Page 15 of Bridge to Home

As soon as they finished taxiing, the ground crew wheeled the airstairs in place.

The trio remained seated, waiting for the other passengers to exit. As soon as the plane was empty, the flight attendant steered Harlow’s wheelchair along the center aisle. Using both hands for support, she shifted from seat to seat and soon they were on their way to the front of the plane.

With some finagling, the trio made it down the airstairs and into the terminal. There was no sign of the press. Harlow was starting to agree that her returning to Mackinac Island was the best decision she could have made.

“I don’t see any reporters,” Eryn said.

“Right? This is awesome.”

“I’m sure they’re lurking around somewhere out there,” her father said. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle them if they show up.”

“You can chase them off with the baseball bat like you did to Caleb Jackson when he tried climbing the fence and sneaking into the pool after toilet papering the trees,” Harlow teased.

“That was him?” David grunted. “Huh. He should’ve known better than to teepee the trees. Caleb wasted a perfectly good roll of toilet paper.”

“He always was a crazy guy. I’m pretty sure he did it to get Harlow’s attention.” Eryn laughed. “Good old Caleb Jackson.”

“I wonder what happened to him.”

“He’s the island’s fire chief.”

Harlow’s eyes widened. “Fire chief? I never would’ve guessed.”

“His wife died a couple of years ago. Cancer. They never had any kids,” Harlow’s father said. “I’m sure you two will eventually cross paths.”

Harlow ducked her head, half expecting a reporter to pop out from behind the potted plantsto snap a photo of her. She let out a sigh of relief when they made it through the terminal without incident.

Making a sharp left, David wheeled Harlow out of the building, down the sidewalk, and to a waiting horse and carriage. “Thank you for calling for the buggy, Eryn.”

“You’re welcome.”

David easily lifted his frail and pale daughter, gently easing Harlow onto the bench seat. He folded her wheelchair and placed it in the back.

Eryn hopped in next to her while Wynn took the empty spot next to the driver, a man he knew on a first name basis.

Harlow absentmindedly removed her sunglasses, soaking in her surroundings.Home.She could feel the stress of the past few days, from the moment she woke up in the hospital, fading.

A sense of peace enveloped her. It had been what felt like an eternity since she’d stepped foot onMackinac Island. Only now was she beginning to realize how much she missed it. Missed being surrounded by nature and water. Missed the charm and authenticity of an island without motor vehicles, a place where folks lived a much simpler life.

Instead, she’d traded it in for fame and fortune, for a relentless rat race. For power and prestige, living in a fishbowl with almost zero privacy. Here, she could move around freely, without attracting a lot of attention, at least she hoped so.

But first, she needed to walk again. Walk and then reassess her life. As each day passed, it became clear Robert and she had serious issues to address—both business and personal.

Harlow had taken a hard look at her life. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was sad and depressing. Skyrocketing to fame had skewed her view and shifted her focus from what was truly important.

In the glitzy, glamorous world of Hollywood and model runways, it was all about connections,snagging the top jobs, keeping your name and image out there. Harlow had it all, yet she was realizing her life lacked substance, meaning, even genuine relationships, other than her friendship with Eryn and a couple of others.

She cast her father a thoughtful glance. He’d taken charge as soon as he arrived, handling her discharge, coordinating her departure, making sure they left the hospital via a private rear entrance, far away from the prying eyes of the media.

Arriving at the Malibu mansion, he and Eryn got to work, arranging flights, helping her sort through her hundreds of emails, even offering suggestions about how to respond to questions about her accident, something she’d intentionally put off.

The last task before packing up and boarding the plane was contacting the studio about extending the timeline for her to show up at the movie set. Robert would be furious, but there was no way around it. Harlow would not be able to fulfill herend of the deal, at least not as quickly as her husband wanted her to.

She’d left a message and so far hadn’t heard back, probably because Robert handled the negotiations and contracts. In other words, they would deal directly with him.

Harlow held out a smidgen of hope Robert was in shock and would come around, would man up and be there for his wife.

Her father and Eryn both insisted they didn’t believe it would happen. As far as they were concerned, Robert Barbetz had walked out on Harlow when she needed him most.

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