The Crazy One Page 19

  Joel nodded and pulled his wallet from his pocket. Basic black. Nothing fancy. He used cash. This was good. Later she would exchange her own bills for these and keep them forever. They would smell like him. When he handed the money to her she tried to brush his fingers with hers, but only fumbled the cash onto the counter.

  "Sorry," she whispered. He grinned awkwardly at her again. She finished the transaction and waited for his receipt to print. Then she thought of the yellow house. How long had they been in town? Had they already stayed the night?

  "Are you in town for long?" Her ears flamed. She hoped the question wasn't too lame or too obvious. She was actually impressed with herself that she'd had the courage to speak directly to him. His awkward grin turned into a polite smile.

  "Just got in yesterday," he replied. "Don't know how long we'll be around."

  "Well, stop in and see us again."

  "Will do." Joel nodded, took his receipt and his new rain stick, and went outside to locate Sydney.

  Lucy was beside herself. She had to sit on the stool again or she might have fallen onto the floor. For a few minutes, when Sydney was out of the store, she had literally been alone with Joel Ruskin for the second time. His smile up close was a thousand times more powerful than it was on TV. She had looked right into his eyes. They were beautiful and caring and honest and amazing. Then disappointment set in. He hadn't recognized her at all. They'd met twice and he hadn't shown any sign she was familiar to him. The thought began to crush her.

  The yellow house. They'd definitely spent the night in the house. They'd no doubt slept in his bed. One of them had slept in the exact spot where Lucy had slept. The imprint of her body had made contact with the body of one of them. But which one? She had to know.

  When Moon returned from lunch a few minutes later, Lucy told her she wasn't feeling well. Cody would be there in less than an hour, so Moon didn't mind letting her go early.

  "Go nap in the park," the boss told her. "The sunshine will do you good. Vitamin D is a natural healer."

  The last thing she wanted to do was lie down in the park. Instead, she hurried down the sidewalk looking for the celebrity couple. There was no sign of them. Ten minutes later she sat on a bench hoping for a miracle. She wondered how she hadn't known Joel was back in Spring Fork. Then she remembered she'd turned off the notification on her phone.

  Sure enough, only a day ago Joel had posted a picture of Sydney sitting in the chair on his front porch drinking a beer. My lady doing the country life. And only five minutes ago his post read, Rain sticks. Who knew they were still a thing? #mynewtoy

  The last post had elicited several fan comments such as, How bout a demonstration? and My granny haz one, as if anyone cared.

  Lucy tapped the star on her screen so she'd be notified of his posts again. How could she have abandoned him? It was only thirty seconds before her phone alerted her to his recent post. This one was a photo of a bottle of wine on a white table cloth. Wine with lunch? Why not?

  She jumped up and headed to her car. If Joel and Sydney were just sitting down for lunch, they wouldn't be back to the house for a while. A plan was hatching in her brain. She needed to make one stop.

  CHAPTER FORTY NINE

  The yellow house was cozier now that its renovations were complete. Lucy admired the expensive paintings on the wall in the dining room. She ran her hand along the smooth surface of the heavy table. It was definitely better suited now for a couple of TV stars.

  The stairs still creaked a little when she climbed to the second floor. Joel's bed was unmade. A suitcase sat open at the foot. The things inside belonged to Sydney. She moved some items aside and found a slim, black case. When she flipped it open she found jewelry: diamond earrings, gold rings, and a diamond tennis bracelet.

  She lifted the bracelet and held it out at arm’s length. She saw Joel sitting across from her in a nice restaurant. They were seated in a spot where they could be seen but not disturbed. Joel took her hand and looked into her eyes, smiling as if they were on a first date. He was as charming as he'd been on her first trip to New York.

  "What?" She tilted her head and spoke to the blank wall. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

  "Can't a man smile at his wife?"

  "You're like a cat who caught a mouse. What are you hiding?"

  "Nothing." Lucy held out her hand, palm down, and imagined Joel kissing it. Her other hand came up slowly and draped the diamond bracelet over her wrist.

  "How could I ever hide anything from you?"

  She gasped and put a hand to her heart.

  "What's this?"

  "Just something to remind you that you make me happy every single day."

  "You didn't have to..." She trailed off. Her words couldn't express how happy he'd made her already. She didn't need expensive gifts to understand what they had together. But what a beautiful gift it was.

  She tucked the bracelet into her pocket and threw her arms in the air in an imaginary hug. His imaginary breathe on her neck drew goosebumps on her skin. Then she replaced the jewelry case under the clothes where it was found.

  Another suitcase stood upright in the corner. She lifted it. This one was empty. Its contents had probably already been put away in the dresser drawers. Either Sydney wasn't planning on staying long, or Joel was tidier than she was. Perhaps she usually had people to do that stuff for her.

  She wandered into the master bathroom. The toothbrush holder near the sink only held one toothbrush. It had to belong to Joel since Sydney obviously hadn't unpacked anything yet. She figured she might never brush those nasty fangs anyway. Such a disgusting person. How could Joel even want to touch her?

  The bristles of Joel's toothbrush were dry. She stroked them with her thumb, sending tiny flecks of tried toothpaste flying through the air. She wetted the brush and began to brush her own teeth. Back and forth. Slowly. Back and forth. She closed her eyes to savor the moment. This was closer now. This was closer than she'd ever been to Joel. He was literally in her mouth. And the next time he brushed his teeth, she would be in his.

  When she finished in Joel's bathroom, she headed to the hallway to begin her preparations for the night. The door to the attic was down the hall from the master bedroom. The staircase was steep and narrow. A round window looked out over the front of the house but let little light into the small attic. Her new lantern had three settings so she didn't have to use more light than she needed. She set her backpack on the floor and went back down the stairs to the attic door with a hand drill she'd bought at the hardware store. She drilled a hole through the door near the knob and made it big enough to see through. This would allow her to check that the hall was clear before opening the attic door.

  Next, she set up camp in a corner of the attic. She laid out a sleeping bag and opened her laptop. She opened the audio program, but the house was too quiet. She found an old hardcover book in a box in the corner and hurled it down the steps. Perfect. The microphone she'd hidden in Joel's bedroom picked up the sound of the book hitting the door at the bottom. If she were more tech savvy she would have set up a video camera instead. She was going to have to get by with just sound.

  Then she sat and she waited.

  ◆◆◆

  Joel and Sydney got in late that night. According to Joel's Twitter feed they'd had a good time with some locals at a bar. Lucy wanted to kick herself. She could have been one of those locals. She could have gotten to know both of them and eventually nudged Sydney out. Instead, she was asleep in Joel's attic. The house's old floorboards woke her up when the couple got to the second floor. She immediately opened her laptop to listen to them.

  "And their faces when you picked up the check," Sydney was saying. "As if they didn't expect you to."

  "Are you kidding me? Those drinks were cheap. A round for everybody here was like two drinks at the Rainbow Room."

  Lucy opened a window on her laptop and searched the Rainbow Room in New York. She gazed at the photos of the posh club. She wanted
to be there with him. She wanted Sydney gone so she could take her place, so she could be on his arm at fancy clubs and restaurants. It was only fair. Somehow it had to happen.

  There was some shuffling in the bedroom. Sydney's heavy heels clunked to the floor. Then she said simply, "Get this."

  The room was quiet for a minute and then Joel said, "Your hair is soft." He paused. "And smooth. I've always loved this hair." His voice was muffled as if his face were buried in her dark tresses.

  "Are you trying to seduce me?" she cooed.

  Then Lucy heard more shuffling. This turned into heavy breathing and a little bit of moaning. At first, she was disgusted. Her neck burned with jealousy. Then she remembered how recently she'd been in that bed. She smiled because Sydney had no idea. Sydney thought she was the only one to put her female stink on those sheets.

  Lucy listened intently to Joel and Sydney’s sounds of pleasure and quietly inserted her own.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  Lucy rushed past some locals on the sidewalk and into the shop. She was already over an hour late. Moon was taking inventory, a job she'd assigned to Lucy. Unfortunately, Joel and Sydney had slept in that morning and she hadn't been able to get out of the house. She knew she was stupid for not thinking of it before. But when Joel was involved, it was hard for her to think of anything else.

  "Sorry, Moon. I overslept."

  "It's okay," the older woman replied without looking up from her task. "Sometimes our bodies tell us we need more sleep." There was an unconvincing edge in her voice. She most certainly was irritated with her tardiness. But Moon wasn't one to break her peace-loving image. When she had her count, she excused herself curtly and went to the back room.

  Lucy pulled out her phone and leaned on the counter. She scrolled through her Facebook feed to see what was going on in other people's lives. She rarely posted on social media. She'd rather people think she was a private person than know she was an uninteresting one.

  She clicked on Joni's profile to see what she'd been up to. There were inspirational quotes over pretty stock photos. A week ago she'd mentioned meeting the love of her life but then never posted about him again. And there were several pictures of her and Leron and some friends one night at Shifty's.

  She missed them all. She missed being in the city and knowing she had exciting options even if she was never going to do any of them. Joni hadn't messaged her since right after she'd gotten to Spring Fork. She was sure they were all forgetting about her.

  Even worse, it was days before Lucy could sneak into the yellow house again. She'd been waiting at the edge of the property since not long after her shift ended. She had the next two days off from work and she wanted to make the most of them. Joel and Sydney finally left the house and headed for town. She was able to use her key and go back to her hideaway under the topmost rafters.

  The next morning Lucy was in dire straits. It was an emergency that couldn't be contained in the bucket she had to use as a toilet when Joel was home. She could hear the couple moving around in the kitchen, so she cautiously made her way to the second floor bathroom. Of course, flushing was out of the question. They'd no doubt hear it and come to investigate.

  When her business was finished, she crept in the direction of the attic door. A creak on the floorboards below signaled someone was coming. And then footsteps on the stairs. She quickly ducked into the guest bedroom on her left. She stood motionless behind the door until she heard the footsteps coming closer. She thought there was no reason for either of them to enter the guest bedroom until she spotted Sydney's suitcases on the other side of the room. They must have been put there to keep them out of the way. Lucy's worry turned to panic when she realized she was about to be caught. She tip-toed quickly to the empty closet and crouched inside, leaving the door ajar about a half inch. She buried her head between her knees and prayed silently that whoever was in that room wouldn't find her.

  The antique hinges squealed when the bedroom door was opened. The light footsteps on the carpet sounded like they probably belonged to Sydney. She pulled up the handle on her rolling case until it clicked. Then, for some reason, she walked toward the closet door. Lucy turned toward the door. The gap under the door was wide and she could see Sydney's bare feet just inches from it. Her toenails were flawlessly manicured. And her second toe on her right foot was disproportionately longer than all of her other toes. Lucy made a mental note of this and filed it in her brain under Sydney's Flaws. Yet she was still fully aware she was in grave danger of being caught in Joel Ruskin's guest closet by his meddling girlfriend with freakish feet.

  Suddenly Sydney's hand was on the closet door and she pushed it closed. The quick and loud movement startled Lucy who had been painfully anticipating the door going to other way. She covered her mouth when she let out a surprised screech. Luckily, Sydney didn't hear it and instead left the room with her suitcases in tow. Lucy heard the door latch when Sydney closed it behind her. Sydney crossed the hall to the master bedroom and then descended the stairs to rejoin Joel downstairs.

  On shaky hands and knees, she crawled out of the closet and sprawled out on the carpet. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to disaster. While lying there she heard voices through the large vent in the corner of the guest room. She pressed her ear to it and listened. She heard Sydney and Joel discussing their plans but couldn't hear them well. From what she could hear between them, she only knew Joel would stay in Spring Fork to work on the house while Sydney filmed on the West Coast. Lucy would have him all to herself.

  She finally made her way back to the attic. Shortly after she did, Sydney returned to the master bedroom to pack her suitcase. A few hours later, a car came to drive Sydney to the nearest tiny airport which would take her to Denver where she could fly first class to wherever she was going. She listened at the attic door while Joel and Sydney exchanged parting words. Their goodbyes weren't as heartfelt and passionate as they'd been in the past. It was as if they were getting a little bit tired of each other. Perhaps that was why Joel had decided to stay behind.

  When Sydney was gone, Joel seemed to move around the house like a truly free man. Music echoed through the first floor, floating up the stairs to where Lucy was still hanging out in the attic doorway. She crept out into the hallway to see if she could make out what he was doing down there. She stood at the top of the main stairs and listened. It was a risky thing to do, but she couldn't help herself. After all, luck had already been on her side once that day.

  Suddenly Joel appeared in the entryway at the bottom of the staircase. He stopped, a bowl of macaroni and cheese in his hand, danced to the upbeat tune for a minute, and shoveled a huge bite of the pasta into his mouth. She stood frozen. How had he not seen her? He only needed to glance up and he would see her there. Her breath became loud inside her body. The more she tried to be still the louder it got. She was afraid if she moved she would draw his attention. Instead she stayed there like a statue watching his lower half dance while his upper half ate. Finally, after probably a full minute, he kicked a foot backward, did a smooth spin, and then proceeded to the living room. She breathed a sigh of relief. She put her hand on her rapidly beating heart and slinked back to her attic hideaway.

  There wasn't anything she could do up there but wait. She didn't mind being trapped inside the house with him. She only wished she had been invited.

  After an hour or so she heard water running. She stepped quietly down the stairs to the door which she nudged open a little bit. The shower was running. Joel must have plans to go somewhere.

  Sure enough, not long after the water had been turned off, Joel whistled his way down the stairs and was out the door. She listened for his tires on the driveway. When she couldn't hear them anymore she emerged from her attic hideaway.

  The bathroom where he'd showered was still bathed in steam. It smelled of his shower products. It smelled amazing. The old tub shower had a slow drain. A little bit of water still sat at the bottom, waiting its turn to go down. She plu
gged the drain with the rubber stopper, essentially trapping Joel's essence in the tub. She turned on the faucet and began to fill it. Somehow there needed to be more of him in there. She picked his discarded boxers and t-shirt up from the floor and tossed them into the water. She tossed her own clothes outside the bathroom door.

  When the tub was half full she climbed in and submerged her body in Joel's old bath water. She let the faucet run as she reveled in the warmth of his watery touch. Who else could say they were as intimate with Joel Ruskin as she was? No one.

  Eventually the water began to rise too high. It was now cascading slightly over the sides of the tub. She pulled herself from it, sloshing water onto the hardwood floor. Her wet, naked body dripped everywhere as she stepped out and reached for a towel. Then she fished out Joel's clothes and dropped them onto the floor where they had been. Finally she turned off the water and pulled out the plug.

  "Joel, what the hell?" she shouted.

  There were pools of water everywhere. She didn't know much about wood floors or what affect the water would have, but she knew Joel wasn't going to be happy when he discovered this possible plumbing issue.

  "What?" He appeared behind her and looked over her shoulder at the mess.

  "What happened in here?" She folded her arms in front of her. She’d never known Joel to be a messy person, but she also hadn't known him for long. Maybe they’d gotten to the point in their relationship when his true colors were coming out.

  "You think I did this?" He stepped past her and surveyed the damage. Then he peered into the tub and shook his head. "It's not draining. It wasn't like that when I got out of the shower." He stuck his head closer to the faucet. "It must have a leak."

  "How could it leak that much that fast? And what about the floor?"