Fame (12 page)

“Tell her I have the perfect person. Her name’s Lindsay 90

Bueller and her family’s right here in town.” Ashley started unloading the dishwasher. “Her family’s been praying for a place like this.”

From the front room, they heard Helen call out.

Roberta dried her hands on a towel. I’ll be right back. Helen needs help getting out of the chair these days.”

Ashley nodded. She took three teacups from the dishwasher and lined them up on the counter. Next she pulled the tray of tea bags closer and chose peppermint for each of them. Irvel had loved peppermint tea, and even with her gone more than a year, the people at Sunset Hills continued her tradition of a hot cup of tea at lunchtime.

Roberta came back into view, leading Helen toward her place at the dining-room table. Helen shot a suspicious look at Ashley and motioned to her. “Has she been checked?” Before Roberta could say yes, Helen continued. “This place is falling apart, I tell you.” Helen held on to Roberta’s arm as she lowered herself into her chair. “Nobody gets checked anymore.”

Ashley smiled. Some things never changed. The kettle was boiling, so she poured the tea and took a cup to Helen and another to Roberta. Before the hour was up, they were joined by Bert and Edith. The conversation was disjointed and humorous, but it made Ashley miss working here.

When they were finished with tea and lunch, Ashley said her goodbyes. As much as she enjoyed the company of her friends at Sunset Hills, she enjoyed being with Landon and Cole more. She was halfway home when she decided to swing by her parents’ house and check on her father.

He’d been quieter than usual lately. Probably thinking the same thing all the Baxters were thinking—that it had been almost a year since their mother died.

She pulled into the driveway and saw Kari’s car. Of the five adult Baxter siblings, only she and Kari and their oldest sister, Brooke, lived in Bloomington. Luke and his wife and baby lived 91

KAREN KINGSBURY

in New York, and Erin, the youngest Baxter daughter, lived with her husband and four adopted daughters in Texas.

Physical distance didn’t matter. The Baxters were closer now than they’d been growing up, especially in the year since the death of their mother.

Once inside, Ashley found Kari and their father in the family room. In her father’s arms was Kari’s youngest, seven-month-old Ryan Junior, and next to him on the couch, peering in and patting the baby on the head, was Kari’s daughter, three-year-old Jessie.

“I wish I had a camera.” Ashley set her purse down and went to her father, kissing him on the cheek. “Or maybe an easel.”

“Hi, honey.” Her father smiled, and for the first time in a while, it went all the way to his eyes. The baby cooed. Her father crooked his finger and ran it beneath the baby’s chin. “Little Ryan’s the happiest baby.”

Kari pulled a bottle of milk from a nearby diaper bag and handed it to their father. “He won’t be happy for long without this.” She gave Ashley a side hug.

“I was just inviting Dad for

dinner. You and Landon and Cole wanna come too?” “I’d love to, but we’ve got sets tonight.” “Sets?” Her father looked up. “Theater sets?”

“Yep,” Kari answered for her. “Sets for Tom Sawyer, CKT’s upcoming musical.” She sat down next to Jessie and pulled the little girl onto her lap. “You must’ve met with the Flanigans.”

“Yes, they’re wonderful. I love their family.” Ashley smiled at her father.

“They remind me of us a long time ago.”

Her father’s expression softened. “I’d like to meet them sometime.” He raised an eyebrow at Ashley. “What made you want to get involved in theater sets?” He chuckled. “Don’t tell me it was Landon’s idea.”

“Actually…” Ashley’s tone was thoughtful. “It was something I thought Mom would’ve done. You know, help out with local theater.”

92

92

“Yes.” Her father held little Ryan’s bottle for him. “Especially a Christian kids theater. She loved live stage productions.”

Ashley took the chair across from the others. “It was something Landon and I could do together, something that helps me know that Mom’s smiling down on us, still somehow a part of what we’re doing.”

Silence settled over them for a moment.

Jessie was squirming, so Kari let her down. “Can I get a book, Mommy?”

“Yes, sweetie. Then come right back:” Kari watched her daughter scamper off; then she turned to Ashley. “Jessie’s already forgetting.” Sadness darkened her expression. “I showed her Mom’s picture the other day, and she held up her hands and asked me who it was.”

Their father closed his eyes for a few seconds and then exhaled long and deep before opening them again. “At least she remembers where her grandma’s picture books are.”

Kari stood up and gave Ashley a sad look, one that said she’d been wrong to bring up the subject with their father sitting there. “Anyway, I better make sure she’s not messing up the whole bookcase.”

With Kari out of the room, Ashley went to her father and knelt near his feet.

She ran her fingers over little Ryan’s head. “I remember when Cole was this small.”

“Me too.” Her father sniffed, and a tear fell onto his cheek. “Your mother loved Cole like he was her own son.”

“I know.” Ashley uttered a sad laugh. “After I came back from Paris, alone and pregnant, I always thought she loved Cole more than me.”

“That was never the case.” Her father put his hand on her shoulder. “She understood you, Ashley. She…” He struggled, almost as if there was something he wanted to say but wasn’t sure he should say it. “Well, she always understood you. You were special to her.”

93

KAREN KINGSBURY

“Dad, what were you going to say?”

“Nothing.” His answer was quick this time. “I just don’t want you to ever doubt your mother’s love for you.”

Kari and Jessie were returning from the old bookcase in the living room. Ashley could hear Jessie talking about orange kitty cats and striped tails in a happy singsong.

Ashley searched her father’s eyes for a few more seconds. Whatever he’d been about to say, it was lost now. She looked at the baby and then up at her father again. ‘I miss her so much, Dad.”

He nodded; then his chin quivered. He brought the back of his hand first to one eye, then the other. “Sometimes—” He stopped, his voice strained. Most of his face was hidden by his hand, so when he spoke again he was barely audible.

“Sometimes I miss her so much… I can barely breathe.”

Ashley stood up, bent close to her father, and hugged him. There was nothing else to say, nothing else to do. Kari and Jessie were back now, and Ashley gave Kari a familiar look, one that told her their father was hurting, but he’d be okay.

As Ashley bid them both goodbye and drove home to Landon and Cole, she let the tears come. Tears because it was unbearable seeing her strong father, the invincible Dr. Baxter, so broken he could barely speak. Tears because her mother would never sit in the audience and watch Torn Sawyer, knowing her formerly rebellious daughter had actually painted the set. Tears because little Jessie didn’t remember her grandma anymore. But most of all tears because the look she’d given Kari was true. One day they would all be okay again.

And maybe that was the saddest part of all.

94

95

DAYNE WAS ALONE at his Malibu house trying to get into an old Barbra Streisand movie when his phone rang. Mitch Henry had promised to call the minute he had news, so Dayne grabbed the phone and clicked the On button.

“Dayne, it’s Mitch.” He hesitated. “She’s coming.”

“She is?” Dayne was on his feet. “Are you serious?” He paced to the back patio door, stared at the ocean for a few seconds, and headed back to the sofa. All the while Mitch was giving him details. “Hey, wait.” Dayne froze. “You didn’t mention my name, did you?”

“Not once.”

“You sure? Not once?”

“Dayne, she’d never even heard of the movie.” He breathed out a short laugh.

“Don’t flatter yourself. She’s probably never heard Of you either.”

“Ouch.” Dayne set his feet back in motion, walking from the sofa and back to the patio door again. “So she’s really coming?”

“Yes, but, Matthews, you sure you got the right girl?” Mitch 96

96

sounded hesitant. “I sweet-talked her like you said, but she’s not like any actress I’ve ever talked to. She kept asking the same thing.”

“What?” Dayne felt tingly and alive. Katy Hart was coming to Hollywood for an audition. How great was that? He tuned back into the conversation. “What’d she keep asking?”

“If it was a mistake, a joke.” He laughed, but it sounded more sarcastic than funny. “Real confident girl, Matthews. Oughta be fantastic on film.”

Dayne ignored that last comment. He didn’t care what Mitch Henry thought. Katy was perfect for the part; they’d all see that soon enough. “She’s coming Sunday, right?”

“Sunday, yes.” He paused. “We’re putting her up at the Shera ton and getting her a ride to the studio in the morning. Her read ing’s at nine o’clock, okay? You happy, Matthews?”

“I am.” He chuckled but kept it quiet so Mitch wouldn’t hear him. “I’ve seen the tape on her, Mitch. She’s the real deal.” “Innocent, right?”

“As a baby.”

Mitch drew a long breath. “I’ve done my job. Whatever it takes to keep you happy.”

“You’re forgetting something.”

“What’s that?” Mitch sounded tired, bored of the conversa tion.

“You’re forgetting that I’m doing this to keep you happy too.” Dayne returned to the sofa and sat back down. “I’m telling you, Mitch, you’ll love her.”

“I’d love to get the film cast. That’s what I’d love.”

After another minute, the conversation ended, and Dayne set the phone back down on the coffee table. Wow. Had it been that easy? Learning everything about Katy Hart’s background, find ing out where she was living, and getting her to agree to an audition?

In two days, Katy Hart—a girl he hadn’t been able to forget 97

KAREN KINGSBURY

since his brief, secretive visit to a community theater—would stand before him and read for a role starring opposite him in a major motion picture.

Dayne closed his eyes for a minute. He had to keeb her from the paparazzi, and that meant one thing. She couldn’t be seen alone with him. A girl coming to DreamFilms Studio for a reading wasn’t enough to get their attention. But a no-ame children’s theater director from Bloomington, Indiana, coming to Hollywood at the sole request of Dayne Matthews?

That story would make the cover.

No, he couldn’t be seen with her, and that was okay. He wasn’t interested in her, not really. He just wanted the, chance to star in a film with her. Someone raw and talented, untainted by the Hollywood life. Acting with her would take him back to his college days, back when acting was something that grew from the center of his soul and consumed him.

He already knew he’d love her on camera, love the, fresh look of her face, the innocence in her eyes. But there was one small problem. He hadn’t been completely honest with Mitch Henry. He didn’t really know everything about Katy Hart, just most things. The missing part took place in Chicago when Katy suddenly stopped attending auditions and switched careers.

Depending on her reasons and whatever happened to her back in Chicago, the possibility existed that maybe Katy Hart hadn’t missed her break into the industry. Maybe she’d walked away from it on purpose. Dayne opened his eyes, leaned back into the sofa, and stared at the vaulted ceiling, That wasn’t possible, was it? Every other girl he’d met in the business had wanted the same thing. A chance to be famous, to see her face and name in lights—wasn’t that it? But then, that was the only thing that worried Dayne the rest of the night and throughout the next day while he counted down the hours until Katy’s visit.

Katy Hart wasn’t any other girl.

98

98

Katy changed her outfit three times before taking the elevator down to the lobby where her escort would meet her.

The part was starring opposite the lead in a romantic comedy about a small-town girl with dreams of making it as a big-time magazine writer in New York City.

Katy had packed an entire suitcase of possibilities so she wouldn’t be limited.

By six that morning she was showered and staring at her choices.

She’d been taught in film classes that a person should dress the part as much as possible, so her first thought had been jeans and a scoop-necked T-shirt. But after she was dressed she remembered Mitch Henry telling her that for most of the film the female lead would be in Manhattan. And that meant a different look altogether. So she switched to black pants and a short blazer.

But by the time she had her blazer buttoned, she felt stiff and overdressed and much too hot for Los Angeles in late June.

In the end she chose something middle of the road—khaki pants and a yellow cotton blouse—an outfit she was comfortable in. Not that it mattered. The whole idea of flying to Los Angeles for a reading was so strange, Katy still expected someone to show up at her hotel room and tell her it was all a joke.

And if that didn’t happen, then surely DreamFilms had more experienced actresses lined up for the part. She must’ve been more of an oddity, someone to compare the others to. Or maybe the call came because she actually lived in a small town. Maybe they wanted their top choice to see what a small-town girl looked like, and that’s why they brought her in.

Katy didn’t know, but there had to be some reason, something that would come to light at the interview. She took a seat in the lobby and waited until a guy in black jeans and a lightweight black turtleneck approached her. “Miss Hart?”

“Yes.”

99

KAREN KINGSBURY

“I’m Greg, a gopher over at DreamFilms.” He smiled and shook her hand. “I’ve been asked to take you to the studio.”

“So, it’s not a joke?” Katy fell in step beside Greg as they walked to a silver SUV parked just outside the door.

“Nope, it’s not a joke.” Greg opened her door, then went around and climbed into the driver’s side. “In fact, as breaks go, I’d say this is one of the biggest I’ve seen.”

They made small talk on the way to the studio, and the whole time Katy felt like she was playing a part in a play. Because this wasn’t her life, being driven to a major motion picture studio so she could read for a lead part in an upcoming film. It was the life she once dreamed of having, back when she was in Chicago.