Changes

By Judith Arnold

The Magic Jukebox sits in the Faulk Street Tavern in the quiet seaside town of Brogan’s Point, Massachusetts. No one knows what classic rock songs will come out of the jukebox when a coin is inserted, but every now and then, the jukebox will play a song that casts a spell on two bar patrons—a song that will change their lives and open their hearts to love.

Antiques dealer Diana Simms is engaged to her longtime boyfriend when she finds herself inside the Faulk Street Tavern. The song “Changes” emerges from the jukebox and enchants her. It also captivates Nick Fiore, a local guy who’s arrived at adulthood the hard way, after a tour through the juvenile justice system. Now he’s dedicated his life to helping other troubled kids. He has no business even looking at a beautiful, well-bred woman wearing a diamond engagement ring. But once they’re bewitched by the jukebox, he and Diana must change their lives, their goals, their dreams...and their hearts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Judith Arnold
• Release date: Feb 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781940547046

Judith Arnold

Writing under the pen name Judith Arnold, Barbara Keiler is the author of eighty-six published novels. She has been a multiple finalist for RWA's Rita Award, and she's won several Reviewer's Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews, including awards for Best Harlequin American, Best Superromance, Best Series Romance, and, most recently, Best Contemporary Romance Novel. Her novel Love In Bloom's was honored as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Her Superromance Barefoot In The Grass has appeared on the recommended reading lists of cancer support groups and hospitals.

Book preview

CHANGES

The Magic Jukebox: BOOK ONE

By Judith Arnold

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Copyright © 2014 by Barbara Keiler

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

About the Author

Chapter One

It was love at first sight.

Diana had never believed such a thing existed outside the pages of romance novels, but the moment she spotted the object of her affection standing by the wall across from the bar at the Faulk Street Tavern, she was infatuated. Smitten. Over the moon.

Oh, God, Peter said, his voice as dry as burnt toast. Can we leave?

Of course they couldn’t leave. Not before she’d crossed the room, planted herself in front of that magnificent specimen and indulged in a few up-close-and-personal minutes. Maybe she’d run her hand along a curved surface. Maybe she’d touch the buttons, two neat, vertical rows of red. Maybe, if she dared, she’d press one of those buttons and see what happened.

Ignoring Peter, ignoring the niggling voice inside her skull warning her that he considered a mildly grungy watering hole like the Faulk Street Tavern so far beneath him that he’d need rappelling equipment to descend to its level, ignoring the certainty that if she spent more than five seconds here he was bound to be royally pissed, emphasis on royally… Ignoring everything but the target in her sights, she strode across the room. The dark pine plank floor was suspiciously sticky in a few spots. The booths lining one wall were crowded with patrons drinking, chattering, laughing, arguing. Most of the tables were occupied, too, and the long bar was insulated by a two-deep layer of people, mostly men, mostly clad in jeans or work pants, and flannel shirts layered over thermals. A few sported duck-billed caps.

Working-class, she thought as she moved through the room. No problem, as far as she was concerned. Peter was such a snob, though.

A waitress carrying an empty tray passed Diana en route to the bar. You okay, hon? she asked.

Other than being madly, wildly in love, Diana was fine. Thanks, she said with a nod.

There’s an empty table over there. The waitress tilted her head in the direction of one of the tables. Grab it if you want it. Tables don’t stay empty long here on a Saturday night.

Thanks, Diana said again. She glanced toward the door, trying to signal Peter to claim the available table. He remained where he was, his arms crossed, his handsome face twisted into a scowl.

Diana detoured to the table herself, tossed her jacket over one of the chairs, and then continued to the wall, to her destiny.

It was gorgeous. Utterly, heart-stoppingly gorgeous.

A Wurlitzer jukebox.

Her expertise didn’t run to jukeboxes, but a few had passed through the galleries of Shomback-Sawyer Antiques in the five years Diana had worked there, and she did know a thing or two about antique furniture.

This jukebox, while not exactly a piece of furniture, was a beauty. Burnished wood rose to a dome of gold-hued, marbleized veneer which ended in a graceful crown trimmed in red glass and chrome. Beneath that crown was a semicircular window, cloudy with age, behind which stood a stack of vinyl records. A horseshoe of mesh fabric covered the speakers, surrounding what looked like a stained-glass depiction of two peacocks, the male’s long tail curving down to cushion the female. Those red buttons, for selecting songs, stood in two straight columns on either side of the peacocks.

None of the buttons was labeled. Diana wondered how someone could choose a song.

Not that it mattered. Surely the jukebox didn’t actually work.

She tried to recall what the concierge at the Ocean Bluff Inn had said when she and Peter had asked what people in Brogan’s Point did in the evenings. Besides what we have here? The concierge had gestured with a generous sweep of her arm, encompassing more than just the inn’s charming lobby but the entire sprawling complex of buildings, gardens, multiple dining rooms, tennis courts and a path down to the beach. There are plenty of places in town. Being an antiques buff, you ought to check out the Faulk Street Tavern. It’s an easy walk from here, less than half a mile away. It’s got an antique I think you’re going to fall in love with.

So they’d checked out the tavern, and now Diana knew why. She was more than merely an antiques buff, and this was more than merely a jukebox. The concierge, a cheerful, chatty woman named Claudia, was right: Diana had fallen in love.

Okay. You’ve looked at it. Can we leave?

She’d been so transported by the jukebox, she hadn’t even noticed Peter abandoning the entry and crossing the room. Now he stood so close behind her she could feel the warmth of his chest against her back. No, we can’t, she said. This is an amazing piece. I want to spend some time with it.

Peter rolled his eyes. He was an elitist—well bred, well educated, well groomed, and overly condescending when confronted with anything, any place or anyone he considered inferior. Apparently jukeboxes weren’t worth his time. Or they might be, if they were in a museum. In a dive like the Faulk Street Tavern, no.

I need to learn more about this, she said, wondering whether the piece was truly an antique or whether the locals just fed tourists a phony story about it, like all those shops down the road in Salem which sold genuine witchcraft paraphernalia. Diana knew some people did practice witchcraft, but she doubted most of the ticky-tacky souvenirs sold in Salem had anything to do with that.

What do you need to learn? Impatience tightened Peter’s voice. You’re not going to buy it for Shomback-Sawyer.

If it’s for sale, I might.

Oh, this baby ain’t for sale. A man sidled up beside her and Peter, and she felt Peter growing exponentially more annoyed, as prickly as a porcupine under siege, its quills quivering. She reached for his hand with her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He had no reason to feel threatened by the man who had joined them at the jukebox. The guy looked to be in his forties, maybe older, his face grizzled and his chin hidden beneath a stubbly beard salted with gray. He was thin, his gangly torso clad in a heavy cotton shirt with Frank stitched in red thread above the chest pocket and Kreske’s Auto Supplies imprinted on the pocket itself.

Do you know anything about this jukebox? she asked the man. Peter tightened his grip on her hand just the slightest bit. Oh, for heaven’s sake, she wanted to snap at him. No need to go all caveman on her. She was talking to the guy, not inviting him back to her room for the night.

Just that it’s a fixture here, and it ain’t goin’ nowhere. Gus would never allow it.

Gus?

Owner of this bar. Nobody can remember a time before the jukebox was here. ’Course, anyone who could would probably be dead by now. He edged closer to the jukebox and gripped its polished golden flanks with both hands.

Diana almost yelled at him not to touch such a treasure, but then she conceded that he knew a lot more about it than she did. That gave him certain rights. So it’s always been here? she asked.

Long as I can remember. Were you planning to play something?

Does it actually work? If it did, Shomback-Sawyer could make a fortune on the piece. Two fortunes. Diana might just buy it herself. She loved its shape, the grain rippling through the wood, the beautiful stained-glass peacocks. If it actually played music, too…

Wouldn’t be much of a jukebox if it didn’t, the man said.

But there’s no listing of the songs. She gestured toward the buttons. How do you even know what song you’re requesting?

He laughed, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth. You don’t, he said.

You don’t know what’s playing?

Well, you do once it starts playing and you can hear it. He shrugged and dug his hand into the pocket of his twill work pants. You don’t get to choose, though. You just put in your money and press a button or two, and you take your chances. It don’t play nothin’ new, he added. Nothin’ more recent than the invention of the iPod. Just old songs and really old songs. Some folks say it plays what you need to hear.

"What you need to hear?"

He nodded. "I don’t need to hear nothin’, he added, so I’m prob’ly safe. He removed his hand from his pocket, a quarter pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Ten cents apiece, three for a quarter, he said. Same price as when I was a kid and every diner, restaurant and bar had a jukebox. He inserted the quarter into the coin slot and poked a few unlabeled buttons. Let’s see what we get."

The cloudy window in the machine brightened, resembling an upside-down smile. Diana heard a couple of clicks, a mechanical hum, and then the velvet-smooth voice of Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York. A loud chorus of hoots and boos arose from the bar, although everyone—including the man who’d paid for the song—seemed amused. "Don’t think I need to hear this," he joked.

It’s a good song, Diana conceded.

If you’re a Yankees fan, maybe.

She grinned. She might not be a baseball fanatic, but she knew Frank Sinatra’s rendition of New York, New York was the song played at every Yankees home game, just as Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline was played at every Red Sox home game. In this picturesque seaside town an hour north of Boston, fans of the Yankees—the home town team’s arch-rivals—were undoubtedly a rarity. The people carousing at the Faulk Street Tavern surely preferred Sweet Caroline.

The stranger grinned back at her. "If that’s what the jukebox wants to tell me, I ain’t listenin’ to it. Have a good one." He nodded at Peter, an acknowledgement Peter probably didn’t deserve, given that he hadn’t even bothered to say hello, and then strode back across the room to rejoin his buddies at the bar. They continued their hooting and guffawing over the Yankees theme song, even as they slapped him on the back and handed him a bottle of beer.

Enthralled, Diana turned back to Peter.

Can we go now? he asked. He looked, if anything, even more annoyed. And sulky. And miserable.

We’ve got to listen to all three songs, she argued, trying to thaw him with a smile. The man put in a quarter. I snagged a table. Let’s have a drink and hear the other two songs. Then we can go. All right?

Peter eyed the bar warily. Do I have to have a drink? I’m not sure this is the kind of place where they wash the glasses.

She refused to let his attitude irk her. They’d come to Brogan’s Point to assess the Ocean Bluff Inn as a possible wedding venue. Peter favored a mansion they’d visited in Newport, but Brogan’s Point was easier to reach from Boston, and their money would go a lot farther at the Ocean Bluff Inn than it would in Newport. Not that their families couldn’t afford any venue Diana and Peter decided on, but she was a practical sort. If they booked a less expensive venue, she’d feel free to spend a little more on the band or the food.

She was glad she’d talked Peter into spending the weekend in Brogan’s Point. The inn was truly lovely. The facility had several different event rooms, ranging in size from intimate to ballroom-grand. It also boasted plenty of guest rooms for attendees who wanted to stay overnight, and a breathtaking garden surrounding a gazebo that overlooked the ocean. Weather permitting, they could have the actual ceremony in the gazebo.

They’d ordered tasting menus for dinner earlier that evening, sampling a variety of possible hors d'oeuvres, appetizers and entrees. The chef wanted them to try some desserts, too, but after all the crabmeat tartlets and apple-and-brie quiches, the tuna tartare and caviar blini, the fillet mignon and poached salmon, they’d been too full.

Peter might loathe this bar, but he’d liked the inn—maybe not as much as the place in Newport, but enough not to veto it out of hand. While they’d stuffed themselves with bites and nibbles from the catering menus, he’d been the open-minded, courteous fiancé with whom she’d agreed to spend the rest of her life.

When he got the way he was now, however, stuffy and grouchy and arrogant, she wanted to hurl the dazzling three-carat diamond solitaire he’d given her at his nose. He had a perfectly sculpted nose. Michelangelo could not have improved on it, nor could Dr. Kafavian, her mother’s favorite plastic surgeon. But the rock currently glittering on her left ring finger, if properly thrown, could give Peter’s pretty nose a nice, bloody gash.

She didn’t want to hurt him, of course. He was her husband-to-be, and she was fully prepared to gaze at his nicer-than-hers nose across tables in kitchens, restaurants and even seedy bars like the Faulk Street Tavern for the next fifty years. But honestly, when he got this way, he pissed her off. Maybe even royally.

Just one drink, she cajoled, leading him to the table and nudging him into one of the chairs. She removed her jacket from the other, draped it over the chair’s ladder-back and gazed around the room in search of the pleasant waitress she’d briefly spoken with on her way to the jukebox.

Somehow, I doubt this place is going to have a decent wine, he muttered.

Then get an indecent wine. Or a beer. Or a martini. They probably can’t botch that.

He mumbled something—she was pretty sure he was complaining about the likely uncleanliness of the glasses, although if he ordered a beer he could drink directly from the bottle and not have to worry about the bar’s hygiene. She hoped that once they were married, he would loosen up and be less judgmental.

She and Peter had known each other since childhood, and they’d started dating toward the end of high school. Even as a teenager, Peter had tended toward superciliousness. He came from an old Boston-Brahmin family and had upper-class tastes. He liked his clothing tailored, his cars expensive, his wines vintage and his scotch single-malt. He was fortunate enough to be able to afford it all, not only because of his family background but because he’d graduated from Harvard Business School and landed a ridiculously well-paying job at a private equity firm. He appreciated the good things in life. More than appreciated—he expected them.

Diana wished he could occasionally forget he was the scion of a top one-percent family and perhaps understand the appeal of a rattly pick-up truck, a greasy hamburger, and a joint like the Faulk Street Tavern. At least