Last Night's Kiss (16 page)

“And you let him?”

Rosa nodded. “We took them on the bridge. A day later he called me and asked me to model for him. I didn’t believe him.”

“Why not?”

Rosa looked at the two women from Waymon Valley. “It’s a vastly different world in some places,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Vida objected. “Men are the same all over.”

“You thought he was on the make,” Tommie stated.

Rosa nodded. “This was Italy and while he was handsome, older, with that worldly air that is so appealing, and had an accent to die for, I was from Dallas and knew a pass when I heard one. At least I thought so, but he was serious. And my career was launched.”

“She’s a Cinderella story,” Vida said. “Most people go the route I went or they register with several agencies and hope for the best. It’s probably what you should do. I’ll write you a letter of introduction. That’ll get you past the crowd.”

“I have a better idea,” Rosa said.

Both women looked at her in anticipation. “You can start immediately. Well, almost immediately.”

“What do you mean?” Tommie asked.

Rosa didn’t get to answer. At that moment she heard a familiar voice and her throat closed off. Vida and Tommie turned to see what Rosa was looking at. Adam Osborne had come in, smiling and shaking hands as he passed by table after table. Rosa could see he was heading for them. Rosa wondered if each time she saw him or heard his name, she’d have the same reaction. She wondered if this was how her brothers felt when they met the women they fell in love with. And what did Adam feel when he saw her?

Rosa thought about last night. Her body grew hot and she was sure she’d spontaneously combust within seconds. Vida and Tommie sat next to each other, leaving the only free seat next to Rosa.

Without asking, Adam slid into the chair, his leg grazing hers as surely as if it were a hot poker. Rosa had no doubt that it was intentional.

“What are you doing here?” Tommie asked. Her smile was wide. She was obviously glad to see him.

“I don’t mean to interrupt. I was just over at the cable station. They need news. I thought I’d do a story for them.”

“On what?” Vida asked.

“You three,” he said.

“Us?” Tommie said, sitting up straighter in her chair.

“Human interest,” he said, glancing at Rosa. “Two veteran models helping a novice get started. People love that sort of thing.”

“I thought you were finished with broadcast news,” Rosa said. She remembered her past encounter with his reporting.

“This isn’t broadcast. It’s cable. And they need something at the station. It seems there isn’t much to report and few people to do it. I’m helping out. It’ll be nothing like the last time,” he told her.

Rosa stared at him. News was in his blood and as much as he said he wasn’t interested in it, she knew differently.

“So, what’s been going on?”

Without asking permission, he placed a small digital tape recorder on the table.

“Rosa and Vida have told me how they got in the business,” Tommie said, and went on to recap the stories for him. “Rosa was about to say something more when you came.”

Three pairs of eyes swung toward her.

She was suddenly tongue-tied. Images of herself and Adam flooded her mind and she couldn’t think coherently.

“Don’t mind me,” Adam said. “Pretend I’m not here.”

She could do that as well as she could pretend he hadn’t rocked her world.

Clearing her throat, she took a sip of her lemonade before trying to go on. “I was about to say that I have a photo shoot coming up.”

“You do?” Vida’s eyes opened wide. “When?”

“In a week.”

“I thought you were here for the summer,” Adam said. “No work.”

Rosa wondered if she heard something else in his voice. Regret? Concern? Disappointment? “I am here for the summer.”

“But you just said—”

“I know.” Rosa cut Vida off. “I’m not leaving.” She wasn’t sure why she added the last. She wanted Adam to understand that there was something between them and she wanted to pursue it to its natural conclusion. Or the end of the summer when she’d have to return to work. “I got a call from Crawford. He wants me to do one shoot.”

“That could take days,” Vida said. She remembered well the delays that could happen at a shoot: equipment failure, late deliveries, differences of opinion on how the setup should be, temperamental models or photographers, the weather. “And once he’s got you some place exotic there’ll be another job and another one.”

“I only accepted one day. I told Crawford it had to be done here and after one day, finished or not, it’s over.”

“And you think they went for that?”

Rosa watched both Adam’s and Tommie’s heads swing from Vida to her.

“I might be willing to let it roll over another day,” Rosa said. “Because Tommie here is a novice.”

“What?” Tommie said. “What does that mean? Who’s Crawford?”

A smile slowly spread over Vida’s face. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

“What?” Tommie asked again, looking confused.

“This will make a very good story,” Adam said.

“What?” Tommie asked for the third time, exasperation showing on her face.

“Crawford is my agent. And you’re going to be a model in a shoot,” Rosa told her.

“What?” she said, but this time her voice held breathless wonder. After a moment, questions poured from her like a waterfall. “What do I have to do? I’ll need to get my hair done. What are we to wear? Where are they taking the photos? What magazines will the pictures be in? When is it? Adrian is going to be so jealous.”

“Slow down,” Rosa told her, making the connection that Adrian must be her best friend. “All you need to do is show up on the day. Your hair will be done by professionals. Your makeup will be done. Clothes will be provided for you. And there will be someone there to fit you.”

Rosa glanced at Vida. “I thought she could wear some of your designs.”

Vida reached for Rosa’s hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry about any of the details. I’ll take care of them.”

“Another supermodel in the making,” Adam said.

“What about the model walk?” Tommie asked. “Don’t I have to practice that?”

Rosa and Vida laughed. “You won’t be on a runway, Tommie,” Rosa said. “You’re going to be positioned by the photographer and stand still while a photo is taken. You can move in some cases, but in most instances it’ll be a still photo.”

“I can hardly wait to tell everyone.”

“Not yet,” Adam said. “I have some background questions.”

The waiter brought their food and while Adam hadn’t ordered anything, a T-bone steak was set in front of him. Rosa was reminded how well he was known in this town. Dallas was much larger. She could go places where people only recognized her from her modeling jobs. Few of them would know how she liked her steak. And even fewer of them would know her order without her giving it.

Tommie was a very interesting person. While Adam was supposed to interview her, Rosa asked more questions than either Vida or Adam. She was the only one who didn’t know Tommie as well as the others. She discovered Tommie had appeared in several local productions. She would be comfortable with being onstage so to speak. Cameras, lights, and people barking instructions could be nerve-racking. Rosa felt she was going to be fine when she had to sit for the photos.

Of course, she still had to tell Crawford there was a new development to his plan. He was going to just love that. Rosa smiled at the explosion she knew was imminent. But eventually he’d see the merit in it. If Rosa was right, Tommie was going to be good. And Crawford would have the first crack at a new client.

Adam walked her to her car after they all left the restaurant. Tommie was practically floating. She couldn’t wait to run and tell her friend. Rosa remembered that enthusiasm. It was good to see it hadn’t been lost.

Adam took her hand and then put his arm around her waist. At the car, he turned her toward him and kissed her lightly on the mouth.

“You know this is a small town,” Rosa said. “Not only does everyone know your name, they know what you eat.”

From the look on his face and the way he stared down at her, she realized the double meaning of her words. “If you keep holding me like this, we’re going to be the talk of the town.”

“Don’t tell me you think we’re not already?”

Surprised, Rosa stepped back but came up against the car. The heat of the metal against her back was a weak rival to the internal furnace generating inside her. Adam’s gaze was like fire. Rosa felt herself burning in it. After a moment, he released her from his stare, somehow knowing the two of them were in a public place and what was on their minds required the privacy of a closed bedroom door.

“That was a wonderful thing you did in there.” Adam gestured toward the restaurant. Rosa heard the tremor in his voice. “If the shoot doesn’t go well, she’ll know she had a chance.”

“Don’t worry about the shoot. She’s going to be fine.”

“You’re that confident?”

Rosa looked beyond his shoulder, at the place where Tommie had left them. “I’m that confident.”

Rosa hadn’t been this happy in years. And she felt as free as the clouds high in the Montana sky. She’d always had a schedule to maintain, places to be at specific times of the day or night, dresses to wear, makeup to be done, fittings to be had. It was unnerving to have none of that to do, even though Crawford and a crew would be coming in a week. Rosa knew their presence would be temporary.

She drove without a destination. The land was simply too beautiful to ignore. She could understand why Robert Redford loved Montana so much, why he put it in his films and showed it to the world. She could see the huge expanse of emerald green carpeting flowing for miles and miles before it reached a tree line or butted up against an outcropping of hills. Hills that became mountains. Mountains that became sky and sky that added an enormous roof to the landscape.

As she passed a road she hadn’t gone down before, a bridge caught her attention in the distance. It was beautiful. Slowing the car, she turned and stopped as she approached it. Taking her camera, she pushed herself up over the windshield and took a few shots. Only when she got out of the car did she see the truck parked under some trees a few yards away. Looking around, she saw no one.

Going toward it, she peered inside to see if anyone was there. It was empty. After her encounter with the teenagers in town, she wasn’t taking any unnecessary chances. Adam had told her it was relatively safe in Waymon Valley. The crime rate was low and mainly limited to teenage pranks. The truck reminded her of the day she had found Bailey along the road. She couldn’t drive away without checking to see if someone needed help.

She wondered where the owner of the truck was. She should just get back in the car and leave. Seeing no one, she headed back for her car. Just as she reached it, she heard a voice.

“I knew I didn’t leave a red car up here. Especially not a Corvette.” Then a man looked at her. “Rosa, what are you doing here?” he asked.

She opened her eyes wider. “Mike,” she said. “It’s your truck. Her voice held relief in it. She hoped he didn’t hear it.

He offered a hand and Rosa shook it. “I didn’t expect to find you coming from under the bridge,” she said.

“I’m the local engineer, remember?” he asked. “Once a year we come out and inspect all the bridges in Waymon Valley.”

“When I was in school I studied engineering.”

“Vida told me. Did you ever work in the field?” he asked.

“Unfortunately no. Right after school I began modeling. I suppose I have a little bit of regret about that.”

“Regret? Why?”

“I won’t be a model forever. Unfortunately looks fade. Younger models come along. It’s a very fickle business.”

He laughed. “From where I’m sitting you have years to go. And then some.”

“What were you doing down there?” she asked.

“Inspecting the bridge, looking at the struts, making sure nothing’s corroded, rotting away, making sure the bridge is safe.”

“How long has it been here? When was it built?”

“Sometime in the 1930s,” he guessed. “It was built pretty solidly back then. Even though engineering has changed, materials have changed, we know a lot more about stress, wind, and water, pressure, and movement of the earth than then, we can’t keep things from deteriorating. So those built prior to our modern times need as much attention to make sure they are as structurally sound as those built today. Not only do cars go across this bridge, but at least one truck for every man, woman, and child in the county crosses it, too. And then we have some heavy-duty equipment that needs to come out here and reach some of the outlying communities. Not to mention the occasional Corvette.” He gave her a friendly wink.

“Are there many ranches around here? I’ve actually only seen parts of the Osborne place.”

“Most of them are gone. A lot of land was sold off to corporations. Nobody wants to run a ranch these days. They’re more interested in running computers.”

“I run a computer myself,” Rosa said. “But mainly to reach my family, get on the Internet, do e-mail, read the news. That kind of thing. Nothing heavy-duty. I’m not a novice at it, but I’m certainly not an expert.”

Rosa lifted the camera and took a photo of the bridge.

“I heard you were working with Bailey Osborne on his memoirs.”

She nodded.

“You could probably enhance them with some good pictures.”

Rosa lowered the camera and looked at him.

“It’s pretty country. And there are plenty of buildings in town that his ancestors built or restored.”

Rosa thought about it. “I’m not writing a book. Bailey is doing all the talking. I’m just writing down what he says.”

“How’s the car driving?” Mike asked, changing the subject. His attention was totally absorbed by the car. It seemed no one was able to resist the beauty of the machine, including her.

“It drives like a dream.”

“Most people out here drive trucks or SUVs. This car is pretty low to the ground. It could get torn up along some of the roads.”

“I’m trying to stay off those,” she said. “Mainly my travel routes will be in and out of the Valley. Maybe I’ll go to Butte once in a while. I’m sure a Corvette won’t be a problem.”

“When you have a car like this,” Mike said, “you don’t want that kind of driving. You want open roads.”

She smiled. He’d gotten her number right away.

“It’s a luxury. I don’t often get to drive, because I’m always working. When I’m home in New York, public transportation is the fastest route to anywhere. But now that I need to drive to get anywhere, I figured it’s worth doing it.”

Mike smiled. “It certainly is,” he said.

“It does command a certain amount of attention,” Rosa said. “People know me everywhere I go.”

“That has nothing to do with the car.”

Whoever said once newsprint is in your blood, it’s there for life, was a liar. Adam stared at the Delete key on his computer keyboard. The print on the screen was junk. Worthless drivel. He understood the love of people who grew up using typewriters. They could rip the paper from the roll, crumple it into a ball, and pitch it toward a wastebasket strategically set across the room. That’s what he wanted to do, but the physical satisfaction of expressing his frustration was denied to him with a little key.

He’d been working on the story about Rosa’s interview with Tommie for nearly an hour. And he had nothing. He punched the key and a message appeared seeking his confirmation. This time he tried to murder the ENTER key. The screen went blank. He’d written news, hard news. For years he’d covered presidents, dictators, rock stars, disasters, and coronations. So why was this simple human-interest piece eluding him?

Adam began typing again. The letters slid across the screen, forming words, then sentences. But when he looked at the paragraph he’d written, it was all about Rosa, not Tommie. Highlighting the screen, he deleted the text again. The cursor blinked at him. He remembered his first official job as a reporter. When he went to write the story, his hands were clammy and he continued deleting it and starting over. Maybe he’d been out of the business too long. Maybe he didn’t have it anymore.

“What’s going on?”

Adam swung around in the office chair and looked at his father. Bailey held a book and walked into the room. He dropped down in a chair opposite Adam. “What are you writing?”

“Nothing, I’m watching a blinking cursor. I think I’ve been away from it too long. Nothing is coming.”

“What’s it about?”

“Something for the cable news. I interviewed Tommie, Rosa, and Vida. They’re helping Tommie with her dream of becoming a model.”

“I heard. Rosa’s including her in a photo shoot she’s doing here.”

“I guess I don’t have to write the story if everyone already knows the details.”

“No, it’ll do you good to keep your skills honed.”

“What are you doing?” Adam asked his father.

“I’m expecting Rosa. We’re going to go over some notes I made.”

At the sound of her name, Adam couldn’t help remembering their last time together. He forced himself to remain relaxed.

“I see you two have gotten past your differences.”

“What does that mean?”

“You were seen kissing her on Main Street. You know nothing is ever a secret in the Valley. Like your truck being parked outside her house overnight.”

“Technically, that’s my house.”

Bailey raised his eyebrows. “You think anyone’s going to make that distinction?”

“I don’t really care.”

He didn’t know what to expect from his father, but he didn’t expect what happened.

Bailey smiled. And then he laughed, a deep belly laugh, like Adam hadn’t heard in years.

After a moment, he smiled, finding it contagious.

“What’s so funny?”

“You. Her. You’re right for each other.” Bailey stood up. “She’s bringing you back to life.”

“Back to life?”

“Yeah, and don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

The doorbell rang at that moment. Something inside Adam jerked. He heard Medea’s footsteps as she headed for the door.

His father referred to Maureen Carter, her death, her son, and Adam’s subsequent return to the Valley. Adam had been thinking about going back to some form of the news. It’s why he went to the cable station that morning and why he jumped at the chance to write a story. He knew it would give him more time with Rosa and he was fresh for a new experience with a woman who completely captivated him.

“Don’t blow it,” Bailey said. He gave Adam a piercing look and pointed his index finger at him before leaving to go and meet Rosa.

Adam heard her voice in the hall. He was unable to move. Although he wanted to rush to her side, he was too afraid of what he might do. He’d kissed her on Main Street, an action that hadn’t gone unnoticed. He’d known at the time that the street was full of people he knew. Stares had followed them out of the restaurant and undoubtedly people sitting near windows looked out to see them in the parking lot.

Relaxing his shoulders, Adam knew he really didn’t care. He wanted Rosa to know how he felt, even though he knew she was only here for the summer and the days were running fast toward fall. She wouldn’t be here the rest of her life. She had commitments waiting for her return. And once the photo shoot was done, she might be ready to leave. She was a complication in his life. One he’d tried to avoid and couldn’t. His dad was right about one thing. She had made him live again.

He heard footsteps again. She was following his father. As she passed the door to the office, she stopped. Leaning into the door, he watched her hair swing past her shoulder. He remembered running his hands through that hair. In an instant, he relived them coming together. If she felt even a tenth of what he had, she couldn’t leave.

He didn’t think he could live without her.

“Go on in,” Bailey prompted Rosa. “I have some papers to get together. Talk to Adam while I find them.”

Bailey gave her back a little push and Rosa stepped across the threshold. She saw the understanding gleam in the old man’s eyes. He was playing Cupid. Rosa didn’t mind it. She looked forward to a moment alone with Adam.

“Hi,” she said, standing in front of him.

Adam didn’t answer unless she could read it in his eyes, in the way he looked at her, in the way she saw his demeanor change. He started for her, his stride removing the distance between them. His arms went around her waist and his mouth sought hers. Rosa went up on her toes to meet his kiss. The camera around her neck pressed into her belly. Adam deftly pushed it aside and their bodies joined.

Hunger climbed through Rosa’s system like she’d never known. Pressing herself closer to Adam, she accepted the invasion of his tongue. Together their heads danced and bobbed until they were forced to breathe. She lay in his arms for a moment after he broke contact, trying to get her temperature down and her heart back to a normal beat.

Bailey was due back at any moment and while he condoned the feelings she had for his son, Rosa didn’t want him to find them embracing each other.

“I’ve thought about you all day,” Adam said. Rosa noticed his voice was deeper than usual.

“My thoughts have been on you, too.”

He stepped back, his hands running down her arms to her fingers. Then he pulled her across the room and they sat down.

“You’ve been out taking photos again. I’d think you had the entire valley photographed by now.”

Rosa looked down at the camera and back at him. “I was following one of Mike Holmes’s suggestions.”

“Mike Holmes?”

Rosa nodded. “I met him under a bridge.”

“You meet a lot of people under bridges.” Adam smiled. He relaxed in the chair, crossing one leg over the other.

“He was coming out from inspecting the bridge. I was taking pictures.”

Adam looked interested.

“He suggested something for you, too.”

“What?”

“That I add photos to your father’s stories. Only I’m not writing a story. I’m just writing down what your father says. You could include them in the book.”