The Girl from Summer Hill (30 page)

After Casey and Emmie finished with the hand pies—and Emmie had eaten hugely of them—they walked around the property together. Emmie wanted to see where her uncle Tate was in the play, so they went to the big gazebo. It was stacked high with chairs and boxes of costumes and props.

Emmie talked constantly. She told Casey about her friends at school, how one little boy was utterly horrible and she hardly ever spoke to him. And how some girls were good one week but bad the next.

“How do you know how to cook?” Emmie asked, as they reached the old orchard.

Casey told the story of her nannies and all the lessons she'd had. “One year while I was in college, I worked in an orchard on weekends and in the summer.” To Casey's surprise, Emmie wanted to hear about grafting trees and spraying them when the buds came out. “These poor trees haven't been cared for at all.”

“But now you live here so you can do it.”

“I think I'll be moving away,” Casey said quietly.

Emmie looked at her in alarm. “But who will cook for Uncle Tate when he's here by himself?”

“He'll find someone who can—” Casey began, but stopped. Obviously, the child was truly worried about her beloved uncle Tate. “I'll cook so much for him that he'll get fat and won't need to eat for a year. Think that will work?”

“No,” Emmie said, frowning. “Movie stars can't get fat.”

“I won't leave him without food,” Casey said softly. “I promise.”

Smiling, Emmie went back to asking questions and talking about everything.

But one thing she didn't mention again was her father. As far as Casey could tell, Devlin Haines had no part in the child's everyday life. An image flashed across her mind of the times Devlin had tears in his eyes when he mentioned his daughter, saying how much he missed her and wanted to spend time with her but that Tate had prevented it.

And she had fallen for every word of it!

After about an hour of wandering, they came to the Big House—and Casey held her breath. If they saw Tate, what would she say?

But the house was silent. Casey waited outside as Emmie tiptoed in and came out minutes later wearing a pink swimsuit and carrying a big pink towel. “Pond or pool?” asked Casey.

“Pond,” Emmie said, and they clasped hands and began running.

The pond was down a path, through rhododendron bushes, past the big magnolia tree with the stone statue of a smiling woman.

“That's where Letty and Ace saved the world,” Emmie said. “They—”

“Fought outer-space demons.”

Emmie's eyes widened. “You know about them?”

“Your uncle told me. Did you know that Ace grew up to be my father?”

“Letty is my grandmother, so that makes you my…my aunt.”

“I don't think that's right,” Casey said, but Emmie was running ahead to the pond. Casey had an idea that nothing she could say was going to dissuade Emmie from calling her Aunt Casey.

They walked around the pond and Emmie stuck her foot in, but she liked talking better. When she told the story of Letty and Ace pushing Uncle Freddy in his wheelchair into the pond, Casey thought how she looked forward to getting Olivia and the child together. Olivia had been there!

“Mr. Gates was really upset, but Uncle Freddy just laughed,” Emmie said, sounding as if it was a story she'd heard often. “He loved Letty and Ace. What did your father tell you about him?”

“I don't know my father very well,” Casey said. “I just met him a few months ago, and we haven't had very many long talks. But I do plan to ask him about when he was Ace.”

“I know,” Emmie said. “Uncles are much better than fathers. Do you have an uncle?”

“Not a one. I—”

Emmie glanced to the side and her face lit up. “Mom!” she yelled, and went running to hug her mother.

Casey turned to see a tall woman coming toward them. She was quite pretty, with dark hair and eyes, and she very much resembled Tate.

At the sight of her, Casey stiffened. This was the woman who'd let her know how stupid she'd been about Tate. She'd believed a liar and had judged Tate—based on no evidence—to be a bad person.

But Nina smiled at Casey. “Hello.” She was hugging her daughter.

“We made little pies,” Emmie said. “They have cheese and peaches in them, and mine look like turtles and I ate a dozen of them.”

“Why don't you take some to Uncle Tate? I think he's tired of reading his new script.”

“Okay.” Emmie ran toward the guesthouse, her towel trailing behind her.

When they were alone, Nina turned to Casey. “Thank you for taking care of Emmie this morning. He said he watched her until she found you and…” She took a breath. “Tate and I were up late last night. She usually wakes me, but this morning she didn't. By the way, I'm Nina Landers.”

Casey's body was so stiff she felt like a mannequin. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn't have believed Devlin. I should have—”

Nina's snort of laughter cut her off. “I
married
him! I believed him so much that I pledged to stay with him forever. Anything you did is a poor copy of my idiocy.”

“But I…” Casey couldn't think what to say.

“Do you really have a kitchen full of food, as Tate says? His fridge is utterly empty.”

“Come with me,” Casey said, and they began to walk.

“Did I hear you and my daughter talking about Letty and Ace? Tate said Ace is your father. I'd love to talk to him. And Josh Hartman is your brother? He seems nice, very interesting. And understanding. Actually, he has a depth of perception that I find remarkable. I can't believe I didn't meet him when Stacy and I were working together.”

As they walked, Casey began to smile. It didn't look like Nina was angry at her—and it seemed that she was interested in Josh. Unfortunately, so were most of the females of Summer Hill. But Casey liked a woman who'd go to so much trouble to defend her brother. Maybe if Casey got together with her sisters, they could push Josh toward this woman.

At the guesthouse, Casey had Nina sit while she made her an omelet of grilled peppers and three cheeses. While Casey cooked, Nina talked and asked questions.

After only a few minutes, Casey's feelings of guilt over what she'd done to Tate began to lessen and she started talking about the rehearsals. “Poor Kit. Everyone is angry at everyone else and he can't get good performances out of any of us. There's some big past secret between him and Olivia.”

“Love affair?”

“Of course,” Casey said. “Only deep love could make two people as snotty as they are to each other. Will Jack be back for breakfast?”

“Last night he got a call that so upset him I thought he was going to burst. I think it was from his new girlfriend.”

“I…” Casey began. She'd sent Gizzy the email saying she was wrong. Maybe Gizzy had called Jack and he got angry. “I think that was my fault.”

“Which of course means that my ex had a hand in it. Rage trails behind him like damage after a forest fire. Whatever happened, Jack must have left very early and we haven't heard from him since. My guess is that right now he's with Gisele.”

Casey was washing a stockpot. “Tate must hate me,” she said softly. When Nina didn't say anything, she turned and looked at her.

Nina's pretty face was serious. “I'm not going to lie. He got his male pride hurt and he's not happy. But I think if you're patient he'll get over it.” She paused. “Between you and me, his pride could use some bruising. All that fawning isn't good for anyone.”

“Thanks.” Casey gave a bit of a smile. “And thank you for all the work you did to show me how I misjudged him.”

“Oh, well. His pride and your prejudice against him. It's a perfect match.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

Tate didn't show up for the rehearsal. Frowning, Kit said he was the only person who didn't need to work on his part, so he could stay home.

Everyone groaned. They'd been at this for weeks and had seen Kit change from easygoing affability to scowling tyranny.

One of the scenes Casey had to endure was where Wickham told lies about Darcy. Somehow, Casey was supposed to look as though she believed him.

As they got into position to say their lines, Casey saw the bandage on Devlin's left hand. “Did you hurt yourself?” She put as much innocence as she could in her voice.

He gave a sheepish look that she'd seen before, as though he'd been caught doing something he'd meant to keep secret. “You know the saying. No good deed goes unpunished. Let's just say that I won't ever again try to help a woman who is carrying too many packages. She misunderstood my intentions and slammed the car door on my hand. I gave her a couple of tickets to the show, so I hope that made her forgive me. But…”

“But what?” She was gritting her teeth at his lie.

“We all know where the spotlight will go in this play. You and I, as regular people, won't be noticed beside Landers.”

Now that Casey knew the truth, she marveled at the way this man twisted the facts. It was as though he were a human balance scale. If Tate, his nemesis, went down, he went up. She forced a smile. “But what about your fans from
Death Point
? If a pretty girl like Rachael would fly out here just to see you, I'm sure more of your fans will show up on opening night.”

Devlin gave a genuine smile. “Maybe you're right.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Have you seen Lori today?”

“Not yet. Maybe she—”

“Quiet!” Kit bellowed. “Wickham and Lizzy! Take your places.”

It wasn't easy for Casey to play the scene with wide-eyed innocence, but she did it—and afterward she felt as if she needed a shower.

At four, Kit called a halt to the rehearsal. By then everyone was worn out from the tension on the set. Casey couldn't keep from glancing at every movement offstage, wondering if it was Tate. Jack and Gizzy had shown up, and she was dying to ask them how they were. During a family scene, Casey had whispered to her father, “I want to hear all about Ace.” Unfortunately, that had made Dr. Kyle let out a laugh—which Kit heard.

“Miss Reddick! Is it too much to ask that you do not try to entertain the players while onstage?” Kit said through clenched teeth.

Yet again, Olivia stepped forward. “She only recently learned that her father was Ace, and she wants to know about it.”

Kit's face went white and he looked away. When he turned back, he wore no expression. An hour later he let everyone go. “There will be a dress rehearsal tomorrow, so I want all of you here at ten
A.M
. And, Casey, we'll want lunch. Send me the bill.”

“Double it,” Olivia muttered as she walked past Casey and Dr. Kyle.

Casey glanced at her father. “Do you know what this is about?”

“I know they had a mad, passionate affair during the summer of 1970. I was only five then, and Letty's and my main goal was to spy on them. We were like Native Americans counting coup. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized what was happening that summer.”

“Who dumped whom?”

“I don't know. I just remember that Kit left in a big black car. I think Letty and I told Livie that his father had come to get him. One thing I remember is that after Kit left, Livie refused to go into the well house. She said Letty and I could have it. We were joyous, and we filled it with treasures from all over the house.” He smiled in memory.

“How was Olivia after Kit left?”

“Angry. Quiet. Letty and I missed Kit and kept asking where he was, but no one knew. That fall, my mother…” He shrugged. “I quit thinking about Kit and Olivia, and I didn't see her again for years.” His cell buzzed and he looked at it. “Sorry, I have to go. Medical emergency.” He went down the stairs. “Invite me to dinner and we can talk for hours.”

“Wait!” Casey said. “Did you find a diamond ring in the well house?”

Dr. Kyle grinned. “Maybe. Who knows? To Letty, everything was made of diamonds that had been mined on the moon. To her, everything that she saw and touched was magical.” He was walking backward.

“Wish I'd known her,” Casey said.

“Wish I'd married her.” Turning, Dr. Kyle ran to his car.

“Then I wouldn't have been born,” Casey muttered. “Or Tate would be my brother. Not good!”

She went back to her house and began making out a menu for the big lunch the next day. It was going to take a lot of work, and she needed to go to the grocery. When she got to the door, she saw Nina and Emmie coming toward her.

“How did the rehearsal go?” Nina asked.

Casey rolled her eyes. “I don't know if my lack of concentration or Kit's bad temper was worse. Whichever, today was a bad experience.” She held up her list. “I have to do lunch tomorrow, so I'm off to the grocery. Tell me what you need.”

“Fruit, sandwich makings, milk. The regular stuff.”

“I want to go with you,” Emmie said.

“To the grocery? That's pretty boring,” Casey replied.

“You have enchanted her. Would you mind?” Nina asked.

“No, of course not,” Casey said honestly. “Ready?”

Emmie, wearing a very cute pink dress with a matching shrug, was already on the way to the car.

Shopping with a child was new to Casey. She was used to concentrating and giving her mind over to what she needed to buy. But Emmie wanted to learn, so Casey answered a lot of questions.

Emmie was intrigued when Casey said she did nearly all her shopping against the walls, not on the inside aisles.

“But my mom buys everything from the middle.”

Casey didn't reply to that; she just talked about produce ripeness and cheeses and meats. When they finished shopping, the car was so full that she said it might be too heavy to drive.

“We should have brought Uncle Tate's truck. Do you still like my uncle?”

“Very much.”

“Good,” Emmie said. “Mom is talking to him.”

“What does that mean?”

Emmie shrugged. “Mom says that sometimes Uncle Tate acts like the men in his movies.”

“I've never seen one, so I'm not sure what that means.”

“Me neither. Mom says I can only see them when I'm thirty-five and have three kids.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

“So, uh, what's he been doing?” Casey wanted to sound like she wasn't deeply interested.

“Kicking things and fighting and reading scripts.”

“Fighting?” Casey sounded alarmed.

“With swords.”

“Oh, I see. Working out. Did you know the trainer is in the play?”

“Yeah. Uncle Tate said he's perfect for the role.”

Casey tried to hide her laughter; the trainer was so good at playing the slimy Mr. Collins that when he'd asked her to marry him, Casey hadn't had to act. She really had been repulsed.

“Uncle Tate is angry about the scripts. He wants to do something funny.”

“Too bad people can't see the movie he made with the peacock. That was
very
funny.”

Emmie looked at Casey with a brilliant grin.

“What's that for?”

“I was just thinking about clouds. They're very pretty.”

Puzzled, Casey agreed.

When they got back to the house, Emmie thanked her, then ran away, leaving Casey to haul everything inside and start her prep work. But first she cooked a crab-cake dinner for the Landers family and packed it into a cooler and a big basket. On impulse, she wrote a note.

Dear Tate,

I would like to apologize for believing another person over you. I am angry at myself for not seeing the truth.

When you returned from your trip and spoke of future possibilities, I misunderstood. I feel bad that Nina had to go to so much trouble to show me the truth.

I understand if you cannot forgive me.

Thank you for everything.

Acacia Reddick

She put the note in an envelope, sealed it, shoved it into the side of the basket, then hurried over to the Big House to leave it all on the porch steps.

When she got back to her house, she was shaking. How would Tate react to what she'd written? Would he call her and bawl her out? Appear on her doorstep and tell her she was never to contact him again?

When she couldn't get her mind off what Tate was going to do, she turned on the TV. Maybe a nice scary movie would distract her as she prepped for tomorrow. Counting cast and crew, the lunch would be for about fifty people, so she had a lot to do. She needed to get up no later than five tomorrow morning to put it all together.

She checked the channels to see what was on. To her shock, a Tate Landers movie was just starting. Usually, she'd flip past it—not what she was interested in. But today she pushed the button and put the remote control down. Maybe she should see what so many women were talking about.