Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5) by Nicole Smith Read Free Book Online

was a handsome man. He was always
charismatic, even when he was not happy about something. But without the frowns
he became attractive and, yes, rather sexy.
    What was it about dominant men, or rather men who
could take charge and who were good at what they did, that was so appealing? She
wondered about it as she walked beside him. She thought it might be that on
some level they made a woman feel protected and safe. But she didn't want or
need that in her life, she thought. Then she backtracked and thought that
perhaps, every now and then, feeling cared for and protected and safe and loved
might be a very good thing.
    "Beth? Did you hear me?"
    "Oh, sorry, no. I was thinking of
something."
    "I said, 'Here we are.' This is it."
    She looked up at a large old building.
    "We'll eventually have the outside completely
restored, but for now we only worried about safety issues. The focus of the
work is on the interior."
    Beth liked the look of the place. It had an art
deco exterior in the past, much of which was visible through the decay. They
entered the building to the sound of hammers banging and raised voices.
    "Ah, no, not again," Mr. Christopher
said. "The carpenter and the designer have been at odds almost every day
since we started. I think the two just can't get along."
    "Who is usually right?" she asked.
    "The carpenter. He's from Sully Point and has
been doing woodworking his whole life. The designer was brought in from the
city. He looks down on the local man which doesn't help anything."
    They moved on through the foyer to the auditorium
portion of the building. Beth gasped in delight. "It's wonderful!"
    Mr. Christopher gazed around and nodded.
"Yes, it's coming along. And down front there is the whole reason we're
here--a brand new stage. Want to take a walk across it?"
    "Can I?" Beth was excited at the
thought.
    He waved a hand at her. "Sure, go ahead. I'll
see what the argument we're hearing is about."
    She walked quickly down the room and mounted the
steps. Pausing for a second, she walked slowly out onto the stage. She couldn't
help herself, she had to do a speech from a play. The first monologue that came
to her mind was Gypsy Rose Lee's defiant speech to her mother from Gypsy .
    * * * *
    Mr. Christopher was three-quarters of the way into
the large open room when he heard a voice speaking from the stage. The
hammering stopped and it got quiet. It was Beth and she was playing Gypsy Rose
Lee to perfection. As she reached the climax of the speech, her voice was
vibrant and strong with emotion.
    He was completely surprised. To hear that kind of
depth from someone her age was not at all what he'd expected.
    Beth called out to him. "Sorry, but I had to
say something since I was up here." He could see her beaming smile easily
and was struck again by her beauty. He knew in an instant that the stage was
right where she belonged. Often through the years he'd get a feeling and he'd
just know when someone was right for a part. He immediately knew who he would
cast as Corie Bratter, the newlywed wife in Barefoot in the Park , the
first play they were doing in Sully Point.
    He watched her walking back toward him and thought
irrelevantly that the town gossips were going to have a field day with this. He
turned to face the designer and carpenter. "Now, Milton, what seems to be
the problem?"
    "This man refuses to follow my plan!"
    "Nobody is refusing anything. I'm just
telling you it can't be done the way you drew it."
    Beth walked up then and Mr. Christopher held up
his hands. "Hold on a second. Beth, this is our designer, Milton, and our
carpenter, Angelo Caronelli. Gentlemen, this is my assistant Beth Carter."
    Milton nodded stiffly, while Angelo held out a
hand to shake hers.
    "Anyway, I think I've told you before,
Milton, that we need to listen to Angelo as he's the one with the woodworking
experience."
    "Clearly not enough experience!"
    "Excuse me, Milton?" Beth firm voice
interrupted. "Obviously you aren't listening. If the