Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho

by Angela Ruth

  Bruce barked into the bullhorn again, sending grips scrambling. Emily climbed into the raft and straddled the side the way Tracen had instructed her the day before. Where was Tracen, anyway?

  Tracen conferred with the director before setting up the raft’s location. Apparently they were filming a stunt, and he’d only have to guide the raft through one rapid before beaching it again. A snap compared to the catastrophe he’d created the day before.

  Jack Jamison even had a stuntman filling in for him. Tracen breathed easy. Surely the double knew what he was doing.

  Tracen glanced over at Emily in her makeup chair. He’d told her she was cute. He shouldn’t have done that. But it was more than her appearance that he found alluring. She had an adventurous personality blended with an unexpected sense of dignity and a contagious smile. Good thing she was short, or he might not have come up with an excuse for snubbing her. Only…her size somehow made her even more of an anomaly. He wanted to protect her, while knowing full well she was capable of looking out for herself.

  “Tracen, my man.”

  Tracen glanced up in time to see Jack trotting down the hill toward him. Jack slapped a hand on his back.

  Tracen arched an eyebrow. The famous actor suddenly wanted to be buddy-buddy?

  “Hi, Jack.” Tracen scanned the area for somebody who might resemble the actor. “I didn’t think you had to be here this morning. Don’t you have a stuntman filling in for you?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Jack dragged his words out in a gravelly voice, exuding enthusiasm. “But once my double makes it to shore, I get to take over.”

  Tracen flipped the raft to dump out excess water before repositioning it. “Sounds like a cushy job.”

  Jack even laughed with enthusiasm. “Oh, I couldn’t do what you do. You were amazing yesterday. You saved my life. I seriously thought I was going to get knocked unconscious by that huge rock, and y’all would find my body downstream next week.” Jack spread a hand across his chest as if gratefulness came from his heart. “And after the way I acted yesterday…”

  “No kidding.” Tracen grunted. “If they hadn’t been paying me to keep you safe, you’d still be out there.”

  Jack slapped his thigh. “I’m sorry, man. I’ve been kind of irritable because Emily won’t go out with me. Let me make it up to you. I’ll buy you a drink at The Point tonight.”

  Who was this guy? And was he telling the truth about Emily? Tracen found the satisfaction that came with Jack’s story to be disturbing. Well, it didn’t matter. The cast and crew would all be headed back to Hollywood within a month.

  A bullhorn blared. “Attention please. I need my actors. Gather round.”

  Tracen hesitated at Bruce’s call to action. He wasn’t an actor, but he’d be on the raft. Should he join in? Emily would be there, so maybe he shouldn’t.

  “That’s you, man.” Jack wrapped a friendly arm up around Tracen’s shoulders and pulled him toward the small group gathering.

  Yep, there she was, glowing with cosmetics. Her makeup artist had turned her into the image of perfection, but Tracen preferred her fresh-faced. He looked away.

  A flash of color by the road caught his attention. He squinted into the sunlight and focused. It couldn’t be.

  Jerking away from Jack’s hold, Tracen scaled up the hill. He’d have to be quick because they were filming soon.

  “Jor-El?” The kid was on his unicycle. Unbelievable.

  Jor-El dropped to the ground and grabbed the seat of his unicycle in one smooth movement. The coordination was impressive but also out of place.

  Security stopped the kid at the road. “You can’t go down there.”

  “It’s okay.” Jor-El tried to step past the crewmember. “I’m friends with Emily Van Arsdale.”

  The security guy blocked the kid’s progress with arms crossed. “I didn’t get any authorization from Miss Van Arsdale.”

  Tracen huffed with exertion by the time he reached the road. “The kid’s with me,” he said between gulps for air.

  Jor-El’s eyes grew wide, then he glared back at the security guard as if to say, “I told you so.”

  Pulse slowing, Tracen shook his head and walked the boy away from the film location. “But you’re not joining us, Jor-El.”

  “What? I rode all the way out here—”

  “I see that.” Tracen eyed the unicycle. “Not your wisest idea.”

  “Please, Tracen. Emily would let me. You saw how she invited me to eat lunch with her yesterday.” His voice turned whiny.

  “Well, today she’s working.” Tracen continued to walk the boy away from the crew.

  Jor-El stopped. “You want me to go home?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t. This is my dream come true. A real, live comic book hero has come to town. I can’t let this chance pass me by.”

  Tracen wrinkled his brow and shook his head in exasperation. “A chance for what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Look.” Tracen motioned toward the film crew. “Emily can’t let every comic book fan join her. You got to eat lunch with her yesterday. That’s more than most people get to do.”

  “Please, Tracen, I’m not going to get in the way. I just wanna watch. I don’t have anything else to do today. I’m sure—”

  “You need to leave right now, Jor-El.” Tracen crossed his arms, feeling much like the cold security guard who already tried to get rid of the kid. He could do better than that for a neighbor, couldn’t he? “But I’ll talk to Emily and see if there’s another time you can watch the filming.”

  The kid’s face lit up. “Awesome. This is the best summer ever. I can’t wait to—”

  “Go!” Tracen pointed down the road. “And don’t let me catch you riding your unicycle out of town anymore. These roads aren’t safe.”

  Tracen descended back toward the raft. Emily sat straddling the right side. She wasn’t relaxed the way she had been before. Her spine held her body tall, and her head whipped around with the excitement of a puppy dog’s tail. When she spotted Tracen, she bounced up and down in her seat.

  Emily’s heart raced with the high of preparing for a stunt. She felt alive, as if her skin could barely contain the adrenaline that surged within. She was ready to go. If Tracen didn’t get there soon, she was going to shove off and demand he be written out of the scene. Of course, it would be more fun if he were there to share the excitement.

  Oh! There he was. Her thighs flexed and relaxed in preparation, causing her to bounce on the inflated raft. This is when her actions became uncensored. Since she’d deliberately be putting herself in harm’s way, she had to switch off the filter that would keep her acting sensibly.

  Waving a paddle, she taunted, “One might expect you to get here faster with those long legs of yours.”

  Tracen hopped into the paddleboat and sat down in one motion. “Are we talking about height again, Shorty?”

  Emily’s guffaw turned into a grin. “Actually, we’re talking about timing. Where’ve you been?”

  Tracen motioned toward the hill with his head. “Jor-El wanted to watch the show. I told him he needed to get your permission first.”

  Emily peered up past the trees. No Jor-El. Too bad he’d already left. Stunts were what she did best and what a comic book fan would enjoy the most. “Do you have his phone number? I’ll have to call him.”

  Tracen gave a belly laugh, causing Emily to frown. “What?”

  Tracen grabbed an oar as he shot her a smile. “The kid’s in love with you, that’s all.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “No, he’s in love with Wonder Woman. Most men are.” Everybody except Tracen. “You didn’t see my first movie, did you?”

  “I fell asleep at the theater.”

  Emily gasped. “You did not.”

  Tracen chuckled but didn’t have a chance to respond.

  Bruce’s bullhorn blared. “Ready?”

  Emily pushed away thoughts of Wonder Woman and Tracen. She nodded once at Dave, Jac
k’s stunt double. They’d already rehearsed how he was going to grab her after she “fell” overboard, though you never really could plan a stunt. Whatever happened, happened.

  “Rolling!”

  Tracen pulled his oar up from underneath the water. He’d been using it to anchor them in place. The waves came without warning. Emily squeezed her inner thighs against rubber. She didn’t want to get tossed until she was supposed to.

  The raft bobbed and spun, the current fighting itself to pull them under and forward at the same time. The stinging cold water frothed around Emily’s right leg, the slapping of its waves a warning of what was to come.

  She marked her spot downstream, ignoring the present pounding she was receiving from the river. It would all happen so fast. She had to be ready.

  Flexing every muscle in her body, she crouched, ready to spring. Time was up. Dramatically throwing her body forward, she reversed directions as if her torso was a pendulum, arching her back and pushing against the bottom of the raft. Letting go of her paddle, she surrendered to gravity and folded herself into a loose pike so her hips hit the water first. She barely had time to catch her breath before the rest of her body was sucked under as well.

  The roaring water gave way to a peaceful gurgle underneath the waves. Her hair floated around her head, dancing to a silent melody. The tranquility shattered as her life vest yanked her back up to the surface. With hair plastered to her face, Emily fought the current that juggled her. The waves snaked their way up her nostrils and down her throat. She choked and sputtered, looking for Dave. Hopefully he could reach her within range of the cameras.

  “Help!” She raised one hand overhead. Pretending to drown didn’t take much acting at all, but she didn’t want to have to do it for longer than necessary.

  Catching sight of the raft, she saw Dave lean toward her in preparation of the rescue. Thank goodness they weren’t too far away. But before Dave could dive out, Tracen shoved him back in his seat and, with one mighty pull on his oar, steered the raft adjacent to Emily’s body. In the next instant he had his hand on her vest and was dunking her under the surface of the river. Emily didn’t have a chance to catch her breath this time.

  Water burned her nose, her throat. She clawed at Tracen’s arm. He must have meant to pull her up, not push her down. Though he shouldn’t have touched her at all.

  Then she was shooting out of the river like a rocket. Tracen had only pushed her under so the life vest would propel her up with more force. He caught her the moment she reappeared and jerked her to safety. Together they slipped down to the bottom of the raft, Emily cradled in his arms.

  Coughing, she wiped strands of hair out of her eyes. She leaned back, shivering against the side of the raft and gulping oxygen. Tracen looked just as beat, which was weird since he’d been in the paddleboat the whole time.

  The rest of the actors maneuvered them toward shore, jabbering about what had happened. Their voices faded into the background as Tracen flipped his sunglasses onto his forehead.

  “You okay?” he asked, his eyes roaming over her face in search of any indication that she needed medical attention.

  Emily let out a breathless laugh at her predicament. She was okay—more than okay. But not for the reasons he was asking.

  “Dude, I was supposed to rescue her,” Dave admonished. “You ruined the scene.”

  Tracen’s gaze went hard. He glanced up at the stuntman before locking eyes with Emily. “I must have missed the memo.”

  Emily made no effort to climb off Tracen’s lap. Her limbs still hung limp, recovering from the adrenaline rush. She sprawled sideways, body growing heavier. Tracen didn’t attempt to move either, and she couldn’t resist shooting him a knowing smile.

  Chapter Six

  Tracen had to run the rapid a couple more times. First so they could reshoot the stunt from a distance. Then they had to do it close up. Now the director was busy arranging cameras for the scene where Jack would drag Emily up to shore. The idea of Jack Jamison rescuing Emily was a joke, but the way Tracen had accidentally rescued her earlier was no laughing matter—though the other rafting guides seemed to find humor in it.

  Why couldn’t somebody have filled him in on the fact that Emily was planning to throw herself overboard? He knew she used to be a stuntwoman, but he figured now that she’d made a name for herself, a double would be doing anything dangerous.

  Well, it was too late now. He couldn’t take back his mistake. And he couldn’t erase from his memory the expression Emily had shot him when he’d pulled her into his arms. That was the worst of it. Of course, he would have done the same thing for anyone of the crew—it was his job. But he wouldn’t have felt the same way with them sprawled across his lap. And she’d known it.

  It was a ridiculous attraction. She’d pretty much told him that all men wanted her. The question was, did she treat all men the way she was treating him? The smiles she sent him seemed intimate somehow. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Or perhaps she really only saw him as a challenge the way he’d suggested. Good thing she would be leaving soon. He didn’t need such a complicated distraction.

  The other actors bantered back and forth behind him as they carried the raft upstream. Emily and Dave had already swum to shore—for the seventh time. The idea of making movies used to seem like such a glamorous lifestyle, but in reality it was nothing but repetition. And waiting. Waiting for more repetition. At least he got a little break.

  The actors dropped the raft and took off for their lunch break. Tracen grabbed his water bottle and joined the other guides, who were only there for the show. Yeah, he’d been the entertainment.

  “Where’s your girlfriend?” teased Howie. The big man more closely resembled a logger than a rafting guide.

  Honey joined in, her braids tucked under a baseball cap today. “You better go make sure she doesn’t need any more rescuing.”

  Tracen sank onto a stump. “Nah. She’s a superhero. She’ll be fine.”

  Honey tossed him her bag of trail mix. “Are you gonna be fine?”

  Tracen slanted his eyes toward the middle-aged woman. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Honey stood up and wiped pine needles off her rear. “For some reason I thought you’d be avoiding Hollywood starlets. I even told Wonder Woman you wouldn’t be interested in her.”

  So that’s who Emily had been talking to. “You know? She mentioned that.”

  Honey gave a toothy grin. “Am I right?”

  Tracen groaned. “You’re ridiculous. What are the chances that a movie star would come to a small town like Sun Valley and fall for a local?”

  This shouldn’t be a big deal. Everyone was making too big of a deal out of it. Out of nothing. Yeah, he’d been hurt before. But he’d learned his lesson. And it wasn’t like he even had a chance with the actress.

  “Come on.” Honey headed toward the river. “I’m in the mood to go pick some huckleberries.”

  Tracen knew what Honey wanted. Her favorite huckleberry bush was most accessible from the water. He climbed to his feet to take her downstream. “Are you coming, Howie?”

  “What?” Howie’s low tone teased. “You afraid I’m gonna stay here and make a move on your woman?”

  Tracen chuckled at the image of Howie making a move on Emily—the only funny thing about his whole situation. He shook his head and followed Honey. The guide could join them if he wanted, but Tracen wasn’t going to stick around to be the butt of any more of his jokes. Turning a corner in the path, he slowed at the sight of Emily seated on a rock in the sunshine. He couldn’t get away from her. It was as if his thoughts conjured her up every time. Hopefully she hadn’t heard his conversation.

  The actress had changed into shorts and a tank top, but her skin still glistened with moisture. Her smile was just as slick. She gestured past him toward Howie, who had apparently decided to follow.

  “Who are you going to make a move on?” she asked him sweetly. Mercy. She’d overheard and was feigning innocence.
>
  Tracen’s best bet was to feign innocence, as well. Though he really felt like kicking something—Howie’s backside would do. He tilted his head toward his friend and pasted on a smile. Emily couldn’t see the dare in his glare. “Yes, Howie, who are you making a move on?”

  Howie’s normally ruddy face now resembled a ripening tomato. “Uh, nobody?”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” Emily purred. “You’re a handsome guy. Some woman out there is going to be awfully disappointed.”

  Tracen rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head at Howie’s reaction. The rafting guide’s chest puffed out far enough to rival his beer belly. Flattery would get Emily anywhere with him.

  “Do you want to come pick huckleberries with us?” Howie’s invitation exploded like a bomb before Tracen could defuse it.

  Maybe he could still prevent the disaster. “Emily is working, remember?”

  Howie looked down, as if he were a kid being chastised. “Oh, yeah.”

  “Actually…” Emily’s one word drew all of Tracen’s attention. He held his breath. “One of Bruce’s cameras just broke. He’s sending a grip into town to pick up another part. That gives me plenty of time to pick huckleberries.”

  Emily saw Braid Lady (now Baseball Cap Lady) send Tracen a questioning look as they joined her at the raft. The man shrugged his wide shoulders, waiting quietly for Emily to hop in. The other two guides sat together, and Tracen swung a leg up to straddle the raft behind her. The awareness of his proximity felt like static electricity. And he leaned even closer to push them away from the bank.

  “So, you like huckleberries?” Baseball Cap Lady asked Emily.

  Emily turned her head to face the woman. She could respond, have a normal conversation. All she had to do was block out any thoughts of Tracen. “Mmm…yeah.” Huckleberries. She was talking about huckleberries. “I especially like taking a raft to pick them.”

  Baseball Cap Lady smiled. “I like you.” She let go of her oar with one hand to reach across the raft and shake. “My name’s Honey Christiansen. I know we spoke yesterday”—her eyes slid back toward Tracen—“but I didn’t get to introduce myself.”