Page 24 of Find Me in California

“Reuben was my gardener, silly.”

“Then who’s Adam?”

“My butler. I’ll introduce you. You’ll adore him as much as I do.”

Adam isn’t the only staff on-site. He works during the days, and Liza’s housekeeper, Sally, lives here full time. Her room is on the far side of the house off the kitchen.

“Don’t look so confused.” Liza tittered. “You’ll get them straight soon enough. Now tell me about that van of yours, the one in the parking lot.”

She could tell that was mine?

“You’ve been living in it, haven’t you?”

My teeth scraped over my bottom lip. I nodded, looking at my shoes. It shamed me I couldn’t afford my own place. I hadn’t thought that far ahead when I’d left Sam.

Liza clapped once. “Goodness, this is perfect. Come.” She grasped my hand and drew me with her down the sloped lawn to a gravel path. Trellises heavy with blooms arched overhead. The garden breathed with the hum of bees. She took me to the little house in the far corner of the yard and announced that at back I’d find a shed with Reuben’s tools. It was well stocked, but if I needed anything, I was to let Adam know first thing. He’d call in an order at the nursery and I would have it in a jiff.

“And this side ...” She led me around to the front, which faced the big house. There was a large square window and red dutch door. The tiny flagstone patio had a small teak table with two accompanying chairs. A large clay pot overflowing with bluebonnets squatted proudly beside the doormat. She told me that inside was a studio. It got the best morning light and had a lovely garden view. I would love it.

Then she opened the dutch door with a flourish and stopped. The color leaked from her cheeks.

“Liza?” I peered inside the studio. It was small, with a double bed along one wall, a closet on the other, the door removed and replaced with a curtain of yellow and orange beads. The only other pieces of furniture were a dresser and table, their tops crowded with infant supplies. Clothes with their tags still on, shoes in their boxes, unused bottles, and unboxed toys. The parts to an unassembled crib leaned against a chair.

Liza zipped herLcharm along its chain. “I forgot these were here.”

“Reuben didn’t live here?”

She shook her head.

My breath left me as the meaning of what I saw sank in. I told her we didn’t have to go inside. Whatever she wanted to show me could wait. But she flapped her hands, marching into the studio with purpose, and announced that she would have the room cleaned up in no time. Adam would have it done before he left for the day.

By this point, I was thoroughly confused. I didn’t understand why she was showing me all this. “What does this have to do with me?”

“You know plants, and my gardener quit on me.”

“I’m sorry ... I still don’t understand.”

“Catch up, Magnolia.” She snapped her fingers twice near my face. “I need a gardener and you need a job. You also need a place to live. I’m giving you both. Keep my yard in better shape than Mrs. Tillman’s down the road and I’ll let you stay rent-free.”

I was speechless. Her offer was too good to be true. It eliminated so many hurdles I faced in LA. But she tucked a hand on her hip and warned me it wasn’t a small job I’d be taking on. I’d have to workhard and full time, even some weekends. That didn’t worry me. I’m no stranger to hard work. Still, I was reluctant. How could she trust me? We’d just met. Was her husband all right with this arrangement? This had to be his house too.

“Bosh.” She waved a hand. “After what Matty’s been up to, that man will have to grovel at my feet to get back into my good graces. He’ll be fine with this. He probably won’t even notice you.” Her eyes dimmed, and her mind seemed to wander toward the big house. Then she blinked, and she was back in the room with me. “Besides, he’s on location until next week. We’ll worry about him later.”

“On location?”

“Filming.”

Now I blinked, the dots connecting between her remark about her husband being in the tabloids and for me not to believe what I’d read. “He’s a movie star.”

“Where have you been, darling? My husband’s Matthew Holloway. Why do you think we were speeding? The paparazzi love him and, in turn, love to harass me. We were being followed.”

“I didn’t know.”

“That’s why I adore you. You’re a breath of fresh air, and you’re my little discovery. What do you say? Come work for me?”

Usually, my curiosity gets me into trouble, and acting impulsively never ends well for me. Liza offered me a job, a place to live, and her friendship. I would be insane not to accept, and I can’t see what could possibly go wrong.

I can only see bright horizons ahead. A future that might make my parents proud.

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