"Well, as much as I admire your oversized ego let me tell you a few hard truths. First I am your friend—your best friend. So you can trust me when I say you aren't better off without her, you can't do better and as for those hundred women? You could screw them all, but none of them would ever replace Rose."
"Fuck you."
"I don't think either of us would enjoy that. But even if we tried I couldn't replace her either."
Jack sat back down with a thud. Drew was right, about everything. But how did him being right change anything? Rose didn't want to be with him, and he was angry—out of his head angry.
"I can't fix this, Drew. And you definitely can't fix it." Drew had spent ten years pining for the same woman. He needed to figure out his own love life before he started giving Jack advice.
Fine." Drew didn't think his and Jack's problems had anything in common. But Jack wasn't going to listen, not now. If things didn't work themselves out in the next week or so, then would be the time to put his two cents back into the pot.
"I assume you're still going to Karen Poe's movie premier?"
"Nothing's changed there. I'll fly to Los Angeles in the morning."
Drew nodded. "It will do you some good to get away for a bit. In fact, why don't you stay down there for a few days? You can hook up with old friends, clear your head. There's nothing pressing here so now's a good time to take some personal time."
"Clear my head. That's what that producer said to Rose." Jack had looked Sam Laughton up. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. The guy had an impressive résumé and a string of female conquests that most men would have envied. Rose had once told him that Sam wasn't her type but until that night back in May Jack hadn't been her type. The thought of his Rose, in Paris, with a guy who had probably been hitting on her for years hadn't done much to help his mood.
"I know I'm missing something but never mind. Take my advice, get out of town for a few days. But tonight we're going to Tom Tom's, we'll have a couple of beers, shoot some pool and just hang out. We can talk sport, politics, religion or why men should never be allowed to wear unisex cologne. Hello, dude smells like a lady. But we will not be talking about women. Not women we know, or might know or may never know."
"I get it, no women."
After Drew had left, Jack swiveled his chair around and looked out at the town below. He liked it here. In a short time, Harper Falls had become home. The people were friendly and not too nosy. Last winter had been a skier's paradise with Canada to the north and Mt. Spokane to the south. His house was finally exactly how he wanted it, and Edgar had more trees to pee on than he could ask for. But would he be able to walk through town knowing Rose could be just around the corner? How would it feel to walk into the diner for lunch and see her sitting with another man? Even though it sounded like something out of an old movie maybe it was true. Maybe Harper Falls wasn’t big enough for both of them.
"I'M ALL FOR equality between the sexes but I'd be more than happy to sign away my right to sweat like a man."
Tyler's hour or two of working out had leaned heavily towards two and Rose was a dripping mess. She wiped her face with the towel she had draped around her neck then collapsed onto a nearby mat. Her only consolation was that Tyler and Dani looked like she felt—wrung out.
"Who decided an hour in the weight room should be followed by hot yoga?" One of them had made the brilliant suggestion, but her brain was too exhausted to remember which of them it had been.
"It was Dani." Tyler crawled next to Rose before sprawling in a sweaty heap. "Water, I need water."
Dani had used up the last of her energy to grab three bottles so she couldn't do more than roll a couple of them in the general direction of her friends. She gulped down half of her bottle then slumped backward.
"Someone told me it was a great class."
"They must hate you." Tyler sigh as the cool liquid slid down her throat. "And where did they find that instructor? I do yoga to relax. If I'm tempted to punch the guy who's yelling at me that my downward facing dog isn't up to his standards then what's the point?"
"He was a bit Sergeant Foley, wasn't he?"
"But Lou Gossett Jr. turned out to be one of the good guys. Yoga master Ted just wanted to kill us." Tyler grimaced as she rolled over, her sweaty shirt sticking to the mat.
Dani chuckled. "The way he was looking at your butt I'd say he was more interested in screwing you."
"Ugh, no thanks. He looks like he's on steroids, and you know what those things can do to a man's dick. Healthy jumbo dog to wizened cocktail weenie in ten easy injections. A really, really veiny cocktail weenie."
Both Rose and Dani shuddered.
"Can we change the subject? I'd like erase that image out of my brain as quickly as possible."
But after Tyler dropped her off and she slowly climbed the stairs to her bedroom, Rose had to admit she was feeling better. She was a sweaty, limp noodle who could barely drag off her clothes and climbed into a steaming hot shower, but her tension was a thing of the past. Her thoughts were still a mess, but she at least she was able make a decision. She was going to talk to Jack, apologize and to see if they were really over.
Rose looked at the clock by her bed and was surprised to see how late it was. Nine o'clock wasn't too late to call Jack but what she had to say needed to be said in person. She would give them both until tomorrow to calm down.
Rose couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, but the thought of food almost made her gag. Eating could wait until tomorrow, too. Right now, all she wanted was an uninterrupted night of sleep. She crawled between the covers and pulled them up to her chin and proceeded to stare at the clock, blinking whenever another minute went by. In order for her sleep to be uninterrupted she was going to have to get to sleep. After the next minute had passed, Rose sighed and gave up. Maybe she'd have better luck curled up on the couch with the TV on. At least the noise would be a distraction.
The sound of demented laughter jarred Rose from a fitful sleep. It took a moment for her eyesight to clear enough to see that she wasn't being attacked by a group of rabid clowns but that the crazy laugh was coming from the still on TV. If the reaction of the morning show's host was any indication, whatever story the annoyingly upbeat weatherman was telling must have been hilarious.
Rose raised her arms in a tentative stretch. No sore muscles. Well, that was good news. Switching off the set, she rolled off the couch and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later, dressed and finally feeling hungry, she opened her refrigerator and grabbed a container of yogurt. Mm, blueberry. She rooted around hoping to find some bread but wasn't surprised when she couldn't find any. Deciding that no matter how much she liked yogurt, this morning she needed something more substantial.
Rose picked up her phone on the way to the garage. Jack would have been up for a couple of hours already. She wanted to call him and ask if they could meet. Maybe he would let her buy him breakfast. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans before hitting dial. Great, voice mail. He probably saw it who it was and didn't want to talk. She contemplated her options before deciding to wait a few hours and then try again. If she had to, she would drive up to see him. There was no guarantee he would see her, but she least she had to try.
Rose took a deep breath. She could hear the siren call of the couch trying to entice her back to its nonjudgmental comfort. She could wrap herself in a blanket and wallow the day away. And hate herself for it. Pulling her car keys from her purse she headed out the door determined to get some food and some fresh air. Jack would have to talk to her eventually. Right?
JACK WASN'T ANSWERING his phone.
Rose had tried three more times before getting in her car and driving to his office. Now she just had to make herself get out of the car. She'd been sitting in the parking lot for the last ten minutes, he had to know she was there. She could have rolled down her window and waved at the security camera—or flipped it off. But instead she sat like an unmoving lump of indecision. She ne
eded to either start the car and drive away or march up to the front door and hope that someone let her in.
Her hand was just reaching for the door when a knock on the window made her jump a foot. She looked over to see Drew tap again.
"Sorry," he said, raising his voice so she could hear him through the glass. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Rose hit the button and waited the window to roll down. Drew bent over until they were at eye level. Had Jack sent Drew out to tell her to get lost?
"He's not here." Rose looked miserable. He would have loved to have given her a hug. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright. But even though she wasn't quite as antagonistic towards him as she used to be, he still wasn't her favorite person. And he didn't know if everything was going to be alright. It was an all-around screwed up situation.
"Would you even tell me if he were in there and just didn't want to see me?
"Probably." Drew gave her a crooked smile. "But I promise you he isn't here. He's not even in the state. He left this morning for Los Angeles."
"Los Angeles? Was it some last minute business?" Or did he just want to get away from her?
"Old business. He's accompanying Karen Poe to her movie premiere tonight. I don't know if ever mentioned Karen, but he still does the bodyguard thing for her. She seems to think he's her good luck charm."
"Right, he did mention that but I didn't realize it was tonight." She leaned back in her seat and sighed. Now, what? If she went home, it would mean another night on the couch and that was just miserable. She didn’t want to call Tyler and Dani. They didn't need to hear any more of her whining and to be honest; she was pretty sick of it herself. But, God, she didn't feel like being alone.
"Do you think Jack would mind if I went to his place and fed Edgar?"
"Edgar is here. Jack plans on being gone for a few days and so he decided to drop the dog off before he left."
Great, now she didn't even have Edgar's nonjudgmental shoulder to cry on.
"You have a key to Jack's place, right? And his security codes?"
"If he hasn't changed them."
"Rose I don't know what happened between you and Jack, but I guarantee that he his feelings are the same today as they were two days ago. Nothing has changed, including the security codes."
In spite of what Drew had told her Rose couldn't help holding her breath as she punched in the numbers on the keypad by Jack's front door. She then entered the retinal scan override code that Jack had created just for her. To her relief the alarm disengaged and Rose let herself and Edgar into the house. As usual the place was immaculate. No dirty dishes in the sink or clothes thrown over a chair. The hardwood floors gleamed and the furniture dusted. She knew that once a week Jack had a woman from the town come in and clean but in-between those visits he kept his house in order. Not that he was fussy, but Jack liked things organized and everything in its place.
"Are you ready for your dinner, Edgar?"
Rose patted the dog. No hard feelings from you, eh, boy? She looked into his big, brown adoring eyes and felt a little lighter. She fixed his bowl of kibble and dried kale with her usual grimace. Jack swore it was as good for Edgar as it was for humans. Maybe, Rose thought, but she was not a fan. But Edgar ate his food with gusto, so she figured different strokes.
After taking care of Edgars needs, Rose decided she was feeling a little hungry. Unlike at her place, Jack's refrigerator was always well stocked. She knew from experience that it wouldn't be difficult to find something that appealed to her. She opened the door and looked over the selection. Like the rest of his house, Jack's fridge was ruthlessly well organized. Everything in its assigned place, bottles and cartons in neat rows. She didn't feel like cooking, nothing new there, so she skipped over anything that required heat. Plenty of fresh vegetables—maybe a salad? Milk, eggs, yogurt. Wait, yogurt? She knew Jack was not a big fan. It was her favorite.
Rose removed one of the containers and stared at the label. It was the kind she ate. The kind that you could only get in one store in Spokane. She closed the refrigerator, leaned against one of the cabinets, sliding to the floor. Every little thing he'd ever done for her came rushing back. How she would get in her car and find that he'd filled it with gas or how he bought an electric kettle because he knew she liked tea in the morning instead of coffee. How he had automatically cleared a drawer in his dresser so that she would have some place to keep a few items. And on the night of the Lilac Ball when he had tucked her dress in so it wouldn't get caught in the car door. So many times he showed her how he felt, little gestures filled with love. Love. Rose looked down at the carton of yogurt. Why else would someone drive miles out of their way to buy something they didn't even like? Blueberry, her favorite. She frowned when something dropped onto the carton. She wiped at it. Water? Where—?
Hand shaking, Rose lifted it and wiped at her cheek. Tears. She was crying. Amazed, Rose sat there not even attempting to stem the flow. Worried, Edgar butted her gently with his nose and she just wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. She cried for her mother, for the pain of never knowing her father. And she cried for herself. For that lost little girl and for the woman she became. A woman who would have thrown away the best thing that ever happened to her because she was afraid to open up her heart.
She didn't know how long she had sat there with the ever patient dog but when she finally lifted her head his fur was soaking wet. She wiped her cheeks and gave a watery laugh.
"Oh, my darling boy." She gave him another squeeze.
Sensing the storm had passed Edgar wiggled excitedly and gave her still damp cheek a big swipe with his tongue.
"Yes, I'm done, I promise. At least for now." Rose got to her feet and poured herself a glass of water. She drank it all down, replenishing the liquid she'd just cried out. She washed the glass and put it away, just like Jack would have done. Jack. She looked down at Edgar and grinned, her emotions flipping from despair to elation in a matter of minutes.
"I know he should be the first one to hear this, but I have to tell someone. I love him, Edgar. I love Jack."
Edgar seemed unimpressed. He gave her a look that seemed to say, Of course you love him. I've known it all along.
"Well, I didn’t." Rose laughed again, twirling around and around. So this is what it felt like—effervescent and grounded all at once. And scary—really scary. But strong and bright. And unconditional.
Rose stopped. Unconditional. That was it. She grabbed her keys.
"Come on Edgar, I have a song to finish."
Knowing what the jingle of keys meant, Edgar raced out to the car, prancing impatiently while Rose reset the alarm. She opened the door to the backseat and let the dog jump in. The trip passed in a happy haze as she hummed the tune that would accompany the words that were already forming in her head. She was so anxious to get to the studio while the inspiration was fresh that she almost didn't notice the strange car parked in her driveway. Since the sun had already set, the only light was from fixtures that bracketed the garage. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Rose parked by the curb instead up pulling alongside the car. The slightly tinted windows made it difficult for her to see the person sitting in the driver's seat, but there was something about the silhouette that was eerily familiar. Telling Edgar to stay she stepped out just as other car's door opened. What she heard next sent a chill down her spine.
"Hello, Rose."
It was a voice she would never forget.
"Louise."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"GO HOME JACK."
Jack sighed. There had to be something wrong with a man who had a beautiful woman on his arm and she was doing her best to get rid of him.
Karen Poe was a screen goddess. If ever there was a woman that men wanted to sleep with and women wanted to be, it was Karen. She was also funny, smart and very observant.
"You did your duty, no one attacked me or even looked at me wrong. You even earned yourself a whole new group of femal
e admirers. Not that you seem terribly interested." She flashed him her million dollar smile. "Now get on that fancy plane of yours and go home."
Jack wanted nothing more. He had flown down to Los Angeles that morning. Karen hadn't needed to leave for the theater until that evening, so he did what Drew had suggested and called an old friend. Alan 'Buster' Loring had been one of the most feared linebackers in college football. Jack had always been grateful that they were on the same team. After four years of playing in the NFL, one too many concussions had ended his professional career and he was now making his first movie. Jack couldn't think of anyone better suited to the action film genre. He was a big man with an even bigger personality. Fans were going to love him.
"Looking good, my friend." Buster greeted him with a bone crushing hug. His shooting schedule wouldn't let him get away for long so they were having lunch on the set. Wardrobe had Buster dressed in a torn t-shirt and dusty jeans, his muscles strategically smeared with blood and grease.
"You look like you lost a fight with a what, a time traveling cyborg?"
Buster laughed. "Close enough, except I didn't lose. Now tell me what brings you to L.A.?"
"I'm here for Karen Poe's movie premiere."
"Right, time to trot out the old bodyguard persona. Karen Poe, huh? Now there's a lovely lady. I don't suppose you'd introduce me?"
"Sure." Buster was one of the good guys and stopping to think about it Jack thought he would be a good match for Karen. "But you do know that, movie star to movie star, it would be an easy thing for you to meet her anytime you want. You don't need me to play middle man."
"I thought it might be less creepy if the introduction came from a mutual friend. Someone we've both known for a while."
For all his swagger and tough talk, Buster was at heart a southern gentleman. He treated women with the utmost respect. And considering some of the bums Karen had gotten involved with Jack was more than happy to play his small part in their potential romance.
If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) Page 24
