Center Stage (The Keller Family Series)

by Marie, Bernadette

  John wasn’t sure she’d take him up on his offer, but he simply couldn’t hold out any longer. He drove through Nashville with Arianna seated right next to him. If ever there was a reason to keep a truck with an old bench seat, this was one of them.

  George Strait was on the iPod, and the hum of the heater filled any void where silence might become awkward. He knew he was in his own kind of heaven.

  Arianna watched the sights of the city, in full swing, from the window. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Are we just going to pass each of these bars or go in one? I mean, at least we’re in a city where there is ample entertainment.”

  “We’re almost there.”

  He saw the building in the distance. Without any of the lights on, it made the entire neighborhood dark. The sight was eerie and unsettling.

  John pulled the truck up in front and parked.

  Arianna looked around. “This is where you wanted to go?”

  “What do you think?”

  She looked around and then back at him. “Of what?”

  “The building. It’s the old Rockwell Theater.”

  She narrowed her eyebrows as if she were trying to remember something. “The last show they did here was a community version of Phantom, right?”

  He chuckled. “I have no idea. I have to admit, theater isn’t my thing—usually.”

  Arianna let out a grunt and then turned her attention back to the building. “So, why are we here?”

  “They have the building slated for demolition unless someone buys it and renovates it.”

  He watched her process the information. “So, it’s for sale?”

  “Yes.”

  He couldn’t quite read her and that bothered him.

  “You’d mentioned that you’d like to do community theater and teach.”

  “I did.” Her words were drawn out slowly.

  John turned in his seat to face her. “I have a business proposition for you.”

  “I’m listening.” Again, her words stretched out.

  “I’ve worked for Benson, Benson, and Hart since I was twenty. I learned a trade under Zach’s grandfather and was promoted under Zach’s father. I took Zach to work with me for years, teaching him a trade. They’ve always taken care of me.” He was rambling. “Point is, other than my TV, my recliner, and my import beer, I’ve never needed for anything—until now.”

  He heard her suck in a breath. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I would like to buy this theater, with some matched investment capital from Benson, Benson, and Hart.”

  She nodded. “And what are you going to do with that?”

  “That’s my business offer for you. I want to help you renovate it and open your theater.”

  “You want to buy me a theater?”

  “Well, no. Yes. What I mean is it’s an investment. I know you can do this, and I want to help.”

  This time she crossed her arms, and he knew that wasn’t a good sign. She contemplated for a moment longer.“I don’t know what I want to do.”

  “You told me…”

  “I know what I told you. I didn’t think you were listening.”

  If she’d only known what he’d been hearing for the past year. “If this isn’t what you want…”

  “I don’t want to owe anyone.”

  “It wouldn’t be like that.”

  “It would be exactly like that. I’d owe you and Zach.”

  “But you’d have this.” He raised his hands as if to present the theater.

  She sat there silent for a moment longer. “I’m cold. I think I’d like to go home.”

  John let out a deep breath and headed back home. He’d really taken a chance on her needs, and he’d failed miserably. That was it. He was bad with women, and this one was no different. He’d thought he’d known what his wife had wanted too, but obviously he hadn’t delivered.

  He was surprised she wasn’t allergic to the flowers he’d brought her. That would have been the frosting on the cake.

  Just as they pulled up behind her house, her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and silenced it.

  “Same caller?” he asked.

  “I’d assume so.”

  He turned off the engine and turned to look at her. “Is there something I should know?”

  “Such as?”

  “Why did you move home?”

  “My family is here.”

  “Why now?”

  “I missed everyone. Isn’t that enough? And with Spencer and Avery now, I think this is where I belong.”

  He didn’t doubt that was some of the truth. “But you were on Broadway, and amazing I might add.”

  She chuckled. “You are one loyal employee to have come to New York with Zach and Regan to see me perform.”

  John let out a grunt and climbed out of the truck. By the time he’d skirted the hood, she was out of the truck and slamming her door.

  “Is that why you think I went to New York? Because Zach asked me to?”

  Her eyes opened wide as his voice rose.

  “Did it ever occur to you that I came because I was interested? I wanted to see you?”

  Now her mouth had opened, but she seemed to have a lack of words, so he continued.

  “I want that theater for you because I thought you wanted it—to write and teach and perform, not because I need a pet project and not because Zach needs another investment.” He stepped up closer to her, and his breath carried in the cold air. “This is a commitment, or at least as close as I can get to one. Don’t you see that? The reason I went to Carlos’s weddings with you was because, when you showed up to help with Tyler Benson’s funeral four years ago, you turned my head. I went to New York because you interested me. I was your date because you fascinated me. Now I have the honor of holding you at night, and I’m beside myself. Hiding and holding back isn’t helping the situation. You’re keeping secrets from me and that makes me leery of my feelings for you. If you can’t tell me who the caller is, how can I trust that you’ll keep your promise to me to be exclusively mine?”

  She gasped at that.

  John wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but he was mad. “Don’t be so strong-willed that you won’t let the man who loves you take care of you or do something for you. You never know when they will grow tired of trying.”

  And with that he walked away because he’d said more than he’d meant to.

  Cold air closed in around Arianna as she watched John walk down the outside steps to his apartment. When the door slammed, she knew she’d acted childish.

  But how was she supposed to react? It was dark, and he was showing her buildings with grand plans for her to make something big of it. That scared the hell out of her, but not nearly as much as him saying something about loving her.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket again. She pulled it out, but this time it was a text message. You’ll fail!

  As she read it, a picture came through as well. It was her and John in his truck outside the Rockwell Theater.

  Arianna swallowed hard. He was following her.

  She looked around the alley and her yard. He could be anywhere. She wasn’t safe standing in her own backyard with John only feet away. And if she wasn’t safe, neither was Regan.

  It was time to come clean. She had to tell John about Alexander Hamilton. Something had to be done.

  Arianna ran to the house and up the back stairs. She shook as she pushed her key into the lock and turned it. But when she heard the inside door to John’s apartment close and the deadbolt from his side lock, she knew he wasn’t going to listen now.

  She bolted the back door, ran up to her bedroom, and locked the door. Tomorrow she would tell Carlos. She didn’t want to worry Regan or Curtis with it yet. Maybe they could head him off.

  Chapter Nine

  It had been one of the longest nights in Arianna’s life. She’d heard the shower at four that morning, and John drove away by five. Obviously he was still mad.

&nb
sp; She’d make it up to him. She didn’t want him to hate her. They did have a commitment. He was right. There was no reason to ruin it over her reaction to something so thoughtful.

  Sunshine had finally made it through the drapes. It was time to face the day and her feelings.

  After her shower she brewed a pot of coffee, but it went cold before she’d poured the first cup. Her mind wasn’t on the normal activity of the day. It was on that stupid building John wanted to buy.

  But it wasn’t stupid.

  Arianna sat at the kitchen table and held her head in her hands. It was a wonderful building. She’d seen Annie there when she was five. That was what had given her the acting bug. There was a history with her and that theater, so why had she freaked out?

  Perhaps her community theater group could do Annie there. Clara would make an amazing Annie.

  Her mind was brewing now, so she started another pot of coffee and searched through a box she’d thrown in the hall closet for a notebook and a pen.

  By noon she’d had two pots of coffee, no food, and had the notebook nearly full of ideas. There were voice lessons to be had and method acting classes to teach. She had a list of four different productions that would be great to get the kids in the community involved in. Maybe one night they’d have an open mic night, and with the number of music industry leaders in the community, perhaps someone would get their break on her stage.

  The ideas just kept coming.

  By two in the afternoon, she finally changed out of her robe, tied her hair in a tail on the top of her head, and headed into town to look at the building herself.

  The view in broad daylight wasn’t much different than the view she’d had the night before. It was worn down and unloved.

  Arianna stepped out of her car and looked around the street. People bustled around, and she didn’t feel as though she was being watched.

  She bundled up her coat, locked the car, and crossed the street.

  “Your sister knows you better than I thought she did,” Zach’s voice called from behind her.

  Arianna spun to find him walking toward her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Regan figured you’d come to look at it yourself. When I called your house and you weren’t there, I figured you’d be here.”

  She let out a deep breath. “John wants to buy this.”

  “It sold yesterday.”

  Sadness bolted through her, and she shivered. “Oh. That’s too bad.”

  “New owner wants to make it a community theater or something like that.”

  She thought about the notebook she’d filled with ideas. It had been a waste of time.

  Whoever had sent her the texts last night had told her she’d fail. Perhaps she had.

  “Well, no need to stand here staring at it then,” she said as she shoved her bare hands into her pockets. “Maybe I’ll head out to your house and visit my boys.”

  Zach pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Let’s go in and look around first.”

  She looked at the key and then at him. “What’s going on?”

  “Benson, Benson, and Hart has a new property. It’s going to need some upkeep so I’m going to send my best foreman to oversee the job. Then it’s going to need someone to bring it to life. Now, I have this niece who can belt out show tunes, and I’ve heard my sister-in-law might have done some theater. Maybe I can find her and…”

  He didn’t finish once she’d charged him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s go inside. And then I’ll tell you just how many people have invested in this building.”

  He started for the stairs, but his comment hung with her. She wasn’t sure he had to tell her. There was no doubt her sister was in on it and her parents, too. The Keller family worked fast. But there was probably a hefty investment from John as well. She owed him an apology.

  Arianna followed Zach up the front steps. The door creaked as he pushed it open.

  The air was stale, and the lobby was nearly pitch black.

  “My father taught me well. Always carry a flashlight to a new building,” Zach said as he pulled a flashlight from his coat pocket. “I made sure the utilities were on. We just have to find the switch.”

  She followed close behind him. “How did you get the building so fast?”

  “I have some leverage in this town.”

  “I don’t doubt that, but…”

  “Just accept it. Okay, here’s a switch.” He flipped it and rows of lights in the lobby flickered on. “Wow.”

  Arianna let out a sigh. “Yeah, wow.”

  The theater had been abandoned longer than they had thought. The lobby had been vandalized. She wasn’t so sure of his investment now, and by the look on his face, neither was he.

  “Let’s see what the auditorium looks like.” He reached for her hand and she took it.

  Slowly they walked through the heavy doors into the theater.

  She was sure the lights were in the back, but she didn’t need lights to see what a mess it was.

  Chairs were ripped from the floor, sconces on the wall hung by wires, and the stage was covered in junk.

  “I think John’s vision for this place was off,” she said with a hitch in her voice.

  “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have mentioned it to me if he didn’t think it would work.”

  “He thinks he can make this place look nice?”

  Zach turned to her, but even in the dark, she could see the glimmer in his eyes. “He knows he can. You don’t underestimate him, do you?”

  She shook her head. No, she certainly didn’t.

  “I think we’re going to need more light before we even try to go deeper into this building. Let’s say we head back to my office and make some plans.

  “That sounds good. Would I mess you up completely if I made a stop first?”

  She saw the smile that formed on his lips. It was all out in the open now. Regan had spilled the beans—she was toast.

  Zach had given Arianna his hard hat from his car. She’d put it on the moment she parked in the lot at the build and climbed out of her car. Zach had told her John would be in the trailer.

  She’d never been on a construction site. She looked around, taking in the sights and sounds of where John spent his days. No wonder he was a quiet man. His days were filled with noise.

  Carefully she walked up the metal steps to the trailer and pulled open the door.

  Almost immediately she heard John yell from beyond the wall, “Shut the damn door. It’s freezing.”

  Arianna clasped her hands together and walked through to where she’d heard his voice. “It is freezing. Do you have coffee in this place?”

  John had been looking at blue prints, but when she’d spoke his head snapped up. At first there was a smile in his eyes, but a moment later it was gone.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you.”

  “Zach sent you?” He motioned to her hat.

  She pulled it from her head. “Oh, he let me borrow this.” She hadn’t realized his name was on it.

  “I’m really busy right now. Maybe I can talk to you at home.”

  Arianna didn’t like this side of John, but the worst part was she knew she’d created it.

  “I want to talk now.”

  John flattened his hands on the table then stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest.

  She gripped tightly to the helmet. “I was childish last night. I’m sorry.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “But it does.” She took another step closer. “I know you invested in the building.”

  “You’re not supposed to know that.”

  “Okay, I didn’t know that for a fact until just this moment, but thank you.”

  He shook his head and rolled his eyes. She’d caught him on that fact, and he wasn’t any happier about it.

  “This morning
I made a lot of plans for that building before I knew it was really mine to make plans for. But the point is, you were thinking of me.”

  “That’s been my problem lately. That’s all I think about.”

  Finally the chill that ached in her muscles eased. “You’re all I’ve been thinking about, too.”

  She walked around the table that separated them and stood next to him.

  “You said something else last night. Something about taking care of the woman you loved.”

  He nodded slowly. “I didn’t think you were listening.”

  “I heard you. And a woman wouldn’t hide anything from the man she loved.” His eyes flickered for a moment when she said it, but he stayed quiet.

  Arianna pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled up the text message. “This came through last night.”

  He took the phone from her and looked at the text message and picture. “Son of a bitch!”

  “It has to be the same blocked phone from the calls.”

  “If I find this guy…”

  “It’s Alexander Hamilton.”

  If a man’s blood could actually boil, John’s was close.

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  Arianna’s shoulders dropped. “That’s why I moved back here so quickly. He came to me in New York and wanted to know where Regan’s baby was.”

  “The baby she gave up?”

  Arianna nodded. “He’s crazy. The man doesn’t want Regan or that child. He wants to hurt her.”

  He knew that well enough. He’d seen him take after her in L.A., and then he’d seen Zach take in after Alexander. He shouldn’t have pulled Zach off of him. Perhaps he should have let him kill the bastard.

  “He’s stalking you?”

  “I don’t know if this is him, but I assume it has to be.”

  “We need to go to the police.”

  She touched his arm. “I’m not worried about me, but we need to protect Regan.”

  John left his work on the table, grabbed Arianna by the arm, and led her straight to his truck.

  Two hours later they had filed a report, but there was nothing the police could do and that had him angrier than before.

  He sat at the stoplight on the way back to the site, gripping his steering wheel. He hadn’t even noticed he hadn’t spoken until Arianna reached across the cab and touched his leg.