What it Takes (25 page)

“Michelle.”

Kelsey’s agent, Michelle Richmond, had called her at least a dozen times and sent her three script synopses. She’d been trying to convince Kelsey to come back to Los Angeles for an audition in two weeks. Kelsey had told her she couldn’t, that she was staying with her family until the end of January. She knew Michelle was slightly irritated that she’d started spending more time in Virginia. She also knew Michelle would never admit it.

“She’s keeping you on your toes. That’s good.” Janelle put the spoon down and picked up another. “Anything interesting?”

Kelsey took a seat beside her sister and told her about the scripts she’d received. One was a comedy and two were romantic dramas. She had decided she would definitely audition for the comedy, but couldn’t decide whether she wanted to do one or both of the romantic dramas. Auditions would take place after she went back to LA. Janelle encouraged her to go for all of them.

Janelle had always been helpful in picking scripts. If it hadn’t been for her sister, Kelsey might not have worked with Patrick. Even though the story line was interesting, the affair made her uncomfortable. Janelle had suggested Kelsey take the chance and broaden her horizons, reminding her that life wasn’t perfect. And neither were people.

“Mommy, someone’s pulling in the driveway!” Zach yelled.

Janelle gently laid the spoon down and hurried to the door. Kelsey followed at a slower pace and leaned against the wall, watching the kids. Zach had already seated himself on the floor beside his sister. The children had coloring books and crayons spread out in front of them. Zoe was lying on her stomach, feet in the air, crayon in hand, eyes glued to the TV.

“I’m sorry, there must be a mistake,” Janelle said.

Kelsey saw her holding a large bouquet of fall flowers in reds, oranges, and yellows. She joined her sister by the door.

“This is the address we were given, ma’am.”

“But there’s no one here by this name,” Janelle argued softly. Her tone spoke of confusion, not anger.

“Let me see.” Kelsey took the card from the arrangement.

For Julia Jackson, from David Carter. Happy Thanksgiving, wish I were
there.

“No, this is the right place.” Kelsey thanked the delivery man as she took the flowers from her sister. With a giddy lift in her step, she carried the flowers into the kitchen and set them down on the island.

The beautiful yellow sunflowers were the first things to catch her eye, surrounded by orange and red lilies and a few bright Gerbera daisies. Yellow roses, orange roses, and a few stalks of wheat were sporadically placed among the larger flowers. Small yellow gourds sat on opposite sides of the shallow bowl. Kelsey turned the arrangement so she could look at it from every angle and saw a single red rose tucked in between a lily and a sunflower. She searched for other red roses, but it was the only one.

A large smile slowly stretched her lips.

“You want to explain?” Janelle asked and Kelsey looked up in surprise. She’d forgotten her sister was there. “Who’s David Carter and why’s he sending flowers to Julia Jackson at our house?”

Kelsey’s cheeks became slightly warm. “Those were our character names.”

“Patrick sent them?” Janelle’s eyes widened as she stepped up to the island and examined the arrangement closely. “They’re beautiful. It’ll look perfect on the table. Oh, look,” she said, pulling the red rose from its resting place.

“Don’t take it apart!” Kelsey swatted at her sister’s hand.

Janelle held up the flower with a smirk. “Wonder what this means. It’s the only one.”

“Maybe the florist ran out.”

“Or maybe he just requested the one,” she argued, still grinning. “Kelsey and Patrick sittin’ in a tree—”

Kelsey quickly clasped a hand over her sister’s mouth. “You’re too old for such silliness,” she stated sternly, unable to keep her giddiness from her own lips. “I told you, we’re just friends.” She slid her hand away.

“You keep saying that,” Janelle said. “Maybe you can convince someone else that’s true, but it ain’t workin’ on me.” She handed Kelsey the red rose.

Kelsey held the flower to her nose and inhaled deeply as she cut her eyes at Janelle, whose lips were tightly pressed together. Kelsey could no longer resist the urge and they both broke into a fit of giggles.

After she recovered, Kelsey found a small vase for the rose, then took it and the card to her room. She placed them both on her dresser, beside the other six roses Patrick had given her the morning she’d left the hotel. The flowers had wilted a bit, but they were still holding their own and weren’t ready to be thrown away yet. Kelsey sighed happily as she walked to the window and took her cell phone out of her pocket. It was just after eleven o’clock; in California, it would be just after eight. In case he was still asleep, she sent Patrick a text to say “thank you.”

Kelsey purposely waited until after the turkey was done and her mother had arrived to take her shower. She knew she’d need to get away from her mother for a little while, and Mary Morgan had gone out of her way to prove her daughter right. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t seen each other since Kelsey’s return home, Mary’s nagging had begun the second her foot had crossed the threshold.

As usual, her first attack was against Kelsey’s job. She didn’t understand how anyone could be happy pretending to be someone they weren’t, even if it was only temporary. She also couldn’t see how Kelsey could possibly make any friends, since they were all, in her opinion, fake. Ironically, Mary loved the tabloids and, between criticizing breaths, would ask Kelsey if the most recent gossip was true.

Kelsey’s next offense came from the fact that Janelle lived under Kelsey’s roof and Kelsey did nothing to discourage it. Of course, it helped that Mary could kill two birds with one stone on that one. Janelle had left the room when Mary started that battle and refused to come back until the subject was dropped. Kelsey had been happy for the distraction that the turkey provided while Mary ranted. She hadn’t needed to listen or respond; but as usual, George had stepped in and stopped Mary. If he hadn’t, Kelsey was sure she’d still be getting an earful.

As soon as the turkey was out of the oven, Kelsey had escaped to her room.

She was running a comb through her nearly dried hair when voices started to drift up the stairs. Kelsey paused to listen and her stomach dropped when she recognized one of them. She dropped the comb and sprinted out of her room.

“No! You’re not staying! You weren’t invited and you smell like whiskey,” Janelle was arguing, standing nearly toe-to-toe with her estranged husband. Kelsey rushed to her left side. George was already standing on Janelle’s right.

“Oh, c’mon,” Richard spoke with a noticeable slur. “’S the holidays.”

“That’s right, Janelle,” Mary stated. “The holidays
are
for families.”

“You’re not welcome here, Richard,” Kelsey said. “Especially when you’re drunk.”

“Kelsey!” Mary snapped, glaring at her with crisp blue eyes. Her sharp, narrow chin lifted slightly. “Stay out of this. This is between Janelle and Richard.”

Kelsey’s eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. Over her shoulder, she noticed the kids behind the armchairs, their eyes just visible over the backs. Kelsey walked over to them and asked them to go upstairs, wash up for dinner, and wait upstairs until someone got them. They obediently rose and ran up the steps.

“That’s right, Kelsey, send the kids away. We wouldn’t want to ruin the sweet image they have of you, would we?” Richard sneered.

“Calm down, dear.” Mary patted his arm. Her eyes only reached Richard’s mouth, but her short, light brown hair was teased and added a couple of inches to her height.

Kelsey slowly took air into her lungs, trying to calm herself. “Richard, leave
my
house. Right now.”

“Kelsey, it may be your house, but Janelle lives here. And I think her
husband
should be welcome.” Mary glared at her daughter.

Kelsey returned her mother’s evil eye and opened her mouth to snap a retort when George stepped between them.

“Mary, dear, the girls are obviously upset by him being here. I think he should leave,” he said calmly. His hands shook by his side, telling Kelsey he was angrier than he was letting on.

“They’re only upset because they don’t spend enough time with him. I think a nice family meal together would do us all some good,” Mary argued sweetly.

“Oh, I understand, George.” Richard’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I’ll go. I just wanted to spend some time with my kids,” Richard said morosely as he turned to leave.

“Are you really going to deny the children time with their father?” Mary scowled at George, Janelle, and Kelsey in turn, giving them a look that said her mind was made up and the argument was over.

Richard turned to Janelle and then Kelsey. “No, Mom, really, it’s okay. If Kelsey doesn’t want me here, I can leave. After all,” a smirk slowly formed as his eyes narrowed on Kelsey, “what Kelsey wants, Kelsey gets, right?”

Kelsey’s blood boiled. She may be the actor in the family, but Richard could have won an Oscar for that performance.

“Not this time, my dear. Janelle, get another place setting out. Richard’s joining us for dinner.”

“But, Mother?” Janelle and Kelsey exclaimed together.

“Mary,” George interjected.

Mary held up her hand to stop him. “No. We’re all adults here. Surely we can have one meal together without any problems.” Mary walked Richard past the others and toward the dining room.

Janelle and Kelsey looked at their father imploringly. He sighed and glanced at the dining room. With a shrug, he turned back to his daughters. “We can survive this one meal, and we’ll get him out of here as soon as we can.”

Reluctantly, they nodded and walked away from the door.

In the kitchen, Janelle got the place setting ready as Kelsey put the side dishes in serving bowls. She moved the turkey to the serving platter and grabbed the fork and knife and took them to the dining room. Mary and Richard were deep in conversation, a half-f glass of wine already in Richard’s hand. Kelsey rolled her eyes as she left the room to get the side dishes.

As Janelle and Kelsey silently worked together to get the side dishes onto the table, George fetched the children. When they were all seated, George said the blessing and carved the turkey. Mary poured a glass of wine for George and another for Richard. Janelle and Kelsey served themselves and then the children before passing the bowls.

“These flowers are absolutely beautiful, Kelsey.” His mouth still full of food, Richard was pointing to the arrangement with his fork. “They must’ve cost a pretty penny.”

Kelsey smiled and nodded before she took a bite of food.

“Kelsey, flowers are such a waste. I’m sure you can find better things to do with your money,” Mary criticized.

Zach tilted his head at Mary. “But, Grandma, Aunt Kelsey didn’t buy them,” he said innocently.

Janelle leaned over and whispered something to him. He muttered an apology to her then peeked at Kelsey. She winked and his sadness dissipated as he picked up his fork. Kelsey turned to her mother and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well, I don’t see a card,” Mary stated with a conspiratorial grin at Richard.

“I ordered them for myself, why would they need one?” Kelsey lied smoothly. The last thing she wanted was for her mother or Richard to suspect they were a gift. While she felt sure that would lead to another lecture from Mary, she wasn’t quite certain how Richard would react. It probably wouldn’t be good.

“Still, Kelsey,” Richard said, taking a sip of his wine. “I hope they didn’t set you back too much.” He sneered evilly at her and Mary giggled. Kelsey wondered whether Mary would find this funny if she really knew why he was so concerned about Kelsey’s money.

“They’re just flowers,” Janelle muttered.

“Just drop it. None of you should concern yourself with Kelsey’s finances. If she wants to treat herself to some flowers, it’s okay by me. I’m sure it won’t break her,” George stated, effectively ending the argument. Kelsey peeked at Janelle, who was focusing on her plate, stifling a laugh.

They finished the meal in relative peace. Richard eyed Kelsey suspiciously but didn’t say anything else. Mary continually filled his wine glass as she and Richard talked about his job. Mary, not so subtly, repeated everything positive he’d said to Janelle. Janelle looked at Kelsey and rolled her eyes every time their mother turned away.

After they’d eaten their dessert, the kids went to the living room to watch television as Kelsey and Janelle cleared the table. Mary opened a fourth bottle of wine and poured Richard another glass. As they walked into the kitchen, Kelsey glanced at Janelle.

“Why’d we get so many bottles of wine out?” Kelsey asked as she set the casserole dish on the island.

“We weren’t expecting him, and we weren’t expecting to go through them all tonight,” Janelle bit off, pulling a storage container out of the cabinet.

“How many has she given him, anyway?” Kelsey asked.

“I don’t know.” Janelle sighed and shook her head. “That has to be six at least.”

“You need to cut him off or he’ll be sleeping on our couch.”