Lean and fit. Rich and handsome. Shed seen his photos in the press and knew just how handsome he was. Oh, why couldnt he be the no-good homeless person her stepfather had predicted hed be?
Rich as he is-an old lady like me with a beautiful, unmarried granddaughter cant help wondering why a catch like him is still single.
Gram! We have a history. An unsavory, scandalous history that Im sure he wants to forget as much as I do! Not that thats possible when there are always reporters around who love nothing better than to rehash the dirt in celebrities lives. Dont you see, I cant afford to have anything to do with him.
No, your stations in life have changed. Youre both enormously successful. Your career would threaten most men, but it wouldnt threaten Zach. Whatever happened to letting bygones be bygones?
Not possible! He hates me! And with good reason.
Well, hes never said a word about that scandal or against you. You wouldnt be so dead set against him, either-if you saw him. The townspeople have changed their narrow minds about him. Well, everybody except Thurman.
Thurman was Summers impossible stepfather.
There was no arguing with Gram. So here Summer was-home in Bonne Terre-to remove Tuck from his job and, by doing so, remove Zach from their lives. She didnt want to confront Zach, and maybe, if she could get through to Tuck and Gram, she wouldnt have to. All it had ever taken for Summer to remember the secrets and heartbreak of her past, and the man whod caused them, was to visit Gram.
Nothing ever changed in Bonne Terre.
Here, under the ancient cypress trees that edged the bayou, as she listened to a chorus of late-summer cicadas and endured the stifling heat, the wounds to her soul felt as fresh and raw as they had fifteen years ago.
Unlike Tuck, Summer had been an ambitious teen, one whod decided that if she couldnt have Zach Torr, she had to forget him and follow her dreams. Thats what had been best for everybody.
Shed worked hard in her acting career to get where she was, to prove herself. She was independent. Famous, even. And she was happy. Very happy. So happy shed braved coming back to Bonne Terre for the first time in two years.
Summer pushed the screen door open and let it bang behind her.
Im home!
Upstairs she heard a stampede of footsteps. Gram, shes here!
Yanking earbuds from his ears, Tuck slid down the banister with the exuberance of an overgrown kid. She was about to cry out in fear that hed slam into the newel post and kill himself, but he hopped off in the nick of time, landing on his feet as deftly as a cat.
Come here and give me a hug, stranger, she whispered.
Looking sheepish, with his long hair falling over his eyes and his baseball cap on backward, Tuck shyly obliged. But then he pulled away quickly.
If I didnt know better, Id say you were even taller, she said.
No, youre shorter.
Am not! she cried.
God, this place is quiet without you here to fight with.
I do have a career.
It must be nice, he muttered. My famous sister.
Im doing what I love, and its great, she said much too enthusiastically. Just great. Im here to try to teach you about ambition.
I got a job. Didnt Gram tell you?
Gram walked into the room and took Summer into her arms before Summer could reply.
I was wondering what it would take to get my Babygirl home.
Dont you dare call me that! Summer smiled, fondly remembering how she used to be embarrassed by the nickname when she was a teenager.
Set your bag down and then go sit out on the screened porch. Tuck, you join her. Ill bring you something you cant get in that big city of yours, Babygirl-a glass of my delicious, mint-flavored tea.
Summer sighed. Gram, I dont want you wearing yourself out waiting on us. Tuck, were going to help her, you hear?
Tuck, who was lazy by nature, frowned, but since he adored his big sister, he didnt argue. He trailed behind them into the kitchen where he leaned against a wall and watched them do everything.
At least youre going to carry the tray, Summer ordered as she placed the last tea cup on it.
Tuck grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie instead.
Then the phone rang and he shrugged helplessly before disappearing to answer it.
Then the phone rang and he shrugged helplessly before disappearing to answer it.
As Summer took the tray out to the porch and set it on the table, she sank into her favorite rocker, finally taking the time to appreciate the deep solitude of the trees that wrapped around Grams big old house. In New York or L.A., Summers phones rang constantly with calls from her agent, producers and directorsand, especially of late, reporters.
She was A-list now, sought after by directors on both coasts. Shed worked hard and was living her dream.
She had it all.
Or so shed believed. Then her costar and sometimes lover, Edward, had walked out on her. The night their hit play closed, hed declared to the entire cast that he was through with her. That had been a month ago. Ever since, nosy reporters had been hounding her for the full story, which she still didnt want to share. That night, back in her apartment after the wrap party, shed tried to tell herself that Edwards departure hadnt made her painfully aware of how empty her personal life had become.
No well-known Broadway actress was ever alone, especially when she was under contract for a major Hollywood film. Even when she was between shows and movies, she couldnt walk out of her apartment without some stranger trying to take her picture or get her autograph. She was always multitasking-juggling workshops, PR events, rehearsals and script readings. Who had time for a personal life?
She was thirty-one. Forty, that age that was the death knell to actresses, didnt seem quite so far away anymore. And Gram, being old-fashioned and Southern, constantly reminded Summer about her biological clock. Lately, Gram had started emailing pictures of all Summers childhood girlfriends children and gushing about how cute they were.
Where would I be without you and Tuck? Mark my words, youll be sorry if you end up old and alone.
Grams longings were part of the reason Summer had let Hugh Jones, the hottest young actor on the west coast, rush her into a new relationship not two weeks after Edward had jilted her so publicly. Had she actually felt a little desperate at realizing how alone she was?
Not wanting to think about her personal life a moment longer, Summer picked up her glass and drank some of her iced tea.
Where was Gram? And what was taking Tuck so long on the phone?
Was he talking to Zach?
She took another sip of tea.
Reporters constantly asked her if she was in love with Hugh. But unfortunately for her, it wasnt Hugh who came to mind at the mention of the word love. No, for her, love and Zach would always be tangled together like an impossible knot. Her chest tightened. Shed only felt that exquisitely painful rush of excitement once.
She never wanted to feel it again.
Shed been sixteen, and he nineteen, when their romance had ended in unbearable heartbreak. For a brief moment she allowed herself to remember New Orleans and the terrible, secret loss shed suffered there, a loss that had shattered her youthful illusions forever, a loss that had taught her some mistakes could never be made right.
Zach was the reason why she almost never came home. Bonne Terre was a small, gossipy Cajun town. If she hadnt forgotten her past, the town wouldnt have forgotten it, either. Even if the towns citizens didnt ask her about him, she always felt him everywhere when she was home. She had too many painful memories andsecrets.
Here on this very porch he had kissed her that first time.
Just as she was remembering how her mouth had felt scorched after hed brushed his lips against hers, her grandmothers low, gravelly whisper interrupted her thoughts.
Youre not the only person who loves to sit in that chair.
The sly, mischievous note in her grandmothers tone sent a frisson of alarm through Summer.
Oh. She didnt turn and smile because her cheeks were still burning.
Zach always sits there.
Summer stiffened.
I cant believe you allow him to come over, much less allow him to sit in my chair. What if someone tips off the press about his visits to see my grandmother and this causes another nasty story to be published about us? And why is he developing in Bonne Terre anyway? In all these years hes never once come back, until now.
When his uncle died back in the fall he came to visit Nick. When he saw the land prices, he started talking to people. He already has a casino in Vegas. One thing led to another. The city fathers decided to court him
When Summer noticed the ice cubes in her glass tinkling, she set the glass down with a harsh clink.
Careful, dear, thats your mamas best crystal. They paused, as they both reflected on the sweetness of Anna, Summers dear, departed mother, whom they would miss forever. Zachs bought up all that land across from our place.
I still cant believe that with his history, with so many in this town set against him, Zach would come back here.
He says its time to set the record straight. Hes certainly winning the town over.
How exactly did he intend to set the record straight? Summer thought of the one secret shed kept from him and trembled. Hes made a fortune in Houston. Isnt that vindication enough? Why would he care what the people here think of him?
They nearly sent him to prison.
Because of me, Summer thought with genuine regret.
Old wounds run deep sometimesand need healin. Hes got everybody around here excited. His casinos going to be a fancy riverboat.
Gambling? Its a vicious, addictive sport.
Gaming will bring jobs And jobs will buy a lot of forgiveness. Bonne Terres fallen on really hard times of late.
Gram, you sound brainwashed. It makes me wonder how often Zach comes by.
Well, he dropped by the first time because he wanted to see if Id sell this place to him.
Summer would watch the swamp freeze over before she let that happen.
Zachs been by about once a week ever since. We have coffee and cookies. Chocolate chip are his favorite.
Summer took great pains to center her glass in its condensation ring on the coaster. I hope you didnt tell Zach you might sell or that I was coming to see you about all this.
Her grandmother hesitated. Im afraid I might have told him he could make me an offer. And You know how I can never resist bragging about you. Ive shown him my scrapbooks.