Josie Day Is Coming Home (39 page)

This wasn’t fair. Jenna knew darn well Josie had been
forced
into doing all those things to gain support—and students—for her dance school.

“Did Luke
really
know who you were?” Jenna
asked, pushing even harder. “Or did he buy into all that stuff, too? Did
you ever give him a chance to honestly know you?”

Josie crossed her arms. “He knew me.”

“Oh, yeah? How?”

“Some of that stuff was really me, that’s how!”
Josie ticked off the specifics on her fingers. “Luke liked my false
eyelashes! I know he did. He liked my cleaning. He liked my dancing. He liked
my knock-knock jokes.” Of which there’d been precious few lately, she
admitted. She raised her chin. “He liked
me.
”

“Okay. So let me get this straight. One minute you’re
baking cupcakes. The next minute you’re putting on a miniskirt and pinning
‘Frank’ to your head. How’s Luke supposed to know which of those things
represents the real ‘you’?”

A frown. “He just…is.”

“Uh-huh.” Jenna rolled her eyes. She gave Emily
another animal cracker and then stood by, waiting with her usual saint-like
tolerance for Josie to catch a clue.

“He ought to know!” Josie said in her own defense.
“After all, everybody else in town did. They could tell I wasn’t
really
into cupcake baking.” She stopped, stunned by the truth. “They
could
tell, couldn’t they?”

“Probably,” Jenna mused. To her credit, she didn’t
even gloat about being right. “People have a way of detecting insincerity.
Inauthenticity. That’s probably why they didn’t exactly line up to help
you.”

Josie had been more than sincere in wanting her dance
school. She’d been downright serious. But right now, she had more important
things to think about. Like Luke.

“I never really gave Luke a chance,” she said,
marveling at the revelation. “When it comes right down to it, I never gave
anybody
in Donovan’s Corner a chance. Not to know the
real
me.”

“I know. I helped you do it.”

Josie dismissed that. “I made you help me.”

“You’re not
that
powerful. But the real you is a
good person. Fake hair and all.” Jenna grinned. “It’s not too late to
change things, you know.”

“Yes, it is.” Feeling like a hypocrite, Josie
moaned. “I’ve lost Luke. My dance school is indefinitely postponed. I’m a
filing clerk in Donovan’s Corner. And I’m wearing plaid!”

“All those things can be fixed,” Jenna soothed.

“That’s right,” a mysterious voice added.
“None of those are insurmountable problems.”

They turned, staring at the nearby dressing room.

The curtain moved aside. Tallulah Carlyle emerged, a
bow-wearing shih tzu in her arms and a grin on her face.

“We can fix
everything
if we get started right
now,” she said. “I have just the plan….”

Chapter Twenty-Two

From the moment Luke decided that things had to change—that
he
had to change—the universe seemed to jump on board. Tallulah and Ambrose ended
their self-imposed Luke boycott and started coming to Blue Moon again, full of
advice and plans. TJ ditched his silent treatment and actually helped with the
scheme Luke cooked up. And even Nancy Day, once he called her, didn’t need much
persuasion to join in.

His plan was a simple one. First, he had to apologize to
Josie for deceiving her—in as big and as public a way as possible. Second, he
had to make things up to her—ditto on the “big and public.” Third, he
had to tell her he loved her.

Accomplishing it wouldn’t be easy. Hell, it would probably
be terrifying—especially given the “public” part of his plan. But
Luke decided he’d rather risk losing everything than go on the way he had been.
If it came down to a choice between proving himself and proving his love—and it
looked as if it did—there was no contest.

Luke chose love.

He wanted Josie back. Whatever it took. As long as she was
still in town, and so was he, Luke figured he had a pretty good shot. So long
as his plan didn’t fall apart, his estate didn’t fall apart, and his
accomplices—Tallulah, Ambrose, TJ, and Nancy—didn’t fall down on the job, he
just might make it.

“Hey, Ambrose.” He gestured to the opened toolbox
lying at the attorney’s feet. “Hand me that one-sixteenth’s inch drill
bit.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Ambrose did. Squinting at the
hole Luke had drilled in the ballroom wall, he wiped his hands on his new blue
jeans. Nearby, Tallulah swooned.

“Oh, Ambrose. You look so macho! You should build
things more often.”

Luke grinned. No need to mention that Ambrose’s contribution
had mostly consisted of handing over the stud finder and gazing in the toolbox
in mystification. It was kind of sweet to see his aunt back to her old self
again.

A few minutes later, Luke stepped back to survey his work.

Brand-new ballet barres lined two of the ballroom’s newly
mirrored walls. Wires trailed along the floor, leading to the speakers,
amplifier, woofer, and other sound system components he had yet to install.
Combined with the refurbished floor and the other additions to the room, it
would make this place the perfect location for Josie’s dance school.

Even if she didn’t know it yet.

“Did the furniture get delivered for Josie’s office?”
he asked, running his hand along the nearest barre. “And the new computer?
Once Josie gets here”—God, he hoped she came—“she’ll need all that
stuff for managing student records and payments and schedules.”

“Hmmm.” Tallulah nodded approvingly as she petted
Crackers, her shih tzu. “Looks like
somebody
was paying attention
during all those stints in the corporate office.”

Luke frowned. “Was it delivered or not?”

“It’s all set up in the downstairs library. Just as you
ordered.”

Subdued, Tallulah nodded through the doorway toward the
nearest room, which overlooked Blue Moon’s driveway and front lawn. With that
room as Josie’s office, she’d be able to see students as they arrived, do
paperwork, and take care of her dance school’s administrative details—all while
enjoying a view of the pansies Luke had planted in the window boxes.

Nancy Day had told him Josie liked flowers.

Feeling unaccountably nervous, Luke strode toward the sound
system wiring. His hand trembled as he picked up an input jack. After days of
preparation, he couldn’t believe it was almost time to unveil his surprise to
Josie. The only potential snag in his plan would be if she didn’t come to Blue
Moon.

“Ambrose, did you call Josie about the ‘paperwork’
she’s supposed to come out here to sign on Saturday?”

“I did. I told her it was regarding the dispersal of
the estate, exactly as you requested.”

If everything went as planned, Josie would think she was
tying up loose ends regarding Tallulah’s bungled “gift” of Blue Moon.
What she didn’t know was that Luke had other plans for the place. Plans that
involved Josie.

“She seemed surprisingly amenable to the notion of
coming here for a visit,” Ambrose went on, straightening the collar of his
new golf shirt. “I think she misses you.”

Tallulah shot her husband a look Luke couldn’t decipher.

He decided his aunt must be trying to protect his feelings
in case things didn’t work out with Josie.

“Hey, it’s all right,” he said, following the
trail of the speaker wire to the jumbled pile of multicolored connectors, wires,
and components. “I know this might turn out to be one gigantic ‘gotcha!’
If Josie doesn’t come, I’ll look like an idiot in front of the whole
town.”

They’d invited everyone they could think of to the event
Luke had planned, and word had gotten around pretty quickly to include even
more people. Not that communication was a real problem in a place the size of
Donovan’s Corner.

There’d been talk of the “big shindig at that old Blue
Moon place” in the hardware store, in Frank’s Diner, and in the warehouse
zone of the local Shop ‘N Save. If they could just keep the details under wraps
for two more days, Luke would be in business.

“You’ll look like a
lovesick
idiot,”
Tallulah corrected.

But Luke didn’t care. “If it brings Josie back, it’ll
be worth it.”

He got back to the tangled wiring. While Tallulah and
Ambrose nattered on about floral arrangements, parking accommodations, and the
dearth of nightlife in Donovan’s Corner, Luke lifted and connected and plugged
in. He fit the speakers in their designated positions, tested the connections
and controls, then went back to wiring again.

Heavy footfalls sounded. “I should have known I’d find
you taking something apart.”

It couldn’t be.
Stopping in mid-connection, Luke
glanced over his shoulder. Robert Donovan stood in the doorway to the ballroom,
flanked by a grinning TJ.

“Actually,” Luke said, “I’m putting this
together.”

“Then I guess TJ’s right. You
have
made some
changes.”

As Luke rose, his father strode farther into the room.
Dimly, he heard Robert greet Tallulah and Ambrose. He heard his aunt give her
little brother hell for not telling her he was coming. He heard his own stupid
heart, thudding with automatic rebellion and confusion and—damn it—even hope.

He glared at TJ. His idiot friend only grinned wider.

“What are you doing here, Dad? The boardroom’s that
way.” Luke angled his head to the west, toward L.A. “You’re out of
your element.”

“I’d say I’m right where I belong. Finally.”

Stubbornly, unwilling to hope this meant anything at all,
Luke stood his ground. His father looked exactly the same as he always had.
Business suit. Dark hair tipped with gray at the temples. Severe expression.
But there seemed to be a few new wrinkles on the old man’s face, and his
shoulders stooped a little more than Luke remembered.

“Whatever TJ told you, it’s bullshit.”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, TJ.” Luke skewered him with an impatient
glance. “You’ve done enough already.”

But his dad only shook his head. “I knew hanging out
with all those mechanics would ruin your language skills.”

“Screw language skills.”

That earned a full-on chuckle. “Your love of wiring and
taking things apart isn’t the only thing that hasn’t changed.”

“Right. My patience hasn’t grown overnight,
either.” Feeling himself weaken, just a little, Luke crossed his arms over
his chest. He wasn’t giving in until his dad did. “So why don’t you cut to
the chase?”

Nearby, Tallulah and Ambrose watched, not even pretending
they couldn’t overhear the drama taking place. TJ waited, too, a dumb-ass grin
on his face. Still.

“All right.” Seeming to gather his own patience,
Robert Donovan gazed at the chandelier overhead, then at his son. “TJ
tells me—”

“TJ told you a lot of things,” Luke interrupted.
“None of them were true. You should’ve picked a more reliable spy.”

“Hey! That’s low, dude.”

“I wasn’t finished.” Sternly, his dad went on.
“TJ tells me that you’re dating a showgirl. That you’re
in love
with a showgirl.”

Ah. It figured. All at once, Luke understood.

“Now I get why you’re here. TJ tells you I’m hunting
for aliens, hanging out in the local loony bin, and building tree houses out of
beer bottles, but it’s the news that I might be
dating
someone that
brings you here?”

“Dating a showgirl,” his father specified, brows
knit.

Luke swore. “Maybe you should leave.”

“Not yet. Not until I meet her.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” Luke moved closer,
setting his chin at a screw-you angle. “No. You’re not getting anywhere
near Josie. She’s too good for you.”

At that, his father looked pained. He glanced backward at
TJ. Improbably, TJ gave him a go-ahead signal.

“Luke, that’s not all,” his father continued.
“TJ told me about your mechanic’s shop, too. The one you’ve been running
in the carriage house.”

“Jesus Christ, TJ! Whose side are you on, anyway?”

“Yours, dude. You don’t know the whole story.”

Luke didn’t believe it. He glared at his father, not
surprised to find Robert Donovan frowning at his tattoos.

TJ nudged him. “Tell him, Bob-O,” he urged.

Obstinately, Luke’s dad remained silent.

“Men!” Tallulah rolled her eyes, then grabbed her
husband. “Come on, Ambrose. Let’s go make out in the backyard arbor.”

They trotted away, Ambrose moving fast in his new sneakers.

Luke squared off against his father and his friend, both of
them seeming determined to have a standoff. Right in the middle of his preparations
for Josie’s surprise. Damn it.

“Look,” he began. “I don’t have time for
this.”

“As it turns out,” his father said, “neither
do I.” He cast a regretful look over Luke, then turned. “Sorry, TJ. I
tried.”

With a sense of unreality, Luke watched his father leave. A
minute later he heard gravel crunching in the drive—probably beneath the tires
of his dad’s sleek BMW.

A wallop from TJ brought him back to earth.

“Dude! What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. But I can’t say the same for you.” Luke
tightened his jaw. “Looks like you’re out one spy job.”

TJ only shook his head. “You don’t get it. Do you
seriously think I’d tell your dad all that crazy stuff about you?”

“You told him about Josie.”

“Yeah. But that’s it.” Looking disgusted, TJ met
Luke’s gaze in the mirror. “That’s
it.
The rest of it never
happened. I’m your friend.”

“Yeah. My ‘friend’ who’s spying on me for my dad.”

“No way. That’s where you’re wrong.”

Luke stared at him, a dawning suspicion growing. Something
nagged at him—something about the confusion in his dad’s face as Luke had
ranted about TJ’s alien-hunting stories.