by Jennie Jones
‘Hang on,’ Ted said, halting Ryan from leaving. ‘Do we know who’s playing the detective?’
Ryan sighed. ‘I couldn’t get that information out of her. You’ll need to broach the subject yourself. Gather your intel on what’s best for you, then ask her upfront—but make sure you return to base safely. It’s a dangerous game, Ted.’
‘Are any of us safe?’ Ted said. ‘Women. Who’d have thought we’d need them for all the stuff they do and all we want. Like … well, you know.’ He rolled his shoulders back. ‘Miss Famous Actress is already causing some stirring in the nether regions of a number of young men who live in the village.’
Some stirring occurred in Ryan too—jealousy. Although he shouldn’t be jealous of other men looking at Edie. But Gary’s effusiveness had stirred him up; now how many more admirers was he going to have to put off? He hadn’t been able to help himself with Gary. Gary needed letting down carefully, before he started believing he had a chance as far as going out with Edie was concerned.
‘It’s pretty exciting having her around, actually,’ Ted said. ‘She brings pizzazz to our lives.’
‘Doesn’t she?’
‘I bet we’ll see her in Hollywood one of these days.’
‘Maybe,’ Ryan agreed. In which case she’d be gone from town, gone from everyone who loved her. Everyone she charmed with her many and complicated fascinations.
Complicated for Ryan, anyway.
He farewelled Ted and headed for Nick’s hardware store, his thoughts about Edie all-encompassing.
Everything about her, all the shine and warmth—and that pizzazz—gave everyone in town a sense of the theatrical world she lived and breathed. She was their own celebrity. Their famous daughter. She wasn’t dressing up in her high heels and cocktail dresses, but she had warmth and glamour anyway. She captivated them without even trying.
And Ryan? It looked like he was starstruck too.
As most of the tourists from the bus were gathered down the far end of the walkway around the toy shop and Nick’s wife’s shop, Turnaround Treasures, the hardware store was practically empty.
‘Nick?’ he asked the young man who was serving.
‘Out the back.’
Ryan made for the back room, where Nick had his custom knife-making workshop. He tapped on the open door.
‘Don’t stand on ceremony,’ Nick said in his usual low-toned, unruffled manner.
Ryan gave a backward glance, checking the shop area, then made a point of closing the door, something he wouldn’t normally do.
Nick’s eyebrows rose. ‘Something going down?’
Five minutes later, Nick nodded understanding of what Ryan had told him about Edie’s troubles. He moved to the workbench and wiped his hands on a rag. ‘Where will you start?’
‘I’m going to Sydney for a flying visit today. I’ve done some internet research on Edie and her career, and I think I know who this producer is. Some guy called Marcus Buchanan. Don’t let on to Ethan,’ Ryan added. ‘Or Josh. I want to make some enquiries first. She’s not in trouble down here. Not yet. But would you keep an eye on her while I’m gone? I’ll try to get back later tonight but can’t guarantee it.’
‘Consider it done.’
Ryan knew he wouldn’t have to say more.
‘Tony, I nearly had heart failure when I got your message. ASAP means as soon as possible! As in, pronto.’ Edie sat in the armchair next to the kitchen fireplace. ‘Then I can’t get hold of you for the next four hours. I’ve bitten the tops of my fingers off worrying.’
‘Darling, I couldn’t help it. Left my phone and my keys at Jonathon’s place after I messaged you, and he was gone all afternoon at some banking conference.’
‘So why can’t Damien do the play?’ she asked. And why hadn’t he told her himself?
‘Darling, you’ll never guess—he was offered Riff Raff.’
‘No!’ She shot upright. This was like a premonition. Or had she projected the idea to the universe that Damien—her pugnacious detective—should be given another job?
‘I’m as gobsmacked as you are,’ Tony said. ‘He told me he was dying to do your play again. Said he’d never had so much fun. He also told me he wasn’t interested in auditioning for Rocky Horror because he was sick of touring.’
‘It doesn’t make sense—he told me the same.’ They’d had a huge conversation about it one night, with Edie agreeing that even she’d had enough of touring. The only decent thing about it was going onstage every night, otherwise you were twiddling your thumbs in the daytime, dragging a suitcase around and living in digs for months on end.
‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ Tony said, ‘but he sounded cagey.’
‘Damien? Cagey?’
‘Very unlike him.’ Tony sighed.
It put Edie in a pickle. A vision of Ted in an ill-fitting suit with a plastic gun in his hand came too sharply to the fore. ‘I may have to cast Ted after all,’ she said.
‘Who’s Ted?’
‘The man who drives the ice-cream van—don’t laugh, you’ve got three scenes with him!’
She sat back in the chair. She’d think about the cast list later; it was too exhausting right now. ‘So absolutely nothing on Marcus?’
‘He’s around and he’s surrounded by his suits. But I got wind that something’s gone on back in California.’
Edie’s interest peaked. ‘And?’
‘Probably to do with his wife.’
Her mouth dried. The wife she hadn’t known about.
She’d had her share of casting-couch moments but Marcus didn’t even flirt or attempt to tempt that night in his hotel room. He just went for her.
He got way too fresh. As in, hands down her blouse fresh. He’d backed her against the hotel room wall, pinning her there while his hands roamed and his hips thrust, like a bull dry-humping. It had taken about three desperately frightening minutes to get him off her and make a dash for the door.
Tony knew, and so did Damien. She’d also told Polly Rogers and Dick Spencer, not close actor friends but she’d bumped into them at The Green Room where she’d gone for a stiff drink after escaping Marcus, and had just opened up. Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. Marcus was very fond of his privacy and his status. It was bad enough that he’d discovered she’d killed him off in her play.
‘I’m getting the notion I’m in more trouble than I’d thought, Tony.’
‘He can’t prove anything. It’s not as if he can charge you with his fictional murder, is it?’
If anyone could do that, Marcus could. ‘Do you think I’ll ever tread the boards again?’ she asked, feeling light-headed suddenly.
‘Well, funny you should say that. Lola Loverman just got cast in your role.’
‘What?’ Lola was a triple threat—an actor who could act, sing and dance. ‘I’m ruined!’
‘I know,’ Tony agreed.
‘That role was meant for me!’ She’d practically signed the contract. It was only for a month’s run on the fringe, but still, it was a fantastic part and the show might go on national tour if it went down well. ‘This is Marcus’s doing. With all his stupid rumours about me being a prima donna.’
‘I think your agent is about to dump you, too. He’s been asking where you are because you’re not answering his calls. Obviously, I didn’t breathe a word. Said you’d gone to Europe.’
‘What am I doing in Europe?’
‘Getting over a bad love affair.’
‘Tony! That only fuels Marcus’s rumours.’
‘Don’t torture yourself, darling. You’re not a prima donna and you’re not a pain in the arse to work with. I can vouch for that. Neither are you a man-hunter.’
‘Man-hunter?’ she asked, aghast. ‘Who said that?’
‘Marcus. That’s the latest he’s saying about you. Probably something to do with his wife again.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me!’ she said, her body tensing and every muscle spasming.
‘Didn’t want to worr
y you. Stop panicking. God’s socks, Edie, you’re such a worrywart.’
‘I’m having an awful time, Tony.’ She hated feeling sorry for herself, but there was so bloody much to be sorry about.
‘There, there,’ Tony said. ‘Now go and get some rest. You sound frazzled.’
She finished the call and sat back in the chair, feeling deflated. Or lonely again. The clock on the wall tick-tocked. Outside, a honeyeater warbled loudly, and another answered it. Its mate. Its lifelong mate.
She glanced at the clock. Six pm. Ryan wouldn’t be back from Canberra for ages. Especially if he was having a good time with his friend.
She was startled out of her misery when her mobile rang, vibrating on her lap.
‘Edie!’ Lily Barton said. ‘Good news.’
She could do with some ‘Hi, Lily. Lovely to hear from you.’ Lily was Nick’s wife. She ran Turnaround Treasures Shop and Edie wanted to ask for a favour and see if Lily would loan her some bits and pieces for set decoration. ‘I have a request, actually, Lily.’ She paused, getting herself geared up as friendly-producer asking for a big favour.
‘You can tell me in person,’ Lily said. ‘Nick just took a call from Ryan. He’s staying overnight in Canberra. So you’re free for dinner.’
Edie bit down on her bottom lip. He wasn’t coming home?
‘I’ve cooked up a storm,’ Lily said. ‘Even Nick can’t eat this much chicken pie. He’s coming over to pick you up.’
‘But—’ Why was Ryan not coming home?
‘Nick’s just left,’ Lily said. ‘He’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Can’t wait to see you! I want to help out with the play. What do you need? No, don’t tell me now. We’ll discuss it when you get here.’
Lily rang off and Edie checked her messages. Nothing from Ryan. Not a word. Should she text him? Or was his sudden overnight stay in Canberra to do with—a woman?
8
Upstaged
Twenty-four tormented hours later, Edie put her own and Ryan’s dinner plates and cutlery into the dishwasher, being careful not to get lasagne splashes on her crisp white linen wrap dress.
She snuck a look over her shoulder.
Ryan was sitting at the head of the pine table, reading the newspaper.
She moved to the fire to get a bit of warmth. It was cold in the evenings and linen never warmed the skin. She’d need to take a jacket to Kookaburra’s tonight where she was meeting Olivia for a wine session.
She looked down at her bare feet and the siren-red toenails she’d painted that morning while waiting for Ryan to come back from whoever he’d been staying the night with in Canberra.
Who had Ryan been seeing? She hadn’t had the guts to ask him. She hadn’t asked Nick or Lily either, and they’d kept her there so long that Nick insisted she stay the night. The evening had been lovely and she’d felt welcomed. Also, she’d crossed one more thing off her list: set props. Lily would lend her any number of accessories for set dressing from her shop, and Gemma and Lily would get together to go over the set design and coordinate what they might use.
‘So did Ted go for it?’ she asked, eager to hear that she might have done something right for a change.
Ryan let the newspaper fall to the table, his eyes crinkling. ‘Like a fish on a hook.’
Edie smiled.
‘That was a good idea,’ Ryan said, standing and taking their coffee mugs to the dishwasher. ‘It made Ted feel wanted.’
‘He does take pretty good photographs,’ she said. ‘I’m glad he’s happy.’ And sorry that she’d made him unhappy by making him feel he wasn’t good enough to play the detective.
Her eyes smarted. She’d had more eye-watery stuff going on in the last week than she’d had in the last ten years.
‘What is it?’ Ryan asked, walking up to her.
She kept her eyes on the floor. ‘Do you think I’m liked?’
‘You’re loved.’
He said it so quickly she glanced up at him. ‘By family, yes, but what about others? People in town.’
‘Do you want them to like you?’
She gave him a wary look. ‘Are you saying I’m forcing them to?’ Please don’t let us argue.
‘No. What are you saying?’
‘Not sure.’ The watery stuff came to the fore again.
‘Edie—what’s wrong?’ His voice had gone quiet and sounded tender.
‘It might not look like it, but I’m quite hard on myself usually, and at the moment I’m a bit lonely … or something.’ She turned away and could have bitten off her tongue. What was wrong with her, letting him know her innermost cares?
‘You’re one tall, elegant enigma, Edie Granger.’ He took her arm and pulled her towards him. It felt like he was pulling their friendship back from where it had once been, and from where it had got lost.
She swallowed a lump in her throat. ‘I am tall, aren’t I?’ Was she too tall for him? ‘I’m too tall.’
He was still looking at her questioningly. ‘No you’re not.’ He put his hand on the top of her head, then raised it to the height of the top of his head. ‘There’s heaps of space.’
She smiled wanly. ‘One of the things I like about you is that you’re taller than me.’
He drew a breath. ‘So is me being taller than you the only thing you like about me?’
‘You have a few other decent points.’ Don’t let me blush.
‘Like what?’
Like his dreamy eyes. Like his strength of mind—not to mention the strength in his body. Like his very being. His sensitivity to others. His essence, even with the perceptive eagle-eyed looks he sometimes threw her way. ‘Like this and that.’ She poked him in the chest. She’d taken this conversation to a place she needed to back away from. No point in him seeing exactly how vulnerable she was feeling. ‘Anyway, I like people and I don’t care if they don’t like me. This is who I am. I can’t change totally—I wouldn’t be me.’
He chuckled. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about and I’m not sure if we should get into it.’ He smiled gently. ‘Go get your shoes,’ he said, ‘and I’ll drive you into town now. You and Olivia can have an extra half-hour girl-talk.’
God bless him. ‘You don’t mind?’
‘I’m here, aren’t I?’
Yes, but where had he been last night?
She shouldn’t do this but to hell with it. She snuck her arms around his waist and held on. Not tightly, just carefully.
She felt his chest rise. ‘Edie,’ he said after a few seconds. ‘Is this a hug or is it something else?’
‘Don’t know.’ But she did know. It was definitely something else for her.
Ryan didn’t move. The warmth of the fire behind Edie drifted over them both, enveloping them as they stood here. She smelled like spring rain. Like red apples and green grass. Like memories. Like safety and security. Like the letters and photographs he’d kept in his kit bag when on deployment in Afghanistan. Like everything that had ever meant something to him.
If they had a second attempt at getting together while he was here, would it lead to a steady, stable and possibly forever scenario? Or was Edie going to be the lingering issue in his life that he’d never get over?
Most likely the latter.
So what was this? A hug, or …
Maybe she just needed a bit of tenderness at the moment. Not surprisingly, if she already knew what he’d discovered last night.
He’d found Tony in Sydney easily enough yesterday, but hadn’t approached him. He’d followed him though, and had been lucky. Buchanan was also dining at The Green Room where Tony had led Ryan.
He’d studied both men, and got his intel on Tony straight away. No trouble from that quarter. Tony was having dinner with a guy who looked like he might be a banker. A man who was used to living in a corporate world, and striking deals with a sharp instinct, although his smile was warm as he listened to what Tony was saying. They were obviously together.
Buchanan had been trickier. Surrounded by
suits—probably lawyers or studio executives—he held court, speaking low, his head bowed.
There was no way Ryan intended leaving that restaurant while Buchanan and the suits were there. He wouldn’t have made his flight to Canberra, and he didn’t want Edie on her own so he’d sent Nick a text and asked him to somehow get Edie to stay the night with him and Lily. The suits around Buchanan were keen to flush Edie out and for all Ryan knew, they might have already had someone on the job.
Now, here she was pressed against him. He was about to drive her to Kookaburra’s to meet Olivia so she could have a night off from her plans and worries. What she didn’t know was that Nick was already in Kookaburra’s, doing a reconnaissance of who was in the bar. Ryan intended to drop Edie off, return briefly to grab some of his things from the barn and move back into the house, then drive to town and park down the darkened side alley next to the hotel and keep a watch on who was going in and coming out.
She took a small breath against him. He was about to put his arms around her and make it seem like he was returning the hug when she pulled away.
‘Come on then,’ she said jauntily. ‘There’s a bottle of shiraz with my name on it waiting for me. I’ll just grab my shoes.’
‘I’ll get a taxi back,’ Edie told Ryan as he drove into town.
‘There’s only one taxi in the village and you could be waiting until three am,’ he said. ‘I’ll pick you up. Eleven? Midnight?’
He’d do that for her? Her heart got all scrunched up.
‘How about ten thirty?’ Then he could get to bed at a reasonable hour.
‘Confirmed.’
He swung the vehicle to the curb outside the steps to Kookaburra’s—at the very place they’d kissed and the ice on the walkway had buggered it up.
‘Thanks so much, Ryan.’
‘Have fun.’
She opened the door but couldn’t get out. Not without saying something. ‘Would you like to come in and join us?’
‘No need, Edie. You go and enjoy yourself. You need a break.’
She turned to get out, but something held her back again. Why hadn’t he returned her hug?
‘Ryan, I don’t hold you in contempt. I promise,’ she added. ‘I’m going to buy a car.’