CHAPTER TWO
Aprimal scream escapedher as she spun around, fists cocked to swing. The young girls screamed in unison as Roberta advanced toward them.
“What are you doing in my house?” Roberta demanded, ready for a fight. “And how did you get in here?”
Two girls cowered and began to sob while a third retreated against the far wall. The fourth spoke up. “We, uh, are waiting for Taylor. We’re hoping to surprise him.” Her eyes dropped to the floor, her lower lip trembling like she was going to cry. “W-we climbed in through the bathroom window.”
She closed her eyes as she remembered the window she had opened to let shower steam out this morning and had forgotten to close. Roberta’s gaze widened, noticing the pile of gifts, posters, and fan paraphernalia. Sensing no threat, Roberta dropped her fists. A sense of pity flooded her. These poor kids had entered her house somehow thinking it was Taylor Reyd’s new home away from his Los Angeles home. “Sorry, kids. Wrong house. Gather your stuff and leave before I call the police,” Roberta said, her anger rising again.Is this what I’m going to have to put up with for the next three months? Fans breaking into my house, the invasions of privacy, and running the noisy gauntlet at the roadblock just to get home? Why did the last few weeks of total peace and quiet have to end?
Closing her eyes, she muttered, “The incentive. Focus on the incentive.” If she stayed through the end of her contract, she’d receive an additional five thousand dollars. Getting it would mean she wouldn’t need to take another temp gig for an extra month or two. Exhaling heavily, she muttered again, “Suck it up.” To keep her plans on track, she would have to deal with the inconvenience of living next to Taylor.
The girls collected their autograph books, posters, and a bag of presents and headed for the door. “Thanks for being so nice,” said the taller of the girls as she opened the door to leave.
“Head straight for the roadblock, girls. Do not stop over at the other house,” Roberta advised, hearing the venom in her own voice. Although her advice was not needed. As soon as the four girls appeared in her driveway, two guards approached from next door.
Roberta considered going out to help the girls, but she overheard the guards offer them a ride to the roadblock in Taylor’s Escalade. The entourage was hustled into the vehicle and driven back to the roadblock in minutes. At least the guards didn’t call the police, blowing the situation out of proportion and making a bigger disturbance. For that, Roberta was grateful, but the sourness in the pit of her stomach told her this was only the beginning.
Once everyone had cleared out, Roberta let the dogs out and fed them before her daily half-hour of yoga while keeping an ear open for noises next door. Searching the news apps on her phone, she didn’t find any mention of Taylor. She grabbed a bowl of cereal after switching on the local television channel on Roku hoping for some mention of him. She caught a segment about her new neighbor on KDKA-TV. The reporter stood among the mass of girls at the police barricade, bright lights illuminating a tired, wide-eyed bunch waiting for something to happen.
“Taylor Reyd began shooting his latest blockbuster film today, the sequel to his Oscar-nominatedStarkless Bounty. Not much is known about the plot of this sequel but based on the race cars, motorcycles, ATVs, and speedboats brought in for filming, it should be action-packed.”
A feeling of déjà vu crept down Roberta’s spine as the image cut to a filmed clip showing a red Corvette passing through the throng of women on the street at the barricaded area, a large male hand sticking out the window waving to the screaming and crying throng. The uproar continued as the red tail lights of the vehicle disappeared around the bend in the road. The scene cut back to the reporter live at the barricades.
“During filming, Taylor Reyd is staying at a rented house on Burgess Lane. As you can see, the area is cordoned off and barricaded by police to keep the area safe and quiet. No one is being allowed into the area without written authorization. It doesn’t stop the hundreds of girls who wait here at the barricade to see his chauffeur-driven vehicle pass by. Filming is expected to last until the middle of October. Back to you in the studio, Gloria.”
Images of Taylor with a gorgeous blonde woman filled the screen. A close-up revealed his famous sultry teal blue eyes under dark, thick eyebrows and a scruffy jawline in need of a shave. His mouth was pleasantly wide with thick lips.Perfect for kissing, Roberta thought before the news anchor’s image returned. Roberta switched the television off. How long would the mob last? Would they continue to do this until October, when he left? Most of them were school-age girls. When classes started in September, surely, they would disappear during school hours. A shudder ran through her as she thought of dealing with this for the duration of her time here.
Turning on her heels, Roberta brushed her thoughts aside and resumed her routine. The mixed-breed dogs followed her up the stairs to the second-floor guest bedroom she used as an office. They settled on the pewter gray carpet while she flopped down at the desk and fired up her computer. The desk sat perpendicular to the double windows, which provided the only natural light in the tiny room. From her desk, she could look out on her neighbor, the grassy lawn, and the two driveways between the houses. A quivering in her abdomen foretold of her own growing excitement for the celebrity next door. She noticed only one Escalade and the Corvette still parked in the driveway in the fading light.
As she stared, a light turned on in the opposite upstairs window. A broad-shouldered figure stood motionless, silhouetted in the panes, looking back at her. Roberta’s breath hitched in her throat as she viewed the figure watching her. The quivering became a full-scale quake while she came under the scrutiny of someone, maybe her famous neighbor, just two hundred feet away.
Should I acknowledge him?Roberta stayed seated a minute, then rose to face the window. She stumbled over the dogs, looked down to maneuver around them, and arrived at the window to find the opposite window empty though the light remained on. She stared a few moments, unsure what to do, before returning to her chair.What is the meaning of the evasion? Is he so antisocial he won’t wave to a neighbor? Yet he waved to his troop of fans.
She shook her head to clear him from her thoughts. For the next hour, she struggled to focus on the article she was drafting for a professional journal. It was like driving a car with four flat tires. Her mind struggled to move forward while her eyes wandered continually back to the empty window across the property line. Just before ten o’clock, she glanced out the window and reeled to see the light off. She hadn’t noticed anyone turning it off and was ticked at herself for not seeing it happen. Burying her head in her hands, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily.Enough with the craziness!She closed the file, shut down the computer, and turned off the light.
?
Across the expanse of side-by-side driveways, Taylor Reyd watched the brunette shut off the computer and light. He couldn’t explain why he stood in the darkened room observing her for so long. It felt good to spy on someone else for once rather than being scrutinized by watchful eyes. But there was something more to it than that though he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was not the skin-tight yoga clothes accentuating a splendid figure. Nor the slightly oval shape of her face, her wide-set eyes, and broad, full mouth and lips, all certainly pleasing. Her look was wholesome, despite the bob-like haircut, the ends brushing her jawline, that gave her a professional and sophisticated appearance. That wasn’t what drew him to her visage.
Something else made the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end. What exactly was she doing? Email or writing a letter? Or worse? Could she somehow be a reporter who found out about his living arrangements, rented the house next door, and was busy keeping tabs on him? He wouldn’t put it past any of the tabloids to set someone up next door. But how could they have known? His house rental was supposed to be a closely guarded secret. No one other than his publicist and his personal assistant had known of the arrangement.
Ralph Eagan had sworn she rented the place without knowing anything about his pending living arrangements. He also said she was some kind of temporary worker at the big hospital in downtown Pittsburgh with a short lease ending before his own. Taylor muttered a quick prayer he was right. He didn’t need any more negative press now. He had promised there would be no problems during this filming. It was in his contract.
He rubbed the back of his head before rubbing his eyes. A quick glance at his phone showed it was getting late. There was an early set call tomorrow. After one more glance across the distance to the darkened window next door, he turned to head for bed.
?
“Really? You made eye contact? Awesome!” Sara Field said over the old-fashioned telephone line. The owner of Dogs-A-Walking, LLC had been hired as soon as Roberta moved in to walk her pups mid-day. Feeling a kindred spirit, Sara quickly befriended Roberta.
Roberta could imagine the round brown eyes of her BFF and dog walker, Sara, bugging out of her face beneath the mop of the most incredible curly blonde hair she had ever seen. With hip-length hair, she resembled a Puli, a breed of dog with oodles of tightly curled, dark brown hair. Her attitude was hip, energetic, and always focused foremost on the dogs she cared for each day. Walking to the door, listening, Roberta’s eyes scanned the darkened yard. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she turned back to the room.
The kitchen looked like a set for a 1950s movie with white and red checkered linoleum flooring and walls papered with a cute, tiny, stemmed cherry pattern. The cabinets were painted off-white, with white and gold-flecked Formica countertops inlaid with a single-basin white sink. The only furniture, a fifties-era chrome and Formica table complete with four chrome and vinyl chairs, hugged the far wall on which hung a porcelain plate collection featuring images of pears.
“Yeah, it was kind of cool. He has stunning teal blue eyes, real sultry.” Despite the kitchen's warmth, a shiver ran down her spine at the memory of his lingering look across the roadblock. Funny how her ears had tuned out the noisy fans with one glance at Taylor Reyd. Why had he singled her out with his eyes? Perhaps because she was taller than the rest, having the benefit of the sill of her car door to step up on for an unobstructed view as he passed by. Or was it because she was the closest female to him? “What should I do, you know, with him being next door? Should I ignore him, or should I attempt to be neighborly?” Roberta twirled her earring.
“What? Like bake him a cake to welcome him to the neighborhood?” Sara asked, her voice rising in incredulity. “I don’t think he’d like a cake. He has his physique to look after. Otherwise, yeah, I think you should say hi. Be friendly. I mean, you guys will be neighbors for three months, right?”
“Yeah, until September when I leave.” Based on that, of course, they would have to be just friends. She didn’t need anything more than that. But why were her dreams full of Taylor’s eyes? She shook her head slightly, giving up on the whirl of emotions he stirred in her. “So, you think it would be okay for me to say hello and maybe wave across the yard? I’m certainly not expecting to be invited for dinner or parties. God help me if there are any.” The last thing she wanted to experience was the noise and chaos from parties night after night. Twirling the earring, Roberta heard a tink just after it came off in her fingers. Her eyes scoured the floor for the metal back.
“Hey, look, you know I think you and the dogs are great. Maybe he’ll like dogs? Maybe they can be your approach? You know, like a conversation opener. Do you know anything about him? Did he ever have a dog?”
Barking could be heard in the background at Sara’s house. Something was disturbing the guests being kenneled there that evening. “I don’t know.” Roberta picked up the missing piece and resecured the earring. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”