Adam, who gently petted the muzzle of the movie horse, shot her an expression that screamed “certifiable.”
“Perfect.” Mr. Kingsley granted Courtney a look of approval. Marching toward the stall, he addressed Adam. “You’ll start immediately.”
Adam slowly shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but no.” With a parting pat to the horse’s side, he turned to exit the barn.
Mr. Kingsley looked as if he’d been shot with a stun gun.
“What a brilliant negotiator.” Angela’s face lit up and she crossed to Courtney. “Go out there and tell him I insist he take the job. Keith, the studio will just have to double whatever they were paying that lowlife drunkard. I want Adam.”
Turning from Angela with an air of exasperation and defeat, Mr. Kingsley gave Courtney a you’d-better-come-through-for-us-here glower. “Tell him we’ll lasso the moon if that’s what it takes to get this movie made.”
Courtney stood there, dumbfounded. Was this seriously happening? Adam needed money. And they were offering him the moon.
A vein in Mr. Kingsley’s neck bulged an unusual shade of purple. He glared at her. “What are you waiting for? Go!”
Jolting into motion, she scurried out to the yard, where Adam now hoisted a bale of hay from the back of his truck.
“Adam, what are you doing?” She followed as he carried the hay to the side of the barn and dropped it. “This opportunity is too good to pass up.”
He started back for the truck. “Look, I appreciate it, but there’s no way I’d have the time to—”
“They’re desperate.” She scrambled to keep up. “Do you know what happens when movie people get desperate? Money starts flying like...” Her gaze lit on a bank of tall aspens rustling in the gentle afternoon breeze. “Like leaves in a windstorm.”
“Courtney, they need a trainer.” He grabbed another bale. “Which I am not.”
“Oh. Right.” Again, she followed him. “Pepper might beg to differ.”
“That’s not the same.” He plunked down the hay near the barn and crossed to Pepper.
“Isn’t it?” She stayed on his heels. “I saw how you calmed down that horse inside, and I know you can handle cattle. You said you needed a windfall, right?”
Unwrapping Pepper’s rope, he tightened his jaw. “Yeah, but—”
“Do you have any idea how much a gig like this would pay?” She edged in next to him in the hope of getting him to stop moving and listen. “Name your price. Angela wants you to do it, and Mr. Kingsley is frantic. If you take this job, you could keep the ranch in your family. I don’t know how much you need, but isn’t it worth considering?”
He continued to untie the rope. “Look, I really appreciate the idea, but I have my hands full as it is.”
“But God works in mysterious ways. You said so yourself.”
“What?” Leading Pepper toward the corral, he looked away, distracted.
She stayed next to him. “Maybe you told me about your financial problem because God knew how this would play out. Maybe this is an answer to prayer.”
“Courtney, you’re making this really hard for me.” His voice sounded weary.
She stepped closer and grabbed his arm, needing him to understand, not so much for her sake now, but for his own. He regarded her hand on his arm, then her face.
“Say yes, Adam. This is a God thing if ever I’ve seen one.”
His lips parted as if he was about to speak.
A swoosh of fabric near the barn door pulled their focus off each other. Angela stood there, looking from Adam to Courtney. Her clear green eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
Courtney backed up, feeling her face flush. Oh, boy. This was not good.
Mr. Kingsley burst out of the barn with Jeffrey and several crew members at his heels. His wild gaze landed on Adam, and he hurried toward him. “There you are.”
Angela took a look at Jeffrey and inched up to Adam. “If it’s money that’s the issue, just tell them what you want. They’ll do whatever it takes to please the star.” She splayed her fingers against her chest lest there be any confusion as to whom she was referring. “And having my cowboy around the set more will please me very much.” She batted her eyes with a seductiveness that made the hairs on Courtney’s neck stand on end.
Adam seemed unaffected. “I’m trying to explain that I already have a full-time job running this ranch.”
“Keith, think about it.” Jeffrey scrubbed a hand through his now-tousled hair. “There’s got to be a hundred men around this place who know how to saddle a horse. They’re a dime a dozen. He’s nothing special.”
Courtney’s cheeks burned. Who did he think he was to insult Adam? This guy who was himself probably terrified of kittens.
She couldn’t hold her tongue. “Then why doesn’t the movie pay for a couple of those guys to take over Adam’s responsibilities on the ranch for a few weeks? That would free him up to do the wrangling.” She presented a conciliatory gaze to Angela. “And everyone would get what they want.” She looked at Adam, who actually seemed to be considering her idea.
Jeffrey scoffed. “Keith—”
“That’s a brilliant plan.” Angela cupped her chin in her fingers. “But there’s one more thing I need, Keith, or I’m walking off the picture.”
A flash of extreme anxiety colored Mr. Kingsley’s face. “What else?”
Angela took a few calculated steps toward Jeffrey. “I have to insist that the movie pay Adam a hefty fee to be the man who finally breaks Jeffrey Mark Caulfield of his fear of animals.” Folding her slender arms, she stood in front of Jeffrey with a look of spite on her face. “He needs to learn to ride a horse.”
“Ridiculous.” Looking helpless, Jeffrey sputtered. “I—I’m not afraid...I just—”
“A hundred thousand dollars.” Adam spoke with a quiet confidence.
Courtney’s jaw dropped. Everyone stared in anticipation.
Adam looked directly at Mr. Kingsley. “That’s what it would take to make this worthwhile for me. You hire two hands and pay me a hundred K and I’ll do it.”
The color returned to Mr. Kingsley’s face. He waved to his A.D. “We’ll get it approved and contracted immediately.” He hurried away, and the crowd around them dispersed.
Angela leaned in to Courtney so that only she could hear. “Arrange the dinner date now, Courtney, or that wrangler won’t be the only one who’s out on his ear today.” Brushing past Adam, she seared him with an ardent gaze, then fired pure contempt at Jeffrey.
After receiving the bolt from the departing Angela, Jeffrey shot Adam a scorching arrow of his own, and followed Angela into the barn.
That left Courtney alone again with Adam. His back was to her, and she couldn’t gauge his frame of mind. Cautiously, she edged toward him. “So, how do you feel?”
He raked his fingers through his hair, then faced her with an unreadable expression. She braced herself.
He scanned the horizon then looked her in the eye. “Grateful.” A light smile coaxed his lips. “Thanks.”
She closed her eyes as relief whooshed from her lungs.
The memory of Angela’s threat tackled the lovely moment to the ground. Courtney started twice to speak, but stopped herself. Then a thought occurred. “Hey, remember that place you told me about—Esther’s, I think you said it was called?”
His brow creased. “Right. Esther’s Kitchen, up in Halston.”
She nodded. “You said something about going there for a special occasion and you know,” she choked past a knot forming in her throat. “It just occurred to me... What happened today is just that—cause for celebration. A really special occasion.”
He looked as though he were trying not to smile. “You mean about the job you wrangled me into taking?”
Great. He was
making a joke as he walked willingly into Angela’s feminine web.
She fought back tears. Why was this upsetting her so much? She was stronger than that. “So. I was wondering if...” Her voice trailed off.
He held up a hand. “I know where you’re going with this, and I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.”
“No?” Her stomach dropped. “But why...?”
Rubbing his jaw, he looked off as if there might be cue cards propped up against the mountains. “It’s just that you all are only here for a few weeks.” He met her eyes briefly, then glanced away again as though this was tough for him to say. “When the movie’s done, you’ll go back to your Hollywood lives, and where will that leave me?”
She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. He realized that the Angela thing was short term at best, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He had character, after all. Of course, there was still her employment to consider. If he said no, she would be out of a job. She had to at least try for a save.
“I think you’re reading this all wrong. I mean, it’s really just dinner between friends. Nothing serious. Just a nice, casual evening. Can’t we think of it that way?”
A slow air of contemplation came over him and he nodded. “You talked me into it. And you’re right—this is cause for celebration. Name the day.”
A dull ache formed in her temple. Why did this job have to be so hard?
Chapter 15
Adam sat at the best table at Esther’s, tapping his heel nervously as Scotty McCreery sang about the trouble with girls. From this vantage point, he could see the purpling sky over the mountains while keeping watch for Courtney’s arrival. She had said simply to be there by eight. Something about avoiding paparazzi. He had no idea there was salacious interest in the social lives of movie stars’ assistants.
Leaning back, he gulped a mouthful of water. For the past week, he’d been so busy shooting the cattle-drive scene—far more complicated than any actual cattle drive he’d ever taken part in—and giving a couple of arduous riding lessons to a very reluctant Jeffrey, that he’d barely had time to think about this date. Now that they finally had a night off, he felt like a high school kid who had never even talked to a girl before.
“Hey, bro.”
He snapped out of his thoughts as Janessa, clad in her white chef’s jacket, slipped into the chair opposite him.
“Hey....” He checked out the window again for Courtney. He was nervous enough without Janessa making him more self-conscious.
“No worries.” She held up a hand in defense. “I’ll get lost before your date gets here. I just wanted to tell you I set aside a couple of the cowboy rib eyes in case you guys want them. They’re amazing and they’re going fast.”
Adam fidgeted. “Thanks. Now, if you don’t mind—”
“Nervous, huh?”
He lifted a hand. “It’s just dinner.”
“Yeah.” Janessa raised a brow. “It’s not like Courtney’s anything special.”
He tilted her a look. “Courtney’s great, but she’s just a friend.”
“Funny.” She made that sisterly face—the one that said he didn’t have her fooled. “You have plenty of friends, and I’ve never seen you bring any of them here. I must have been too busy in the kitchen to notice.”
“You’re hilarious.” He tapped a spoon against the table. Who was he kidding? He wouldn’t be having dinner with a woman if he honestly just wanted a friendship with her. And he certainly wouldn’t be this anxious about it.
“It’s about time you started thinking about your future.” Janessa studied her nails, clearly not in any hurry to get lost. “I’m not going to be here much longer, you know. Then who will you have to rustle up your grub and listen to your problems?”
“I can rustle up my own grub, thank you. And Mama and Tandy aren’t going anywhere.”
“Adam.” Her tone sharpened. “You can’t convince me that you don’t see yourself having a family of your own someday.”
He yielded a look of surrender.
She leaned forward, keeping her tone confidential. “And you do understand that will involve forming a relationship with a woman?”
He shrugged and looked away. He’d always thought someday he’d have a wife and kids to help out around the place just like Dad had had him and Mama and Janessa. But Courtney? She wasn’t quite what he had pictured.
Janessa leaned back and folded her hands in front of her. “Courtney’s pretty perfect, if you ask me.”
“She’s terrific, but think about it, Ness.” He lobbed back the challenge. “Can you really see her helping out in a cattle drive, or getting a calf unstuck from a barbed-wire fence?”
Janessa shrugged. “Why not? She took to riding a horse, didn’t she?”
Gazing out at the foothills, he tried to come up with a retort, but all he could think about was how at ease Courtney had been on Pepper. Of course compared with Angela, who seemed as at home on a horse as he would feel in a limousine, anybody would have looked natural. Still, Courtney had an undeniable way with animals.
“She did great,” he conceded. “But you know what life on the ranch is like.”
“So she has to learn how to give medicine to a sick horse, or dig the truck out of the snow in the winter. So what?” She flicked on that sassy teasing tone. “She’d do it for love.”
“Yeah, that’s another thing. She’s a California girl. She probably has no idea how harsh Montana winters can get.”
“Adam.” Her expression turned serious, just like Mama when she knew he had no argument. “You worry too much. Courtney likes you. Why else would she be coming to dinner?”
A feeling of nervous excitement churned in his gut. She was right. He should push all his negative thoughts aside and let this evening be about showing Courtney how grateful he was for her help in saving the ranch. God could handle the rest.
He allowed his demeanor to soften. “Thanks, Ness.” He leaned in. “Now, get lost.”
With a major roll of her eyes, she pushed back her chair. As she stood, something outside caught her eye. Adam looked out to see the familiar Town Car round the drive at the front of the restaurant. He straightened. He hadn’t expected Courtney to show up in Angela’s car.
The driver pulled open the door to the backseat. Out slipped a woman with long red hair and huge sunglasses.
Janessa let out a gasp. “Angela Bijou!”
He scratched his chin, watching the woman tug at her almost indecently tight skirt. “That’s Angela?”
Waiting in vain for the other door to open, he glanced at his watch. A quarter past eight. Where on earth was Courtney?
* * *
As Taylor Swift blared through the house’s very expensive stereo system, Courtney danced from the laundry room, through the kitchen, and into the living room. She’d been at Angela’s beck and call for so many days straight, this welcome night off gave her an exhilarating sense of independence.
Out of necessity, she wore the only clean thing she had left—the new little black dress she’d packed in anticipation of a cast party. Wishful thinking. Laundry day was the closest thing to a social event she and her new dress were likely to encounter in this town.
Just for fun, she’d styled her hair into a simple but chic updo and strapped on her black wedge-heeled sandals. It felt good to let loose, even though the image of Adam dining with Angela bogged down her mood like thick L.A. smog.
The sound of a car outside drew her eyes to the window and she stopped short. A red convertible skidded to a halt in the driveway, its driver barely taking time to shift gears before leaping out and bounding toward the house. Jeffrey?
Flushed, Courtney darted to the stereo and shut it off, then opened the door just as he charged up the front steps. Without giving her so much as a glance, he stormed ins
ide.
“Where is she?”
“Angela?”
He looked around. “Who else? Where is she?”
“I...I don’t...”
“She’s with that cowboy, isn’t she?”
“I don’t think I should—”
“Listen...” He finally made eye contact. “Courtney, right?”
She nodded, surprised that he’d paid that much attention.
“It’s really important that I talk to her now.” His voice actually quivered. “If she’s out with him, I’m afraid she’ll do something she might...regret.”
The emphasis he put on that word was like a fist to her solar plexus. She hadn’t entertained the notion that something...regrettable might result from her successfully completing her job assignment.
Her thoughts snarled. “But, I don’t—”
“I’m worried about her, Courtney.” His focus burrowed into her. “Can I be frank?”
She looked away, uncertain of how she should respond. “Sure...”
He pulled in a supportive breath. “You probably noticed that she and I were dating a few weeks ago.”
Tipping a nod, she wondered how much actual “dating” had been involved, but tried not to dwell on it.
“It ran its course like these things do, and I accepted that we were moving on. Then I noticed I just wasn’t getting over her. I realized she means more to me than I thought, more than all the others. This is new for me—this wanting one particular woman.”
Courtney shifted on her feet.
“Look...” His eyes glistened slightly. “I know I have a reputation for being Hollywood’s Most Eligible Bachelor, but Angela’s the kind of woman who could bring my bachelor days to a close.”
Angela? Courtney failed to see Angela as that kind of woman at all, but then she wasn’t standing in Jeffrey’s size twelve Stacy Adams.
“But now she’s seeing that cowboy—”
“Adam.”
He flashed a questioning look.
“His name’s Adam.” She gave her head a quick shake. “Go on.”
“Yes. Anyway. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I love Angela. I love her, and she doesn’t know it. How could she know, when I haven’t told her?”
Lights, Cowboy, Action Page 11