Chapter 22
Emily stepped into the large community center. It was packed. Hell, there was barely a spare seat in sight. Did the entire town come to these meetings?
Polly took her hand. “Come on. Maggie and Raven saved us seats.”
Locals buzzed around her. Some were laughing. Some talked loudly, trying to be heard over the crowd. It was nice. It kind of reminded her of one of those cozy Hallmark movies where everyone knew everyone.
Before they reached their friends, a woman with big silver curls and hoops in her ears stopped in front of them.
“Polly. Hi. I just wanted to tell you that I was wrong last week.”
Polly frowned. “Wrong?”
“About the bad energy. I was feeding off someone else and mistook it for you.” The woman shifted her attention to Emily. “Hi. I’m Maureen.”
Polly looked at Emily. “Maureen is our town psychic.”
“Oh! Hi. I’ve heard so much about you.” She’d never met a psychic before, but this lady with her pale blue bohemian dress and big curls fit the picture in her head.
“Good things, I hope.” Maureen smiled. “Enjoying Deep River?”
“I am. It kind of feels like home even though I’ve hardly been here.”
“It suits you. Small-town living.”
“It does?” Emily secretly agreed, but this woman didn’t know her.
“Oh yeah. You know it’s not an accident you’re here, right?”
“I actually wasn’t even meant to play this role.”
“I know. Terrible incident for the other young actress. I hope they find the person responsible.”
“It was a car crash. Her brakes failed.”
Maureen’s smile faltered, and she gave Emily an odd look. “Well…I should find a seat before they’re all out. You have a good evening, ladies.”
Polly shook her head. “Don’t listen to her. There’s a reason we put ‘self-proclaimed’ at the front of her psychic title. Come on.”
As they walked, Polly tilted her head toward a couple near the back. “That’s Anika and Mark, the couple you root for some days and wish lived in separate towns other days.”
Emily glanced at the couple, who were currently kissing. Then she glanced behind them at a man who looked to be in his mid to late sixties, with graying hair but still very broad shoulders. “Is that David Collins, the town recluse?”
“How’d you know?”
“He looks…sad.”
“I think he just prefers his own company.”
No. He didn’t. She’d seen that same look in the mirror. He was lonely.
They headed down an aisle.
A guy smirked at Polly. “I see you’ve upgraded your company. Good job, moving up in the world.”
Polly rolled her eyes. “Funny how I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Gerome.”
They sat beside Maggie and Raven.
Emily smiled at the women before asking Polly, “Who was the guy?”
“Gerome Ward.” Polly rolled her eyes. “Son of Rodney Ward, our town sheriff. We’re pretty sure he set fire to the old firehouse when the guys first set up operations there.”
“Was he arrested?”
Maggie scoffed from the other side of Polly. “Ward doesn’t actually like to investigate things. He certainly wouldn’t investigate his own son, let alone arrest him.”
Jesus.
Raven leaned forward. “Excited to hear some small-town politics?”
“Actually, I am. I’ve never been to a town meeting before.”
“Well, you’re in for a treat. People like to get their knickers in a twist about everything from potholes to who got a permit approved too quickly.” Polly pulled a big bag of popcorn and four plastic cups from her bag.
Emily laughed. “You brought snacks?”
“Joel’s rubbing off on me.” She filled each cup and handed them out.
Emily had just taken hers when Ryan appeared at the front of the hall, the guys behind him. And holy crap, every time she saw him, her heart went wild.
One side of his mouth lifted when he found her in the crowd. And even that made her lower belly pulse.
He lifted his phone and typed something. A second later, a text came through on her cell.
Ryan: I wasn’t expecting to see you here.
Emily: I was expecting to see you here with Nora.
Ryan: She texted an hour ago saying she’d meet me here.
Emily: Well, if you’re both here, I want to be here. Don’t want to miss out on all the fun.
Ryan: They’re not that interesting.
Emily: I’ll be the judge of that.
She looked back up. This time his mouth curved into a full-fledged, sexy-as-hell grin.
Good riddance to her heart.
Joe Ferris stepped in front of the crowd. “Good evening, everyone. We’ve got a full agenda tonight, so let’s begin.”
As the meeting started, Polly bumped her shoulder. “Hey, I think that guy’s taking a photo of you.”
Emily followed Polly’s gaze to Shaun, standing on the side of the hall, cameras in hand.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s a reporter. He’s made a living out of following people around and invading their personal space.”
“Want me to kick him?” Polly glared at the guy like she was a second away from jumping out of her seat and doing exactly that. “I’ve got a really sturdy right boot, and I don’t care if he writes a story and makes me famous. My regulars already know I’m a total badass.”
Emily laughed. “That’s okay. Ignoring him often works best. He’ll do whatever he wants anyway.”
“Okay, but let me know if you change your mind. I’m always up for a good ass-kicking.”
She smiled. Polly, as well as the other women, were starting to feel like friends. Real friends. The kind who did you favors without expecting anything in return. The type to ask about your day because they’re actually interested, not just to get information.
Over the meeting, there was a lot of small-town politics. People complaining about parking spots being taken with the influx of tourists and media. Budget arguments over really small amounts of money. Even discussions on how new empty buildings should be used.
Emily was enthralled. It was honestly the most entertaining hour of her life. People shouted at the mayor. The sheriff stormed out when someone called him lazy. Ferris even used a gavel to get everyone’s attention a few times when he couldn’t silence them with his voice.
This. She wanted this. She wasn’t even sure why. It just felt cozy and real and comforting. She wanted small-town politics and popcorn with friends.
And Ryan.
She looked at him again. His eyes were already on her, and they were intense, reminding her of black glass. He also glanced at Shaun every so often. It was probably killing Ryan that the guy was taking photos of her.
She was used to it. Didn’t mean she liked it, but she didn’t get angry or anxious like she used to.
Her phone rang. Luckily, it was on silent. Double luckily, she looked at the screen before doing something crazy like answering it.
Because it was her mother.
She let it ring out, but almost immediately, a text came through.
Mom: Answer my call, Emily. This is important.
Emily: I can’t. I’m at the town meeting.
Mom: You’re where?
Emily: I’ll call you later.
Maybe. Probably not.
Mom: Shaun Doverman wrote an article about you. It’s bad. You might want to re-employ me as your manager because you’re going to need some major media damage control.
Her mother sent the link through. Emily almost didn’t want to click on it. But she did.
America’s Sweetheart, Emily Prior, Caught in a Behind-the-Scenes Betrayal.
What the hell? She frowned at the array of images splashed through the article. And not just pictures of her. Of Ryan too. Standing close in the street. Eating at Bloom and The Pancake Bar.
She gasped at one in particular. It was a photo of the two of them in the woods. Only Shaun hadn’t been there that night… Faye had.
She scanned the article.
A source close to Prior’s current production of the upcoming thriller, Winter Waters, has come forward with explosive claims about lead actress, Emily Prior. It’s believed the star has been having a secret affair with local Deep River resident Ryan Slade.
The cast member, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of professional repercussions, said the relationship between Prior and Slade developed quickly.
“They used to sneak away together all the time. Now, they don’t even try to hide their cheating. It’s devastating for Preston.”
Prior has been in a rumored relationship with Preston Painter, two-time Golden Globe nominee, for nearly two years.
Anger gripped Emily so hard, she couldn’t breathe.
This “anonymous” cast member?
Her gaze returned to the photo of her and Ryan, the one only Faye could have taken.
It was her. It had to be.
Hurt cut her like that blade all over again. She didn’t care about the article. She didn’t worry about her image at all, because the entire piece was ridiculous. She cared that Faye had taken that picture, sold it to the media, and told lies about her.
A woman she’d almost considered a friend. A woman who’d stabbed her in the back.
Ryan tapped the screen of his phone. No text from Nora. Where was she? She’d asked him to take her. Then she’d said she’d drive herself. Now she was late and the meeting was almost over.
He glanced at Emily again. She looked happy. He had no idea why, these town meetings were boring as shit, but she did. Maybe because she was sitting with the women. Polly tended to have that effect on people.
Jesus, when would the damn meeting be over? Did they really need to spend ten goddamn minutes talking about whether the streetlights were too bright?
Ryan was ready to go. Past ready.
Zac leaned close. “Does Nora look okay to you?”
“Nora’s here?”
“Back wall, to the right.”
Ryan found his sister. Even from the other side of the hall, he could see the dark circles shadowing her eyes and the way her skin looked too pale.
Shit. She wasn’t sleeping again. It wasn’t unusual for Nora. She went through phases where she barely slept at all. Usually, the anxiety meds she took allowed her brain to rest. But they weren’t a guarantee.
Ryan leaned close to Zac. “I’ll be back.”
“Sure.”
He slipped around the hall, stopping when he reached his sister. “You made it.”
“Yeah, sorry, I got caught up.”
Caught up? No reason as to why? “You’re not sleeping.”
“I’m fine.” The answer came quickly. Something she did when she was trying to brush off his concerns.
“Don’t do that, Nor. We don’t have secrets. What’s going on?”