The Girl from Summer Hill(20)

“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.”

“Nice place,” Tate said, “but she hates me.”

“Females don’t hate you.”

“She does. I, uh, well, I ate one of the pies she made to bring here.”

“Some berry custard thing? With a top crust like a flower? Everybody’s been saying it was missing. You didn’t steal a pie, did you? I mean, really?”

Tate rolled his eyes. “Not you too! Yeah, I stole that pie. And, yes, I ate the whole thing. With a spoon. A big spoon. But after what I did for her, I deserved it. But she didn’t even ask why I’d done it. She just assumed that I was doing something bad in her bedroom. It’s a wonder she didn’t call the sheriff.”

Tate stopped talking and glared out the window.

“Casey was only gone for a few minutes. What the hell did you do to her?”

“Me?!” Tate said. “She was the one who—” He broke off because he realized Jack was laughing at him. This was one of the reasons they were friends. Jack could laugh at anything, while Tate could always see past the surface.

“What are you going to do?” Jack asked. “Stay out here and watch your phone charge? From what I’ve seen of that man Kit, he’ll come out and drag you inside. Do you know what he did before he retired?”