Magnolia Drive

by Rochelle Alers

  On a scale of one to ten, Francine’s cooking skills hovered around a two. If she didn’t eat with her parents or her grandmother, then she was more than content to reheat the leftovers they always put aside for her. Even when she was married, she and Aiden either ate out or ordered in.

  Morgan counted on her fingers. “Food, flowers, balloons, and gift bags. I’ve washed the china, crystal, and silver, so all I have to do is set the table and put out the warming racks. Why do I think I’m forgetting something?”

  Francine went through the checklist in her head. Everyone would eat in the formal dining room before processing into the solarium, where Kara would open her gifts. Invitations had been sent to Kara’s parents; Dawn, her former roommate; Willie and Iris Todd, Angels Landing Plantation’s groundskeeper and housekeeper; Jeff’s grandmother Corrine Hamilton; and his cousin David Sullivan.

  “I think we’ve covered everything. I’m only working a half day tomorrow at the salon, so if there’s anything you need me to do, then call or text me.”

  “You’ve done enough, Fran. I told Nate to hang around tomorrow in case I need him to do something.”

  Francine and Morgan finished filling the gift bags, and then went into the dining room to set the table. She gave her best friend a thumbs-up when she backed her red Corvette out of the driveway and drove in the direction of the causeway. Turning the radio up, Francine sang along with the all-music station in order to keep her mind off Keaton Grace. I know exactly who you are. His words were branded on her brain. He may believe he knew her, but nothing could be further from the truth. That was something he would discover once they sat down to talk.

  Right now, all she could think about was her best friend becoming a mother. When they were younger, she and Morgan had talked about falling in love, marrying the men who would love them selfishly, and becoming mothers. Now that it had happened for Morgan, Francine wondered if it would ever happen for herself. She still hadn’t given up on love.

  Keaton sat across the table from Devon Gilmore in Jack’s Fish House going over the partnership dissolution she’d drafted for his approval and signature. He’d come to Jack’s during his first visit to the island and decided it was the best place to eat dinner while conducting business. The restaurant was noisy, but not so much so he couldn’t carry on a normal conversation.

  His head popped up, glaring at his attorney as if she’d taken leave of her senses. “You want him to pay me one hundred thousand dollars for breach of contract?”

  A sweep of lashes concealed Devon’s wide-set hazel eyes when she stared at a copy of the same document she’d given Keaton. “Financially he reneged on the last project. I could’ve charged him ten times that amount, but figured because he’s your brother-in-law I’d give him a break.”

  He watched numbly as she flipped several strands of straightened hair over the shoulder of her suit jacket. Smiling, she picked up a glass of sweet tea and took a sip. Devon was beautiful, cutthroat, and brilliant, and the latter was the reason he’d hired her to represent him. They were also very good friends. They met at New York University when he was taking graduate courses and Devon was a first-year law student. He’d lost track of the number of times they would run into each other at the same coffee shops or occasionally at off-campus mixers. When Devon accused him of stalking her he finally introduced himself. Keaton was used to seeing her seduce men whenever she stared up at them through her lashes before parting full lips and playing with her hair. And for a reason he couldn’t fathom he’d found himself immune to her unblemished mocha complexion and curvaceous petite body. “No, Devon. I’m not going to take food out of the mouths of my niece and nephew or their college fund, even if Hollis did stiff me on the last project. Dissolving our business relationship should be enough.” He didn’t want his lawyer involved in his personal family dynamics; his sister had stopped talking to him once he’d disclosed that he and her husband were parting ways, and Keaton definitely didn’t want to compound the alienation by suing his brother-in-law.

  Devon reached for the page, tore it in half, and then did the same with the page in her copy. “I’ll go along with whatever you want.”

  “I want out and nothing else. It’s enough…” His words trailed off. From where he sat he could see Francine as she walked into the restaurant. And if it hadn’t been for her hair color he wouldn’t have recognized her. A smooth hairstyle, parted off-center and barely brushing her shoulders, had replaced the tousled curls. He was close enough to see the light cover of makeup that enhanced her eyes and mouth, and Keaton couldn’t take his eyes off the chocolate-brown body-hugging dress accentuating every curve of her slender frame. His gaze was drawn to a pair of long legs that seemed to go on forever in a pair of stiletto leopard-print booties.

  “You really shock me, Keaton. I didn’t know you were into redheads,” Devon teased, grinning from ear to ear.

  “I know her.”

  Devon leaned over the table. “How well do you know her?”

  Keaton continued to stare at Francine. “I should’ve said that I recognize her.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this interested in a woman.”

  His gaze swung back to his attorney. “How often do you see me with women?”

  Devon sat up straight. “Probably not often enough. At least not since you broke up with that uptight bank auditor.”

  Devon was wrong about Lisa’s being uptight. He’d dated the three-time-married CPA because she was straightforward, wasn’t into playing head games, and was okay with having a casual relationship. “Is there anything else in this document I should be aware of before I sign it?” he asked, deftly changing the topic of conversation. Reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket, he took out a pen.

  Devon flipped through several pages. “No. The rest is self-explanatory.”

  “To whom, Devon? It may be self-explanatory to you, but I don’t want Hollis to sue me because of some legalese technicality.”

  “If he decides to sue you, then I’ll represent you pro bono.”

  Keaton leaned closer. “I don’t want him to sue me at all. As it is my sister isn’t talking to me and that means I’m cut off from my niece and nephew. And my parents, who’re trying not to take sides, are barely speaking to me. This isn’t just about business, Devon. It’s about family.”

  Devon smiled. “Trust me, Keaton. He’s not going to sue you.”

  Unscrewing the cap to the pen, he scrawled his signature across the last page. It was apparent his legal counsel was a lot more confident than he felt at the moment. His decision to dissolve his professional partnership with Hollis wasn’t an easy one. If it hadn’t been for his brother-in-law, Keaton wouldn’t have had the financial backing he needed for his first film. Things had worked well between them until Hollis demanded more creative control, while Keaton was quick to remind him that he was the creative partner. Hollis conceded, but with each subsequent project he would again ingratiate himself only to be told to back off or stand down. Their working relationship ended when Hollis refused to release the funds needed to complete an independent film Keaton wanted to submit to the Sundance Film Festival.

  Gathering the pages, he handed them to Devon. “That should do it.”

  She nodded. “As soon as I get back to my office I’ll make the corrections and overnight it to your brother-in-law.” She slipped the document into a leather portfolio, and then glanced at her watch. “I think I have enough time to eat before I catch my flight.”

  Devon had told Keaton that she had a reservation to take a red-eye out of Charleston for Newport News, Virginia, instead of returning to New York. “You can always stay over and catch a flight in the morning.”

  She affected a sexy moue. “I can’t. I’m scheduled to meet someone early tomorrow morning.”

  A hint of a smile softened his firm mouth. “That means I’ll have to cancel the room I reserved for you at the Cove Inn.”

  Leaning back in her chair, she gave him a long, pe
netrating stare. “Living here has changed you, Keaton.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Just look at you. Whenever I came to see you in L.A. we always ate at three- or four-star restaurants, not in a family-friendly one like Jack’s Fish House. Instead of a tailored suit you’re now wearing a leather jacket, a pullover, and jeans. You look like you did when we met in grad school.”

  “That’s when we were both struggling students, stretching dollars and pinching pennies to make ends meet.”

  “I was the struggling student, Keaton. All you had to do was call your father and he would send you money to cover your rent and other living expenses. It was very different for me because I’ve always been on my own.”

  Reaching across the table, Keaton covered Devon’s hand with his. He wanted to tell her that his father had stopped sending him money once he earned his undergraduate degree but decided not to. “You can’t dwell on the past. Don’t think of where you’ve come from but where you are now. You’re an incredible attorney, Devon. You’ve worked deals for me that would’ve been impossible for a lawyer with less tenacity.”

  “That’s because as a female entertainment attorney I’m forced to swim with sharks and piranhas in three-thousand-dollar suits who are masquerading as gentlemen. You’re the only client of mine who’s also a friend.”

  He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before releasing them. “That’s good to know.”

  “How long do you expect to stay at the Cove Inn?” she asked.

  “Probably another two months. I’m really anxious for the contractor to finish renovating the house so I can move in.”

  Devon exhaled an audible breath. “Will you hire a new housekeeper?”

  “No. Mrs. Miller is prepared to move from L.A. as soon as the house is finished.”

  Devon frowned. “The woman hates me.”

  “Mrs. Miller doesn’t hate you,” Keaton countered. “We just happen to look out for each other.”

  A slight frown marred Devon’s smooth forehead. “What’s the connection?”

  “The connection is she’s a very trusted employee. She says I remind her of her son.” Keaton smiled when Devon grunted under her breath.

  As soon as the renovations for the farmhouse were completed Keaton would arrange for Susie Miller to settle into her own suite of rooms in one of three guesthouses that would be erected on the property. His housekeeper would occupy one and the production company’s full-time permanent employees the other. His initial encounter with Mrs. Miller had begun with her panhandling behind the building that housed the office he’d rented to produce his films. When his office manager talked about having her arrested for vagrancy he intervened. He discovered she wasn’t homeless, but was experiencing reoccurring panic attacks after she’d lost her son to a drug overdose and then her grandson to gang violence all in the same year.

  Susie had admitted she had been fired as a sales clerk because she feared getting out of bed. Keaton instructed his office manager to add Susie to their maintenance staff. She’d proved to be an exemplary employee and two years later he asked her to become his live-in housekeeper.

  Unlike some men, he’d never flaunted his affairs, rarely entertaining women at his home. The few who were lucky enough to cross the threshold had to contend with Mrs. Miller. Keaton had been forthcoming with his housekeeper when he told her about Jade, his ex-girlfriend, and the older woman’s Don’t worry, Keaton, I have your back translated into “I’m going to look out for you.” Twenty years her junior, he’d become the son she’d lost to the streets.

  Devon picked up a menu, studying the selections. “I can’t decide what to order.”

  Keaton wanted to ask her who or what was in Newport News that had her rushing back there, but didn’t. He studied the menu even though he knew what he wanted to order. His perusal was interrupted when a piercing whistle rose above the babble in the restaurant. “You’re looking real pretty, Red,” a man called out.

  Francine, who’d followed two waiters carrying covered aluminum trays, blushed to the roots of her hairline. Keaton wanted to give her a standing ovation when she tilted her chin and continued to walk. At the last possible moment her eyes met his before she disappeared from his line of vision.

  “Hello? Earth to Keaton? Looks like someone has caught your interest,” Devon said, before laughing and taking a sip of her drink. Keaton cleared his throat before forcing his eyes away from Francine.

  “She’s an actress. I saw her perform in an off-Broadway play years ago.”

  “She’s very pretty.”

  He nodded in agreement. “That she is, but I’m not interested in her in the way you might think. I was involved with an actress when I worked as an assistant director on my first film. She took her own life and I swore an oath I would never become involved with anyone in the business.”

  Devon’s eyes were as large as silver dollars. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before? What happened, Keaton?”

  “I missed all of the signs. Jade had been emotionally unstable for a long time, until it was too late. It’d begun with mood swings vacillating between euphoric highs and moody lows. She wanted marriage and a baby and when I told her I wasn’t ready for either at that time in my life she would lapse into crying jags that went on for days. I suggested she seek professional help, which she refused. I issued a final ultimatum: go to a psychiatrist or our relationship was over. She chose to end it by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. Jade’s mother accused me of taking advantage of her daughter’s fragile mental state, but investigators for the studio uncovered documentation that as an adolescent she’d been confined to a mental hospital for several months because she’d attempted to take her life after a breakup with her boyfriend. Studio suits paid the late actress’s mother a large sum after she signed a nondisclosure agreement never to connect me with her daughter’s death.”

  It’d been the first and the last time he’d dated an actress assigned to any of the films in which he’d been involved. Jade’s death had affected him more than he’d wanted to admit. It wasn’t that he had been in love with her, but he had liked her and enjoyed her company. When she wasn’t in a funk she was upbeat and lots of fun. He’d thought of her as an extremely talented small-town girl with big-city dreams of making it in Hollywood. Unfortunately, all of her dreams died with her.

  Devon blew out her cheeks. “I’m sorry I asked.”

  He gave her a half smile. “Now you know.” Raising his hand, he signaled a waiter closer. “We’re ready to order now.” Devon gave him her selections, changing her mind twice about whether she wanted gumbo or conch stew. She finally settled on the stew with a side dish of collard greens, while he ordered oxtails in gravy and white rice.

  Waiting until the young man walked away, Devon smiled at her client. “I hope the food is good here.”

  “I’ve eaten here before and it’s excellent.”

  “They need to add sushi to the menu.”

  Keaton laughed under his breath. “I doubt if that will ever happen. The next time you come down I’ll arrange for us to eat in Charleston, where you can order sushi.”

  Devon shook her head. “That’s okay. Cavanaugh Island is a nice place to visit, but I doubt whether I’d want to come here too often.”

  “What’s the matter, counselor? Is it too quiet for you?”

  “It’s too quiet and too slow for this Big Apple sister. However, I’m willing to come back to see your house once it’s renovated.”

  Keaton smiled. He welcomed the solitude and slower pace after spending nearly fifteen years off and on in the City of Angels. Although born and raised in Pittsburgh and having attended college in New York City, he still thought of himself as a country boy. He never felt more carefree than he did each summer when he visited his relatives’ small farm in rural Tennessee. He woke early and when not working on a project he went to bed early. Drugs, frat parties, and clubbing were never a part of his social repertoire. While in college, going to plays
and viewing films had taken up all of his free time.

  “The next time you come down I should be able to put you up in one of the guesthouses instead of a hotel.”

  Devon’s smile was dazzling. “Now I know I have to come back, just to see your house when it’s done,” she said.

  All conversation ceased when the waiter returned, setting down a plate of fluffy, buttery biscuits. Keaton knew his dining partner was as intrigued by Francine as he was with the former actress. However, his interest in her had nothing to do with romance. He’d learned his lesson well after his involvement with another actress.

  Their entrées arrived quickly and Keaton gave Devon a thumbs-up when she asked if he was enjoying his oxtails. Not only was he enjoying his meal but also the casual, laid-back, family-style restaurant. All of the mounted televisions were muted, while diners craned their necks to see what the waitstaff carried in trays balanced on their shoulders, and the various mouth-watering aromas wafting throughout the restaurant always made it difficult for him to choose his meal. That’s when he decided to systematically order a new dish each time he visited Jack’s.

  Keaton became suddenly alert when he heard someone at a nearby table mention Francine’s name, referring to her as Red. Some of the customers in the Beauty Box had called her that. It was probably a childhood nickname that had carried over into adulthood. The locals called her Red but he knew her as Francine Tanner, actress extraordinaire. It’d been more than twenty-four hours since he’d given her his business card, and he hoped she would call him before he was scheduled to return to the salon for his next haircut.

  Devon finished eating and Keaton settled the bill, then drove her back to Charleston in time for her flight to Virginia. Waiting until she disappeared into the terminal, he maneuvered away from the curbside. During the drive back to Cavanaugh Island he realized the document Devon would send to his brother-in-law would end what had become a contentious business relationship. It was time he began anew in a new state, a new house, and eventually a new film studio. He also thought about Francine and what she could mean to his life both professionally and personally.