Catch a Falling Star (10 page)

“Then don’t. I ain’t sayin’ you don’t have to man up and do what you can. If you need help, get help. Don’t be prideful. But it’s more than just you, you know.” John pointed at him.

“Okay. I see your point. I just thought things would be easier, once I got home and told God I wouldn’t leave Him out of my life anymore. If anything, it’s been harder.” The admission made him feel like a hypocrite.

“You know you’re not alone with that. Just look at the psalms of King David. He was a soldier and a poet. Half the time, the fellow started a psalm by hollering about how bad things were. Then by the end of the psalm he was praising God for His goodness and deliverance.” John nodded at someone passing by. “That’s how he gave his troubles to God.”

Billy tried not to sigh. He knew John spoke the truth. The Psalms had pulled him out of more than one slump during his recovery. That, and some counseling from his pastor, who was former military himself, having served in Desert Storm.

“Well, I hope I never stop needing the good Lord in my life,” John continued. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll have on this earth, but one thing I do know is that He takes care of His own.”

Billy remained silent, taking another few sips of coffee and feeling his stomach rumble. Breakfast. He’d skipped it altogether after seeing the gossip magazine.

Tamarind stopped at the table again. “Hey.”

He looked up at her. “Hey.” What more could he say, besides ordering breakfast? Again, her exquisite eyes remained shadowed.

“I have a favor to ask,” she said. “Could I—I mean, I need to talk to Justine. I’m sort of helping head up the Miss Starlight pageant, and the Chamber of Commerce would love it if she could be our celebrity judge.” Tamarind topped off their cups of coffee. “Could I have her number? I promise I won’t give it to anyone.”

Billy hesitated. He believed Tamarind, of course. She’d always been truthful with him.

Tamarind propped her free hand on her hip. “Wait. I’ll make this easier. Give her my number and have her call me. That way you won’t be in the middle.” She strode away from the booth before he could answer.

Yup, she was still hurting, and he couldn’t fix it. He’d give Justine the message, although he wondered what she would say about being thrust into the local spotlight, especially after the magazine fiasco.

“Wow, did you stick a burr under her saddle or something?” John interrupted his thoughts.

“Sort of. Yet another mess I made.”

“She’ll get over you.” John nodded at his own words. “She’ll be okay. I bet you’ve broken a good share of hearts. One of these days you’ll find the right woman.”

“One of these days.” Billy took a couple of ones from his wallet. “Here’s for the coffee. I need to go.”

“Hope you didn’t mind my yakking,” John said. He extended his hand in Billy’s direction, and they shook.

“Not at all, sir, not at all. I appreciate it.” Billy stood.

“Anytime.”

Billy left The Pit. Right now, he needed to give himself a timeout with a few of the Psalms and some prayer, then make a plan for when the Tremontes came for the weekend. And call Justine. The very idea made his palms sweat like a teenager. The right woman? That remained to be seen.

Justine frowned at her e-mail then glared at her cell phone. So when was the next call going to come? She hadn’t left the house since returning after the drive to the lake and the photographer fiasco. Herb Bush had towed her car back to Starlight, exactly as Billy had arranged.

Poor Billy. He’d looked like a startled buck when that photographer started shooting. Not like she was crazy about getting caught, either.

She needed to find out how he was. She got up from her laptop at the dining table and strode to the back window, peering through the blinds. A good thing she had a six-foot privacy fence. So far, she hadn’t seen anyone sniffing around her place, although she'd seen the shots of the Tucker's ranch entrance. Maybe that photographer was a one-shot wonder. With Tyler’s new love interest all over the news, she shouldn’t have been surprised at someone sticking their nose into her comings and goings.

Her phone warbled again. She strode back to the table and picked it up. Neil.

“Neil, what is going on?”

“Hello to you too.” He cleared his throat. Not a good sign. Throat clearing usually meant he had something bad to say.

“So. Tell me. You saw the photos, right?” she asked.

“I thought you were busy getting physical therapy, and there you are running around with a GI wannabe cowboy.”

“Don’t call him that. Remember, you’re my agent and manager,
not
my father.”

“Uh-oh. You’re in love with him. Or something like it.”

“I don’t want to discuss my love life, or lack thereof, at the moment. What’s wrong with my bank account? I took a minute to look today, and it's um, almost empty.”

“Well, uh. . .It’s because of your house.”

“Tell me we sold off some stocks or something to get that matter cleared up.” She’d trusted Neil to look out for her financial and career interests. That’s what she paid him over six figures a year to do.

“That’s just it, Justine. You don’t have anything to sell off.”

“
What
?” Justine’s pulse roared in her ears. She sank onto the nearest dining room chair. “Be straight with me, or I get Gilberti on the phone. Wait. Never mind. I should probably do that anyway.”

“Wait—Wait. I don’t know how to tell you this, but the house is gone. It’s going up for auction at the end of July. Your stocks took a dive, too.”

“Gone? Did we have a landslide that I’m not aware of?”

“Nooo, it’s not like that, exactly.”

“What is it then?”

The room began to spin, even though she was still sitting down. Neil went on, something about back property taxes, a state audit, some of her medical bills taking more of her assets.

He finished, and there was silence on the line. All she could hear was the hum of her refrigerator and the sound of her own breathing.

“So,” she managed to croak out, “Do you have any nibbles? What about work? I’m getting stronger all the time. One more surgery—probably in late August—and then I should be back in LA by September, most likely.” But she had no idea where she’d live. A lot of her supposed friends had conveniently moved on with their own careers and lives since her accident.

“Um, I don't have many leads right now. I did get a call from a Maureen Baker. She was a PA on a movie you did a couple years back. Started a company of her own. She has some TV-show deal in the works. But that’s small potatoes. I wouldn’t waste my time on it if I were you.”

“That’s fine. I don’t do TV shows. What about a movie? Is there anything?”

“Not unless you want to work on a movie for the SyFy channel. We might be able to get you a part in the mid-five figures. I’ve heard that they’re doing a remake of
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
and need a leading lady for a scientist role.”

He had to be kidding. From the Golden Globes to the black lagoon
?

The doorbell rang.

“Neil, I don’t know. . . . And someone’s at the door.”

“Well, call me when you do know. This whole mess has me in a bind, too.”
Click
.

Her fingers had lost their feeling. She set the phone down. Not just her fingers, but the rest of her body felt numb. Lost her house? But how? What about her things, her furniture? She'd have Gilberti get working on that and see what in the
universe
Neil had been up to. When she went back to California, she’d not just be salvaging her career but starting over.

The doorbell rang again.

“Hold your horses,” she snapped. Great. It could be a reporter, or anyone, at the door.

Justine tiptoed to the formal living room and peeked outside. She could see Azalea’s red hair as the woman waited on the sidewalk and peered up at the house.

She opened the front door. “Oh, Azalea, I’m so happy to see you.”

Then she promptly burst into tears.

“What in the whole wide green earth is wrong?” Azalea wrapped her in a hug. “I just came over to see how you were, and see if I can get you out of this house. And if you’re so happy to see me, why’re you crying?”

Still sniffling, Justine led Azalea to the kitchen. “C’mon. I’ll get you a glass of sweet tea.”

She explained everything that Neil had told her and waited for Azalea’s response. Somehow, the sight of the woman gave Justine some comfort.

“Sounds fishy to me.” Azalea’s eyes narrowed. “That Neil guy sounds like he had too much control over your affairs. Didn’t you keep an eye on him?”

“Nooo.” Justine wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “He handled everything for me so I could concentrate on work.”

“Hmmm. . .I’ll bet he did. I bet he kept you in the black enough so you could do your shopping and Hollywood carryin’ on, and helped himself to what he wanted.” Azalea shook her head. “Umm-mm-mm. Honey, remember, it’s just money. You can get more. You’re a bright girl, and you still have a great future. Not that you shouldn’t find out what happened.”

“I. . . I guess you’re right. But I worked so hard. And now I have nothing to go back to.”

Azalea patted Justine’s hand then held onto it and gave a squeeze. “Look around you, though. You have a perfectly gorgeous home that waited for you to come home to it. Like it or not, you have friends here. Me, and Herb if he can pull his nose away from the Rangers games long enough. And the Tuckers, especially Billy. Tamarind likes you, too, even if she’s a bit sore about Billy. And my best friend Chin-Mae adores you, after that one day in her salon.”

“I’m glad Tamarind likes me, especially. . .with, well, because Billy and I. . .” She wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened between them. “He and I are nothing alike, but we do have a few things in common. I mean, it’s not like we’re a couple. . . .”

She pulled her hand away from Azalea’s grasp, covered her face with her hands and mumbled, “It’s complicated.”

“Tamarind will be okay. She’s a smart girl. Billy’s not the one for her. I think they’d drive each other crazy in a bad way if they got together.” Azalea took a long drink of tea. “Oh, but that’s good tea. Listen, I know you’ve been attending Starlight Community Church for a few weeks. . .”

Justine nodded. “I figured it was a good thing to do. Now, I’m not so sure.”

“Because God didn’t live up to His end of your bargain?”

“Not exactly. I figured, well. . . I remembered that old feeling I got, my first night back here. The feeling of going to Sunday School when I was a kid. I think the real reason I went is because the church bus picked me up with some other kids, and I never got to ride a school bus during the week.” She smiled at the memory. “I remember you teaching us, and how safe the world felt when I believed God had a hand in running things. I. . . I wanted to feel that way again.”

“But you didn’t expect this to happen, did you?” Azalea asked. “Losing your house, and finding out your agent-manager or whatever he is, is a weasel.”

“I don’t know. But I figured God would give me credit for staying out of trouble, at least.”

Azalea burst out laughing. “Honey, just because someone is sailing through life on smooth waters doesn’t mean God’s giving them special favors. Some of the world’s worst people have it good. And some of the world’s best people never get the good that they truly deserve.”

“I’ve done some things I’m sorry for, and some I’m not,” Justine admitted. “I’m only asking for my life back. . .the one I had before. . .the accident. I'm not an alcoholic, just so you know. That was the first time I'd ever gotten behind the wheel after drinking. Figured I could handle it.”

“Hon, I didn't think you were.”

Justine sighed. “I just want to go back, Azalea.”

“I’m afraid that life is gone, life like you knew it anyway.” Azalea’s tone softened. “Did you know that I used to be a nurse?”

“I sorta thought you were, but you’re retired now.”

“I met Herb overseas. We were both stationed away. Just kids, really. I almost didn’t marry him because of his last name. It took me forever to get used to the fact that my name was Azalea Bush. But that’s another story.” Azalea looked across the room, toward the den and its limestone fireplace, as if the room had disappeared and she saw into the past.

“
You
were in the Army?” Justine couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, ma’am, as a nurse. What I’m trying to say is that there are times in our lives when we have moments that change us. It’s not always the good moments. I remember the first time I held a patient’s hand until he died in a field hospital in ’Nam.” Azalea wiped at her eyes. “From that point on, I wasn’t the naïve little girl from Muskogee, Oklahoma anymore, who would cure the world and nurse it back to health. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t save him. But I was his lifeline to comfort. He didn’t have a mother, or a sister, or his sweetheart to hold his hand. But he had me. I couldn’t go back to the Azalea I used to be. Even though I was still me.”

Azalea. An Army nurse. Justine was still processing that. The lady had been around the world and back again. What she must have seen, and experienced. And she was sweet, warm, loving, enjoying her life here in Starlight. But that was for her. Justine wasn’t sure Starlight was for her. Not when her California dream life had been yanked away.

“I had no idea. I knew Herb was a veteran, but you too. . . How old were you when you were in Viet Nam?”

“I was twenty when I arrived and twenty-three when I left. That’s when Herb and I got married.” Azalea sat up straighter and squared her shoulders. “But enough about me. I’m tryin’ to make a point. The Justine Campbell you used to be isn’t the one you are now.”

“You’re right. I’m not the same as I was before the crash. I’ve been focused on surviving. I haven’t gone clothes shopping or been to the gym for a serious workout all year. Haven’t been on any vacations. Not until here. Which definitely has not been a vacation. Some things don’t seem as. . .important. . .as they used to be.” She frowned at the table. “And now, I don’t have a career left, really.”

“I wouldn’t say that. You’re still talented. You’re just being. . .redirected. You’ve got a second chance to live your dream. It might not be like you thought it would be, though.” Azalea patted Justine’s arm. “Now, don’t make any snap decisions. You have plenty of time.”

Plenty of time. Justine wasn’t sure about that. She was growing older, and a new crop of actresses were more than eager to take her, or anyone else’s, place at the top.

#             

“Hey, I’m glad you all made it. I hope my directions were good,” Billy said to Kevin Tremonte, flanked by his wife and two children and a pair of overnight bags. They stood outside the cottage. The window A/C unit hummed, working hard in the heat.

Tremonte nodded. “I found it just fine. We’re, uh, we’re glad you invited us out for the weekend.”

Billy had met Holly, Tremonte’s wife, ages ago right after formation one morning. She’d driven their only vehicle on post to pick up Tremonte after PT. Right now, she leaned against her husband, weariness showing itself in fine lines in the corners of her eyes. 

“Sergeant Tucker, this came at just the right time,” said Holly Tremonte. “We wanted to do something fun with the kids, but our finances are in a bad snarl right now.”

“Well, if you follow me inside, I want to show you the setup.” Billy unlocked the door, handing the key to Tremonte. “Here you go.”

The cool air hit them as they entered the building.

“Oh, it’s so pretty.” Holly Tremonte walked straight to the couch and touched the red-and-white floral throw pillows. “Cozy, too.”

“We have games in the armoire, and there’s plenty of fixings in the fridge. Plus, there’s a gift certificate for Top Pizza on the counter, so you don’t have to cook.”

“Pizza!” Tremonte’s oldest boy jumped up and down.

“Maybe we’ll have pizza tonight,” said Tremonte.

“At dusk, you can sit on the porch. If you get up early enough, there’s a nice trail out to the stock tank and back. No getting in the tank, though, ’cause there might be snakes.”

Holly shivered. “I don’t think there’s a chance I’ll do that.”