A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle)

by Uvi Poznansky

Maria began the conversation, “David’s worried about you. You know men. They don’t understand women very well. They assume every little thing is going to make us head for a breakdown. Did you ever talk to your husband?”

  Charity plucked at her old yellow robe. “No. So far he hasn’t been at home any time I’ve called. I’m sure I’m worried about nothing. He’s probably out with the guys having a grand old time, while I’m here trying to second guess what’s going on in Tennessee. I can’t make my mind up if I want to cry or scream.”

  Charity stood and walked around to the back of the sofa and began pacing. She twirled a strand of long wet hair around a finger. She finally stopped pacing and laughed. “You know. It reminds me of the way my mom used to be whenever dad would come home late from work. She would be so worried about whether he had been in a wreck she would be just about sick, and then he would show up without a scratch on him, and she would be furious. I used to laugh because I thought it was silly. Now here I am and I can’t decide to be worried or mad. I’ve inherited my mom’s insanity!”

  Maria laughed at Charity’s perplexed expression. “I’m the same way. It must be a woman thing.”

  Charity sat again and began playing with ragged edges of her robe’s belt. “If I could just talk to him, I would know what he’s thinking. As it is, I don’t have a clue about what is going on. Where is he at? What is he doing? Is he upset, or has he already just blown it off, and gone out having fun. I’m afraid by the time I’m able to talk to him I’m going to start a fight just because I’m so stressed out. I’ve spent my entire day trying to get in touch with him.”

  Charity stopped and eyed Maria. “You were around the set today. How bad was the talk?”

  Maria didn’t hesitate answering, “I hate to say it, but everyone had something to say about the article. Most people were just amused. They have been in this business long enough not to believe any of that garbage, but you have to know there are those who love the gossip. They will be unkind in their opinions no matter what the truth is. I hope you don’t take that to heart. There are always people who will want you to fail. Most of these people know they aren’t star quality, so they resent the person who actually has what it takes to make it big. Charles believes you have what it takes. I’ve never known him to be wrong. He’s one of the smartest men there is in this business.”

  Charity stared at her hands. “I know I can do this job. What I don’t know at this moment is whether succeeding at the job is what matters the most to me or not. I want to be a good wife. I promised to be with Johnny for better or worse. I’m afraid I didn’t expect the ‘or worse’ to show up quite so soon. I don’t understand why that reporter thought he had to write such lies. To make matters worse. Betty hates me. I thought with a little time I could win her over, but she doesn’t want to be friends. She wants me to get discouraged, pack my bags, and go home. I’m not going to do that. If I leave now, everyone will believe the worst about me. I’m determined to prove to these people that they’re wrong about me. I have what it takes to be good in this role.”

  At that moment the phone rang.

  Maria smiled and stood to leave. “That’s your husband, now. I’ll leave you alone so you can talk to him in private.”

  Charity scrambled to answer the phone and waved good-bye to Maria at the same time. She was out of breath by the time she answered the phone. “Johnny?”

  His answer was slurred. “Charity.”

  “Are you alright?” There was the distinct sound of a woman’s laughter in the background.

  “I think I may be a little drunk. You know. I believe it’s my first time to ever get drunk.” He giggled and the woman in the background giggled too.

  Charity recognized the giggle but tried not to become distracted by what was happening in their apartment. “We need to talk.”

  Johnny snorted and then hiccupped. “Not much to talk about. I just let the boys get me a little rattled today. I know those papers were lying, but I hated everyone laughing behind my back. Nobody knows you like I do. I love you and miss you like crazy. When are you coming home?”

  Charity could have wept from relief. “I love you too. I was so afraid of what you were thinking. Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay. I just miss you.” He seemed to sober the longer he talked.

  Charity tried not to ask about the woman in their apartment, but found she had to know. “Is Cindy with you?”

  Johnny shushed Cindy because by this time she was laughing hysterically. “She drove me home, but I’m not certain she’s in any better shape than I am.”

  There were peals of laughter from that statement. “No. I don’t think that she is either. Maybe you should call her a cab so she gets home safely. I know you don’t want her to drive home in her condition.”

  There were sounds of more laughter before Johnny answered her. “I’ll call her a cab. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” For some reason even after talking to him Charity didn’t feel any better. “Johnny?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  She tried not to sound as homesick as she felt. “Do you think maybe you can come out for a visit soon? Maybe your dad will let you off for a few days. I miss you so much.”

  There was silence before Johnny finally answered. “I’ll call you tomorrow after work. I will be in better shape to have a decent conversation. I love you. Don’t worry anymore tonight. We’ll make all this work somehow.”

  Chapter Five

  “Cut! Cut! Cut!”

  Christopher’s obnoxious voice sent a warning signal down every nerve ending in Charity’s spine. As soon as he began his rant, she and David stopped and waited. She watched him from the corner of her eye, heading in their direction in his usual run-walk-trot. A nerve right above her eyebrow began to tick in exasperation.

  It was utterly amazing just how fast his short legs could move when he had a set purpose in mind. The squat, portly man slid to an abrupt stop only a few inches from Charity and David. He leaned directly into her face as if she couldn’t already hear him screaming. “Three months! We have been filming for three months, and you still can’t get it right!” His hands were on his hips and his feet were spread as wide apart as they could be. He looked prepped to break into a cheerleading move at any moment.

  For some strange reason she was the only person on the set who couldn’t seem to do anything right. If she did it, he hated it. She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. “What? Would you like me to do something differently?”

  He waved his chubby fingers frantically in front of her face, so close that he almost swatted the end of her nose. “Everything! I want you to do everything differently!” He gave a cursory glance around at his captive audience. “Everyone can go to lunch, but be back here in exactly one hour.” He then leveled another cold stare on Charity. Christopher must have had enough saliva for ten people because he couldn’t speak without spitting a ton of it out in every direction. He made her think of a little toad, the way there was always tiny pools of bubbles in each corner of his mouth.

  Charity couldn’t stand watching the unsightly drool now making its way down Christopher’s chin so she looked away as she moved to go to lunch with the others. The annoying voice halted her in her tracks. “You! You’re not going anywhere. I want to wrap this scene up by tonight so you’re going to stay and practice. I’ll do David’s part while he’s at lunch.”

  Charity was no longer facing him so she rolled her eyes and watched with a grumbling stomach as everyone but David scattered. The others knew better than to hang around after Christopher gave one of his drill sergeant commands.

  Behind Christopher’s back David winked at Charity and casually slid both hands into his jean pockets. He stepped around to stand between her and Christopher. “Charity needs to eat something and needs a break just like everyone else does. If she doesn’t eat now, it will be hours before she’ll be able to.” He sighed and then casually crossed his arms across his chest. The toad’s facial expression was unmoved by
David’s words. “I feel certain Charles wouldn’t appreciate you running his stars into the ground. You know how he feels about everyone being on top of their game. She won’t be a hundred percent if she’s tired and hungry. Breakfast was hours ago and we have been filming nonstop since.”

  Christopher released a low growl. “She could eat all day and never be a hundred percent. She never does one scene right the first time and she’s throwing everything off schedule.”

  David shook his head and a black lock of hair fell into his eyes. He pushed it back and leveled a thoughtful stare at Christopher. “You were just on the phone this morning telling Charles we’re weeks ahead of schedule.”

  Even though the conversation between David and Christopher was about her, it was taking a backseat to all of the tempting smells coming from the lunch table. She had skipped breakfast to read over her lines one more time before heading into makeup. If she had only spent a little more time on them the night before, none of this drama would be happening. She really had no one but herself to blame for all of Christopher’s displeasure leaking out and ruining her lunch time. She had stayed on the phone well past midnight the night before talking to Johnny. He had finally agreed to fly out for a quick visit the next day and she had been too excited by that news to fall asleep until an hour before her wakeup call and was now too tired to concentrate on delivering her lines properly.

  Christopher brought her back to the present reality with his usual rudeness. “If you spent as much time thinking about this project as you do daydreaming, we wouldn’t be so far behind.”

  Charity kept her own counsel on who she thought was throwing them behind schedule to herself. “It’s okay, David. Go on to lunch. He’s right. I need to work on this scene. I’ll grab a bite later.” She’d been getting plenty of practice with her tongue biting skills lately and was getting very good at pulling it off without too much pain involved.

  The truth was, there probably wouldn’t be a later. She had missed so many meals since the beginning of filming that her cheerleading outfit had been taken in twice and already needed another alteration. There just didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to do everything these last few weeks.

  David playfully flicked her under the chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You sure?”

  With a weak smile she nodded. “Go eat some lunch with your sweet wife. She’s over there waiting for you.” They both looked over toward Maria and waved when she smiled uncertainly at them. Charity nudged David in the side. “Go on. Bring me back an apple or something when you come back.”

  He unwillingly walked away. It was with more than a little sadness that Charity eyed the nearby food table one last time. She plastered on a bright smile and turned to face her tormentor again.

  “I’m glad you’re so happy.” His words were thick with sarcasm and dowsed with the normal amount of spit. “Why don’t I see if I can fix that for you?”

  The process turned out to be frustrating and tedious, but by the time Christopher was finished, Charity was confident she understood how he wanted the next scene performed. She detested him, but she always made an effort to do everything his way. His reputation was that of a hard taskmaster but his movies always won awards and drew big crowds into the theaters.

  It was a few minutes after nine when Christopher finally called it a day. Stanley had already taken David and Maria back to the hotel a couple of hours earlier since David wasn’t in the last scheduled shoot. Judy was eager to leave the studio and was already heading for the studio side exit while Charity gathered her belongings.

  She was busy rummaging through her purse for a comb when Christopher walked over and actually took the time to tell her how well she had performed the last two scenes. Someone could have knocked her over with a feather, but instead of dwelling on the unexpected compliment she made a dash toward the exit before he could blow it all with an insult.

  The happy glow from receiving a compliment from Christopher followed Charity out to the limo, and the unusual feeling might have lasted longer if she hadn’t been so exhausted and hungry. Unfortunately, as soon she settled in for the long ride back to the hotel, every ache and pain registered. The apple and ham sandwich David had managed to sneak to her were by now long gone. There was no way was she going to leave the hotel room again until it was time to head back to the studio the next morning. Tonight was definitely a night for room service, a long soak in the tub, and then jumping directly into bed. She might have even passed up on the food if her stomach wasn’t making such loud protests already.

  Charity glanced over at Judy. Her mother appeared to be just as tired as she was. For the first time since arriving in Dallas it occurred to her that she was probably just as homesick too. It couldn’t be any fun sitting around all day while she was busy filming. She reached over and took her hand. “How are you doing, mom? You want to order room service, eat in front of the television set tonight, instead of going out?”

  Judy closed her eyes “That sounds like a great idea! I’m going to put on my favorite gown and my big old fluffy house shoes. Running out for supper every night was fun at first, but we never get one on one time any more. I really miss preparing food in my own kitchen, and even though I talk to your dad every night before I go to bed, I miss our evening chats sitting at the kitchen table. I just know he’s not eating right since I’m not there cooking for him. You know how he likes his fast food burger and fries. I hate to think what he’s doing to his arteries.”

  “You’re starting to feel more than just a little homesick. Aren’t you?”

  Judy smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I am. My phone calls to your dad are beginning to get a little long winded. I don’t think either one of us wants to hang up. Can you believe he and Johnny tried combining their cooking skills the other night? I don’t think the results were that great though.”

  Judy shifted her weight in the car seat and broke eye contact with Charity. She cleared her throat a couple of times before finally adding, “Have you noticed anything wrong with Johnny in any of your phone conversations lately?”

  The cautious tone in her mother’s voice set Charity on edge. She shrugged and tried to keep any concerns she had about Johnny out of her voice. “He’s been a little distant lately, but whenever I ask if anything is wrong he just says he’s tired from working such long hours at his dad’s garage. Why do you ask?”

  Judy patted Charity’s hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s just that your dad said the other night when Johnny was there for supper, he acted a little withdrawn, as if something was on his mind. Jim had hoped he would feel comfortable enough to discuss whatever was troubling him, but he never did. You know your dad. He didn’t want to seem like he was prying, so he didn’t ask him any questions. I’m certain it’s nothing and Johnny will be here soon.”

  Charity thought about all of the phone conversations between her and Johnny over the past three weeks. In every one of them it was if there was something he had wanted to say but couldn’t. It had been easy enough to convince herself that it was all in her imagination, but now her father had noticed a change in Johnny. For her father to notice a change, there must really be a problem. He was well known for being clueless to the drama going on around him.

  “He hasn’t said anything out of the ordinary to me. He seems happy at the thought of flying out here tomorrow. You don’t think the boys at the garage have started in on him about that article again? There haven’t been any more negative articles since then. Even Betty has left me alone lately. If I could just get Christopher off my back now, everything would just be wonderful.”

  It was good to be able to have the limo to themselves, because Charity had another matter she wanted to discuss with her mother. “Mom?”

  Judy straightened her collar and tucked a curl behind her ear before she asked, “Yes, dear?”

  Charity took in a deep breath and plowed on ahead with a subject that had been on her mind now for several weeks. “I think
that you should go on home.”

  Judy released a long sigh. “I hate to say it, but I have been thinking the same thing for a while now. You don’t really need me here now that you’re settled into your daily routine. Would you mind terribly if I went? I did promise to stay with you for the entire six months.”

  Charity hugged her mom. “I wish you would. I have loved having you here, but there’s not much for you to do here. I know the days are long and boring for you. You really need to be at home with dad. Why don’t you fly back with Johnny when he leaves?”

  It was easy to see from the play of emotions on Judy’s face that she was struggling with the thought of leaving her alone in Dallas. Charity could see her mom was going to need help admitting she wanted to go home. “Please do this for me. I’m not alone. You know Maria and David have become great friends. Kelly and Robert have been wonderful company and I love spending time with their three daughters. Several of the ladies in the cast have become friendly, and asked me out to dinner or a movie.”

  Charity shrugged as if the matter were settled. “With the long hours Christopher has been demanding, there’s not a lot of free time for us to spend together anyway. I see you sitting around the set all day. You write in your journal but I’m certain even doing that all day gets to be a little boring. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be here. Please go home.”

  Judy looked relieved. “Okay, but I want you to call me if there’s anything that you need. I feel like I’m deserting my only child.”

  Charity giggled. “You’re not deserting me. I’ll call if I need you, I promise. I’m halfway through this project. I’ll come home for Thanksgiving, and again for a couple of weeks at Christmas. After the holidays, we only have a few weeks left of shooting. I will be home for good before you know it.”

  When the wakeup call came the next morning Charity actually felt as chipper as the lady giving the call sounded. She was more than just a little embarrassed when the woman at the front desk seemed so surprised by her cheerfulness.