Page 35 of Dumbstruck
“You’re right. I’ve always found you the most captivating woman I’ve ever known.”
“Well,” a feminine voice says behind me, “aren’t you two the cutest?”
This is why we’re here—to talk to people in town—but I’m still annoyed by the interruption. I take my time turning, using my whole torso rather than my neck so I come across as stiff and inflexible. “Why, thank you,” I say, flashing a smile at the middle-aged woman sitting behind me. “My wife brings all the cute. I’m just a bonus.”
Snickering, the woman looks at June, but only for a moment. That’s good; the less chance there is of June being recognized, the better. “Are you two new in town?”
“Passing through. We’re driving across the country as a last hurrah before I die.”
“Will you stop saying that?” June says, and a rush of delight passes through me knowing she’s playing along. “You are perfectly healthy, Martin.”
I wink at her before turning back to our neighbor. “She keeps me young.”
The womanawwsand pats my shoulder. “Hopefully you live for a long time yet. What made you stop in our little town?”
She couldn’t have set me up better if she’d tried. “Oh,” I say, tugging on my ear, “we had a bit of electrical trouble last night, and we found that nice RV park on the edge of town.”
The woman frowns, confused, but I can see when she realizes what I mean because her gaze turns stormy. “Oh, that’s not an RV park. It’s a movie company.”
“Movie?” June asks, her voice full of curiosity. “How exciting!”
“Maybe for some people. For most of us it’s an inconvenience. They’ve kind of taken over Laketown.”
We really haven’t, and everyone has done their best to stay out of the way as much as possible. Plus, the town is getting a whole lot of money for letting us film here. Since I can’t say that, I offer a frown of commiseration. “That must be frustrating. Everyone we talked to this morning was very nice.”
“Actors are good at pretending,” the woman grumbles. “So while at any other time I would recommend spending some time in Laketown, it’s better if you steer clear and come back another day.”
I nod, pretending to take her advice to heart. “We can do that once we figure out what’s wrong with our rig. Is there a good electrician in town? I did some electrical work back in the day, but I’m afraid this old noggin doesn’t remember things as well as it used to.” I tap my head and smile.
She nods and grabs a napkin and pen. “You’ll want to talk to Glen Davis. He is a magician with electrical.”
As our neighbor writes down the information we need, I raise an eyebrow at June, who narrows her eyes. She seems to agree that Glen sounds like the kind of person who could tamper with a mechanical lift and strand our lead actress in the air. I didn’t pay enough attention to her notes at breakfast, but I’m going to guess Glen’s name is on the list of suspects.
Taking the napkin, I stretch my hand over the booth bench and shake the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much, Miss…”
“I’m Stacy. Hopefully Glen can get you all fixed up, and then maybe we’ll see you in Laketown another time?”
“Absolutely,” June says emphatically.
Stacy gathers her things and leaves right as Karina returns with our hot chocolates. “You two ready to order?” the server asks brightly.
I’m ready to talk to Glen and figure out if he put Bonnie in danger, but I smile and order a chicken fried steak. This is a slow game we’re playing, and I remind myself that the longer it takes to find the truth, the more time I get to spend with June. I should enjoy this while I can.
June orders a BLT, and when Karina asks if she wants a side salad or fries, I can practically see her gears churning as she debates her options, glancing at me as she does.
“She wants the fries,” I say, biting back a smile. “My Maggie likes to pretend she doesn’t enjoy potatoes more than anything.”
Though June narrows her eyes slightly, her shoulders dip in what I’m hoping is relief. “Yes,” she says, handing her menu to Karina. “The fries would be lovely.”
“You got it.” Karina winks at me as she takes my menu, and then she heads for the kitchen.
The instant we’re alone, June shakes her head at me and mouths, “Jonah James.”
I take a sip of my hot chocolate to hide my smirk. “I’ve always admired the way you eat like you’re human, my dear.”
And I do admire that. Hollywood is full of women who focus more on their appearance than living life to its fullest. Most of the time it isn’t their fault—society forces them into a level of perfection few people can achieve without sacrificing things they shouldn’t have to—but I think that’s one of the reasons I’m so drawn to June. She’s outside of my world where appearance is everything.
She seems like the kind of person who cares about who a person is more than what he looks like. I already know she finds me physically attractive, but I’m still curious about her opinion of the rest of me.
