by Duke, Regina
Sheila said, “They look like they’re wearing chenille bedspreads.”
“That’s because we’ve just had them sheared. We sell the wool.”
Darcy ran her hands down the giraffe-like neck of one of the alpacas. “They feel like the warmest sweater ever. And look how big their eyes are! That’s amazing.”
“Do they bite?” asked Sheila.
“No, ma’am. But they sometimes spit at each other. Try not to get in the way of that. It’s not pleasant.”
Darcy laughed. “They’re amazing.”
Sheila murmured, “Lots of folks in California want alpaca wool. I know six different people that card and spin wool from scratch.”
“The cream-colored ones are so pretty,” said Darcy.
Axel nodded. “That’s mostly the wool we sell. I have a couple barrels of the brown stuff. It’s impossible to dye the brown, so people want the lighter colors.”
Tony held up his hands as if he were framing shots with Darcy and the alpacas. “Austin, my man, let’s take some photos.”
A horse whinnied loudly inside the barn. Darcy said, “You have horses, too?”
“Of course,” said Axel. “That’s how we round up the herds when need be. The horse that’s whinnying for attention is Taylor’s warmblood, Jackson. He thinks we’re paying way too much attention to the other animals.”
“I love horses,” said Tony. “They’re so photogenic. Mind if I take a look at Jackson?”
“No problem. But you’d better go in armed with a carrot.” He pulled one out of a supersized bag inside the barn door.
“Thanks.” Tony took the carrot and disappeared inside the barn. When he emerged, he announced in his best producer voice, “We definitely want Jackson in the movie.”
Axel barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Instead, he said, “You’d better check with Taylor about that.”
They stayed until two, when it became clear to Tony that his brother had done all the playacting he was going to do. Before Axel could blow their cover, Tony rounded up his group and they drove back to town.
“Sorry about not fixing lunch,” said Axel. “But when Austin texted how many were coming, I ordered Taylor to sit down and rest while I did chores. I don’t want her to get overly tired. I hope that’s okay.”
“It works out just fine,” Tony assured him. He glanced around to verify that Sheila was already in the car, then added, “Thanks for playing along, brother.”
Axel laughed and said under his breath, “You’re still the crazy one in the family.”
Once they reached the hotel, Austin took his leave, once again claiming his wife was waiting for him. The other three had a late lunch at the Il Vaccaro restaurant and retreated to Lulamae’s suite for evening cocktails.
By nine o’clock, Sheila was exhausted. “Darcy, love, I’m glad your career is going so well. I’m going to my room. I should get on the road tomorrow and head home. Lulamae, I think Darcy’s career is in good hands. Tony, you’ve given me some ideas about how to make money. There are lots of touristy shops in Placerville, less than an hour from my house in Forest Hill. I need to go talk to the shop owners and, of course, pay my property taxes.” She gave Darcy a warm hug. “I’ll say goodnight, but not goodbye. After you finish scouting for locations, maybe you’ll come home for a visit? Or at least text me now and again. I’m going to head out at the crack of dawn. Get a head start on my trip. But at least I won’t worry about you, dear. You seem to be surrounded by good people.”
Everyone said goodnight, and Darcy closed the door. She immediately sagged against it. “Thank goodness.”
“That went rather well,” said Lulamae. “I think we pulled it off. Don’t you, Tony?”
“Definitely.” He lifted a brow. “So Darcy, now that your mother is out of earshot, explain to me why those Hollywood moguls rejected you.”
Darcy’s gaze dropped to the floor. “It’s more like me rejecting them,” she said. “There’s a lot of ugliness that goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood, and I just couldn’t bring myself to…. Well, it’s like women are expected to sell their bodies in exchange for a role in a movie. And then having the porn people banging on my door was awful. They got my hopes up. I thought they were legit until they finally explained that I would have to get naked.”
“Sounds like a bunch of users,” said Tony.
“That’s what it felt like, too,” said Darcy. “I wish movie producers were a lot more like you. Maybe then I’d stand a chance.”
Tony tipped her face toward the light so he could take his time drinking in her beauty. “Don’t give up yet,” he said. “You never know what the future holds. Besides, looks like yours were made for Hollywood.” They stood and stared into each other’s eyes until Lulamae announced she was going to bed.
“No hanky panky,” she teased. “Cherie, do I have any pain pills left?”
“Yes,” said Darcy, “and I’ll bring you a whole one if you promise to only drink water with it.”
Lulamae crossed her heart. “I promise.” She began moving toward her bedroom, but paused long enough to throw over her shoulder, “By the way, Darcy, I Googled you and there was nothing about you being in Colorado. I wonder how your mother really found you?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Darcy awoke to the tinkle of Lulamae’s bell. Her new phone told her it was eight a.m. Friday morning. She threw off the covers, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and trotted into Lulamae’s bedroom.
“Good morning,” she said softly. “Do you need a pain pill?”
Lulamae looked miserable. “Yes, please. I thought resting yesterday would put an end to all these muscle aches. I thought I’d be fine, but this morning every part of my body hurts.”
“That’s because when you fall down, your entire body hits the ground,” Darcy teased gently. “I’ll get a bottle of water and be right back with your pill.”
When she returned, Lulamae said, “Today, I want to stretch out on that big sofa by the windows and read for a while. If my godchildren want to see me, they will have to come on up to our suite.”
“Okay,” said Darcy, trying to hide her disappointment. “I’ll stay in with you.”
“No, no, no. You go out and have fun with Tony. And don’t y’all worry about me. You can help me add your numbers to my phone before you go out and about.”
Darcy eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not going to drink alcohol with a whole pain pill, are you?”
“Goodness no,” said Lulamae innocently. “Of course not.”
But Darcy wasn’t convinced. Even so, Lulamae couldn’t do much damage to herself if she stayed in the room, could she?
“Darcy, would you call down to room service and have them send up a plate full of crispy bacon with the pastry trolley? I need some protein. And lots of coffee.”
“Would you like help getting dressed?”
“I’m in my pajamas,” said Lulamae. “That will have to suffice. I will, however, let you take my elbow as we move me onto the sofa.”
Half an hour later, Darcy was dressed and the breakfast cart had arrived. She made sure it was stationed close by the sofa. She still had doubts about leaving Lulamae alone.
A soft rap on the door distracted her. For a moment, she wondered if her mother had changed her mind about going home. She opened the door with a small frown on her face. It melted in an instant when she saw Tony standing there.
“Am I too early for breakfast?” he asked.
Darcy thought her smile would split her face. “Come on in. Lulamae is really sore today, so she wants to stay in.”
Tony nodded. “So are we staying in, too?”
“She says no. She wants us to go out and have fun.” She added softly, “I think she’s exhausted and wants a few hours to herself.”
“Good. I mean, let’s have breakfast with her first.”
When they reached the big sofa, Tony leaned over to kiss Lulamae on the forehead, then pulled an ottoman around and perched his behi
nd on it. “I’ve been thinking about this breakfast cart all night.”
“Didn’t you sleep well?” asked Darcy.
Tony made a face. “At eleven o’clock, I got another phone call from the countess. And you won’t believe what kind of trick she’s pulling.” He filled them in on his conversation, mostly for Lulamae’s benefit, but wove in so many laughable details that both Darcy and Lulamae were highly entertained. “So tit for tat, I’m going to pull a little trick on her.”
By the time he’d finished his tale, Lulamae had eaten half the bacon. “Tony, you know these games can backfire, don’t you?”
“What game? I’m just going to give her something genuine to worry about, that’s all.” He winked at Darcy.
Darcy poured herself a cup of coffee and settled on the sofa. “She’s coming here? How does she even know where you are?”
“I have no idea. Lulamae, does my father know this woman? Countess Lysette? I don’t know her husband’s name, but he claims to be a real count.”
Lulamae and Darcy chorused, “There are no counts left in France.”
“Exactly. See? She’s playing a huge game, and I plan to give her a run for her money.”
“How so?” asked Darcy.
One corner of Tony’s mouth moved upward in a crafty smile. “You’ll see. Let me eat breakfast first.”
“Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” He reached for the cup and his fingers brushed against Darcy’s. She gasped with surprise. “Oh dear. There must be static electricity in the air.” She blushed and looked away.
Lulamae chuckled. “Oh my goodness, youth is wasted on the young. Y’all don’t even know what’s happening to you.”
Darcy pulled her head back. “What? What’s happening?”
“Never you mind, cherie. You two have fun today.”
“I hate to leave you alone,” said Darcy. “You’re paying me to assist you.”
“Yes, and you will. But I need some alone time, so y’all go on and have fun. Now scoot.”
“You heard the lady,” said Tony, wrapping a bear claw in a napkin. “She wants us out of here.”
Lulamae’s eyes creased at the corners. “After all, Darcy, a famous movie star should not be waiting hand and foot on an old woman. I’ll let my godchildren do that.”
* * *
Once they were in Tony’s car, Darcy asked, “What kind of trick are you really pulling on the countess?”
Tony smiled impishly. “Do you disapprove?”
“No, I haven’t even heard it yet. It’s not illegal, is it?”
“Of course not! I just want her to worry, the same way she made me worry. Maybe I’m being too vindictive.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Look in the glove box.”
Darcy opened it and found the familiar velvet bag, but it was empty. Her eyes widened, and she tipped her head at Tony, letting her body language ask the question.
“No, I’m not stealing it. I’m just going to make her work for it. I still don’t know how she found me….”
Darcy said sarcastically, “Maybe she Googled you.”
Tony laughed. “Did your mother ever tell you the truth about that?”
“Nope. I don’t get it. Why would my whereabouts be on Google? Lulamae didn’t find anything.”
“I’d like to know how she located you. If there’s a social media presence out there that you don’t know about, it might hurt your career. Are you on any agency’s listing?”
Darcy shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, it was all so confusing. They only cared about my physical beauty. No one wanted to know anything about my education. It was all photo shoots and big talk.”
“If you can recall who did your photo shoots, we’ll look them up later.”
Darcy inhaled sharply as the realization dawned. “Oh my God. My roommate in Hollywood. That’s got to be it.”
“How?”
“I was subletting a bedroom in her apartment, and she had a phone. It was strange, because I was out pounding the pavement, going to agencies, taking my photos around, and stuff. She was talking about all the different places she would eventually apply, but I never saw her actually work at it.” She groaned in disgust. “I’m sure I gave my mother her number when I first moved in. I still had my other cell back then. I probably even texted her the number. Good grief.”
“So, you think your mother called her?”
“That’s got to be it.”
“How did your roommate know you were in Eagle’s Toe?”
Darcy replied dismally, “I’ve been staying in touch with her, and I told her where Lulamae was taking me before we left Vegas.” She shook her head. “Mother must have driven nonstop from Forest Hill to get here so fast. I’m in shock.”
“No worries. She needed you. Or rather, she needed a loan. So that’s taken care of. She seemed genuinely interested in your career and our movie-making activity.”
“Very funny. Ha. Ha. But thank you for the loan, and thank you for maintaining my mother’s illusions for a while.” She frowned at a spot on her pants and picked at it. “I really do love her, you know. It’s just that…well, when I lived at home she was kind of a helicopter mom. Hovering over me all the time. Pushing me to do more, study harder, stay away from boys.”
“That seems a bit odd. You were in high school, right? When I was in high school, all I could think about was hanging around pretty girls.”
Darcy gave a little shrug. “She tried to impress upon me the importance of getting my career off the ground before I let myself fall in love.” She turned away, embarrassed to have said those words to Tony. What if he didn’t feel that way? And why was she letting herself fantasize about him? Then she realized that her movie career was probably never going to happen. So why shouldn’t she spend time with Tony?
After a long silence, Tony said, “I don’t think my mother was that type. She was so busy all the time. Horses. Flying lessons. Charity work.”
Darcy peeked sideways at him. “So, your family has serious money? I mean, oh darn, that sounded terrible. I apologize.”
Tony grinned. “No problem. Yes, you could definitely call it serious money. My father is extremely serious about it.” He maneuvered through the parking lot, then pulled onto the street and changed the subject. “I have to say, I’d forgotten how much fun it is to play a role opposite Lulamae. She’s a peach.”
Darcy smiled. “Yes, she is. She’s still hanging on to her role, too.”
“And why not? I sort of like the idea of going into the movie business. My yearly allowance has been building up for some time now. I used as little as possible while skiing all over Europe. I told my father I wasn’t coming back until he promised not to run my life.”
“Ahhh. So you had a ‘helicopter dad.’ No wonder you seem to understand my situation so well. And you really have enough money to just…go into the movie business?”
“Money, yes. Knowledge, no. So you may have to help me out with some things.”
Her expression made Tony grin. “And you won’t have to take off your clothes, and you won’t have to do porn.” He slowed the car as they passed a glass-fronted brick building.
“That’s Thor’s shop. Security. That’s his game. That and real estate. He’s building luxury homes west of Eagle’s Toe.”
“Maybe you should buy a house from him.”
Tony screwed his face into an imitation of the Grinch. “Family solidarity? Eeeew. Not sure about that. But…if you like, we can drive through his development and see what it looks like?”
Darcy laughed. “Sure, why not? If he’s building luxury homes, I can add them to my list of things I’ll never be able to buy without a movie career.”
Tony grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Maybe while we’re driving, you can tell me what else is on that list.”
They drove through the woods until they found a stone-and-timber marker announcing “Garrison Homes. Luxury in the Forest.” Tony turned onto the macadam road and t
hey moved slowly past several beautiful homes designed to resemble enormous log cabins interspersed with future building lots. Only a few homes were occupied.
“They must still be working on the interiors of most of them,” said Tony.
“I like the cabin look. It fits in with the forest. It looks weird, though, seeing bulldozers sitting amongst the trees. Kind of sad.”
“I think there are quite a few people who agree with you. The Eagle’s Toe town council has slowed down production quite a bit, throwing up obstacles and hurdles every few months. Last year, at Axel’s wedding, I heard quite a bit of conversation about the hassles he has faced. And the hostility from the part of the town that wants to keep Eagle’s Toe small and cozy.”
“Oh. So the wealthy have their own set of problems.”
“Definitely,” said Tony, teasingly. “What kind of fancy hat to wear to the Kentucky Derby? Is six months too soon to trade last year’s Rolls in for this year’s Rolls.”
Darcy poked his arm with a finger. “You stinker. Why are you driving a rental car if you own a Rolls?”
“My father owns a Rolls. And the Darby family…the ones who sent the private plane for you and Lulamae…they own two, a modern one and a classic. They have a bigger garage than my old man does. Of course, Dad and Bambi, his second wife, they have horses and barns and a mansion up in Westchester county. As for my rental, well, it’s hard to maintain a fancy car when you spend your days on the ski slopes, far from…home.”
The morning slipped away as they toured the Garrison homesites. They parked next to a small meadow and watched a herd of white-tailed deer grazing peacefully. Tony took a map out of the glove box and attempted to pinpoint the Darbys’ home for Darcy. Then they had fun looking for Axel’s reindeer ranch on the map. At last, Darcy’s stomach growled.
Tony smiled. “I’m hungry, too. It must be the forest air. Let’s head back and find a place to eat.”
Forty minutes later, they cruised past Thor Security again. Darcy pointed to a nearby storefront. “Hey, look, there’s a little cafe right there. The Itty Bitty. That sounds fun for lunch.”