Audra hesitated before responding. “The songs I wrote here are different.”
“Not too different, I hope. The producer contracted you for Audra Lane songs. You weren’t channeling someone weird, were you?”
“These songs are crisper, happier, more abandoned.” Audra only half listened to her business manager’s grousing as she relived the adrenaline rush of breaking through her writer’s block.
“OK, that should work.” Benita resumed clicking her keyboard.
“I can see myself coming back here.” Audra settled again on the sofa.
“Where? The cabins?”
“Yes. And Trinity Falls. I like it here.” Jack’s image came to mind. “I like it here very much.”
“It’s a nice place to visit. Can’t see how people live there, though.”
“I can.” Audra shifted to lie across the sofa. Its thick cushions sighed around her. “The people are so warm and welcoming. The town’s beautiful and charming.” She smiled as she thought of the quaint shops in the Trinity Falls Town Center and the characters who owned them.
Benita grunted. “You say that now. By the end of the week, those Pollyanna glasses will come off and you’ll be screaming for L.A. There’s nothing. To do. In Trinity Falls.”
“There’s plenty for me.”
“Then you’re boring, just like the town.”
“Maybe.” Audra was in too good a mood to be offended. She’d completed all three songs and intended to spend the remaining twelve days in Trinity Falls playing. Would Jack be able to play, too?
“So, does that mean you’re not cutting your vacation short?” Benita clicked more keys. Audra thought a printer powered on in the background.
“Benita, if this had been a vacation, I wouldn’t be speaking with you.”
“Good, because the three-hour time difference with these calls is driving me nuts.”
Audra thought of Jack. “I’m going to stay through Founders Day.”
“Suit yourself.” There was a shrug in Benita’s voice. “Personally, I’d take my vacation somewhere else, like Paris, New York, London . . . but you paid for that cabin.”
Yes, she did. And she was definitely getting far more than her money’s worth. Audra rolled into a sitting position. “Are you coming for the Founders Day Celebration?”
“Indeed, I am. I’m only staying for the day, though. Not a minute longer.” A stapler crunched on Benita’s end of the line. “The only reason I’m coming is that my cousin’s been hounding the whole family about it for more than a year.”
“Who’s your cousin?”
“Dr. Helen Gaston. Have you met her? Everyone in town calls her Ms. Helen.”
Audra grinned, thinking about the charismatic older woman with whom Darius had spent the evening. “I like her. I’m surprised you’re related. She seems so nice.”
“Ha-ha.” Benita rustled papers on the other end of the line. “Look, hon, as much as I’m enjoying your conversation, I’ve gotta run. Listen to those songs again. Copy me on the e-mail. Have fun on your well-deserved vacation. Look for me August ninth.”
After delivering her to-do list, Benita hung up. Audra shook her head in amusement. Had Benita ever waited for her to say good-bye before hanging up? She couldn’t recall.
But now that she was done with her contract, there was someone else she wanted to say hello to. Audra punched in Jack’s cell phone number.
“Hello, beautiful.” Jack’s baritone was even sexier over the phone.
Audra savored the delicious shivers his greeting gave her. “I’ve finished all three songs.”
“Congratulations.” There was a smile in his voice.
“Thank you.” Completing her songs had never felt so wonderful. “Are you free for dinner?”