulder.  “I’m sure it’s nothing.  Probably that horrendous food they serve everywhere.”

Brooke smiled.   “Well you should take this time to rest and relax.  You have your whole future ahead of you.”

Sometimes Miranda thought she could handle Brooke, but other times she said the dumbest things and she was right back to thinking she was just a poor makeup girl from the Valley.  Still, she managed a smile and left the house after saying her goodbyes.

“Hi Uncle Nathan!” she called on her way down the circular drive to her car.  

“Good morning, Miranda” Nathan said and then walked into the house where he saw Brooke standing in the foyer.  “And good morning to you too, my dear.  It’s a beautiful day.  Are you going out today?”

Brooke shrugged.  “I’m not sure,” she said.  “Michael’s a little fussy so I thought I’d stick around in case the nurse needs me.  Where have you been off to?”

“At brunch with Ryan,” he replied and plucked a tulip from a vase on the center table.  He handed it to Brooke with a wink.  “He’s putting together a deal for my return to the screen.  It’s quite exciting.”

Brooke grudgingly accepted the flower and started into the solarium to pour some coffee.  She decided to make an effort with Nathan.  For James if nothing else.  “I bet you’re anxious to get back to work,” she said.  “Did you do any acting or directing while you were in Europe?”

“It’s easy to see why Ethan fell in love with you,” Nathan said offhandedly, looking at her in admiration.

The remark cut deep and Brooke quickly spun around toward him.  “Why would you say something like that?” she asked. 

He shrugged.  “Don’t be offended, Brooke.  James of course kept me abreast of everything that was happening back here.  I know that things with you and him are much better now, but….well, I just know that you must be a remarkable woman to have two men in love with you at the same time.”

“That was a long time ago,” Brooke said and looked out the French doors at the pool. 

Nathan followed her and paused a relatively close distance away.  “I can’t help but feel for my great nephew,” he said.  “First he lost you, then he learned that he wasn’t Michael’s father, and now he came to the horrifying realization that he was Will Thomerson’s flesh and blood.  I tell you, it’s no wonder the boy’s a mess right now.”

“I think everything will work out for Ethan,” Brooke said distantly.  She didn’t understand why he was talking to her about this now.  It seemed highly inappropriate and perhaps like he was trying to get a reaction out of her.

“Oh, I’m sure it will,” Nathan said with a reassuring smile.  “He’s a Blackthorne after all.”

Brooke turned and looked him in the eyes.  “I’d better get upstairs and check on Michael,” she said.

Nathan nodded and watched as she left the room in a hurry.  He dug his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath, relishing the fragrant scent that resonated in her wake.

Jordan went to Alex’s house in Malibu and pounded on the door.  A minute later she opened it with a flourish, draped in a flowing white suit and her hair pinned neatly up on her head.  She looked down at the documents in his hand and stood clear of the door.

“I waited for you at the Polo Lounge but you never showed up,” Jordan said and barreled into the living room.  “Did we get our wires crossed or something?”

“I was there,” Alex said, thinking about the run in with Nathan.  “Something came up and I had to leave.  What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Jordan grew despondent and held up the papers.  “I got the final divorce papers today,” he said.  “I guess this is the end of road for us.”

“It would appear so,” Alex replied rigidly and wrapped her arms around herself. 

Frowning, Jordan took a step closer and looked into her eyes.  “Well, you don’t seem very affected by it,” he remarked.  “I guess the end of our marriage is inconsequential to you.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Alex spat, her eyes stinging with tears.

Jordan shook his head, confused by how cold and unfeeling she was acting.  “I know we have had our problems, but I honestly never thought they couldn’t be worked out.”

“What about the way you’ve been fawning all over Renee DeWitt?  Or how about your bringing Nathan Blackthorne back here after what he did to me?” Alex insisted, then quickly added, “oh wait, I forgot, you don’t believe he raped me either.”

“I never said that!”

“You didn’t have to!” Alex cried.  “Just the fact that you went against my wishes and helped get him off the hook for his crimes speaks a thousand words.  If you have so little regard for me then I won’t shed a single tear about our divorce.  It’s over, Jordan.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said and grabbed her by the arms.  “You still love me, I know you do.  You love me as much as I love you.”

“I hate you,” she whispered, fighting her feelings with every fiber in her being.

Jordan pulled her close.  He kissed her hard and felt her succumbing to his advances.  He knew that she still wanted him.  The way she kissed him was unmistakable.

Alex wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers through his hair.  She grew weak with desire, her knees buckling and falling into his arms.  He carried her to the sofa and laid her down gently.  Ripping off his shirt, he leaned in and quickly began undressing her.  He panted with desire, wanting her more than he’d ever wanted anyone.    It seemed the best sex they had was when they were at each other’s throats. 

When Miranda got to her office at Hotel Terranova, she was surprised to find her father waiting for her.  She smiled and set her purse down, hugging him gently and giving him a peck on the cheek.

“Daddy, what are you doing here?” she asked with a bright smile.

“Waiting for you,” he said.

“I didn’t know you’d be coming by,” she said.  “I had an appointment with Dr. Farraday."

“Is everything all right?” James asked with concern.