Lights Out Tonight by Mary Jane Clark Read Free Book Online

Victoria. Gus is no rocket scientist—or award-winning playwright, either.”
    “Funny, but my fantasy had nothing to do with conversation.”
    Belinda chuckled and then swallowed the last bit of coffee. “I’m going out for a little exercise. When I get back, I’ll take a quick shower and we can head to the theater.”
    “Well, that hunky caretaker got into his golf cart and headed out across the meadow.” Victoria nodded toward the picture window. “If you see him on your walk, tell him I was asking for him.”

    Standing in the driveway, Belinda did a few stretching exercises. She inhaled the fresh morning air, crisp and without a hint of humidity. It was going to be another glorious day in the Berkshires.
    She began down the driveway but then changed her mind, turning and starting across the meadow. If she could catch up with Gus, she could talk to him about the arrangements for the party she planned to have for the cast and crew after the opening tomorrow night. Gus really had to replace those pieces of flaking slate on the patio. It looked messy, and a guest could trip and fall.
    She’d noticed a few things this season that Gus hadn’t attended to, and she didn’t like it. She hoped she wasn’t going tostart having problems with her caretaker because, up till now, the situation had worked out well for both of them. Gus had a steady job, was paid well, and had a cozy place to live. Belinda had great peace of mind in knowing that Curtains Up was being taken care of and wasn’t deserted when she couldn’t be here.
    She tramped through the grass and wildflowers, heading in the direction Victoria had indicated Gus had taken. Money might not be everything, she thought as she looked out over the meadow, but she loved what her success had purchased. This serene, beautiful place was perhaps her favorite piece of real estate. As long as her career held out, she knew she would be able to maintain all the residences she kept. And even when her professional life began to flag, as it inevitably would as she aged, she could keep a few of her favorite homes, sell the others, and live more than comfortably for the rest of her life.
    At the end of the meadow, Belinda stopped and called out into the woods.
    There was no answer.
    “Guuusss!” She tried again.
    Still, no response.
    She scanned the edge of the meadow, looking for a path of some kind that the golf cart might have taken into the woods, finally finding a narrow lane where the vegetation had been tamped down. Belinda hesitated for a moment. Should she just go back? She could leave a note for Gus or talk to him later.
    No, she wanted to speak with him face-to-face and make sure he understood that she expected him to take care of things. She wanted him to know that the fact that she was seldom here didn’t mean she wasn’t paying attention to what was happening.If she waited to talk to him until she got home from the theater tonight, it would be too late. Gus would probably be in bed, and she’d be too tired.
    Belinda took another deep breath of the cool mountain air and stepped into the woods.

 C H A P T E R 
14
    Keith Fallows stood on the empty stage, looked out at the vacant seats, and took a deep breath. Tomorrow night the house would be packed. Every single seat had been sold or reserved. There would be four hundred sets of eyes watching, four hundred brains analyzing and judging, four hundred hearts and souls being moved—or not.
    For the director, preopening pressure was always tough, but with all he had riding on this play, the stress was even more grueling than usual. He prayed Devil in the Details would be the vehicle that would propel him, finally, into producing and directing movies.
    Because of their long association at Warrenstown, Victoria Sterling had given him the opportunity to option her play. He had pounced on the chance, using most of his savings to do it. All winter and spring, Keith had refused directing projects, focusinghis