She didn’t smile at her own joke. She wanted to be sophisticated about this. She was having a summer affair with a beautiful man. That he was also kind, funny, thoughtful, and a truly great lover was just something good for her to look back on.
“Ready to leave in the morning?” Jack asked as he sat down in the lawn chair next to Tate. They were several feet away from the big gazebo so their talk wouldn’t disturb the players in their rehearsal. Casey and Gizzy were in costume and laughing over horrid Mr. Collins, who was being played by the ugly trainer from L.A.
“I’m not packed, if that’s what you’re asking,” Tate answered. “But then, I’m not taking anything with me.”
“I guess that means you’re planning to return.”
Tate looked at his friend to see if he was serious and saw that Jack’s eyes were laughing. “Yeah, I might come back. Not sure if Casey will care.”
“Whoa! Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I think it comes down to first-grade wisdom. I like her more than she likes me.”
“You’re talking about the secrecy thing, aren’t you?”
Tate shrugged. “I guess. She certainly doesn’t want anyone to know about us. How are you and Wild Woman doing?”
Jack let out a long sigh. “She sits in church like an angel dropped onto earth, then we go out and she walks along a cliff edge so steep my hair stands on end. I think I may be in love with her.”
“Does she like you or the movie star?”
“Me. I think. We don’t have a lot of in-depth talks about feelings—which is another reason I adore her. She’s never asked me what I’m thinking or feeling or even what my favorite color is. She’s like my best buddy in the most beautiful package ever created.”
“Good for you.”
“So out with it,” Jack said. “What’s eating you?”
“Something happened with Casey, but I don’t know what. Things were going great, then…she changed.”
Jack took a moment as he watched Gizzy on the stage. To his mind, she was so beautiful she might as well have a halo around her. When she smiled at him, it seemed that his insides grew soft. In bed, out of it, he wanted to be with her every minute. But it looked as if his friend wasn’t finding the same happiness. “Maybe the whole movie-star thing scares her off.”
“Casey? No way. She’s never seen me like that, and I’ve been careful that she doesn’t see that side of my life. I want her to see me as a man, not as a product of my job.”
“Good philosophy. Hope you can pull it off. By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you that I think I saw your ex-brother-in-law hiding in the bushes on days he’s not rehearsing.”
“Can’t be. I had the place fenced and I pay a couple of guys to ride around the perimeter.”
“And a couple of hours ago they found where the fence had been cut.”
Tate sounded alarmed. “Why didn’t they tell me that?”
“Because you tend to disappear for hours at a time. What was I supposed to tell them? To look for you in the blackberry bushes? And I didn’t tell security to search for the intruder because I knew he might be your ex-brother-in-law. The press wouldn’t be kind to a story of you and him in a fight.”
Tate was still staring at him. “You really think it’s Haines who’s been sneaking in?”
“The guard was sure it was him by the fence, and I’ve seen Haines in the bushes. So what’s he after?”
“Money,” Tate said. “He’ll do anything to get out of having to work to support himself. Damn! He wants to get to Nina. All he has to do is look tearful and say he miss
es Emmie and she softens.”
“Why is he breaking in now, before they get here? Maybe he’s taking photos of you and Casey and planning to sell them. How secure is that shed you two hide out in?”
Tate’s eyes were on the stage. “We can hear anyone approach. I don’t know what Haines is up to, but I do know that he’s seen Casey in private a few times.”
“She tell you that?”
“Yes,” Tate said, but he didn’t elaborate.