If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) (23 page)

“Hey,” Tyler greeted Rose as she opened the
door. “I needed to get out of my studio and have some human
contact. Want to get some lunch?”

“You’re timing couldn’t have been better.”
Rose grabbed Tyler and practically dragged her into the house. “I’m
about to cleanse my house of old demons.”

“Shouldn’t we get some sage to burn?” Tyler
asked. Then she saw what room Rose was taking her into. “Or maybe
we’re going to burn something else? Please?"

“Not burn.” Rose looked at the phone and
answering machine that she kept shoved back in the corner. Out of
sight, but never quite out of mind. She’d always thought of it as
her last line of defense. An unspoken agreement that kept Louise
out of Harper Falls. Well, that agreement had been had been broken.
And then some. It was finally time to cut her last link to
Aunt
Louise.

Rose ripped the phone from the wall jack and
headed towards the garage. “I’m going to run over it with my
car.”

“And imagine that it’s a certain someone’s
head?” Tyler smiled at the graphic image.

Rose grinned back, hitting the automatic
door opener. “Great minds think alike.” Putting the phone under her
back tire, Rose climbed in the car. “Want to get in? After I’ve
ground this to dust, we can head to the diner. Killing a bitch,
even symbolically, works up an appetite.”

“I CAN'T BELIEVE the two of you smashed that
phone without me.”

Rose passed Dani the guacamole. She and her
friends were having lunch at a new restaurant that had opened the
week before. Boasting the only Mexican cuisine in town it was doing
a brisk business, and if the bright, fresh flavors of the homemade
salsa were any indication, they shouldn’t have any problem keeping
their clientele.

“My garbage hasn’t been picked up yet this
week, so if you need to say your goodbyes, the bag of pieces will
be available for viewing for the next two days.”

“Believe me, I won’t be doing any grieving.”
Dani sipped her icy margarita, licking the salt from her lips.
“Just one question, then we'll bury the subject along with the
phone. Do you think she’ll turn up when she finds out the phone is
out of commission?”

“She already fouled the air that I
breathe.”

“Great title for a song,” Tyler quipped to
lighten the mood.

“It’s been done.” Rose smiled reassuringly
at her friends. “I’m not going to worry about it. I got my panic
attack, or whatever it was, out of the way. I would have preferred
not to do it in front of Jack. But whatever power she still has
over me is less than it was last week—less than it was yesterday.
And, I’m turning that evil phone room into a half bath. Win,
win.”

“Seems fitting that people will be doing
their business in the place that used to house the shithead
box.”

“Okay, enough about that." As far as Rose
was concerned the subject was permanently closed. "There’s an
extremely handsome man in a chef’s coat coming this way. You know
how to pick them, Tyler. Good looking and he cooks? Very nice.”

“Maybe he has a brother who hang glides,”
Dani said. “What? I want to learn, why shouldn’t my instructor be
gorgeous? Way to bust a slump, by the way.”

“Right now it’s all about the sex,” Tyler
grinned. “If we ever get to the talking stage, I’ll be sure and ask
if he has any hang-gliding brothers.”

Tyler had met Max Rivera, the owner/chef of
Bienvenido,
two weeks ago when she
was loading a sculpture into her van for delivery. Max jogged by,
saw Tyler and after they had exchanged pleasantries for several
minutes he had asked her out. Max was busy opening his restaurant;
Tyler had a backlog of commissions she was trying to get done.
Neither had the time or inclination, to start a romance. The sex
was great and she liked him. Friends with benefits and food.

Max turned out to be charming and he was
obviously fond of Tyler. Rose and Dani gave their silent approval,
after all; that was what this outing had really been about. As her
friends, it was their job to make sure the man in her life, no
matter how temporary, was worthy of her. Max passed with flying
colors. So much so that Rose couldn't help wishing he could be more
to Tyler than just a way to scratch an itch. In her way, Tyler was
as screwed up about love and relationships as Rose. Different
reasons, same results. And then there was Dani and her lost love.
If she weren't so sick of therapy, Rose would suggest they find a
psychologist who gave group discounts.

After lunch, Rose headed over to the high
school. She had been asked to be a judge at the annual talent show.
Back in the day, Rose had participated, coming in third. But then,
she wasn’t a performer. Early on in her career producers had taken
one look at her and decided she could be a star. A woman with her
face and killer songs that she wrote herself? She must want to be
on stage, right? Wrong. Rose knew where she belonged, and it wasn't
performing in front of screaming fans.

Harper Academy had given her a solid start
with her music. She’d learned so much and, even more importantly,
the teachers there had encouraged her dreams. But looking back,
Rose was glad she hadn’t been able to go back for her sophomore
year. There had no longer been any money from Louise’s husband,
correction, ex-husband, so Rose had spent the next three years with
Tyler and Dani at Harper High.

Harper Falls’ public high school had been
remodeled and modernized about five years ago, but Rose soon found
that not much had changed. Kids still milled around the halls,
waiting until the last minute before scurrying to class. And
Principal Harriman still ruled with an iron fist. And a heart of
mush. She greeted Rose with a hug.

Rose remembered how lost she had been those
first few months, still recovering both physically and mentally.
Mona Harriman had taken Rose under her wing, making sure she
adjusted to her new school. The woman had been a rock, and Rose had
never forgotten.

“I should have warned you. We’re having an
assembly to introduce this year’s judges.”

“What, now?” Rose looked down at her faded
jeans, yellow button down shirt, and black loafers.

“You look great,” Principal Harriman assured
her.

“At least let me do a quick stop at the
bathroom to check my hair.”

“Of course.” They detoured into the
designated door. “Girls, the bell has rung. Get to the gym. And
Clare, spit out that gum. The next time it ends up in another
girl’s hair, you’re going to have to explain to your parents why I
had to suspended you.”

The girls scrambled out of the bathroom,
suitably chastised.

“You haven’t lost your touch.” Rose applied
some lip gloss, her eyes crinkled with humor.

“I love my students. But now and then they
need a verbal kick in the butt. Which reminds me, how’s Tyler these
days.”

The two women exchanged grins. Tyler had
been an instigator. To her credit, she rarely caused any real
damage, if you didn’t count a smoke filled chemistry lab. And she
was the champion of those who couldn’t look out for themselves.
There wasn’t very much bullying when Tyler was around. And though
Principal Harriman didn’t condone a vigilante approach, she could
have used a few more students with Tyler Jones’ sense of justice
for the underdog.

After Rose had made sure she was as
presentable as possible given the short notice, they headed for the
gymnasium where the students had assembled.

“Is this a new thing? Introducing the
judges,” she clarified. “It wasn’t done when I was in school.”

“Word of your participation has caused a bit
of a stir.” She held the door open for Rose. “Rather than have them
all rubbernecking at the talent show, it was suggested that if you
are introduced to them now it might temper the excitement on the
actual night.”

“I’m surprised any of them even know who I
am.” People wanted to meet the singer of the songs, not the
writer.

“I believe a picture of you with Beyoncé has
been making the rounds.”

Now the light bulb went on. “Ah, yes,
celebrity by association. They’re going to be awfully disappointed
when they find out that she and Jay-Z rarely drop by for a
chat.”

Rose exchanged brief hellos with the other
four judges. She didn’t know any of them, but she imagined they
were a bit surprised by all the hoopla that went along with a high
school talent show. In fact, most of them looked like they wanted
to be anyplace but here. Only Carl Fuller appeared to be enjoying
the spotlight. Owner of Fuller’s Feed and Seed, Carl considered
himself a big man in town and he took an instant liking to Rose.
Overcompensating for the noisy student body he leaned over and
shouted in her ear, “If you ever need any flower seeds you let me
know. I’ll give you a big discount, if you know what I mean?”

Honestly? The kid in the last row of the
bleachers knew what he meant. Grimacing, Rose stepped away. She
moved so that the other judges were between her and
seedy
Carl. Did that line ever actually work? And
at a high school assembly? Carl needed to learn some manners. Where
was Tyler when she needed her?

Principal Harriman quieted the students with
her patented silent stare. Thirty seconds, Rose counted.
Impressive.

“We are very fortunate to have five
distinguished members of our community with us today. They have
graciously agreed to donate their valuable time and will be judging
this Saturday’s annual talent show.”

Each of the judges received a polite
smattering of applause. When the principal introduced Rose, she was
relieved that her reception was only marginally more enthusiastic.
Not bad, nothing embarrassing. And then it happened. One of the
little smart asses had to call out, “Who was your boyfriend when
you wrote
Grind
?”

Ugh. Five more minutes and she’d have been
out of the building. Now she had to deal with hormonally charged
teenagers and fellow judges who were giving her looks ranging from
disgust, hello, Mr. Plumber. To increased interest by Carl, the
seed man.

Principal Harriman quickly brought things
back under control. Rose didn’t offer to answer any questions. No
matter what she said, it was a no win situation. Parents didn’t
want their children having a Q&A with the writer of sexually
explicit songs. Who could blame them?

“I’m sorry about that.” The students were
back in their classes and the other judges had left. Principal
Harriman insisted on walking Rose to her car.

“You have nothing to apologize for. They're
just kids.”

“My school, my responsibility. I don’t like
any guest to be embarrassed.”

“That was nothing. In fact, it was pretty
mild.” Rose gave the principal a considering look. “We’re you
embarrassed, Principal Harriman? By the song, not the
question.”

“First of all, call me Mona.” She held up a
hand when Rose would have protested. “You’ll get used to it.
Secondly, I have heard it before, Rose. In fact, my husband I have
been known to play it when the mood strikes.”

“Mona.” Rose ran the name through her brain
a few times. It wasn’t
too
strange.
“I’m a bit disturbed to hear that from my former principal but I'm
thrilled to hear it from my friend.”

“I don’t suppose you’d like to confide in
me…you know?”

Rose laughed at Mona's sheepish question.
She unlocked her car door and tossed her purse onto the passenger
seat. “I could tell you, but…”

“Right, I understand. Besides, who would
keep all those
little darlings
in
order if I were dead?”

Rose was still laughing as she started to
pull into her driveway. But at the last moment she changed her mind
and kept going until she was in front of Tyler’s studio. Her
exchange with Principal Harriman was too good to keep to herself.
And her friends were the only ones who would appreciate it
and
keep it to themselves. While she
waited for Tyler to answer the door, she called Dani to come over.
Rose suddenly realized she hadn’t stopped grinning since she left
the school. Who could blame her?
Mona Harriman
liked to get down and dirty to 'Grind'.

IT WAS LATE afternoon when Rose decided to
surprise Jack at his office. But as she approached the gates she
wondered if she should have called first. She pulled to a stop as a
guard approached. This was new. She hoped nothing was wrong.

“Are you expected?” The guard had a
clipboard with a list of names.

“No. What’s going on? Is everyone alright?”
Had something happened to Jack?

“I’m sorry, miss, but without an appointment
you’re going to have to turn around and leave.”

“Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Rose knew the guard wouldn’t be out here if Jack and Drew didn’t
think it was necessary, so she was trying to be pleasant. But if he
didn’t tell her if Jack was alright, she was going to storm the
gates.

“Then turn your pretty little ass around and
get out of here.”

Pretty little ass?
Really?
Rose grabbed her phone. This guy’s
ugly big ass
was about to get her
foot up it.

“Hey, sweetheart. I was just thinking about
you.” Rose relaxed. Jack answered after the first ring. If
something had happened to him it would have taken at least two.

Before she could tell Jack her situation,
the guard leaned down to her level. “Look, I can’t let you in, but
why don’t you give me your address and I’ll come by in a few hours
after I get off.” He looked her up and down. “Then I can help
you
get off.”

“Martin, let Miss O’Brian through the gate
and then get your things and clear out, you’re fired.”