The Burning Point

by Mary Jo Putney

  Laurel Clark, who played the hammer dulcimer, had set up her instrument in the corner earlier. Now she filled the air with exuberant Renaissance dance music as the guests rearranged themselves around the wedding party.

  Julia and Charles stood in the doorway to the den since the steps gave them a good view over the other guests. His dignified, once and future mother-in-law blew him a kiss.

  The Methodist minister who would perform the ceremony, a Corsi family friend, had slipped from the room to put on his robes. As the Reverend Whittaker worked his way slowly toward the wedding party, Donovan dug in his pocket for the rings. He and Kate both still had their original wedding bands, with the date of the first ceremony engraved inside, so he'd taken the rings to a jeweler to have the new date added.

  He handed the rings to Tom and Liz, then took Kate's hand. "Did you add the divorce date to the rings?" she asked. "It seems only fair to include the whole story for our grandchildren's sake."

  He grinned, thinking how in the weeks since their reconciliation, she'd become the laughing, confident Kate again. "Nope. Instead I had an infinity sign engraved inside each ring."

  He raised their joined hands and tenderly kissed her fingers. "This time, carissima, it's forever."

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

  As Kate and Patrick kissed, Julia wiped her eyes. This time the two of them would get it right.

  As she tucked away her handkerchief, Charles said quietly, "I love a wedding. How about if you and I do this after a discreet interval has passed? Say, a year or so from now."

  Julia's pulse went into overtime. "I...I haven't really thought that far ahead."

  "I have. The kids are right, second weddings should be simple. I keep thinking how lovely you'd look coming down the staircase in my front hall. That leaded glass window always looks its best with a bride in front of it. Until and unless Rachel finds someone she wants to keep, you're the best bet my window has."

  Julia bit her lip. Then, voice almost inaudible, she whispered, "Yes."

  His expression lit up. "In case I haven't mentioned it, Julia, I love you."

  "And I you, Charles." She sent a silent prayer of thanksgiving heavenward, for if ever a woman had been doubly blessed, it was her.

  In front of the fireplace, Patrick had his arm around his radiant bride. "The last thing I want to say is how lucky I am. I was amazed that Kate married me once."

  He looked down into her eyes, his gaze as intimate as a kiss. "The fact that she's willing to marry me again is nothing short of a miracle."

  "Patrick, as always, under-rates himself," Kate said. "I've a confession to make, too. All of you nice, opinionated people who told me I should look hard at what I'd thrown away were absolutely right."

  More laughter. When the levity faded, Kate said in a voice turned serious, "The one person who should be here but isn't is my father. Could we please have a moment of silence in memory of Sam Corsi? If not for him, none of us would be here today, and my life would be...incomplete."

  The silence was absolute. It ended when Reverend Whittaker said, "Amen. And now, in the endless cycle of life, it's time to celebrate a joyful new beginning."

  As a receiving line formed, Charles said, "When Sam insisted on writing that crazy will, I told him that in my professional opinion he was madder than a March hare. But damned if he didn't know what he was doing."

  Julia tucked her hand into Charles's elbow. "I don't know if he was wise, or if he just got lucky, but there's one thing I'm sure of." She smiled through a misting of tears. "Somewhere, my dear, Sam Corsi is laughing."

  Author's Note

  Domestic violence is wrong, wrong, wrong. That is not arguable, and no one should tolerate it. Yet life seldom unfolds with clearly black and white situations.

  When does a minor problem become major? What is the right time to leave before a bad situation turns catastrophic? And once trust has been shattered, can it ever be rebuilt? In The Burning Point I have chosen to explore these issues because transformation and reconciliation are recurring themes in all my novels.

  As a very young wife, Kate rationalized the conditions that were gradually undermining her marriage. She believed that each violent incident was isolated and wouldn't be repeated. She knew that Donovan loved her, which surely meant their marriage was strong and sound. She was convinced that if she was just loving and understanding enough, everything would work out. Luckily, she learned better before it was too late.

  Donovan was never a bad guy, but he had been raised with abuse, and his needs and his love were dangerously focused on Kate. Though he knew that sometimes his actions were completely unacceptable, as Kate continued to tolerate his behavior there wasn't much incentive to change. Only after losing what he loved most in the world did he realize that he must transform himself in profound and painful ways.

  Although Kate and Donovan are fictional, they are modeled on real men and women who have successfully overcome troubled pasts and built healthier lives. Healing a destructive relationship requires more than love. There must also be compassion, wisdom, and emotional toughness.

  Kate and Donovan have all of those qualities, along with a great capacity for forgiveness. This is why together they are able to rebuild their relationship and make it "stronger in the mended places."

  Book Excerpt

  from

  The Spiral Path

  Book 2 of the Circle of Friends Trilogy

  Prologue

  Broad Beach, California

  Four Years Ago

  Being a sex symbol was a hell of a lot of work. Kenzie Scott came in from his morning beach run panting like a racehorse and covered with sweat. Some days he reached the euphoria of a runner's high. Other times exercise was pure torture, and this was one of them.

  His all-purpose household help, Ramon, silently handed him a cool glass of juice and disappeared back into the kitchen. Kenzie dropped onto the sofa in the family room, sipping his drink and watching the waves roll toward the beach. He could gaze at the sea forever, he sometimes thought. Wave after wave, eternally. Hypnotic, mindless peace.

  There were a couple dozen things he should be doing, but he wasn't in the mood for any of them, so he took a videotape from the haphazard stack teetering on the end table. Oscar voting time was coming up, and studios were inundating Academy members with screeners of nominated films. He glanced at the box. Home Free, featuring a nominee for Best Supporting Actress. Raine Marlowe.

  He'd heard good things about Raine Marlowe, but hadn't seen any of her work. He popped the tape into the VCR, then returned to the sofa with the remote.

  He felt a tingle of anticipation as the opening credits appeared. He'd never outgrown his blind love of movies. The best memories of his childhood were the hours he spent mesmerized in the dark safety of movie theaters. Though becoming an actor had seemed impossible, he'd made it. Along the way he'd learned a lot about the complex skills required by filmmaking, yet he'd never lost the sense of wonder that movies always stirred in him.

  Home Free, a low-budget family drama that had done unexpectedly well, was just getting interesting when the phone rang. His assistant. Josh, wouldn't have let the call through if it wasn't important, so Kenzie hit the VCR mute button and lifted the phone.

  His manager, Seth Cowan, said, "Morning, Kenzie. Have you looked at any of the scripts I sent over?"

  "I looked at them, they looked at me. So far, nothing else has happened."

  "Never mind. I've just got a call about a role I'd really like you to think hard about. Have you heard that a remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel is in the works?"

  "Vaguely." Though Kenzie had always liked the story of Sir Percy Blakeney, who pretended to be a fop while risking his life to save French aristocrats from the guillotine, at the moment he was more interested in the silent characters on his wide screen television. "Pimpernel is one of the all-time great adventures, but it's hard to see how a new version could be better than the
one with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour. Why another remake?"

  "For starters, this is a feature, not a television movie. It also has a terrific script, as good as the Andrews-Seymour version." Seth paused dramatically. "Plus, Jim Gomolko is directing, and he wants to open the bedroom door for the love scenes, which hasn't been done in earlier versions."

  Kenzie rolled his eyes. "Sex does not automatically improve a movie."

  "In this case, it adds dimension to the relationship. Sir Percy and Marguerite are married, after all. If that physical bond is made clear, the pain of separation and distrust will be that much more vivid."

  "Good point."

  "Plus, costume dramas are hot, and this would be a nice change for you. You can be dashing, romantic, and eighteenth century all at once." Seth finished by rattling off the names of the producer, the cinematographer, and the others involved in the production. All top people. "They really, really want you for the Pimpernel."

  "Everyone wants me," Kenzie said dryly. When he'd dreamed of movies in smoky British theaters, he'd had no idea how exhausting success would be. "But you're right, it might be a nice change of pace. Who do they want for Marguerite?"

  While Seth listed the names of several well-known young actresses, Kenzie watched a battered car pull up to the curb on his television screen. The family's prodigal daughter was returning. The camera cut to a pair of excellent female legs swinging from the driver's side of the vehicle, then panned slowly up a slight figure. Clothes hanging a little loose, brown hair pulled starkly back...

  Kenzie sucked in his breath as the camera reached the girl's face. This had to be Raine Marlowe. She had "star" written all over her, effortlessly dominating the screen even in her drab costume.

  Why was she so compelling? Not from beauty, though she had a face the camera loved. But mere beauty was boringly common in Hollywood. There was something much rarer about Raine Marlowe's presence, a quality that struck to the soul, or would if he had one. A combination of fierce intelligence, honesty, and aching vulnerability. He wanted to pull her out of the screen for a conversation. He wanted to stroll with her across Pacific sands. He wanted...

  "Kenzie, have you heard a word I've said in the last five minutes?" Seth asked.

  His gaze followed Raine as she walked down a shabby city street toward a reunion she knew would be painful. Even with her back to the camera, she drew the eye. Fear and determination were visible in every step she took. "They're hot to get me for the Pimpernel, they're willing to pay an indecent amount of money, and you think I should take the role."

  Seth laughed. "Someday you're going to have to show me how you always know exactly what's going on even when you seem to be out to lunch. If you're interested, I'll send the script over. It's damned good."

  Kenzie watched the tense female figure disappear into a run-down apartment building. 'Tell the Pimpernel people I'll consider taking the part if they get Raine Marlowe for Marguerite."

  Seth hesitated. "I don't know, Kenzie. They've been looking at English actresses. Plus, Gomolko wants a lot of screen chemistry between his two leads."

  The camera moved in for a close-up as Raine Marlowe paused outside an apartment door. She was lovely in her bones. "I think chemistry can be arranged," Kenzie said thoughtfully. "If they want me, they get Ms. Marlowe. If they prefer another Marguerite, I'm sure there are plenty of other actors who will do splendidly as Sir Percy Blakeney."

  After a calculating pause, Seth said, "The girl is supposed to be a good actress, so she should be able to handle the accent. She's also new enough that she might come cheap. I'll tell them what you said." The negotiating process had begun.

  "Thank you." Kenzie hung up the phone and restored the sound to Home Free. Raine Marlowe's voice was exactly what it should be, a flexible instrument full of aching hope as she hesitantly greeted the mother she hadn't seen in years. Her soft tones flowed over him like brandied chocolate, sinking into his mind and emotions. She'd make an excellent Marguerite.

  This version of The Scarlet Pimpernel would open the bedroom door?

  Hollywood power was a very useful commodity.

  ACT I

  Setting the Stage

  Chapter 1

  Broad Beach, California

  Spring, Present Day

  The trouble with reality was that it was so damned real. Stomach churning, Raine Marlowe punched her security code into the control box of the beachfront mansion's private gates. If Kenzie had changed the codes, she'd have to come up with a new plan.

  Not that her husband had any reason to be paranoid where she was concerned. Their separation was terribly, terribly civilized. No property disputes, a nice little no-fault divorce that should be final in a few months. The tabloids had been reduced to making up quotes out of whole cloth to make the story more interesting.

  Motors purred and the ironwork gates swung smoothly open. As she drove her Lexus through, she gave a sigh of relief. She'd made it over the first, and easiest, hurdle.

  She parked in front of the sprawling house's entrance and climbed from the car. Even for a professional actress, the performance she was about to give would be hideously difficult.

  As she walked up the expensively landscaped path, she girded herself for the coming encounter. Her carefully chosen costume consisted of a briefcase-sized shoulder bag and a black Armani suit to show she meant business, with enough discreet cleavage to show she was a woman.

  On the front steps she halted, unexpectedly paralyzed by the endless rush of breaking surf. The sensual sound snapped her back to nights when she and Kenzie lay side by side in bed. Though she missed the lovemaking desperately, even more she missed the conversation. In the stillness of night there'd been no stardom or competition or tabloid reporters. Just the two of them--a man and woman linking hands as they talked lazily about their days, the work they both loved, how much they'd missed each other during their frequent separations.

  She wondered with clinical detachment how long the pain would be so devastating. In time, she supposed the anguish and gut-wrenching loss must fade because no one could live at such a level of misery. But relief wouldn't come any time soon, particularly not if Kenzie agreed to her proposition.

  Face set, she tapped in her code to unlock the front door. This one hadn't been changed, either.

  She stepped into the foyer and immediately checked the discreetly hidden security panel. Unarmed. Kenzie had always been careless about arming the system when he was home. Sometimes she wondered if he'd come to believe his own invulnerable movie roles, where he could decimate whole armies of villains without receiving more than a few bruises and maybe a carefully placed flesh wound.

  This early on a Sunday morning, the house was silent. The Filipino couple who lived in a separate cottage and cared for the house and its occupant would be at mass now, but Kenzie should be home. She'd charmed his schedule out of his assistant, Josh Burke, who'd always liked her. Since her husband was in the final stages of shooting an exhausting action picture, he planned to spend a quiet day at home. Perfect for her purposes. "Kenzie?"

  No answer. She checked the spacious kitchen, whose tiled floor and backsplash had the rich warmth of a Tuscan villa. Empty, and no signs that her husband had made breakfast here.

  He wasn't in the living room, nor in the ground floor exercise room. Damn. He was probably still sleeping.

  Hoping to God he was alone, Rainey climbed the sweeping staircase. The house was contemporary, designed to capture sunlight and take advantage of the magnificent, staggeringly expensive beach frontage. Kenzie had already owned the house when they married, and she'd been happy to move in.

  He loved the sea. In fanciful moments Rainey had wondered if he might be a selkie, one of the legendary Celtic creatures who lived in the ocean as seals and on land as mysterious, dangerously attractive men. The legend certainly explained a lot, such as the fact that sometimes she felt as if she and Kenzie came from different planets.

  Would it have made a differenc
e if they'd bought a new house together and entered as equals? Probably not. He'd encouraged her to redecorate to make this place as much hers as his. They'd had great fun choosing carpets and furniture...

  Hell. When would she stop thinking of them as a couple? She reminded herself that it had only been a few months since their marriage had exploded, so neurosis was natural. She headed to the master bedroom suite. With every step, her stomach knotted tighter. She considered bolting and contacting Kenzie through Seth Cowan, but the manager would be against Kenzie taking this job. She must risk a personal meeting if she was to have any chance of getting what she wanted.

  A rap on the bedroom door produced no reply. Steeling herself, she opened it

  She sighed with relief to see Kenzie sprawled on the bed alone. Given the way women pursued him, there could easily have been an eager film student or ambitious starlet sharing the wide mattress, and Rainey would have had no right to complain. Months had passed, divorce papers were wending their way through the courts, and it wasn't as if either of them had ever claimed to love the other.

  She entered the bedroom, letting her high heels click on the Spanish tile floor like castanets. Kenzie's eyes opened. Despite the instant recognition and wariness visible in the green depths, he didn't move a muscle. He simply lay as still as a lion. "Good morning, Rainey." So blasted civilized.

  Keeping her distance, she said, "Sorry to disturb you this early, but I have a business proposition for you."

  Kenzie propped himself up against the headboard, bare to the waist. His dark hair was tousled with a sensual abandon that a stylist would have been proud to produce. "Indeed? Tell me about it."

  She was going to have to make her pitch to a naked man. Well, she'd done stranger things. She paced across the vast bedroom, tension reflected in her short, quick steps. "You know I've been working on a screenplay."