Talk of the Town (23 page)
“You betcha,” I cheered. I wished I’d learned about life in the moment when I was as young as her. Jack and I would have sailed around the world and seen all those places he remembered from the navy. “Looks like Carter’s having a fine time tonight, too. That sure does my heart good, considering.”
Tossing a wadded-up towel in the trash, Amanda raised a brow. “Considering?”
“Considering all he’s been through, I mean.”
Imagene Doll, did you or did you not just promise the Almighty, not a hundred feet from here, that if you survived the roller coaster, you’d never gossip again? You better pull out your umbrella. It’ll be raining brimstone any minute
.
Amanda-Lee cocked her head to one side and leaned up against the sink, setting the fish on the counter like she wasn’t in any hurry to move on.
Maybe it ain’t gossip if you’ve got good motivations. It ain’t. It ain’t gossip.
“Well, you know, his brother having cancer and all. It’s not every young fella who’d give up his job and his place—his whole life, practically—to move back home and take care of his brother’s business and those three little nieces. It takes a man with a pretty sterling character to do that—one who understands what’s really important. Not just anyone would make that kind of commitment.”
Amanda blinked hard, taking it all in. Her face softened, and she swiveled toward the door, like she was looking through it and seeing Carter in a whole new way.
“He don’t wear it on his sleeve, either,” I added. “It’s just that Donetta could worm the Christmas list out of Santa Claus. Folks will tell her anything, even folks she don’t know. Of course, she was sure he was from Hollywood, coming to do Amber’s show, so she was trying pretty hard to get infor—” I slapped my mouth shut, just a second and a half too late, as usual. The beans were spilt.
Amanda-Lee let her head fall forward and sighed. A heavy twine of silence stretched between us. “I know you’re aware of who I am,” she said finally. “And why I’m here.”
There wasn’t any point denying it. “Well, I think I do, but I wouldn’t tell a living soul. I understand it’s supposed to be top secret—until the Final Five gets announced and all.”
She pulled her lips to one side and narrowed her eyes, like she was thinking hard. “Would you be willing to help with something? It’s a strange request, and I’d need complete secrecy until it’s over.”
Pure intrigue tingled all over me. I felt like James Bond having an undercover meeting with Q in the bathroom. “Anything. You just name it. I’d do anything to help Amber’s show turn out to be the best one of all.”
Amanda-Lee blew out a long breath. “What I really need is a horse and a trailer. . . .”
As I wrapped up my conversation with Imagene, I experienced an emerging hope that Amber’s hometown reveal would come off as intended. Our plan was clear and sharp—in my mind, at least. Tomorrow morning, after Amber and the crew arrived in Austin, they would leave the airport and drive straight to the home of Imagene Doll. Her farm would provide a secluded country location, where we could prepare for Amber’s grand entrance without the curious eyes of townsfolk and the potential interference of one roving reporter, whom Imagene had also seen roaming around town. Imagene assured me that the reporter had sufficiently offended the townsfolk by asking smutty questions about Amber, and no one would give her any information.
With silence from the locals and some strategic planning, we could keep a lid on the story until after Amber’s big reveal at the rodeo arena. Once word of that got out, things would probably become frantic before her hometown reunion concert at the Daily community building, but right now, I could only attack one Amber issue at a time.
Imagene had committed to arranging for a suitable horse trailer and truck to be waiting at her house. She would also procure Amber’s brothers, and hopefully her grandfather. When Amber arrived at the farm, we would shoot family reunion scenes and interviews, using Imagene’s place as a down-home locale. With a little ingenuity, and about a thousand pounds of luck, it would work.
If Ursula found out I’d confided in one of the locals, she’d have my head stuffed and mounted on her wall. I could hear her screaming, even now.
Vhat? Vhat? Did you think these people couldt be trustedt, Mandee-lay? You leet-tle fool. Trust no one.
“This has to remain absolutely secret,” I whispered to Imagene as we prepared to part ways. Two teenage girls had come in and were giggling in front of the mirrors. I waited until they left to say anything more. “If word gets out, there will be paparazzi everywhere and this whole thing will turn into a fiasco. It won’t be about Amber’s singing anymore; it’ll be about celebrity gossip. The only thing keeping Amber on the show right now are the viewer votes. If public opinion turns against her, she’ll be out of the Final Five before she even has a chance. This hometown show is important.” I left out the fact that the network powers-that-be didn’t like Amber. Warren Entertainment, the studio that awarded the million-dollar recording contract, didn’t want to be saddled with, direct quote, “a gospel music–singing bumpkinette with decidedly poor judgment and a penchant for stumbling into controversial situations.”
Imagene appeared to have a clear understanding of the problem. “That business in the papers about Amber and that awful Justin Shay isn’t true, is it?” She watched closely for my reaction. “Sometimes a young girl can fool herself, thinking that a fella who’s never done right by a woman before will do right by her. I’d hate to see Amber fall into that trap. She’s such an innocent little thing.”
I tried to brush off the possibility. “My suspicion is that it’s more media hype than anything. I can’t picture someone like Justin Shay having a serious interest in Amber.” On the other hand, there was Ursula’s concern that Justin might actually show up in Daily with Amber. Surely Justin Shay had more important things to do . . . unless he really was in hot pursuit of Amber. He’d been known for obsessive whirlwind love affairs in the past.
Imagene nodded, looking relieved. “Well, that’s what I told that lady reporter in the café—she ought not to be spreading rumors on national TV. Amber’s a good girl.” She glanced toward the door. “Shoot. I forgot I had the boys out there. They probably think I fell in.” Hiking her purse onto her shoulder, she hurried toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You got the directions to my place, right? Two miles west to the crossroads, take a left, then four miles on County Road 2103. Old white house with a big red barn, kind of sits back in the live oaks. There’s a couple of antique horse-drawn plows welded into the gateway. You can’t miss it.”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, then grabbed my goldfish from the counter and followed her out, mentally cycling through tomorrow’s plans as she disappeared into the crowd. In the midst of the cyclonic spin of work-related details in my head, there was a small, persistent voice asking,
Where’d Carter disappear to?
I found myself standing outside the restroom, searching for him, even though he’d probably given up on me and moved on by now, and that was undoubtedly for the best. An emotionally unavailable soon-to-be-married young professional shouldn’t be searching for some guy who was not her fiancé, still evasive about his reasons for being in town, and not part of her plan to salvage Amber Anderson’s reunion show. A committed professional would be back in her hotel room, covering all the bases, plugging the laptop into the phone line to email tomorrow’s plans to the crew, maybe giving David a call to say good-night, exchange
I love you
s, and perhaps ask said fiancé to skip the upscale hobnob with the wealthy
female
client up the coast. . . .
I spotted Carter sitting on a bench near the Lightning Snake, and the imaginary phone conversation fizzled. There was a giant blue stuffed gorilla on the bench next to him. He grinned and pointed to it as I came closer. “My prize is bigger than yours.”
“Yeah, but mine came with a two-day supply of goldfish food.” I held up my fish, and it twirled around in its watery bubble, the colored lights giving it a metallic sheen.
Carter looped an arm around the neck of the gorilla and glanced over his shoulder toward the roller coaster. “You ready for the . . . Lightning Snake?” He pronounced
Lightning Snake
with all the drama of a professional voice-over announcer, then stood up, issuing a silent challenge.
“With the gorilla and the fish?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Well . . . I’m not sure about the gorilla, but I don’t think the fish would enjoy it.” Holding up the bag, I inspected the fish like the concerned pet owner that I was. “He’s looking a little traumatized from having Ping-Pong balls thrown at him all day, actually. He’ll probably need therapy.”
Carter chuckled. “We could leave him with the gorilla.”
“He might get stolen.” I watched the roller coaster zip down a hill and whip around a curve. Really, that didn’t look tempting. No telling what kind of underpaid lackey tightened the bolts on that thing. “Besides, the fish doesn’t even know the gorilla.”
Holding the gorilla close to the goldfish bag, Carter performed cursory introductions. “Gorilla, Goldfish. Goldfish, Gorilla.” The gorilla’s black plastic eyes stared sightlessly through the bag at me, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“I don’t think they like each other.”
Little dimples formed at the corners of Carter’s mouth, followed by a smooth grin. “I think they like each other pretty well.” Somewhere near the rodeo arena, fireworks exploded into the sky.
“I . . .” Whatever I’d been about to say flew from my mind. I felt lightheaded, out of body. “I guess you’d have to ask the gorilla.”
“I already did. He said he’d be happy to sit with the goldfish while we go on the roller coaster.”
“How about if I watch the gorilla
and
the goldfish while
you
go on the roller coaster?” I came back down to earth and surrendered to my own lack of chutzpah and the fact that I shouldn’t be riding the roller coaster with some guy I met on a business trip. This escalating game of flirtation at the fairgrounds had to stop before I did something I’d be tempted to lie about later. I’d never lied to David about anything. We were completely open and honest with each other. The rules didn’t change just because I was stressed out and a long way from home. “I’m really not a Lightning Snake kind of girl. I’m a both-feet-on-the-ground kind of girl. Thanks for the offer, though.” I took a step back, putting a safe distance between us.
Carter tipped his head to one side, watching me from the corner of his eye. “There’s no hidden agenda here, Manda. Just two friends on a roller coaster ride.”
I blushed, embarrassed that I’d so clearly telegraphed my thoughts. “I know that.” In the back of my mind, I was thinking
friends, he said friends
.
Even people in committed relationships have friends
. “Thanks for hanging out with me last night and everything, but I think I’d better head back to the hotel and get some work done. I need to plug my laptop in somewhere, clear up my email, and make plans for tomorrow.”
Both Carter and the gorilla gave me the same blank look. “I think the phone’s in my half of the room, along with the Care Bears and the light switch.” He lifted both hands, swinging the gorilla into the air. “Afraid you’re out of luck until I get back to the hotel. Might as well ride the roller coaster.”
I held the fish bag against my chest. “We’ll just wait for you to ride the roller coaster, big guy.” I could feel myself falling into the dance again. Something about Carter was magnetic, even if I didn’t want it to be. “Hand over the gorilla.”
Carter and the gorilla backed toward the roller coaster. “Just one time, then we’ll go. Even you both-feet-on-the-ground girls need to kick up your heels once in a while.”
His gaze caught mine, and I felt warm, then hot, sort of tingly all over, like the time I put my hands on the Vandergrift Generator during high school science class and the current crackled over my skin, making my hair stand on end.
Carter took another step backward, and I followed, my resistance caving in. “Maybe just once.”
“My treat,” he said, pulling a pair of tickets out of his pocket. I surmised that he’d bought them while I was in the restroom.
“You didn’t have to do that.” It was an automatic response, one I didn’t mean. The fact that he’d bought me a ticket was incredibly nice.
“It seemed like a good way to make up for getting you arrested last night.” He had the sweetest smile, a contagious enthusiasm for whatever the moment dished up. “Besides, what kind of a friend would I be if I let you miss out on the fun?”
“He never wanted me to miss out on anything fun.”
Imagene’s words about Jack came back to me and for a moment, all the lights and the noise and the crowds faded away. It was just Carter and me. Fellow convicts, partners in crime, temporary neighbors, roller coaster riders. Friends.
By the time we made it to the front of the roller coaster line, the warm glow of unlikely camaraderie had faded in the face of the whoosh and whine of the Lightning Snake. The cars came in for a landing, and Carter and I climbed in somewhere near the middle. I tried to remember the last time I’d been on a roller coaster. Adventure Land when I was ten. That was it. I threw up when I got off the ride, and my sisters made fun of me.