THE STARLIGHT HILL COMPLETE COLLECTION: 1-8

by Bell, Heatherly

  Would her mother ever stop embarrassing her? Not likely in this lifetime! But on the other hand, there was only one explanation for this: Mom believed that they were a couple.

  He pulled a piece of paper out of his pants pocket. “Yeah, it’s okay. I can handle all this in a day tops.”

  “Don’t do it, Jack. Walk away now while you still can. She’s going to suck you dry.”

  “You’re the one who’s going to suck me dry.” He gave her an easy smile and his hand dove under the covers to caress her breasts.

  She shivered, intensely aware of the fact that she was still naked as the day she’d been born. “Y-yes, I will.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  There was a knock on her door and Fallon slapped his hand away, shoved her cup of coffee into his hands, and dove under the covers.

  “Come in,” Jack said, sounding as though he were choking back a laugh.

  “No! Don’t let her come in,” Fallon hissed from under the blanket and sheets. “I’m naked here.”

  The door creaked opened and Fallon heard her mother’s voice. “That reminds me. This door needs to be oiled, Bud.”

  “Got it,” Jack said.

  “Good Lord, Fallon, aren’t you a little too old to be playing hide and seek?”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “I’ve got to get my cookies down to the bake sale they’re having at the parade tonight, and I could use your help.”

  “Okay, but I might need to meet Kailey to help with make-up later,” she said from under the sheets just before the door shut again. She peeked out to meet Jack’s ear-to-ear grin.

  “You’re never too old to play hide and seek, the adult version.”

  “Stop smiling. She called you ‘Bud’ again.”

  He sighed and handed her coffee back. “Yeah, that’s okay too.”

  “No, it’s not.” She straightened. “I’m going to tell her the truth. All of it.”

  “As much as I’d appreciate that, I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” He slid her a look. “You’re going to tell her we haven’t known each other for six months but more like a week? Yet we slept together in the same bed. I don’t know your mother as well as you do, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that won’t help.”

  “Ha! For all she knows that’s all we did. Sleep.”

  He quirked a single brow. “Do you wonder why she knocked this time and waited to be asked inside?”

  “Yeah.” Fallon was almost afraid to ask. “Why?”

  “I told her I’d appreciate it since I sleep naked. I didn’t want either of us to be embarrassed.”

  She gasped. “You didn’t!”

  “I did.” He rose from the bed and slapped her butt. “C’mon, you hussy, there’s work to be done.”

  Thirty minutes later Fallon had showered and dressed and joined her mother in the kitchen to help with the assembly line of butter, eggs, sugar, flour, mixing and baking. Baking cookies at Christmas time was one of her favorite things to do with David. If she moved back to Starlight Hill, she’d definitely see him more often despite Ted. Especially now that Ted would be married again, and presumably busy with his new wife. She could have David every other weekend again like before, watch his baseball games, and maybe volunteer at his school depending on her work schedule. The question remained whether she could live here again in peace, or if she was going to be the cause of nasty rumors again. The question was whether she could make a life here again, open up her own salon, and support herself without anyone’s help.

  She’d already done that for a couple of years in L.A., which proved something.

  Jack continued to work on the back screen door, making sure to show plenty of demonstrations of affection. If he walked by on the way to the garage because he needed a screw or a nail, he’d stop by and nuzzle Fallon’s neck, or come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. He was incredibly good at this faking thing and had Fallon believing it too. It felt like she’d actually known him for six months already. It was plain weird.

  “My God,” Mom said after Jack left the room. She flipped open the oven and took out another tray of Snickerdoodles. “I guess I was wrong about barflies. Didn’t think you could meet a decent man in a bar, of all places.”

  Hold the presses: her mother had just admitted she might be wrong.

  “Maybe you’re not wrong. Maybe I just got lucky.”

  That much was one hundred percent true. He’d apprehended a criminal for her, agreed to go to a wedding and pretend he was crazy about her, taken her on the road trip of a lifetime, and last night made her eyes roll to the back of her head.

  She swallowed a laugh, wondering what her mother would say if she knew how they’d actually met. You see, he was dressed as Santa Claus and had a would-be burglar pinned on the ground. He specifically told me he had no plans, so he was wide open and available. It was his crazy idea to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, which took us two days, but I’ll never regret it as long as I live.

  “Done with the screen door,” Jack announced as he strode into the kitchen. “The sink is next.”

  “Thank you! Here’s a cookie for your troubles.” Mom handed him a fresh baked Snickerdoodle from the tray.

  Fallon turned to study him as he took a bite out of it. He eyed her as if he’d like to take a bite out of her too and then winked. “Good.”

  Jack finished the rest of the cookie in two bites, then stepped toward Fallon and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her, letting her savor him for a split second. The taste of sugar and cinnamon and Jack hit her like a fist to the heart.

  “See you ladies in a bit.” He walked off in the direction of the downstairs bathroom.

  Mom stared at Fallon. “He’s crazy about you.”

  No. He was very good at faking being crazy about her. She’d sort of won the lottery there. Fallon opened her mouth to say something and then shut it. Let her mother believe it. It had been the plan all along. Fallon dropped another spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough on the cookie sheet.

  “I owe you an apology,” Mom said. “I honestly thought you’d made him up. You’ve been acting odd since Ted sent his Save the Date. And when you told me you’d been dating someone special so you couldn’t possibly go out with Trudy’s nephew, I really thought you’d made the guy up. Bud? It’s like you thought up a name on the spot. But I’ll be darned if he’s not as real as this butter, and you are a lucky, lucky woman.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Fallon swallowed the golf ball sized lump in her throat. She wanted to be that lucky woman, not pretend to be her. Just once in her life she wanted a man that wanted her and her alone. Forever. Two years in L.A. and she hadn’t met anyone special until Jack. And in a town as small as Starlight Hill, she was not likely to find ‘the one.’ No, that ship had sailed. Three times.

  Fallon took a deep breath. Now was as good a time as any other. “I’ve got some bad news. I didn’t want to worry you too much, but I lost my job.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  “It’s okay, though. I’ve got a lot saved up, and I’ll find another one.”

  “Maybe now’s a good time to think about moving back. Rosie retired, after all.”

  “Maybe.”

  The Curl up and Dye wasn’t at all what Fallon had in mind for her salon, but maybe with a little work she could move the place forward and into the new millennium. New state of the art stools, mirrors and sinks. She could do a lot with the place, especially if the lease was reasonable.

  It would be nice to be closer to David again.

  And closer to Mom, who wasn’t always so bad.

  14

  “So cute,” Kailey said, sticking a bobby pin in a tiny ballerina’s bun. “I want a little girl.”

  Kailey and Fallon were seated in temporary stations they’d fashioned out of plastic crates inside Miss Angela’s Dance Hall. The little Nutcracker ballerinas were getting ready for the parade and their march down Main Street following the Santa floa
t. One by one the girls came up and made their requests. French braid, Princess Bun, ringlet curls, pink color spray.

  “Don’t you have your hands full as it is?” Fallon covered a little ballerina’s eyes and finished her off with some hairspray.

  Kailey and Joe had two boys, four and five. Tyler and Kyle were inseparable and about as wild as two boys came.

  “Sure, but Joe wants a little girl too.”

  “Joe wants whatever you want,” Fallon said with a smirk, as she waved the next ballerina forward.

  “That’s true.” Kailey smiled with orgasmic glow.

  “Where are those boys, anyway? I need to give them both a big fat smooch.”

  “They’re with Joe and Wallace, trying to find the perfect spot to watch. The kids are excited to see Scott Turlock drive the ladder truck this year.” Kailey met Fallon’s eyes. “I’m so glad you’re home. How’s Hollywood?”

  “Smoggy. But you were right. I got an education.”

  Kailey had referred Fallon to the intensely stressful world of celebrity styling. And while she’d met enough interesting people to write a few tell-all memoirs, and raked in the money working on Rodeo Drive, she couldn’t say she’d lived the dream. She still hadn’t found a storefront in L.A. that didn’t cost so much she’d have to mortgage her entire future.

  “I want a French braid,” said Lindsey Turlock from the front of the line. “Please.”

  The girl was the image of her mother Genevieve, with beautiful naturally red hair flowing down to her shoulders. No matter how much of a color expert Fallon had become, this kind of color couldn’t be replicated in a bottle. She had already tried.

  “Of course, sweetheart.” She missed seeing some of these kids almost as much as she missed David. They were growing up, and it was all happening so fast.

  Fallon threaded the strands of hair one over the other. Under. Over. She could do this in her sleep, but she still loved it. Honestly, maybe she’d like a little girl too. Someday.

  “Any more thoughts on taking over the lease on Rosie’s old salon?”

  “I’m going to go take a look at it after the wedding.”

  Kailey squealed. “Yay!”

  “Don’t get too excited. I’m just going to check it out.”

  It couldn’t hurt. Sure, it wasn’t what she’d had in mind. Her own top-tier celebrity salon on Rodeo Drive. The respect of everyone in the community for being a genuine semi-celebrity. For catering to the ‘stars.’ But she didn’t need the reassurance that she was ‘somebody’ anymore. All she needed was David, Mom, Kailey, and maybe someday someone special in her life again. This whole road trip with Jack had served to remind her, more than anything, that she’d been alone for too long. She’d let past failures determine her future. No more. It didn’t mean she had to get married again, but she was going to fall in love again.

  “So where’s Jack right now?” Kailey asked.

  “He’s around here somewhere,” Fallon said. “He drove us over in the Mustang, and Hank from the car shop started to bend his ear. You know, car-guy stuff. Asking about the car’s wattage or something.”

  “And so this is really,” Kailey bent closer to whisper, “fake?”

  “I met him a week ago. What do you think?”

  “You’re talking to the girl who fell in love at first sight with Joe Hannigan. A week is plenty of time. I’m not the best person to answer that question.”

  “Well, don’t forget you’re talking to a three-time loser.” Fallon leaned closer to Kailey, and gently covered Lindsey’s little ears. “But yes. Fake.”

  “And you’re sure you want to keep it that way? Because when it’s right, it’s right. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve known each other.”

  “It’s for the best. He’s the man with no plan, and I have David. I live by a plan.”

  “I hope you are at least…enjoying yourself.” Kailey winked.

  “Oh, yeah.” And she would very much like to enjoy herself again tonight. Twice.

  “Where’s David tonight?” Kailey applied a little more rouge on a ballerina’s plump cheeks.

  Fallon frowned. “The rehearsal dinner. Tonight, of all nights.”

  “Poor kid.”

  “I’ll make it up to him.”

  She’d ordered several presents ahead of time to be delivered to her mother’s house, and they’d arrived weeks ago. An electric train set and Star Wars figures. PS2 video games, as he’d asked.

  When it was time for the parade to begin, everyone spilled out onto Main Street. The streets were blocked off and the parade would begin there. Then it would work its way down Second and Third Street, before winding back to the beginning. Fallon searched for Jack in the crowd, but didn’t see him so she joined Kailey, Joe, their boys, and some of the rowdy Turlock crowd. The parade began with the Santa float and all the children hollered and waved at the man of the hour. Ballerinas followed, twirling and pirouetting as Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” piped through speakers propped up behind the float.

  “Aw, they look adorable,” Kailey said.

  “Good job, baby.” Joe swept Kailey up in a fierce kiss.

  Fallon pushed aside the envy that coursed through her then, sharp and solid as a stone. She wanted that kind of enduring love.

  “Look! It’s Uncle Scott!” Wallace and Genevieve’s son, Brandon, yelled.

  Scott waved from the truck, surrounded on all sides by Starlight Hill’s finest. Five of the hunkiest guys she’d ever laid eyes on stood on the runners and waved to the crowd. Funny, but good looks notwithstanding, they did nothing for her. Then a red convertible Mustang with the top down, driven by none other than Jack Cooper, slowly followed the fire truck with a stuck-on placard that read Starlight Hill PD. Seated next to him was Riley Jacobs, the new chief of police.

  “So that’s who Jacobs suckered into driving him tonight,” Joe said. “Apparently their float didn’t work out at the last minute.”

  “That’s Jack Cooper.” Kailey pointed. “Fallon’s date.”

  “I thought his name was Bud,” Joe said.

  Fallon couldn’t speak. Jack looked so handsome sitting behind the wheel, a big grin on his face.

  For a few minutes, she didn’t see anyone else at all.

  * * *

  “Hey, thanks for this, Jack. You really saved my ass,” Riley Jacobs said as he waved to the crowd.

  Jack had given Riley his real name. Even though it seemed half the town was calling him ‘Bud,’ he couldn’t lie to a fellow cop. In the space of a few minutes, he’d learned Riley was a stand-up guy, an ex-Marine, and though a bit younger than Jack, he felt a connection. He wondered if he’d always feel that bond to other cops or if eventually it would wear off. Fallon waved to him from the crowd, her eyes more than a little wide in amazement. Something in the way she met his eyes then, like she couldn’t see anyone else, made his chest tight all over again.

  “How long you been a cop?” Riley asked now.

  “Still shows?”

  “I could freak you out and say yes, but actually, there’s a rumor going around town that you’re a cop.”

  He’d been in town two days. Fallon’s mother must have risen early this morning to broadcast it from a megaphone location somewhere. He had no words for a beat.

  Riley laughed. “Small town. You get used to it.”

  “Former cop,” Jack said, turning on Second Street right behind the ladder truck. “Not sure what I’m doing next. I’m burned out. Had enough. Been a cop since straight out of college.”

  “I hear you. You might want to try small town police work some time. It’s more about service to the community than it is anything else.”

  “Yeah. I love this kind of thing.”

  But he couldn’t really see himself in a small town, not when he’d been L.A. born and bred. He assumed he’d get stir-crazy after too long. Then again, this was Fallon’s town. Beautiful, sexy Fallon. He couldn’t help but give it props just for that. Last night, their
connection had floored him. He’d had great mind-blowing sex before, sure. But he’d never in his life had this off-the-charts chemistry with any woman. So much so that he had lost track of where fake ended and real began.

  As they turned on Third Street and started to head back, Riley waved to a very pregnant woman in the crowd. She stood in front of a storefront that read Giancarlo’s.

  “That’s my wife. Sophia.”

  She seemed younger than Fallon, short with wavy brown hair. Not beautiful like Fallon but very pretty. “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” Riley said. “This is our first. Any day now.”

  “How long you been married?” Jack forced himself to make casual conversation.

  “Eight years now.”

  “You must have been young.”

  “Knew the first time I laid eyes on her. Proposed four weeks later. I won’t say it hasn’t been a bumpy ride, but I’ll never let go for as long as she’ll have me.”

  The parade finally wound back to Main Street, and he and Riley went in different directions. Riley to find his wife and a cup of hot cocoa. It was a cold winter night in wine country, and Jack knew exactly who he wanted to warm him up. He parked the car, put the top back up, and then walked through the crowd until he found her next to a woman with two-toned colored hair.

  “Jack, this is Kailey,” Fallon said.

  “Nice to meet you!” Kailey gave him a hug. “It’s so awesome of you to be in the parade, being a visitor and all. That’s sort of above and beyond duty.”

  “That’s his specialty,” Fallon said with a smile. “Above and beyond.”

  He grinned, his thoughts running to last night. “No worries, I love to help out when I can.”

  Though he’d had a good time tonight, he definitely wanted to get out of here and get Fallon into bed. He’d kept count of the days left, though not in the way he’d expected. He hated to see the days running out, but they’d agreed he’d leave right after the wedding. All part of the plan. She would have Christmas with her son. Plus, Jack didn’t want to overstay his welcome and follow her around like a love sick puppy dog. He hadn’t done that since he’d been a horny teenager and wasn’t even sure he’d done it then. The women were chatting about cute ballerinas and the upcoming wedding, and he was doing his best to appear the dutiful lover hanging on every word. He had his arm around Fallon’s waist and had tugged her in tight. He nodded in all the right places. It came pretty natural and he felt comfortable. At ease. Except that his thoughts kept running to how fast he could get Fallon undressed once they got to the house. Her mother would be home and likely still awake, so there might have to be some small talk first. He wanted less talk and more naked.