“Then he called a cab and left.”
“Was breakfast awkward?” Noelle leaned forward.
“Kind of. But not the way you’re thinking.” The awkwardness had been more on her side than his. He’d acted as though he woke up at her house every day of the week. And the way he’d made himself at home in her kitchen had startled her. She’d never dated a man before who liked to cook, even though he wasn’t very good at it.
Noelle shook her head. “So how was it awkward?”
“He’s not that great a cook.” Merry tried not to think about the eggs on her plate with a lump of unmelted cheese in the center and the too-crisp bacon. Jake’s enthusiasm, and the way he’d used more pans than he needed, had made up for the soggy mess on her plate, which she’d eventually hidden beneath her napkin.
“So you had to fake it, huh?”
“Seriously,” Merry said. “But then again, maybe he was just nervous, too.”
“Are you going to talk to him about his little problem?”
“Other than at work, I don’t know if we’re going to...see each other again.”
“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Noelle said, “who did you see last night and who was a train wreck?”
“I ran into Daryl Wicks.”
“Seriously?” Noelle perked up.
“Yes.”
“How did it feel to come face-to-face with your teenage rebellion?” She grinned merrily.
“He’s grown up. A little bit. Kinda.” She’d enjoyed seeing Daryl, even though he had been, as her sister said, her “teenage rebellion.”
“Sleeping with Jake aside, were there any sparks between you and Daryl?”
“Not on my end. His end, I don’t give a crap.”
“He was a bucket full of crazy,” Noelle said. She poured more coffee into her cup from the carafe.
“If I’d known then what I found out later, I would never have dated him.” Even if it had only been three dates. She’d barely escaped from his wildness intact.
“Nora Kennedy was there,” Merry added with a smile, remembering. Nora had looked good. Somehow she’d managed to keep herself unharmed despite the insanity. “And I got a lot of feelers for work. I was approached to do some set designing for a couple of videos.”
“That sounds like fun.”
Merry agreed, but she didn’t know if she should accept or not. She would have to talk it over with John. Once she was done with his park, her job would probably be more part-time than full. If she suddenly left to do some other jobs, Jake’s opinion that she was using his dad as a stepping-stone back into the business would be reinforced. She didn’t want that. She wanted Jake’s good opinion.
Her phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID. It was Jake. Should she answer? She reached out for her phone, her fingers trembling.
“Hello, Jake,” she said, and watched her sister come to attention.
“Would you like to go to lunch? It’s a beautiful day. We could head to Santa Monica pier. Maybe ride the new Ferris wheel.”
Merry didn’t hesitate. She agreed and he said he’d pick her up in an hour.
“Noelle, you have to go. Jake is on his way over to take me to lunch.”
“Didn’t he just leave?”
“Hours ago.”
“You can’t kick me out. I’m your sister.”
“I’m kicking you out because you are my sister. Besides, don’t you have a plane to catch?” Merry jumped to her feet, gathered up the coffeepot and the cups and carried them into the house. She had thirty minutes to shower and change.
* * *
The sun shone through the fronds of the palm trees lining the street as Jake put the Mercedes in Park and sat staring at Merry’s front door. He hadn’t planned on calling her for lunch so soon after... Well, after last night, but his hand had kept straying to his phone and finally he’d given in and called her to see if she had plans for lunch.
How could one woman have turned his life topsy-turvy in so short a time? He prided himself on his logical thinking, his ability to create order out of disorder. Was he just reliving his boyhood crush on her? She’d been his fantasy girl when he’d been in high school. With the reality of the fantasy at his fingertips, he wasn’t certain what he liked more: the fact that he’d had a chance to relive his fantasy crush, or the fact that the living, breathing woman was so much more than his fantasy. Acts of irrationality bothered him since he so seldom had them, but Merry tempted him to throw caution to the wind and go with his instincts.
The curtain in her front window moved slightly, and he imagined her standing on the other side looking at him, wondering what he was doing. He had no answer. He didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t even know why he’d called her on the spur of the moment and asked her out to lunch. He should have just enjoyed the sex and left, but he couldn’t stay away from her. He wasn’t the kind of man who took the sex and ran. The situation had turned uncomfortable, and he didn’t like it.
A knock sounded on his window and he stumbled back to the present, unaware of how far away his thoughts had taken him. Merry peered at him through the glass. “Are you going to sit there all day?”
He opened the door and got out. She looked flushed and excited. She wore white pants and a dark blue top. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail that curled across one shoulder.
“Sorry. I was just answering a text.”
“With your mind?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “Come on in. You look hot, and not in the fun way.”
He followed her up the path to the front door. All the way, he couldn’t take his eyes from the graceful line of her neck and the little ringlets of hair at the nape. He wanted to touch her, breathe in the subtle scent of her perfume. Hell, he wanted a repeat of last night. In fact, he wanted a lot of repeats.
The house was cool inside. She led the way to the kitchen and out the back to the patio, where a tray sat on a round patio table with two sweating glasses of iced tea.
“Sit down,” she said. “We have to talk.”
“About what?” he asked, before his mind fell into gear.
“Seriously?” she replied. “Is this really how you want to play it?”
“What about lunch?”
“It’ll be delivered here in ten minutes. What we need to discuss shouldn’t be aired over a restaurant table with strangers listening in.”
She settled gracefully into the lawn chair and picked up her iced tea.
He didn’t want tea. He didn’t want lunch. He wanted her, on the bed, her body open to him. Images of the night before from the moment he’d removed her dress till the moment he’d fallen asleep with her in his arms returned to him so forcefully that heat surged in his groin.
“What happened last night... I mean, afterward...” He stumbled to a halt. He’d never had a problem with words before.
She tilted her head toward him, waiting patiently. “Go on,” she finally said.
“How does one go about telling someone very special that he had a crush on her when she was this cute little actress on this kiddie show without sounding like a stalker?”
“You had a crush on me? You told me you just liked the show, that Chloe was a loyal friend to Maddie.” She looked surprised. “I had no idea that behind those statements was a deeper feeling. Most of the time you’ve acted as though I have the plague or something.”
“I had a crush on Chloe,” he said slowly. Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut. Nothing he said was going to come out right.
“Oh,” she said, disappointment in her tone. A small frown furrowed her forehead. “You’re one of those. You’d think I’d learn. Usually I can smell a Chloe addict from a mile away.”
“I don’t... I don’t mean...” He felt like he was back in high school, too tongue-tied to ask the girl he liked to the senior prom.
She held up her hand. “Stop. Is that what last night was all about? You were taking Chloe to the awards show so you could walk the red carpet with he
r and then bring her home and pretty much have a good ole time?”
“No... No...” He rubbed his temples. “I’m trying to say...”
“Wow,” she said, sitting back in her chair. “This hasn’t happened to me in a long time.” She slanted a glance at him. “I feel a little betrayed. I thought you were paying attention to me, to Meredith Alcott.”
How did this conversation get to this point? He was totally baffled. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said, standing up, looking suddenly tired. The breeze ruffled her hair and a look of loss and disappointment shadowed her eyes. “Maybe you should go.”
“Merry,” he said.
“I need to be alone right now.” She stared at him.
Did he see tears in the corners of her eyes? How the hell was he going to fix this? His opened his mouth to say something.
“Please, Jake,” she repeated. “You know the way.” She turned and walked into the house, slamming and locking the door.
He sat stunned, not certain what the hell had happened. Here he’d thought he’d tell her that he liked the real woman more than the fantasy, and not one word had come out right. He never would’ve brought the subject up.
His phone rang and he took it out of his pocket. His father. He considered not answering, but what the hell else could go wrong? He might as well get the next calamity over with.
“Jake,” his father said, his voice breathless and hurried. “We have a problem.”
“What’s up, Dad?”
“Fire, and it’s coming toward the park.”
“I’m leaving Merry’s home. Do you want me to tell her?”
He heard his father hesitate. “I want to speak to her myself. I’ll call her as soon as I hang up with you.”
“I’ll be there as quick as I can.” He skirted the house, following a small brick walkway that meandered through her garden. He got into his car and started it. He backed out of Merry’s driveway, thinking he should have just knocked on the door and told her about the fire, but he didn’t think he could face her just yet.
* * *
Merry couldn’t believe a fire was threatening the park. She’d changed out of capris and her silk shirt into plain jeans and a cotton T-shirt. Even though John had told her to just stay home, she couldn’t. She might not have as much invested in the park as he did, but she’d come to love it. She entered the freeway and gunned her Prius to merge into the fast-moving traffic. She could not bear the thought of that beautiful park burning down.
The worry about the fire receded in her mind as thoughts of Jake came to the forefront. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb, she thought. What was she going to do? Her earlier conversation with her sister had done little to help her.
She should never have slept with John’s son. That had been asking for trouble. And now she was probably right behind him as they both raced to the park and the threatening fire. Though what she would do about the fire, she didn’t know. What was she going to do about Jake? She didn’t know that, either. Hell, she couldn’t hang on to a thought. Just the sense of regret she’d felt when he’d confessed his crush on Chloe. She hadn’t let her guard down with a man for a long time.
Today, she didn’t seem to know much of anything. Where was my brain? she thought. I’m smarter than this. I got my man merit badge a long time ago.
She swerved as a car cut in front of her. She wanted to pound the steering wheel in frustration. She wanted to pound Jake in frustration. He was in the entertainment business. He understood how the fantasy worked. How could he think she was just an extension of her TV character? He was smarter than that. He should have gotten over being starstruck a long time ago. A man who saw the crazy in his celebrity clients should know better. Why would he even get involved with her when all he saw was the illusion?
Even with the air conditioner going, the smell of smoke filtered into the cab. More than one fire darkened the sky today, casting a yellow haze over the city. She turned on the radio and found three fires blazing and a city stressed out as mandatory evacuations were being ordered for those in the fires’ paths. People thought Los Angeles was wall-to-wall people, but in reality there was still a lot of open land with vegetation that turned bone dry once the rainy season ended. A heavy rainy season meant more growth and a greater chance of fire.
Jake was an idiot. And the worst thing was, she was an idiot, too. She had let the glamour and romance of the evening sway her common sense. She should never have invited him in for a drink. She should never have unlocked her front door. She should never have let him kiss her the first time. She should never... Her mind skittered around her thoughts.
Once this fire thing was cleared up, she would finish what she started. John wouldn’t need her to be at the park every day once the restoration was done and the park redesigned with the seasonal displays laid out. She would probably be able to work at home and go to the park to consult with John. Then she could do some work on the side. Maybe one of the video offers would pan out.
An hour later, she pulled into the parking lot and parked next to John’s Mercedes. The pall of black smoke made her cough. A few cinders swirled around her head. The wind was a roar that snapped at her hair. She could smell smoke, and when she shaded her eyes she could see fire trucks on distant hillsides and firefighters in full gear. A tanker plane roared overhead, circled the burn area and a few moments later dropped fire retardant on the flames.
She heard the roar of a bulldozer and watched as it wheeled across the parking lot. Jake was driving it, a yellow hard hat on his head, his face firm with determination. She didn’t wave as she bolted across the hot tarmac and into the park. John was in the center courtyard with all the maintenance people.
“We’re going to bulldoze as much of the vegetation beyond the easement as far from the park perimeter as we can get before the flames get here,” he said. “I want two teams. Mark, you and your people water down the roofs of the stores. Jose, you and your team work around the carousel. Keep everything as wet as you can. Don’t worry about water, we’re on a well.”
“What can I do, John?” Merry asked as she approached.
“I don’t know, Merry.” He looked calm, but panic hovered in his eyes. He turned to gaze at the hills where the flames flickered.
Merry imagined she could hear the crackle, even though the fire was still several miles away.
A line of cars following a fire truck turned into the parking lot. As the cars parked, people started getting out and walking toward John. Firemen opened the side panels in the truck and began to unroll hoses and attach them to the fire hydrants.
“Merry,” John said suddenly. “I want you to go into my office and your office and save all the computers you can and your plans for the park. Pack them in your car. If we lose anything, we’ll still have our plans.”
Merry nodded. She passed a knot of people half running toward John. She recognized the woman, Bonnie, who owned the pub. “We came to help, John,” she said.
Other people nodded. They were all dressed in old clothes, holding shovels and chainsaws, ready to fight the fire. A few had tied wet bandannas across their faces to filter out the smoke.
“I can’t ask you to help, Bonnie,” John said, his tone serious. “You’re civilians. The fire department is going to want you out of the way.”
“We’re not leaving. This park is an icon and I’m not going to let it burn down. My parents brought me here when I was a child and I bring my children,” Bonnie said firmly.
“Me, too, John.” A man Merry didn’t know spoke up. “I worked the concession stands three summers in a row and that money helped me through college. I’m not going to let this park burn down if I can help it.”
As John started organizing Bonnie and her friends, more cars poured into the parking lot and more people rushed up to John with shovels over their shoulders. John had a bemused look on his face. Jake had parked the bulldozer and was talking to a fireman and a police officer.
He kept glancing at the crowd around his father.
Merry watched him. He raised an arm and pointed to the side of the park. Though the park was required to have a vegetation-free easement, it was still vulnerable. Flames had been known to leap across eight lanes of highway.
Merry went into her office and started packing up her laptop, along with all her drawing pads, her notes and her schedule of events. She packed up her car and then went back to John’s office for his laptops. John loved computers and not only had a Mac, an iPod and an iPad, but two PCs and a couple of dozen flash drives. She found a box for the flash drives and dropped them in. Then she started unhooking all the power supplies and closing the laptops. How John could work on so many different computers at once mystified her.
The door opened behind her and she turned to find Jake standing in the doorway, his yellow hard hat still on his head and a soaking-wet bandanna in his hand.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.
“Your dad told me to get all the computers, so I’m getting them and putting them in my car.”
“You should be home where you’d be safe.”
“Thanks,” she said, her voice vacant of any snark. “But I’m not leaving. I’m going to help all I can.” She owed it to John.
“This is dangerous.”
“Life is dangerous. I just braved the freeway going eighty miles an hour. Fighting a fire is nothing. Are you going to run away?”
His face tightened. “This is my dad’s life.”
“It’s mine, too.” She wanted him to go away, to leave her to her task. Looking at him brought the hurt back, and she didn’t know if she wanted to smack him or kiss him. “Go do what you have to do. Let me do my job. We will deal with this later.”
He stomped out into the smoke and Merry slammed the door after him. When she finished with the computers, she headed to Noelle’s store to see what she could save and found Connor Bentley, the mayor, inside already packing.
“Mr. Mayor,” Merry said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Merry.” He wrapped newspaper around a glass piece and set it carefully in one of the blue totes Noelle used to transport her glass. “Are you here to help? Take this.” He handed her a glass bowl.
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