Grace Under Fire (Buchanan-Renard 14)

FOURTEEN

Isabel got a taste of XO mania walking the gauntlet to the car. She likened the crazed fans surrounding the guards on all sides to an angry swarm of bees. Following instructions, she kept her head down and stared at the pavement while her unflappable escorts moved as a single unit through the shrieking crowd. It was sheer bedlam and a little bit terrifying. By the time she dove into the backseat of the car, she was trembling.

Once they were on their way and Jax called, “All clear now,” she was able to breathe.

“Jax, I don’t understand why they were screaming at me. Couldn’t they see I wasn’t XO?”

“It’s impossible to understand the mindset of a mob. Maybe they figured you were a friend of Xavier’s. Who knows?” He added, “I’ll warn you now. This was nothing compared to what’s coming.”

“Oh my,” she whispered. What had she gotten herself into?

She had never been so happy to see the bridge that would take her back to the island, and when Jax finally pulled into the drive of the Buchanan house, she was weak with relief.

“Did Xavier go over the schedule with you for tomorrow?”

“Yes,” she said. “We tweaked it a little. He wanted me at the arena by one o’clock. I talked him into a later hour. The Hamilton Hotel is just fifteen minutes from The Garden. I wanted you to pick me up at six o’clock, but Xavier wouldn’t hear of it. He said traffic will be horrible, and if there was an accident... so we settled on you picking me up at the hotel at four o’clock. I won’t be late,” she promised.

“Why the Hamilton?”

“Xavier didn’t want me to stay on the island. It’s too far away from The Garden. He suggested I stay at his hotel, but I’d rather stay at the Hamilton.”

“The traffic around The Garden is going to be horrible,” Jax said. “Fans like to get there early even though there is assigned seating, and there will be a long line at least three deep wrapped around the parking lot and the building by five o’clock. You need to understand what I call ‘Xavier talk.’ Picking you up at four means I’ll be there at three.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“Will you be bringing anyone with you?”

“I’ll have some friends and relatives at the concert, but I wasn’t planning on bringing guards with me. Do you think I should?”

“A few extra guards wouldn’t be a bad idea. Tomorrow night’s going to be chaotic.” Then he laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

He insisted on opening the door for her. She thanked him and started up the drive.

“Don’t worry about anything, Isabel,” Jax called. “Xavier will take good care of you.”

Dylan was rounding the corner of the house and was holding his tackle box and fishing pole. He propped both on the side of the steps and shouted to Isabel, “Hold up.” He waited until she reached him and then said, “You look shell-shocked.”

“That’s how I feel,” she admitted. “I need to talk to you, but I don’t want the whole family there. Where is everyone?”

“Dad’s in his office working,” he said. “Theo and Michelle are upstairs. They said they wanted to call and check on the twins. Now that they’ve caught up on their sleep, I think Theo and Michelle are a little homesick. Everyone else is in the city. I’ve been fishing.”

“Did you catch anything?”

He shook his head. “It’s too hot. Fish weren’t biting. When do you want to talk?”

“Let’s meet in your father’s office in an hour. He told me to interrupt him when I got back, but I’ve got to get this makeup off and change.”

“You need a whole hour to do that?”

“I need time to decompress,” she admitted.

“Are you okay?” he asked, worried now.

“I will be.”

He took her at her word. “Okay. See you in an hour.”

Isabel planned to take a few minutes to clear her mind and put her feet up, but that didn’t happen. Because it was so beastly hot, she ended up getting in the shower, then changing into comfortable shorts, a sleeveless top, and tennis shoes. She thought she looked like a slob, but she was finally comfortable. She still couldn’t unwind, though, not until she had tomorrow’s schedule completely organized.