The Girl From Summer Hill Read online

  “I take it he’s the one?”

  “Yes! It’s only been a week, but we’ve hardly been out of each other’s sight for the whole time. He’s wonderful! He got me a job decorating an apartment here for another of his relatives. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave now. Please tell me you understand.”

  “Of course I do—and I envy you.”

  “You’re living a few feet from Tate Landers and you envy me?”

  “He’s a jerk.”

  “Oh, no. Tell me that isn’t true. His movies are so great. He makes the whole theater sizzle. What dreadful thing has he done? Has he come on to you?”

  “No. I mean, he nearly electrocuted me, but it’s more what he’s done to someone else. His brother-in-law is here and—”

  “What do you mean, he electrocuted you? With what? A Taser gun? Casey, this sounds serious.”

  “It wasn’t like that. I sort of called him a vampire and he put his hand on my neck and it hurt, that’s all.”

  “Choking? I’m calling the sheriff. You need protection.”

  “No!” Casey said. “It was just his fingertip. That’s all he used.”

  “Oh,” Stacy said. “Tate Landers touched you with his fingertip and you tingled so badly you were in pain?”

  “That isn’t the way it was. Not exactly, anyway. It was—” Casey laughed. “I do miss you! Bring your boyfriend here. You can redecorate your mom’s sunroom. It’s looking a little shabby.”

  It was a town joke that when Stacy was studying interior design she’d practiced by redoing every room in her parents’ house—repeatedly. “All of you will do fine without me. And Casey…” She paused. “I know you can handle the props.”

  “Oh, no! I can’t cook and play Elizabeth and deal with the props.”

  “Did you just say what I thought you did? You are playing Elizabeth?”

  “I think so. Tate asked me to and I—”

  “Tate as in Landers? That Tate? He personally asked you to play Elizabeth to his Darcy?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t like what you’re thinking. Yesterday he broke into my house and ate an entire pie! The whole thing. Plus, he was upstairs in my bedroom.”

  Stacy was silent.

  “Are you still there?”

  “Yes. I think you have just lived my every fantasy. Casey, I can see that this guy has impressed you in the wrong way, but when it comes to your cooking, you should have some mercy on us mortals. Remember those little hazelnut orange cakes you made and they disappeared? We said Josh must have taken them. But it was me. I ate every one of them and I lied about it. So cut this guy some slack, will you? I have to go. Nate will be here in minutes and I need to get ready.”

  “Wait! What did Kit say when you told him about all this?”

  “Kit? Oh…I…You’re such a diplomat that I think you should— Uh-oh. I think I hear Nate. Gotta go. I love you bunches and heaps and I’m really, really glad you’re my sister. Call me later. Bye.” She clicked off.

  “She didn’t tell Kit.” Casey’s teeth were clenched. “Crap. Double merde. I’m going to kill her!”

  “Anything I can help with?” Tate asked. He had returned to check on her, it seemed.

  “No. It’s none of your— Oh, just go away.”

  But Tate didn’t move. “Did you get bad news?”

  Casey was pacing.

  He held out his hands as though he meant to put them on her shoulders, but then he dropped them. “Tell me what happened.”

  Casey stopped walking. “My sister isn’t going to help with the play.”

  “You mean Jack’s girl?”

  “That’s Gizzy, and she doesn’t belong to Jack or to any other man. It’s Stacy.”

  “Blonde, very pretty? Interior designer?”

  “When did you meet her?”

  “I didn’t. My sister knows her and has spent the last several months trying to fix me up with her.” There was a wooden bench nearby and Tate motioned to it. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

  Casey sat. “You’re too late. Stace is falling in love with some guy in D.C. and she’s staying there. She’s turned over the costumes to her mother and she wants me to look after the props. And absolutely worse, I don’t think she’s told Kit about any of this.”

  “You’re afraid of him?” Tate sat down at the far end of the bench.

  “Not like you mean. He’s a great guy, but this is too much—for him and me. Cooking, acting, props. I didn’t even get breakfast this morning.”

  Tate reached into his pocket and withdrew a fat bar in a wrapper that proclaimed it was all protein and gave a person limitless energy.

  Casey took it, tore off the paper, and bit into it. “I hope you know that these things are mainly sugar and very bad for you. They’re downright lethal.”

  “Sounds like what my publicist says about me.”

  Casey couldn’t help a laugh, and that made her relax a bit. “Kit is going to be one unhappy director because he really likes Stacy. They worked together in D.C. and here in the Big House. He even introduced her to his son in D.C.”

  “That she’s staying to be with Kit’s son should make him happy.”

  Casey looked at Tate. “He showed up at dinner with his cousin and she liked the cousin better.”

  “Ah,” Tate said. “The plot thickens. Maybe I can—”

  He was cut off by the squeals of four girls who sprang out of the bushes. “You are here,” one said. “My mom auditioned to be Elizabeth.”

  “And my sister did,” another said. “Is it true that you went to her dressing room and tried to French-kiss her but she told you no?”

  “My cousin said you pushed her down on a sofa and tried to put your hand down her dress.”

  Two men wearing tan uniforms came rushing forward. “Sorry, sir. They got past us. The fence will be up by tomorrow.”

  The men took the arms of the girls and began to pull them away.

  “Wait!” Tate got up and walked to them. “In the house, I have a whole box of DVDs of my last movie. Any of you want a copy?”

  The girls started squealing and talking at the same time.

  Tate looked over their heads, gave an apologetic shrug to Casey, then led the group toward the house.

  Casey stood up, tried to gather her courage, and went down the path to the gazebo.

  Kit was barking orders to Josh, who was on the roof of the gazebo, a hammer in his hand. “I want no leaks!” he yelled.

  Josh was his usual smiling self. “Too bad, because I always leave holes in every roof I repair.”

  “Smart-ass,” Kit said under his breath as he turned and saw Casey. “Did you finally get out of bed?”

  “Wow! You’re in a bad mood.”

  “That I am,” Kit said. “Rehearsals can’t be held in the theater because there are a dozen giggling girls waiting outside to get a glimpse of Tatton.”

  Casey decided that now was not the time to tell him about Stacy. In fact, she was going to make her sister break the news to him. “Send Landers back to L.A. That’ll solve everything.”

  “If he goes, then I’m stuck with your brother for Darcy, and he has the acting ability of that tool he’s holding.”

  “I heard that!” Josh called.

  “I meant for you to.” Kit was gazing at Casey with steely eyes. “You look like you have something you want to say to me.”

  “No, not really.” She took a step backward. “I just wanted to say that we’ll all do our best to help out.” Kit’s eyes were boring into hers. “I’ll be around so, uh…” She turned on her heel and started to leave so quickly that she was almost running.

  “Halt!”

  “Damn,” she said quietly, then forced a smile as she looked back at Kit. “Need something?”

  “Yes. When will Stacy be here?”

  Casey could feel her entire back turning yellow—not just a cowardly stripe, but every inch going Technicolor. When—if—she lived through this, she was going to murder her sister. “S