Grabbing her purse, phone and keycard, she hurried out the door. One look at the group of girls waiting for the elevator made her decide to take the stairs. Once she made it to the first floor, she peeked through the door, making sure Jed wasn’t loitering around the main entrance, and then quickly exited the building.
The supervisor over her had an office across the street. She was new, and Ashlee hoped that meant she’d be in her office this early.
“I’m here to see Ms. Clements,” Ashlee said to the security officer.
“Write your name down, and then have a seat.” He handed her a clipboard.
“Um, it’s kind of an emergency. Do you know how long the wait will be?”
“Nope.” He pointed to the clipboard. “Write your name down and I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Ashlee quickly penned her name and handed back the clipboard. The man studied it for a few seconds before lifting up the phone and pressing a few numbers.
“There’s a Miss Ashlee Nichols here to see you, ma’am.” He glanced up at Ashlee as he hung up the receiver. “You can go on back, Miss Nichols.” He pressed a button to open the door. “Third office on the right.”
“Thank you.”
Hurrying down the hall, she counted the doors until she found the right office. Before she could knock, the door opened. “Come in, Miss Nichols,” the woman said in a clipped voice. “We’ve been expecting you.”
We? Ashlee didn’t have time to process what that meant when her gaze connected with Jed’s.
“What’re you doing here?” Ashlee asked, feeling as if she’d just stepped into a very big spider web and Jed was the spider.
“That’s not important,” Ms. Clements said, folding her arms across her ample chest. “I’d like to know why you’re here?”
Ashlee’s stomach dipped down to her toes as she explained what had happened last night. Ms. Clements didn’t seem alarmed by Jed’s behavior. Clearly, he’d already given her his side of the story.
“May I see your purse?” Ms. Clements asked.
“Why?” Ashlee gripped her purse tighter. “That has nothing to do with him attacking me.”
“Your purse, Miss Nichols.” Ms. Clements held out her hand and waited.
Ashlee reluctantly handed over her purse. Then she watched in shock as the woman unzipped the inside compartment and pulled out a small plastic bag with what looked like dried dill weed in it.
“That’s not mine,” Ashlee said. “Whatever it is, it’s not mine.”
“Miss Nichols, I’m sure you’re aware that illegal substances are not to be tolerated among our cast members.”
Illegal substances? “Ma’am, that is not mine.” She pointed her finger at Jed. “I left my purse last night when I ran away from him, and he returned it to me a little while later. Obviously, he planted it in there!”
Jed smirked, but when Ms. Clements turned toward him, he lost the irritating smile and shook his head sadly. “I told you she might say something like this, ma’am. I can call in witnesses that she offered me some of her weed, if it’ll help.”
“I never offered you anything!” Ashlee couldn’t believe the guy was willing to stoop so low for being rejected. In truth, Jed had been the one trying to get her to drink by offering her one alcoholic drink after another. Ashlee didn’t drink. People did stupid things when they were drunk. Plus, she had no doubt the jerk would’ve slipped something in her drink to ensure her cooperation. She didn’t bother refuting the witness claim. Jed had probably paid a few of the partygoers to back him up if needed.
“That’s enough, Miss Nichols.” Ms. Clements handed Ashlee back her purse, but held on to the plastic bag. “Normally, I’d fire you on the spot, but for now you are temporarily suspended from playing a face character until further notice.” Ms. Clements held up her hand to stop Ashlee’s protest. “Right now, we’re short on some of the fur characters that quit unexpectedly. You’ll be playing Dopey for the rest of the week as well as Daffy Duck for the parade.”
Jed snickered, but covered it with a fake cough.
Unbelievable! Usually, every cast member had to take a turn playing a fur character before they could play the role of a face character, but Ashlee had been spared that rite of passage when she’d been cast as Cinderella and Rapunzel. There was no way she was going to put on some smelly oversized head of a dwarf or a duck. No way.
Jed smirked and Ashlee realized no matter what she said or did, he wouldn’t get in trouble. Jed had worked here longer and had friends who would back him up. She only had Storm Trooper guy, who didn’t know anything more than Jed was being a jerk to her.
“No thank you, ma’am.” Ashlee removed the employee ID card from her keychain and slapped it down on the desk. “Consider this my notice, because I quit.”
Before Ms. Clements could comment, Ashlee spun around and marched out the door. She couldn’t believe Jed had just gotten away with that. Thanks to him, she could now add being fired and accused as a drug dealer to her paltry list of accomplishments. Well, technically she hadn’t been fired. Still, she didn’t ever plan on listing her experience at the theme park on any future resumes.
Her roommate was in the shower when Ashlee stormed in to pack up her belongings. Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to explain what had happened and why she was leaving. The entire time she packed her suitcase, she kept expecting the park police to barge into her room to arrest her.
Making one last sweep of the room, she pulled open the top drawer of the small dresser next to her bed and retrieved the framed photograph she’d stuffed in there right after Grayson had ended things.
A band of sorrow cinched around her chest as she picked up the photo of her and Grayson. He had come to the park the first weekend she’d played the part of Cinderella. Although a Disney cast member should never step out of character, even for boyfriends or their families, they could take photographs with patrons. Since Jed was playing the role of Prince Charming that day, and the jerk would’ve reported Ashlee for going out of character, Grayson had pretended like he hadn’t known her.
Ashlee still remembered the way it felt to have him slide his arm around her waist as he’d leaned in close for the picture to be taken. After, he’d thanked her for making one of his dreams come true and said if things didn’t work out with Prince Charming, he’d meet her by the castle at midnight.
Tears pressed against her eyes, and she quickly shoved the picture into her suitcase. She didn’t believe in fairy tales or happy endings anymore. They didn’t exist… at least not for her.
Chapter 2
Beau Jacobsen had been gone from Mitchel Creek, Georgia far too long. It felt good to be home, even if was only long enough to get his grandmother’s house on the market. Once that was done, he was moving to Savannah to work for an architect firm that specialized in restoring old homes.
The muscles in his neck tensed when he thought about adjusting back to civilian life after serving his country for the past six years in the Army. Re-upping hadn’t been a consideration, especially since the girl he’d hoped to marry gave him back his ring less than twenty-four hours after she’d said yes to his marriage proposal. Her daddy was his CO and, while the man liked Beau’s work ethic, he hadn’t wanted him for a son-in-law. He wanted a military man, preferably an officer. Jenna regretfully told him that she didn’t love Beau enough to defy her father.
Beau must have not loved her enough either. Sure, he felt rejected, but deep down he was relieved. The last he heard, Jenna was engaged to a lieutenant in her father’s unit.
Not wanting to dwell on his former girlfriend, Beau focused on his surroundings. So much still looked the same, and that was comforting to him. As he drove by the high school, he smiled thinking about his friends Chase and Jackson.
Their band, Chasing Dreams, had been a huge part of his life. Beau had played drums and was backup vocal. At one time the group had aspired to make it in the country music world, but soon realized they’d most likely never get
any gigs other than local bars and clubs. They’d disbanded right after Chase Nichols, the lead singer, married a girl from Idaho and then moved there. Chase and Addie had a three-year-old daughter and had recently announced they were expecting baby number two in a few months.
Jackson McCall, the keyboard player, still lived in Mitchel Creek with his wife, Sydney. They were new parents to twin boys, born two months earlier. He wasn’t sure if guys were supposed to feel this way, but he kind of felt lame that both his best friends had become parents when he hadn’t even managed to get married yet.
Making a few turns, he passed by Gracie’s Haven, an exclusive club the band had often played at on weekends. The marquee out front announced the featured band scheduled to play on Friday night, but he didn’t recognize the name. Maybe he, Jackson and Chase could all meet up at Gracie’s to catch up on old times before he moved to Savannah.
The GPS directed him to make a left turn at the following intersection then his destination would be on the right. A few minutes later, he pulled into the country club parking lot and knew he was at the right wedding when he read the name of Taylin Nichols and Luke McKay, the bride and groom.
Beau still couldn’t believe Taylin was old enough to get married. She seemed way too young to be a wife. When he’d left, both Taylin and her twin, Ashlee, had just graduated from high school.
Beau didn’t have siblings, but Jackson and Chase were like brothers to him. So, it was natural to feel like Taylin and Ashlee were his little sisters. They were beautiful girls, but the twins had given him and Chase many headaches, especially Ashlee. While Taylin was sensible, Ashlee had a knack for getting into trouble. He and Chase had rescued her more than once from some sketchy situations.
A grin stole across his face when he thought about Ashlee. She’d always had a mad crush on him for as long as he could remember. He’d tried to dissuade her, remind her of their ten-year age difference and that he saw her as his little sister, but she’d been very persistent. She’d written him faithfully the first few years he was in the Army.
He’d actually loved hearing from her. She was funny and kept him abreast of everything happening in Mitchel Creek. Plus, she liked to remind him how much she liked him. It was kind of like having his very own fan club. It had been sad when her letters had trickled down over the past couple years until she quit writing him altogether. He wondered if she’d settled down and looked forward to seeing her again, along with the rest of the Nichols family.
Cutting the engine, Beau quickly pulled off his shirt and reached behind him for the white dress shirt and tie he’d hung next to the window. No one but his nana knew he was coming to the wedding reception. Beau had tried desperately to make it on time for the actual wedding ceremony, but there had been too many hold ups with his final discharge papers. That, coupled with the bumper-to-bumper traffic caused from a rolled semi-truck, he was lucky to be here in time for the reception.
After cinching his tie around his neck, Beau grabbed the wrapped package from the passenger seat and climbed out of his car. Teal ribbons tied around tiki torches fluttered in the soft breeze as he followed the lighted pathway toward the entrance. His palms felt sticky as he approached the double doors. He shouldn’t be nervous to see everyone, but it had been a long time since he’d seen his friends in person. He hoped everyone recognized him. His appearance had changed significantly since he’d left six years earlier. While most men tended to lose hair as they aged, Beau had gone from shaving his head bald to having a full head of hair.
The doors slid open and Beau stepped inside the large entryway and handed the greeter his wedding invitation.
“Have a nice evening, sir,” the young man said as he checked off Beau’s name and then pointed him in the right direction. Beau followed the hall toward the grand ballroom where the party was in full swing. Laughter and music greeted him as he stepped inside the softly lit ballroom. Two little girls raced toward Beau and offered to take the wedding gift from him. Judging from the matching teal-colored dresses and blonde hair, he guessed the two belonged to Chase’s older sisters.
“Can y’all tell me where your Uncle Chase is?” he asked as he handed over the present.
“Yes, sir. He and Aunt Addie are over by the chocolate fountain,” one of the little girls said, pointing to a large buffet table laden with delicious looking food.
Beau scanned the area and grinned when he recognized his friend’s wife, Addie. Although very pregnant, Addie was still just as beautiful. Chase stood nearby, holding their daughter, Isabelle. Even from here, Beau could tell the little girl had the exact same color of auburn hair as her mother.
Before he could make his way toward them, a hand clamped on his shoulder. “Dude, I can’t believe you made it!”
“Man, it’s good to see you.” Beau turned and embraced Jackson. “Where’s your better half?”
“Right here.” Sydney rushed forward and threw her arms around Beau’s neck. “We weren’t sure if you were going to make it.” She gave him a big squeeze. “Welcome home,” she said softly.
“Thank you.” He returned the hug. “It’s good to be home.”
Sydney pulled back and stared at him. “You look so handsome. I still can’t get used to this.” She reached up and tousled his hair. “Why on earth did you hide this thick, wavy hair of yours for so long by shaving it all off?”
Grinning, Beau smoothed his hair with his hand. He’d shaved his head bald because his hair hadn’t always been wavy. It had been curly— so curly that kids had teased him about it. He’d hated it and hated dealing with it every day. Then, the summer before starting his sophomore year in high school, he’d been stupid enough to buy a product that was supposed to relax the curls. He should’ve never tried doing it himself, because he left it on too long and most of his hair fell out. The only option had been to shave it off completely. What was surprising was how much everyone had liked it. The girls thought he was hot and the guys thought it was cool. Beau just loved that he never had to deal with curly hair again.
He hadn’t stopped shaving his head until last year when an assignment took him away from the main base for six weeks, and he didn’t have access to a razor. He’d been completely surprised to find out the hair growing back was only slightly wavy and much easier to deal with. It was also a shade darker than his light brown hair had been. Jenna had loved it and begged him to let it grow. Since getting his hair trimmed every four to six weeks was much easier than shaving every day, he hadn’t shaved it all off again after they broke up.
“I guess I needed a change.”
“Well I like it.” She slipped her arm through her husband’s. “Does your grandmother know you’re here?”
“She knows I was tryin’ to make it.” He glanced around the ballroom, wondering where his grandmother might be seated. “She’s still here, right?”
“Yes, she and Miss Janie are holding the boys for us,” Sydney said.
“I can’t believe y’all are parents.”
“I can’t believe it either,” Jackson said.
Sydney smiled and tugged on her husband’s hand. “The babies need to eat right now, but we’ll introduce you to them as soon as I’m done.”
“I’d like that.” He considered following them so he could see his grandmother, but Chase and Addie were suddenly in front of him.
“Welcome home!” Addie hugged him, her rounded stomach preventing her from getting too close.
“Thank you. It’s great to be home.”
She drew back and whistled. “Holy smokes, Beau, I thought you were hot when you were bald, but now you’re downright dangerous.”
Beau laughed, especially at the look on Chase’s face. “He’s not that hot,” Chase said, rolling his eyes. “It’s just hair.” Then, grinning, he reached out and shook Beau’s hand, pulling him in for a one-armed hug. “It’s really good to see you, bro.”
“You too.”
Chase glanced down at the little girl he held in one arm. “Izzy, say he
llo to your Uncle Beau.”
The little girl gave a cautious wave before burying her face in Chase’s neck. “She’s a little shy.” Chase tipped his chin down to look at his wife. “Unlike her mother.”
“Ah, thanks, babe,” Addie teased.
Smiling at the couple, Beau pointed to Addie’s swollen tummy. “Do y’all know what you’re having yet?”
Addie grinned and pointed to her husband. “Ask him, since he’s the one responsible for the baby’s gender.”
“It’s a girl.” Chase smiled and rubbed his daughter’s back. “I don’t mind. I just pray they aren’t as much trouble as my two baby sisters were.”
“Hey,” Taylin said, slugging her brother in the arm. “I heard that.” Looking like she belonged on the cover of some wedding magazine, Taylin turned to Beau and gave him a radiant smile. “I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see you before you moved to Savannah.” Still holding her wedding bouquet, she gave Beau a hug. “Thank you so much for comin’.”
“Sorry I missed the ceremony.” He released his hold. “You’re a beautiful bride.”
“Thank you.” She took the hand of a dark-haired man standing beside her. “Beau, this is my husband, Luke McKay.”
Beau shook the man’s hand, still finding it hard to believe Taylin was old enough to be married. “Nice to meet you, Luke.”
“You too.” He gave him a firm handshake. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“That could be good or bad, depending on who you were talkin’ to.”
Luke laughed. “That’s true.”
Beau instantly liked the guy. “Maybe we need to get together later so I can either confirm or deny what you’ve heard.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Luke said, putting his arm around Taylin’s shoulders.
A small crowd had gathered around, and Chase’s parents were next in line to greet him. Mrs. Nichols held a cute little boy with dark hair and eyes.
“Who is this little guy?” Beau asked.
Blue Moon Kisses: Georgia Moon Romance Book 3 Page 2
