Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) (2 page)

"I haven't been there yet," he said, and gave a
laugh. "They said it was a cabin on the beach."

"Oh, I've been in one of those when I was here
before. They're nice too."

"So when were you here before?"

She explained about her sister's wedding and that
she'd decided to come back to stay for a while. Then she mentioned that her
brother, Sam, also lived in Sully Point.

"Hang on...Carter. You said your last name is
Carter?"

She nodded.

"Your brother is Sam Carter? The Sam Carter who
writes those fabulous books? About the psychic detective?"

"Yes, that's him. He and his wife Anna live here
and they have a son, Joshua."

"They were in the news a few years back. Anna
is...an artist, right? A painter?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I would love to meet them sometime," Ben said. "I
have always admired writers. Without them, I'd be out of a job."

"I'm sure we could arrange something. Before I
forget, let's exchange phone numbers."

They each pulled out cell phones and input the
other's number.

"There, it's official," Ben said. "We now know
each other."

She laughed.

They munched on nuts and drank their beers and
Rose asked him about the movies he made.

"It's mostly all been action flicks so far, with
me playing the buddy role. But this last one was different. I was the captain
of the spaceship. It was a science fiction story. I have hopes that it will do
well. There was a bit of action, a bit of a mystery, and some romance."

"I bet it will be a blockbuster," she said.

"Where can I see your latest photos?"

"Uh..." and before she could think of an answer, there was loud knocking on the door.

Rose jumped up and opened the door to find her
sister Beth, and Beth's husband, William.

"You got here!" Beth said and came in to give her
a hug.

"Nice to see you, Rose," William said.

They moved into the living room and stopped when
they saw Ben on the sofa. He stood up rapidly and looked at them with wide eyes.

"Mr. Christopher! I didn't expect..."

William tilted his head and looked at Ben. "Now
just how did you come to be here with Rose?"

"Sit down you all," Rose said. "I'll explain. Do
you guys want a beer or something else?"

"A beer sounds good," William said. Beth stared at
him a minute and then nodded wordlessly.

Rose brought the beers in and handed them over,
thinking fast.

"Ben and I met at the restaurant I stopped at for
lunch on the way here and discovered we were both headed to Sully Point. He
told me how much he likes photography when he's not acting, and asked if I'd be
willing to be in some of his photos while he's here. You know, what with me
being a model, and all."

William choked on his swallow of beer and Beth
gave her one look with her mouth open, and then quickly sipped her drink.

"Yes, I would love to get some pictures of Rose
while I'm here, to liven up my nature photos."

"I was just about to explain to Ben that there
aren't any current photos of me since I've been on vacation for a while before
coming here."

"Ah, I see," William said, nodding wisely.

"Well, then, Ben can take some photos of
you," Beth said with a bright smile.

Rose frowned at her and Beth toned down the smile.

Ben set his bottle down and said, "I should be
going."

"Don't leave on our account," Beth said.

"No, I need to unpack and get settled in. Besides,
I'm sure Rose would like to spend her first day here with family."

He stood up and walked toward the door with Rose
following him.

"Thanks for coming by," she said. "Call me
tomorrow if you want."

He grinned at her. "I will definitely want."

She smiled back, and then she shut the door as he
headed out. Whirling around, she saw two questioning faces staring at her.

"Honestly, I didn't mean to do it. But he
assumed...and then I thought, why not? I need a little fun."

Beth shook her head but had a smile on her face.
"He is quite handsome. And you are pretty enough to be a model. Are you ever
going to tell him?"

William leaned forward. "At some point you might
have to tell him as some people in town know that one of you three sisters is a
doctor."

"I plan on telling him eventually. But not yet. So
don't give it away, okay?"

Beth and William nodded.

"Thanks for stocking the kitchen," Rose said.

"Maggie helped. And Anna made sure there were
fresh chocolate chip cookies," Beth said. "But for now, you need to get ready
for dinner. Mom and Dad are having everyone over."

"Everyone?"

"Yes, the whole big family of Carters, Graingers,
and everyone they are all married to, so that means everyone."

"I didn't realize they'd gotten a house that
large."

"They bought one of Jason's new designs, a cliffside house," William said. "Do you remember Jason, the architect? He's married
to Holly Grainger. They have an adopted son, Harry."

"Yeah, I think I do remember them. Okay, let me go
change out of these clothes I've been in all day. I'll be right back."

Rose left the living room and quickly pulled a
minty green sleeveless top out of the closet to go with cream-colored cotton
pants. After adding sneakers, and running a brush through her long hair, she
was ready to go.

* * * *

Sophia gathered everyone together in the large
open living room. "Now remember, people, I don't want any of you bugging her
about what happened at the hospital and why she's on sabbatical. We don't need
to know the details. Let's just all make sure she has a relaxing time here."

People nodded their heads and then went back to
the five or six different conversations that had been going on previously.
Sophia sighed, shrugged her shoulders, and almost ran into Frank Grainger when
she turned to head back into the kitchen.

"Sophia, I still don't feel right having this
gathering at your house. My house has always been the place for family
gatherings."

"I know, Frank, but I think since she's my
daughter I should be hosting the family this time around. Besides, I have a
bigger kitchen than you."

His grin turned into a frown at her last words.
"I've been thinking of remodeling..."

"It isn't a contest, Frank. Shouldn't we share the
family gathering duties?"

"I suppose," he said, sounding grumpier than his
usual cheerful self.

Sophia sighed again and then left him muttering
under his breath. She was afraid that Anna, her daughter-in-law, might have
forgotten to take out the batch of appetizers from the oven. But when she
arrived at the large island in the middle of the huge kitchen, she found that
Anna was already putting the little brie and Merlot mushroom bites onto a
serving platter. The brie was melted perfectly covering the mushroom mixture in
the tiny phyllo pastry cups. The spinach and gruyere in puff pastry spirals
were already on a large dish.

"Anna, this is wonderful. Thanks so much for
helping out."

Anna smiled at her. "I love to cook. Almost as
much as I love painting...but don't tell my gallery I said that."

Sophia had been to the city and seen Anna's work
in the famous Stanley Walters' Gallery. She seemed to have an artistic touch as
well when it came to food. Anna had done a large cake for the welcoming party today
that was just delightful, with richly-colored flowers all over it.

"Where's Joshua?" Sophia asked. Her grandson
Joshua, at almost three years old was a handful, mostly because he was gifted
and curious.

"Sam has him. I think they were going to look at a
book."

Sophia was proud of her son, Sam, as a writer and
for all he'd accomplished, but she was most proud of how wonderful a father Sam had
turned out to be. He was far more patient with Joshua than Sophia ever recalled
being with her kids.

She heard the front door open and rushed out to
greet Rose with a huge hug and kisses on each side of her face. "You're here!
It's so marvelous to see you, darling."

"Mom, let her breathe," Beth said, laughing.

Sophia let go of Rose but held one hand. "How was
the drive? Are you all settled in? What do you need?"

Rose smiled at her. "I'm all set. The drive was
fun and when I got to the apartment I found that Beth, Maggie, and Anna had
me all set up with food and drink and cookies."

"And she already has a man," Beth said.

Sophia had started walking down the hall to the
living room, pulling Rose behind her. She stopped dead and turned to look at
her blushing daughter.

"A man? What man?"

Rose looked a bit embarrassed. "Let's go in and
meet everyone, so I won't have to be telling the story over and over."

Sophia led the way to the living room, mulling
over the idea of Rose with someone. As far as she knew, it had been ages, maybe
even a year, since Rose had dated anyone. Who on earth could she have met this
fast?

Everyone got up and swarmed around Rose offering
hugs, kisses, and handshakes. Some reintroduced themselves since she'd only met
them briefly in her earlier visit. Finally, Sophia motioned everyone to sit
down.

"I think Rose has a story to tell us," she said.

Rose explained meeting Ben Sterling, and told them
who he was, and the connection to William Christopher and the Playhouse. Then
she told them that he thought she was a model...and begged them to keep her
secret.

Sophia felt her eyebrows rising. Rose? Pretending
to be someone else, someone who was not a doctor? There was something behind
this, more than her claim to want to have a little fun. But Sophia knew that
she could not push Rose for answers. Of all her children, Rose was the most
stubborn, tenacious, and private. She was the one who never gossiped. And the
one who'd had the dedication to go through years of schooling to become a
doctor. Sophia would have to be patient and wait for Rose to spill her guts.

Maggie, Sophia's youngest daughter with a very
petite build, had grabbed Rose and was babbling on about her pregnancy. Maggie
was getting bigger now with an expected delivery date in mid-August. It brought
a smile to Sophia's face to see tiny Maggie with that big belly.

As she passed around the appetizers, Sophia
stopped next to the chair William was sitting in and leaned in close to her son-in-law.

"Tell me. What's your impression of this actor?"

"Ben Sterling? He has an excellent reputation in the
business, and when I met him I was very impressed. Seems like an alright kind of guy."

"I just don't want Rose...hurt."

"None of us do, Sophia. Don't worry. There will be
plenty of eyes on this guy," William said firmly.

Sophia patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks. That
does make me feel better."

She watched Rose throughout the night and realized
that her daughter really did seem to be relaxing. There was lots of laughter at
the big table in the dining room, and people appeared to be enjoying themselves.
The chicken cacciatore was a hit, and everyone loved Anna's cake.

At one point she heard Maggie ask Rose if she
liked Ben.

"I do like him...so far, anyway. Obviously, I've
only just met him. He could end up being a jerk, but it doesn't feel like that
is who he is."

"And you're really going to let him take pictures
of you?"

Rose laughed. "Yes, and don't sound so surprised.
I think I need a break from all the serious stuff in my life. I'm going to
play."

Sophia was again surprised, but also glad to hear
what Rose had said. Maybe coming to Sully Point was the right move for Rose
after all.

Chapter 2

Rose woke up in an unfamiliar room and was
confused for a few seconds. Then she remembered...Sully Point. The bedroom had
a medium-sized window with thin curtains that let in the morning light. She
glanced over at the bedside table and realized she hadn't unpacked her alarm
clock.

The thought stunned her. Nothing else could have
brought home the change in her circumstances more than knowing she had nothing
to be up for, no place to rush to, no reason to even get out of bed. She rested
her head back on the pillow. No clinic. No hospital. What on earth was she
going to do with herself?

The sound of her phone ringing in the living room
got her up and moving, dashing from the bedroom. As she picked up the phone, she was shocked to see that it
was after nine in the morning.

"Hello?"

"Rose? It's Ben. Ben Sterling."

"Oh, hi."

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was awake a few minutes ago."

"Ah, so you haven't had breakfast."

"No, nothing yet. And I do seriously need coffee."

"I called to ask if you want to go out for
breakfast at the Diner. I heard it's a local spot and that they do all kinds of breakfast foods."

"That sounds like just what I need," Rose said, feeling a lift in
her mood at the invitation.

"How about I come by and pick you up in..."

"I can be ready in fifteen minutes."

"You can? Terrific, because I'm starved. See you
in fifteen."

Rose ended the call, and then she ran back into the
bedroom. She found jeans in the suitcase she hadn't yet unpacked. Pairing that
with a long, gauzy, coral-colored top with beading at the top, she wished that
she had some sandals, but put on her old sneakers instead. Summer temperatures
were definitely happening in Sully Point. She took the time to brush out her
hair, still wondering if she should just cut it all off. Deciding she didn't
want to mess any more with it, she pulled it up into a long pony tail.

Glancing at the time on her phone, she realized
she had no time for any make-up, so she just put in some big gold hoop earrings
and gathered up her tan, leather, cross body handbag, and phone. She heard honking downstairs and raced
out the door and down the stairs.