The Girl From Summer Hill Read online

  “I’m going to leave tomorrow.” He sounded sad. “I’m going back to L.A., where…well, I’m going home. Please remain in the house. If Jack stays here—”

  She glared at him. “What do you mean? If Jack stays?”

  Tate gave her a little smile. “I don’t want to disparage anyone. I’m sure the girl he’s attracted to is beautiful, but Jack has many obligations and people who depend on him.”

  “Ooooooh,” Casey said. “Important people, who no doubt have barrels full of money. Jack can’t possibly stay in little Summer Hill, Virginia, and be in a tiny local production and—”

  “That isn’t what I meant!” Tate said. “I just think that Jack won’t stay. His agent will call and he’ll—”

  “Fly out on the next jet? For what? So he can spend more time with people like you? If you don’t unlock this door and let me out of here, I’m going to start screaming.”

  Right then Josh came out of the building and Casey started pounding on the window.

  Frowning, he came over, and as Josh touched the handle, Tate unlocked the door. “Everything all right here?”

  “It is now.” Casey slid to the ground.

  Josh was glaring at Tate as though trying to figure out what was going on.

  “Hi, I’m—” Tate began.

  “I know who you are,” Josh said. “Why was Casey hitting on the glass to get my attention? Did you lock her in the truck?”

  “Josh!” Casey said. “The door stuck, just let it go. Besides, he’s leaving our town tomorrow. Help me with the pies, will you?”

  It took Josh a moment, but he turned back to Casey. “Kit and I saved room for your berry custard.”

  Casey gave a sound that was like a growl. “It’s gone. Every bit of it was eaten!” She took a breath. “What happened while I was away?”

  Josh got the pie carriers out of the back. “No surprise: Kit gave Jack the Bingley role, and Gizzy will be Jane.”

  The truck door was still open, and Casey knew Tate was sitting inside. She raised her voice so he could hear. “Has Kit persuaded you to be Darcy?”

  “He’s tried, but I’m not sure I can do it,” Josh said.

  She put her arm in his. “You’d be the best-looking man to ever play him—even better than any man in the movies.” Casey spoke so loudly she was nearly shouting. She walked with Josh back into the warehouse.

  Tate sat where he was, his head back against the seat. He didn’t think he’d ever felt so unwelcome in his life. Ever since he’d started acting as a kid, people would stop and point excitedly when they saw him. “Aren’t you that boy on…” had been something he heard often.

  From the time he was sixteen, he’d been greeted by squealing females.

  When he’d been in the house with that peacock, in the back of his mind he’d thought how Miss Pajamas would forgive him for his earlier rudeness. But she hadn’t even given him a chance to explain. She certainly hadn’t acted like he’d thought she would!

  He could almost hear his sister’s voice. “What did you expect, that she’d say, ‘Tate Landers ate my best pie! I am the luckiest person on earth!’ ”

  Well, actually, maybe he had thought that. But then, maybe when he saw the peacock in her house he should have called animal protection. And he should have called Kit to come get him. He should have—

  He ran his hand over his face. All in all, he did not want to go inside that old warehouse and face all those people. Was the entire town of Summer Hill made up of people like Miss Pajamas? When he got in there, would she have told them he’d eaten the pie everyone wanted?

  He started the truck. Maybe he’d just drive directly to the airport and take the next flight out. Instead, he moved the truck to the far side of the parking lot and sat there with the motor running as his phone charged. When the passenger door was flung open, he wasn’t surprised.

  “Why aren’t you answering your phone?” Jack got into the passenger side of the truck and closed the door.

  “Dead battery.”

  Jack was looking at his friend. “You’re scared, aren’t you? You’re so terrified of all those women that you’re afraid to go in there. But I don’t blame you. They’re an excitable lot. They made fools of themselves over the guy who’s playing Wickham. He’s good, but the last girl who read with him is better. She may be a young Meryl Streep.” Jack paused. “What’s really eating you?”

  Tate gave a half smile. “ ‘Eating.’ Perfect word.” Turning, he leaned against the door. “What’s this about you and the girl playing Jane? From what I heard, it was love at first sight.”

  “I bet Casey told you that.” Jack was grinning in a silly way.

  “Casey?”

  “Miss Pajamas? Remember her?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Tate said. “I think maybe she carved a new spot in my brain just for her. But forget that. Who is this Jane?”

  “She’s beautiful.” Jack’s eyes seemed to look far away.

  “Of course she is. The town beauty queen. Won all the prizes. Best swimsuit. But is there anything else about her that you like—or have you noticed?”

  “No beauty pageants. Her dad is the local Baptist minister. We haven’t stopped talking all morning. We tried out for the roles of Bingley and Jane and it was perfect. I really felt the lines!”

  “I thought you were going home with me tomorrow.”

  Jack gave a snort. “No, I’m staying here. Kit didn’t want to give me the role because he said I’d leave, but I swore I wouldn’t. I don’t have to be back until September.”

  “What about your training? You can’t show up in the fall with a gut from eating entire berry pies for lunch.”

  “Who does a stupid thing like that?” Jack said. “I’ve already talked to the producer and he’s sending a trainer here. He wasn’t happy about it, but I told him this was the way it was and that’s it. What about you?”

  “I’m leaving at noon tomorrow and glad to go. Have you thought this through? You’re staying here because you’re hot for the preacher’s daughter, but what happens after you get her? These small-town girls aren’t usually happy with one-night stands or even summer affairs. They want to tie a man down with kids and complaints that you didn’t call them for a whole three days. They—”

  “Maybe I want that!” Jack said. “Maybe I’m sick of going home to an empty house. Sick of girls who ask me if they can sign autographs because they’ve slept with me a couple of times. They want the man they see on the screen, not me.”

  “What did this girl put in your drink?”

  Anger flashed across Jack’s face, but then he laughed. “This town is like where I grew up, except that no one is singling me out for a parade. Anyway, my point is that I’m staying here for the summer. I’m going to be a regular person for as long as I can manage it. I guess I should ask if I can stay in your big empty house. Casey is going to cook for me.”

  “Casey again,” Tate mumbled. “You sure seem to have hit it off with all the women in this town.”

  Jack looked at his friend. “Okay, so what’s the truth of why you’re hiding out here in your truck? There are half a dozen women inside waiting to audition for Elizabeth.”

  “Did Kit tell them I’d be reading Darcy?”

  “Of course not. If he did, you’d have to deal with every female in town. You should have seen the lineup to play Lydia, and all because the Wickham guy was okay-looking.”

  “What about whoever is playing Darcy?”

  “Rumor is that it will be a guy named Josh Hartman. He’s been building the sets, he’s six two, and he looks good in a bland sort of way. But the girls seem to like him. By the way, Kit told me your costume for the auditions arrived and it’s backstage in your dressing room.”

  “What about Miss Over the Moon Pajamas? What’s she trying out for?”

  Jack grinned. “She’s not auditioning, but then, in my opinion, she’s a contender for the world’s best cook. She used to run Christie’s in D.C.”

  “Ni