Red Carpet Romance

by Jean C. Joachim

  “Summer camp. Jess is off to rodeo camp. Julia and Merry are at a regular camp learning photography and swimming.”

  “But you live here with all this beautiful countryside.”

  “They get bored in the summer and complain their friends all go away. We balked at first. But now Cal and I look forward to our summer honeymoon without the kids.” She blushed as she gazed at Cal.

  He chuckled. “Damn right. Nice to have some peace and quiet and a little…uh…private time with my beautiful wife.”

  He was right. Maggie was beautiful. At thirty-nine, she had a trim figure, shoulder-length, glossy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Looks run in their family. Susanna noticed a resemblance between gorgeous Quinn and his pretty sister, much his senior.

  “Go on, you two. Get dressed, hop over to Sadie’s in Oak Bend for strawberry waffles, and get on your way. I can handle this little guy.” She shot a loving look at the baby, who was stuffing cereal in his mouth.

  Within half an hour, Quinn had Susanna’s hand in his, leading her through the underbrush behind the house.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” They came to a small clearing then crossed the road. He stopped in front of a half-built log home with a garage abutting Cedar Lake. “Well, what do you think?”

  “What do I think about what?”

  “The house?”

  “It isn’t finished.”

  “I know, I know, but do you like it?”

  She walked to the right, circling around the house. “It’s charming.”

  He grinned. “I built it. Not by myself. Gavin helped me…taught me, actually.”

  “You built this?” Her eyes widened.

  “Yep.” His chest swelled with pride.

  “It’s fantastic. Come on, take me through it.” She tugged on his hand until he pulled keys out of his pocket and unlocked the front door.

  “Just a quick tour.” He glanced at his watch. “We have to go.”

  They strolled from room to room. Quinn pointed out what still had to be done along with some of the special details he had perfected. The kitchen had only a sink, with space for other appliances. The bathroom had a sink and toilet. There were two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs with a large air mattress in the corner.

  “Did you sleep here?”

  “Yeah. Sometimes. When I was working late or wanted to get out of the house. Com’ere. It’s got an outdoor shower.” Quinn pulled her along to the side of the house. Three cedar walls enclosed a five by seven foot space against the house with a built-in bench and showerhead.

  “You shower out here?”

  “Shower’s not set up inside yet. So I use this. I love showering here with the breeze and the sun.”

  “Naked in the sun, eh? Don’t burn anything…essential,” she snickered.

  He grabbed her and kissed her neck. “I haven’t made love in the outdoor shower…yet.”

  She recognized the spark of desire flickering in his eyes. “Come on.” She tugged on his hand. “Show me the rest.” They walked out on the private dock from his property about thirty feet into the lake. A dinghy was tied up on the side. She looked out onto the water and wished they could spend the day there.

  “This is my thinking place.”

  She nodded. A quiet place to be alone and contemplate life. A sigh escaped her, drawing his gaze.

  “You okay?”

  “How lovely,” she murmured.

  He led her back to the house and opened the garage door. Inside sat a fire engine red, 1995 Mercedes convertible sports car. He opened the door for her. Susanna climbed in and fastened her seatbelt.

  Chapter Eleven

  Susanna sat back into the luxurious leather seat. She found a scarf in the glove compartment and tied it around her hair to keep it from blowing in her face. She donned big sunglasses. The noise of the wind and the road on the highway made conversation impossible.

  A date, a real date. He could have let me go to the lawyer’s alone. Breakfast out. A smile broke out on her lips and refused to leave. Somehow, their time together had been about many other things, not them being alone. They had never had a real date. Taking care of Junior when he was sick was like being parents together. The two premieres, while technically dates, were all about work for Quinn. He needed a pretty woman on his arm, and she played the part.

  Their walks, rehearsing, even dinners at his apartment, were about being friends, roommates, not dates. What about lovemaking? Sleeping with Quinn was meant to be. Not like she could have resisted him. The forces between them, their chemistry, drove them together with a lust that could not be denied. Their heat was white hot, uncontrollable.

  She needed him, he needed her, and so they came together in ecstasy, achieving mutual satisfaction. But was it purely physical or was there love as well? He said he loved her, but did he mean it? Was it a movie star’s line to get me into bed?

  She closed her eyes for a moment to shake the doubts. This is a date. Just the two of us.

  Turning her gaze to the scenery, she didn’t see his hand reaching for hers. He closed his fingers around hers and squeezed before he brought it back to the steering wheel. She looked at his face. The tiny lines around his eyes had smoothed out, no tension stiffened his muscles, and his shoulders were where they were supposed to be, not three inches higher. He appeared to be relaxed.

  The trip lasted an hour. They pulled up in front of the lawyer’s office. She hesitated, realizing this was all about her father’s death. An icy cold gripped her heart. Quinn slipped his hand around hers. She opened the door, and he followed her inside.

  After she signed the last of the papers, Jason Gardner, the lawyer, broached the subject of the house. “Your father left his house jointly to you and your sister, Annie. Unless you have the money to buy out her share, the best thing to do is to put the house on the market, sell it, and split the proceeds. What do you want to do?”

  “I can’t buy it. No money.”

  “Annie has already agreed to sell the house. I’ll call the broker. Maybe she can meet us up there. You can sign the papers and give her keys.”

  Heaviness settled into her heart, and her hands went cold. When the lawyer picked up the phone, Quinn turned to her. “You don’t have to do this now.”

  “I’m here. Why wait? Will you come with me?” Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

  “Of course.” He took her hand between both of his and rubbed. “You’re freezing.”

  “All set. The broker can meet you there now, if that’s okay. I need to get to work on these, if you don’t mind.”

  Susanna nodded and pushed to her feet. Quinn snaked his arm around her waist, steadying her on the way back to the car.

  Once inside, he turned to her. “Do you love the house that much?”

  “It’s the house I grew up in…I have a sentimental attachment. But it’s not so much that… just…well, I won’t have anywhere to go when it’s sold.”

  “You’ll have enough money to buy your own place.”

  “Once the will is settled and stuff. Yeah, I guess.” She nodded.

  “You can stay with me until…whenever.” He squeezed her hand, but his gaze dropped to his feet.

  She leaned over and kissed his cheek, whispering, “Thanks.”

  The lawyer came out of his office to hand her instructions and copies of documents and then get Quinn’s autograph.

  Tooling along on the leafy streets of this small town soothed Susanna. The white clapboard house on the corner with sky blue shutters bordered by well-trimmed hedges was still standing. The brick police station with two squad cars parked in front hadn’t changed. And the Methodist church with the highest spire of all still gleamed clean and white in the sunshine. Willow Falls had stayed the same, and that fact comforted Susanna.

  As they approached the big, beige house with black shutters, she waved to the Conklins across the street and the Fitzpatricks next door, her neighbors for twenty years. A smile c
rossed her lips. Even without Dad, this is still my hometown. Shaking the key ring made the keys jingle as she searched for the right one to open the lock. Quinn parked in the driveway and they made their way up the steps. When she touched the knob, the door moved slightly.

  A spasm of fear shot through her body as she pushed open the door without unlocking it. Quinn ushered her aside. “Stand back. Someone’s broken in. They may still be here.” He stepped slowly over the threshold, his head turning from side to side as his gaze scanned the inside. Susanna stood to the right, peering in the glass panel next to the front door.

  “There’s nothing here, Susie. Call the police.”

  “What?”

  “The house has been robbed. There’s no furniture. It’s empty.” He said, backing out of the doorway before turning to face her. “You didn’t move everything out, did you?” She shook her head. “Would Annie have done that?”

  “I don’t think so. If she did, she didn’t tell me.” Blood drained out of Susanna’s face. She felt lightheaded and dizzy. Quinn put his arm around her waist then dialed 911. She leaned against him, fighting to clear her head.

  After regaining her composure, Susanna called the lawyer. It wasn’t long before they heard the sound of a siren drawing near. The police arrived shortly before Jason Gardner. Neighbors stopped by, asking questions.

  “I thought you and Annie had decided to move,” Mary Fitzpatrick said to Susanna. “Yes, officer, I saw a big moving truck. No, I didn’t question it. Guess I should have,” she continued, answering the questions from the police.

  Dave Williams, Chief of Police, arrived. It isn’t often that the uninhabited house of a local celebrity is robbed. Besides, word had already reached him that Quinn Roberts was there. Chief Williams wouldn’t let Susanna into the house until his men had entered every room and deemed the house safe.

  But as time wore on, she remembered that all her father’s trophies were in the house, too. She rushed in only to be stopped at the door. “But dad’s trophies! I need to see if they’re still there!”

  Once the police declared the place safe, they handed Susanna a pair of gloves and allowed her to enter along with Quinn, who vowed not to touch anything. She ran through the big room on the first floor to the back. There stood a wooden door painted the same color as the wall, so that it was almost invisible. The surface had been partially splintered. Obviously, some heavy object was used to attempt to break through, but the crooks were unsuccessful.

  With a trembling hand, she searched the ring for the right key. The little key, the funny one with an odd shape, Pop said. When she found it, her hand was shaking too badly to insert it in the lock. Quinn gently plucked the key from her, slipped it into the lock, and twisted. The old door creaked open. Inside was a tiny, musty room the size of a large closet.

  Susanna reached around to the right and flipped the switch. Light flooded the small space from spotlights recessed in the ceiling and bounced off dozens of gold award cups and trophies lining the shelves. The brilliance almost required sunglasses. Susanna shielded her eyes with her hand and stared. She began to rattle off titles.

  “Nineteen Ninety, New York State…Nineteen Ninety-One, East Coast, Nineteen Ninety-Two—Division One Champions…”

  “Your dad won all these?” Quinn asked.

  She nodded. “Thank God they’re still here.” She blew a breath out of her mouth and smiled as she opened a hidden drawer. “The family pictures are still here, too. Furniture I can replace, these I can’t.”

  “Ms. Barnes, you’ve found what you came for. Please go outside and let our crime scene team take a look,” said a plain-clothes policeman.

  The next two hours were taken up with calls to the locksmith, her sister, and Maggie to check on Junior. Quinn grabbed a couple of sandwiches at the local deli after signing a dozen autographs, and they walked up to the campus of Kensington State University to have an impromptu picnic.

  “This isn’t exactly how I wanted today to go.” Quinn took her hand.

  “Me, neither.” She laughed.

  “You don’t seem too bothered.” He swung the plastic bag in his other hand.

  “I’m in shock. Still, it’s only stuff. As long as I have our family pictures and dad’s trophies, I’m okay. Let’s stop at the dean’s office so I can drop off Pop’s keys to the gym.”

  They sat on a bench. Quinn opened the bag and drew out two Virginia ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on Kaiser rolls. He offered her a pickle and an iced tea. The scent of the food inspired a hunger that gripped her belly. She tore into the sandwich as if he had not already treated her to strawberry waffles for breakfast.

  Quinn managed to eat between stops to sign autographs. Afterward they meandered over the campus, heading for the administration building and the dean’s office.

  “Dean Caldwell? Mac?” Susanna called. Jonesy, his secretary, came scurrying out of the file room.

  “While I live and breathe…Susanna Barnes!” The short, round, older woman threw her arms around Susanna and gave her a hug. She glanced at Quinn and did a double take. “I’m so sorry about your father, dear.” Jonesy peered at Quinn and adjusted her glasses on her nose. “Have you brought a movie star to visit us?”

  “Jonesy, this is Quinn Roberts. Quinn, Jonesy, my second mother.”

  “Lord! Then what they’re saying is true! I’ve been reading about you but thought they were making it up...photo shopping or whatever they call it they do with pictures these days. You here to see Mac? Go right in.”

  Susanna motioned Quinn to follow her as she approached the door. “Dean Caldwell?”

  Mac Caldwell, a good-looking, tall, rangy man with bright, blue eyes and short, dark hair looked up from his desk then pushed to his feet. “Susanna? By God! Come in, come in.” Susanna made introductions, and Mac shook Quinn’s hand. “First time we’ve had a big celebrity here. Callie will be sorry she missed you. I was so sorry to hear about your father, Sue.” He gave her a warm hug.

  “Thank you. Before I forget. We’re here to return his keys. He’s got a ton of ’em. Most probably for the locker rooms, gym, and stuff.” She handed the heavy ring to Mac.

  “Thanks. How long will you be here?” Mac sifted through the keys, pulling off the ones he recognized as belonging to the University.

  “Just today. I have to get back.”

  Mac perched on the corner of his desk. “Callie and I have been following the stories about you. Looks like you’re having a good time.”

  “Don’t believe everything you read.”

  “Don’t worry, we know that’s not your baby,” he chuckled.

  “Thank God Pop isn’t here to read that junk.”

  Mac took a long look at Quinn. “I think he might approve of this guy.”

  “Think so?” She asked. The dean nodded, stifling a laugh.

  “But maybe not all the publicity.”

  Quinn shifted his weight. Susanna could tell he was uncomfortable. “Time for us to go. Great to see you, Mac. Please give Callie a hug for me.” The dean nodded, and she and Quinn hit the street.

  “You know everyone here, don’t you?” He took her hand.

  “Pretty much. Lived here all my life. My father coached here for twenty-five years.”

  Quinn whistled. “This date isn’t turning out the way I hoped it would.”

  “Not every date includes a massive robbery.” They walked through the empty streets of Willow Falls quietly, returning to her house. The police had finished for the day. It was five o’clock. Mr. Gardner vowed to handle the rest of the investigation and the sale of the house.

  “I’ll bet you could use a drink. Is there a place here we can get a nice dinner that serves alcohol?”

  “Bon Appetit. Let’s go.”

  Susanna got a warm greeting, including a big hug from Don Rosen, the proprietor of Bon Appetit, and his wife. They were seated at a cozy table in the corner. First drink was on the house. Susanna had a Cosmopolitan, and Quinn had a
beer.

  “You all right?” Quinn took her hand, planting a quick kiss on the palm.

  “Better than I thought.” She smiled at him.

  “How so?”

  “Guess it’s time for me to move on. Now I won’t have any ties here. The house will be sold. Annie and I will split up his trophies, and I’ll get a job in the city. Back to where I was.”

  “What about your sketching?”

  “That’s just fooling around. I can’t make a living with it. Besides, I’m not very good.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “So work at it and become better.”

  “When the estate is settled, I should have enough money to do what I want for a while. But in the meantime, I’ve got to find a job.” She took a sip of her Cosmo.

  “Don’t.” He put his hand on her forearm.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Get a job or find your own place. Stay with me.” His voice was soft and persuasive.

  “After Junior leaves?” She put down her drink.

  He nodded.

  “I can’t…do…”

  “Why not?”

  No reason. No reason at all. “Do I have to decide now?”

  “Take your time.”

  She looked up into his eyes. The true blues hypnotized her for a moment. How can I leave him? Don’t. A warm smile crept into his eyes, and she smiled back.

  “Uh…excuse me…” the waiter stood blushing, trying to put plates on the table. The lovers sat back.

  * * * *

  Susanna rested against the leather seat and slept most of the way home. Quinn put the top up and played classical music. Today had been a day to get to know Susanna better, and he had learned a great deal. An unpretentious girl from a small town, honest, real, smart, and sexy. The perfect formula for him.

  A smile of satisfaction sat on his lips as he maneuvered the car over the dusky highway. With little traffic to impede him, he sped down the road, lost in thought about his life.

  Once I get a producer for BLIND LOVE, my career will take a different direction. Then my personal life will follow. Happy thoughts bounced through his head. She might be the one. Doesn’t get any better than this.