Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5)

by Nicole Smith

  Anna said, "But we expect to see you at many meals, so don't think you're getting away scot-free."

  Beth laughed. "Don't worry, I plan to take full advantage of yours and Sam's cooking. When I'm left to my own devices I tend to just eat salads. It gets boring after a while."

  "Haven't you learned to cook yet?" Sam asked.

  "Not really. I hate trying to cook for just one person."

  "No boyfriends at all?"

  "Okay," Beth said. "I'll answer this one question about that topic. And that's it. No, there have been zero boyfriends for the past six months. The last one was a total loser, and the one before that was way too full of himself."

  "Well, you're pretty young to settle down at this point in your life anyway," her big brother said.

  "I'm twenty-one, not sixteen, Sam."

  Anna said, "Sam."

  He waved a hand. "Okay, okay. No more comments on your love life or dating."

  "Thanks," Beth said, winking at Anna. She saw that they seemed to be in the middle of a small town. "So this is Sully Point?"

  "Yes, this is the town square. You can go exploring later and we can do the official tour once you're settled in. The apartment is just over here," Sam said, pointing to the Bakery. Anna pulled the car into the parking lot behind it. "See those stairs? The apartment is there, just above the Bakery."

  "What did you say? A bakery? Right downstairs?"

  "That won't be a problem, will it?" Anna asked anxiously. "I didn't even think you might be watching your weight."

  Sam laughed. "She's not. She never has. Eats like a horse and never gains weight."

  "Quick access to a bakery? Sounds great. I do love pastries," Beth said with a grin.

  They parked and got all of her suitcases up the stairs. Sam opened the door and then gave Beth the key. "Welcome to your new place."

  She went inside and was immediately charmed by the eclectic style. She recognized Maggie's imprint on the decorating. It made the apartment feel homey to her. She knew she'd be comfortable here.

  "It's perfect. I'll have to thank Maggie, and Eric. I'm still shocked that she's married."

  "And pregnant," Sam said.

  "Yeah, that too. Blows my mind."

  Anna pointed to the kitchen. "We stocked it up with some basics, so you should be okay until we can get you to the grocery store. Let's get something to drink."

  Beth looked in the fridge and found it stocked with flavored seltzer water, her favorite thing to drink. Choosing the black cherry flavor, she poured it over ice and then gave some to Anna. They settled in the living room as Sam came in with Joshua, who was sound asleep.

  "What's Sully Point like, really?" she asked.

  "It's a quirky place, but fun, too," Sam said. He proceeded to regale her with tales of the town, Anna prompting him with details. They sat and chatted for an hour and then Anna stood up.

  "We'll let you get unpacked and have a couple hours to yourself," Anna said.

  "Then I'll come back and pick you up for dinner at our house tonight," her brother said.

  "Thanks guys." She hugged each of them, giving Joshua a kiss on the cheek. "See you later."

  She shut the door behind them and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she smiled. She was grateful to them for giving her some time to adjust. She wondered who would be at dinner tonight. She would bet Maggie and Eric would show up. Maybe she'd even meet more of Anna's relatives.

  She headed back in to the living room to sit on the green velvet couch. She noticed the hand paintings of flowers and vines on the wooden bookcase, along with a crocheted throw over the cream-colored brocade chair. Both of those were Maggie's doing, she was sure, knowing how her sister loved arts and crafts of all types. No doubt she was having a blast preparing a nursery.

  Beth leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. It was so restful here. No auditions to prep for, no huge highways to drive on, no stupid secretarial job so she could make money to live. She wasn't looking forward to telling Sam and Maggie that she'd quit that job to come out here for a visit. She knew, however, that she could get another one just like it when she returned. If she returned...

  It had occurred to her on the plane that maybe she needed more than a weekend or even a week as a break. Maybe it was time to reevaluate where she was going with her life. Hollywood had been nothing like what she'd expected. Of course, all her experience had been on the stage. Nothing in front of cameras, so maybe that was part of her problem. She'd loved performing on stage in front of a live audience, especially when they weren't prompted on when to laugh.

  She got up and began unpacking, hanging clothes in the closet and finally lining boots and shoes up against the bedroom wall when she ran out of room in the bottom of the closet. When she saw them all standing there in a row, it occurred to her that maybe she'd have an easier time making ends meet if she stopped shoe shopping. But even the idea of that felt like giving up something really important--like chocolate.

  Chocolate. That made her think of the bakery downstairs. It was going to be a while before dinner so she might as well check it out. She locked up and went down the stairs and around to the front of the building. She realized now why it had felt like Maggie was capitalizing the name 'Bakery' once she saw the sign on the front window. That was the name, just The Bakery. If she remembered correctly Anna had once worked here and it was where she and Sam had met. Didn't Anna's sister own the place? She wasn't sure.

  Pushing the door open, she stood in the entrance and inhaled deeply. A wonderful scent wafted over her, made up of cinnamon and other spices and sugar and butter--everything good. She smiled and walked in. She looked at the items under the glass countertop as the other customer in the store was helped.

  "We've got them freshly made today, Mr. Christopher," the girl was saying, a bit anxiously Beth thought. "It's the oatmeal with the raisins, too, just like you like them."

  "Hmm. We'll see," the man said and took a bite from the cookie in his hand. He chewed thoughtfully, and Beth wondered who he could be. He was just a bit taller than she was, an interesting looking man dressed all in black.

  "Perfect," the man said. "You've got them just right. I'll take a dozen."

  "Oh, that's terrific, Mr. Christopher," the girl said with relief. Kayla was the name on the tag on her shirt. Beth thought Kayla seemed rather desperate to please this Mr. Christopher.

  She watched as the man left and then turned to face Kayla. "He sure seems picky about his cookies."

  Kayla sighed. "I can only hope it helps."

  "Helps what?"

  "Oh, nothing," Kayla said. "Can I help you?"

  "Yes, what do you have with chocolate?"

  It turned out that double fudge brownies were still available. Beth bought two and mentioned she'd be back.

  "I just moved in upstairs, so you should be seeing a lot of me."

  Kayla looked startled. "That means...you must be Sam's sister! Welcome to town."

  "You knew I was coming?"

  "Oh, sure. Everyone knows." She lowered her voice. "I heard it from Maelynne herself this morning, but don't tell Maggie."

  "My sister Maggie? Why wouldn't I tell her that?"

  "Oh, my goodness. You're Maggie's sister too, aren't you? Well, she's the one who yelled at Maelynne on the street a few months back. Things are still a bit tetchy between them."

  Beth's eyebrows rose. "Maggie yelled at someone? You sure you have the right person?"

  Kayla nodded vigorously. "Yep, it was right outside."

  Beth shook her head in confusion. "Well, seeing as how I don't even know this Maelynne person, I don't plan on talking about her." She paused for a moment and looked back in the case. "You know what? Give me a couple of Mr. Christopher's oatmeal raisin cookies. I want to see what the fuss is about."

  Kayla put the cookies in a separate white paper bag, and then Beth paid and left. She felt curious about three things. Who was Mr. Christopher? Why was he important to a bakery salesgirl? And
, why was her sister yelling at people?

  Chapter 2

  Beth had changed into black jeans, black leather ankle boots, and an emerald green tunic top that matched her eyes by the time Sam came by to pick her up. Her eyes widened when she saw the sports car he was driving. She smiled at him as she remembered how he'd always been crazy for cars.

  "Nice!" she said as she got in and ran a hand across the dashboard.

  "Like it? It's yours, but only while you're here."

  "Seriously? That's fantastic, Sam. Thanks! What kind of car is it anyway?"

  He sighed. "I can't believe you don't know these things. This is a 2002 Ford Thunderbird. Not all that expensive, but a nice little car to run around town in."

  "I like that its outside is all shiny and black," Beth said with a grin at him.

  Sam groaned and then chuckled. "You always get me."

  "Having a car to get around in will be great. Although, this town seems so small I could probably walk everywhere."

  "It is a small town, and especially for someone coming from a large metropolis, it has to feel strange."

  She said, "At least the bakery is awesome. I already checked it out."

  "Should have figured on that. Are you going to be hungry for dinner?"

  "Sure. So is it just you and Anna and Josh, or will others be there?"

  "If by others you mean, Maggie and Eric, yes, they'll be there. But nobody else from the family. I figure to give you a couple days on your own before springing the whole gang on you."

  "You mean the Grainger family? Anna's folks?"

  "Well, it's more than the Graingers now. Holly and Cody, Anna's sister and brother, both got married so the Tremaines and Earlingtons were brought into the fold. Then you have to add in the Stantons, due to Maggie's marriage, and suddenly we have quite a group. We're pretty much all involved in one way or another with the foundation and with what we call the Sully Point Project. Did anyone tell you about that?"

  "I thought I heard something about building an artist colony—is that it?"

  "Yes. Work has started on it and we're making progress. Our most recent addition to things is the...well, let's wait until we're at dinner to discuss that."

  "What? Is it a secret?"

  "Nope, but we're here so let's go see everyone."

  He pulled the car into the driveway. Beth walked into the house to be engulfed in a hug by her tiny sister. Maggie always seemed so small, she thought. Five inches difference in height made a big difference.

  "Bethie! You're here!" Maggie said, hugging her tightly.

  "Whoa, you almost knocked me over, Mags."

  Maggie laughed and pulled away. She ran her violet eyes up and down Beth and declared, "Not an extra pound on you, as usual, but you look beautiful. Tired, maybe, but beautiful. Come on in and meet Eric."

  Laughing, Beth let Maggie take her hand and drag her into the living room. When they got there, she saw a handsome man with long hair pulled back in a tie, and crinkled green eyes in a smiling face.

  "Welcome to Sully Point, Beth. I'm Eric Stanton," the man said.

  "It's great to finally meet you, Eric," Beth said. "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be here for the wedding." From Maggie's inquisitive look, Beth knew her tone of voice had changed when she mentioned the wedding and missing it. She made an effort to smile. "So you two are going to be parents? That's just wonderful."

  Maggie laughed a bubbling, infectious laugh. "Yes! We just finished up the nursery. You have to come see it. But tell me, do you like the apartment? Is it okay?"

  "It's perfect. Thanks for letting me use it."

  Anna walked in, carrying a sleepy-looking Joshua. "He heard you come in and wanted to say good night."

  Beth kissed the little boy on the cheek and he gave her a slobbery kiss back.

  "Nite, nite, Aunt Bethie."

  "Oh, it's just Beth, Joshua."

  "Naw, it's Bethie. Heard Aunt Mag call you Bethie."

  Beth frowned over his head at her sister, who shrugged. "Well, okay. You can call me Aunt Bethie, that's cool."

  "Come on, big guy, let's get you into bed," Anna said. Joshua waved at them all as she took him out of the room.

  "You always did call me Bethie, even when I told you not to," Beth said to her sister.

  "And you always called me Mags. So we're even."

  Eric laughed. When they both looked at him, he said, "Sorry. But you two are so clearly sisters. It's kinda sweet."

  Sam offered drinks and soon everyone was settled with something alcoholic or non. Beth took her glass of white wine over to stand by the large window that looked out to the beach. The sun was just setting and the watercolor sky looked like a painting. Which reminded her of the painting in the apartment.

  "Anna, did you paint the piece hanging in the apartment?"

  "Yes, I did."

  "I really like it. I'd love to see more of your work while I'm here."

  "Come over during the morning, when I get the best light in the studio. You can see what I have here then."

  "I'll do that. I went to the Bakery this afternoon. Yummy brownies."

  Anna smiled. "The Bakery will always be special to me, to us," she said and looked at Sam. He walked over and sat beside her.

  "Yep, it was the place we met, several times, before we began actually dating."

  "There was a man in there today, some guy that the salesgirl, Kayla, seemed to be kowtowing to. She called him Mr. Christopher. Have any of you heard of him?"

  Beth watched as everyone in the room looked back and forth at each other and then to Sam. "What? What is it?"

  Sam smiled at her. "Nothing to worry about. I was going to tell you about Mr. Christopher tonight, anyway. Remember in the car, when I said we had a new interest in town? Well, he's a part of it. Beth, we've started a Playhouse here. We're going to have summer stock in Sully Point."

  "You're...oh, wow! That's terrific, you guys."

  "We're all pretty excited about it," Maggie said. "We thought you might approve. Mr. Christopher is the man we've brought in from the city to get it started. Do you keep up with stage news at all? He's--"

  "No! You don't mean William Christopher? The director and producer of some of the most popular and money-making plays in the past five years? He's here?"

  "Yes. Yes, and yes," Maggie replied. "We had to talk fast to get him, but he had finished a production and seemed really tired of the big city. We basically gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wants setting things up here. I think the idea of having total control appealed to him."

  "William Christopher in Sully Point. I can't believe it. You know he's known as the most demanding director around, don't you? But he does get amazing performances out of his actors. From what I saw in the Bakery today, he is demanding about even his cookies. That Kayla was fawning over him in hopes her cookies would please him. What's that about?"

  Eric laughed and the others grinned. "Everyone in town is hoping to be cast in the first play and they all know that he's making the choices. You can't go anywhere without hearing 'Mr. Christopher this' and 'Mr. Christopher that,'" Eric said. "It's probably driving the man nuts, running into one person after another trying to impress him."

  "You see," Sam said. "We asked him to utilize some local talent. He can bring in some actors if they'll accept the pay scale we're using, but we know there will be small parts that some in town might be good for. He agreed to our request. But he might be regretting it about now."

  Anna looked at her watch. "Time for dinner everyone. I'm taking out the fish right now, so if we could all move into the dining room..."

  Beth was impressed by Anna's cooking. The cod in cream sauce with delicate asparagus tips was delicious. The rolls were good too. "Where did you get these? Did you make them?"

  "I did make these, but you can get the exact same kind in the Bakery. They make them fresh every day," Anna told her.

  "So, Bethie...Beth...how long are you here for?" Maggie asked.

  Sam
glared at her. "Maggie, we said we weren't going to pester her."

  "I'm not pestering her. I'm just asking a simple question. Is it just for a few days or will it be a longer visit?"

  Beth sighed. "It's okay, Sam. I knew I was going to have to answer this. I've kind of been dreading it. See, guys, it's like this. I quit my day job to come out here. I was tired of it and I can get another one when I go back. I have excellent secretarial and computer skills. But I'd like to stay for a bit, I think. I'm tired, tired of looking for an acting job and tired of L.A. I need a break, and Sully Point seems like a good place for it."

  "See?" Maggie said smugly to Sam. "I bet you're glad I asked now."

  "What? What's up?"

  Anna shook her head. "Beth, I want you to remember when they tell you this next thing, you are not obligated to anything. You can stay in the apartment and take a vacation just like you'd planned. And everyone at this table had better remember that, too," she said sternly.

  Sam said, "It's like this. We, well some of us, were wondering if you'd like to help out, since you're here, with the Playhouse. Specifically, we need an assistant for Mr. Christopher. He's in need of the help of someone who can be organized but is also familiar with the theater. Would you be willing to fill in while you're here?"

  Beth sat back in her chair, rather stunned. To work with one of the greats in her line of work? But, and it was a big but, she thought, he was a director. A controlling director. She frowned, thinking of the recent slime-bucket of a director in L.A.

  "I was thinking you could learn so much from him," Maggie said. "And it would be doing something related to your work. Your passion. We don't want to use you. We want you to use the situation for yourself. Will you at least think about it?"

  "I'm not sure how long I'll be here...I'll think about it, okay? I'll definitely think it over and get back to you within a day, how's that?"

  "That would be good," Sam said. "Terrific, in fact."

  They had chocolate cake for dessert, a specialty of Anna's, and everyone agreed it was her best ever. Sam walked Beth out to the car, after she received some cake from Anna to take home.