Family Secrets Read online

  Family Secrets

  By Leigh Michaels

  PBL Limited

  www.pbllimited.com

  Copyright 1994, 2010 by

  Leigh Michaels

  all rights reserved

  ISBN 9781892689825

  CHAPTER ONE

  The waitress must have seen her coming across the lobby, for a steaming cup of coffee was already waiting on her favorite table when Amanda Bailey pushed open the glass door of the little restaurant. “Thanks, Kathy,” she called to the gray-haired woman in the pink uniform who was refilling cups for customers at the long counter.

  “You look as if you need it,” the waitress said cheerfully.

  Amanda nodded. “The whole place is a madhouse today.”

  “So what’s new?” Kathy’s voice was dry. “This has been building up for two weeks. If I’d known movie-making was so exciting, I’d have taken the whole month off and gone to Minnesota where it’s quiet.”

  Amanda knew better. Kathy wouldn’t have missed this for the world. It wasn’t every day that a movie was filmed in a small town like Springhill, and even though this wasn’t a big production, just a made-for-television film, the whole town was at fever pitch.

  Of course, Amanda thought, since most of the townspeople weren’t directly involved, they would get to have all the fun of watching, with none of the work which went with it. But Kathy was right about one thing. After the last few weeks, with advance people and crew arriving and getting ready for shooting to start, Amanda should be used to the ceaseless bustle around the inn.

  Of course, it was wonderful to be so busy. The inn’s fifty guest rooms were booked solid for the next thirty days, or until the cameras stopped rolling, the final set was dismantled, and the last crew member left town.

  And if we all survive the confusion, Amanda thought, then we can celebrate.

  She stirred sugar into her coffee and looked through the glass wall of the coffee shop to survey the inn’s lobby. She had never seen so much commotion in the place before. A clump of people were waiting impatiently for the elevator, and nearby another small group was arguing – she couldn’t hear what the problem was, but the body language was obvious. The walnut-paneled room, usually quaint and quiet and cozy, looked like a kaleidoscope today, full of ever-shifting colors and patterns as people hurried through. Hollywood types, the doorman had called them, with their exotic clothes and fashionable haircuts – until Amanda pointed out that he made the label sound a bit derogatory.

  A slender young woman with auburn hair came through the front door and paused by the registration desk to look around the lobby. She saw Amanda and waved, but continued to survey the room for another couple of minutes. Finally, however, she came into the coffee shop and dropped into the chair across from Amanda’s with careless grace. “I’m supposed to be meeting the locations manager,” she said. “He’s still short one house and we’re going to look at a rental I’ve got listed.”

  “He’s still looking for sets? Stephanie, they start filming tomorrow.”

  Stephanie Kendall rolled her eyes heavenward. “I know. It’s one of the great joys of being in real estate. If the rental doesn’t work, we’ll look until we find what he wants – or drop from exhaustion. Fortunately, this particular location isn’t in the shooting schedule for a couple of weeks.”

  “I heard they’re using your house for one of the sets.”

  “Yes. And you won’t believe what they’re doing to it. Thanks, Kathy.” She took a long drink of the iced tea the waitress had set in front of her.

  Amanda frowned. “You wouldn’t let them hurt that gorgeous house?”

  “Oh, no. They agreed not to touch the structure, and as for the wallpaper...” She shrugged. “I was going to have to replace it all anyway, after Zack got loose with the black crayon.”

  Amanda winced. Stephanie’s son Zack was a darling three-year-old, but even his fans had to admit he had more energy than two average toddlers.

  “The best thing about the whole deal,” Stephanie went on, “is that the garden has never been in such beautiful shape. I hate to think what it cost the production company to manicure it like that. If only I had a full-time landscaper...”

  “What are you going to do while they’re shooting?”

  “Go up to the lake house, of course. I’ve locked up all the crayons I could find, but with Zack it doesn’t pay to take chances. It’ll only take a week to finish the scenes in the house, so I’ll drive in every day.”

  “If you need someone to watch the kids, Steph– ”

  “In the middle of this, you’d take on Zack and Katie? You need your head examined, my friend– you’ve got your hands full running the inn. Is Chase here yet?”

  Amanda checked her wristwatch. “Any minute now. The limo left for the airport an hour ago, so if the plane was on time...”

  Stephanie shook her head. “How can you stay calm when every other woman in town is so excited she can’t sit still?”

  “Oh, I’m excited. It’s a terrific boost for the local economy to have a whole production company here for a month, and the inn’s profit-and-loss statement ought to look a whole lot better after– ”

  “Come on, Mandy, I’m not talking about money and you know it. Chase Worthington is the sexiest man on American TV, and you’re going to spend the next month under the same roof with him. Now that’s got to make an impression on you.”

  Amanda bit her lip and then said reasonably, “You might remember that the roof in question is a pretty big one. It’s hardly the same as getting stranded with him on a deserted island.”

  “Oh? That sounded rather glib, Mandy. Don’t tell me you’ve been thinking about it after all.”

  “Of course I haven’t. Anyway, I never have quite understood how someone can have a crush on a person she’s never met.”

  Stephanie looked puzzled for an instant. “Oh, that’s right, you were still in college when he was here filming Winter of the Heart a few years ago. Those of us who did meet him feel terribly possessive, since he’s the only genuine celebrity we have any personal connection with. Not that he’ll remember, of course – most of us just lined up for autographs.... By the way, Jordan’s got a new production manager working for him.” Stephanie’s careless tone didn’t fool Amanda for a moment. “He seems very nice. I thought we’d go out for dinner, the four of us, sometime soon.”

  “After the movie’s finished, perhaps. Till then I’m really too busy.”

  Stephanie’s eyebrows rose. “And after the cast leaves town, what will the excuse be?”

  Kathy called from the cash register, “Amanda, I’m running out of change.” She waved a ten-dollar bill. “Could you get me a roll of quarters from the front desk?”

  Relieved at the interruption, Amanda carried her empty coffee cup over to the counter and took the bill.

  Stephanie followed her into the lobby. “I wonder what happened to my appointment,” she muttered.

  A bustle outside the main entrance drew Amanda’s attention. The doorman, in his neat dark gray coat, held the door of the inn’s limousine, which had pulled up under the canopy. The chauffeur and a bellboy were lifting bags from the back.

  Springhill didn’t get a lot of celebrities, of course, but over the years a sprinkling of the rich and famous had come to town. Chase Worthington would simply be one more on the list, Amanda reminded herself, and took a deep breath.

  He got out of the car, tall and lean, dressed in jeans and sunglasses and a loose-knit cotton sweater with the sleeves pushed up to reveal strong forearms. As he stepped onto the sidewalk, the sunlight caught in his hair, momentarily turning the soft brown strands to pure spun gold. He turned toward the door and paused.

  The sexiest man on American TV, St
ephanie had called him, and Amanda had no difficulty in seeing why she’d said it. There was something about the man which exuded power and virility and sheer raw animal attraction.

  And yet there was nothing theatrical about him. He was not posing; Amanda was certain of that. He looked almost as if he had seen something he hadn’t expected.

  Amanda felt as if a vise had closed on her chest. It was an effort to breathe, as if every molecule of oxygen had to make right-angle turns to get to her lungs.

  Don’t be silly, she told herself. He was merely pausing to get his bearings, or waiting for his co-star to get out of the car, or thinking about how much his life had changed since the last time he had come to Springhill to make a movie. There was certainly nothing physical for him to look at; compared to the brilliance outdoors, the lobby was dark. With the sunglasses he wore, he couldn’t possibly see anything but shadows inside.

  “Good heavens,” Stephanie muttered. “He’s even better-looking than I remember.”

  Amanda started to shake her head, and caught herself just in time. She had almost said that Chase Worthington’s attractiveness didn’t lie in his handsome face – or at least it wasn’t purely that. It had to be more than looks; she’d been prepared for that, for she’d seen his face often enough on his weekly television drama and on magazine covers. What she hadn’t expected was the personal impact of the man – that was what had almost rocked her off her feet.

  He had a kind of aura which seemed to give off warmth – but not the comforting kind of heat that a bonfire might produce. His was the concentrated, controlled flame of a furnace which might at any moment explode out of control and consume everything in its path...

  No wonder, Amanda thought, that Springhill’s feminine residents had been streaming steadily through the inn’s lobby all afternoon, hoping to get a glimpse.

  A woman, her face shaded by a gigantic wide-brimmed hat, stepped out of the car. Jessamyn Arden, the female lead, clutched Chase’s arm as if she were about to lose her balance and put the other hand up, apparently to shield her eyes from photographic flashes. Since there were no photographers, Amanda decided the gesture must be a reflex action.

  Stephanie gave a genteel little sniff. “Jessamyn must think she’s already on camera,” she murmured.

  Amanda smiled a little, but her mouth felt stiff. She stepped forward and was waiting by the door when the pair came in.

  Chase pulled his sunglasses off. His gaze raked the lobby and paused for a second to study Stephanie.

  That wasn’t startling, of course. The redhead was genuinely gorgeous, and Chase was known as a connoisseur. Despite what Stephanie had said, he might remember her face.

  But Amanda was equally unsurprised when he didn’t seem to notice her at all. Her flaxen hair and green eyes and ivory skin were attractive in a quiet way, but beside Stephanie’s dramatic coloring, she seemed to fade into the walls.

  She took another step toward the pair. “Welcome to Springhill, Miss Arden.” Her voice was lower than usual, with a hint of huskiness. “And Mr. Worthington. I’m the manager of the inn, and if you need anything, I hope you’ll –”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw that another woman had gotten out of the limousine. A younger woman, she thought, though she was certain Jessamyn Arden wouldn’t care for that particular comparison. She was no competition for Jessamyn in looks, however; her makeup was heavier and not as expertly applied, and her clothes looked rumpled. She was carrying a leather tote bag.

  A personal assistant, perhaps? She probably should have anticipated that Chase, or Jessamyn, would have something of the sort. Where on earth was she going to find another room?

  Of course, Chase Worthington had requested a suite with at least two bedrooms. Did that mean this young woman was something more?

  The woman started toward the entrance, and a moment later a child clambered out of the car and followed her. Amanda’s eyes widened as she watched the little boy cross the sidewalk. He had curly dark brown hair, and he was dressed in crumpled white shorts and a soft blue shirt. He would have been a handsome child, she thought, if he hadn’t been crying. But his face was blotchy and tear-streaked and more than a little dirty.

  “So that’s the famous Nicky,” Stephanie said, under her breath. “He must be what? – four years old now?”

  Chase Worthington nodded. “Just last June.” He frowned a little. “I know I ought to remember you, but –”

  Stephanie smiled and introduced herself. Amanda wasn’t listening; she was still watching the child. He stumbled as he followed the young woman into the lobby, and stopped to rub his eyes. His breathy sobs – the whimper of a frustrated and exhausted child – filled the room.

  Amanda’s heart gave a slow and painful twist. She hated to see a child so unhappy... but of course she knew nothing about the circumstances. Still, it took an effort to drag her gaze away from him and turn back to the adults. “As I was saying, if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable – ”

  The child sidled up to Chase Worthington and buried his face in the ribbed bottom of the man’s soft cotton sweater. Chase’s hand came to rest atop the child’s hair, stroking the disordered curls. “There is, as a matter of fact,” he said, and smiled at Amanda. The deep brown of his eyes seemed to light with a golden glow. “Is there a gift shop? Something which might have a teddy bear? Nicky seems to have left his favorite in the Los Angeles airport, and we’ve been hearing about it all the way.”

  Jessamyn Arden gave a sniff, as if annoyed that she wasn’t the center of attention. “And how,” she said under her breath.

  Chase glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

  Jessamyn fluttered her eyelashes apologetically at him and turned to the young woman. “If you’d been watching him properly, Sally, as a nanny ought...”

  “He must have hidden the stupid thing on purpose,” the younger woman muttered. “And what you know about being a nanny would fit in a teaspoon, so –”

  Reminded of his loss, the child started to wail again, and in seconds his face screwed up into a red mask. Amanda noticed, however, that he didn’t close his eyes completely. His face was no longer buried in his father’s sweater, and he seemed to be assessing his impact on the audience.

  “That’s enough, Nicholas,” Chase Worthington said unemotionally.

  The shrieks died into whimpers once more.

  Quite a professional performance, Amanda thought. “The gift shop is around that corner,” she said, and pointed.

  Chase lifted the child into his arms. “Thank you, Miss –”

  “Bailey,” she said, almost unwillingly. “Amanda Bailey.”

  He repeated it, softly, and smiled at her again. “Come along, now, Nicky. We’ll see if we can find a replacement.”

  “No wonder he doesn’t take care of his things,” the nanny said under her breath. “When there’s always another one...”

  The woman might well be right, Amanda thought. As his nanny, she was obviously in a better position to judge than a hotel manager was. On the other hand, the child was only four...

  She realized that the desk clerk was practically paralyzed with awe, so she reached for the guest book and spun it around for Jessamyn Arden to sign. “Take Miss Arden up to suite sixty-three,” she told the bellman, and the clerk jumped for the key and handed it over.

  Jessamyn signed her name with a flourish. “A dinky place like this has sixty-three suites?” she said.

  “Not quite,” Amanda said pleasantly. One problem down, she thought as Jessamyn followed the bellman across the lobby. But what was she to do with Chase Worthington’s son and his nanny? She couldn’t simply assume he’d intended them to share his suite, but since he hadn’t made other arrangements...

  She wasn’t aware she was still holding the coffee shop’s ten-dollar bill until Stephanie took it out of her hand and passed it to the desk clerk. “I’ll take care of getting Kathy’s change,” she said briskly. “Obviously you’re overwhelmed
by work, Mandy. Or something like that.”

  Amanda bit her tongue, hard.

  Chase came back to the lobby. Behind him trailed Nicky, dragging a lop-eared stuffed rabbit. It looked brand-new, and it obviously wouldn’t look that way for long. The child’s face still held a trace of sullen stubbornness, as if he’d accepted the animal only grudgingly. But Chase seemed contented; he was dusting his hands together with satisfaction as he approached the desk.

  “Mr. Worthington will be in suite sixty-seven,” Amanda told the desk clerk, and turned to Chase. “I didn’t realize you were bringing an entourage, so I’m afraid –”

  Two small wrinkles appeared in his brow. “I asked for a large suite.”