The Spiral Path Read Online Free PDF Page A

will.
I'll act as executive producer, and I'll even guarantee you final cut. In
return, I reserve the right to close down the production or prevent release if
costs spin out of control or the movie is a dog that would damage all of our
reputations."
    "Fair
enough. You won't regret this!" Exultant, Rainey hugged first Naomi, then
Marcus. She'd gotten everything she wanted--and she prayed she didn't live to
regret it.

----
    CHAPTER 3

    B y the time
Rainey reached home, her exhilaration had been joined by a healthy dose
of terror. Dear God, after all her hard work and planning, she was really going
to he able to make her movie the way she wanted to! This was a tremendous
opportunity--and if she blew it, she might never get another chance.
    At
least she didn't have to risk her house by financing the movie herself. She'd
bought this canyon cottage with her first real money, and it was the truest
home she'd ever had. Tucked into a secluded corner of Laurel Canyon, the simple
cedar structure was fragrant from the tangy eucalyptus trees that shaded it,
and brightened by sun-baked drifts of drought-resistant flowers. She'd fallen
in love the moment she drove up.
    Luckily
she'd trusted her instincts and not sold the cottage when she married Kenzie.
At heart she'd known their hasty marriage wouldn't last, so she'd rented out
her place to a charming pair of production designers who'd taken good care of
it. They'd just bought a house of their own when she left Kenzie, so she'd been
able to come home. It had been like finding refuge in the embrace of a beloved
friend.
    Kenzie
hadn't been in the cottage often, so she had few memories of him here. They
were uncomfortably happy memories--she'd had no idea he knew how to make great
salads until a poignant day when he'd helped her pack her most personal
possessions--but the house had remained hers, never theirs. The Broad Beach
estate had briefly seemed like it was joint property, but no longer. In the
best civilized fashion, each of them was taking from the marriage exactly what
they'd brought in, and no more.
    She
entered the living room and kicked off her high heels. The shoes rolled across
the polished oak floor, one coming to rest on the thick, richly colored Tibetan
rug splashed in front of the fieldstone fireplace. That rug figured prominently
in her memories. With his uncanny perception, Kenzie had known she was a little
sad to be leaving her loved home, so he'd seduced and made love to her with
exquisite tenderness, reminding her why she'd taken the terrifying leap of
faith into matrimony.
    By
the time she reached her bedroom, she'd stripped off her Armani suit. After
hanging it in the huge closet, she paused to study the famous poster of her
mother that hung above the love seat. This was the clearest image she had,
since her childish memories were blurred by time.
    Clementine
at the height of her fame had been all passion and fire, a candle burning at
both ends. Her wild mane of red hair was backlit by spotlights as she sang her
signature anthem, "Heart Over Heels," a searing confession of a woman
who fell in love too often, and always gave away more of herself than she could
afford to lose.
    I'm
making it, Mama. I'm achieving success on my own terms without
destroying myself. Her mother probably would have been glad to know that.
But would she have approved of the tense, wary creature her daughter had
become?
    Rainey
peeled off her stockings and slipped into cutoff jeans and a black T-shirt with
a picture of the Buddha on the front. Then she flopped onto the waterbed and
reached for the phone. Who to call first? Since her personal assistant, Emmy
Herman, the world's greatest organizer, was out of touch on a sailboat with her
husband, she'd call her coconspirator in Maryland.
    She
hit the autodial button. When her friend picked up on the second ring, she
said, "Val, it's me. How are things in Baltimore?"
    "The
sun is shining, the weeping cherry is trailing gorgeous pink blossoms