Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
CAROLINE
T hey started in the kitchen - the pair of them scooping up armfuls of the printed and bound scripts that seemed to be balanced on every available surface.
Jack muttered an apology with every trip they made from the kitchen to the living room, but Caroline was thoroughly enjoying having something practical to do.
‘Just bung ‘em on the floor for now,’ said Jack. ‘I need to sort through them and get them into some kind of order.’
‘Okay,’ said Caroline. ‘Hey… do you want to do that while I grab the rest for you? You said there are more upstairs?’
‘You don’t have to do that,’ said Jack with a sheepish expression. ‘You’ve done enough already.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ said Caroline. ‘I’m having fun!’
‘But they’re in my bedroom,’ said Jack.
‘Doesn’t worry me,’ she said with a shrug. ‘As long as you don’t mind. I mean… how often will I get the chance to snoop around a film star’s house?’
‘Hmm… snoop around? See, you’re not selling me on this plan,’ said Jack. ‘Are you wearing a hidden video camera? Oh God, you’re livestreaming this whole thing, aren’t you?!’
Caroline glared at him in indignation… and then started to laugh. He was pulling her leg. Of course he was.
‘As much as I’m sure a livestream from inside Jack Jones’s house would go down a storm, there’s no way I’d do that to you – or anybody else for that matter.’
‘Good to know,’ he laughed.
‘I’m just nosy,’ she added with a shrug. ‘But don’t worry, I get it if you don’t want to set me loose!’
‘Have at it,’ said Jack easily. ‘I don’t mind. But I apologise in advance for the mess.’
‘You don’t have any skeletons up there, do you?’ said Caroline.
‘Have a look for yourself… though if you do find any, I’d appreciate a heads up,’ said Jack. ‘I’m more of a rom-com guy than a horror fan.’
‘You know, it would be brilliant if you made another romcom!’ said Caroline.
‘Not wooden and three-star?’
‘Stop digging for compliments,’ she snorted, clambering to her feet and heading for the door before he could change his mind about the whole thing.
‘Feel free to have a good look around while you’re up there,’ said Jack. ‘My bedroom’s the second door on the left across the hall. If you get lost, gimme a shout and I’ll come to your rescue.’
‘My hero!’
Caroline practically skipped out of the room and then made her way straight for the broad, sweeping staircase. She couldn’t quite believe that he’d agreed to her mooching around his house unsupervised… and she was going to make the most of it before he came to his senses.
‘I can’t believe I’m going to get to look inside Jack Jones’s bedroom!’ she breathed, jogging up the staircase and admiring the beautiful light fitting at the top that dripped pendant bulbs in gleaming waves.
Before heading across to Jack’s bedroom, Caroline peeped inside a couple of rooms whose doors stood ajar. The first was set up as a little reading nook. The walls were lined with well-worn paperbacks, and there was a large, squashy-looking armchair and footstool arranged in front of the window. The second was clearly a guest bedroom – complete with a huge four-poster bed.
‘Wow!’ she whispered. If this was the spare bedroom, she could only imagine what the master one must be like…
Scuttling further along the hall, Caroline pushed her way inside Jack’s bedroom. It was just as large and airy as the room she’d just seen, but a whole lot messier!
‘Tut tut, Mr Film Star,’ she muttered, stooping to pick up a damp, slightly sandy beach towel from the carpet at the foot of the bed. Giving it a little shake, she draped it over the corner of the half-open wardrobe door so that it could dry off.
‘Right… scripts…’ she muttered, letting her eyes scan the room.
It was beautiful, despite the chaos of half-unpacked cases, discarded clothing and abandoned scripts lying higgledy-piggledy all over the place. Just like the spare room, it was light and airy, with high ceilings and long, luxurious curtains that framed the view straight out over the beach.
Right in the centre of the room, the vast bed boasted red and green tartan blankets. Jack clearly had a thing for Christmassy comfort. She’d bet anything that he had a pair of special crimbo PJs tucked away somewhere too. She’d have to ask him.
‘Or maybe not,’ whispered Caroline.
She quickly fanned her face with her hands as blood rushed to her cheeks at the thought of Jack in his PJs. She knew it was the biggest cliché ever… but it was impossible not to have a crush on the man.
Now she’d actually met Jack… well, he was even more attractive in person. It didn’t have anything to do with his celebrity status, either. The man was clearly as big a dork as she was - that cringey speech, and the way he’d fought her for his favourite Christmas ornament. Caroline knew her little crush was rapidly blooming into something monumental.
‘Don’t be an idiot!’ she muttered.
After all, dork or not, Jack was an international film star. There was no way he’d be interested in a small-town newspaper reporter with nothing to offer other than a half-dead spider plant.
‘Come on, woman, focus!’ she muttered. There wasn’t any point worrying about something that was so far from being possible, it was almost funny. She needed to grab the scripts and take them back down to Jack before he sent out a search party.
Jack hadn’t been lying, the scripts really were everywhere. She picked up four from his bedside table, then gathered another bunch that were lying scattered across his bed and the floor next to it.
When she was pretty sure she’d managed to find them all, she eyeballed the door on the far side of the room.
Cupboard ?
Pottering over, she opened it and gasped.
Nope… not a cupboard!
It was the most gorgeous ensuite she’d ever had the pleasure of clapping eyes on. Not only was there a shower big enough to fit about twenty people – with multiple heads and an entire shelf groaning with products - there was also a roll-topped bath right in the middle of the space. And… it was made of copper.
‘And there I was thinking you were actually quite normal!’ murmured Caroline, moving over to the little wooden table that stood next to the bath and grabbing yet another script that lay – half open – between a shaving brush and the bottles of soap and shampoo.
Half wishing she could dive right into that tub herself, Caroline gave it one last, longing look before deciding it was time to head back downstairs with her finds.
‘How’s it going?’ said Jack, looking up at her from his cross-legged position on the floor.
He was surrounded by several piles of scripts, and it looked like he was only about halfway through sorting through the ones they’d brought through from the kitchen.
‘These are all from your bedroom,’ said Caroline, adding her armful to the mound he was still working his way through. ‘How’s it going with you?’
‘Remakes, sequels, prequels,’ said Jack, tapping his way clockwise around the piles. ‘Fourth in the series and the first one was awful. Then this one’s already onto its seventh director, and this one means six months living in a tent in the Arctic.’
Caroline scrunched up her nose and shivered. ‘Plenty of snow here, you don’t need to go to the Arctic!’
‘My thoughts entirely!’ said Jack. ‘Though I’m not sure which pile to add it to.’
‘How about a whole new section based on geographical location?’ she said.
‘I like it!’ laughed Jack. ‘We’ll have a shelf for too cold to consider .’
Caroline snorted. ‘So… how many of these are you actually interested in?’
‘Erm, to be fair I haven’t done much more than glance at them when they arrive, but based on first impressions… that’s this pile here,’ said Jack, patting an empty patch of carpet.
‘Not sure that counts as a pile,’ said Caroline, sinking down next to him.
‘Yeah.’ Jack let out a weary sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I’m not really sure what the future holds for me right now if I’m honest. I might just hang out here for a bit and see what happens.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ said Caroline.
‘Why are you smiling?’ said Jack, narrowing his eyes at her.
‘I was just thinking I’d like the chance to get to know you better.’
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Caroline blinked in surprise and mild confusion.
So much for playing it cool!
‘I’d like that too,’ said Jack, shifting slightly and looking adorably shy for a split second. ‘I’ve always come here when I’ve wanted to go into hiding, but this time things feel different for some reason. It’d be nice to meet some people at last. I just… don’t want it to become a big deal, you know?’
Caroline nodded.
‘Plus, I don’t really know where to start,’ he added.
‘Well, if you want people to get to know you, you’re talking to the right person,’ said Caroline.
‘I didn’t mean doing an interview in the paper!’ laughed Jack.
‘Neither did I!’ said Caroline, clutching her heart in mock outrage. ‘As if!’
‘Uh huh?!’ said Jack.
‘Well… not this time, anyway. I just mean… basically I know everyone in Crumbleton. I can fill you in on who’s who and maybe introduce you around a bit if you want to come out of hiding.’
The temptation to cross her fingers was overwhelming, but she managed to sit still, watching Jack’s face intently.
‘Well… I have to admit, I might already know a bit more about local goings-on than you think,’ said Jack.
‘Brian Singer keeping you in the loop?’ she said.
‘In a way,’ said Jack with a small smile. ‘He sends me a copy of the Crumbleton Times every week!’
‘He does?’ gasped Caroline.
‘I’ve got to keep an eye on what mean things you’ve been saying about me somehow,’ he laughed. ‘You know… just in case I need to get my lawyers involved.’
Caroline dropped her face into her hands. She was going for dramatic effect, but it also helped her hide the blush of pure mortification that had just stained her cheeks. She really had been quite mean, hadn’t she?!
‘Don’t worry,’ said Jack, giving her arm a gentle nudge with his. ‘It was good for my ego – and fun to see what you came up with next.’
Caroline peeped at him through her fingers and was relieved to see a broad grin still firmly on his face. She quickly sent up a prayer of thanks that she’d somehow managed to choose to insult one of the few megastars who didn’t seem to take himself too seriously.
‘Okay – fill me in on a few things,’ said Jack. ‘Is the guy who got walloped by that bride’s bouquet doing okay?’
‘How’d you know about that?’ said Caroline. ‘I didn’t cover that story in the end!’
‘Brian mentioned it in an email,’ said Jack.
‘Murray’s fine,’ said Caroline. ‘Happily in love with the florist responsible, in fact!’
‘You’re joking?’ said Jack.
‘Dead serious,’ said Caroline. ‘Milly moved into his boat on the marshes, and the pair of them are sickeningly loved up.’
‘Aww,’ said Jack. ‘And how’s the museum fund doing.’
‘Wow, you really have done your homework!’ said Caroline. ‘Again, really well. The tennis tournament made a ton of cash, and then there was a whopping anonymous donation that really helped.’
‘I know,’ said Jack.
‘Don’t tell me Brian filled you in on that too,’ said Caroline, cocking her head curiously.
‘He didn’t,’ said Jack. ‘You… erm… mentioned it in the paper.’
Caroline peered intently at his face. ‘Waaaait!’ she gasped.
‘Anyway,’ said Jack, clearing his throat, ‘was this all the scripts?’
‘Don’t go changing the subject on me, Jones!’ she said, her eyes wide. ‘That was you, wasn’t it?’
‘I have no idea what you mean,’ said Jack lightly, flipping through a script as if his life depended on it.
‘It was! I knew it!!’ squealed Caroline. ‘Admit it!’
‘No comment,’ said Jack, shooting her a small smile.
‘Why on earth didn’t you put your name against it?’ said Caroline. ‘If you want to get on the right side of the locals, something like that would definitely add to your street cred.’
‘I’m not saying I did donate that money,’ said Jack, ‘but if I did - it’s not about me. It was something important to Crumbleton… and definitely not some kind of publicity stunt!’
‘But—’
‘And that’s only if it was me,’ he added. ‘Which I’m not saying it was.’
‘Fine. Fair enough,’ said Caroline. ‘But… if it was you, I know everyone in Crumbleton would want me to say thank you.’
‘I’m sure whoever it was would be grateful. Now which pile should I add this one to?’ he said, holding up the script, clearly keen to change the subject.
‘What’s it about?’ said Caroline.
‘Zombie dogs taking over the world,’ said Jack.
‘That would be… let me think… oh right – the bin pile!’