“Ah, but this is a dress rehearsal,” he said, leading her to the stage at the front of the room. He’d reached for her arm, but he’d somehow missed making contact again, just like at the festival. He wondered if she’d avoided his touch this time because she could tell he was sweating. He stopped just short of sniffing his armpit.
That she would certainly have noticed.
“Tensions tend to run high when acts come face-to-face for the first time,” he said. “They’re all vying for position in the lineup, while trying to determine which position would be best for them. They’re looking at the venue, determining how to fit their act into the space, assessing stage wing options for props or easy entrances and exits. They’re also finding out who they know, avoiding people they might’ve had words—or relationships—with in the past. Plus, they’re staking their claim to dressing-room space. And they’re doing all this while trying to appear blasé about the whole thing.”
In Hunter’s world, he and his staff dealt mainly with talent that could make it big, but hadn’t done so yet. Galas like Julie’s could be a chance at a big break. If the right person noticed them. Was impressed by them. Was in the audience at all...
Usually, with events of this size, there was at least one well-known agent or producer in the audience. He always saw to that. Kept the talent coming. Made the whole evening a win-win. And the level of his talent brought the producers and agents back.
All of it was in a day’s work for him.
Not that he expected Julie Fairbanks to know or care about any of that.
“So, what position would be best for them?” She actually met his gaze as she turned her head to look at him.
That was a first. Normally their eyes meeting, no matter how hard he tried to make it happen, turned into yet another near miss.
Blue. Her eyes were blue. He’d known that, of course. His were, too.
Blue and blue make blue. Crazy thought. From a crazy man. He needed to get a grip fast.
She’d asked a question. His mind struggled to recall it. Position. Right. She’d asked about position.
He had a flash of her on the couch in his study with her shirt unbuttoned...
No. What the hell was wrong with him? Hunter had never looked at a woman he was with and pictured her with her clothes off. Not unless he knew she wanted him to see her with her clothes off.
Some men did that. Lots of normal men did. Not him.
Just a rule he’d set for himself after a particularly heated fight between his parents, with his mother accusing his father of mentally undressing some woman at a party. His father had eventually become so riled, he’d admitted to having done that. Hunter, a kid at the time, had been completely sure his mother was wrong, but having heard his father’s admission, he’d made the rule for himself.
Julie turned those blue eyes on him a second time.
Position. Oh, yeah.
“I’m not sure there is a best position in a show like this one,” he said now, more serious than usual as he considered her question. Serious because he had to focus to stay on topic. “First is good since it guarantees you’ll be seen by everyone. But it’s so early in the evening that some folks might not have arrived. People are still eating. Chatting. Catching up. Generally just enjoying themselves. And not worried yet that the evening might end too soon.”
“Because the first acts are covered in the initial ticket price, no one needs to pay attention or push their buttons to stay. It won’t affect their wallets.”
“Exactly. It gets more intense, with more people actually watching the show as folks start to really pay attention. They have to decide whether the talent warrants another spend. Some will stay for the duration, just to donate, but a lot won’t. They’ll stay as long as they’re enjoying themselves.”
“So maybe, for the performers, it’s more about not getting the worst position,” Julie said. “Because if the talent that comes ahead of you isn’t good, you might not get to go on. And even if you do, there’ll be fewer people there watching.”
“The evening is wearing down at that point. People are usually quiet and watching the stage. Besides, any talent scouts in attendance are going to stay until the end.” At least Hunter’s did. Which was why his shows drew the level of talent they did, and why people paid so much money to attend one of his functions...
They’d reached the door that led backstage. Holding it for her to precede him, he told himself not to look at the perfectly shaped backside in the black jeans, or notice the way her wedged heels gave height to legs that had been crashing his thoughts for weeks now.
Still, as she turned toward him, waiting for him to follow, there was something...different about her. Like maybe she’d found the lightness in her step that he’d lost from his. Maybe she’d stolen it from him on Sunday. Yeah, maybe that was it.
Starting to feel a smile coming on, Hunter got to work.
CHAPTER SIX
JULIE HAD THE table set with fruit and fresh flowers, place mats and her favorite breakfast dishes before Colin and Chantel entered the breakfast room Friday morning. The family of three had a housekeeper who also did a lot of the cooking, but Julie had always reserved the right to prepare breakfast. When it had been just her and Colin, she’d needed the promise of time alone with her older brother to get her out of bed in the morning.
Needed to know that he’d know if she didn’t get up.
And since Chantel had come...it was just as important to start her day with her family together. Maybe more so. Much as she adored Colin, Julie found a greater understanding with the woman he’d married.
Plates of crepes were set down and, when they were empty, snatched back up as efficiently as she could manage without being rude. Ignoring the look between her brother and his wife—one that meant they were sharing silent thoughts about her—she was out the door before they were.
She’d been spending time with Joy for two days and was still the only one who could get any kind of response out of her. Lila and Sara wanted to give her a few hours alone with Joy that morning. She hadn’t told Colin or Chantel about the little girl yet. Not that she could say a whole lot anyway. But she hadn’t even mentioned that she was working directly, one-on-one, with a single child.
Reading to kids, doing puppet plays with them, having them paint and draw—her most common activities at the Stand—was fulfilling. Worthy expenditures of time.
And there was still that step back from personal intimacy. Allowing her to keep her private self safely tucked away inside.
It was how she wanted it.
And yet, here was Joy, who seemed to need her in a way no one else ever had. And she hadn’t been so eager to face a day since the night her beautiful, promising young world had crashed around her feet.
In jeans and a blue, button-down tapered shirt, she grabbed an art satchel out of the back seat of her BMW after she’d parked in the secured lot behind the Stand and headed inside the grounds. No one was sure what Joy might have seen the morning her aunt was beaten and her mother went missing.
No one knew what she’d seen before that, either.
Or experienced herself at the hands of her father. There’d been no outward signs of physical abuse—for which Julie was incredibly thankful.
But that didn’t mean the man hadn’t hit her. Only that he hadn’t done so with enough force to break bones. Or leave scars.
Sara and others were convinced that Joy’s silence was indicative of severe emotional trauma. But until the aunt could be questioned—other than the brief inquiry made by police as she was being loaded into an ambulance at the neighbor’s—Joy was the only one who could tell them what had happened.
And that was where Julie came in.
* * *
EDWARD CALLED, WANTING to meet for lunch again on Friday. And again, Hunter rea
rranged his schedule. Preparations for the two benefits he had going that night were running smoothly. He was half an hour ahead of schedule, as usual. There’d been some last-minute security issues and road closures with a 10K run he had set to kick off at six the next morning, but those were being handled. And Saturday night’s event to raise money for a political campaign was a roast. Other than arranging the venue, ordering food and drink, and taking care of the guest list and seating, his staff of three had little to do for that one.
He’d be attending the roast and had asked Julie to be his date for the evening. Or rather, had offered to take her so she could taste the desserts. He’d hired the same company to provide an after-dinner sweets table for her gala. She’d politely declined his invitation.
He’d originally thought he’d take Mandy—a first for him, mixing her pleasure relationship with business—but changed his mind. And was thinking of Julie again as he pulled into the posh resort where Edward had a room and saw the older man waiting for him at the valet post. Not an unusual occurrence if they were going out somewhere. They weren’t; Edward was just that badly in need of company.
His white shirt neatly pressed, his shined shoes pristine, the doctor held out a hand to Hunter as he stepped up to the curb. Edward had recently come back from the police station.
“If this was a stranger abduction, there’d be more chance that she’s already gone,” Edward told him, speaking of his beloved daughter as they sat on the patio of the resort’s Mexican eatery, the ocean restless in the distance. “But since she’s most likely with Shawn, they think there’s a good chance of finding her alive. Many abusers tend to become conciliatory, protective, even loving, after an attack. Our hope is Shawn is that type of abuser. If he lashes out when he’s drunk, we have a fairly good chance, too. As long as Cara can keep him away from the booze.”
Hunter shifted in his seat. He felt completely out of his element. And figured that if Edward’s daughter had been able to keep her husband away from whatever caused his heinous acts, she’d have prevented their current situation.
Watching the doctor rub at a nonexistent smudge on his water glass, Hunter felt for the guy. He didn’t expect great things of himself in the hero department. But for Edward, a man who’d dedicated himself to saving lives, being unable to save your own daughter had to be akin to burning in hell.
Remembering how frustrated and distraught his father would get when he lost a patient, Hunter looked out to sea.
He had to give his head a shake. The ocean had been a refuge for him back then, too, anytime his dad came home without the patience to deal with the sound of his mother’s voice. He’d go out to the beach. To surf. To lose the sound of his parents’ anger in the roar of the waves.
And then he’d go home, his usual cheery self, tell a joke, or if things were really bad, ask his dad to watch sports or go to the putting green. Soon all would be well again.
But this, a missing daughter...
“Is everyone positive that she didn’t go with him willingly?” Hunter asked. Maybe it was a horrible question to ask, except that it was a truth Edward had been living with for a decade. His daughter had forsaken family to be with a man who hurt her. So maybe the idea that her disappearance might have been voluntary wasn’t as alarming as the thought that his daughter was being held hostage by a maniac.
Nodding, Edward looked older than he had at the beginning of the week. Older than his fifty-two years. The lines around his eyes seemed more pronounced. “Among other things, she didn’t take her cell phone with her,” he said.
Hunter shifted again, wondering if a cool breeze would be along soon.
“But if they had to leave in a hurry, what with Mary’s...situation and all...”
He really wanted to come through for his dad and Betty. For Edward.
The older man’s smile was knowing. Sad. Almost as though he was giving up.
“They found her purse,” the doctor said. “Three hours north of here. It’d been thrown in a twenty-four-hour box-store trash can and was only found by accident. Her wallet was gone, but inside there was some ID cards, makeup, a handheld electronic reader with children’s books loaded and moist wipes. They’re going through it now.”
“Hopefully they’ll learn something...”
“Hopefully.” The doctor didn’t sound hopeful.
“It’s a start,” he continued. “More than they had before...”
Struggling to find anything in his repertoire for a situation such as this, Hunter dug deep. And still came up empty.
“I need a favor.” It was as though Edward had read his mind.
“Anything,” Hunter said, probably too eagerly. Anything he could do, he would do. They’d ordered but hadn’t been served yet. He could flag someone, get their food to go.
Or skip the meal altogether.
“I have a meeting this afternoon. An interview, more or less. I want you to come with me.”
“What kind of interview?”
“It’s with Joy’s counselor at the shelter. And some other staff. Apparently Joy hasn’t said a word since Mary got her to the neighbors that day. I want to see her...”
Edward’s voice broke. He visibly calmed himself, then said, “The people caring for her aren’t convinced it’s a good idea, particularly since she doesn’t know me. Or probably even know of me. At the same time, I’m family. And being with someone who loves her is vitally important at this point, too.”
He’d go. Of course he would. He just wasn’t sure what he could contribute...
“I have a tendency to come across as standoffish,” Edward said, looking him straight in the eye. “But you walk into a room and suddenly everyone feels comfortable.”
He wouldn’t go that far.
“This meeting is critical to me, Hunter. I can’t afford to have it go wrong. They aren’t going to risk that little girl’s emotional health—and I wouldn’t want them to—if everything doesn’t go perfectly. I know how much I love her. I know I can care for her. I just need a chance to get that chance.”
“When’s the meeting?”
“Four.”
Right in the middle of the time he’d allotted for the shower he’d planned to take before the evening’s round of party visits. Well, a washup and change would suffice.
“You want me to pick you up here?” It would take extra time. Meeting Edward at the shelter would work much better for him.
But this wasn’t about him.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
And he had an idea...one that was growing on him in leaps and bounds. “Then, afterward, assuming they need a while to discuss things and you don’t get to see Joy right away, you can come to work with me. I always have two tickets to every event, and one of tonight’s functions is to raise money for some technically advanced machine for the new hospital here in Santa Raquel. It’s taking place on hospital grounds. You’d fit right in...”
Finally, something truly helpful he could do.
Introduce Edward to his own kind.
That way, he wouldn’t feel quite so alone while he waited to learn his daughter’s fate.
And his own, too, Hunter supposed, when you considered that he could possibly become guardian to a seven-year-old child he’d never met.
“If I’m not spending the evening with my granddaughter, I’ll probably take you up on that offer, son,” Edward said.
Sounding just like Hunter’s dad.
So much so that Hunter relaxed.
He had this.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AFTER A COUPLE of hours with Joy, followed by a board meeting in LA, Julie pulled back into the Stand’s parking lot just after two on Friday. Joy would be out of “school” for the day, and if she wanted to be with Julie, Julie wanted to be with her. According to Sara, they’d had to p
ut Joy’s aunt in a medically induced coma—Julie wasn’t privy to the details—but it meant that Joy was alone.
A feeling Julie knew only too well. Shortly before the attack that had changed her life, she’d lost her own mother. And her father, too.
Memories of the debilitating fear that had taken over her life crept in even now, eleven years later. And she’d been nearly an adult at the time. Seventeen. Joy was only seven.
She’d coped by losing herself in the memories of her childhood. Expressing them through her drawing. And writing.
Amy, the little girl afraid of her own shadow, had been born during that time in Julie’s life. It was no wonder to Julie, and no mistake, in her view, that Joy clung to the fictional character. To the book.
She couldn’t stand in for Joy’s mother or aunt, but she could be a kind stranger who understood what she was going through during these first difficult days. And if there was a chance that she could help Joy tell someone what had happened the day her mother went missing... If there was any clue to her parents’ whereabouts that the child could possibly disclose, then she’d spend every moment she could trying to help Joy come out of her shell enough to communicate with them.
She’d had an idea and was feeling hopeful as she sat with the little girl in the same private room they’d been in that morning, a room in the school wing of the Stand’s main building. She’d set up two identical easels with a table in between. The table held pencils. Sitting at one easel, with Joy at the other, she started to draw freestyle. She invited Joy to do the same.
“This is how Amy came to be,” she told the little girl, her gaze on the page in front of her. She was drawing Amy. At The Lemonade Stand. Joy might not have figured that out yet. But Julie had faith that she would. “My mom was gone, too, and I was scared, and then Amy came into my head, like an imaginary friend, to play with me. Do you ever have imaginary friends?” she asked.
For Joy's Sake Page 5