Joel stood and looked at her pointedly. "I don't know, Lucy. I'll get one of the contractors to look at it. We'll use the other one for now."
She smiled. Poor Joel. They were finally starting to sound like a real married couple. She shook her head as he left the room in a huff. Then she headed back up the stairs to the attic to wait for him to come home.
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
It was obvious Joel was enjoying his time alone. He stayed up late into the night with the music still blaring through the old farmhouse. He seemed to be much happier with his girlfriend away. Lucy waited until well after she'd heard him turn in for the night. When he was finally in his bed, she still sat in the attic with only the light from her phone, listening to the silence and the occasional creaks of the old house settling. She listened to her own breath for what must have been an eternity. She thought of Joel laying under her, breathing in and out, sleeping and dreaming of what only he could know. Her breathing grew louder and she listened to it until she was convinced it was his she was hearing. He had to be asleep now.
She crept down the stairs, opened the heavy door, and headed through the dark to Joel's bedroom. The door was open. Now she really could hear him breathing in his bed. Snoring, ever so lightly. She had no plan. She wanted to be near him.
She approached the bed where she could see his outline in the digital light of his alarm clock. He was laying on his back with his head resting to the side. He was facing away from her. She stood over him. She watched the comforter rise and fall with his breathing. She reached out her hand to touch his face, but stopped short of contact. She didn't want to wake him up. She wanted to feel the heat from his skin and the breath as it escaped his beautiful mouth.
Joel's phone buzzed suddenly on the bedside table. Lucy jumped. The screen was glowing, casting a blue halo on the ceiling above their heads. It cast her shadow in giant form on the wall and the ceiling. When Joel didn't stir, she picked up the phone. The text message icon was centered on the screen. She swiped it.
Sydney: Hey, Baby. Got here safely.
Lucy cringed. A knot balled in her stomach. It was bad enough seeing them together. Catching these intimacies was even worse. She looked at Joel who hadn't moved at all and then typed a reply to his girlfriend.
Joel: Glad to hear it.
Sydney: Sorry so late. Hope I didn't wake you.
Joel: Just got into bed.
Sydney: Ooo. Wish I was there with you.
Joel: Me too. The things I'd do to you.
Sydney: Hm Like what?
Joel: Tie you up.
Sydney: I'd like that.
Joel: Slap your fat ass.
Sydney: My what??? Joel WTF?
Joel: Maybe lay off the carbs this week, babe. You're gettin chunky.
Sydney: Screw you.
Joel: Lol. Whatever. Go to sleep.
Sydney: We'll talk tomorrow.
She smiled in the glow of the cell phone. She knew the princess wouldn't let him live this down. She was nowhere near overweight, but all actresses worried about gaining even a single pound. Sydney was shallow enough to let it get to her.
"Dumb slut," Lucy whispered as she typed her own number into his phone and hit send. "You’re not the only girl in Joel’s phone." She ended the call after two rings. It was sufficient.
She held the phone over the bed and snapped a photo of the sleeping man. Then she texted it to Sydney.
Joel: Already asleep.
There was no reply. She waited for ten minutes with the phone in her hand, but Sydney didn't answer. She was mad. Lucy was elated. She set the phone back onto the table and leaned over Joel.
"Joel," she whispered. He muttered unintelligibly but stayed asleep. She could tell he was dreaming and she wanted to insert herself into his dream. "I love you, Joel. You belong with me. With Lucy."
Then she crept back up the stairs to the attic where she retrieved her silenced phone and added him to her contacts. The bed she’d made was right above him. She smiled when she thought of how exciting the next day would be.
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
"I have no idea, Sydney."
Lucy could hear Joel in the kitchen early the next morning. He was on his phone talking to his girlfriend. She was hiding in the upstairs bathroom and could hear him through the vent. The smile on her face was actually starting to hurt her cheeks.
"I didn't send those texts and I didn't take that picture. How could I have? Look at the angle."
There was a long pause. Joel stomped his foot and then pulled a kitchen chair across the tile floor.
"There was no one here last night. At least, if there was, they weren't here by my invitation. I have to check this out because I assure you I had nothing to do with any of that."
Another long pause.
"I don't care if you believe me. Obviously I have bigger things to worry about."
Pause.
"That's not what I meant." His voice was softer now. Lucy had to strain to hear him. "Of course I care about you, but I'm telling you I didn't have a girl here last night."
Pause.
"It's not ghosts, Sydney."
Lucy covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a chuckle. Ghosts. Sydney wasn't only shallow and disgusting, she was irrational.
"I get it," Joel continued. "Old house. Whatever. I have to go. I need to make some phone calls."
The front door opened and Joel stepped out onto the porch. She took the opportunity to scramble up the stairs to the attic. Joel would be calling the sheriff and the sheriff would be checking the house. She quickly moved her bedding and all her belongings into the darkest corner of the attic, pushed a huge, sealed moving box in front of it, and huddled there behind it, flashlight in hand.
The sudden vibration of her cell phone on the wood floor scared her half to death. She quickly swiped the screen to ignore the call. It was Moon. A minute later a message indicator appeared on the screen. She didn't need to hear the message to know why she was calling, but she listened anyway.
"Hi, Lucy. It's Moon." There was that friendly-but-annoyed tone again. "I'm wondering where you are. Maybe your body didn't feel like getting up again today, but I need you here. Call me back. Or just come in. Okay, bye."
Oops. She hadn't even thought about work. Moon was a nice lady and Lucy was sorry for putting her out, but she had more important things going on. Plus, Joel hadn't even left the house since Sydney had gone, so it's not like there was anything she could do about it.
An hour later, the sheriff arrived. The squeaky front door hadn't opened since Joel's phone call, so she assumed he'd waited for him outside. He was scared to be alone in his house with the photo-snapping intruder. Or the ghost. Whichever.
"Don't be afraid of me, Joel," she whispered.
The sheriff clomped around the house in his big, black boots. He was a loud man and his voice carried all through the old halls. He trudged up the stairs to the second floor, asking Joel questions all the way. But they weren't personal safety questions. They were Hollywood questions. How did he get into show-biz? Was he working on anything new? Does he know Kevin Bacon?
Finally, the sheriff climbed the narrowest stairs and groaned his way into the attic. He un-belted his silver flashlight and shined it around the empty room. She sat still and imagined she could be invisible. She held her breath in her chest as long as she could and tried to slow her racing heartbeat. It must have worked because, after thirty seconds of checking, the sheriff declared the house clear and wobbled his way back down to the second floor.
"I suggest you get a security system, Mr. Ruskin," the sheriff boomed. "Clint down at the fire station can hook you up, no problem. There's a company that comes up from Denver. Some of our vacation home types use them to keep their homes safe during the off-season. Afraid of squatters and looters, I guess. Although, we don't get much of that kind of stuff in this town. Not a lot of crime around here. The usual meth-heads of course, but I've got my eye on all the ones I know of. I guess you bein
g a celebrity..." He trailed off as his boots crossed the entryway floor.
Lucy stood up in the dark attic. She imagined herself on the porch standing next to Joel.
"Thank you for coming, Sheriff," She said to no one. She extended her hand and shook an imaginary hand. The ghost of the Sheriff gave her a professional smile.
"No problem, Mrs. Ruskin. Hopefully you won't have any more trouble. We sure enjoy having you two in our little town. Wouldn't want anything to scare you off."
The front door squeaked open again as Joel came back inside. She pictured herself in the breezeway waiting for him.
He rolled his eyes as if she’d given him her I-told-you-so face. But she hadn't. He was freaked out by the unusual things going on in the house and she understood that. Celebrities had all kinds of things to worry about that regular people didn't. If he truly believed a crazed fan was stalking him then she would do everything she could to help him feel safer in their home. She opened her laptop and searched for the nearest home security company.
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
The next morning Joel was gone before Lucy woke up. She knew this because she heard the front door squeak and then slam. Joel's car crackled down the driveway.
When she ventured downstairs, she found the newspaper on the kitchen table. It was still in the plastic bag that was supposed to protect it from the rain but never really did. Thank goodness this was a dry day. She scanned the entertainment page to see if anything interesting would catch her eye. It did.
Has Sydney Been Unfaithful to Joel?
Photos surfaced this week of Headlining star Sydney Panting on a secret rendezvous with co-star Preston Childers. The pair were spotted holding hands and embracing in a secluded park near the set of their upcoming film.
She couldn't read anymore. Her ears burned with anger. This wasn't the information she'd wanted to find, but it was useful nonetheless. It was so bad it gave her pleasure to be enraged. Here was the woman who had stolen her man, who didn't deserve him, tramping around with someone new. Joel would no-doubt be hurting. She would be there for him. He could have her shoulder to cry on.
His number was in her phone. She picked it up and called, wondering what she would say if he picked up. The adrenaline coursing through her wouldn’t let her stop. He didn’t answer. There wasn’t even a personalized message on his voicemail, just the standard robot voice greeting. She called again. Still no answer.
This was unacceptable. Hadn’t she warned him about people like Sydney? She headed straight for Joel's office. She found a pen and pulled a sheet of paper from the printer.
Dear Miss Sydney Panting,
I'm writing to you with concern for my dear friend Joel Ruskin. I understand that as of late you've been keeping close company with the likes of Preston Childers. It makes me sad to think you wouldn't see the value in protecting a relationship with a dear soul like Joel. He loves you. He trusted you. And you turned out to be nothing but a dirty skank. He didn't see this coming, but I did, and I told him so.
Since you've taken what's mine and crushed his world, I'm going to return the favor. First, I'm going to shave off that auburn hair of yours that Joel loves so much. Then I'm going to take a very sharp knife and carve up that cute, fake nose that your whore money bought you. Then Joel will finally see you're as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside.
Joel Ruskin is mine. I will love him until I die.
Sincerely,
Your Nightmare
Lucy got into her car and cranked the angriest music she had on hand. She stopped at a gas station on her way out of town. She bought a bag full of snacks and drinks which she stuffed into a cooler she'd taken from Joel's house. Denver was a long drive. She hated the drive down the mountain even more than the drive up. But she had to do it. She had to do it for Joel. She had to drive to Denver and deposit her letter in a mailbox there so Sydney wouldn't be able to trace it back to Spring Fork.
She grinned as she left the tiny mountain town. She grinned because she was smart enough to think of it. She grinned because she pictured Sydney's face when she read the letter. She was sure Sydney would never return to the little town and would leave her boyfriend in her superficial dust.
At a gas station on the way, she pulled over to make a phone call.
"I'm sorry, Moon," she told her boss. "A friend of mine was in a bad skiing accident and I had to come to Denver."
"Oh, honey. That's terrible." The woman's concern was genuine. She might even have felt bad for considering firing her. "I hope your friend's alright."
"She'll recover. I don't feel good leaving her right now. She doesn't have any family in Colorado."
"Of course. You do what you need to do. Cory and I will work it out. Goddess bless you, Lucy."
She grinned again. Everything was going to be fine.
CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR
Lucy was exhausted when she got back to Spring Fork the next day. The trip had taken longer than she'd expected due to the heavy Denver traffic. When the sun set she was too afraid to drive back up into the mountains, so she'd slept in her car.
Normally she would wait at the edge of Joel's property to make sure there were no signs of life before she went on to the yellow house. Her head was throbbing and she couldn't think straight. She wanted to get back to the attic. So, seeing no car in the driveway, she parked her own vehicle and circled around to the back of the house.
There was no movement in the kitchen. She searched her bag for her keys which she had just had in her hand. She scolded herself silently for dropping them in there when she knew she would need them. Plenty of small-town people left their doors unlocked. It was sad that Joel felt he couldn't do that, too. It was obviously a habit leftover from city life.
While she fumbled in her bag she didn't hear the footsteps coming around the house.
"Who are you?" said a male voice. She looked up sharply and was stunned. It was Joel. He was standing in front of her in ratty jeans and a gray t-shirt. His chin and jaw line were dark from a few days of growth.
"What are you doing?" He didn't sound happy. He didn't look thrilled, either.
Her mouth opened but no sound came out. What should she say? She hadn't at any time in these past months thought of a legitimate-sounding excuse for why she would be on this man's property uninvited. Because in her mind she was his wife. This was their house that they shared together. She had every right to it. The stark reality of Joel's question reminded her that none of that was true.
So, she ran. She turned quickly, dodging Joel's hand as he tried to grab her arm, and she ran all the way to the trees at the back of his land. There she crouched down in the tall weeds and watched him pacing behind the yellow house. She couldn't see him well, but she assumed by his silhouette he was on the phone with the sheriff.
Then she mentally kicked herself. She could have made something up. She could have pretended she was lost or whatever. Her only instinct had been to run. Joel had been right there in front of her and she'd squandered her opportunity because of some stupid fight-or-flight instinct.
She made her way quickly and stealthily to her car. Obviously she needed to get out of there if the sheriff was coming. But she'd seen him in action and knew she had a little bit of time before he got there.
Sure enough, on the highway back to town her car passed the sheriff's going the opposite direction. He didn't even glance her way. She breathed a sigh of relief and prayed silently that Joel hadn't recognized her from the gift shop.
Or maybe he had. Maybe she had been on his mind this whole time. He obviously couldn't say anything in front of his girlfriend, but maybe he'd remembered her from when they met in Omaha and had been happy to see her. Now when he saw her standing at his back door he might have felt a little disbelief. Because he'd thought about her and wished to see her again and now here she was in the flesh. But she'd acted like an idiot and ran away. Tomorrow he would come to the gift shop and tell her how he felt. She smiled. She couldn't wait for tomorr
ow.
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE
Six hours working at the gift shop dragged on like twenty. Lucy's mood was sour because Joel hadn't come by. Which meant he hadn't recognized her and he wasn't going to ask her to move into the yellow house with him.
She was also annoyed with Moon who had asked her way too many questions about her imaginary injured friend in Denver. How did it happen? Where was she skiing? Did they take her in a helicopter? What hospital did she go to? Luckily she'd had the whole trip to figure out her answers.
When Cody showed up for his shift he had a suspicious grin on his face. He walked slowly from the front door to where she stood by the counter. His eyes were on her the whole time. She furrowed her brow and stared right back at him. She could tell he had something to say to her.
"Someone called for you yesterday," he said in a weird, sing-song tone.
"Who?"
"She didn't tell me her name. Just said she was a friend of yours from Omaha. Said you worked together."
She began to perspire but she didn't know why. She knew something was off. Her only female friend in Omaha was Joni. Why would she call her at the store? Why wouldn't she call her cell phone? Or text her? Maybe she had some awful news. But Cory wouldn't be teasing her if that were the case. He stood there waiting for her to ask him the details. She felt more like strangling the information out of him.
"What did she want?"
"She asked if you still worked here. She asked about your boyfriend." He said "boyfriend" the way a third grader would when trying to make someone uncomfortable.
"And what did you say?" She was sweating now. She avoided Cody's amused glare because she knew whatever information he had it wasn't good.
"I told her I didn't know you had a boyfriend. She said you live with him and you're fixing up a house together and that you told her he comes into the store all the time." He paused for a minute to gage her reaction, but she said nothing. She couldn't think of anything to say. "I told her you live in the boarding house and I've never seen you with a guy since you've been here. So, what's the deal, Lucy? Are you living a secret double life or something?"
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