Danny Ray (Ray Trilogy) (26 page)

“God! Angela, you are the only one I care about. You are the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with.” He began to wonder if maybe he made a mistake in coming here.

Again tears sprang to her eyes, he looked at her remorsefully. He knelt beside her chair and picked up her hand and kissed it. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea I was causing you so much pain. Until I could get all the old ghosts expunged from my closet, I couldn’t give you my whole heart.”

“Open your eyes, Angela, and look at me.” He ran the tips of his fingers down her cheek. “I love you. There is nobody else in my life.”

She put her arms around his neck and he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. They made love until they fell asleep.

At six the next morning, Angela’s eyes flew open at the sound of her alarm clock. The first thing that came to mind was the job offer she received yesterday that she forgot all about last night. Next thing she thought of was Danny. She reached over to see if he really was there and when she felt him, she turned her head.

Danny lay on his side facing her with his head on his hand propped up by his elbow smiling at her. “I was waiting for you to wake up.”

“Hmm,” she commented and rolled over toward him. They made love again. She frantically jumped out of bed and ran to the shower to get ready for work. He joined her in the shower and they made love again.

In her rush she glanced at the dirty dishes still on the table as they left the apartment. This was the first time she
had ever left the apartment that way. They hurriedly got in the car and as she drove to work she told him, “I got a call from the agency and they want me to sign a contract for the next year to work on the soap opera.” She glanced at Danny wondering what he would think of her offer.

Danny felt like he could be walking a tight rope. Anything he said about that could get him in trouble so he took the easy way out, “What do you want to do?”

“Before last night, I would have accepted in a heartbeat. Now, I have more to consider. I will have to think about it some more.”

“Of course, I have my preference about what you do, but I don’t want to be entirely selfish about this either. I noticed yesterday that you really like working here and you are well respected.”

Angela smiled and nodded her head, “I do enjoy my job. It’s hard work and takes a lot of hours a day, but I like it.”

Danny agreed, “That was my take on it.”

She cocked her head to the side as she pulled into the parking lot and said, “I may not want it as a permanent job, but for this time in my life, it’s good.”

He mulled their discussion in his head as he watched the actors come and go. He got acquainted with a lot of the work crew such as the cameraman, the
director, and the men constantly organizing the props. Angela got teased a bit about bringing her boyfriend to work with her.

He didn’t know if she had saved the amount of money necessary for her to set up her greenhouses as she wanted them or to buy her plants and seeds that she needed. She also needed some capital to distribute the plants and write up a sales pamphlet to mail. There were probably numerous expenses such as fertilizer and pesticides, etc.

Somehow he needed to tip the scales in his favor. Angela’s love was an abiding love; he didn’t want to lose her. She would love him through the thick and thin. In fact, she already had. While he watched the camera maneuver into place to catch the perfect shot, he got an idea.

CHAPTER THIRTY

At the afternoon break, Danny borrowed the car keys from Angela for a quick errand he told her he needed to take. He didn’t give her any explanation but promised
to be back before she needed to leave for the evening.

She had a confused expression on her face but she readily handed him the keys.

At the end of the day she went in her dressing room to put her own clothes back on when Sandra, the woman from wardrobe brought in a beautiful evening gown for her to wear.

Angela looked at her puzzled, “I thought we were finished for the day.”

“I’m sorry, Tari. You know how John, our director is. He decides on the spur of the moment to order one more scene,” Sandra said shaking her head. After helping Angela get zipped up in the dress she snickered as she backed out of the room. She closed the door and muttered to herself, “And they think they are the only ones who can act.”

Another person came in to check her makeup and put more finishing touches on it. “This must be some special scene but nobody has given me a script,” Angela complained.

“Don’t worry about it, Teri. You will know the words when it is time.”

Angela hoped they would
give her something soon. She was pretty good at memorizing her lines but she needed a few minutes to get some idea how to act the part.

Soon she was led to a dining room scene of an upscale restaurant. She sat down at the table to wait. She could see the camera men placing their cameras
in place. Others were adjusting the lighting for the optimum advantage. Still she waited.

Finally she heard the director order the scene to start but she still hadn’t received a script. Out of the darkness she saw Danny emerge wearing a tuxedo. He smiled at her as he approached; she in turn broke out into a wide smile. To her surprise he knelt down on one knee and he pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket.

“Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed. She resisted the urge to open her mouth wide or slap her hands over her face. Since she was on camera she had to play this scene right.

A myriad
of expressions crossed her face during this much of the exchange.

Danny opened up the jewelry box and produced a white gold ring with a large diamond stone on it.
“I love you. Will you be my wife?” He had been instructed to not use her name.

By this time tears were escaping her eyes as she held out her left hand.
“Yes, I have always loved you.”

Music started up in the background. Soon violinist walked on stage next to their table and played. Danny reached for her hand and they danced to the words
, After I’ve loved you for a million years.
They danced looking into each other’s eyes adoringly and then they kissed.

Behind them they heard, “Cut.”

Clapping immediately echoed throughout the set and the lights came on to Angela’s surprise to reveal the entire cast watching. Angela placed her hands on her mouth this time and gasped, “I thought everybody had left.”

John the director stepped up and congratulated them. “We didn’t think we could pull it off as well if you knew you had an audience.”

He clapped Danny on the back, “You did a good job of acting, young man.”

Danny laughed accepting the compliment but said, “You thought I was acting but I meant everything I said.” He put a proprietorial arm around Angela’s shoulder and hugged her to him. “This lovely lady will be mine for the next million years.”

They were surrounded by well-wishers and people congratulating them. After thirty more minutes of sharing champagne that somebody brought in they were able to leave.

“Would you like to eat out tonight to celebrate?” Danny asked on the way back to the apartment.

“I would but I’m really tired.” She glanced over in his direction, “You know I didn’t get much rest last night.”

He put his finger to his chin, “Oh yes, I remember. We could order in again and we might see if we would like to try that bedroom scene again.”

She chuckled, “I really would like that.” She flashed her ring in the late afternoon sun. “I love it.”

The next day Angela told the agency that she would not be signing the contract for next year, but she promis
ed that she would stay long enough for them to write her out of the script. They hired a double for Danny to play out the story line. They used the scene that she and Danny made during their engagement to give her a happy send off in the story.

Danny stayed a few more days with Angela and then went back home to his ranch.

THIRTY ONE

The sprinkler system just clicked on to water the flowers and shrubs that Jeremy had planted in the flowerbeds he had created around the patio where Danny rested in the shade of the late afternoon. Frisker got up from his place by Danny’s chair and moved over near the sprinkler where it was cooler. He watched the hummingbirds feed off the flowers as he enjoyed their fragrance. He could see the horse barn from where he sat. It was at least halfway finished he supposed. Soon he could start shopping for his thoroughbreds he wanted to buy.

He felt proud of his progress, he knew he had a lot of work to do to get it where he wanted his ranch to be but he felt pleased.
Removing the old house was the first thing he accomplished when he returned from Los Angeles. Then Jeremy leveled and landscaped the yard.

Another thing he did after returning from Los Angeles was have a deed written up
. He smiled remembering the delightful time they had.

They were all at Mom’s house for Mother’s day. She had prepared a huge meal against
all of their protests that this was her special day and she didn’t have to cook.

“Look, you guys,” Laura protested. “If this is my day I can spend it anywhere I want to and
I can cook if I want to.”

Danny and Nora both looked at Uncle Art and shrugged. “She has a point, you know,” Uncle Art replied shrugging, too.

So against their objections they let her cook the meal and then they gave her their gifts. Nora gave her mom a beautiful flowering hibiscus Jeremy had cultivated especially for Mother’s Day. Danny gave her a box of old papers that he had found in the attic of the old house when they tore it down. Apparently it had been there so many years that nobody remembered that it was there. Danny barely looked through the papers. When he saw how old they were he decided that he should let someone else sort through it. What he did determine was that it was a hand written manuscript of a journey that some people had taken in 1725 from Russia through Alaska. The Ray family had lived in the old house for five generations before he became the sixth. Maybe it could have been their ancestors. He would let his mother figure that out.

Next he told Nora, “I have a gift for you.”

She looked at him questioningly, “Me?”

He smiled holding a manila folder which he handed to her. She opened it up, “A deed?”

“Yes, I’m giving you and Jeremy the deed to the five acres where the thinking rock is.” He smiled when she squealed her pleasure.

“Really?
Danny. Really?” She bounced up and down and hugged him then hugged Jeremy. Lauren joined in the celebration while the others stood back and enjoyed their rejoicing.

Lauren exclaimed, “You mean we can live next door to you? I can have my own pony?” She ran over and hugged Danny around the waist.

“You sure can, Cookie.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squealed as she hugged him
again.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Danny still smiled remembering the good time they had
on that day. He glanced up as a car drove into the driveway. Frisker jumped up and barked as he hurried to inspect whoever arrived in the car.

Danny walked around to the front of the house. There stood Angela more beautiful than he remembered her. His heart skipped a beat. He hoped she was here to stay.

Angela smiled at him. “So you got smart enough to put the driveway at the front of the house?” she teased.

He smiled at her and retorted, “It took a little effort on my part but I got it worked out.” He reached out his arms as he hurried toward her, “Come here,
You.” He couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms again.

This was the moment he anticipated for so long, he
couldn’t wait to take her through the house. “Oh, I wanted that color in my living room,” she commented as she walked into the kitchen. “That’s exactly the tile I wanted and the right color. Look at that floor. And the appliances, that’s the same brand I told Mom I would buy,” she slowly turned toward Danny and squinted her eyes while he stood meekly by and averted his eyes.

She pointed her finger and said, “Mom, called me and asked me all kinds of questions. I’m feeling suspicious now.” She cocked her head to the side and asked, “Did Mom remodel her kitchen or not?”

Danny laughed. “Angela, this house was built especially for you. And yes, she did call you for advice. But no, she didn’t remodel her kitchen.”

He motioned for her to follow him throughout the rest of the house.

“I notice you still have your old furniture in here,” she remarked.

“That’s right. I wanted you to pick out
the furniture so you would have exactly what you want.”

She leaned over and kissed him again, “I think I like you more every time I see you.”

“I would like to hear you say that every day,” he quipped.

She rolled her eyes and remarked,
“I see that every suggestion I made, you adjusted and made it exactly like I believed it should be.” She shook her head, “I’m overwhelmed, I think.”