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fashioned roots." He stressed old-fashioned as if
they shared a private joke. He then put his arm
around me (which made me melt inside, I should
add) and looked at me adoringly. "We re getting
married in the spring, and we re looking for a good
place to make a home and family in."
The man seemed to relax with those words, and
gave him a good-natured slap on the back. "Well,
then, you want to look at the place on Langston; it s
a beaut."
Susan cleared her throat. "Jack, that place was
sold. We only have two small properties left in the
county."
"Oh," he said with a bit of surprise, then added
as if suddenly understanding, "oh!" Jack
straightened his coat and did a poor job of acting
disappointed. "Well then. I hear it s a long wait for a
house in the county. Didn t Jan s nephew wait for
twelve years on the waiting list?"
91
Reed and I took a seat in the waiting area, and I
giggled. "These people are terrible liars." I was
getting giddy at the thoughts of headlines and
career-boosting bylines.
"Did you see that he had a wicked looking
paddle in his hand?" he asked.
Oh boy, Pulitzer, here I come.
_____________
Eric Zimmer turned out to be friendly, in a loud
way, and an excellent salesman. The only problem
is that he seemed to be trying to convince us not to
live here, all the while pretending he was trying to
sell us on moving here right away.
"The schools are decent, even though they
weren t the top in the state last year."
He seemed downright disappointed when I
chimed in, "But second place is nothing to sneeze
at, either."
"Uh, yes. He said, turning a corner on to
Langston Drive. "Some people may say it s boring,
and complain that everything closes before dark,
but I like it. Eyeing us in the rearview mirror, he
added, "It s a good community for retirement. Not
lots of kids. Just us boring old folks."
Reed said nothing as he grinned at a passing
school bus practically bursting at the seams with
kids.
That s when I noticed the property with a for
sale sign. It was like the architect had my private
journals. White siding, a small barn out back, a ring
for the horses. Wooden fence, and to top it off,
dogwood trees that I could just see blooming in the
spring.
"Oh it s lovely!" It was genuine enthusiasm that
had me nudging Reed. "Look at that place! It s
everything I ve always wanted!"
92
Eric jumped in immediately. "Oh, I m sorry, that
was sold just yesterday." He quickly turned another
corner, and then another, until we were on a street
with a lovely row of small starter homes. They were
all immaculately kept, save the two at the very end
of the road.
"Oh," I cried. "But couldn t you just show us the
Langston property? Just in case the buyer backs out
or doesn t get financing, then you could sell it to us
right away. It s perfect!"
"No," he said too quickly. "I know the buyer,
and there s no way he s not going to scoop that
beauty up. But " he pulled the car into what looked
like a dilapidated shack, not a house " this house is
a great starter home, perfect for moving into the
community and getting on the waiting list for a
larger home."
I decided to get aggressive. To be honest, I was
showing off a bit in front of Reed, still thinking
about that internship at the affiliate. After all, I was
getting old to be starting a career on television. If I
didn t do it soon, when could I?
"We want a larger home now, and we want it
here." My voice sounded petulant and Eric wasn t
caring. I tried anger. "You ve got to be kidding me.
I ve seen acres of empty land, not to mention whole
neighborhoods of houses being built, and you re
trying to tell me you ve only got two small
properties? What, do you think I was born
yesterday?"
I leaned back into the car seat, proud of my
tirade.
"Now, missy "
"Penelope!" I spat.
He sighed. "Penelope. I m sorry, I can only show
you what s on the market."
"Eric, you re full of shit. If the Langston property
had sold, they would have taken the sign down. Not
93
to mention the two for sale signs I saw on that side
street we passed off of Langston. You re a fucking
liar."
Reed jumped in then and reprimanded me.
"Watch your tongue, Penny." He opened the car
door and got out, following Eric. "Show some
respect."
I sat fuming in the car and watched him
apologize to Eric. Whose side was he on, anyway?
Eric started opening the door, and Reed came
around to open my car door.
With a charming wink, he whispered, "play
along."
That s when he helped me out of the car, shut
the door, and waited until Eric was inside to give me
a lecture on respect.
And, let me tell you, he was good. As I listened
to him give me a damn good dressing down, I was
shocked and a bit embarrassed to find myself
getting turned on. Here was a drop-dead gorgeous
man with the career I wanted, and he was looking
at me as if he personally cared about my behavior.
When I noticed my eyes were lowered much like
I d seen Hilda s lowered at the Old Tyme Kitchen, I
realized I wasn t acting. That s when he turned me
around and whispered, "He s watching."
Next thing I knew, he d smacked my butt. It
took me a second to recognize the pain and squeal.
Another followed, and another, until tears formed in
my eyes. Reed might have been playing for a story,
but I was being spanked by a gorgeous man in
public practically in the middle of the street. I m
sure I blushed yet again when I saw a kid down the
street on a bicycle watching with curious but
unconcerned eyes.
"Now when you go in," Reed whispered, "act
humbled, and apologize for your behavior."
94
Grrrrr, I wanted to say. I would never do that,
but since it was for a story& I didn t have to
manufacture my embarrassment, or the fact that I
didn t want to apologize.
"Mr. Zimmer," I stammered. "I apologize for my
rudeness in the car."
Eric shocked me by not being uncomfortable
with my apology. Instead, he stood silently for
awhile, then frowned. "I don t think you re truly
sorry."
Then, if that didn t gall all, he turned to Reed,
practically dismissing me. "If you d like to look
tomorrow, I ll be happy to take you back to your car
so you can finish the job you started out there
properly."
There was a flash of uncertainty in Reed s eyes,
then he nodded at Eric in a man-to-man sort of
way. "Is there a motel in town? A place where we
could spend the night? We were thinking of staying
for the weekend."
"Lilah owns a bed and breakfast on Lake
Monroe."
I had a mixture of feelings when Reed
exclaimed, "perfect!" The first feeling was total
excitement that I would get to spend the night with
Reed Redford. The second was embarrassment that
this Eric thought I was about to be taken home and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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