Center Stage
Page 16

She bundled up her coat, locked the car, and crossed the street.
“Your sister knows you better than I thought she did,” Zach’s voice called from behind her.
Arianna spun to find him walking toward her. “What are you doing here?”
“Regan figured you’d come to look at it yourself. When I called your house and you weren’t there, I figured you’d be here.”
She let out a deep breath. “John wants to buy this.”
“It sold yesterday.”
Sadness bolted through her, and she shivered. “Oh. That’s too bad.”
“New owner wants to make it a community theater or something like that.”
She thought about the notebook she’d filled with ideas. It had been a waste of time.
Whoever had sent her the texts last night had told her she’d fail. Perhaps she had.
“Well, no need to stand here staring at it then,” she said as she shoved her bare hands into her pockets. “Maybe I’ll head out to your house and visit my boys.”
Zach pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Let’s go in and look around first.”
She looked at the key and then at him. “What’s going on?”
“Benson, Benson, and Hart has a new property. It’s going to need some upkeep so I’m going to send my best foreman to oversee the job. Then it’s going to need someone to bring it to life. Now, I have this niece who can belt out show tunes, and I’ve heard my sister-in-law might have done some theater. Maybe I can find her and…”
He didn’t finish once she’d charged him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s go inside. And then I’ll tell you just how many people have invested in this building.”
He started for the stairs, but his comment hung with her. She wasn’t sure he had to tell her. There was no doubt her sister was in on it and her parents, too. The Keller family worked fast. But there was probably a hefty investment from John as well. She owed him an apology.
Arianna followed Zach up the front steps. The door creaked as he pushed it open.
The air was stale, and the lobby was nearly pitch black.
“My father taught me well. Always carry a flashlight to a new building,” Zach said as he pulled a flashlight from his coat pocket. “I made sure the utilities were on. We just have to find the switch.”
She followed close behind him. “How did you get the building so fast?”
“I have some leverage in this town.”
“I don’t doubt that, but…”
“Just accept it. Okay, here’s a switch.” He flipped it and rows of lights in the lobby flickered on. “Wow.”
Arianna let out a sigh. “Yeah, wow.”
The theater had been abandoned longer than they had thought. The lobby had been vandalized. She wasn’t so sure of his investment now, and by the look on his face, neither was he.
“Let’s see what the auditorium looks like.” He reached for her hand and she took it.
Slowly they walked through the heavy doors into the theater.
She was sure the lights were in the back, but she didn’t need lights to see what a mess it was.
Chairs were ripped from the floor, sconces on the wall hung by wires, and the stage was covered in junk.
“I think John’s vision for this place was off,” she said with a hitch in her voice.
“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have mentioned it to me if he didn’t think it would work.”
“He thinks he can make this place look nice?”
Zach turned to her, but even in the dark, she could see the glimmer in his eyes. “He knows he can. You don’t underestimate him, do you?”
She shook her head. No, she certainly didn’t.
“I think we’re going to need more light before we even try to go deeper into this building. Let’s say we head back to my office and make some plans.
“That sounds good. Would I mess you up completely if I made a stop first?”
She saw the smile that formed on his lips. It was all out in the open now. Regan had spilled the beans—she was toast.
Zach had given Arianna his hard hat from his car. She’d put it on the moment she parked in the lot at the build and climbed out of her car. Zach had told her John would be in the trailer.
She’d never been on a construction site. She looked around, taking in the sights and sounds of where John spent his days. No wonder he was a quiet man. His days were filled with noise.
Carefully she walked up the metal steps to the trailer and pulled open the door.
Almost immediately she heard John yell from beyond the wall, “Shut the damn door. It’s freezing.”
Arianna clasped her hands together and walked through to where she’d heard his voice. “It is freezing. Do you have coffee in this place?”
John had been looking at blue prints, but when she’d spoke his head snapped up. At first there was a smile in his eyes, but a moment later it was gone.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.”
“Zach sent you?” He motioned to her hat.
She pulled it from her head. “Oh, he let me borrow this.” She hadn’t realized his name was on it.
“I’m really busy right now. Maybe I can talk to you at home.”
Arianna didn’t like this side of John, but the worst part was she knew she’d created it.
“I want to talk now.”
John flattened his hands on the table then stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest.
She gripped tightly to the helmet. “I was childish last night. I’m sorry.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“But it does.” She took another step closer. “I know you invested in the building.”
“You’re not supposed to know that.”
“Okay, I didn’t know that for a fact until just this moment, but thank you.”
He shook his head and rolled his eyes. She’d caught him on that fact, and he wasn’t any happier about it.
“This morning I made a lot of plans for that building before I knew it was really mine to make plans for. But the point is, you were thinking of me.”
“That’s been my problem lately. That’s all I think about.”