Page 21 of July Skies
Could things get any worse?
That’s what Dahlia stewed over as she holed herself up in Waterlily House. She sent Wayne and Kurt out to finish some filming odds and ends, but she was quickly reaching the turning point where she had to choose the final direction of this documentary. She needed morecontent.More interviews. A proper narrative. A deciding factor that would cement this currently untitled saga as a consideration for many distributors.
Except I have no idea what to do. I’m too pissed off to think about it.
That hour in the mayor’s office had been more than brutal. It had been utterly humiliating. How could Karen know so much about Dahlia’s past? About her home situation? Wayne must have told her. That’s why Dahlia refused to talk to her cameraman outside of relaying orders.My head is too full of crap for me to properly work on this damned movie.It was supposed to be easy! Drop in for a month, film a bunch of people going about their lives, and construct a story that the audience would find so utterly relatable that they flocked to Paradise Valley and made the locals happy with tourist dollars. How could she screw it up?
Because these people are more than they seem.
Because Dahlia Granger was more than she let on.
That became more apparent when the owner and operator of Waterlily House returned from her honeymoon that weekend. Dahlia had only spoken to Sunny Croker over the phone and email, but even with that limited information, she was not prepared to see the woman who showed up in the kitchen early Monday morning.
“Ah, can I help you?” After another restless night attempting to sleep, Dahlia wasn’t sure if she recognized the petite woman opening cupboards, testing appliances, and wiping up grime wherever she found it. This wasn’t Leigh Ann. Nor was it Anita, who came by once or twice a day to make sure the crew had everything they needed and nothing was amiss. The woman standing in the kitchen had short, blond hair, a pink and white plaid button-up, and skinny jeans that dipped into a pair of well-worn ankle boots. The plaid was rolled up to the elbows while the woman turned the kitchen sink on and off, rewetting towels and washing her hands when she thought nobody was looking.
Dahlia’s words summoned her to turn around, however. A bright, charming smile greeted Dahlia on that bright Monday morning.I’m awake now…How did Dahlia’s hair look? Was it as tangled as it usually was after tossing and turning all night? Because the guys were used to her haggard old-maid look. Not so much lovely young ladies who traipsed about a B&B.
“Hi! You must be Dahlia!” A wet hand extended for a shake. “It’s me, Sunny. Sorry about being gone for so long. Bet you run this place now!” She realized her hand was wet and retracted it to grab a towel off the oven. “Good to see that Anita and Leigh Ann kept the place up to snuff. I really hope they were able to help you all right while I was gone.”
“Oh, no worries…” Dahlia’s mouth was so dry she grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with tap water.Weird. I don’t usually get cotton mouth unless I’m snoring, and I would have a sore throat to go with it.“We’ve been so busy that the sewer line could burst and we wouldn’t notice.” Awkward laughter followed that more awkward sentiment. Sunny put her hands on her hips, a little diamond ring glistening on her left hand. “Congratulations on your wedding, by the way. I hope the honeymoon was good. Go anywhere nice?”
“Oh, yeah. We went to SoCal for about a week. The beaches are absolutely lovely this time of year.”
“Beaches, huh?”
“We both bought bikinis for the event. It was my firstevertime wearing a bikini out in such a public place!” Sunny was all grins until she saw the shock growing on Dahlia’s face. “Oh, you don’t wanna hear about that, huh?”
It wasn’t that Dahlia didn’twantto hear about it. More like she couldn’t handle the thought of this lovely little lady prancing about on a beach in a sexy bikini.The hell is wrong with me? Since when do I think about women in bikinis?The anxiety crept up on her like she was caught slobbering after girls in school uniforms. Yet Sunny couldn’t bethatmuch younger than her. She was deceptively in her late thirties, and the only reason Dahlia knew that was because Sunny mentioned in an email that she got an NES when they first came out.
“Is your wife around?”
“Who, Brandy? Nah. She has a house in town. We’ll be splitting our time between here and there. This week, I plan on being around. I live in the mother-in-law unit out back. I’ve got a lot to catch up on here, anyway. That vacation was pretty refreshing! Also, have some new people coming to stay in the other room in a couple of days I need to prep for. Sorry, you guys don’t get the place all to yourselves anymore.” Sunny’s laughter was like wind chimes tinkling on the porch.
“That’s all right. We’re pretty settled in now. Although if you need us to clean anything up, simply let us know. I’m afraid one of our crew is currently in the hospital, though. He had an autoimmune flare up.”
“Oh, that’s awful! My wife is the town doctor. I’m sure she could help should anything else come up, now that she’s back in town.”
That would’ve been helpful a few days ago, but it wouldn’t stop Aaron from needing the hospital.“Thanks.” Should Dahlia leave it there? If she said anything else, she might make Sunny uncomfortable. Not that it ever stopped Dahlia from talking off anybody’s ear. She usually didn’t care what people thought of her. Not until that weekend. Not until Karen called her out for being biased, and not until she looked Sunny in the eyes and realized…
Holy hell. She wasattractedto her. That’s why she had the cotton mouth, and why she couldn’t get her words to come out the way she intended. Dahlia was like the young middle school wallflower hanging out by the cheerleaders’ lockers, wondering what she should say to get their positive attentions.You’ve gotta be kidding me. I’ve never been attracted to a woman in my life!
Hadn’t she been, though? Couldn’t someone point to another local in town that made her heart thump like it was breaking out of prison? A local who wasn’t afraid to call out her bullshit and put her in her place as an outsider?
Someone fiercely protective of the people she loved? Someone who stood with confidence and walked with grace?
“Are you all right?” Sunny asked her.
Before Dahlia could throw up, she had to respond to her ringing cell phone in the other room. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to leave her valuables in the common rooms like she did now. Not with strangers coming to stay at Waterlily House. Until then, however, she left her phone wherever the hell she felt like it.
One thing about that? Made it easy to find when it started ringing a few feet away.
Sunny went about her business while Dahlia answered her phone. The number was local. Either the bots were that good, or it was one of her interviewees following up for more.
“Hello? Is this Ms. Dahlia Granger?” The young voice on the other end of the line surprised Dahlia, who had not been anticipating a teenager’s tone. “My name’s Christina Rath. I’m the mayor’s daughter.”
Dahlia wiped the nervous sweat from her head. “What can I do for you, Christina?”
“I want to do an interview with you. I’m only seventeen, but maybe we can do it off the record? I think you need the perspective of a teen girl who knows what it’s like to be the mayor’s daughter.”
