August 27, 2010 @ 6:17 am | Filed under: Books,The Writing Life
MELROSE MIRACLE
by Staci Wilder
Chapter Eleven
Luke sat on the worn leather sofa in his apartment and stared at the clock on the wall. Eight-fifteen. He sighed and leaned forward, rubbing his hands on the thighs of his jeans. The contestants should know by now which of them had made it to the next round.
Ella should know by now.
The thought of Ella leaving LA before he really even had a chance to get to know her did something funny to Luke’s stomach. It was crazy, really. This wasn’t his style, mooning over some lady he barely knew. Heck, he didn’t even moon over the ones he did know. This was new territory for him, a space he hadn’t explored since…
Well, since Tessa.
The thought of Tessa Shepherd made the hairs on his arm stand on end. He’d once loved her fiercely. Was prepared to give her the moon, had she asked for it. He had, in fact, given her something far more precious. His heart. And she had stomped on it so hard that Luke wouldn’t have experienced more pain if she’d walked on his bare chest in a pair of her four-inch stilettos.
Of course, he hadn’t been without blame. Leaving his mid-west values behind in Indiana, he’d reached out and grabbed all he could hold when he first arrived in Los Angeles six years ago. Late nights, wild parties, and pretty women—all were available for the taking.
But then he’d met Tessa and had felt like he had at last come home. At last he’d felt free to shed the glitz of Tinsel Town and bare his heart and soul to someone who shared his passions and his morals. Only Tessa hadn’t been that person. One mention of his hometown values and she’d started deleting herself from his life, one pair of shoes at a time.
But this wasn’t fair, his drumming up past hurt at the hand of Tessa. It wasn’t fair to Ella, and it wasn’t fair to him. The two women couldn’t be more different from one another. Tessa had been self-centered, more focused on her own career and needs than anything else.
Ella had a child that came first. A little girl. He knew this from the initial bios that Kurt had shared during their cross-country trek. He knew this competition meant far more to her than she let on. Maybe that’s why he felt such an unexplainable tenderness toward her, almost a protectiveness. Her motives were noble, at least he thought they were.
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time he’d been wrong about a woman.
Luke paced the length of the small living room. Then he sat some more. Then he did a few jumping jacks. By the time he’d stretched on the floor to do a set of sit-ups, he realized that only one thing would really soothe his uncertain emotions. He sat up and reached for the Bible on the coffee table. Scooting around, he leaned his back against the sofa and flipped through the soft, worn pages until he found it. Psalm 1.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Luke read the verses again, then dropped his head forward, resting his forehead on his knees. How many times had this set of scriptures spoke comfort to his questioning mind and bruised spirit? Too many to count, he knew that.
He’d learned an important lesson the hardest way possible—through experience. His mother had always been fond of saying that pain was her best teacher. She’d been right. After his breakup with Tessa, his enraptured view of Hollywood and all it had to offer began to dim. It was as though he’d had blinders covering his eyes and at last they were stripped away and he could see again.
Where once he’d seen only the glitz and glamour of a city known for indulgence, he now knew it for what it really was. Just another city. Large, wealthy, and full of super stars. Yeah, maybe so. But what Luke now knew was that even superstars with mega-hit movies were just regular folk. At the end of the day, they brushed their teeth and went to bed, much the same as he did.
Only Luke could now lay his head on his pillow with a peace in his heart.
He’d never risk that peace again. Not for a job. Not for LA.
Not for a woman.
That’s why he had to make a move, one way or another. If Ella was as real as he felt she was, then he didn’t want to let an opportunity to know her better pass him by. But he’d need strength if she turned out to be in search of only what the Hollywood scene could provide for her.
The strength to simply walk away.
“Lord,” Luke mumbled the prayer out loud. “You know I want your will. Guide my footsteps. Direct my words. Let me follow wherever you lead me. Even if it’s not what my heart wants to hear.”
By the time the clock on the wall read eight-forty-five, Luke had showered, changed into a fresh pair of pants and shirt, and was locking his front door. He knew Kurt would call him crazy and most of his other friends would think he’d flipped out. But he had to know if Ella was staying in LA.
He had to know tonight.
*****
Ella went with the others to the corner ice-cream shop. Over milkshakes and banana splits, they celebrated surviving the first round of eliminations. Ella felt her place in the group was shaky, at best. She’d have to find a way to give the judges what they were asking for. But as she sat and nibbled on her waffle cone, she had no idea how to do that.
Everyone else felt good, she could tell. Torrie talked nonstop, barely giving anyone else time to get a word in edgewise before jumping to a new topic altogether. Even Patty had agreed to join them and, while she wasn’t really participating in the conversation much, she did nod in agreement and give a furtive smile from time to time. Ella was more convinced than ever that Patty just needed a friend. She purposed to try harder to be that person for Patty.
“Hey, Cowboy,” Henry tossed a wadded straw wrapper Ben’s way. “There are two men in jeans and Stetsons in the kitchen. Which one is the real cowboy?”
“Oh, no, here we go again.” Deidra threw up her hands.
Ella grinned as Ben turned a pretty shade of pink.
“Dunno.” He shrugged. “Which one?”
“The one on the range.” Henry howled, slapping his palms on the table. “Get it? Range? Like, home on the range?”
“WE GET IT, DUDE.”
Ella cringed at Deidra’s hateful tone. Henry’s jokes did tend to wear a little thin, particularly after fifteen of them and a very long day in the studio. But you certainly couldn’t fault the guy for trying to keep things light and humorous. Ella appreciated that, even if she could have done without the corny one-liners.
“On that note, I think I’ll head back to the hotel.” Dirk pulled his ball cap on and stood up. “Anyone want to walk with me?”
Ella held up her hand. “Me. I need to get back to the room and call home anyway.”
“Hey, it’s still early yet.” Torrie’s pretty mouth turned down in a mock pout. “You two are party poopers.”
“That’s us.” Dirk grinned and tapped Torrie’s shoulder. “But this is one party pooper who will have had his eight hours of beauty sleep and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for tomorrow’s challenge.”
No one had an argument—pretend or otherwise—so Dirk and Ella waved their good-byes and walked the two blocks to the Radisson. Ella bid Dirk a good-night as he turned the corner in the lobby, headed for his first floor room. Ella started for the elevator when she heard her name.
She spun around, shocked to see Luke Abney standing in the lobby. Ella started toward him, then glanced around. “What—what are you doing here?”
He moved closer, and in that one motion she noticed several details. Details that made her heart rate pick up and the now familiar flush to creep up her neck. Things like the neat line in his khakis. The way his button-down shirt hung untucked. The fact that he wore flip-flops and she could see his feet. Silly details that she’d never admit to another human being. But details that caused her heart to flutter in a way she’d never expected to feel again.
“I came to see you.” He stood in front of her now—no more than a foot away—looking down at her with such frank honesty in his blue eyes that it almost took her breath away. “I wanted to make sure that you…that you weren’t…”
Ella nodded. “I get it. You wanted to make sure I wasn’t the one eliminated, right?”
His grin was sheepish, but she loved it. Loved that he wanted to check on her. Loved that he was standing here, close enough for her to reach out and touch.
“Yeah, something like that.” He stared down at her and his grin widened.
“What?” Ella felt self-conscious beneath his gaze. She reached up to wipe at her mouth. “Do I have something on my face?”
Luke shook his head and stepped even closer. With one hand, he reached out and fingered a curl that hung over her shoulder. “You’ve got your hair down,” he whispered huskily.
Ella’s heart skipped a little beat. She couldn’t have taken her eyes off of Luke Abney right then if a gun had been held to her head. Nor did she want to.
“I like it like this.” He let go of the curl and it jumped back into place. “You know, curly, free. It’s you.”
Ella finally found both her breath and her voice and she laughed out loud. “Easy for you to say, mister! I’d like to see you try to tame these curls at six o’clock every morning. It’s not easy, let me tell you.”
Luke laughed and shook his head. “I’m sure it’s not.” He glanced around the lobby, still littered with groups of people. “Hey, do you want to sit for a while? Just talk?”
Ella hesitated, thinking of the phone call home she needed to make and of the early morning wakeup call she’d requested. Then she looked into Luke’s blue eyes again and knew there was only one answer to his question.
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