‘I know what I need, Cade. I should after all these years.’
‘Right. You’re the pro and I’m the novice. OK, maybe that’s true, but I’ve been performing more than half my life. I know something about stage fright.’
‘For God’s sake, I haven’t got stage fright! I just need to put in some more time with this script.’
‘Wrong, Padgett. You need time away from it. Trust me.’ He pushed open the door to the street and looked up at the sky as they stepped outside. ‘Look at that. You can almost see the sun in spite of the pollution. Wouldn’t you like to go somewhere, breathe fresh air, and forget about All Our Tomorrows for a while?’
‘Sure,’ she admitted with a sigh. ‘But I can’t. I have work to do. Goodbye, Cade. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘All right, all right, you win. I’ll ride you home and leave you to your work. Come on, don’t look at me like that. You know darned well I can deliver you to your doorstep in half the time it would take to get there any other way.’
Well, he had her there, she thought, eyeing the big motorcycle parked at the curb. The bike was fast and she knew Cade could maneuver it easily through the crowded streets, taking quick advantage of every hole in the traffic.
‘All right,’ she said finally. ‘I guess you’re right.’
‘I know I am,’ he said, handing her a helmet. ‘Just trust me, okay?. 1 know what I’m doing.’
******
‘Trust me, you said. I know what I’m doing, you said,’ Shannon slid from the Harley as it came to a stop. ‘Where in hell are we?’ she demanded. ‘Damn it, you...you kidnapped me! And why didn’t you stop when I told you to?’
Grinning lazily, Cade eased himself off the bike and pushed his visor up. ‘One question at a time, Padgett. . We’re at Jones Beach. Don’t tell me you’ve never been here before. It’s only thirty-something miles from the city.’
‘Spare me the geography lesson, please. Why didn’t you stop when I asked?’
‘I didn’t hear you,’ he said with wide-eyed innocence. ‘The engine noise must have drowned you out. Besides, you said you wanted to work, didn’t you? Well, this is the perfect place.’
‘Sure it is. Just you and me and the seagulls. Look, you’ve had your little joke. Take me back to the city, OK?’
‘Where’s your spirit of adventure, woman? Just smell that ocean breeze. And wait until you feel the sand between your toes.’
‘I want to feel my living-room carpet between my toes, Cade. And I want to smell the coffee brewing in my percolator.’
‘What a terrific idea,’ he said, taking her hand in his. ‘Coffee and cake... ’
‘Cade...’
‘And the world’s greatest chowder. Well, maybe not the greatest, but...’
‘Will you listen?’
‘You’ve got a choice, Padgett. Chowder and coffee and a walk on the beach and in an hour I’ll take you back to New York and deliver you, safe and sound, at your apartment.’
She looked at him warily. ‘Or?’
‘No chowder, no coffee, no walk and you can make it back to the city on your own. It’s only five miles or so to the main road. You can probably hitch a ride once you get there.’
‘Kidnapping and now blackmail,’ she said in tones as chilled as the salt-laden breeze blowing in from the ocean.
‘Just a little persuasion.’ Cade tucked her hand inside his, completely ignoring her attempts to pull free. ‘Why don’t you just relax and enjoy the afternoon?’
‘Enjoy being dragged off to some... some posh restaurant that caters to the idle rich?’ she sputtered as he hurried her on to the promenade. ‘What’s so funny, Mr. Morgan? Who else could afford to come all the way out to a beach for lunch in November...’ Her angry words drifted into silence as Cade dragged her inside a large, rather barren room.
‘What is this?’ she demanded. ‘It looks like a cafeteria.’
‘Great deduction, Padgett. It is a cafeteria. And it’s not polite to stare. You don’t want to make all these idle rich folks uncomfortable. Do you want french fries with your chowder?’
‘French... ? No, no french fries.’ Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Cade, everybody here must be over seventy.’
‘Yup. I first drifted into this place about three years ago when I did a concert at the outdoor theatre here on the Bay. It turns out that senior citizens flock here diving the off-season.’ He tilted his head towards hers and winked. ‘They’re a nice bunch, but not exactly fans of mine.’
‘I’m sure that’s one of life’s tragedies, Cade, but...’
He sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward. ‘Jesus, woman, you can be dense! No one ever recognizes me here, don’t you understand? These people probably never even heard of the Marauders, so unless I showed up in black tie with an entire symphony orchestra trailing after me, nobody would even look at me twice. I can walk along the beach and stop here for chowder and... Look, why don’t you grab that table near the window while I get our lunch?’
She watched as Cade moved from counter to counter, accumulating paper cups and dishes on his tray. Her stomach rumbled at the faint smell of coffee that hung in the air.
The truth was that she was starved, but she wasn’t about to let him know it.
The nerve of the man, riding away with her as if he were a highwayman! She’d screamed at him to turn back, but by then they were starting across the 59th Street Bridge and the sounds of the wind and the Harley and the road all conspired against her. She’d tried, of course, leaning into Cade’s back until she was plastered to him, her mouth almost against his ear, her arms clutching at the hard muscles of his abdomen...
‘You see? Just five minutes at the beach, and there’s a glow in your cheeks,’ he said triumphantly, setting the tray down on the table. ‘Almost a blush.’
‘One hour, Cade,’ she said quietly. ‘One hour, and then I expect you to take me back to the city.’
‘Just dig in. I got you some french fries, just in case you change your mind.’
‘I won’t. I never eat greasy things. And what’s that?’ she asked, poking at a plastic-wrapped square of darkish cake. ‘A brownie?’ Her voice rose in disbelief. ‘Only a true junk-food junkie would eat something like that. It’s pure sugar.’
‘I told you/ he said cheerfully, sprinkling salt on both bags of fries, ‘I’m the gourmet of roadside diners. Someday, I’m gonna give them ratings. One star to four, only I’ll use antacid tablets instead of stars. Are you going to eat your chowder or do I have to spoon it into you?’
‘I never eat lunch. I have to watch my weight.’
‘I’ll watch it for you. Eat.’
‘Anyway, I don’t like chowder.’
‘Don’t like chowder?’ He stared at her as if she’d spoken heresy. ‘How can anybody not like chowder?’
‘It’s easy,’ she said, and then she sighed in defeat. ‘OK, one mouthful, just to shut you up.’ Quickly, she spooned some of the soup into her mouth and swallowed it. ‘But I’m telling you I don’t...’ A surprised look settled on her face at the sudden taste of the sea and she eyed the bowl warily. ‘Well, I’ll admit, that’s not bad…’
‘Eat,’ Cade ordered.
Her stomach growled in agreement.
With a resigned sigh, she began to eat her soup. It was warm and soothing, and almost immediately she felt the tension begin to slip away.
Maybe Cade had been right, she thought grudgingly, glancing at him from under her lashes. After all, she hadn’t had a thing since coffee break, and not then, either, she remembered suddenly. She’d been busy with a costume fitting. And the soup really was good. It was thick with clams and potatoes and chunks of tomatoes...
‘Did you say I could have a few of those French fries?’ she asked politely.
Cade grinned. ‘What I said was that one bag was yours.’
Shannon grinned in return. ‘OK, I give up. The chowder’s good and I love french fries. The greasier the better.’
He leaned back in
his chair and nodded his head. ‘Yeah, I thought so,’ he said with a smile. ‘You look like a greasy french-fry type.’
‘Terrific,’ she muttered. ‘Meaning what—or don’t I want to know?’
‘It means you look like the kind of woman a man can relax with. It means what you really want is to take your shoes off and walk along the sand with me. It means... ’
‘It means I really want that brownie, too,’ she laughed. ‘Especially if it’s got fudge icing.’
‘That is truly decadent,’ Cade declared solemnly, handing the cake to her.
She was groaning by the time they’d finished eating.
‘I’ll never be able to fit into any of my costumes tomorrow,’ she said as they padded barefoot through the sand. ‘Actually, I may not have anything to worry about. I could be out of a job by then.’
Cade took her hand and laced his fingers through hers.
‘Don’t be silly. Jerry was just pissed at how the day went. Tomorrow will be fine. You’ll see.’
‘I want it to be fine, Cade. That’s why I’ve got to get home and get to work. I admit, this was fun, but...’
‘Fun? Fun? Is that what you think this is, Miss Padgett?’ Cade swung to face her. ‘ This is a workshop exercise. Eli would approve.’
‘Sure,’ she said, smiling at him.
‘Do I detect a note of doubt in your voice? Eli encourages his students to get inside their characters, doesn’t he? Identify with them?’
‘Well, yes, but...’
‘So we’re identifying. I'm the old-fashioned sort, you see. I thought it would be a good idea if we got to know each other a little better before I take you to bed tomorrow. I tell you, this acting business is rough.’
Shannon laughed softly. ‘I see. So this is strictly a working day, hmm?’
‘No, not strictly,’ he said with a quick grin. ‘It’s also therapeutic. And it’s working—you just laughed for the first time all week.’
‘Well, why wouldn’t I? This is a nice place.’
‘Nice? White bread is nice, Padgett. Scrambled eggs are nice. A record that can’t quite make it to the top of the charts is nice.’
‘All right, it’s beautiful,’ she laughed. ‘Is that better?’
He grinned and squeezed her hand. ‘Damned right it’s beautiful. You had me worried there for a minute. Here I bring you all the way out to one of my favorite places in the world and... Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Did you ever build sand-castles when you were a kid?’
‘Sand-castles? Cade, we’ve got to get back.’
‘God, the woman is impossible! Just answer the question, Padgett. Did you ever build sand-castles?’
Shannon sighed and shook her head. ‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘I never did.’
Dropping to his knees, he pulled her down beside him. ‘I thought I had a disadvantaged childhood. Yours must have been worse.’
‘I grew up in Kansas,’ she said patiently, sitting back on her heels and watching him. ‘It’s a bit far from the beach.’
‘That’s right, I remember. With all those blushing female relatives. Well, where I come from, you learned to build sand-castles.’
‘It figures. What else would you do in California?’
He threw back his head and laughed. ‘California? I grew up in Newark, New Jersey. Right in the shadow of the Jersey Turnpike.’
‘But I read somewhere... Not true, huh?’
‘Not even close. But one summer my mother got me into a program for city kids and I spent a week at the New Jersey shore. The family that I stayed with had a house right on the beach. God, it was a terrific seven days! I learned to roast hot dogs over an open fire and swim... ’
‘And make sand-castles?’
He grinned. ‘Not just sand-castles. Sand extravaganzas. Want to learn?’
‘Cade, I’ve really got to go back to the city.’
‘Sure,’ he said pleasantly. ‘Go on. I showed you which way to go.’
He ducked as she flung a handful of sand at him. ‘I’ll ignore that act of violence for the time being, Padgett. Pay attention, now. All you need is something to carry water—this cup will be fine—and a little imagination. And then, you pick the perfect spot—right about here should do it. We’ll have to make strong fortifications, though. I get the feeling that a really big wave washes up here once in a while.’
Shannon watched in silence while he began scooping up handfuls of the fine white sand and flinging it aside. Finally, she shook her head.
‘Are you crazy?’
‘OK, don’t help me. See if I care! I built my best castles without girls, anyway. Girls don’t know the first thing about defenses and walls and turrets. Girls...’ He ducked as a mussel shell hit him on the shoulder. ‘Second act of violence. Three strikes and you’re out.’
‘Girls—even in Kansas—build mud pies and play in the dirt. And we know all about turrets. After all, did you ever hear of princes getting locked away in castles? It’s always princesses, isn’t it? Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty and... go on, Morgan, shove over,’ she said, pushing up her sleeves and kneeling opposite him. ‘I’ll build you a castle the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Just don’t get in my way.’
Ignoring Cade’s snort of disbelief, Shannon began to dig in earnest. The top layer of sand was sun-warm under her fingers, but as she dug deeper, it became pleasantly cool and damp to the touch. She glanced at him as she worked; he was concentrating on his piece of the sand sculpture with the same intensity he seemed to bring to everything. It was what she’d seen in his performance that night at the Coliseum, and it was what had impressed her most during the time they’d spent together on the set and at the workshop.
Was it that intensity that he’d bring to their love scene, she wondered suddenly, or was it something else?
‘How’s it coming,?’ he said. ‘Ready to admit that all the engineers in the world should be men?’
She gave him her number one nasty smile. ‘Go on, laugh. Just wait until the first wave comes in. We’ll see who’s the better builder.’
Maybe his walls were stronger-looking, she thought, glancing from her piece of the castle to his, but her turrets were more imaginative. Surely that was important. Turrets were...
‘Rats!’ she shrieked, scrambling to her feet as a sudden wave engulfed the shoreline, racing across her bare feet and ankles. The water was so cold that it took her breath away, but all that mattered was that it knocked down a piece of her wall. She fell back to the wet sand and touched the damaged structure with one finger. ‘Cade,’ she wailed, ‘look what happened!’
He sighed dramatically as he knelt beside her. ‘I should have known a woman couldn’t compete in a man’s game. You faked me out with that bit about mud pies, but what’s a mud pie, after all? It doesn’t require a man’s skill and talent. It... Hey, no fair, Padgett, cut it out!’
Her first handful of sand missed its target, but the second sprayed over his shoulders and face. ‘Can’t take the truth, huh?’ he laughed, reaching for her hands. ‘Is that your problem?’
‘You’re a male chauvinist pig, Cade Morgan. That wave came in and headed straight for me... Cade, don’t! Come on, that’s not fair! Cade...’ With a shriek of laughter, Shannon tried to roll free of his grasp, but he pulled her down to the sand and stuffed a handful of the damp stuff down her collar. ‘That’s not fair... Cade...’
‘Damned right it’s not,’ he laughed, throwing his leg across her and pinning her body beneath his. ‘Men build better castles than women, Padgett. They’re also bigger and stronger.’
‘That’s it,’ she gasped, ‘if you can’t win fair and square, win by intimidation.’
She was laughing up at him, squirming beneath his weight like a kid in a wrestling match when suddenly the laughter caught in her throat.
Cade’s eyes met hers; the gleam in them faded, replaced by a dark intensity that made something stir deep within her.
‘Cade...let me up.’
; Her plea was a whisper, a husky sigh on the salty breeze. He shook his head.
‘You’re beautiful, Shannon,’ he said softly. ‘My fairytale princess with sand on her cheeks.’
She drew in her breath as he reached out and stroked her face. Her skin felt as if it were glowing beneath his fingers.
What would he do if she turned her head and pressed her mouth to his palm, she wondered suddenly? Would he take her into his arms and kiss her? Would he make love to her here on the empty beach, with only the gulls to see them while the ocean roared and the wind cooled their passion-heated flesh?
LOVESCENES Page 10