Page 34

7

The hot water had washed away the sweat from my run, but not the tension coiled between my shoulder blades. I tucked my feet under me on the bed at the Inn and picked up the landline phone, punching in the familiar Vegas number.

“Kit? Is that you, baby girl?” Grandma Laurie’s voice came through clear and sharp.

“Now how in the world did you know it was me?”

Grandma’s laughter filled the line. “First, it was from a hotel. Second, I haven’t heard from you in over five days, and third, I’m just that good.”

The rush of joy and love that I felt helped wipe away the rest of the anxiety that the run and the bath hadn’t.

“Love you, Grandma.”

“Of course you do. Now tell me why you’re calling from a number I don’t recognize and not from the phone that is almost super-glued to your hand.”

I winced. She knew me too well.

“I dropped it in the bathtub,” I lied.

“Katherine Lord, you are the worst liar in the world. Always have been. Even when you tried to convince me that the cat ate your homework.”

“We didn’t have a cat.”

“Exactly my point.” She paused, and I could picture her narrowing her eyes behind her reading glasses. “You want to tell me what’s really going on?”

“Nothing’s going on. I’m just taking a little break before production starts.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue.

“A break. In Tennessee. Without your cell phone.”

“It’s peaceful here.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She let that hang between us for a moment. “Well, when are you coming to visit? Mrs. Vickers next door keeps asking about you. She still talks about the time you helped her grandson with his college admission essay.”

“Grandma you should really move to LA. We could see each other all the time.”

“And live in that fake plastic city? No thank you. I like my doublewide just fine. I’ve got my garden, my friends, and nobody trying to inject poison into their faces around here.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Baby girl, last time I visited, I saw a woman at the grocery store who couldn’t blink. Couldn’t blink! What kind of life is that?”

I grinned.

“Not everyone gets Botox, Grandma.”

“No, just everyone you work with. Speaking of which, tell me about this new role. The one you’re so excited about.”

My chest constricted. Passing Through Jordan. The role that would prove I was more than just a face and body that got lucky. The role someone was trying to steal from me with digital lies.

“It’s incredible. I play Constance Baker Motley, a widowed factory owner during World War Two. She is trying to keep her plant open to support the war effort, and the only way she can do it is to integrate it. It’s about courage and sacrifice and doing what’s right, even when it costs you everything.”

“Sounds heavy.”

“It is. Marcus Laughton plays the Tuskegee Airman who is discharged after a combat injury. He works with Constance to integrate the workforce. The script is powerful, Grandma. Oscar-worthy.”

“You still doing your research? Reading all those books you told me about?”

“Every one I can find.” At least that part was true. Even hiding here in Jasper Creek, I’d brought my research materials. If I lost the role, I’d know I’d done everything I could to prepare for it.