Chapter Six
Beck was back to work the next morning. He took a crew to a neglected Victorian house outside Erie. They spent the day salvaging carved moldings, hand-painted ceramic tiles, and glass doorknobs. Rachel texted him when he was on his way back to Colburn and Sons to offload the box truck.
Louis was driving the truck, so Beck could respond right away. Sure. Meet after 7?
He was taking Holly to Emmie’s after dinner. After that crazy kiss last night, did he want to be alone with Rachel? At his house? How much more tempting would she be when his daughter wasn’t there? Her taste was still on his lips. He could still remember the feel of her smooth fingers gliding over his arms. He’d put dating on the back burner in the past few years, but he recognized the eager anticipation that he had no business feeling.
Should he meet her at the store now, with his family huddled around, giving their opinions? No. They’d presented this whole reality show plan to him as a done deal. He needed to present them the design plans as a deal just as done. He could control himself around a woman he’d considered his nemesis only a couple of days ago. They were working together, not playing together. Not hooking up. That was for sure.
Mom and Pop ambushed him as soon as he finished unloading the truck. “How are things going with Rachel Bradford?” his mom asked.
“It’s a process. We went over the space, talked about different options. Then we got down to specifics, you know, themes and…atmosphere, I guess you’d call it.”
“When will we see her finished plan?” Pop asked.
“She’s working on it now. The crew’s coming in on Monday, and she plans to have it done before then.”
“I want to see it before she touches the place.”
“I know, Pop. I told her.”
“It’s working!” Ginny came running down the hall, tablet in hand. “It’s all over social media, way past Lakeside now.”
“What is?” Mom asked.
“The news that Rachel Bradford is in Lakeside to film an episode of The Rachel Touch. There’ve been a lot of sightings posted on the village Facebook page, and Twitter and Instagram and stuff. It’s being picked up all over the place. Her fans are spreading the excitement all over.”
“And the filming hasn’t even started yet,” Beck grumbled. He couldn’t get excited about all the fuss over buzz.
“This is what we want, isn’t it?” Pop asked.
“Exactly.” Ginny passed Beck her tablet and he scrolled through some of the pictures shared on the Lakeside Facebook page. There were several of him and Rachel at The Coffee Mug, but that was no surprise. There was even one of them walking out of The Salvage Station together. Great.
“We should have a sign up already,” Pop said. “So people know where The Salvage Station is. What it looks like.”
Beck stiffened. It was always something with Pop. He was always riding his ass.
Ginny jumped in. “It’s okay. The comments make it clear it’s right next door.” She scrolled some more. “Look, there’s a photo of the building right here.” She glanced at Beck. “This is so exciting.”
Beck would call it something else, like invasion of privacy, but his family had signed up for this, so all he could do was remind himself that this was free advertisement for both family businesses.
“Just think. This could bring in tons of tourism dollars to the area, too,” Ginny added. “This show will benefit the whole village. That’s huge.”
He hoped like hell Rachel came up with a design he could get on board with. Now that he had the entire village’s future riding on the show, as well as his own, he had to find a way to make this work. A way he could be comfortable with.
It was time to get Holly home and fix dinner before taking her over to Emmie’s. And there was that eagerness in his bones that he’d be seeing Rachel after that.
He glanced around. “Where’s Holly?”
“I let her go with Emmie after school,” his mom replied. “They had a short day, remember. She’s excited about going to Hershey with the Dillons. I was surprised you’re letting her go.”
If it hadn’t been for Rachel and the television crew showing up, he probably wouldn’t have. “They’ve been begging for Holly to go for a couple of years now. I realized I’m going to be tied up with this TV project, plus salvage work, and you’d end up with her all the time.”
“I love being with her, you know that.”
“But you need your own time, too, Mom. This way she’ll have fun and you’ll get a break.”
“You’re going to have to start thinking about how you’re going to manage your time with the bar. We still need you here, too.”
Yeah, they still needed his muscle. “When the bar’s ready to open, we’ll come up with a new schedule. With the income from the bar, we can hire more employees. It’s the same as Carter working in his law office. I can’t spend as many hours working salvage when I have to be at the bar.”
“How are you going to tend bar with a nine-year-old daughter?” Pop chimed in.
Pop should know Holly was always his priority. “I’ll handle it.”
“You’ve said that before. I still haven’t heard what your plan is.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll call on Mom only in an emergency.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Mom said. “I’m thinking of that little girl.”
Anger and frustration swept through Beck, and he curled his hands into fists. “Have I ever caused you to doubt I can take care of my daughter?” he ground out.
“When you first came back…”
“It’s been almost ten years!” When he realized he was shouting, he took a deep breath and tried again. “I’ll always be grateful for your help when Holly was a baby. I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without you. But now, Holly and I, we can take care of ourselves.”
Mom sniffed. “Of course. Forgive me for caring about you both.”
“Mom…”
“We’re going home,” Pop said, and the two of them disappeared around the end of the hallway heading to the parking lot.
Ginny had backed up against the wall, her tablet clenched in her hands. “Wow.”
Beck grimaced. “They always make me feel like I’m twelve years old and getting scolded about fighting on the playground.”
“Don’t let them get to you. It’s good to have an interest aside from the family business.”
He and Ginny used to be close as kids, being cousins of the same age. But they didn’t talk much now except about family business. Facebook and Twitter and whatever the latest social media sites she followed or contributed to, that’s what he thought were her only interests.
He leaned against the doorjamb. “So what interests you outside of work?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “You’ll think it’s dumb.”
He felt bad he didn’t know her anymore. “No, I won’t.”
“I’m thinking of auditioning for the next play at the community playhouse.”
Under the scrutiny of a bunch of people? Ugh, as bad as being in front of a camera. Even worse, because what if you forgot your lines? Which made him afraid he might have lines to memorize on this “reality” show. Was he going to have lines?
“Beck? You okay?”
“Yeah.” He smiled at his cousin. “You should do it. Audition. I remember you used to perform in school plays.”
“I didn’t think you noticed.”
And now he felt bad again for the distance between them. “I pay attention.”
“Did you ever go to any of the plays?”
He winced. “No, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t think you were brave for doing it. Putting yourself out there. If you’re in the next production, I promise to be there.”
“Thanks.” She brightened and he wondered if she shouldn’t be the one in front of the camera for the Rachel Touch episode. But if he wanted the control over his business, he had to face the camera himself.
Beck glanced at his watch. “I better get going. Gotta let Mocha out and get dinner ready.” Once the bar was up and running there would be plenty of times he’d miss dinner with Holly.
“Have a good weekend. Get out with Rachel whenever you can. The more posts we can get, the bigger this will be. Rachel wants it to explode as much as we do.”
Explode. Was that what was going to happen to his life in the next few weeks?
…
Stu called just before Rachel left the inn to meet Beckett. “Where the hell’s the drama?”
Her hand tightened against the phone. “I just got here.”
“You’ve been in Lakeside long enough to get out and make some buzz.”
She put the phone on speaker and took a moment to smooth some of her lavender-scented lotion on her hands and breathe in the soothing scent to chase away the stress. “I’ve been working on the design. And I did go out.”
Stu scoffed. “You had coffee. No one cares about coffee. There’s no excitement in a coffee shop.”
She didn’t really want a bunch of drama in her life right now. But she didn’t have a choice. “This is Lakeside. Not much excitement here.”
“Don’t you have a bunch of old friends you can party with?”
“Lakeside isn’t a party scene.” She didn’t have any friends here, either.
“What about the feud between the Bradfords and the Colburns? What plans do you have to exploit that?”
Wasn’t there enough family drama already? But as far as her boss was concerned, there could never be enough drama. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
“I hope so.” He hung up on the unspoken threat to the future of her show.
Rachel got to Beck’s house at seven, but no one was there. When she knocked on the door, Mocha started barking inside, but no one else came to the door.
She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. At your place now.
Her phone rang. It was Beckett. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m still with Holly. We’re only a couple blocks away. Would you mind coming over? Holly’s friend Emmie is a big fan, too.”
“Okay.” He gave her the address and she punched it into her phone.
She didn’t need the GPS. One left turn and a couple of blocks straight ahead and she pulled up to a two-story colonial, red with black shutters and a charming brick walk leading up to a single entry door with sidelights. Holly must have been watching for her because she burst out of the door and grabbed Rachel’s hand.
“I’m so glad I got to see you again before I go.” Holly pulled her into the house. “Come meet my best friend.” They walked through a lovely formal living room, crossed an even more-formal dining room, and into a large kitchen with a round table at one end. Beckett sat there with a striking man with dark skin and a ready smile who looked vaguely familiar. His daughter was all arms and legs and a riot of curls. Holly tugged her over. “This is Emmie.”
“Nice to meet you, Emmie.”
“I love the streak in your hair!” Emmie told her. “And your orange shoes are so cool.”
“Thanks.”
Beckett and his friend stood. “Hey, Rachel, this is Davis Dillon. He’s the brave man who’s taking two nine-year-old girls on a road trip.”
“Davis Dillon! I didn’t put it together until now. I recognize you from your back cover photo. You write those political thrillers. I hate politics, but I love your books. The twists you throw in always surprise me.”
He grinned. “That’s the goal. I’m sorry I’ll miss all the excitement of the next couple of weeks.”
“No, you’re not,” Beckett said.
Davis elbowed him. “I won’t get to see you smiling for the camera and then hear you complain about it afterward.”
“I’ll be the one who has to listen to the complaints,” Rachel said.
“That’s true. Maybe I am glad I’m leaving. He does tend to complain a lot.”
“Well, we’re leaving now.” Beckett turned to Holly. “You sure you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Good, because I don’t think we’d be able to fit anything else in those suitcases.”
“It’s two whole weeks.”
“Be good.” His voice cracked. “Have fun.”
Beckett wrapped his daughter in his arms, and Rachel had to turn away from the touching father-daughter moment. She’d never experienced anything like it.
“Have a good trip,” she said to Davis. “Are you leaving tonight?”
“I’ll get a few hours’ sleep, then take off around two or three in the morning. Hopefully these two will sleep most of the way and we’ll get there in time for breakfast.”
Finally all the goodbyes were said and Rachel and Beckett were out on the sidewalk. “This’ll be the longest we’ve ever been apart.” Beck swallowed. “I had no idea I’d get so choked up.”
“It’s understandable.” She hadn’t expected him to be so emotional, though. She had to stop expecting him to react to life like he did back in high school. “Hey, what do you say we check out the competition before we get to work?” It wasn’t the best time to reveal her design when his emotions were already running high. Besides, she’d promised Stu some drama.
“Competition?”
“Bud’s.”
He looked surprised but didn’t argue. “Okay. Friday night,” he warned. “It’ll probably be busy.”
“All the better.”
“Lots of cameras masquerading as phones.”
“Like I said. All the better.”
He frowned. “Can’t forget that you’re in this for the publicity.”
She frowned right back. “I never made a secret of that.”
“What if I don’t like having my picture taken and spread all over social media?”
It was only getting started. Why was he picking a fight with her? He never did answer her question about why he hated cameras so much. They’d been over all of this before. “You signed up for a television show. It’s part of the deal.”
“My brother signed up for it.”
“Do you want him to take your place on this project? Because we can make that happen.”
“No! It’s bad enough he and Pop want to okay the design before we start.”
“Then stop complaining and let’s go have a drink at Bud’s.”
His gaze locked on hers and she half expected him to tell her to shove it. “I want to take Mocha for a walk before we go.”
…
Too many thoughts in his head. Too many emotions in his chest. Too much shit going on in his life.
His little girl was growing up. Last year she wouldn’t have gone away for two weeks, even though she and Emmie had pretended to beg him to let her go. Now she was cheerfully leaving him. And then he had to pretend to be happy that someone else was going to decide how his place was going to look. He was going to have a camera shoved in his face, and he’d have to smile about it.
And he was going to have to keep struggling to keep his hands to himself when he was with Rachel.
Bud’s was packed, as expected. They found a couple of empty stools at the bar and Bud Krakowski, the owner and bartender for as long as Beck could remember, stopped in front of him and slapped down a couple of cocktail napkins with more force than was necessary.
“Well, if it isn’t the guy who thinks he can run me out of business.”
“I never said that.”
“Why would you want to open a bar if you weren’t thinking that?”
“Damn, Bud. There’s room in Lakeside for more than one bar.”
Bud sneered, giving his face more wrinkles than already lined his face. “Is that what you think?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Bud laughed then. “So do I. Surprised no one has opened one before now. At least you’re a local. Would have pissed me off if some out-of-towner had thought he could waltz into our town and open some fancy place.”
“His place isn’t going to be fancy, and it won’t be anything like yours.” Beck was surprised Rachel chimed in. After all, she was one of those out-of-towners Bud had been complaining about.
“Well, I hope not. And even though you haven’t been around lately, you’re still a local, little Rachel. You’ll keep this boy in his place.”
She laughed, the sound like music above the din of conversations around them. She bumped Beck’s shoulder. “He called you a boy.”
Beck bumped her back. “He called you little.” He liked seeing her like this, relaxed, lighthearted. He was starting to know her better, understood she didn’t usually feel like she belonged. Wasn’t always comfortable out in public in the town she left behind.
“Are you gonna order or not? I got customers waiting.”
They both ordered drafts, and Bud turned away to get them. She smiled softly at Beck and he wished for a moment that they were two ordinary people spending an evening together. He hadn’t taken a woman out for a drink in years, but he liked sitting next to Rachel, their legs brushing, arms grazing. He missed the soft warmth of a woman. Maybe it was time to start dating again.
Bud brought them their beers, but they didn’t have time to enjoy them. He could tell the instant she changed, when she turned on that Rachel Bradford persona. A few people at the bar had pulled out their phones to take pictures of her. She straightened her shoulders, tossed her hair, and flashed a bright smile. Her body shifted away from him, no longer touching his.
It was just as well. He’d never act on his attraction to TV-star Rachel. That kiss last night was just a moment of weakness. She wasn’t a normal everyday Lakeside resident he could build a relationship with, and there was no sense in pretending or wishing things were different. She was here to do a job and so was he.
…
For one stupid moment, Rachel had let herself forget. Let herself believe she could share a moment with Beckett without her celebrity interfering. Which was doubly stupid because the only reason she was here with him at all was to take advantage of her celebrity. To grow it. To be seen and photographed and talked about.
Right now she’d rather be anywhere else. In fact, right now she could appreciate his attitude toward cameras. Stupid.
She took a deep drink. Hopefully half the people who’d taken the photos would post them online and Stu would be satisfied. She wanted to get back to Beckett’s and talk design. But before she could suggest they leave, Beck groaned. “Ginny is waving us over.”
“What?”
Beckett nodded to the dining room. Ginny was waving her arms, a huge grin on her face. She liked Ginny, but she wasn’t alone at the table. Besides two guys she didn’t recognize, there was a woman she did. Rachel hadn’t seen Lucy Park since their fight on graduation night, but she was sure that petite redhead wearing a frown was her.
“I know we have work to do,” Beckett told her, “but we should at least go over and say hi.”
She wanted to say they didn’t have time. She wanted to be a coward. But she hadn’t gotten to where she was now by hiding from confrontation. And comments like Rachel Bradford thinks she’s too good to eat with us or Rachel Bradford ignores old friends posted on social media weren’t the kind of drama Stu was looking for.
A confrontation with a local who’d told Rachel she hated her—that probably wasn’t what Stu had in mind, either.
She groaned and grabbed her glass. “Let’s get this over with, then.”
Rachel pasted a smile on her face as the eyes of everyone in the dining room followed them across the floor. But when they reached the round table, her lower lip trembled from Lucy’s hard expression. She supposed it was too much to hope she’d been forgiven.
She cleared her throat before she could speak. “Hi, Luce.”
“Well, look who showed up,” Lucy said with a sneer. “If they didn’t know better, someone would think you cared.”
“Oh, stop, Lucy,” Ginny said. “Come on, guys, sit down.”
“Just for a minute,” Beckett said. He introduced Rachel to Sam Hernandez, the local small animal vet, and Todd Sherman, who worked on one of the Colburn and Sons crews.
They’d pulled in a couple more chairs to the table and made room for Beck and Rachel. The remnants of chicken wings and pizza littered the table.
“You hungry?” Sam asked them.
Rachel shifted awkwardly in her chair. “No. We can’t stay long.”
“I was telling them all about you filming an episode of The Rachel Touch in Lakeside,” Ginny told her. “Are you going to film inside Colburn and Sons, too?”
“Probably.”
Ginny squealed. “I might get on TV?”
Rachel couldn’t help but grin. “Probably.”
“Sweet!” Todd chimed in. “Think they’ll want to film a salvage? Make sure I’m on the crew. I’m very photogenic.”
Everyone around the table groaned.
Todd frowned. “Everyone says so.”
“They’re not coming here to film a salvage,” Beck said. He turned to Rachel with a look of horror on his face. “Tell me they’re not going to film a salvage.”
“No clue. My producer makes those calls.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “Your producer,” she said, sarcasm dripping from the words. “You know there are many more important careers than fancying up houses on TV.” Rachel’s jaw dropped, but Lucy went on before she could say anything. “My husband was a pediatrician. He saved babies’ lives. He died last year, but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? Because you haven’t been here.”
“W…wow.” Rachel stuttered, her stomach sinking. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Not many of us can become doctors,” Beckett said firmly. “Rachel is talented and she’ll be helping me get my business up and running. But owning a bar isn’t up there with saving lives, either, is it?”
Tears sprang to Lucy’s eyes. Rachel shouldn’t have come tonight. She didn’t belong here. She glanced around at all the interested diners nearby. Rachel Bradford made widow cry. This wasn’t the kind of drama Stu had in mind. And it sure wasn’t the kind she wanted, either.
“I’m sorry,” Lucy said. She locked her gaze with Rachel, but she’d dropped her hands to her lap. “That wasn’t fair of me. To any of you.” She started to rise. “I should just go home.”
Ginny stopped her. “Stay a little longer.”
“It’s hard to see you again,” Lucy told Rachel. “You hurt a lot of people when you left.”
“I didn’t think anyone would care,” she murmured, mostly to herself.
“Well, you were wrong. So now you’ll use us for your show and then ignore us for another twenty years?”
“I…I don’t know.” Rachel hated that her old friend could be right, and that she never even realized she’d hurt anyone. “I’m sorry.”
Lucy shrugged and sat back. At least she didn’t say she hated her. But it didn’t matter. Rachel wasn’t coming back to Lakeside again. She was here to do a job, not to reunite with old friends. Time to get back to work. “Hey, Ginny, why don’t you take a few pictures?”
“Sure.” Ginny took out her phone and started taking pictures of Rachel and her former friends.
Beck frowned at Rachel. “Why do you want her taking photos now?”
Ginny frowned back at Beck. “Everyone else in town is doing it. Might as well get a little promo for the business.”
Rachel shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” he murmured while Ginny gathered everyone together for a group selfie.
Rachel found herself pressed against Beckett, cheek to cheek. He smelled so good, his beard soft against her skin. She pulled away as soon as she could, before she longed to linger.
Raucous laughter burst out from one of the tables nearby. A loud voice carried easily to their table. “Hey, isn’t that the famous Rachel Bradford over there? You guys think she’s still stripping for the Colburns?”
“Fuck,” Beckett cursed.
Rachel glared at him. “Are they friends of yours?”
“Former friends,” Beckett ground out. “The loudmouth is Clint Fowler, over there with his twin, Brent. They think they’re still eighteen.”
She remembered them. “So everyone hasn’t forgotten,” she muttered. What would Stu think about that story? He’d probably love it, but he’d no doubt spin the story to put Beckett in a bad light.
“Hell, that’s probably how she got that TV show.” That was Clint’s twin, Brent. “Bet she stripped her way to the top with that Rachel touch.”
Rachel turned cold. Not that she hadn’t heard talk like that before, but not in front of people she grew up with. Beck started to rise, his face red with anger, but Rachel caught his hand. “Don’t.”
“Ignore them,” Lucy said softly. Then raising her voice, she added, “They’re ignorant jackasses.”
Rachel was moved that Lucy stood up for her, but she wanted to get out of there before things got out of hand.
“Hey, maybe that’s where Beck disappeared to.” Clint laughed. “Looking for more of those touches.”
“What’s he talking about?” Rachel asked.
Before anyone could answer her, she recognized Herb McNabb, the former postmaster for Lakeside, approaching. He had to be eighty-five if he was a day. He stopped at the Fowler brothers’ table. “If you boys are going to start trouble, you can get the hell out of here. There are a lot of people trying to have a nice meal in here.”
“We’re just having a little bit of fun,” Clint whined.
“No, what you’re having is a whole lot of mean. You boys are old enough to know better. So keep your mouths shut or leave.”
They grumbled but turned back to their beers and burgers.
Rachel sent a grateful look Herb’s way. He tipped his head as he walked by their table.
“Assholes,” Ginny murmured.
“We have to go.” Rachel pushed her chair back. But as they said their goodbyes and walked out, she wondered how many comments on social media would be spreading the rumors of what happened that night in the fire station. And what kind of drama that would add to their lives.