Rascal (Edgewater Agency Book 2)

by Kyanna Skye

  “Oooooh!” Susie exclaimed when she saw her.

  Despite herself, Kelly felt the warmth of recognition in seeing her old friend.

  Susie rushed to her and threw her arms around her and Kelly couldn’t help but reciprocate. The embrace was tender and lasted only a moment before Susie pulled away, beaming at her.

  “Fuck, it’s good to see you!” Susie said, her voice nearly teary.

  Kelly smiled. “Well, it’s nice to know that Hollywood hasn’t dulled your mouth any.”

  Susie laughed. “Are you kidding? The more foul-mouthed you are out there, the more people tend to respect you.” She took a step back and took in the sight of Kelly’s appearance. “And look at you! Julliard seems to have agreed with you! When did you get back into town?”

  Kelly suddenly felt self-conscious for a moment. She had thought that her suit – bought cheap at a local store – wouldn’t fool someone whose daily business included the latest fashions. She had thought that Susie would see right through it and maybe… mock her for it? But if she was merely being polite, Kelly couldn’t tell.

  Good old, Susie.

  “Uh… well, I just got in really…” she lied quickly.

  Susie smiled brightly at her. “Oh, you’ve got to tell me everything! I want to hear every last detail of how Julliard treated you.” She gasped with delight. “Oh, but first, you have to meet my future husband!” She turned back to the car. “Francis!”

  Kelly almost laughed. “Francis?” she asked, genuinely curious.

  Susie smirked. “I know, not exactly my type when we were in school, right? But you know… he grew on me.”

  “Francis,” Kelly reiterated.

  Susie’s smirk widened, showing a perfect row of teeth. “Back in L.A., if anyone knows what’s good for them, they call him ‘Francis’. He doesn’t respond well to anything else.” She turned a little red. “Well… he does when I say it.”

  Kelly wasn’t sure if she was jealous or was about to be sick. She’d seen too many movies where the people told of in those stories were so perfect that they couldn’t possibly be real. And here was Susie and her intended and they seemed… well, perfect.

  “Francis!” Susie called out again.

  From inside the SUV the driver-side door opened and out came a figure that was enough to confirm that Kelly felt like she wanted to be sick.

  Francis looked like a statue that had been magically brought to life. His chin was square and perfect, his hair hung in thin red tendrils that reached down to his shoulders. His eyes were hidden behind the squared frames of gold-rimmed sunglasses. He wore a suit, sans tie, and his shoes were brightly shined. He reminded her of one of those swollen-muscled men in kilts on the covers of romance novels. All that was missing was the kilt.

  As Francis approached, he smiled, and she saw that he too had a perfect set of teeth. Kelly felt her own inadequacies growing as if they were being pumped with steroids. The desire to leave was welling up inside of her like a water balloon.

  “Ah, you must be the amazing Kelly that I’ve heard so much about,” Francis said as he came to stand next to Susie. He extended a hand to her and Kelly saw an expensive gold watch resting on his wrist.

  Unable to avoid the niceties she took his hand and gently shook it. “I’m pleased to meet you, Francis,” she replied nicely.

  Francis smiled back at her and put his arm adoringly around Susie. “I couldn’t believe it when Susie told me that her best friend was a student at Julliard and that she would be at our wedding.” His smile was warm and inviting. “You must play for us.”

  Kelly felt a surge of panic. “Oh, well… I’m sure you don’t want to hear me play.”

  “Nonsense,” Francis said quickly. “Susie tells me that your instrument of choice is the violin? I love the violin. And to have a Julliard student here is something that I couldn’t have hoped for.”

  Kelly was flattered, but panic still reigned supreme in her heart. “Well, I’m not as good as some of my, uh, classmates.”

  “She’s lying,” Susie put in. “She was a prodigy as early as I can remember. One day for show-and-tell in school she brought her violin and played Scheherazade.”

  “Really?” Francis asked, astounded. “But that’s one of the most difficult pieces to ever be played! And you did it, when? First… second grade?”

  Kelly blushed. “Kindergarten, actually.”

  Francis’ mouth gaped with surprise and awe. Kelly felt a genuine moment of achievement and nostalgia.

  “Susie… she has to play at our wedding.”

  The moment died. “Excuse me?”

  “Wouldn’t it be amazing? Your best friend playing for us?”

  Susie beamed. “Yes! That would be amazing!”

  Kelly shook her head fervently. “No! No, no, no! I have a hard enough time performing for my professors,” she said, inventing wildly. “I-I can’t play for your wedding!”

  “You must! I insist!” Francis said sternly. “I’ll call the wedding coordinator, I’m sure we can work it in.”

  “I can’t be at your wedding!” Kelly blurted out desperately.

  Susie and Francis both stood, silent.

  “I can’t,” Kelly said, her voice genuinely sorry. “I… uh, have a lot to do… and I didn’t get your messages in time…”

  “And what?” Susie asked, her voice laced with humor. “You flew all the way out here from Julliard just to tell me ‘no’ in person? There’s no one – not even in Hollywood – with that kind of commitment.” Susie set her jaw, a thing that Kelly knew she did when she made up her mind about something. “No. You’re already here… so here you’re going to stay. If you want, I’ll call Julliard and have them–”

  “No!” Kelly blurted again, feeling her stomach do a flip.

  She saw Susie form a victorious grin on her face.

  “No,” she repeated more calmly, her mind racing, “I’ll stay for the wedding… but please don’t ask me to play.”

  “No promises,” Francis said, though he looked almost as mischievous as Susie did. But Kelly was saved from any further questions by the chirping of his phone. He pulled the device from his pocket and checked it. “Damn… there’s a problem with the hall for the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Shit,” Susie grumbled. “I bet I know what it is. We’d better get there.”

  Francis nodded and looked to Kelly. “It was wonderful to meet you… and I’ll get you to play for us yet.” And without another word, he turned back to the car.

  Susie stepped forward. “I wish we had more time to catch up, but we’re on a tight schedule here, sweetie.”

  “I know, I saw your itinerary.”

  Susie chuckled. “Well, here it is then,” she said, reaching into one of the pockets of her business jacket and pulling out a cardboard invitation. It was a handsome thing, engraved and trimmed in what Kelly thought for sure was gold. “Be there at that address for the rehearsal dinner. I’ll do my best to scrounge up some free time between now and then… we can catch up like old times.”

  Kelly took the invitation and it felt heavy in her hands. “Susie… I don’t know if I can make it.”

  “Julliard is on the other side of the country, sweetie. What can possibly keep you busy enough to not come and get some free food?”

  Kelly couldn’t answer. The thought of telling her oldest friend the truth of how her life had turned out surfaced in her mind, but the idea of how Susie would react stuck out in her mind as if she had been brained by an arrow. She didn’t want anyone to know how her life had really turned out, yet it felt like divulging that information was the only thing that could save her from such a monumental embarrassment.

  “I thought so,” Susie said with a nod. “Dinner’s at seven o’clock sharp. Be there, or I’ll call Julliard and be damn sure to chew out the dean if I have to!”

  Kelly didn’t doubt for a second that Susie would follow through on that threat. She had the power, means, and money to do so. She wondered if maybe it
would be better if she did and discovered the truth for herself. At least then she wouldn’t have to maintain this ridiculous façade. She would be embarrassed, but at least she wouldn’t have to go on with all the lies.

  “But Susie…” Kelly tried one final time.

  “I don’t want to hear any more about it, sweetie,” Susie said, a note of finality in her words. “Everyone is going to be there, including a few old friends from school and one or two acquaintances from work. And I’m anxious for you to meet them.”

  The word “everyone” struck Kelly like a sledge hammer. “Everyone?”

  “Everyone,” Susie said. “Seven o’clock at that address. Don’t be late. I’ll see you then if not sooner, sweetie.” And saying nothing more, but giving a final goodbye hug Susie turned and jumped right back into her supped up SUV and drove away.

  Kelly stood there, under the hot sun, holding a wedding invitation that would have taken her a week to afford in her hand. It felt like she was holding her own death warrant.

  “Fuck.”

  Chad felt a little overwhelmed when he pulled into the driveway. He’d paid for the house that his parents lived in; a symbol of his appreciation. They had paid for his entire football career leading up to his draft by the NFL, it had seemed the least that he could do. And though he’d approved the designs, he’d never actually seen the house. To see the finished product was interesting.

  Cinch Manor, he had heard it was called. He’d made sure that it was the largest and fanciest house to be found anywhere in the whole of Holy Oaks. It wasn’t that hard a thing to accomplish. Holy Oaks didn’t exactly have a neighborhood for the rich and powerful, although there were some that were more well-to-do than others. But the Manor surpassed them all by a hundred-yard-pass.

  The house itself sat nestled in a portion of a hollowed-out hill with a massive yard stretching out before it. The yard itself was more like unto a park than anything else, with tree groves, fountains, stone benches, and other little odds and ends to give it a “rich-man’s” look, as his father called it. The grounds stretched on for fifty yards.

  The manor stood three stories tall, maybe fifty yards wide. It was painted a terracotta color with white windows. Its roof was a gray ceramic tile built in the Spanish fashion. It wasn’t really his kind of house, but he’d given his parents final approval over how it would look being as how they would be the ones to live in the place. And though it was large enough to house a family of twenty, only his parents resided in it.

  Money had its privileges.

  The driveway was filled with everything that he’d expected. There were catering vans, trucks loaded up with dining tables and folding chairs, box trucks that were stuffed to the gills with lights, artificial flowers, and an assortment of other odds and ends all meant to make his sister’s big day memorable.

  “Shit,” he muttered, surprised by the volume of items to be found. Even preparing for a road trip with the team didn’t require this much gear. It was clear that his parents had spared no expense in the development of this wedding. Or maybe it was Susie… she was the Hollywood bigshot. If anyone knew how to set a scene for a movie-worthy wedding, it would have been her.

  He parked his truck and stepped out, the familiar rush of the Holy Oaks summer washed over him, instantly spurring sweat underneath his clothes. Everywhere he looked he saw workers moving about like army ants and getting the manor ready for the impending guests. Already there were wreaths and ropes of fake flowers hung across the bannisters of the outside balconies, around the doorways and windows, and wrapped around every lamp post that illuminated the grounds. Some of the trees had been draped with flowing sheaths of white fabric. Little fake gnomes had been arranged on the grass to appear as though they too were wedding guests. It really was something that he hadn’t been prepared for.

  “Chad!” shrieked a voice across the yard.

  He turned in the direction the voice had come from and he smirked. Susie came running out from the front door. He almost laughed at his little sister as she crossed the grassy yard to where he’d parked. She had dressed down to a simple pair of old jeans and a white shirt. She almost looked exactly like she had the last time he’d seen her.

  He smirked as she rushed up to him and threw her arms around his neck, squealing with delight. Though she was smaller than him, when she got excited she could charge hard enough to give an offensive lineman a run for his money.

  “Jesus!” he choked as hugged him tightly. “Easy… I’m still sore from the last game.”

  “Shut your face,” she murmured. “I saw you play, you didn’t get hit that hard.”

  He chuckled and hugged her back. “It’s good to see you, little sissy.”

  She broke their embrace and playfully smacked him in the shoulder. “Don’t call me that… stretch.”

  “Ouch,” he said, mockingly grabbing at his chest, “you wound me.”

  She smiled broadly at him and bounced on her feet excitedly. “I’m so glad that you could come! I was afraid that your coach–”

  He waved it off. “He thought I was just yanking his chain… but when he talked to mom – and he’s met her – he knew I was being serious. So I can stay up to the day after the ceremony, but then I’ve got to be getting back.”

  Susie smile became smug and a silent joke passed between them. They had often laughed at how there had never been anyone who could refuse their mother anything. It came as no surprise to either of them that an NFL coach would be swayed by their mother’s words.

  “How’re things going?” he asked, closing his car door. “Need any help?”

  Susie half-shrugged, “Not really, mom’s in full queen-bee mode. She’s obviously been thinking about this for a long time… longer than me, even. And Francis is helping out where he can.”

  “Francis?” he asked, trying to keep a straight face. He’d heard the name before, he and Susie did talk on the phone if they couldn’t see each other. He knew all about the man and his profession. But he couldn’t help teasing his sister a little about the namesake of her future husband.

  She smacked him across the shoulder again. “God, you sound just like Kelly.”

  The name struck a nerve in him harder than a blindside rush. “Kelly?” He tried to sound casual. “Wait, you mean your friend from school, the one that used to tutor me?”

  Susie nodded. “Yeah… I saw her yesterday when we drove into town. I only had enough time to make sure she would show up for the rehearsal dinner.”

  “That reminds me,” He said, “I didn’t get a chance to read your itinerary for this whole thing. Who makes an itinerary for their wedding anyway?”

  She chuckled. “I do. And it’s okay. I can fill you in. It’s real easy; first step is the rehearsal dinner. You’ll be sitting on the bride’s side of the table, obviously. Your place will be next to mom and the rest of the bridal party.”

  He licked his lips and again tried to sound casual. “Already got your bridal party lined up, huh? Anyone I know?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Trista, Lannie, Margo, and Kelly of course… but she doesn’t know that. I want it to be a surprise.”

  He gave a nod of approval as they passed into the slightly cooler atmosphere of the house. He knew the names, but didn’t recall any of the faces. Susie’s life had been pretty much her own. The only real connect that they shared had been her friend, Kelly, who’d recommended her as his tutor. “What have they been up to?”

  Susie rolled her eyes, “Oh, god, what haven’t they been up to? Marriage, careers, kids, divorces, alimony… you name it.”

  He arched a curious eyebrow. “All of them?”

  “Yeah… er, well… maybe not all of them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well…” Susie said, her voice becoming deeper, more somber. “This is going to sound bad, but I have no idea what Kelly’s been doing since we graduated. We haven’t really talked and I’ve been too busy to catch up with her while I’m in Cali, and I move around too
much to keep a permanent phone number. But, I mean, I don’t really know what she’s been up to. I know she went to Julliard and she seems to be doing okay… at least I think she is.”

  His interest was growing. “You think?”

  Susie stopped them and they stood in the middle of the foyer at the center of the grand staircase just beyond the front door. All around them the workers that were moving quickly to arrange everything for the wedding moved as if they weren’t even there. “Yeah… it’s weird. Yesterday when I saw her she seemed so… secretive. She didn’t talk much about herself, although to be fair we didn’t exactly get a chance to sit and chat. I tried to get her to open up about what she’s been doing… but she didn’t say anything.” She folded her arms suspiciously. “It’s strange… you remember her, don’t you? You remember how she used to be a little chatty?”

  Yeah, I remember her alright, Chad thought to himself. Aloud he said, “Yeah… I do, kind of. I remember that she was kind of brainy and that she helped me study.”

  “Right,” Susie confirmed. “I’ve never seen her so quiet. When we got started talking she seemed to relax a little, but she didn’t say much. I kind of had a wedding emergency so we didn’t get to talk long… but yeah, I feel like something is wrong.”

  Chad took that in and felt his own confusion swirling within him. That was odd behavior. The girl that remembered had been different, less secretive, and full of life and wonder. He’d always found that interesting about her. She had been the only one he’d ever known to actually interest him that way. If something was wrong, that worried him. “Well, take some time off from your wedding. Bring her over. Talk to her.” He hoped it sounded sympathetic and objective.