Rumor Has It

by Jill Mansell

Why couldn't life be simple? When she'd lived and worked in LA, why couldn't she have fallen for a fellow actor? Or since moving back here, why couldn't someone local have caught her eye, a strap ping Cotswolds farmer, say, or a nice hunky plumber?

  But no, that would have been far too easy. And besides, neither of them would have been Parker. Smiling and turning her head, Kaye watched him sleeping peacefully beside her, not snoring at all, thank goodness, just breathing easily and—

  'Shit, what's that?' Jerking awake and sitting bolt upright, Parker clutched his chest as an unearthly wailing noise filled the bedroom.

  Oh great, just as she met the love of her life, she managed to finish him off with a heart attack.

  'It's OK, sorry, sorry, that's my phone.' Snatching it up from the bedside table, Kaye marveled at her own stupidity in having allowed her daughter to choose a new ringtone. She'd asked for something gentle and Lou had selected some thrash-metal rocker screaming AAAANNSWER MEEEEEE! at the top of his lungs.

  'Kaye?'

  'Who's this?' Kaye frowned, unable to place the voice.

  'Kaye, honey, it's Macy!'

  Macy Ventura, one of her co-stars on Over the Rainbow. Kaye let out a groan and fell back against the pillows. Five times married Macy, not even bothering to think of the time difference, calling to regale her with all the latest twists and turns in her rollercoaster, never-knowingly-uneventful love life.

  'Macy, it's one o'clock in the morning. Everyone's asleep here.' She rubbed Parker's arm by way of mute apology.

  Macy, who had no such scruples, shouted, 'Never mind about that! Guess what I have right here in my hand?'

  This seriously didn't bear thinking about. 'Macy, just tell me.'

  'Oh baby, brace yourself.' Now Kaye really hoped Macy was ad dressing her. 'I am holding something that's gonna rock your world. You are gonna love this. In fact, I'd say—'

  'Just say it before I hang up,' Kaye ordered.

  'OK, here we go. I have a little tape in my hand, containing CCTV footage of you running over Babylamb. Or rather accidentally running over him.'

  'What?'

  'It's all there on the tape, clear as day. You're heading slowly down the drive, the dog shoots out from nowhere, you brake as hard as you can but it's too late, there's no way you could avoid him.'

  'I know that.' Kaye sat up, her heart racing. 'I meant how did you get a tape of it? There was no CCTV footage, that camera wasn't switched on when it happened.'

  'Ah, that's where you're wrong.' Triumphantly, Macy said, 'The camera was working just fine. Charlene saw the accident happen from her bedroom window. First thing she did was tell Antonio, one of the security guys, to take out the tape and destroy it.'

  Kaye closed her eyes. 'Why would he do that?'

  'Hey, this is Charlene we're talking about! She was schtupping him, wasn't she! Plus, she threatened to sack him if he didn't. So he took the tape and told her it was sorted.'

  'Charlene was sleeping with this security guy? But she was furious with me because she thought I was flirting with Denzil!' Kaye was outraged; honestly, talk about hypocritical.

  'Yeah, well, she was feeling neglected because Denzil had stopped sleeping with her. She was also convinced this meant he was getting it somewhere else. Which it turns out he was,' Macy continued. 'And now he's divorcing Charlene so he can marry his one and only true love. So Charlene's moved out, the security guy no longer has to worry about losing his job, and what with him being a good Catholic and all, his conscience has been kind of troubling him. So he confesses everything to the new love of Denzil's life, and she knows at once exactly what she has to do about it. She has to get right on the phone to Kaye McKenna and let her know she's about to be completely exonerated.'

  'Well, she hasn't called yet.' Kaye was indignant. 'When did all this happen? Does she know how to reach me? Can you make sure she has my number?'

  'Oh, baby, you really don't have your brain in gear, do you? She has your number,' Macy said cheerily, 'and she has called you. In fact, she's doing it right now.'

  'You what?'

  'Oh, well done, you've caught on at last. Isn't it just the most fabulous news? The new love of Denzil's life is me!'

  Tilly gulped down a cup of coffee with one hand and ironed Lou's PE uniform with the other. It was eight o'clock in the morning, Kaye and Parker had turned up on the doorstep half an hour ago and Kaye was still fizzing like a bucket of bicarb.

  '…so no wonder Charlene was twitchy and paranoid! The whole time she thought Denzil was seeing me, he was with Macy.'

  'So he's a cheating bastard who let you take the rap.' Max was singularly unimpressed. 'If I saw him, I'd break his nose.'

  'Yes, but he believed Charlene when she said I'd run Babylamb over on purpose. He feels incredibly guilty now he knows the truth. I spoke to him this morning and he's so sorry. And he's already got his publicist on to it. They're releasing the CCTV tape to the news stations. I'm innocent and everyone's going to know about it.' Kaye hugged Lou, sitting next to her. 'They're all going to be so sorry they were mean to me!'

  'You can sue them,' Lou chimed in, 'for millions.'

  'Tell them what else Denzil said,' Parker prompted.

  'He wants me back on the show.' Kaye beamed and helped herself to Max's toast. 'The writers are already working on it. I'm not going to drown after all. Everyone's going to think I died in the water, but it's going to turn out that I was rescued at the last minute by my long-lost half-brother who's a priest! And Denzil's quadrupling my salary. It's all going to be fantastic publicity for the new series. Can you believe it? They're desperate to have me back!'

  Tilly switched off the iron and folded Lou's PE uniform, glanc ing at Parker as she did so. He was doing his best to look pleased but she could sense his concern that he might be on the verge of losing Kaye back to her old Hollywood life.

  'Well, I think they've got a damn cheek and you should tell them to get stuffed.' Unlike Parker, Max didn't bother to hide his feelings. 'They hung you out to dry! I don't know why you aren't furious with the lot of them.'

  Kaye smiled and shook her head. 'I know, but it's over now. And how can I blame Macy and Denzil? God, I still can't believe they're together. She's already been married and divorced five times.'

  'It's not just them, though, is it?' Max shrugged. 'It's the

  whole Hollywood machine. They turned on you like a pack of wolves. If you go back, it's like you're forgiving them. I'd tell them to fuck off.'

  'Dad. Language.'

  'Lou.' Max tapped his watch. 'School.'

  'OK, two things,' said Kaye. 'First, I'm an actress. Hollywood is where I work and telling Hollywood to fuck off would be cutting off my nose to spite my face.'

  'Mum! Honestly, we're going to have to set up a swear box.'

  'And second.' As she spoke, Kaye reached for Parker's hand. 'If the rest of America hadn't hated me, this wonderful man wouldn't have sent me flowers and chocolates to cheer me up. Even if I never actually got to see them. And if I hadn't been back here, I wouldn't have been a prize in an auction, would I?' Eyes shining, she went on, 'Basically, if none of the awful stuff had happened, I believe Parker and I would never have met. So how can I be angry? This is the happiest I've been in years.'

  'Oh, Mum. That's really sweet.' Lou hugged her then jumped up, went over to Parker, and hugged him too. 'And I never thought you were a mad stalker, I promise.'

  Visibly touched, Parker said, 'Well, thanks.'

  'I did.' Max refilled Parker's coffee cup. 'But I'm prepared to admit I was wrong.'

  'So what's going to happen?' Lou's eyes were bright. 'What'll happen with you and Parker if you go back to Hollywood? Will he move over there too?'

  Eek. Out of the mouths of thirteen-year-olds. From the look of things, Lou was voicing the question neither Kaye nor Parker had yet dared to ask. Reaching for the car keys, Tilly said, 'Come on, get your bag, you don't want to be late for school.'

  Lou wrinkled her nose. 'Actually I do
. And this is kind of a special occasion, isn't it? America is about to stop hating my mother. I'm sure I'm allowed to be a little bit late. So what'll you do?' Fixing her gaze on Parker, she said, 'Give up your business in New York and move in with Mum?'

  Kaye said hastily, 'Sweetheart, it's too soon to be thinking about that!'

  'I don't see why.' Lou began buttering another slice of toast. 'You just said this is the happiest you've been for years. And Parker's crazy about you, that's pretty obvious. So you want to be together, don't you?'

  'Well… we need to, um, talk about it…'

  'Mum, you're blushing! Listen, you've found someone lovely at last—'

  'Thanks a lot,' said Max.

  'Oh, Dad, you know what I mean. Lovely and not gay.' Lou turned back to Kaye. 'So you have to decide how you're going to organize things in future.'

  Tilly experienced a pang of envy. For Lou, because everything was so straightforward in her world, a dilemma was simply something to be solved. And for Kaye too, because she was in love with a man who loved her in return and, despite their unpromising start, she could see that once the hiccups were ironed out, they had a happy future together.

  'Sweetheart, give us time. There's lots to discuss.' Kaye was still blushing.

  When it came to persistence, Lou could give any Turkish rug seller a run for his money. 'But you can't be a proper couple if you're living thousands of miles apart.'

  'School,' Tilly announced, expertly tipping Lou off her chair. Because Parker might not be saying anything, but from the look in his eyes you didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that he wasn't remotely keen on the idea of having to leave New York. The next couple of days were completely crazy. The high-quality CCTV clip aired on American TV, America fell in love with Kaye McKenna all over again, and Charlene Weintraub, transformed in the blink of an eye into the Wicked Witch, slunk off into rehab.

  Kaye barely had a moment to breathe. Journalists and report ers descended on Roxborough and the phone didn't stop ringing. Interviews and photo shoots took hours. It was lovely to have been exonerated, but all she really wanted was to be with Parker, whose time over here was running out fast.

  On the evening of the second day, Kaye switched off her phone and they holed up together in his hotel room.

  'Denzil's putting on the pressure. He's desperate for me to sign that new contract. And he's upped the offer again.'

  Parker stroked her hair. 'Well, that's good, isn't it? It's what you wanted.'

  'I know.' Kaye nodded in half-hearted agreement. But she wanted Parker more. Finally plucking up the courage to ask the question that had been zapping around her brain for the last forty-eight hours, she took a deep breath. 'Would you move to LA?'

  There, done. She'd said it.

  'Listen to me.' Parker, who'd been so incredibly patient during all the recent madness, gave her the kind of look she'd been dread ing. 'I love you. You mean the world to me. But I can't just abandon my company. It wouldn't be fair on my staff, or to my clients. I can't let them down. And I definitely couldn't move in with you and not work. I'd look like a complete parasite. People would think I was… worthless.'

  A lump expanded in Kaye's throat. He was absolutely right, and no one knew better than she did how vituperative the Hollywood gossip machine could be.

  'I'm sorry.' Parker hugged her. 'Thank you for asking me. But I guess it's that male pride thing. I built up a successful business and I'm proud of it. But we can still see each other, can't we? We'll make it work out. New York to LA is only a six-hour flight.'

  It sounded reasonable when he said it like that, but it was only six hours in theory. What with getting to and from the airport, queuing through security, and the various hold-ups that always seemed to plague her like a swarm of mosquitoes, it would be more like ten. Kaye gazed out of the window at the rolling hills, the orange-violet sky and the slowly setting sun. And she'd never been one of those people who enjoyed flying anyway. When you factored in Parker's working hours and her own gruelingly hectic filming schedule, how much time would they end up spending together really?

  Not nearly long enough to be able to call it a proper relation ship, that was for sure.

  Chapter 56

  'SWEETHEART, LISTEN. I NEED to know how you feel about it and I want you to be completely honest.'

  'Oh Mum, look at you being all worried.' Vigorously shaking her head, Lou said fondly, 'I'm fine. You've got your job back and that's brilliant. With the amount they're offering, you'd be mad to turn it down.'

  Kaye was still wracked with guilt. 'I know, I know. It's just been so lovely being back here and seeing you every day.'

  'But I can still come over during the holidays.' Unlike Kaye, Lou adored flying. 'If you go back to the States, we'll still be in touch, won't we? Just like we did before! Mum, I'm happy here with Tilly and Dad.' Her face suddenly turning three shades pinker, Lou added casually, 'And I think I'm kind of getting a boyfriend, so I wouldn't want to leave anyway.'

  'Sweetie, really?' Hugging her, Kaye was overcome with emotion. 'That's fantastic. Is it someone nice?'

  'No, he's completely vile.' Lou smiled and rolled her eyes. 'It's Cormac.'

  'Oh, he's in your class.' Vaguely able to picture him, Kaye said, 'Fair hair, quite athletic?'

  'Captain of the football team.' Lou looked proud. 'He's really nice. Although it's not like we're going out out together. We just text a lot and sit next to each other at lunch. But it makes going to school more fun. So stop panicking and wondering if I'm going to mind if you move back to the States, because I promise you I won't. I'm more worried about how you and Parker are going to sort yourselves out.'

  Kaye said wryly, 'Me too.'

  'I really like him, Mum.'

  'Me too.'

  'You'll have to persuade him to change his mind about leaving New York.'

  What had she done to deserve a daughter like this? Stroking Lou's face, Kaye said, 'I know, sweetie. I'm still working on that bit.'

  There were seven of them gathered in the drawing room at Beech House, eight if you counted Betty, and having Jack in the vicinity was making Tilly nervous. The nerves, in turn, were making her ravenous. Hovering beside the French windows leading out on to the garden, she snapped yet another breadstick into quarters and trawled the first quarter through the bowl of guacamole on the table beside her. Concentrating on the dif ferent dips was easier than looking over at Jack. She'd been taking them in turns. Chili cheese next, then salsa, then mayonnaise…

  'Phew, you reek of garlic.' Lou flapped her hands in protest.

  OK, garlic mayonnaise. You knew you'd exceeded your garlic limit when you could no longer taste it.

  'These are great.' Tilly pointed her breadstick at the tray of dips. 'You should try some.'

  'Yeurgh, no thanks, I've got to go to school tomorrow. Don't want to frighten Cormac off.'

  'Well, here comes Erin. She's not scared of a bit of garlic.'

  Erin wrinkled her nose. 'Actually, you are a bit strong.'

  'Oh well, who cares?' Holding out her arms to Betty, Tilly said, 'Come over here, sweetie, you still love me, don't you?' Prompting Betty to bounce up to her, wince with horror, and promptly screech into reverse.

  'I feel like I've got leprosy.' She began to regret monopolizing the dips; probably just as well she didn't have a love life to put in jeopardy. 'Anyway, how's the house sale going?'

  'Pretty good. Fergus is showing another two couples round it this afternoon.' Erin grimaced slightly; this was a subject with which she wasn't completely at ease. When Fergus and Stella had split up, Fergus had moved into a rented flat. As Stella's husband, the house they had bought together was now his. In a year or so, when he and Erin felt it would be appropriate to marry, they would buy a new house in Roxborough.

  'OK, here we go, I'm going to say a few words.' Clapping her hands, Kaye captured everyone's attention.

  Max said, 'Only a few? That'll be a first.'

  'As you know, Parker and I are l
eaving tomorrow.' Holding out a hand, Kaye gestured for Parker to come and stand beside her. 'And I'm going to miss you all terribly. Well, some more than others.' She looked pointedly at Max, then grinned and took a deep breath. 'Anyway, the thing is, I've come to a decision. I'm not going to renew my contract with Over the Rainbow. I won't even be moving back to LA. Because I've decided I'd far rather go to New York.' Turning to watch the look of disbelief spreading across Parker's face—he'd clearly had no idea she'd been about to say this—she added, 'If this man here is sure he doesn't mind.'

  Unable to speak for a moment, Parker shook his head helplessly.

  'And I'm just warning you,' Kaye told him, 'now would be a seriously bad time to tell me you have a wife waiting at home for you to go back.'