“Really?” she asked, wanting to be pleased, but she was also curious.
Nodding, Hank explained, “He helped unload the entire truck and when that was done, he helped Gladys and Mark move all the boxes of donations that arrived yesterday. It required quite a bit of rearranging in the back storage room. We just told Julian what we needed, and he did it.”
Brows furrowed, Charlotte had to wonder where the heck everyone else was if Julian was doing all the work. Which is what she asked him.
“Oh, the other guys all helped with sweeping up and breaking down the pallets and boxes from the food delivery. This is the best this place has looked in a while.”
And it made her smile. It was nice to know she could do something to help make a difference, and she instantly felt bad for feeling so put-upon earlier.
“So what’s his situation?” Hank asked. “How long has he been out of a job?”
Charlotte shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. He hasn’t said. I just met him this morning and mentioned what we were going to be doing here tonight. I was kind of surprised when he showed up.” She paused. “Normally I can get a good read on people, but he’s not an easy case at all.”
“Some people are like that.” Hank studied her for a moment with a patient smile. “You know you can’t work miracles with everyone. And not everyone has so many layers that you need to take it upon yourself to go through.”
“Maybe…”
And while she knew Hank had a point, she didn’t think it applied to Julian. She knew enough about people to know when there was more there than met the eye, and that was exactly what she felt in this situation.
And then there were some blurred lines in her reasons why she wanted to know more about him. It wasn’t solely for professional reasons and it was the first time she’d ever had to deal with that kind of conflict. From the moment Julian had turned around in the coffee shop this morning, she’d felt more than a professional interest in him.
No matter what she tried to tell herself.
Charlotte was about to wish Hank a good night and say goodbye when something occurred to her. “Did Julian happen to mention what kind of job he was looking for?”
Hank shook his head. “It didn’t come up. If anything, I got the impression he doesn’t like to talk about himself. Any time we started talking about job prospects, Julian would ask what else needed to be done.” He chuckled softly. “That was kind of how we ended up getting so much done. You know we never turn down an offer for help.”
Which meant the topic of job prospects must have come up a lot.
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” This time she did say goodbye and walked to the office to get her purse. On her way out, she glanced around and noted how the place did look a lot better than it had in a while—cleaner, less cluttered. She wished she could have thanked Julian, but he was nowhere in sight.
She stepped outside, foolishly hoping she’d find him outside just as she had earlier, but he wasn’t there. The sun was going down and as she wondered where he might be, her stomach growled loudly. It was only then that she realized she hadn’t had anything to eat since her coffee and muffin this morning with Julian.
Julian…
With a sigh, she walked toward her car and wondered again what it was about him that had him so firmly planted in her mind. Did she want to help him? Yes. Did she need to know he was going to be okay? Absolutely.
Did she also want to run her hands up his muscular arms and touch him and then have those same arms wrapped around her?
She hung her head and shook it.
Yes.
It was right then when she knew if she did happen to hear from Julian again, she was going to have to ask one of her colleagues to help him.
She was already too emotionally invested in him, and not in a strictly professional way.
As Charlotte drove home, she forced herself to think about something else. Anything else. And surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to do. By nature, she was a list-maker and once she pushed all thoughts of Julian aside, she realized how much she had to do in the coming week.
Going out with friends had become a bit of a challenge in the last six months because the last of them had gotten married and now everything was suddenly a couples’ event.
Every. Blasted. Thing.
Even their once-a-month brunch had all the husbands horning in. It was impossible to have any serious girl-talk with five men sitting there!
As much as she’d like to blame it on the guys for ruining their time out, it was also the way everyone was looking at her, wondering out loud why she wasn’t dating, asking when she was going to settle down and why it was that she didn’t want a family.
She did! More than anything Charlotte wanted to get married and have kids and a dog and a house with a white picket fence, but it wasn’t so easy to find! Listening to her friends, however, you’d think it was. Each of them had met their Mr. Right and when they told the story, it was as if they’d just opened their doors one day and said “Oh! There you are!” and that was that.
Um, yeah. That had never happened for her. If anything, she’d opened her door and found Mr. I-Have-Issues. She’d invest months in helping him, only to have him walk away and be someone else’s Mr. Right.
“Ugh…maybe I need to get a fish,” she said as she made her way to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water.
Most people would contemplate getting a dog or cat, but not her. The ever-practical side of her knew she should start small and work her way up. Sure, a fish couldn’t snuggle with her, but she was a firm believer in not overwhelming herself when she tried something new. Fish would be easy to care for, and it wasn’t like she was going to invest in a big aquarium. Maybe just a goldfish for starters.
And how pathetic was it that she was actually starting to feel a little excited at the prospect of getting a goldfish?
* * *
“And nobody recognized you?”
Julian shook his head. “Nope. No one. I’d say it was weird, but I was just on the road without it happening so…maybe I’m used to it now.” He was sitting poolside at Riley’s house along with Dylan and telling them about his night working at the homeless shelter.
“So, here’s my question,” Dylan began. “Why? I mean, why go? You talked to this woman and she just assumed you needed help—which we’ll get to later—and that was the end of it. You never had to see her again so why bother going?”
With a shrug, Julian reached for the bottle of water in front of him. “What else have I got to do?”
Riley and Dylan looked at each other and then back at him. “I would imagine after three months away you’d have a lot to do,” Riley said. “You’ve been away from everything and everyone, I would have thought you’d want to reconnect with your friends and your family, Jules. Your first night home and you’re out unpacking a truck in Santa Monica. It just seems a little…odd, that’s all.”
“It was my second night,” he corrected. “I talked to Mick, I’d been in contact with my folks the whole time I was gone, and now I’m here with the two of you. I’m meeting with a Realtor later today about the house, and I’m going to put most of my stuff in storage until I find a place of my own.”
“You may find someplace pretty quick,” Dylan said. “Paige and I did. It was the first house we went to and we just fell in love with it.”
Riley nodded. “That’s how I felt when I saw this house. Savannah and I talk about moving, since this was my place from before we met and it’s getting a little crowded with two kids, but we just love it.”
Julian couldn’t help but smile. If ever there was a family man, it was Riley Shaughnessy. It wasn’t just the fact that Riley came from a big family, he really seemed to have hit his stride since becoming a father.
“How’s the baby doing?” Julian asked. “I noticed it was pretty quiet in the house when w
e arrived.”
Riley’s grin spoke volumes. “He’s doing great. Savannah’s parents are flying in today and she took the kids to meet them at the airport. Her mother would be devastated to have to wait even an extra minute to see them.”
“Speaking of kids,” Dylan said and Julian noted the slight goofy grin on his face, “we just found out Paige is pregnant!” There was a flurry of congratulations, and if anything, Dylan’s smile grew. “Can you believe it? Me! I’m going to be a dad!”
“That is amazing news, Dylan,” Riley said. “How is Paige feeling?”
“She’s great. I mean seriously great. I was going to wait until Matt got here next week to tell you guys, but…I couldn’t,” he said with a laugh. “We knew as soon as we bought the house that we couldn’t wait to have kids and I’m so freaking excited it’s happening.”
“Good for you, man,” Julian said and he meant it. Dylan had gone through so many years of battling his demons that it was good not to only see him clean and sober, but also so happy. Then he glanced over at Riley and realized how his friend hadn’t gone through anything even remotely as dark as the rest of the band, but he’d overcome a great deal after his mother’s death so long ago, and here he was loving life too. And no doubt when he saw Matt he’d notice the same thing. So it was possible to find happiness after the lowest points in your life.
At least for other people.
Somehow, Julian didn’t think it was going to happen for him. He doubted he would ever be willing to open himself up to the possibility ever again.
Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.
“I’d say let’s make a toast,” Riley said with a small laugh, “but it feels weird to be doing it with bottled water.”
But that didn’t deter Julian. “Doesn’t matter what we’re drinking, the sentiment is there.” He raised his bottle of water and looked at Dylan. “Here’s to you and Paige and baby Anders. We can’t wait to see what kind of hell he puts you through!”
They all laughed and drank, and for a few minutes, the conversation was all about babies. Julian sat back and pretended to listen. It certainly wasn’t in the cards for him and no matter how happy he was for his friends, he was surprised at the pang of sadness that hit him at that realization. He was happy for Dylan—and Riley and Matt—and the last thing he wanted to be was the downer of the group. Especially on a day like today with Dylan’s big news.
“So, where do we want to play next week when Matt gets in?” Riley asked. “Normally I’d suggest here, but with Savannah’s parents I think it would be too distracting.” He looked over at Dylan. “Is your space ready to use or should we book space someplace else?”
“I’ve been waiting for a chance to christen my studio,” Dylan said excitedly. “I’ve played in it alone a couple of times, but I’ve been dying to get you guys all together and jam. This is gonna be awesome!”
Julian’s heart pounded like the drums he usually played. Now. He had to tell them now and pretty much kill the mood. If he didn’t, it would just be that much harder next week.
“Listen…” he began hesitantly, “I’m not sure.”
“No,” Dylan said firmly. “No way. Uh-uh. This is in no way a professional commitment. This is just four friends getting together to jam. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Then Riley chimed in. “We’re not rushing you, Jules. When you’re ready to get back in the studio with us, you just say the word and we’re all there. But you just got home and you’ve got to work things out in your head. We get it.”
“Just know,” Dylan added, “if you said getting back in the studio would help you, we’d all be there in an instant. But this is your call.”
He wanted to relax—he seriously did—but no matter how supportive they were being, it wasn’t going to help. There was no way he was returning to Shaughnessy and the whole rock star lifestyle. That chapter was closed for good.
Riley’s phone rang and he held it up to show them Mick’s name. He put the phone on speaker as he answered. “Hey, Mick. What’s up?”
“Is everyone there with you?”
“Everyone except Matt,” Riley said. “What’s up?”
“Just got off the phone with Robert Hayward—the president of Encore Records. They’re going to be celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary on January fourth, and all of their clients are performing. So I wanted to give you a heads up and say that this will be the perfect way to get Shaughnessy back in the spotlight and maybe announce a tour. We’ll meet next week to talk about it when Matt’s here.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Dylan said. “That’s like three months away. Why the last-minute hoopla?”
On the line, they could hear Mick sigh. “It’s not last-minute. It was just that we—meaning Shaughnessy—were in crisis mode when word was released and I didn’t think we needed to add this into the mix. Now that Julian’s home, we can get back to business.”
Riley and Dylan looked at Julian. If he ground his teeth any harder they’d disintegrate . All the tension he’d been tamping down was back at the surface. As if sensing it, Riley looked at the phone. “Sounds good, Mick. Let me call you later, okay?”
Without missing a beat, Mick said, “Talk to you then.”
Riley put the phone down and looked at Julian. “I swear I think he’s watching us all the damn time. It’s like he knows exactly when to call and what we’re talking about.”
“He’s freaky like that,” Dylan agreed and then nervously looked at Julian.
He wasn’t ready for this. Any of it. He thought he was. Thought that the time away would be enough time to get his head together.
But it wasn’t.
Standing up, he said, “I need to go and meet the Realtor. Call me when Matt’s here.” And without anything more than a slight wave, he walked back into Riley’s house and straight out the front door as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.
In his car, he sped out of Riley’s neighborhood and onto the freeway. He actually had several hours before he had to meet with the Realtor about the house, so there was no place pressing he had to be. So he drove.
Straight to Santa Monica and the homeless shelter.
It was doubtful Charlotte would be there. But he knew how much help the shelter needed and…it had actually felt pretty damn good just to lend a hand.
Driving around the block and over a few more, he parked in the lot he had last night and then walked over to the shelter. Inside he spotted Hank and strode over to him.
“Need a hand today?”
* * *
For the next several days, that had been Julian’s pattern—get up, pretend he was just going to stay home, and eventually end up back at the shelter. He hadn’t talked to anyone about donating money, for now this was simply about giving his time and doing what he could in a hands-on way.
By Thursday afternoon, he had helped unload trucks, sort through donations, move furniture, and even paint several rooms. It had been a long time since he’d done anything quite so physical and he found he enjoyed it.
It also meant he was thankful to be able to go home and stand under a hot shower or soak in the hot tub to ease his sore muscles.
“Julian!” Hank called out. Julian looked over and saw him motioning to come over to his office. Once they were inside, Hank closed the door and studied him for a moment. “How’s everything going today?”
With a shrug, Julian sat down. “Good. The paint is done in the rec room and I secured the wire shelves back in the pantry.”
Nodding, Hank walked around and sat at his desk. “We really appreciate all you’re doing, Julian.”
There was something in his tone that had Julian stiffening a little—like he was about to say something to him that wouldn’t be particularly well received.
And he was right.
“You’re Julian Grayson.”
Shit.
Unsure of what he was supposed to do or say, Julian waited him out. The unspoken question was out there and sure enough, Hank answered it by sliding a newspaper across the desk toward him. It was open to the entertainment news and a picture of the band.
SHAUGHNESSY SLATED TO PLAY AT ENCORE’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY BASH!
He was going to strangle Mick when he saw him.
Hank leaned forward a little and rested his arms on the desktop. “It’s not my place to ask what you’re doing here. Personally, I’m just thankful for the help and the fact that you were willing to do it.”
“But?” Julian prompted.
“But…I take it no one else knows who you are or that you’re here?”
Nodding, Julian replied, “It really isn’t anyone’s business what I do in my free time. I came here and saw you could use some help and I wanted to do it. End of story.”
There was a long, awkward silence while Julian waited for Hank to comment. “Charlotte doesn’t know who you are,” he began, his tone suddenly way more serious and solemn than it had been a moment ago. “She is under the impression you’re in need of our help and her services.”
“I never told her that,” Julian argued mildly.
“Maybe not, but that’s what she thinks.”
This wasn’t news. But now that he was here, he knew he was going to have to clear up the misunderstanding.
“I can appreciate your concern, Hank. But I can’t control what conclusions Charlotte drew.”
And for the first time, this mild-mannered man seemed to get pissed. He straightened a little in his chair as if he was going to try to intimidate Julian. “Do you know that by now she’s probably already started a file on you? Even if you didn’t give her any information, the fact that you came here and sat in her class, she’s probably already making calls on your behalf just in case she sees you again?”
Julian didn’t respond.
“Charlotte is the kind of person who wants to help everyone. It doesn’t matter if they want her help or not, she goes above and beyond, and there are tens of dozens of families who are thankful for her and for the help she gave them. And you know what she gets in return?”
Until There Was Us Page 36