Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2) Page 7

  I would have rushed over to hug her, but my grandmother was the prickly type who would likely shiv me with the potato masher if I tried. So instead, I nodded and hurried out of the kitchen before she shivved me anyway to keep me from telling anyone about her rare display of emotion.

  The crew had unpacked, and one of them was attaching a mike to Dixie, but Lauren was nowhere to be seen. Another crew member wordlessly approached me with a mike.

  Dixie did a sound check, and when I finished mine, I checked my phone. Still nothing from Luke.

  I heard my mother’s voice before I saw her, but at least I was somewhat prepared this time.

  “I would love to host the next dinner at Tantara,” she said from outside the front door. “Tantara is our home out on Highway 10. It’s much larger and grander than the farmhouse.”

  She’d named her house Tantara? She was obsessed with Gone with the Wind and had once confessed that she’d almost named me Bonnie Blue after Scarlett O’Hara’s daughter. Thank God for small favors. But where had the Tan part come from?

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Lauren said. “We’ll talk dates after we finish tonight.”

  I noticed the two crew people had picked up their cameras and were ready to capture my reunion with my mother. How did I want to play this? Try to minimize the conflict like last time, or let it all out?

  I was leaning toward the shit show.

  My mother smiled when she saw me and stopped several feet to my left, posing to ensure her left side—her best side—was angled toward the camera. And it was obvious that she’d come dressed for the spotlight. She was wearing a pale-pink pencil skirt and a white blouse that clung to her artificial boobs. Her bleached-blonde hair had obviously been styled by her hairdresser, and her makeup was flawless. My mother had always been a pretty woman, but it was obvious a plastic surgeon had helped her achieve this new level of beauty.

  “Summer, dear,” she said with a fake smile, “are you getting enough sleep? You have monstrous bags under your eyes. I have a cream that will do wonders for you.”

  “It must be bad lighting,” Dixie said, moving up behind me. “Because I’m sure your plastic surgeon guaranteed your bags wouldn’t come back for ten years, and yet it looks like your eyes have been on a three-day shopping binge.”

  My mother lifted her fingers to her cheek, but as soon as she saw the grin on Dixie’s face, she dropped her hand, and her face contorted into something ugly. “You think you’re so cute, Dixie Belle, but everyone knows you’re only hangin’ out with Summer for your fifteen minutes of fame.”

  Dixie put her hand on her hip. “And you’re here trying to hang on to yours.”

  “I’m a respected business owner. I train girls in southern Alabama and Georgia to win pageants. What do you have to show for yourself other than killing your parents and my father?”

  I gasped and resisted the urge to punch my mother in the throat. “Momma,” I said, my voice tight, “maybe you should get back to those girls, the ones you find so much more important than any of us.”

  My mother turned her glare on me. “I knew you were jealous of my success. I can’t help it if you’re a washed-up failure at twenty-nine.”

  I heard hard foot thuds behind me, followed by Teddy’s harsh voice. “It’s better than being a bitter old hag like you, Aunt Bea.”

  My mother drew in a breath so sharp she nearly sucked in a fly that happened to be buzzing past her head. When she realized her close call, she started screaming and waving her hands in front of her face.

  Dixie and Teddy burst into laughter, but the gleeful look on Lauren’s face told me we were playing right into her hands. I had to get this runaway circus under control.

  “Momma, I’m gonna go grab another plate for you. Is Burt comin’?”

  She lifted her chin. “He’s staying home with his bursitis. I’m thinkin’ I should be gettin’ back to him.” Her full accent was back in full force.

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Meemaw said as she burst through the door with a bowl of mashed potatoes. “I called this family dinner for a reason, and like it or not, you’re family, Beatrice Mae.”

  My mother looked like she was going to bolt anyway, but instead, she excused herself to the restroom to wash up, probably so she could see if Dixie had been lying about the bags under her eyes.

  My grandmother pointed her finger at the three of us cousins, holding our gazes with a look that made my toes curl. “All y’all, behave. I need Beatrice here tonight, and I don’t want the three of you runnin’ her off.”

  By the time Dixie and I helped Meemaw bring out the rest of the food, my mother was already sitting at the table with a look of righteous indignation. Teddy sat one chair down and across from her with a mischievous grin on his face.

  I just wanted this dinner to end.

  Meemaw said grace, and we all started to fill our plates with meat loaf and potatoes. After a minute of silent eating, I heard loud voices outside. I jerked up my gaze, shocked to see we had another dinner guest.

  Luke pushed his way through the crew and stood at the foot of the table.

  “Am I too late to join y’all for dinner?”

  “Oh, hell no,” Teddy said as he got to his feet. “What’s he doin’ here?”

  Dixie grinned from ear to ear. “This family dinner just got good.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Miss Viola,” Luke said to my grandmother, “would you mind if I go into the kitchen and grab myself a plate?”

  He’d done it more times than I could count the summer we were together, and my grandmother hadn’t changed a thing in the kitchen since then, but I hopped up from my chair, my heart pounding with anxiety. “I’ll help him.”

  “The boy did nothing but eat the summer he was always here,” my mother said in a snotty tone. “He knows where the plates are.”

  Meemaw broke into a huge smile—one I hadn’t seen since that long-ago summer. “Your face is always welcome here.” She good-naturedly waved her hand toward the kitchen. “Summer, you go with him.”

  Teddy looked like he was about to bolt, but Meemaw shot him her death stare. He tucked his chin to his chest and shoveled in a mouthful of meat loaf, probably to force himself to keep quiet.

  Luke didn’t seem to notice the tension. He ambled toward the kitchen door as if he were walking up to the Dairy Queen window after a fun day on the lake, while I walked along the other side of the table, feeling like I was on a Spanish Inquisition rack about to be pulled in half. He pushed the swinging door open and waited for me to go in before following behind me. I reached around to the box attached to my skirt waistband and turned off the mike. I didn’t need Lauren hearing this conversation and using it against me.

  Once the door closed, he snagged my hand and pulled me closer. His smile faded into a serious expression as he studied my face.

  “I know you told me to stay away, but I felt like I’d be failing you if I didn’t come.”

  This was a huge gesture, no mistaking it. “But you told me you wanted no part of being on camera.”

  He grimaced. “That was when you first came back to town. But you’re on this show for at least three more seasons, and I know your life will be this show while you’re filming. I’ll be honest, I’m not interested in being in the spotlight. I’m hoping to fade in the shadows, but I know if I want to be part of your life—all of it—I have to suck it up and deal with it. I can’t compartmentalize us.”

  A lump filled my throat, but I whispered past it. “I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  Relief filled his eyes, and he grinned. “Better than when I took you to the county fair and spent forty dollars on that milk-bottle game to win you a giant teddy bear?”

  I grinned too, feeling better about the two of us than I had since we’d agreed to try again. “Okay, it’s a close second.”

  “That game was rigged, you know.”

  I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck
, suddenly regretting my insistence on taking things slow. “Of course it was.” But I didn’t sound convincing.

  He slid his arm around my back and pulled me closer. I felt his deep inhale as our bodies connected. “Are you really okay with me being here?”

  “Momma’s already stirred up crap, Teddy’s raring to take your head off, and Meemaw has some cryptic reason for wanting all of us gathered here. Why not add you to the mix?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “That doesn’t make it sound like you’re happy to see me.”

  “Sorry. I’m just worried is all, but I really am happy you care enough to do this despite your reservations. And I apologize in advance for anything my mother or Teddy says to you. That’s what has me worried the most. I don’t want them to run you off.”

  His shoulders tightened. “I can take it, Summer. I know I hurt you back then. I know neither of them have forgiven me for it. I’m willing to do my penance to make amends.”

  If only that was why my mother hated him. If anything, she’d seen my broken heart as a cause for celebration, hoping I’d abandon the idea of quitting acting and running back to Sweet Briar. She hated him because he was the first person who’d made me question her intentions. My relationship with Luke had been the beginning of the end of her hold on my life.

  “Besides,” he said, “after I watched your show, I realized it wasn’t that bad.”

  I slid my hands down his chest with the intention of pushing him away, but my palm touched a small lump under his collar. My eyes flew open wider when I realized what it was. “Are you miked?”

  He looked confused by my reaction. “It was the only way they’d let me in. I told you, Summer. I want this to work.”

  “Oh, my God. They heard everything we just said.” I turned him sideways and found the box hooked to his jeans.

  “But we’re not on camera.”

  After I turned it off, I took two steps back, running over our conversation and trying to determine how bad this was. “Luke, they can just use the sound and fill the screen with the swinging door.” I did a quick glance up at the ceiling to see if I could find a camera. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d installed one here.

  “I didn’t say anything I’m ashamed of. This is us—the real us—so what’s the big deal?”

  “I don’t show the cameras everything.”

  He grinned. “I sure hope not. I don’t care to see my bare ass on my TV screen while I’m watching your show. My own personal video, maybe, but not your show.”

  I put one hand on my hip and pointed the other at his face. “First of all, who says your bare ass is gonna be anywhere near a camera, let alone me? You must have a whole lot of ego to think that’s gonna happen.”

  His grin spread. “Oh, it’s gonna happen, Summer, it’s just a matter of when and where.”

  A needy ache filled my core, and I sucked in a breath to help the rest of me cool down. I could try to deny it, but we both knew he was right.

  “And what was the second?” he asked, loving every bit of this.

  That brought the irritation right back. “I will never make a sex tape with you, so if that’s on your future agenda, you might as well move along.” I wagged my finger at him, then pointed at the back door.

  He didn’t seem the least bit phased by my statement. “I’ve never made a sex tape before. I understand the risk it would pose to you if it got in the wrong hands, so I’m good with that stipulation. Was there a third objection?”

  It wasn’t lost on me that Luke was making a supreme effort to communicate. That had been a huge problem before—for both of us—so this was nearly as much of a grand gesture as showing up here tonight. “I can’t believe you watched my show.”

  He closed the distance between us, leaving a few inches between us. “I recorded and watched every episode of Darling Investigations.”

  I smirked up at him. “You wanted to see how Lauren portrayed the Sweet Briar police.”

  “I’ll give you that, but I also wanted to see you. Especially since you were gone. And in the interest of full disclosure, I own all five seasons of Gotcha! on DVD.”

  That one caught me by surprise. “You didn’t burn them after you broke up with me?”

  He sobered. “No.”

  “Summer!” my mother shouted from the other room. “How long does it take to get a plate?”

  I grinned up at Luke, and the next thing I knew, he leaned over and gave me a sweet and tender kiss.

  When he lifted his face, he smiled at me. “Time to face the firing squad.”

  He looked far too happy to be walking into a room full of conflict.

  He spun around and opened the cabinet to grab a plate while I took advantage of his position to turn his mike back on. While I reached around to do the same with mine, he got a set of silverware and then pushed open the door to the dining room.

  Three faces turned to face us—Dixie’s beaming smile, my mother’s irritated frown, and Teddy’s murderous glare—and nearly a dozen more if you added the crew, including Bill, Tony, and Chuck, who had arrived while I was in the kitchen. (Meemaw considered her hot, buttered roll more attention grabbing than the commotion.) I ignored them as I wrapped my hand around Luke’s wrist and pulled him around to my side of the table. Part of my motivation was that I wanted to sit next to him, but I also hoped that some separation between him and Teddy, who was sitting on my other side, would eliminate the glaring contests.

  “What were y’all doin’ in there, Summer?” Momma asked in a snide tone. “Havin’ sex like you did that one time we went to the—”

  “It’s lovely to see you again, Miss Beatrice,” Luke said without a hint of malice as he sat down. “I hear your pageant business is doin’ well.”

  My mother looked caught off guard. “Why, yes, it is.” Then she realized Luke had given her the perfect opportunity to promote her business and spent the next couple of minutes monologuing about her pageant the previous weekend and how her girls were sweeping the awards. “Everyone says my girls are the best, and it’s all because of me,” she said with a smug smile. “Summer’s the perfect example. When she fired me, her career was flushed down the toilet, which only proved it was my management that created her success, not her talent.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. I’d written her off almost a decade ago, so why did her barbs still hurt?

  Dixie, my tiny mountain lion of a cousin, wasn’t about to let that one go. She dropped her fork on her plate with a loud clank and turned halfway in her seat. “Are you kiddin’ me?”

  My mother turned slightly to face her, and one of the new camerawomen moved in next to Luke to capture the upcoming fight.

  Dixie’s cheeks turned pink. “Everyone knows that you sabotaged her because she told you she wasn’t doin’ it your way anymore. And you’d burned so many bridges that no one wanted to work with her again.”

  Oh, my Lord. Were we really doing this now?

  My mother put her fingertips to her chest as though she’d never been so offended in her life. “I love Summer. Why would I sabotage her career? Is she spreading vicious lies about me?”

  “Lies?” Dixie demanded. “You told Summer you were comin’ back home to take care of your family, yet you’ve never spent any time with us. It was obvious the moment you got back to town that the only thing that interested you was building your own version of Tara with all the money you stole from Summer.”

  “And how would you know?” Momma asked in a snooty tone. “You were too busy in juvie jail to notice, Dixie Belle.”

  I had to stop this disaster.

  “Say, Teddy,” I said in a loud voice, “how are the crops doing? We’ve had a dry spell. Have you had to irrigate?”

  He shot me a look that suggested I’d lost my mind, then launched into my mother. “Dixie’s right. You don’t give a shit about this family. You never did. Dixie may not remember much about you and Summer before you dragged her off to Hollywood, but I remember plenty. Summer was nothin’ but a Barb
ie doll for you to play with and put in those idiotic pageants she hated, not that you gave a shit. She was your ticket to Hollywood and all the money and attention you craved. Unless you needed her to advance your master plan, she lived with us. I can’t imagine how awful it was for her to go from everything and everyone she loved to that godforsaken hellhole.”

  “She had me!” my mother shouted.

  “Like I said”—Teddy’s voice hardened—“she was all alone.”

  My mother’s mouth hung open, and for once she looked at a loss for words.

  Luke sat quietly next to me, his plate still empty.

  “Where are our manners?” I gushed loudly, trying to interrupt this debacle. “Luke doesn’t have any food yet.” I grabbed the meat-loaf platter and handed it to him.

  The hard set of his jaw suggested he was about to jump in to defend my honor. I gave him a slight head shake. I didn’t need him fighting my battles. Especially this one.

  But my mother’s eyes lit up as she watched us, and I realized I’d given her a way to divert the negative attention from her.

  “What are you even doin’ here, Luke Montgomery?” she asked with forced attitude. “This is a family dinner.”

  “Yeah,” Teddy said as he leaned over the table and around me to get a good look at him. “What are you doin’ here?”

  Luke picked up a slice of meat loaf and dropped it on his plate. “I was invited.” He set the platter on the table and glanced over at Dixie. “Would you hand me the potatoes?” Then he shifted his gaze to Meemaw. “No one makes meat loaf and mashed potatoes like Miss Viola.”

  Meemaw smiled. “And no one can put ’em away like you do.”

  “What the hell?” Teddy said. “I can put ’em away too!”

  “This isn’t a competition,” I said with a tight smile. I had to find a way to salvage this, all the way around. “Meemaw, did you hear about the house fire today? The house belonged to Teddy’s friend Bruce. He’s pretty much homeless right now.”

  “Bruce Jepper? The boy you went to school with?” she asked.