“That was a serious surgery,” Renee said. “Is she okay?”
“She should be fine. She’s eating well and putting on weight. Do you want to take her home and see if she’s the cat you’re looking for?”
Renee nodded and went to fill out the paperwork. Less than an hour later, she was back at her apartment, the recovering Lucille with her.
“Fred, I’ve got her. At least I hope I do.”
She opened the carrier. Lucille took a tentative step into the living room, offering a soft meow as she walked. Fred raced in from the bedroom. He skittered to a stop and stared at her. Lucille stared back. At first there was nothing, then they hurried to each other. There was lots of sniffing and then they started to groom each other.
The movements were frantic, but loving. Fred sniffed at Lucille’s healing incision, then returned his attention to grooming her face. She tucked her head into his chest. Renee could hear they were both purring.
* * *
“SO NOW YOU have two cats,” Jasper said.
“I do. Fred and Lucille. He had a different name before but he told my mom he likes Fred, so we’re keeping that.”
They were out to dinner, on a Saturday night. Something Renee couldn’t remember happening for years. She was never free on Saturday night. There was always a wedding. But perhaps not shockingly, the Halloween wedding had been canceled.
“Is he any more friendly?”
Renee smiled. “He’ll never be a lap cat, but he’s stopped hissing at me. This morning, he let me pet him without grumbling about it. Lucille is a total lovebug. She slept curled up next to me all night. She’s sweet and I adore them both.”
“Are you stopping with two cats, or do you want an even dozen?”
She laughed. “I’m happy with my two.”
“I heard about the wedding drama. Was the bride really taken away by the police?”
“Who said that? No. There was just a lot of screaming. She threatened to sue us for I’m not sure what. Andrew said he would make sure that didn’t happen, but I’m thinking he has a lot less influence with her now. He ended things with her and he kept the dog.”
“Do you think they’ll get back together?”
“I hope not for his sake, but he already knew what she was like when he proposed, so I don’t know.”
Jasper frowned. “Why would he do that? Was she really beautiful?”
“She’s lovely but she has the personality of a viper. I don’t know what he saw in her. At least Buster has a good home now.”
“Buster is the dog?”
“Uh-huh.” She picked up her drink. “Enough about the wedding or nonwedding disaster. What’s going on with you? How’s the book?”
“I’m nearly done. I’m working on the ending. It’s not going well. I can’t figure out what is supposed to happen.”
She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “Isn’t your hero supposed to stop the bad guy?”
“Is that it?” He smiled at her. “It’s adding the emotional element that’s more challenging. I’m still figuring it all out.”
“Want me to help you block out the final action scene?”
“Could you?”
“Sure. I’m going to see my mom in the morning, but I could come by after that.”
“That works. Thank you.”
She smiled in anticipation. She liked helping him with his books. Not that she did any of the actual writing, but blocking out scenes was a lot of fun. Maybe Vidar and Mandy would have sex and Jasper would want to act that out, as well.
She held in a laugh. A girl could only hope!
* * *
“I CAN’T BELIEVE it’s already time for you to go back to San Diego,” Renee said, folding the T-shirts her mother put on her bed.
“I know. The time has gone by so quickly. I’m just glad everything worked out for us.”
“Me, too.”
Renee thought about how upset she’d been when her mother had first arrived, how she’d been convinced having Verity around would ruin everything, but that wasn’t true at all. If anything, having her mother around had been a positive experience. She was closer with her friends, Jasper understood Koda better, Carol knew what was going on with her giraffes and Renee had two cats. It was kind of a miracle.
“I hope you can come to the show’s premiere,” Verity said. “It won’t be for a couple of months. They want to film the first few episodes before rolling out the big reveal.” She smiled. “I’m sure they call it something different, but that’s what I call it.”
“I’d love to be there, Mom.” Maybe she could bring Jasper. Oh! She was going to have find a cat sitter for Fred and Lucille. She smiled. Responsibility in her personal life. It felt good.
“The premiere will be in Los Angeles,” Verity said. “It’s not that far. You could drive out with Ed.”
Renee started to ask why she would do that when she realized her mother was avoiding her gaze as she busied herself rolling socks into neat little bundles. Suddenly several pieces of information fit together. How her mother had been so busy in the past few weeks. The late arrivals, the flushed cheeks, the vague answers to “What’s new?”
“You’re dating Ed?” Renee’s voice was a squeak. She cleared her throat. “When did this happen?”
“You were there when we met. At the animal preserve.”
“Yes, he gave you a tour but I didn’t think...” Renee shook her head. The meeting wasn’t the point. “Is it serious?”
Her mother looked at her. “I think it might be. He’s a very nice man.”
Renee held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Mom, I’m not judging at all. I’m surprised because you’ve never mentioned a guy in your life. Not since Dad left and that’s been decades.” She smiled. “I’m happy if you’re happy. I don’t know him that well, but he’s always seemed nice. Carol’s my friend and I adore her.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. Her mother had a boyfriend. While it was good news, it was going to take some getting used to.
“It was unexpected,” Verity admitted with a shy smile. “But I couldn’t help myself. He’s very—”
Renee winced. “No sex talk, Mom. Please.”
“But we’re both adults.”
“Technically, but in my mind, I’m still the kid, so no.”
Her mother laughed. “All right. I’ll just say things are going very well and we’re going to continue to see each other.”
“I’m glad. Any other bombshells?”
“I think that’s it.”
Renee hugged her. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. Always.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
JASPER REVIEWED HIS PAGES, knowing he was close to figuring out the ending, but still not there yet. If he was just dealing with Vidar and the killer, he would be fine. It was Mandy who was throwing things off. Or rather how Vidar was supposed to deal with Mandy. He just couldn’t get the flow of events lining up correctly with dialogue that made sense.
Part of the problem was the book, and part of the problem was him. Or rather his definition of himself, which seemed to be changing by the minute, or at least the day.
He’d been unable to shake Wynn’s statement that he wasn’t broken anymore, mostly because he didn’t know where that left him. Whole sounded nice, but there were expectations. If there wasn’t that much wrong with him then why couldn’t he fall in love, get married and have a family, just like everyone else? He kept circling back to the question, and he couldn’t seem to come up with an answer.
Just as confusing, he didn’t know where Renee fit in. He cared about her. He enjoyed being with her. He respected her. He wanted to spend time with her, and not just in bed. So what did that mean? Was it like-plus? The other L word? He didn’t have a clue and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to figure it out.
“Any suggestions?” he asked Koda.
His dog rolled onto his back for a belly rub.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
He waited anxiously for Renee to arrive and walked out the front door when she pulled up.
“You’ll never guess,” she said as she got out of the car. “Seriously, it’s not possible. My mother is dating Ed.”
It took him a second to remember who Ed was. “Carol’s dad?”
“Uh-huh. They’re probably sleeping together, which I don’t want to talk about, but can you believe it? I don’t mind the relationship, but it’s weird. My mom never dated when I was growing up. This is new territory. I tried to be all cool and sophisticated, but I think I failed. I want her with someone who makes her happy, but it’s so strange to think about. Parents dating. What was God thinking?”
She sighed. “Enough about that.” She raised herself on tiptoe. “How are you?”
“Good.”
They walked into the house and went through to his office. Koda trailed after them, stopped at his bed and flopped down. Renee pulled the extra office chair close to his desk.
“Tell me where you are in the book.”
“The serial killer has Mandy and her daughter, and Vidar is coming to rescue them. There’s going to be a fight where Vidar is injured and maybe Mandy, I haven’t decided. Vidar gets the killer in the end.”
She frowned. “Why do you need help with that? You do complex fight scenes all the time. You do fight scenes with sticks and all kinds of scary stuff.”
She had a point. He liked the fight scenes. He could block them out like a movie, going step-by-step.
“I guess I want them to talk,” he admitted. “But I don’t know what they’re going to say. I don’t want Mandy to be completely passive, but it’s not like she has any skills.”
“Is she tied up?” Renee asked. “Are she and her daughter bait?”
“Maybe. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“If they were bait, Mandy would be really scared, but also really mad. She doesn’t want to be the reason Vidar gets killed, and she doesn’t want anything to happen to her daughter. The kid kind of gets in the way of the two of them dealing with each other, though, so maybe the daughter is unconscious. That would scare Mandy even more. And if Vidar’s in danger, trying to save them, she’s totally on the edge. She cares about him, so she won’t want him to take any chances. But he cares about her, too, and her daughter. He can’t not save them and he’s the kind of guy who will put his life on the line.”
“He would do that for anyone.”
“I know, but it’s different if he’s in love with her. It makes the danger personal. He would take chances with her and her daughter that he wouldn’t take for anyone else. He’s more vulnerable.”
Jasper hadn’t thought about it that way, but she was right. Vidar was more vulnerable. He might push himself harder or take a different kind of risk.
He could see the scene in his mind. Having Mandy trapped worked. She would hate it and yet she wouldn’t want to die.
“What would they talk about?” he asked, more to himself than Renee. “She would want to warn him.”
“I don’t think they’d have a regular conversation, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m about to die, and we need milk?”
Jasper grinned. “I was thinking more about an emotional declaration.”
Renee wrinkled her nose. “Don’t do that.”
“Why not? What if one of them dies? Wouldn’t you want to hear you were loved before a serial killer slit your throat?”
“I guess. I’m just not sure how much it’s going to matter in those last few choking seconds. Plus, if they don’t die, then for the rest of their lives, they’re going to remember the first time they said they loved each other. The memory will be tainted.”
He wanted to disagree, but he wondered if it was a guy thing versus a girl thing. Would a guy want to say it so it wasn’t unsaid and would a woman...
“Would you say it, if you thought you were going to die?” he asked.
“Shout out ‘I love you’ right before my throat is cut?” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems like a tacky way to do it. Why not last night at dinner or two weeks ago when she was folding your socks? If it takes a near death experience for you to get your feelings, then maybe they’re not real to begin with. Maybe they’re just the adrenaline talking. Love is flashy in the movies and stuff, but in real life, love is steady. It’s not the peak moments, it’s the everyday grind and how love makes it better. I’m not saying it has to be wine and roses but wouldn’t it be better to say it because you wanted the other person to know and not because one of you might die?”
He studied her. “When you fell in love with Turner, how did you know?”
She looked startled, as if she hadn’t been expecting the question. “I don’t know,” she hedged, glancing away. “We were dating and spending time together. He started to matter more and more. I realized over time. It wasn’t any one thing—it was a lot of little things. My feelings got bigger until they were love.”
He’d never been in love. There’d been the girl he’d left behind when he’d joined the army, but he’d been a kid and she’d been just as young. When things had ended, they’d both quickly moved on. He’d had a lot of short-term relationships in the military but those were never expected to be more than a way to get through the night. After, well, he’d been too shattered to imagine ever being able to function. Love hadn’t been an emotion he’d even considered.
And now?
It was a question that had no answer.
“Vidar’s scared,” he said quietly, turning his attention to his character. “He’s been so careful to hold back, to never let anyone in. Mandy got to him in ways he didn’t expect and now she’s in danger and it’s his fault and he’s screwed.” He stared at Renee. “He doesn’t want to tell her he loves her, he wants to apologize. He wants to make it right and the only way to do that is to save her and her daughter, even if he dies in the process. He’s always willing to save the victim, but this is different. Saving those two redeems him.”
The pieces fell into place and he could see everything that needed to happen. Renee surprised him by smiling, then standing and kissing him on the mouth.
“I’ll see you later,” she said, already walking to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“You have that look I’ve come to recognize. You’re going to tell me that you need just fifteen minutes to get a few thoughts down and then you’ll disappear for three or four hours.” She paused in the doorway. “It’s okay, Jasper. It’s who you are and it’s kind of cute.”
“Rain check?” he asked, already sliding toward his computer.
“Promise.”
He pulled up his word processing program and stared at the screen. After deleting the dialogue he’d written that morning, he started typing.
* * *
JASPER FINISHED THE book about ten Sunday night. He spent two days editing it, then sent it off to both his editor and agent. Wednesday morning he woke up, took Koda on a long hike, then returned to his house to begin the ritual of cleaning out his office before he started thinking about his next project, all the while assuming Sara was going to call and tell him what he’d submitted was total crap and that not only wouldn’t they publish it, they were canceling the rest of his contract and blackballing him from any future publications. Because an undisciplined imagination was a very bad thing.
He’d just finished breakfast when his phone rang. He stared at the 212 number, wondering if his editor was calling about the book, told himself she couldn’t b
e, and that he would deal regardless, and took the call.
“Hey, Sara.”
“Morning, Jasper.”
“There’s no way you’ve read the book. You’ve only had it since last night.”
“I started it. I was only going to read the first few pages, and here I am, still at my desk. I had to cancel three meetings to keep reading! I’m eighty pages in and I can already tell it’s your best one yet. I love Mandy. She’s fantastic. I’ll admit it—I wasn’t sure you could pull off writing a woman, but you did. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s caring. I love her daughter. I love how competent she is at her job. The wedding planning behind the scenes is so interesting.” She laughed. “So I’m just going to ask. Who is she?”
Relief eased the tightness in his chest. Maybe his career wasn’t over.
“Who is who?”
“The woman who inspired Mandy. Come on. I know how you work. Real life influences your stories more than it does for most authors. Mandy is an amazing character and I’m guessing she’s based on someone. So who is she?”
Jasper grinned. “Her name is Renee.”
“I knew it!”
“She’s a wedding planner and the big wedding at the end is based on a wedding here in town. I have the bride and groom’s permission to use the details. I’ll send you a copy of the releases they signed.”
Sara sighed. “No way. The Scottish wedding is real? I want to see that.”
“It’s this weekend. Want to fly out?”
“I wish I could. So, about Renee. Tell me about her. Was it love at first sight and then you flew off to Rome?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want the story to be romantic. That would make me happy.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “Don’t take this wrong, but when it comes to my personal life, your happiness isn’t that important to me.”
“You’re no fun. But you are wildly in love with her, aren’t you? You have to be. The way you write about her, what else could it be?”
Meant to Be Yours Page 25
