Glory Falls

by Janine Rosche

  “Keira, it’s totally innocent, I assure you.”

  “Did something happen between the two of you? Did you kiss at midnight?”

  “It was snowing really hard, and I fell asleep. End of story. Roll credits.”

  Keira threw her hands up. “Ugh. One day it’ll happen for you two. I know it.”

  A few minutes later, they were all seated around Thomas’s kitchen island, snacking on the sweet rolls Mrs. Matthews had baked for Thomas. According to her, they’d bring blessing and love in the new year.

  “So, what’s next for you two?” Robbie asked. His big, goofy smile hinted that he might have some ideas.

  Blue glanced at Thomas. He’d yet to make eye contact with her since the family arrived. Like he was embarrassed. Was the intimacy of her nightmare too much for him? Like Hunter? Sleeping in the guest bedroom, away from the noise of her dreams, had only worked for so long. Eventually, he’d found other places to sleep instead. Blue placed the remainder of the roll on the napkin in front of her, feeling queasy.

  “I mean with the movie. I’m not expecting you to define the relationship or anything right now. Man.” Robbie and Keira glanced at each other.

  “The screenplay is finished. I just need Thomas to read over it and give his approval. Once I have that, I’ll send it to Teddy Woodward, and we’ll go from there.”

  “I read it,” Thomas said, sheepishly.

  Blue jerked her chin toward him. “When?”

  “While you were sleeping.” His gaze flitted to hers, then back down at Molly where she sat begging for table scraps. He said nothing else. No It was good or It was bad.

  “I heard he’s starting casting,” Keira said, breaking the awkward silence. “And that Erik Braun is pushing for the role of Thomas.”

  Thomas coughed.

  “Um, I don’t think he’d be a good fit.” Blue stared at Thomas, willing him to look at her. It was hard enough that he wouldn’t talk to her. But not looking at her? That was breaking the rules. Especially after last night. She was about to say so when he finally met her gaze.

  “You have to submit it tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe I can come over tonight, and we can talk about it. I’ll bring dinner. How do Bagel Bites sound?”

  * * *

  * * *

  It’s good,” Thomas said when only crumbs remained on the baking sheet. “Really good.”

  “The Bagel Bites?” Blue feigned confusion, but when Thomas grinned, her pout cracked into a smile. “So you approve? I really tried to honor you and this town the best I could.”

  “You did great, Blue. The only problem is you made me sound much more exciting than I actually am.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” On top of her parents’ kitchen island, she sat criss-cross applesauce, as Anabelle liked to say. She popped a crumb in her mouth.

  Again, his thoughts trailed back to last night’s kiss. He pushed himself away from the counter he’d been leaning against and stepped forward until he stood directly in front of her. “I’m a little curious about the love interest part, though. Don’t you think people will know I’m not dating some woman named Savannah?”

  “That’s why we say based on a true story. We have wiggle room. Do you have a problem with it?”

  Thomas shrugged, then grabbed the empty baking sheet from beside Blue. “She’s too quiet.” He brought the pan to the sink and turned on the water.

  Blue laughed. “Pot, meet Kettle.”

  “I know, I know. Just wondering why you aren’t in the story. Doesn’t Felix need Glory?” After adding soap, Thomas scrubbed the burnt bits of cheese off the baking sheet.

  Blue rolled her eyes, tousled her hair, and then hopped down from the counter. “I’m still hungry. I’ll get us some popcorn for the movie.” She jogged into the pantry.

  After he rinsed the pan and dried it, he put it back in its cupboard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Molly surf the counter and pull down the empty box from their dinner. “Oh no, you don’t.”

  Molly crawled beneath the kitchen table and tore at the cardboard.

  He followed her and got down on his hands and knees. “Bagel Bites aren’t good for dogs. Neither is the box. Sorry, girl.” After Thomas retrieved the box’s pieces from Molly’s jaws and paws, the dog harrumphed and left him alone under the old table.

  Decades before, the Walkers had spared no expense on the piece of furniture and made sure they got one big enough for him and Cassie to join them. Above his head, in black Sharpie, the words Blue and Thomas were here sprawled across the underside of the tabletop. He couldn’t help but snicker. It had taken years for Blue’s mom to notice her daughter’s vandalism. Something else caught his eye—a spiral notebook on the seat of Mr. Walker’s chair. It was the same style as the one she’d written Thomas’s story in. On the cover, she’d written Glory Falls.

  “We’re out of the microwavable kind. We’re going to go old-school,” Blue said from inside the pantry.

  He held the notebook in his hands and rose to his feet. “Hey, Blue, what’s this?” The temptation to break it open was strong, but he wouldn’t betray her trust.

  “Um, I don’t know what you’re looking at.”

  “Glory Falls?”

  A ruckus clamored from the pantry. Blue bounced through the doorway, carrying an ancient popcorn popper. She hurried over, dumped the appliance on the table, and ripped the notebook from his hands. “It’s nothing. Just a bunch of rambling.”

  “Is it a screenplay?”

  “Yeah. A little pet project.” Blue pressed the book to her chest.

  “What’s it about?”

  She searched his eyes. “Glory and Felix. It’s sort of like their sequel, I guess.”

  “Tell me more.”

  “You really wanna know?”

  “Of course. I’ve always loved your stories.”

  Blue hesitated, then smiled. “So, in this story, Glory is around twenty-two years old. She goes through this personal tragedy and returns to Mississinewa to recoup.”

  “And Felix?”

  “He also comes home, but he’s a Vietnam War hero.”

  “Is it . . .”

  “A love story?” Blue’s eyes met his. “It doesn’t matter. No one will ever see it on the big screen.”

  “Maybe they will, after you get your name back up in lights with my story. Everyone will want to see what is coming next from Cecelia Walker.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “Can I read it?”

  “I don’t know. It’s my heart on a page. I’m not sure you’d want to see everything I’ve splayed out there.”

  Thomas pressed his lips together. Of course he wanted to see what she wrote about her. About him. About the two of them together. In fact, she was the only person he ever wanted to know that much about. Every moment since she’d returned to Montana, he’d been pondering how he could see more of her heart. But if anyone understood the desire to keep everything trapped inside, it was him.

  Blue thumbed through the notebook, then passed it to him. “Let’s hope it doesn’t scare you too bad. Give it back when you’re done?”

  She trusted him, and he felt ten feet tall.

  “Will do.” Thomas chewed his next words. “As long as we’re clearing the air, I think we should talk about last night.”

  “All right.”

  “How often do you have those nightmares?”

  “Oh, that’s the part you want to discuss. Okay, uh, every night, I guess.”

  “Are they always that bad?”

  “Most of the time, they last longer, and yes, they get worse. Last night, it helped having you and Molly there to wake me up.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of. You know, Molly knew you were having a nightmare before I did. I don’t
know if she sensed it or heard it or what, but she was at my bedroom door whining. When she saw you in distress, she started nudging you with her nose. If you want, we could try to work something out so she could spend the nights with you.”

  “That’s so sweet of you, Thomas. I’d love that. You sure you won’t miss her?”

  He looked at his silly dog who was currently growling at her reflection in the patio door’s glass. She barked at herself, then cowered behind Thomas’s legs. He patted her head. “Maybe a little, but it’s worth it if it means you’ll have someone by your side.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After avoiding his friends’ nosy questions for over a week, Thomas finally agreed to meet up with them at Ollie’s with Blue in tow. The last to arrive, they took the two chairs at the end of the table that seemed closer together than necessary. His friends were slicker than two eight-year-olds covered in lightning bug guts.

  “Do you have enough space?” he asked.

  “More than I need.” Blue twisted her lips into a smirk. Ever since that New Year’s kiss, they’d seen each other daily. Still, Thomas kept to his personal space. He would not act like Hunter or that Dragon’s Lair actor, putting his hands all over her and whispering in her ear. Not that he didn’t want to, but charm was fleeting, he reminded himself. He’d show Blue respect and honor or nothing at all.

  So as they ate, there was no brushing of hands, touching of shoulders, or snickering between them.

  The group’s conversation turned to the cold snap moving in at the end of the week. Robbie made a joke about how he planned to stay warm and nuzzled Keira’s neck. Ryann pretended to gag until Shane pulled her tight against his side.

  On Thomas’s left, Blue released a breath loud enough to be heard by a local guitarist warming up on the stage.

  Blue’s lips bent down at the corners. Was she as annoyed by their friends’ flirtations, or was it something else? Thomas made a mental note to ask her once they were alone.

  Blue reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. When she looked at her screen, her lips parted slightly, and her eyes widened. The top of the screen scrolled the name Taylor Grand. “Excuse me. I need to take this.”

  Thomas watched her cross the room until she vanished into the restroom hallway. His stomach twisted. The sight of her leaving his side for anything California-related was too familiar. He tipped back his soda glass, but it was bitter with the guilt of his self-interest. Any connection to Los Angeles meant a step back to her dream.

  “Earth to Thomas,” Ryann teased.

  “What?” he asked.

  “We were all taking bets on whether you and Blue kissed on New Year’s or not,” Robbie said. “Shane thinks you two would act differently if you did, but I said you would act the same either way. So which is it? Did you kiss or not? Whoever loses has to keep Wildflower Road plowed for the next week.”

  Thomas narrowed his eyes. If he didn’t kiss and tell in high school, he wasn’t about to start now, especially with a woman whose love life had been spread across every tabloid in the first world.

  “You don’t have to tell us, Thomas,” Keira said with a shake of her head. “But if you want to move out of the friend zone with Blue, you need to show her that you’re interested.”

  “What am I supposed to do? Throw myself on top of her?”

  “Um, no. That would be weird.” Ryann laughed. “A little flirting goes a long way. Thomas, keep in mind she used to be married to Cultural Chic’s Most Handsome Man. A man who had the reputation of being the world’s biggest flirt, also. She clearly likes that. And if I can be honest, a woman needs to know that the man she cares about likes her back.”

  “Ryann’s right,” Keira said. “You might lose your chance with her.”

  Robbie leaned forward. The dusty lamp over the table shaded his features so he looked like the bad cop in a movie’s interrogation scene. “No, he’ll lose his second chance with her, just like he lost the first chance.”

  Thomas shrugged off his coat. He’d welcome that cold snap about now. “I made the right decision back then, Robbie. Cassie needed me.”

  Robbie’s gaze softened. He nodded and rested back against the bench. “You’re right. What you did for your sister back then was honorable. But Cassie’s off making her own life. So what’s holding you back now, brother?”

  “Nothing, I guess. But I want to be careful. Smart. Genuine. She deserves that after all she’s been through. The last thing she needs is a passionate relationship that will burn out before it has started.”

  “Thomas, what makes you think the love you have for her is going to burn out?” Robbie asked. “And don’t use your awful parents as an excuse. I’ve never seen two people more incapable of love in my life. You are worlds apart from them.”

  Emotion climbed into his throat, barricading any further words.

  “Here’s what you do,” Keira said. “When she comes back, help her into her seat.”

  Thomas opened his mouth to protest, but Keira held up her finger.

  “I know she’s perfectly capable of sitting down and scooting her chair in on her own,” Keira said. “That’s not the point. Act like one of those classic movie heroes she loves. Put your arm around her or hold her hand.”

  “I know.” Robbie’s eyebrows hiked behind his red curls. “I’ll prop open the door, and when she gets cold, offer her your coat.”

  “She has a coat.”

  “The point is to show her you’re thinking about her.”

  “And whenever she says something, laugh like it’s hilarious,” Ryann added.

  “And watch her lips when she talks.” Keira looked to Robbie, focusing on his mouth as she spoke. “That way she’ll know you want to kiss her.”

  Robbie groaned. “Where’s the check when you need it?”

  “What’s your advice, Shane?” Thomas asked.

  “I don’t know. Make her a steak?”

  “A steak?” Thomas asked.

  “Hey, it worked on Ryann.” Shane smirked.

  Ryann’s grin widened. “One hundred percent true. And the last trick? Smile.”

  “I do smile.”

  “No, you don’t,” the group said together.

  Blue wove through the tables with her sunny countenance leading the way.

  As instructed, Thomas rose from his seat and put a hand on her chair. He plastered a fake smile on his face. How dumb he must look.

  “Everything all right?” Keira asked.

  “More than all right. That was Taylor Grand. He said the producers of the Clyde Irving Awards want me to present the Best Original Screenplay award next Sunday. It seems Teddy and Taylor both went to bat for me. They want to get me back in the spotlight . . . in a good way.” She sat down in her chair, and Thomas pushed it in. A bit too much considering how her stomach was now pinched between the chair and the table. She released a half cough before thanking him and adjusting her chair back to a reasonable spot.

  Thomas did his best to ignore the snickers around the table. He was no good at this flirting thing. “What does that look like?” he asked.

  “I get to go back to Hollywood, get glammed up with the help of a stylist, and walk up onstage in front of the entire movie industry and twenty-five million viewers at home.”

  The girls around the table were awed. Thomas wasn’t quite so impressed. “I mean, when do you go?” He put his hand on her shoulder the way a quarterback would in a huddle.

  She eyed it curiously.

  Thomas slowly pulled it back to his lap.

  “I’ll probably leave Thursday so I can get fitted for a dress, get a manicure, all that.”

  That was that. She was heading back to California. Thomas slipped his arms back into his coat. He was done with this night. He shouldn’t—he wouldn’t compete with her dreams.

  A hand landed
on his knee. Blue’s hand. His gaze trailed up the slim line of her arm, past the blond locks grazing her clavicle to her pink cheeks, rounded with a smile. “I was wondering, Thomas, if you would go with me. I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a tux again.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Five days later, Blue sat in the Bozeman terminal next to Thomas as they waited for their flight to Los Angeles. Thomas looked more nervous than she had ever seen him.

  “You aren’t still scared of flying, are you? I thought you got your pilot’s license.”

  “I did. That’s how I got over my fear of flying.”

  She laughed. “That’s one way to do it, I guess. Why’d you want your license?”

  He swallowed, and his gaze shifted. “So I could visit you whenever I wanted. But by the time I got it, you were already with Hunter.”

  “Oh.” Blue tucked her hair behind her ears. “Didn’t you once own a plane?”

  He nodded. “An old Cessna. Not fancy, but it let me visit my cousins up in Alaska. I had to sell it last summer, though. To pay off a debt.” He clamped his mouth closed. Clearly, that was a topic not up for discussion.

  Still, a question gnawed at her. “Wouldn’t it just have been cheaper to fly commercial?” She suppressed the urge to laugh. Although the notion that he’d learn to fly a plane to get over a fear of flying and buy a sixty-thousand-dollar plane rather than book a plane ticket was ridiculous, there was surely a deeper reason behind it. Whatever that was, she wouldn’t tease him.

  “I . . . don’t like not having control.”

  Blue trailed her fingertip across the back of his hand, wrist to knuckle. “You have to trust someone sometime.” The touch appeared to loosen his clench on his kneecap.

  “I trust you. Why else would I be willing to walk a red carpet?” He relaxed a bit. Goodness, he was even more attractive when he smiled.

  “I can’t wait to show you off as my date. I’ll make all the starlets jealous.”

  “The starlets or Hunter?”

  She sobered. “Not Hunter, although I suspect he will be jealous. But that’s not why I invited you. I want my best friend there by my side because I know it’ll be a hard day. Is that wrong?”