Stranded

by Jessica Frances

  “Ah, the local sheriff.” Henry slowly nods, looking forlorn. “Has he beaten me to you? Won you over with his heart of gold and chivalry?”

  I snort at that. “Sure, if you consider him repeatedly telling me that he wants nothing serious with me as having a heart of gold.”

  “I’ve met his kind before,” Henry mutters commiseratively. “In this business, it’s hard to find someone not looking for short-term.”

  “And you’re looking for something more?”

  “For the right kind of person, I am.” His intense gaze my way gives me a pretty good hint that he considers me as someone he might be looking for.

  What the hell? This is Henry fucking Prince!

  “Rocky doesn’t know what he wants. He just needs the right guy to remind him,” Love interrupts our staring moment.

  “And you think your friend Conner is the one to do that?” Henry asks Love, his tone not giving any of his emotions away.

  “I know he is.”

  To break up the weird silence that follows this, I speak up. “Love thinks she has a matchmaking gift.”

  “Yes. I use pointing out the obvious to ensure I never fail.”

  Henry looks intrigued by this.

  “If you want, I think I could easily give you a matchmaking tip using the same technique?” She gives a pointed look to one of the men beside her, and I follow her gaze, not seeing anything interesting about the bodyguard who looks as uninterested to be here as he has the entire time I’ve been with Henry. Although, I wouldn’t put it past her to mess with Henry just to get his attention off me. I might have to kill her for that!

  “Interesting.” Henry turns his gaze back to me, either missing her pointed look or knowing it means nothing. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Do you want to look at the costumes from this movie?”

  The shift in topic feels seamless, and after wowing us with the futuristic outfits that he and his other co-stars have been wearing, he moves us back outside, and then we head into an editing suite.

  “They watch dailies in here. I don’t usually bother. I get bored after two takes.”

  “I’m not sure I could ever get sick of watching you on the big screen.”

  Henry grins at my confession, but then we move on from that room pretty quickly.

  He gives us a few glimpses of the sets, but I’m not allowed to take photos or film any of it. The movie is top secret, and I’m too much of a fan to want any of it spoiled anyway.

  “Where is everyone?” Love asks.

  “Most of the crew are either getting ready to fly out tonight or already have.”

  I glance around the silent dining hall that we’ve entered. “Fly out?”

  “We need some external shots in London. Gonna be there for a couple weeks, at least.”

  “You’re going to London tonight? Man, I want your life.” I’m certain I sound as jealous as I am.

  Henry laughs. “I admit I’m very lucky. Although, it’s not as much fun when you don’t have someone special to share it with. You mentioned in your video wanting to experience something new. You wanted adventure, so you were going to film yourself going through America. But perhaps it would be more fun to travel the world instead?”

  I gape at the easy way he just offered to have me travel around the world with him. ’Cause that is what that was, right? I’m not reading into it? He did say that …

  Oh shit, maybe I am still hungover? Maybe this is all some sort of weird hallucination?

  Damn, I knew this day was turning out too perfectly. First, Rocky doesn’t kill me, then Deputy Dickhead gets fired, and now I’m hanging out with mega movie star Henry Prince while he causally offers for me to travel the world with him? Yep, definitely—

  Ouch!

  Love knocks my arm, proving from the painful jab that I might not be exactly hallucinating.

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “I’ve been a fan of yours for a while. I think I know you pretty well.”

  “Okay, then I don’t know you.”

  He laughs. “True. I play different characters, so you don’t know the real me. Maybe we should change that?”

  My head is spinning, and I know I look like an idiot with my mouth agape.

  “You’re forward,” Love speaks up, her hand back to resting on my forearm, almost sitting there protectively.

  “I don’t have a lot of free time in my line of business. I don’t have time to pussyfoot around things.”

  Love’s phone buzzes, and she looks reluctant to answer it.

  “Don’t do anything life-changing!” she demands while giving me a pointed look.

  I roll my eyes at her, but soon my breath gets stuck in my throat as Henry takes the opportunity to step in closer.

  “What would it take for you to agree with me? How many dates do you need? How much time?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Then it’s lucky I don’t give up easily. I always get what I want, Conner. Always.”

  That sounds like a threat. A sexy threat, but one, nonetheless.

  I know I’m good-looking. I also have a lot of self-worth, and anyone would be lucky to have me. But what the hell is in the water in Midsummer? Because Rocky is a handful of sexy, muscled hotness, but to have gained not only his attention but Henry fucking Prince’s, too?

  Love clears her throat, and I turn to face her, expecting her to look disappointed in me for letting Henry stand so close, or maybe even annoyed. Instead, she looks upset.

  “I’m sorry about this, Conner, but I need to go.”

  “Is everything okay?” I ask, noticing she’s wide-eyed and maybe even a little shaky.

  She shakes her head but still doesn’t say anything.

  “I think we’re finished here for now.” Henry takes a step back, his tone understanding. “I need to get some packing done to be ready for tonight. Besides, you’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  “I have?”

  “Yep. Seems like I have my work cut out for me.”

  I consider telling him that he needn’t bother trying hard. Right now, my only offer has been a casual, meaningless fling with Rocky. That is hardly worth turning down seeing the world for.

  But something holds me back. Maybe it’s because I’m not supposed to be here to jump into a relationship with a movie star, or maybe it’s because I think Henry deserves better than being second best in my mind. Whatever it is, I do hold back.

  “Thank you for showing us around and letting me ask you a few questions,” I say, holding my work phone up to him. “You sure you don’t want me to send you what I edit before I post?”

  I’ve never had to do that before I posted a video, but I’ve also never interviewed an A-list celebrity before, either. I have other vlogger friends who do this type of thing. From what many of them have told me, I half-expected to have to sign some sort of NDA before I even started talking to Henry.

  “Nah, I trust you.” Henry gives me an easy shrug. “When I get back, we can have dinner, if you’re agreeable to that, of course.”

  I freeze up immediately.

  “Conner, I really need to leave.” Love’s shaky voice brings me back online.

  “Yeah,” I distractedly agree to Henry’s offer, my attention shifting to Love. Her eyes are skittish, her brow a little sweaty, and her hands are shaking.

  Just who the hell was on that call, and what did they say to get her so worked up?

  I’ve only known Love for a short amount of time, but I’ve never seen her shaken up. And she was with me when we discovered King Alder’s dead body.

  “Great! It’s a date then. I’ll send you a text when I’m back in Midsummer.” He leans forward, and my entire body locks up as he kisses me lightly at the corner of my lips. It’s actually sort of sweet, but having his body close to mine sends me basically into a meltdown. My legs wobble, and I’m fairly certain I’m actually swaying.

  He does the same for Love, although h
ers is a kiss to the cheek, and I swear he doesn’t linger as long as he did with me. Then he gives me a small wave before he disappears around a corner and out of sight.

  The security that has been following us at a distance the entire time peels off. One follows Henry, and the other two indicate for us to move along.

  Love and I make our way back through the large building. I would probably spend the entire time in a daze if it weren’t for the way Love’s hands are shaking. It forces me to get a grip and forget about Henry, at least for the moment.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? What was that phone call about?”

  Love doesn’t answer me until we’re back outside and walking toward her car.

  “John Troy was just found shot in his home.”

  “What?” I gasp, my mind now racing.

  “He’s in surgery right now. According to my friend in Hartfield, who works at Heart General Hospital, they’re hopeful he’ll pull through the surgery, but after that, it’s a waiting game.”

  “Fucking hell!” I snap, feeling freaked out about this, too.

  “We were just talking to him,” Love says with a wobbly voice. “What if us talking to him got him shot?”

  I think back to how pissed off Deputy Dickhead had been earlier. Did he shoot Troy for what he told us about his relationship with King? Or maybe he did it just to shut him up? It wouldn’t be hard to guess that King’s best friend would have known about them. Then again, maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with King. Although, it’d be one hell of a coincidence if it weren’t.

  “I’ll drive,” I offer when Love begins to get in. Before she can protest, which it looks like she is about to do, I continue, “You’re not in any condition to drive. Please let me.”

  She glances down at her hands before she hands over her keys.

  I feel shaken up, too, but not so much that I don’t think I can get us back to town.

  “Where to?”

  “I think I just want to go home.”

  “Okay.”

  As I drive us back into town, I can’t help letting a selfish thought filter through.

  If Troy was shot last night, then I have a bar full of witnesses to say I was with them. If it happened during the early hours of the morning, then I have Love for an alibi since, after chucking my guts up in her bathroom, I then passed out on top of her bed. Next up, I was with Rocky, and then with Love and Henry fucking Prince.

  My alibi is locked up.

  I might be a suspect for King’s murder, but I have zero motive or ability to have shot Troy. Unfortunately, the one person who I think would have the most reason to want him silenced has made it clear that he hates my guts.

  If Deputy Dickhead is the murderer, then what happens if I’m next?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Your third video looks to be as successful as the previous two you’ve put up. Including the photos you’ve posted of our local citizens and businesses, I think we can both agree that your fans love to hear about Midsummer, just as much as we love you.”

  I hold in my snort, knowing there is at least one Midsummer citizen who is not a fan of mine.

  I ran into ex-Deputy Dickhead just two days ago at Macy’s Coffee Gold, and he was not happy to see me. I think, if there hadn’t been a crowd of people around us, he’d have likely lunged at me. However, he just made a nonverbal promise with his eyes that he would be seeing me soon.

  Gossip was rife with his resignation. From what I can tell, Rocky didn’t tell anyone that he was basically fired. I guess giving him the chance to resign means he keeps that part of his reputation from being destroyed.

  Love found out he’s already been offered a job as a deputy in Paxton. I’m not sure how that works exactly, but I’m hoping it means a move to Paxton as soon as possible.

  “Thank you, Mayor Fuller.”

  “Please, it’s June.” She looks at me sternly, probably because she’s asked me that twice already. “And you’ll stay for the Sunshine Carnival at the beginning of next month?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I answer, not sure why I’m bothering to stay at all. Yes, the videos I’ve posted have been successful, and yes, for some strange reason, I actually sort of love this town and its people, minus one of course, but avoiding Rocky is getting out of hand.

  Just yesterday, I had to leap into Miss Shield’s antique shop when I noticed him walking down the sidewalk toward me. I mean, he had to have seen me dive into the store. I wasn’t at all graceful, since I tripped as I went in and my feet were visible out the door for a good few seconds before I got to my knees and crawled in then behind a stand. There had been no one between us on the sidewalk! But the offer he made is still between us, and even though I don’t want something casual with him, that I’m positive I won’t be able to do that without getting hurt in the end, I also know that I lose my head when I’m with him.

  With Henry, I get stuck in this weird fanboy stage where meeting a fantasy right before my eyes means I’m struck stupid. But Rocky’s a different story. I just don’t know why.

  So, I’ve been avoiding him. And I haven’t had to worry about Henry contacting me since he left. If he does have plans to try to win me over, he hasn’t commenced with them yet.

  “I want to again apologize for what has happened over the past two weeks. A murder and attempted murder in our small town is not at all normal for us. I’m appalled by this behavior and know that Sheriff Green will very soon have the culprit or culprits behind bars.”

  “I know he will.” I’m aware that Rocky has been out talking to everyone. I can’t walk into any shop without the locals talking about how relentless Rocky has been.

  As far as I know, he hasn’t gotten any other leads. Part of me is convinced it’s ex-Deputy Dickhead, but I assume, if there was any evidence of that, Rocky would have found it.

  “You’re still staying with Love. My offer stands for getting you a room at no charge at The Last Resort. My brother and sister-in-law would be only too happy to put you up there.”

  I smile at the mention of Love’s parents. I had dinner with them just two nights ago. I expected them to be hippies who talked of love and spirits and the soul. I don’t know why, since Love isn’t like that. It turned out that James and Adrianna are just like she is—funny, sweet, kind, generous, and incredibly interesting. We talked for hours and laughed a lot, too. I instantly fell in love with them. They even thanked me for making Love so happy these past couple of weeks. Like, who even does that?

  After Love’s freak-out over John Troy getting shot, she’s backed away from any sneaky investigating. She doesn’t even bring it up.

  As far as I’m aware, John Troy is still in critical condition, and he hasn’t woken up from his coma.

  Honestly, when I think about all that has happened, it doesn’t even seem real. Life already feels shaky enough, let alone having a murder hovering over the town.

  “Thank you, June.” I still feel weird to say her first name, like it’s disrespectful, despite her asking me to call her that. “But I really love staying with Love, assuming she’s still happy to have me.” I look to my side where Love is sitting next to me and watch her give me a happy smile, likely mirroring my own.

  “I love having you stay with me.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” Mayor Fuller claps her hands then stands. “I look forward to you posting your next video and what it will entail.”

  The dismissal is welcome, and after a quick, few quiet words with Love, as well as a goodbye hug for us both, we leave her office.

  “I’m going to head home to work on a few articles; you want to come?”

  “Actually, I want to check on my car again. I’ll see you back there.”

  She nods in agreement, and then we go our separate ways.

  I walk into the office of the mechanic’s, looking up at the bell that usually sits above the door to indicate a customer has entered. It’s been there during my two previous visits and the jangle usually grates on my nerves. This time
, the bell isn’t there.

  I shrug, figuring that had to be annoying for the man on the desk. Maybe he got rid of it.

  The front office is empty. There are a couple seats beside the entrance, a wide desk with grease stains over it, an ancient-looking computer, and one of those old-fashioned lamps that has a green tinge to the light.

  Over the walls, there are plenty of photos of the mechanic shop from when it first started to the colored photos of more recent times. This business has three generations working here. Gertie, the current mechanic, is training her son, while her father works at the front desk. At least, he’s supposed to work the front desk.

  From what I heard because, let’s face it, in a small town there is always plenty of talk about everyone, Gertie’s father used to be the main mechanic, but after partial eyesight loss, plus severe back pain, he had to give it up.

  I glance down at my phone and look at the time, wondering if maybe they’re on break for lunch. I check the front door in case there is a sign stating something like be back in ten minutes, but there isn’t.

  I take a step toward the desk, taking a peek through the door behind it, which I know leads back to the repair shop. Hopefully, my car is sitting back there all fixed. Not that I have anywhere pressing to go at the moment. Then I just go to the back door that is a double swinging door, one you usually see at a restaurant, and push my shoulder into it.

  I first notice the yellow of my car, a suitable color given the fact that I’ll likely always call it a lemon, before voices echo over to me and I freeze, recognizing one of those voices. I did listen to him speak for close to an hour last week, after all.

  “I need this fixed as soon as possible. You assured me you could get this done,” Mr. Alder hisses.

  I leave the door open just an inch, wondering if I should step back and just sit on the chair in the office and wait. This is most definitely not my business.

  “Yes, but we’ve been busy, and we generally don’t make house calls! Not for the type of work you’re after,” Jimmie Li, Gertie’s father, snaps back.

  “I can’t just bring my car here. You know that.”