Lacy (The Doves of Primrose) (14 page)

The only relief from all of the turmoil and expectation was Lacy. She had been his island of safety. He could be himself with her, he could speak his mind without judgment
; hell, she encouraged it. He wanted that again. He wanted to be safe, secure and
accepted
. Not to mention challenged. She was his daily dose of boot camp and he lived in anticipation of the morning bugle call.

Kyle realized it was time for him to get to the set. They had a long day of filming ahead and if it were going to be as disastrous
as yesterday he would be pounding the aspirin by ten a.m. He was already considering going to California and putting the damn fires out himself. Why Marcus seemed to think they could get along with stand-ins was beyond Kyle’s understanding. They had no clue what they were doing or what any of the commands were. Kyle was paddling upstream with one oar and three hundred pounds of cargo when it came to working with the amateurs.

The only redeeming point of the asinine situation was that he knew most of these people and he understood their thought pr
ocess. Those were the only things that kept him from quitting. And it might also be that he got to spend the day having Lacy within reach.

He was not the first one on set as he thought he would be. It seemed the whole town had been struck with the movie bug. Even people who hadn’t been cast or hired were milling around. He had to duck his head and sneak into his trailer to avoid talking to some of the town folk. He simply wasn’t in the mood to di
scuss whether or not Kevin Costner was as great a guy as he seemed and if Tom Selleck was Kyle’s inspiration for the role in his last movie. He wanted Lacy in his trailer like she was yesterday. Okay, maybe not quite like that.

He had nearly passed out from holding his breath as she leaned over him to apply his makeup. He couldn’t take the scent of her in his nostrils and swirling around his mind.
A knock
on his door and the dream evaporated. When Kyle answered it and found Lacy standing with her bag slung over her shoulder, relief and joy shone down from the heavens.

“Hi.”

Every word she spoke was honeyed delight in his veins. The sunlight playing in the loops of her hair created a lemony halo and if he didn’t know her so well he would believe her an angel.

“
Marcus said I should get you done first.” The grin that split his face was uncontrollable. “Oh, shut up.”

He got out of her way as she tromped up the stairs and brushed past him. His smile grew wider with the flame in her cheeks.

“By all means.” He trailed behind her until they reached his chair. “Shall we get this started then?”He made a point to stand as close to her as possible without touching her. When she spun to set her bag down she ran right into his chest. Right where he wanted her.

“Damn it
, Kyle, will you stop doing crap like that?”

“Like what? I was just trying to get to the
chair, you were taking up all the space.” He lingered for a moment longer before sliding past her and into the chair. “Can you get the lights, please?”

He took great pleasure in watching her bend over to flip the switch on the table that lit the bright frame of lights around the mirror. When Lacy turned she kept her eyes averted and made busywork of pulling items from her bag. When she fumbled with the snap on the case of brushes he leaned forward and placed a palm over her shaking hand.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Is it about this morning? Because-”

“No.” She jerked her hand free and concentrated on the case. “I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with so you can get out there.”

The chill in her voice could’ve provided ice for the entire crew. He must have really shook her up by coming to her room this morning. It was not his intention to upset her, he only wanted her to know he wanted to start over. But clearly he had turned her for the worse.

“Let’s talk. It’s not like
Marcus’ll fire me if I’m a little late.”

“He may fire me and I was getting used to the idea of another paycheck.”

“Did he say something to you? Lacy, you won’t get fired. Believe me, Marcus is desperate.”

Clearly that was the wrong thing to say
. The room dropped another ten degrees with the look she pinned him with.

“That came out wrong. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t. I’m not an idiot, you know.” She swirled the sponge onto a compact of foundation, then flipped his chin up pushing him further into the chair. “Close your eyes.”

He didn’t want to close his eyes. She wore her emotions on her sleeve and he wouldn’t be able to tell when he had hit the root
of her problem. She swiped the sponge along his cheek. Her hair tickled his neck as she leaned over him. He had to make a fist to keep from twisting a strand around his finger and running it along his upper lip. He sat for several more excruciating seconds while her hands worked on him. Every touch of her finger branded his skin, every puff of breath awakened his soul until he couldn’t sit any longer.

He sat up and captured her wrist in a light grip. “Lacy
, I feel like I triggered some kind of trap and you’ve got my leg in it. What’s wrong? Is it me? Is The Dove House in trouble?” He had wondered that when she was so eager to accept the terms of the contract and now with the makeup artist job.

“No!” She tried to back away,
but he pulled her closer. “I wish you would stop touching me! I can’t take it.”

The panic in her voice
forced his hand open and she stepped back.

“Of course it’s you.” Her brown eyes shimmered for a m
oment. “I can’t stand to be around you without remembering.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t want to start over, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Lacy.” He reached out
, wanting to take the hurt away. He was desperate to touch her, to stroke her cheek and cuddle her to his chest.

“No!
” She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes. “No.” When her eyes opened, a calm had taken hold alongside a new, flat deportment. “Now, let me finish.”

What had he done? There was no reaching her now.

Lacy had never been so calm as when she stood in that trailer and got Kyle ready for the set. Her feelings were still scraped raw from talking with Scarlett. But it had helped her snip the strings Kyle had been making her dance with. He had no power over her anymore. She was free. She had blamed Kyle for every bad thing that happened in her life. She had run off and married Brice because Kyle broke her heart. She had spent nearly eight years struggling to accept that her life was destined to be nothing more than an endless string of mediocrity.

Her spirit
was revived last night as she grieved the loss of her marriage that should have never happened and with the scene this morning in the kitchen. Brice, Kyle, her mother, The Dove House had all shackled themselves to her and she had dragged them with her. But no longer.

Had she known she was going to feel this good she would’ve ditched the baggage before instead of allowing all the bad things to hold her
captive.  She wasn’t prone to dramatics usually but this newfound release was surprisingly exhilarating. She didn’t know what her next step would be, she only knew that it would be
hers
and not a reaction to somebody else’s.

She stepped out of the trailer and all but floated to take care of the rest of the cast. It was such a rush to hear their excitement. It truly was something out of a fantasy. Being able to help with and actually be in a movie was wild. This
was something that would never be forgotten. She had to laugh to herself; she knew that her grandchildren, if she was ever so lucky to have children first, would know that once upon a time a movie was made in Primrose and the whole town took part.

Lacy caught a glimpse of Scarlett carrying a platter to the table and remembered what she had told her about Marcus. She had been surprised by his compliments and even more so by his kiss. Scarlett wasn’t used to forward men
-- she really wasn’t used to any kind of man-- and having Marcus approach her like that had scared her. Lacy wished she had better advice for her friend, but she also knew she wasn’t in the position of giving anyone advice about their love life when she wasn’t capable of understanding her own.

Lacy sat and breathed in the fresh air. The last cutting of hay created the musty, sweet scent she loved so much. The bird song overhead drew her attention and she raised her face to the sun
, soaking up its curative warmth. Being here, like this, brought back the carefree spirit of her youth. She heard Don chattering to his horses and that poor handler, who seemed to have no clue about his job, apologizing.

Lacy wondered what scene they would be shooting today. She stood and wandered over to the edge of the group. It was all so strange. The making of a movie was nothing like what she had imagined. She found a new respect for the process she had never been curious about before.

“Can you hand me that?”

The frantic whisper startled Lacy. She looked to her right to see a man trying to hold an enormous light and stand in place while waving his hand in the direction of the ground. He was jerking his head and giving Lacy a desperate look.

“Sure.” Lacy kneeled to the stack of frames holding something that looked like glass candy.

“The red one.”

Lacy handed it to him and when he asked for another one she got it. She also helped move the flimsy and awkward light to another location. Lacy found herself watching the scene and asking quiet questions of the lighting guy, whom she discovered was a recent college graduate named Oscar. She also found that Kyle was a phenomenal actor. Lacy became completely enthralled, more times than she would ever admit to anyone, with Kyle’s ability to capture the scene.

“Isn’t he amazing?”

“Yeah. He’s fantastic.”

Lacy’s jaw dropped at the flat answer from Oscar. She hadn’t realized she spoke the words out loud.

“We’re going to have to set up for the next scene in a couple minutes.”

Lacy had become the unintentional assistant and had shirked her hostess duties at the B&B. She glanced around for Scarlett
, finally finding her by the tables and waved her over.

“Can you go and check on the rooms? I should’ve done that before I left this morning but I was running late.”

“Sure. I think Emmy can handle things without me for a while.”

“I’m sorry
, Scar.” Lacy felt like crap for continuing to take advantage of Scarlett.

“Stop saying that.” Scarlett patted Lacy’s shoulder. “I’ve got it taken care of.” And she left with one final smile.

Lacy grabbed hold of the bottom of the light stand to pick it up.

“Stop!”
Oscar’s large hands were stretched out as stop signs.

“What?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Lacy recognized the restraint Oscar was exuding to not stra
ngle her. Her friends wore the same expression sometimes.

“You can take a break.”

Lacy caught the “go jump off a cliff” hint in the man’s voice. And since there weren’t any cliffs nearby she walked over to the buffet table for a snack. Emmylou was chatting with Jaron and preparing a plate when Lacy approached. She made a job out of deciding what to eat until Jaron took the hint and walked off.

“Can you believe all of this?” Emmylou sidled closer to Lacy. “Jaron was just talking to me about character development. The fact that he even understood anything with that many letters amazed me. Don’t get me wrong
, he’s a sweet boy and I know he’s a hard worker, but he’s no--”

“Kyle?” Lacy helped.

Emmylou narrowed her eyes slightly. “Well, that wasn’t exactly what I was thinking but no,* he’s no Kyle either.”

Yeah,
right.
The thought slipped into Lacy’s mind before she could control it.

“I haven’t talked to you much the past couple of days
,” Lacy said.
Not since Kyle showed up.
Lacy hated herself but couldn’t stop digging. It shouldn’t matter to her so much and she really wished she could say she was doing it to save one of her best friends from heartbreak. But that came in as a close second.

“Oh, I know. I’ve missed you, but we’ve both been so busy with the movie thing. I think the whole town has been po
ssessed.”

“I would agree with that.”

“So what’s up? Is everything okay with you… and Kyle?” Emmylou raised her brows and pressed her lips together.

“Em
, there is no me and Kyle. And I was going to ask you the same thing.” Lacy crossed her arms over her chest.

Emmylou scratched her head with a long finger. “Which part?”

“All of it.” Lacy bit the inside of her cheek. Why couldn’t she shut up? This was her best friend and she was calling her bad names in her head.

Emmylou glanced around, thinking through what Lacy had said. “Okay, well
,* I’m fine. There was something that I wanted to talk to you about, though. I was just too embarrassed and thought that you might yell at me for being an idiot. And I’m not sure what you’re trying to ask me about Kyle, but by the look on your face I can guess and I’d have to say that you’re way off the mark
on that.”

“I’m not thinking anything.”

Emmylou crumpled her mouth and stared hard at Lacy. “Lace, we’ve been friends for twenty years. I think I know you pretty well. There’s nothing going on between me and Kyle.”

“I don’t care.” That wasn’t going to convince anyone. “He can do whatever he wants.” Lacy looked away
, wondering why, after she had decided that Kyle was nothing to her but a terrible mistake of her past, did it sting so bad to think of him with someone else?

“Okay. I’m going to tell you something that you don’t want to hear because I love you and I think you’re being too stubborn.”

Lacy tilted her head and shot Emmylou a look that her friend pointedly ignored.

“I know that you have a thing for Kyle and
I would never,
never
, betray our friendship like that. I also know that there is some kind of bad blood between the two of you, he wouldn’t tell me what but I can see he’s deeply troubled by it. Lacy, don’t look at me like that. I know you must’ve seen Kyle and me talking and that’s what has your knickers in a twist.”

Lacy tried her best to keep the smile inside, but the sight of
Emmylou scolding her was too much. “I don’t wear knickers.”

“And that might be why you’re always in trouble.”

The two friends collapsed in laughter, hitting each other in playful camaraderie and exchanging colorful insults that would burn the preacher’s ears.

“I’m sorry, Em. I’ve been acting like a jackass
,” Lacy managed to gasp out.

“We’re all guilty of that.”
Emmylou’s fair skin was beautifully pinked from the laughing.

Lacy noticed the attention they had garnered from the crowd and attempted to notch her hilarity down. “What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

Emmylou swallowed and sobered. “Later. Okay?” She dabbed her cheeks with her palm. “I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“Okay. Find me later. It seems I have become an indentured servant to this production. I swear if I weren’t getting paid so much I’d kick the lot of them out for all the trouble they’ve caused me.”

Lacy hugged Emmylou and went in search of the lighting dude. She was fascinated by the whole process and even though she meant what she said about kicking them out, she wasn’t pigheaded enough not to enjoy herself when the opportunity presented itself.

She was irritated that her heart was lighter knowing Kyle and
Emmylou didn’t have anything going on. She still didn’t want to trust Kyle, she didn’t want it to matter to her, but she couldn’t shake him from her heart no matter how bad she wanted to.

That shouldn’t surprise
her, she had never been able to. Even when she was married to Brice, Kyle was there. It was Kyle who had driven her into the arms of another man, but not until this moment, walking under the same trees they had spent so much time beneath, had she understood that she went to Brice seeking Kyle. She married Brice wishing it were Kyle. She had persuaded Brice into marriage because of her desperation. He was her only option at the time. She had grown to love him in a way that worked for her but it was never the love that she had for Kyle. That all-consuming, heart-twisting, gut-wrenching, soul-bending love was reserved only for Kyle.

Lacy dug into the part of her soul that hated Kyle for what he had done to her, but this time she came up with nothing but
a question. What if? She had blamed him for what happened to her. She knew he had to have confided in his friends where they went and what they did. He was fifty feet away from where it happened and he didn’t come to her rescue. She had waited for him to call, to come to her afterwards. She lay awake at night waiting, sat by the phone until her mother became suspicious. But what if all that she believed weren’t true?

He came to her this morning and he was so damn sweet. Her mind screamed
,
Set-up, he only wants something from you and he’ll leave you when he’s finished!
Only this time she couldn’t make herself believe it. Damn, she wanted to, but now she had doubt shading her hatred.

Movement to her left drew her attention. She had wandered in the opposite direction of where she had wanted to be. When she looked to the group of people gathered around the trailers her gaze slammed into Kyle’s. He stopped dead, his hand stilled in the process of adjusting his leather duster. He held her there in
a magnetic trance, before looking down and joining the group walking to the set.

Lacy watched him rush off, feeling his message all the way to her toes. Her soul flipped from her chest. She had successfully ripped him from her life.

**********

Kyle couldn’t take it any longer. He wasn’t strong enough. Lacy hated him, the look in her eye just now proved it. There was no chance he was going to win her over. He shouldn’t want to so bad. The connection they had was obviously
one-sided. He was fooling himself if he thought she felt anything for him. Their relationship eight years ago meant more to him than it ever did her. She had told him as much, he simply didn’t want to believe her. And after spending the past three hours watching her flirt with Oscar, he was spoiling for a good fight. If she was trying to make a point she had done her job.

He exchanged his script for the hat in Lauren’s hand. She gave her routine pep talk. At least his assistant could be counted on to be consistent. She would never kiss someone and then say she wanted nothing to do with
him ever again.

This next scene was going to be difficult and repetitive. It was going to have to be shot from eight different angles. He wished there was more help. It had taken the guys two full days to build the
twenty-foot rail system for the camera. He wanted to get this over with and back to his ranch as soon as possible. At this rate they would be here until Christmas and he would have pummeled every guy within a ten-mile radius.