“All that may be true.” Helen couldn’t deny babies needed things, nor could she blame the indignation that flashed in his eyes. “But you aren’t the one responsible for supplying her them. That is your brother. Joe. She’s his child.”
He threw his arms out at his sides. “I don’t know where Joe is.”
She took a deep breath in preparation for the speech she’d practiced all afternoon. “I realize that, and I realize all of this is my fault. The fact that Grace and I are here. There is nothing I can do about that, but there is something I can do about—”
“Stop right there.” He took ahold of her arm. “What happened? Why would you be this upset over me buying Grace a bed to sleep in, or a chair to sit in?”
“I’m not upset about them, I’m upset about how we’ve disrupted your life. You have a movie to make, you told me that it’s imperative you get it completed in eight weeks.”
“And I will. We shot several more scenes today.”
It was only an assumption, but it was something she thought about all afternoon. “But you ended early, so you could be home in time for supper.”
The look on his face confirmed she was right.
“You were late this morning, too, because of taking us to the hospital.”
He let go of her arm. “I have good people working for me, they can take care of things while I’m gone.”
“But it’s your movie, Jack.”
“I’m fully aware of that.”
She considered a lot of things this afternoon, and had come to the conclusion that Jack had spent his entire life taking care of others, and was doing so again, because of her. She couldn’t live with that. Well, she could, but didn’t want to. She was already living with too many things she couldn’t control. “I’m fully aware of that too, and I want to make sure you get your movie done.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. You already agreed to take care of Grace.”
“And I will continue to, but I need to do more.” She did need that. Needed to be in control of something. She had fought so hard in the last two years to be independent. To not depend on anyone, desperate to not give over the reins of her life to anyone ever again. But she was beginning to do that with Jack, to rely on him too much, to long for the way he made her feel. And she couldn’t let herself. The thought had risen so quickly inside her this afternoon, and remained so strong that she had to do something about it. “I want you to tell me what I can do, besides taking care of Grace, that will help you get your movie done.”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
It was as if all the air had left her body. “Nothing? There has to be something.”
He shrugged. “There’s not. Other than taking care of Grace.”
She wasn’t exactly sure what she had wanted him to say, but that definitely wasn’t it.
“And the apartment, the cleaning and the meals you’ve made, that’s a lot of help.”
He was trying to placate her. She held in the sigh that wanted to be expelled, and grew even more determined to find a way to help. Really help.
* * *
Two days later, Dr. Baine told her exactly what she’d wanted to hear. Both her and Grace’s tuberculosis tests were negative. That was such good news, and such a relief, but she still felt like a burden to Jack. Actually, it was more than a burden. She felt useless and didn’t like it. He was up early every morning and gone all day. She fixed him breakfast and always had supper waiting, but it wasn’t enough.
She enjoyed hearing him talk about the movie he was making, all the different aspects, and couldn’t help but imagine that there was something she could do to help him. Each day she racked her brain to come up with a viable idea, but she didn’t know anything about making a movie.
Several days later, she was on her hands and knees in the kitchen, scrubbing the floor, when she heard the apartment open and close. It was only midafternoon, but as it had started doing each time he arrived home, her heart thudded against her rib cage, and sent a warmth throughout her entire body.
“Hello!”
He was in the doorway before she had a chance to rise to her feet.
“Hello,” she replied, swiping a clump of stray hair away from her face as she sat back on her knees. It was the oddest thing, but at times, when she looked at him, her mouth went completely dry and she embarrassed herself with silly thoughts about how it would feel to kiss him.
He grinned, and stepped forward, holding out a hand.
Her heart beat harder as she placed her hand in his and rose to her feet. His eyes were locked on hers, and for the life of her, she couldn’t look away. That also happened at times, and never failed to leave her breathless.
After a moment of concentrating on breathing, she asked, “What are you doing home this time of the day?”
“I’m here to get you and Grace.”
“Why?”
“Because Julia said she needs to see for herself that you and Grace are doing fine.”
His thumb was rubbing the inside of her wrist, making it hard to focus on anything else. Concentrating, she finally was able to say, “The diner is closed now.”
He nodded. “Exactly. That’s why she wants you to come now, so she’ll have time to visit.”
She hadn’t seen Julia for over two weeks, but Jack had given her regular updates on how things were going, particularly about Rosie and how everything had blown over, that she was once again working at the diner.
Helen bit her bottom lip. Julia might have an idea of what she could do.
Jack’s grin grew, and then winking one eye at her, which made her cheeks warm, he twisted about.
“I’ll get Grace,” he said. “You get whatever she needs to spend the afternoon visiting.”
Helen quickly dumped out the bucket of water, rinsed out the rag she’d used to scrub the floor and grabbed two prefilled bottles of milk out of the refrigerator. In the bedroom, she collected several diapers, and stuffed them and the bottles in her purse before grabbing her scarf.
“It looks like you need a bigger purse,” Jack said. “We could stop and buy you one.”
She finished tying her scarf beneath her chin and picked up the purse that was stuffed so full she could barely hold the handles together in one hand. “There’s no need for that.”
* * *
Jack couldn’t pull his eyes off her, much like when he’d arrived and saw her sitting on the kitchen floor. A prettier woman simply didn’t exist, and when those blue eyes shone like they were right now, she was beyond beautiful.
“Oh,” she said, putting the overstuffed purse back on the bed. “Let me get the bonnet that matches her dress. She looks so adorable in it.”
He glanced at the baby in his arms, who was adorable with or without a bonnet. Along with all the furniture, he’d ordered several frilly dresses for Grace. He should have ordered some for Helen, too. She wore the same two dresses over and over. Although they were always wrinkle-free and clean, he was going to have to do something about that, and the purse.
While he held Grace, Helen put a bonnet on her and tied it beneath her chin.
“Ready,” she said.
The excitement in her voice thrilled him. He felt bad about having to leave her home alone, all day, every day. “I take it you’re excited to see Julia.”
“Oh, yes.”
“You should have said something, I would have taken you there before now.” A tinge of guilt struck him. “Or I should have thought of it.”
“Applesauce,” she said, stepping out of the apartment door.
It wasn’t nonsense to him. He locked the door behind them. “You must get lonely and bored being here all day, every day.”
She glanced up at him as they walked down the steps. “No. Grace and I are not lonely or bored, and you are much too busy to think about such things.”
>
He had been busy, and would continue to be. All was going well, though, including the splicing together of the scenes they’d already shot. He really couldn’t be more pleased, but that shouldn’t mean he was too busy to not think of her. In fact, it didn’t. Busy or not, she was on his mind all the time. He couldn’t wait to leave the studio and return home to spend some time with her. She always had some news of what Grace had done during the day. He liked hearing about them, but the enjoyment truly came from watching Helen tell him. She was so animated, so excited over each small accomplishment.
A smile was always on her face, much like the one there now, as she climbed in the car. It was bright enough to light up the world.
He’d changed his mind about seeing her on the big screen. Mainly because he didn’t want to share her with anyone. However, he had all sorts of other thoughts when it came to her, and trying to dispel them was growing harder and harder. He tried to keep things relaxed, tried to act indifferent to her living at the apartment, but in truth, it was damn near killing him. There were times when her shallow breathing and the intensity of those pale blue eyes made his pants too tight. He’d escape into the bathroom until he had enough control over his body to face her again.
Jack shifted in the seat of the car as his thoughts evoked a reaction inside him. Her loose-fitting dresses were another thing that sent his mind reeling. He could imagine that her body was free of any restricting undergarments beneath the brown drab material. That struck him hard at night, while lying on the sofa, knowing she was just on the other side of his bedroom door.
He parked the car next to Julia’s diner and walked Helen inside, then drove the car across the street to the studio lot.
Beverly Hobbs greeted him as he entered the building, and for the first time, he took in the outfit she was wearing. A red-and-white polka dot dress, with matching scarf tied sideways around her head and red shoes. He couldn’t help but think how nice Helen would look in a dress like that.
He paused next to her desk. “Miss Hobbs, I need to send you on an errand.”
“All right.” She picked up a pencil, held it over a pad of paper. “What is it you need?”
He hadn’t told anyone, other than Carter, his prop man, about Grace and Helen staying with him. He didn’t want others to know Grace was Joe’s daughter, abandoned daughter, but that didn’t mean he was keeping them hidden. “I need some women’s clothes, outfits similar to the one you’re wearing. Four or five of them. And a purse. A big one. Big enough to hold baby bottles and diapers.”
She still held the pencil, but hadn’t written anything down, and he knew a knowing nod when he saw one.
“Miss Hobbs?”
Smiling, she looked at him and shrugged. “How do you think your niece ended up with gowns and matching bonnets, and shoes? Carter asked me to type up a list for him to send over to Hudson’s. He’d forgotten clothes, so I added them.”
“My niece?”
She shrugged again. “I put two and two together.” Tapping the pencil to her chin, she said, “I’m assuming these clothes are for the baby’s mother. I can guess her size, that shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Helen’s not Grace’s mother. She died shortly after Grace was born. Helen was a friend of hers and has been caring for Grace since she was born.” He wasn’t sure why it was important that others understood that, but it was.
Miss Hobbs pressed a hand to her chest. “Bless her heart. I know exactly where to go to buy her a few outfits. How long do I have? Shopping takes time.”
He shrugged. “I’d like them by this evening, before I go home.”
“Oh, ducky! That I can do.” She grabbed her purse from beneath the desk. “She can wear them to the party tomorrow night. The invitation is still on your desk. I RSVP’d for you.” Holding up a hand, she said, “The phone will go unanswered while I’m gone.”
“That will be fine.” Not worried about a few missed phone calls, he pulled out his billfold and handed her all the bills he had. He’d forgotten the party tomorrow, but there was a party, for some reason, almost every night, and he had far more important things to fill his time. “Will this be enough?”
She shuffled through the bills. “I can make this work.” After putting the money in her purse, she asked, “Do you know her favorite color?”
“No.” Even after living in the same apartment for weeks, he knew very little about Helen. “I don’t. But her eyes are blue.”
“Perfect!”
Chapter Eleven
Jack was anxious about the scenes they were about to shoot. Carter had insisted feathers were what they needed. That they would look more like snow on film than anything else. Better than the real thing. So, feathers were what they were using. White feathers. Millions of tiny, white feathers.
So far, Carter had been right. The sand painted white had worked well, and now they’d find out if the feathers would work for the blizzard scenes. Jack hoped like hell that they would. That many feathers had cost more than a pretty penny.
“Places! Places!” Newton Hindman shouted. “Plllaaaaceeees!”
Groups of crew members and actors broke apart, and following the director’s orders, moved to their prospective spots.
As he walked to his spot, scanning to make sure all was set to start filming, Jack caught sight of Helen opening the door to the back lot. He changed directions and walked to the door.
“Done visiting already?” he asked, touching the tip of Grace’s little nose, making her smile grow.
Helen’s smile increased, too. “Julia had work to do, and I didn’t want you waiting on us.”
He nodded toward the set behind him. “We are just getting ready to shoot another scene. Do you want to watch?”
Her entire face shone. “Could I? I’ll stay out of the way and won’t say a word.”
He sucked in a quick breath at the way her excitement made his chest swell. “Sure. I’ll get you a chair, you can sit by me.”
A crew member quickly found another tall chair and positioned it next to his, right behind Newton’s chair. Jack introduced her to Newton, and then held Grace while Helen set her purse on the floor and climbed up onto the chair.
“It’s like an adult high chair,” he said.
“It is,” she whispered. “Minus the tray.”
He chuckled, handed her Grace and climbed up on his chair. They were tall so he could see over Newton’s head and watch the scene play out, directly behind the center camera.
“We are about to film the blizzard scene,” he told her.
She gestured toward the set, the painted background of trees and snow, and the platform covered with sand. “I like the white sand, it looks like snow.”
He tipped his head toward her. “Glad to hear you say that, you’ve probably seen more snow than any of us here.”
She nodded. “It does snow more in Illinois than California.”
“Ready!” Newton raised a hand, and waited until silence echoed in the air, then dropping his hand, he shouted, “Action!”
The first few minutes in this final act were meant to be slapstick funny, and considering Helen’s reactions as the two actors pretended to slip and fall on the snow, they were. Eyes sparkling, she covered her mouth with one hand to smother her giggles as Malcolm Boyd made an exaggerated show of falling onto the ground. He was the taller of the two main actors, and his long legs flayed in the air as he landed on his back.
Wes Jenkins, much shorter and stockier, hurried over to help, but again, with the perfect amount of exaggeration, he slipped and landed atop Boyd.
Helen’s shoulders shook as she laughed harder. On her lap, Grace seemed almost as enamored by the actions as she did.
The actors did a great job of attempting to help each other up, and then, eventually, of showing their exhaustion and staying put.
“Cut!” Newton shouted. “T
hat was perfect! Copacetic! Take five while we get the snow in place!”
Helen leaned toward him. “The feathers?”
“Yes.” He’d told her about them, and about hoping they would work.
“Thank you for letting me watch this. It’s so exciting!”
“I’m glad you arrived in time,” he said, although his attention had shifted to Malcolm Boyd, who was walking their way. Tall, dark and handsome, that’s what Malcolm’s résumé said, and it was accurate.
“Where have you been hiding this doll, Jack?” Malcolm asked, winking at Helen.
Helen’s arms fully engulfed Grace as she cast an unsure look his way.
Jack stretched his arm along the back of her chair. “This is Miss Hathaway, and Grace.” Nodding at Helen, he said, “This is Malcolm Boyd.”
“Miss Hathaway,” Boyd said, making a show of bowing.
Jack’s insides clenched. He didn’t want a scandal concerning Joe to interfere with this movie, but he also didn’t want Helen to acquire a bad reputation on account of Joe. On account of him hiding exactly who Grace was. If he’d had more time to consider the options he might have chosen his next words more carefully, but if his secretary had figured out who Grace was, others might too, and it would be better to have the truth come from him. Especially when it came to Helen not being Grace’s mother. “Grace is my niece.”
Boyd frowned. “Your niece? Joe has a daughter? Last I heard, he was down in Florida. Is he still there?”
“Yes,” Jack answered, even though he didn’t know if that was where Joe was or not. “Grace is staying with me for the time being.” He had left several other messages for Joe, but had yet to hear from Joe again.
“That whole debacle was a raw deal,” Boyd said. “Joe was a patsy. The brothers didn’t like how he was outshining their main star.”
There were plenty of people who felt that way. He and Joe hadn’t been the only set of brothers to start a studio. At one time, the Wagner brothers were their idols. Already well established, the Wagners hadn’t paid them much attention until Joe’s popularity had soared after a couple well-received movies. The affair that Joe had been blackballed over had been with the Wagner brothers’ main actor’s wife. She was their top actress, and the blame was all put on Jack. Rumors started that he was attempting to break up their marriage. No one seemed to notice that Rita Wells had other affairs, before Joe, and hadn’t stopped seeking out men other than her husband afterward, either. Joe, however, had been the only one blackballed.
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