The McCallans

by Hadley Quinn

  When Melanie quietly slipped through the front door, Camryn left the couch to put a finger to her lips. Melanie glanced at the couch and mouthed, “He’s so cute!”

  Teague, in all his captivating splendor, filled the length of the couch—one leg on and one leg off—and with an arm raised over his head, a bit of stomach peeked out of his shirt.

  They silently walked to Melanie’s messy bedroom and Camryn finally asked, “Where have you been?”

  “With Lynn. I told you that.”

  “I know, but why so late? Mel, you need to take better care of yourself.”

  “Just because my hours are different than yours doesn’t mean I’m not taking care of myself.”

  Camryn shrugged. “Fine. But what have you guys been doing?” Melanie didn’t answer right away and Camryn sighed. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been partying. You smell like cigarettes and booze.”

  “I didn’t drink,” she scoffed. “I’m not that stupid, Cam.”

  “I didn’t say you were. It’s just that the scene you’re hanging around…”

  “I was with Lynn and Derek, so it was fine.”

  Hearing Derek’s name made Camryn cautious. He was Lynn’s boyfriend/bassist in the band. “So if you saw Derek, was Jordan there too?”

  Melanie looked away as she stripped her shirt off and tossed it toward the closet. “Yeah, but I didn’t talk to him.” She stepped out of her short skirt and it followed the shirt’s fate. Once she was in a sleep shirt, she unhooked her bra and tossed it on the dresser. “I was going to talk to him, but he had two chicks all over him. Or he was all over two chicks, I’m not sure.”

  Camryn made a face but didn’t comment on how gross she thought he was. But out of all the men in the world, why did Melanie have to get knocked up by that guy?

  “Goodnight, Mel, I love you,” she said softly, turning for the door. She heard Melanie return the sentiment as she headed down the hall. Teague was sitting up on the couch when she returned, rubbing his face. “Sorry, did we wake you?” she asked.

  “Kind of,” he answered when he stood. “I somehow became aware that your beautiful body had left me.”

  “Well come to bed with me while you’re up so I don’t have to carry you.”

  “Ha. I’d like to see that.”

  He headed down the hall with her, stretching his body while he walked. Camryn watched him drop on her bed face first and then he barely moved. She was worried over why he was so exhausted lately, but she snuggled next to him and pulled a blanket over the two of them, thankful that he was at least here with her.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Oh. My. God.”

  Camryn’s mouth hung open after her very first “action/cut” experience outside of a music video, and even though Teague was already returning to the starting point to do it all over again, she couldn’t believe what she just saw. He’d literally just crashed a motorcycle into the front of a truck. On purpose. And not only did the bike actually hit the truck, Teague was launched onto the hood, jumped on the roof and into the bed of it, and then down to the ground to take off at a run. He’d been hooked to a safety cable, but still…

  “Sure beats all the boring monologues and shit, don’t it?” the lady next to her spoke. Her name was Janice and Teague had left Camryn with her while he worked. They were sitting a ways off from the actual filming, but Camryn could see everything and wasn’t so sure it was a good thing.

  “Um, sure,” she replied.

  Janice chuckled. “Yeah, he said you were a first timer,” she joked. “You’ll get used to it. But I s’pose it’s tougher watching the guy you love do dangerous shit like that.”

  Camryn barely smiled in response. No, she wasn’t sure she was going to enjoy watching this, intriguing or not. But yes, Janice was right on the money about one thing.

  She was in love with Teague.

  “So how long you two been together?” Janice asked.

  “Teague and I? Over a month, I guess.”

  “That all? Jesus, with all the instructions he gave me I thought I was here to guard royalty.”

  Camryn chuckled with amusement. “Yeah, he’s pretty protective like that.” And he was. Ever since she first met him, Teague was always looking out for her. Sometimes in subtle ways; other times not-so-subtle. But he seemed to always make her happiness and wellbeing his top priority.

  “So you wanna go meet some people, then? Let’s go visit a couple of trailers.” She stood up and motioned for Camryn to follow her.

  “Meet people? I’m only here for Teague.”

  “Sure,” she laughed with a raspy voice. “C’mon, don’t act shy and innocent. You’ve timed it good. There’re a couple of ‘em here today to start filming on this street, soon as these fellas are done.”

  “I’m really not interested in meeting any actors, if that’s what you mean,” Camryn stated. She remained where she was and faced the stunt scene again, crossing her arms over her chest to prove a point.

  Janice grunted. “Well, I need to grab my nicotine gum. Don’t go anywhere, okay? You’ll get your ass dragged out of here if you’re not with the right person.”

  Camryn watched the woman leave and she felt a little relieved. She preferred watching Teague by herself without Janice’s commentary. He was currently talking to who she believed was the stunt coordinator, and just seeing him standing there casually with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands at his hips made her smile. Damn he looked so good. Especially now because he’d taken his jacket off so someone could adjust something on it, and Teague in a black t-shirt made her feel giddy and girly.

  “See something you like?” a deep voice asked, breaking her trance.

  It scared the shit out of her and she jumped. Had Teague not been in her sights a half a block away, she would have thought it was him talking to her! But when she looked at the figure that sat down beside her, she could see why.

  It was his brother. Max McCallan.

  “You look pretty intense there, blondie,” he winked with a smile. “What’s got you captivated? The high dollar faces are in their trailers for siesta.”

  Camryn let herself relax in the chair she was sitting in. “I’d rather watch this any day,” she admitted.

  “Oh? You like action, huh.” It was a statement and she could tell by his smirk he was confident she agreed with the innuendo.

  “I’ve always preferred the behind-the-scenes work,” she shrugged. “Well I guess this isn’t exactly ‘behind-the-scenes’ since it’s literally the most exciting aspect of an action movie.”

  He slowly nodded. “I’m Max,” he told her, holding out a hand. “What’s your name?”

  She carefully shook it and answered, “Camryn.”

  “Camryn, huh. I like it. So Camryn, how would you like a tour of the set? You want to meet a few people? Maybe afterwards we could have a drink and hang out for a bit.”

  With a polite smile she replied, “No, thank you. I’m content right here.”

  He raised his eyebrows with surprise. “Well I kind of have a lot of connections if you’d like to use them. Come on. You might be impressed by who you meet,” he smiled arrogantly.

  She looked him level in the eye. “I’m not impressed by much, Mr. McCallan.”

  He tilted his head to study her closely. “Ah, so you do know who I am. Okay, so you’ve cut me down a notch,” he admitted with a nod. “I like it. I’m guessing you’re here with someone else and I wasn’t aware of it. Usually important guests aren’t sitting all alone like you. Just thought I’d come say hi.”

  “Well that was very thoughtful of you,” she smiled, feigning sincerity. “I’m very happy right where I’m at, though.”

  “Wait, are you one of Deacon’s girls? Is that why you’re ogling the props guy?”

  She couldn’t help but chuckle. Ogling? Well, she couldn’t deny that much of it. “No, I don’t know Deacon,” she told him. “Is that him?” she added, pointing to the guy that was resetting some of the
scene.

  “Yeah, that’s Deacon. I hear he makes the girls squeal and all that.”

  “Huh,” Camryn replied indifferently. “I don’t see that about him, actually.”

  “No?” Max smiled, leaning onto his knees. “Clue me in, gorgeous. I’m dying to figure this out.”

  Teague happened to walk across the street fifty yards away as he slid into his special jacket again. She couldn’t help but smile and follow his trek back to another motorcycle that had been reset for him to use.

  Max noticed where her eyes traveled and said, “The stunt guy, huh?”

  She gave him a side-glance and shrugged. “He’s the most beautiful man here.”

  That made Max chuckle. “You want me to introduce you?” he offered.

  “Ah, no thanks. I can manage on my own.”

  “I’m sure you could, but why make it harder when I can make it easier?”

  She didn’t reply because she was watching Teague mount the motorcycle again and her heart began to pick up speed. She leaned forward and pressed her fist to her mouth, nervous for another round of torture. The scene only lasted about twelve seconds, but it was a very long twelve seconds. Teague executed the stunt exactly the same from what Camryn could tell and then she released the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

  “You’re uptight, honey,” Max chuckled. “If you like this stuff, why are you such a wreck?”

  She smiled, knowing how she probably looked while watching it. “It’s mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time.”

  “Nah, Teague’s amazing. He’s one of the best.”

  She glanced at him with surprise, not expecting him to praise Teague like that since the two didn’t get along.

  “Teague’s my brother,” he admitted as he pointed to him. “You don’t see the family resemblance? See, we both have dark hair,” he grinned.

  That actually made Camryn laugh. “Yes, that’s about all,” she agreed. “In fact…”

  The sentence wasn’t finished because she noticed Teague was on his way over. She smiled, but the closer he got, the angrier he looked. She stood up, confused as to why he looked so pissed. But he was looking at Max, not her, and Max popped up from the chair when he noticed the same thing.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” Teague growled at him.

  Camryn felt invisible since he didn’t even so much as look at her.

  “I came to talk to you,” Max retorted. “You won’t return my fucking calls.”

  “Because I don’t want to talk to you. And what the hell do you think you’re doing talking to her?” he asked, finally glancing at Camryn and then back to Max. “Are you really testing me, Max? Because I will fuck you up right here in front of all these—”

  “Whoa, Teague,” Camryn cut in. She stepped in front of him and placed her hands on his chest. “What is the matter with you?” she asked sternly. “Jesus, stop acting like an ass.”

  “Oh my God, she’s your girlfriend?” Max laughed from behind her.

  She turned around and glared at him but Teague took a step toward his brother, almost knocking Camryn over. “Stay the fuck away from her, Max. I’m not kidding.”

  Camryn pushed Teague back, but by then, security was already in their business and stepped between the two brothers.

  “Get your shit together, Teague,” Max told him quietly. “Mark won’t put up with this garbage.” He nodded to the director that was scowling at the disruption on his set.

  Max walked away to smooth things over with Mark and security stepped back, but Teague was wound so tight he looked ready to punch something.

  Camryn gave him a frown and softly said, “I’m leaving, Teague.”

  She turned around and walked away, and when sense finally slapped Teague in the face, he hauled ass to catch up to her. “Wait, Camryn. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.”

  She stopped because he’d stopped right in front of her, gently holding her upper arms. “Please go back to work,” she whispered. “You’re making this worse.”

  “Making what worse?”

  “I didn’t know being here would cause a commotion. You are most definitely getting the evil eye right now.” She subtly glanced behind her but discovered the opposite. The director looked like he was having a good chuckle with Max as they walked to a tent full of refreshments.

  “If you knew anything about my brother, you’d know he was trying to get in your pants,” Teague spoke in a low voice. “He’d screw anything with two legs.”

  Camryn gaped at him with disbelief. “It’s nice that you think so highly of me, Teague. Yep, I have two legs so I must’ve been about to screw your brother! Give me a break.”

  She brushed past him to head for her car in the private guest lot. She was embarrassed and would most likely never show her face to these people again. What could be worse? Oh yeah, some asshole taking her picture as she unlocked her car. She was so pissed, she was about to storm right up to him and break the camera over his head. But Teague’s arms wrapped around her and pulled her face to his chest, putting his back to the cameraman.

  “That’ll make it worse,” he whispered. “I know you’re upset with me and I’m sorry, but just play along.”

  Just being close to him clouded her inclination to be angry and fight back. He had that effect on her and she wasn’t used to it. But she slowed her breathing as she slid her arms around him. Someone was telling the camera guy to move on and a minute later, Teague pulled back to look at her. She noticed the change in him right away. His eyes weren’t angry and loaded with violence, but softer and penitent.

  “I’m sorry I acted like that, Camryn. Obviously my brother and I don’t get along. He’s turned into an arrogant dickhead and I choose not to be on the same sets with him. I have no idea why he showed up here today.”

  “Apparently you won’t return his phone calls,” she said.

  He paused as he seemed to measure her words. “What else did he tell you?”

  “Nothing, that’s what he just said to you,” she pointed to the street where they’d been filming. “But all he wondered was who I was here with. I kind of wouldn’t talk to him, and that’s when you showed up.”

  “You were laughing with him.”

  “Teague, it was nothing and I promise you that. I’ll tell you about later, okay? Right now it looks like you’re needed.” She motioned toward the set, and when Teague looked that way, some guy waved him over.

  He sighed and shook his head. “I wish I could take a break with you, but I really need to finish this scene.”

  “I know you do,” she nodded. She placed her hands against his neck and pulled him to her lips. “I really am going to leave, though. I’m going to make you dinner, so I’ll just see you at your house tonight.”

  He reluctantly agreed, and gave her a very apologetic kiss that was quite lengthy.

  “Good grief, we can have makeup sex later,” Camryn laughed, pulling her tongue out of his mouth. His crooked smile was priceless and she shook her head at him. “You’d better get your head on straight, daredevil. Come home to me in one piece—” She stopped herself short and pressed her lips together firmly. Those words hadn’t done her any good before…

  He kissed her on the forehead and answered, “I definitely will, beautiful. Drive safe.”

  Camryn watched him walk back to the set, smiling at her before he disappeared around a building. She let out a breath of air before getting into her car, pissed that she’d let another moment from her past creep in like that. The more she thought about Teague’s career, the more she worried about his safety. He’d repeatedly gone over how many safety measures they went through before every stunt, but Camryn still couldn’t stop feeling anxious about it.

  She’d been sitting there for a couple of minutes before a knock on her window made her jump. Max’s smiling face was staring back at her and he motioned for her to roll the window down. She started the car first, and then pressed for the window to lower just a few inches. Max
had two other men a distance behind him, but she assumed they were bodyguards.

  “I just wanted to apologize,” he said, holding up his hands. “I didn’t realize you were my brother’s girlfriend. I didn’t deliberately try to piss him off like that.”

  Camryn took a second to figure out a response and decided to bag the smartass retort she had brewing. Instead she went with, “No worries, but I suggest you respect his request to stay away from me, starting now.”

  She put her car in gear and left him standing there.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “I don’t understand why you guys drive back and forth so much,” Melanie said, dropping another blob of dough on the cookie sheet. “You should just live together.”

  “That’s too much,” Camryn stated casually, eyeing the haphazard mounds of mess scattered on the tray.

  Melanie ripped a hunk of the dough off and stuck it in her mouth. “Wow, Camryn. I can’t believe you met his brother.”

  “His brother is an arrogant ass.”

  “Who cares?” her eyes widened. “He’s so hot I would make an exception.”

  “You’d rather date an asshole of a guy as long as he’s hot?”

  “And rich.”

  “You’re so shallow.”

  “And famous,” she grinned. “Oh come on, Cam. You’re the one that tells me not to believe everything I hear or read about them. Maybe you’ve heard lies about Max and now you’re biased. And you’re also just too hung up on Teague to see how hot Max is. And I understand why. Teague is so damn hot I think he might be better looking than his brother. Actually I kind of think he is, but I didn’t want to make you feel weird.”

  Camryn couldn’t help but laugh.

  “They have different looks to them, though,” Melanie continued. “Max is…prettier, whereas Teague is…”