The Chesapeake Diaries Series (48 page)

And that was just skippy, as far as Dallas was concerned. Since arriving in St. Dennis, she felt everything around her slowing down, as if the earth itself were spinning a little slower. The days seemed longer and more pleasant, the afternoons spent languidly relaxing
on the dock or in the hammock in the shade of Berry’s ancient oak tree. Dallas had become a regular at Book ’Em, gobbling up the latest mysteries and romances and memoirs the way a starving woman would attack a buffet. For years, she’d read nothing but scripts and entertainment magazines and movie reviews. She’d forgotten what a wonderful world there was to be found between the pages of books. She read quickly, and once finished, the gently read books were donated to the local library. In the week since she’d been in St. Dennis, Berry had taken five new bestsellers to the library on Dallas’s behalf. The books had been gratefully accepted, since funding for new purchases had been cut.

Every day felt like a holiday, something to be savored and celebrated. She awoke each morning to the sound of the breeze blowing through the long thin branches of the willows, birds gathering in the pines along the side yard, or boats heading to the mouth of the river and the Bay beyond. She’d shower, have a leisurely breakfast with her son and her aunt, and then there’d be hours to do as she pleased, to read or to take walks, swim in the river or simply lie back on the grass and let her mind wander through the clouds that floated high over the Chesapeake. There seemed no reason to think about how long they might stay. That she’d found some bliss here was all she needed to know for now.

And Cody, it would seem, had found his own bliss. He and Berry had gotten into the habit of heading to the library in the mornings for the children’s story hours. Every day her son had returned bubbling over, eager to tell her about the book the librarian was
reading to them, or the book Berry checked out for him, or the kids he’d met that morning. Dallas had never seen him so engaged in any activity.

Just like a normal, happy boy, Dallas had told her friend Laura, the night before on the phone. They’d been young starlets together, though their career paths had taken different turns.

“Of course he’s a normal happy boy,” Laura had replied. “Why are you so surprised?”

“I guess because he’s so different here,” Dallas told her. “He’s … I don’t know, lighter. More lighthearted. More like a little boy than a …”

“A clone of every other kid in Hollywood?”

“Yeah. That, too, but he’s more engaged, less serious. Even before Emilio’s latest escapade, I felt Cody was too serious for a six-year-old.”

“Well, look at the way things have been for the past few years, babe. His mom and his dad were rarely together, and when you were, you were arguing. Dad’s picture was in the tabloids almost every week. Cody may not have been able to read, but he sure as hell had eyes to see that the woman his father was cozying up to on the magazine covers was not his mother. Kids absorb hostility. They soak up your anger and your unhappiness like sponges.” Laura hesitated, then added, “Plus, you’ve been working like a fiend for the past three years. You’ve gone from movie set to movie set, location to location. How much time did you really spend with Cody last year?”

“Jeez, Laura.” Dallas frowned. “If I felt like being kicked around a little, I’d call Emilio.”

“Sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to come across so harshly.” Laura sighed. “I’ve just gotten real sensitive
to this sort of thing since, well, since Alissa and Kevin had all those problems last year. We’ve been spending a lot of time together, just the three of us. They were more deeply affected by the divorce than either Paul or I had realized. And I’ve put off the wedding to Brock indefinitely. I’ve come to the conclusion that the kids need more time to adjust. One of the things that came out in our therapy sessions was that they were bothered by the fact that I could leave their father and take up with someone else so quickly. While the situation is far from being that simple, it’s made me stop and reevaluate a lot of things in my life.”

“Wow. All that from Laura Fielding.”

“I know,” Laura said wryly. “The ditzy blond bimbo actually has a brain. Who knew?”

“Anyone who knows you knows that the roles you’ve played are not who you are.”

“True enough, but I’ve been typecast for so many years, no one thinks I can pull off a more serious role.”

“They said the same thing about Marilyn Monroe,” Dallas said pointedly. “One word, my friend:
Niagara
.”

“I keep reminding myself of that, but I haven’t worked in months.” Laura sighed again. “All those stupid films I made when I was younger … I should have followed your lead and refused to take my clothes off. I even went brunette, but it seems like I can’t buy a part in a legitimate film these days.”

“Have faith in yourself. The right role will come your way.”

“I hope you’re right, Dallas. It’s been hell on the ego to be turned down for so many projects, but on
the plus side, I’ve had time with my kids and we’re really getting to know each other. I can honestly say I like them both, and I think they like me a lot more now.”

“Good for you. It sounds as if you’re getting it all together.”

“I am.
We
are. Look, I have to run. I’m taking Alissa to dinner and then we’re going to a movie. We go once a week now, just the two of us. Honestly, I’ve learned more about my daughter in the past two months than I have in the past thirteen years. Paul’s taking Kevin to dinner and a ball game. We’re actually almost a normal, happy family, now that we’re divorced. Go figure. Hey, give my love to Cody, okay?”

“Will do.”

Laura’s words stayed with Dallas through the night and into the next day.

Like Laura, Dallas was learning things about her child she’d somehow missed before, like the fact that he liked to take his time to observe new situations before he participated, or that in social groups, he needed to understand everyone else’s role before he decided on his own. What she had always perceived as shyness was actually Cody’s way of taking his time to study a situation and observe before joining in. She saw that he liked to try new things but was cautious, wanting to know how all the parts worked and fit together, whether the new thing was a toy or a social situation. Like when they dragged the old canoe out of Berry’s carriage house and down to the river a few days ago. Cody had wanted to know where everyone would sit and how the paddles were handled and how
they made the canoe go before he wanted to take it for a spin. She’d always known he was clever and curious; she just hadn’t realized how deep his curiosity went.

Working at a job you love was a good thing, she’d concluded, unless it crowded out everything else. While she’d tried to balance work and motherhood over the past few years, in retrospect, she had to admit she hadn’t done nearly as well as she could have. Laura had been right about that. She’d made three films back-to-back-to-back, leaving her little time for anything else, including Cody.

But for now, for as long as they were in St. Dennis, life was better. Life was good. And whatever lessons they learned here could be taken with them when they returned to L.A. She still hadn’t given much thought to when that might be. There hadn’t been a reason to plan. Part of the whole holiday ambience was just going with the flow.

Like now, having the morning to herself to walk into town and shop. She followed River Road to its end at Queen Anne Street, then walked three more blocks to Charles. Six blocks up Charles, the business district began with the bank on one side of the street and a small grocery on the other. The closer she came to the center of town, the closer the shops were to each other, until every house on the last two blocks had been converted into a shop or a restaurant. It was interesting, she thought, that so many homeowners had either sold their properties or converted their first floors into shops when St. Dennis had been “discovered.” She passed by several Victorian-era homes where she’d played as a child, or where friends of
Berry’s had once lived. Walking the streets had made it all familiar to her again.

Dallas crossed the street and went directly to Bling. She opened the door and went in, the little bell tinkling to announce her, and found herself alone.

“Hello?” she called. “Vanessa?”

She heard a muffled giggle from the rear of the shop, and seconds later, Vanessa emerged from the back room, her hands smoothing her skirt, a tall, ruggedly good-looking man walking close behind her.

Ah, that explains the giggle
, Dallas mused.

“Hi, Dallas.” Vanessa smiled even as a blush crept from the open collar of her cotton shirt to her hairline. “Ah, have you met Grady?” She gestured to the man who was approaching the counter where Dallas stood. “Dallas, this is Grady Shields. Grady, meet Dallas MacGregor.”

“Good to meet you.” He extended his hand. “I’m a huge fan.”

“Why, thank you.” She shook the hand he offered. “It’s nice of you to say.”

He turned back to Vanessa and kissed her on the side of her face. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Be careful, you hear? And take something that shoots real bullets. In case of bears.” Vanessa watched Grady walk to the door. “And call me before you leave, okay? And when you get back.”

“Will do.” He winked and was out the door.

“He’s a wilderness guide.” Vanessa turned to Dallas. “He takes people into the mountains in Montana and they hike and they camp and shoot rapids and all sorts of stuff that could be dangerous. He’s taking a
party out on Friday into some remote area and they’re staying for five days.”

“I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

“Yes, but there are bears in those mountains. And wolves.” Vanessa looked worried. “You never know …”

“If he’s experienced, he’ll prepare for those things.”

“Oh, of course he will. I know he will.” Vanessa waved a hand as if to dismiss her own thoughts of doom and gloom. “I just can’t help it. I imagine these scenarios and my mind just takes flight.”

“Well, if you don’t mind my saying so, he’s one great-looking guy.”

“He is, isn’t he? Best guy, ever.” Vanessa beamed, the sparkle returning to her eyes. “Now, what can I get for you today? We have some new short skirts, if you’re interested.”

“I was hoping to find a pair of these shorts in khaki.” Dallas stepped back to allow Vanessa to see what she was wearing.

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you buy those in khaki last week?”

“I did, but we—Cody and I—were rummaging around in Berry’s carriage house last night and I got the pocket caught on a nail and ripped a good-size hole in them.”

“That sounds like something I’d do.” Vanessa sorted through the stack of shorts on display near the counter. “Here you go. I think these are your size.”

Dallas looked at the ticket. “That was my size last week, and it may be my size today, but I’m afraid another few weeks of eating the way I’ve been doing and I’ll be coming back for a larger pair.”

Vanessa laughed. “We do have some pretty good restaurants, especially if you like seafood.”

“Last night for dinner at Captain Walt’s, I ate seven steamed crabs—seven!—and a whole order of french-fried sweet potatoes. Polished it off with a slice of that ridiculously fabulous sponge cake with the fudgy frosting.”

“The nine-layer job?” Vanessa grinned knowingly.

Dallas nodded.

“Smith Island cake.” Vanessa nodded. “There’s nothing else on the planet quite like it.”

“You can say that again. I’ve been eating like there’s no tomorrow, and there’s no gym to work it off at.”

“There’s a gym out on the highway,” Vanessa told her. “Though you probably wouldn’t want to go there. It gets pretty crowded. You’d have no privacy there.”

“I’m hoping that all the walking I’m doing will make up for it. I haven’t even driven my rental car since I got here.” Dallas placed the shorts on the counter near the cash register. “I will take these, but I think I’d like to see those skirts you mentioned. And maybe the sundress you have in the window. The coral one.”

“The skirts are right here. The dark denim ones are especially cute.” Vanessa led Dallas to the display. “The sundresses in your size are along the wall—that pink-and-gray number is nothing short of adorable—but I’m afraid we don’t have designers. Not the labels you’re used to, anyway.”

Dallas smiled at her. “They don’t need designer labels,
they’re darling. I think I want to try on the coral one …”

Two pairs of shorts, one of the dark denim skirts which Dallas agreed were in fact especially cute, and two sundresses later—the coral and one that had pink-and-gray swirls on the skirt—Dallas left Bling with two of the shop’s signature brown-and-pink bags over her arm. She stood at the corner and waited for the light to change, a contented smile on her face. She and Berry had agreed they’d meet at Scoop at eleven-fifteen. Dallas was a few minutes early, but she didn’t mind. It gave her a little extra time to sit on one of the benches and watch the boats out on the Bay.

Strolling along Kelly’s Point Drive on a summer morning, she could almost imagine herself as the girl she’d once been, a shy, pudgy, lonely, sad eleven-year-old that first summer they’d stayed here, the one that followed her father’s death. She remembered how she felt coming to Berry’s that first time. They’d arrived in the middle of the night during a summer storm, her mother having gotten lost several times during the drive from New Jersey. The house had loomed large and dark and oh so spooky against a sky that was continuously split by lightning and rocked by thunder. She’d been too terrified to get out of the car. Wade, who was seven, had slept through it all. She’d been confused and didn’t really understand why her father had died and left them and had thought Berry a very strange person and Berry’s house a haunted mansion. She was certain that her first night in that house would be her last. Surely some terrible creature would slink out of the dark to do her in.

But Dallas had survived that first night, and every
night thereafter. Berry had won her over with charm and humor and love, and before too long, the house had become home to her and her brother. She’d wept at the end of the summer when they left to return to a house that didn’t seem at all like home anymore. With her father gone, the light had gone out of their family, leaving her mother bitter and angry. It wouldn’t be until Wade was in junior high school, when their mother met her second husband, Antonio, on a winter trip to Florida to see her sister, that Roberta MacGregor found something that made her forget the bitter hand she believed she’d been dealt. The following summer, the summer when Wade left for college, Roberta had flown to Argentina to marry her polo player, and she’d never come back, not for either of her children’s college graduations or for Dallas’s wedding. To celebrate the birth of her only grandchild, Roberta had sent a case of champagne and a sterling-silver rattle engraved with Cody’s name and date of birth. If either Wade or Dallas felt her loss, neither had ever expressed it, even to each other. It had taken Dallas years to understand that what she’d perceived as her mother’s rejection was really Roberta’s way of putting behind her the loss that she’d never been able to accept or understand any more than her children had. If Roberta had found love and peace of mind with her new husband, Dallas could only wish her well. She was beyond judging and many steps away from being hurt by the situation. Roberta was simply Roberta, and that was that.