“Lacy thank you for sharing your info. I’ll call tomorrow and try to get the people together if you’ll come.”
Stephanie asked it so sweetly, how could she refuse? Besides, she’d be gone soon anyway. “Okay, if I’m still here.”
“Great. See you guys later then.”
Thad pulled the Jeep keys from his pocket and handed them to Stephanie, punched the button for the garage and followed her out.
Lacy took advantage of the moment and slipped inside, leaving the wall of windows open. Thad could shut them. She had just put her foot on the third step when she heard. “Hey! Where’re you going so fast? Night’s still young. Let’s sit out awhile.”
“Really, it’s been a long day, Thad. And shouldn’t you be . . .”
Before she’d finished he’d grabbed her hand and led her outside.
“Sit.” He ordered. “We’re going to talk. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague and I want to know what’s wrong.”
She sat in the lounge and stared out at the ocean, already accustomed to the scene and the cadence as it constantly came forward, rolled out and came back again. The moon was out just enough to light the top of the water.
“You can’t keep it in forever, Lace.” He gazed out at the ocean in the lounge next to her.
“Keep what in forever?” She asked then could have bit her tongue off.
“What happened to you.”
“Thad, if you are going to go there…” She was standing and didn’t even realize it. Thad stoo, took a step and pulled her to him. His strong arms held her.
“Don’t run. Not this time. Okay? I brought you here because I wanted to be with you.”
She struggled against him. His deep voice next to her ear.
“Stop. Be still. Trust me for once, will you Lace? I know I haven’t earned that trust, but I have been trying. Could we be friends?”
“We are friends. But friends don’t …”
“Don’t embrace like this?” He lifted her chin.
“Exactly.” She pushed him away before he could blast her emotions into smithereens. She’d been struggling all day having trouble separating their ”friendship” from her heart.
He held his hands up in release. “Ok. Question.” He took a step back. “So, you’re not going to let me kiss you?”
“Kiss me? Whatever for? Geesh, Thad! Stephanie just left. Do you guys work that fast out here in California?” Her voice raised. “Or am I just some backwoods girl from Michigan who thinks a guy should be faithful to his woman?”
She gave him her back. That darn ocean with the moon up in the sky was making her loony and for sure Thad Gannon wasn’t going to see that on her face.
“So you think Stephanie and I are together?”
“Well, I don’t know. It’s none of my business.”
“That’s for sure.”
She turned around to face him. “Then why are we standing here having this conversation?”
“You tell me. You seem to know it all.”
“I don’t know anything. We are friends. Just friends.”
“So no kiss?”
“No kiss.”
“If you’re afraid you’ll like it…” He put his hands in his back pockets and rocked on his heels.
“I’m not afraid, Thaddeus Gannon.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Then you wouldn’t mind if I kiss you…just to see if we’re more than friends…”
Lacy opened her mouth to speak but found herself pulled into his arms and his lips on hers. It took her a minute to get over the shock, but she put her hand on his chest and shoved him. Hard.
“How dare you, Thad Gannon!”
“How dare I what?” He felt a silly grin. So he did get to her.
“You’re going with Stephanie and I will not be party to this.”
She turned to go and was pulled back with a firm hand at her wrist.
“Did I tell you Stephanie and I were together? Did I ever say that?”
“Well no, but you don’t have to.”
“Okay.” He took her other wrist and slowly pulled her closer. “I’m telling you now. I’m not going with Stephanie. I enlisted her help to show me how to deal with you.”
“Deal with me? What for?”
“Don’t you have eyes, woman? Remember the kiss I gave you on your front stoop.”
“Well, yes, but that was…that wasn’t…”
“Shut up, Lacy Lee Linden. Just shut up.”
And before she could take a breath Thad Gannon wrapped his hands in her hair, the heels of his hands on her cheeks and kissed her. The ocean whispered and the moon winked. She was sure of it. Because when she woke up from this dream she was going to go back to sleep.
Her knees went weak and her hands were loose at her side. His kiss was so gentle, so sweet that her mind slowed and her body melted.
Then he did the most amazing thing.
He picked up her hands, wrapped them around his neck and kissed her again.
When he pulled away and lifted her chin, she gazed into those dark eyes of his and read what she needed to know.
“Now do you believe me?”
She nodded leaning her forehead against his. The wind blew his soft blond hair around her face.
And they stood there for long moments. Because for the life of her she didn’t know what to do next. When Thad pulled away, she felt a chill.
“Come on inside. I’ll get the doors. And see you in the morning, Lace.”
“Okay.” She heard herself say and nearly stumbled, so weak-kneed was she. “I’m going to bed now.”
“Yes, I assumed you would.” He smiled and winked.
She turned, found the stairs and took them up, changed into her pajamas and laid down on the bed. She, Lacy Linden, had been kissed. Really kissed.
It took a long time before she felt sleep overtake her, hoping when she woke up it had all been a sweet dream. She and Thad Gannon? She steeled her heart…it was probably just a Hollywood thing. But that kiss…
Chapter 46
When the morning light peeked through the curtains, Lacy could hear the ocean through the open window. It had kept her company all through the night when she woke and remembered Thad’s tender kiss.
Now that morning had come, she had to face him. What if it was just the moonlit night, the waves, his loneliness at losing his job…that made him vulnerable? What if he decided that Stephanie was more his type, and to Lacy’s way of thinking, she was. Stephanie was beautiful and classy. Lacy began to doubt her wisdom in bringing herself and the girls here.
She tossed the covers off, her stomach in a twist, and decided then and there that she must not assume Thad meant anything by that kiss. He’d have to show her in a dozen other ways that he was not just playing her. He’d had plenty of Hollywood girls. Why would he want a Michigan farm woman? That was a sign for her to back off. She would not take that kiss too seriously.
As she showered and dressed, she resolved to do just that.
She opened her bedroom door and listened. Hearing nothing she tiptoed past the girls’ rooms. Their doors were shut. They were probably exhausted.
After a hot cup of tea and an orange, her stomach was still twirling.
She heard Thad’s door open on the lower level and knocking at the garage door at the same time. She heard him running. He and Stephanie were talking quietly. She was careful not to make any noise in the kitchen while lightly stepping to the wall of windows but refrained from opening them. They would make too much noise. She settled herself on the cream sofa and looked out at the ocean. There was a slight mist over the water so that she couldn’t see very far. It must be earlier than she thought and checked her watch. Seven thirty. A bit early for the girls.
She heard the garage door going down and figured Thad had taken off. Finally she could relax.
Twenty seconds later, she heard footsteps below. Thad’s. Then the shuffle of him coming up the stairs. Her back stiffened. She would know this morning if what had occur
red last evening was true. She steeled her heart and sat stone still.
“You’re up.” Thad came up behind her and then around to the sofa. He took the chair. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Did you?” She sipped her tea.
“Better than the last couple nights.” He kept his eyes fixed on her. So…are you going to run?”
“Run?” Lacy noted the firmness in his voice.
“Back to Michigan?”
“Well, yes. I have my place, and Allison, and the girls….”
“Okay.” He looked away then back again.
Lacy felt trapped. What did he want her to do? She couldn’t just stay. Especially now that he’d broken down the barrier she’d built up so carefully. Her mind was rushing, trying to sort out the fact that their friendship had changed.
“Thad, what do you want from me?” She set her cup down on the glass table in front of her.
“You don’t know?”
“No, I don’t know. We’ve been friends. But last night changed things. I’m so confused.” She felt silly tears start in the back of her eyes.
He came and sat next to her but kept some space between them. “I’m not sorry I kissed you, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Lacy chose her words. “You might not be, but I am struggling to understand how you could be ready to marry a girl you think is pregnant just a few weeks ago and now you want me. You don’t even know me, Thad. Not really.”
“Maybe I know myself better than I ever have before, Lace.”
She saw the hurt in his face. And wondered, after all he’d been through, if she was being selfish.
“But I’m the same I was back in high school. I’ve hardly changed and you’ve been….you’ve been a television star for heaven’s sake. You and I could not possibly….I couldn’t do that to you Thad. You’d never be satisfied with a girl like me.”
“Really, Lace? You think I’m incapable of understanding what I want in life?” He stood and paced.
“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that you’ve had a major life change. It’s not a good time to….to start a relationship.”
“You mean it’s not a good time for you to change your life again, don’t you?” He stopped in front of her and looked her in the eye.
“What do you mean?”
“You run from things, Lace. You work and worry about everyone else’s life, but do you know who you are? What you want?”
She struggled to answer. “I at least know that I’m not the one for you, Thad Gannon.” Lacy stood.
“There you go, running again. Sit down, Lace. Talk to me. I asked you a simple question. You should be able to answer it. What do you want in life?” He sat down on the sofa and patted the place next to him.
“I have it.” She felt her defense barriers rise but sat down, leaving plenty of space between them.
“What do you have?” Thad softened his voice.
“I have the farm. My sister. My girls. That’s what. Besides I don’t have to explain to you who I am.”
“No, you don’t. You’re right. I’m just trying to figure out what you want. Because it’s a sure thing I want you.”
Lacy stood to her feet. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Good idea.” He shot back as he stood, shoving his hands into his back pockets.
She stomped off, leaving Thad behind.
Tears burned as she went down the stairs, grabbed a sweater from her room and pressed the button and walked out onto the sand. She kicked off her flip-flops and walked barefoot along the edge in the wet sand, hoping he could not see her face. How dare he think he could presume to ask her what she was going to do with her life? After one kiss. Well, two, but the first one didn’t count. Did he think he owned her? That she would swoon at his feet like all the other girls and leave her family’s farm and come running out here?
Well, he’d better think again. She was made of sterner stuff. And besides that, she had no idea what to do now. When she was further down the shore, she had the urge to look back, forced herself not to and kept walking because she didn’t know what else to do.
At some point Lacy turned back. She’d walked much further than she realized and couldn’t see his house. People gathered for picnics, dogs ran, children played. She had to get back and make plans to go home and think. She was out of her element. Home was the only place she could think straight.
Chapter 47
By the time Lacy got back to the house, the girls had made themselves breakfast. Thad’s Jeep was gone.
At least there would be time to sort out this mess. She called Allison who informed her that her flight was booked for Saturday …and it was only Monday. What an awfully awkward week this is going to be!
After loading the dishwasher she waited for the girls to change and the three of them went to the beach, a book under each of their arms. They were tired and wanted to enjoy the sun, especially since they knew they were going back to Michigan’s fall weather.
By late afternoon, hungry, they packed up their books and towels and headed to the house. Lacy stepped inside and heard voices. The girls went up the stairs to their rooms to shower. She lent her ear to the sounds and figured Thad must have guests in the lower level. She quietly climbed the stairs, showered, and combed through her wet hair, then made her way to the kitchen and prepared tuna sandwiches. Pushing strands of hair out of her eyes she checked the clock. It was almost four. The girls came to the kitchen, hair freshly washed and damp like hers, looking famished.
“Sit. Tuna sandwiches, chips and pickle.” She smiled and let them serve themselves. Kew was very picky about what she put in her mouth and Ting was such a light eater, she’d learned to let them choose. While they ate she poured lemonade into glasses. They chugged and refilled.
She wanted to eat and be somewhere else when Thad’s meeting ended. He had not entertained a large group since she arrived. And from the sounds of it, there were quite a few guests around his conference table. But like her, Thad needed to get back to his life and she to hers. At least that’s what she told herself.
Wondering how she could avoid him, she suggested the girls take a walk down the roadway outside his gated property. They’d driven down the narrow road, but could hardly see past all the vines and flowers. It might be nice to have a look around. She’d learned that most of the people from around here knew to keep their homes hidden from the constant barrage of photographers looking to make a buck. But since Thad had been replaced with the new, younger guy, they probably wouldn’t be looking his way now. Lacy felt sad about that. The jagged red scars dominated a good deal of his face. But he had two reconstructive surgeries scheduled as soon as the injuries were healed.
For that she was glad. Hopefully the procedures would diminish the impact of the scars and he could continue his career. Somehow the thought of that was bittersweet.
The girls came out refreshed and dressed in shorts and T-shirts.
“Let’s take a walk. We can follow the roadway and see the ocean the entire time. Besides we haven’t seen this side of Thad’s world.” She smiled hoping they couldn’t see the stress she felt inside.
Kew, glad to be exercising, smiled and started out. Lacy finally figured out how to open the ten foot high gate and managed to close it behind her. There were cars parked at all angles alongside the narrow road. That must be some meeting, Lacy thought, glad Thad was getting back into his own routine.
The afternoon cloud cover made for a pleasant walk. She smiled, noticing all three of them wore sunglasses and carried a bottle of water. They had already become Californians. Her heart soared, glad that she had stepped out and come with Thad. It was her first experience to be in the beautiful state of California and to show the girls America. For that she was grateful.
They walked and walked, passed a small bait shop complete with surfboards and all sorts of fishing gear and a small hot dog stand. When they finally came to a main road, she turned around and headed back, taking a smaller path. It
was nearing six o’clock.
Lacy and Ting felt they’d lost their way, but Kew had been watching all the time and led them to a short path upward and back to Thad’s road. “You are definitely good with details, Kew. I’m so busy looking at everything, I don’t always pay attention where I’m going.” She complimented.
“That’s because you live in America. Small space to you, very big to us.” She said. “We have very tiny space in China.”
Lacy nodded, noting Kew’s practical sense.
“Mr. Thad lives in Heaven, if there is such a place.” Kew kept walking.
“There is such a place.” Lacy said quietly.
“Is this it then?” Kew wanted to know.
“No, but I’m sure it feels very much like this, only better.”
Ting just listened.
“Oh, here we are.” Lacy reached up to open the gate and found it would not budge.
“Oh dear, we didn’t think about getting back in. It must lock automatically.”
“All the cars are gone now,” Kew stated, hands on her hips, looking up and down the roadway. “Thad’s gone, too. His Jeep is not here. He parked outside, I remember.”
Lacy looked around for a neighbor. Houses were far apart. They’d rarely seen anyone walking on the roadway. Then she noticed Ting’s eyes growing larger.
“We are safe, Ting.”
But Ting was not listening. She had a faraway look in her eyes and her hands covered her ears.
“Kew, tell her we are all right.”
Lacy waited while Kew told her. And looked around. “We will find a neighbor.” Lacy said firmly and took Ting’s hand.
Kew led the way, her eyes searching. They walked until they came to another gate. Lacy hadn’t even noticed it with all of the vines and bushes concealing it. Lacy tried the gate and it opened. She and Kew exchanged a look and they both saw Ting’s face relax a bit.
“I’ll go up and knock on the door.” Lacy said. “You girls wait right here.”
Kew assured Ting everything was all right.
The yard was unkempt, yet must have been beautiful at one time. An old rusty fountain was dried up. Pink Bougainvillea hung heavy from the branches. Several flowering trees brightened the area, but the grass had not been mowed in some time.
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