to take care of before I could think about those,” Samantha told her.
“Like what?”
“Like drawing up plans for a playhouse and getting the work started,” she said.
“Holy cow!” Cass said, clearly astonished. “You’re going to produce plays here? In a real playhouse?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Can I be in one?”
Samantha laughed at her eagerness. “If you can handle any of the parts, you definitely can be. And before you ask, I have no idea what the first production is likely to be. I’m sure it won’t be before next summer, though. There’s a lot that needs to happen before we get to that point.”
“But you’re not leaving, for sure?”
“For sure,” she promised.
Cass beamed at her. “That is the best news ever!”
Samantha could only pray that everyone would see it that way. She smiled at Cass. “Now tell me how the rehearsals are going.”
“Well, to everyone’s shock, Sue Ellen’s gotten her act together. She’s not half bad.”
“Glowing praise, coming from you. I guess that means you’re not likely to get onstage. How are you feeling about that?”
Cass shrugged. “What can I say? I hate it, but things like this are going to happen. I have to learn to deal with it, right?”
“Then maybe this lesson wasn’t such a bad thing, after all,” Samantha suggested. “Because you’re right. There will be rejections, Cass, and disappointments. It’s the nature of the business.”
“Have you been rejected?”
“More times than I can count,” Samantha admitted.
“What do you do?”
“Eat a lot of ice cream,” Samantha said ruefully. “And then I go out on another audition, and then another, till something clicks.”
Even as she spoke, she realized it was a practice she’d almost forgotten. She’d let the situation with Ethan throw her so badly she’d been ready to leave town rather than dealing with it. Hadn’t she learned anything from all those times she’d had to bolster her spirits and face another casting director or producer?
Thankfully her father, Sophia and Cora Jane had kept her from making a terrible mistake, but she needed to remember her own philosophy and the fighting spirit that had kept her working when others might have given up.
“Thank you, Cass.”
The teen blinked. “For what?”
“Reminding me how important it is to keep trying when something matters enough.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me all along?” Cass asked, her expression puzzled.
“Yes, but apparently I hadn’t been listening to my own advice.”
“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”
Samantha laughed. “No, not really.”
“But I helped?”
“You did.”
Cass beamed. “Cool.”
“We’ll talk soon,” Samantha promised her. “I hope to announce those classes in the next week or so.”
“Great. And don’t worry about Mrs. Gentry. I’ll spread the word. I know Sue Ellen wants to come. She thinks you’re some kind of goddess because you cured her of stage fright and got me out of her hair. Some of the other kids are really interested, too. And when they hear about this theater thing, they’re going to go crazy. Can I tell them?”
“Of course,” Samantha said.
Maybe if word got around town that Samantha was here to stay, a certain gun-shy physician would have second thoughts about walking away from what they had. And if not, well, she intended to take one last stab at showing him how wrong it would be to throw their future away.
* * *
Once Greg had planted that seed about Boone’s former in-laws being behind that photo in the paper, Ethan had given it a lot of thought. On the one hand, he’d told himself to let it go, that what was done was done. On the other, he knew he owed it to Samantha to set the record straight.
He drove over to the newspaper’s office, determined to get to the bottom of it. He also intended to do what he should have done when he’d first seen the paper, demand that a retraction of that bit about Samantha being a stripper. Maybe that was her fight if she wanted to pursue it, but as Greg had reminded him, he had a history with Ken Jones and he intended to use his clout to force the issue.
Ken looked up when Ethan crossed the newsroom, removed his glasses and stood up. “I was expecting a visit from you a lot sooner,” he admitted, his expression somber and maybe just the slightest bit guilt-ridden. “Look, I know that picture was probably upsetting, but you and Boone are news around here. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
“Sure, if you’re more worried about selling papers than destroying reputations,”