Sweet Harmonies (15 page)

She thought for a minute, running the names
through her head, “That is weird. I never really thought of that.
But it wouldn't work, anyway.”

“
Why?”
She cracked a half-smile, “Leaves out Jack Johnson.”

Ryan took a deep breath and said, “Wow. This
is insane! This is probably the biggest bomb you could have dropped
on me tonight,” he concluded, smiling.

With those words still hanging in the air,
Karina heard a voice behind her – a voice that was familiar to
millions, but which she had not heard in person in at least 6
months – call expansively, “Karina, my love! Surprise!”

Chapter 10

Karina froze in place, her eyes widening.
“Oh, my God,” she groaned in chagrin, “This can't be
happening.”

Ryan, his concern-filled eyes glued to hers,
said, “Who is it?”

She shook her head, not wanting to
answer.

Ryan glanced up over her shoulder to see who
had called her name, and exclaimed, “Holy shit!”

“
Yeah,” Karina confirmed,
“Exactly.”

Karina, deciding that she had better turn
around and face the music, slowly pivoted in the direction of her
visitor, just in time to see Kelly King rush up to him and let out
a bloodcurdling scream.

Kelly had agreed to help with stage managing
after she hadn't made the final cut, a decision that Karina
suspected had everything to do with maintaining a close proximity
to Ryan and little to do with town spirit and making the Follies a
success.

“
At least she's making herself useful
by distracting him with her asinine babblings,” Karina muttered
bitterly to Ryan.

Ryan looked at her, confused, “So you know
him?”

Karina sighed and looked defensive, “Yeah, I
guess.”

The “him” in question was Kyle Austen Reed.
The world's third highest paid male movie star. Twice voted
People's Sexiest Man of the Year. Three time Academy Award nominee,
two time winner. Arguably one of the handful of people on earth
more famous than Karina.

The last Karina had heard, he had been in the
Amazon filming a movie. And yet here he was. Standing backstage at
the Hope Falls High School auditorium.

Amanda came rushing up, clipboard in hand,
and grabbed Karina's arm. “I heard a scream, what happened?”

Karina gestured irritably to where Kelly was
still babbling to Kyle about what a big fan she was. Amanda looked
over and did a double take. When what she was seeing registered,
the clipboard she was holding slipped from her hands and clattered
to the floor.

“
Oh my God, is that...”

“
Kyle Austen Reed,” Ryan
supplied.

“
What is he...what...” she
stammered.

“
Karina knows him,” Ryan
answered.

Amanda's jaw dropped, and she whipped her
cell phone out of her back pocket and started typing furiously.

Karina said, “What are you doing?”

“
I'm texting Lauren and Sam to get
their asses back here!”

In less than 20 seconds, a breathless Lauren
and Sam both sprinted up to the group.

“
What's the emergency?” Lauren inquired
urgently.

Amanda pointed to where Kyle Austen Reed was
standing amid a steadily gathering crowd of the evening's
performers, and said, “Looks like a friend of Karina's decided to
drop by.”

“
Whoa!” Sam exclaimed when she saw who
it was.

Even Lauren, who was usually not given to
overt displays, let out an audible gasp.

Ryan shook his head as if trying to clear it.
He said, “OK, ladies, as interesting as this is – and don't get me
wrong, this is some serious craziness – I just found out that I'm
playing tonight, so I need to go and locate my guitar, tune it,
warm up...all that good stuff.”

He flashed a brilliant smile at Karina, “I
trust you'll fill me in later.”

She smiled wanly back at him as he walked
away.

Sam turned to Karina and said, “Is Kyle
Austen Reed here to see you?”

Karina mumbled, “Yeah, probably.”

Amanda jumped in, “How do you know him?”

Karina sighed, “We're, I guess, friends.”

Lauren narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “You
guess?”

Karina cast her eyes heavenward and threw her
arms out in surrender, “Fine, OK? We're booty call buddies.”

Lauren adopted a slightly chastising tone as
she teased, “I seem to remember that when we were playing truth or
dare at Amanda's that time, and the question arose about whether
you had ever slept with an A-lister, you denied it. Am I
remembering that wrong?”

Karina grumbled, “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Sam jumped in, “I remember that! I believe
that your exact words were, 'ew, you guys, famous guys are gross. I
like to be the most vain one in a relationship.' Something along
those lines.”

Karina scowled and crossed her arms. “Fine, I
lied. Sue me.”

Lauren and Sam seemed to be rolling with this
new information, even enjoying the new ammunition with which to
tease Karina. Amanda, on the other hand, looked slightly hurt.

She turned her doe-eyes to Karina and said,
“Kar, I just don't understand why you felt you had to lie to
us.”

Karina waved this off, “I don't know. I mean,
we're not public. Not that there's anything to be public about.
It's not a relationship. It's just...It's just nothing.”

At that moment, Kyle Austen Reed broke away
from the fawning crowd surrounding him and made his way over to
where the Fabulous Four were standing.

“
Karina, my love!” He exclaimed
expansively, “I've come to rescue you from these humble
surroundings.”

Karina looked supremely annoyed as she
grabbed him by the shirtsleeve and dragged him to a darkened corner
where she hoped no one could hear them. It didn't have quite the
desired effect, however, as her three friends trailed after them
like ducklings, despite Karina's death-glares in their
direction.

“
Kyle, what are you doing here?” she
hissed.

Kyle ignored that question and turned to Sam,
Amanda, and Lauren.

“
First things first, my raven-haired
beauty,” he said, “You must introduce me to your
entourage.”

“
OK, dial it down a notch. They're not
my entourage. They're my friends,” Karina responded quickly, and
with clear embarrassment. Indicating each in turn, she said, “This
is Lauren, Sam, and Amanda.”

Kyle Austen Reed greeted each of them as they
were introduced, taking the hand they offered for a handshake and
gripping it in both of his large, strong hands. He looked intently
into each of their eyes as he repeated their name, and added, “I'm
Kyle Austen Reed. It's so lovely to meet you.”

The girls were somewhat dumbstruck, but Sam
did manage to breathe, “I can't believe we're really meeting Kyle
Reed.”

“
Kyle Austen Reed,” he corrected
quickly, in a friendly but firm tone.

“
OK, yeah....Kyle Austen Reed,” Sam
replied, as if in a trance.

Karina looked at her friends, with their pale
faces and their mouths agape, and waved them off. They stood rooted
where they were.

Karina sighed, “Guys? A little privacy?”

Lauren turned and scanned the backstage area,
“Looks like people are getting ready. We're pretty much alone.”

“
Oh, God,” Karina began to rub her
temples, and it was clear that a gigantic headache was forming
behind her eyes.

She looked back up just in time to see an
entranced Lauren, reaching out and half-poking-half-petting Kyle
Austen Reed's arm as if she suspected this was a dream and was
trying to ascertain if it were real or not.

Kyle turned to Lauren, “Isn't the fabric
exquisite? This blazer is constructed of wool that was woven
specifically for me by monks in a remote mountaintop monastery in
Italy, who broke their vows of silence for the first time in 20
years to discuss the weave and coloring,” he put his hand over his
heart to illustrate how much the gesture meant to him, “It's one of
my most treasured possessions.”

Karina stared at him with open incredulity,
“That's the biggest pile of horseshit I've ever heard. You can't
possibly believe that's true.”

He turned to her, his face lighting up as he
remembered his original task, “Karina, of course! Forgive me, my
darling, for letting my attention wander from you. I assure you it
won't happen again.”

Karina shook her head in annoyance, “That's
not what I was saying. Like...AT ALL.”

At that, Karina felt herself crushed to his
chest in a massive embrace, “That's alright, my love, you don't
need to be strong anymore! Kyle Austen Reed is here!”

“
I do not need nor want you here!”
Karina attempted to yell, but the result was a mumble at best,
because her face was smashed flat into Kyle Austen Reed's
chest.

“
When Bernie called and told me about
your plight, I was on a plane in 5 minutes! Never fear, my love. I
am here to save you from this rural squalor you've found yourself
in.”

“
Hey, now!” cried Amanda,
offended.

“
Oh, my gosh,” Karina groaned, “So.
Many. Competing. Thoughts. Where to start? OK, here we go. First of
all, what the hell? Bernie knows about us?”

Kyle Austen Reed nodded, “Oh, yes, Bernie has
known about us for years. He always calls me when he knows that
you're feeling a little down, a little lonely. Then, it's Kyle
Austen Reed to the rescue!”

At this, he puffed out his chest like a proud
peacock.

Karina paled, “OK. Good lord. Let's just set
aside, for the moment, the fact that you've been flying around the
country for years at the behest of my manager, paying me visits
like a high-priced Gigolo...”

At this, Kyle stood a little taller and
straightened his shoulders, “Yes, now that you mention it, it did
somewhat recall my turn in Gentlemen of the Evening, in which I
played...”

“
It's not a compliment, Kyle!” Karina
burst out.

At this, the expression on Kyle's face turned
to one of overt pity. He began to stroke Karina's hair with long,
bold movements.

“
There, there, dear Karina. You're
clearly under so much stress. It's a good thing that Bernie called
me, I can see that now. Just leave everything to me. Kyle Austen
Reed.”

“
Yes, we get it, we know who you are,”
replied Karina irritably, swatting his hand away, “And for heaven’s
sake, stop petting me. I'm not a Golden Retriever,
Kyle.”

“
Kyle Austen Reed,” Lauren corrected,
and Karina scowled at her.

“
You're not helping.”

Lauren grinned back at her mischievously,
“Karina! Kyle Austen Reed has come to rescue you from the
wilderness! You don't seem grateful!”

Karina could feel her blood pressure rising,
and took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Look, Kyle...”

“
...Austen Reed,” Sam interjected, and
Karina shot her a look.

She took another deep breath and began
again.

“
Kyle,” she stated firmly, “This is my
home. I've made a decision to stay here, I don't need to be
rescued. Now, while I do thank you very much for taking time from
your schedule to come here...”

Kyle's face brightened as if he suddenly
understood the situation.

“
Wait a second, I don't like that look
on your face,” Karina said apprehensively.

“
Say no more, I understand completely!”
Kyle exclaimed.

Karina sighed, “Somehow, I doubt that.”

“
You want to settle here, among the
unforgiving terrain and the hardscrabble people...”

“
I'm gonna go ahead and renew my
indignant, 'Hey, now!' at this point...” interrupted
Amanda.

“
We will join a proud tradition of
Hollywood power couples who have retreated to the simplicity of a
more earthy way of life. We shall return to the land. All we need
to do is find the perfect, camera-ready spread and hire a staff of
ranch hands. They should be weathered, but still handsome. A
cook-slash-maid, possibly who has been with the property for
generations. There are some additional details to work out, but
all-in-all, I'd say we're a mere two to three months away from
inviting Oprah to film a 'Next Chapter' segment here.”

“
Kyle,” Karina pressed on, “We are not
a Hollywood power couple.”

“
Karina, my love, you give yourself too
little credit...”

“
We are not, nor have we ever been, a
couple of any kind!” Karina cried, hysteria tinging her
voice.

Kyle Austen Reed opened his mouth to reply,
and Karina had a sneaking suspicion that whatever he was about to
say, it wasn't going to be an acceptance of the reality of the
situation. However, she was never to know for sure, because at that
moment, Henry sauntered up to the group.

“
Howdy, y'all!” he greeted the small
knot of people standing there.

“
Howdy, yourself,” said Kyle Austen
Reed, hitting Henry with the full force of his movie star
smile.

“
I'm Henry Walker, I'm the mayor of
Hope Falls,” Henry introduced himself, shaking Kyle's outstretched
hand.

“
So good to meet you. I feel honored
that the town would send such an honorable emissary to greet me,
and so quickly. I can see that Karina has made an excellent choice
in deciding where to make our new home.”

Karina stepped on his foot, and Henry looked
puzzled.

“
Well, son, I don't know about all
that, and I was here anyway, this being the Town Follies and all.
And I do have to apologize, but I'm not much of a movie watcher, so
I haven't personally heard of you. However, you do certainly have
everyone here in the theater buzzing, I will say that.”