The Girl From Summer Hill Read online

  Tate looked behind Casey, and suddenly his face changed to horror.

  Her whole body seemed to drain of blood. Obviously, Kit was behind her and he’d heard. But when she turned around, it was Olivia and she was suppressing a giggle.

  Casey whipped back to glare at Tate, but he’d disappeared down the path and she could hear his laughter. “I’ll get you for that,” she called after him.

  “I look forward to it,” he yelled back.

  Casey and Olivia had spent a lot of time together, but whenever Casey tried to find out what was between her and Kit, Olivia had politely but firmly changed the subject.

  The day after the estate sale, while Olivia helped her bake pies, Casey had told her about rescuing the little boy.

  “You weren’t worried that Tate would drop you?”

  “I don’t think it crossed my mind. He is rather muscular, you know.”

  “A veritable Colossus of Rhodes. How about if we go over your lines for tomorrow? Let’s see if we can prevent Mr. Montgomery from complaining so much.”

  “Do you know what’s wrong with Kit? I spent a lot of time with him this winter and he was one of the calmest people I’ve ever been around. Stacy and I said that he was like those men on the Titanic who gave their seats away to women and children.”

  Olivia was looking at her script. “How about if we go over the scene where Wickham says that Darcy is a man without honor? I think you might have trouble there.”

  Casey was blinking at Olivia. She had completely ignored the question.

  “I’ll be Wickham. Will that be too difficult to imagine? Should I paint on a chocolate mustache?”

  Olivia was smiling, and Casey had wanted to ask her questions, but she didn’t. “Sure, let’s work on that.”

  Now that everyone was settling into a routine, Kit’s bad temper did seem to be calming down. Casey was getting better at pretending Lizzy didn’t know what Darcy was doing behind her back, but tomorrow they were going to start on the scene where Darcy asks Lizzy to marry him. She was to tell him what he could do with his proposal. Casey had played the scene in the audition, but then she’d been in a very different mood.

  “Hello.”

  She turned to see Devlin Haines standing outside her screen door. She hadn’t spoken to him—or, for that matter, thought of him—in days. “Hi. Would you like some pie and coffee?”

  “Love it.”

  He came in and when Casey motioned to a stool, he sat down.

  “How about raspberry cobbler?” She took a plate off the shelf.

  “Exactly what I wanted. Would you mind if I had a glass of milk instead of coffee? I know it’s childish, but I’m missing my daughter so much that I need it.”

  “You must be excited about seeing her.”

  “Will she be here soon?” His eyes were eager, but when he saw Casey’s startled expression, he looked shy. “Sorry. That’s something I should know, but to get to my daughter I have to go through my ex-wife. The only word I ever hear from her is ‘no.’ ” He gave a little shrug. “Yet again I’m dumping my problems onto you. How have you been?”

  “Great,” Casey said. “I’ve been learning that acting is really difficult. Here, have some almonds. I bought them to use in a pie crust, but Olivia told me she’s allergic. How have you been?”

  He took a bite of cobbler. “This is delicious! Actually, I may have a job. At least, I’ve got a chance to try out for a new cop show that will be on FX. I won’t be the lead, but I could be the lead actor’s best friend. If I get it, that is.”

  “Congratulations! Or do I say ‘break a leg’?”

  “I’ll take either one.” He looked down at the pie, then up again. “Town gossip is that you and my ex-brother-in-law have become a pair.”

  “Hardly that!” Casey didn’t meet his eyes. “I do cook for him and Jack, so of course…” She trailed off.

  “Do you know anything about boats?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Only that they shouldn’t have holes in the bottom.”

  “That’s the extent of my knowledge too.” He was smiling.

  Casey thought what a good-looking man he was. And simple. He seemed to be open and cheerful, as though he’d smile no matter what happened in life. She could imagine him laughing while his daughter rode a pony.

  Since Devlin and Tate were so closely connected, Casey couldn’t help comparing them. Devlin didn’t seem to have Tate’s way of going from darkly glowering to smiles within seconds.

  He began to tell her an amusing story about the house he’d rented on the lake. There was a small wooden boat stored in the garage, and he’d taken it out to make space for his car. But he’d found that the boat was such an annoyance to mow around that he slipped it into the water.

  He made Casey laugh when he said he didn’t know what was wrong with him—maybe it was the romance of a boat on the crystal-clear lake—but he’d stepped into it. That he hadn’t tied it to the shore didn’t enter his mind.

  Devlin was a good storyteller, and he acted out his arm-twirling attempts to get back to land using a single oar. The other oar was lying on the lawn, and he told how he’d watched the neighbor’s dog carry it away. “All while I was standing up and cursing at it,” he said.

  “You stood up in a rowboat?” Casey asked, her eyes laughing.

  Devlin shook his head at his stupidity. That’s what he’d done—and that’s when he’d fallen in and found out he was in only four feet of water. He’d slogged back to the shore, pulling the rowboat behind him.

  As he finished his story, Casey took the last of the pies out of the oven. Devlin said the boat was now back in the garage and his car was sitting in the driveway.

  “I should be going,” he said as he stood up. “Maybe you could visit me. Come out to the lake one evening. I make a mean frittata, and I’m good at opening bottles of wine.”

  Casey hesitated.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I understand. You’ve met Tate.”

  He sounded as though she’d dropped him at the mere sight of another, more handsome man. “That’s not how things are. I—”

  “Sorry again,” Devlin said. “Tate Landers is a great guy. Has he told you how he came into acting? About his mother’s asthma attack?”

  “He did, actually.”

  “Mmmm,” Devlin said as he went to the door. “The talk shows love that story, and it’s a good one. I guess Letty and Ace will be next. My silly little boat story can’t compete with Tate’s tales of childhood bliss.”

  Casey was frowning, but she wasn’t sure why. Because she’d thought Tate had never told his story to anyone else? That he saw her as someone special?

  Devlin had his hand on the door. “Casey, I’d never dare tell you what to think about anyone, but please, I beg of you, don’t tell Tate about my coming audition. He’s a big-deal movie star, while I’m a jobless TV actor. All he’d have to do is make one call and…” Devlin took a breath. “Not that he would, but anyway, would you please not mention my audition to him? In fact, maybe it would be better if you don’t tell him that you’ve seen me.” He stood there looking at her, his face sincere.

  “I won’t,” Casey said.

  Devlin smiled in relief. “Thank you for the pie, for laughing at my story, and especially for your friendship in spite of what you’ve been told about me.”

  “I’ve heard no gossip about you from any source.”

  Devlin’s face brightened. “Yeah? That’s great. Maybe things are changing. I better go. Thank you, and I’ll see you at rehearsals.” He gave a little grimace. “One thing I hate about playing Wickham is that I got stuck romancing a kid. How old is that girl playing Lydia?”

  “She wrote on her application that she’s eighteen. I thought she was great in the audition.”

  “If you like a kid playing a seductress, yeah, she was excellent. I tend to like grown-up women.” He gave Casey a look so hot that the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “If you ever get any time of