“Sloan!” Roger said when he saw me. “So, what do you think? Isn’t this place incredible? It’s exactly what I had envisioned. I cannot believe I found a place that’s so perfect. I think we’re going to make an amazing movie out here.”
“Yeah, it’s great,” I said. But it was hard to sound enthusiastic after my encounter with Brady.
“What’s wrong? You look annoyed.”
I sighed. “That Brady guy.”
“What about him? He seems like a nice guy. Did he do something wrong?”
“He was so condescending to me. He seemed to have no interest in helping me at all.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him. Remember, Sloan; you’re a gorgeous girl. And not only that, but you’re famous. This is probably the first time that he’s ever dealt with someone like you before. You’re gorgeous, you’re rich, and you’re highly educated. That’s probably just a lot for him to take in right now. He’s probably just a hillbilly who knows nothing other than working on this ranch. He’s going to be perfect when it comes to helping us with the movie. But beyond that, I really wouldn’t let him get under your skin. And when you get irritated, just remember how much better off you are than him. The poor guy is probably just completely overwhelmed by being around you.”
I smiled. “Well, that’s a good thought to have. Thanks, Roger. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
Chapter Seven
Brady
It was early Friday morning, and I was sitting with Grant over a cup of coffee. It was still early, and Emily was fast asleep. Grant had already gone out for a run and was now enjoying some coffee before heading out to work. I was glad to see him.
“So, one week down,” Grant said. “How’s it going with the production?”
I groaned. “Not even a full week done and already I’m going out of my mind. Those people are not my people, that’s for sure.”
He laughed. “I didn’t think they would be. So, any idea who the actors are? Anyone famous?”
I shrugged. “I’ve already forgotten half their names. But the main actress is Sloan. I forgot her surname. Bill. Hill. Something like that.”
“Sloan Hill? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Do you know her?”
“Well, I don’t know her, but I know of her. She was in that big movie a few months ago that everyone was talking about. She should’ve been the lead role. She was excellent. Oh wow. So, is she as beautiful up close as she is on screen? Or is it a major disappointment?”
I thought of Sloan, getting out of the car in her pale blue dress, her eyes matching her outfit, and sighed. “She’s . . . well, she’s beautiful. But the more I get to know her, the less beautiful I think she is. She’s really obnoxious. And incredibly superficial. She honestly does not belong in this place.”
“Sounds like she really got on your nerves.”
“She did. Thankfully, I’ve managed to avoid her most of the week.”
“Oh yeah? Have you gotten involved at all?”
“They’ve asked me to help some of the actors, but not too much. I’ve mostly just been getting all the areas ready for production. So thankfully, I’ve managed to keep a low profile. You should see Harold, though. He’s in his element. He can’t stop gushing around them. It’s pretty embarrassing.”
Grant chuckled. “Poor Harold. At least it’s given him something to do. I’m sure he’s very proud that they’re filming on his ranch.”
I sighed. “He is. And yeah, that’s nice. But man, I cannot wait until this is all over. It’s really not my thing. That Sloan girl actually arrived in high heels on the first day. Can you believe it? She could barely walk.”
“Well, that’s Hollywood life for you. Try not to get too mad at them. They’re just not used to this lifestyle. You’d feel just as uncomfortable if you had to go and live with them for a month.”
“I would never go and live with them for a month!”
Grant chuckled again. “You really are getting worked up about this.”
“It’s just tough, you know. I mean, I work so hard every single day of my life, and I feel like they are almost making a mockery of it. And worse, they will walk away from this with more money than I could ever imagine. Money isn’t everything to me, but it’s still frustrating.”
“I suppose you’re right. Well, don’t let it get to you too much, Shotgun. You’re probably much happier than they’ll ever be. And this will all be over in no time. Anyway, I better go. Good luck with today. Maybe I’ll pop in sometime to see these people.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome anytime. Come and save me. Anyway, say hi to Emily for me.”
“Will do.”
When Grant had left, I made my way to the ranch. The only good thing was that I always got there so much earlier than everyone else. None of these people were early morning people. This at least guaranteed me a few blissful hours every morning when I had the ranch all to myself. I made the most of it that morning, just walking around and doing my work. Grant was right; I was letting these people get to me too much. And it wasn’t necessarily their fault that they didn’t know how to fit into this lifestyle. I was going to have to stop getting so worked up about it.
Two hours after arriving, I heard a few of the crew walking around, and I tried to make myself as scarce as possible. I’d promised Harold that I would be there for them whenever they needed me, but I figured the less they saw of me, the less chance there would be of them asking me for anything. I kept my head down and just worked. I was just about to check on the steers when I heard two men talking nearby, so I quickly headed out to the barn where I thought I’d be safe. I went up to the horses and started feeding them. Feeding the horses was one of my favorite parts of working on the farm. I’d always thought they were the most beautiful creatures in the world. I couldn’t believe that some people were so scared of them. If you gave them respect, they always gave it back to you without question. They were loyal and loving, but only if you were the same to them. I’d always thought that a relationship with a horse was so much less complicated than those with actual humans. I patted Betty, the horse I rode the most, and laughed as she pushed her face onto my hand for more.
“You’re a good girl,” I said to her.
I was just about to start cleaning the barn when I heard someone talking outside. I walked a little closer to the door and chuckled ever so slightly when I heard that it was Sloan. And from the sounds of it, she was all alone. She’d obviously come somewhere quiet to practice her lines. I leaned in closer to hear what she was saying.
“Good morning, darling. Yes, I’ll be right there; I just need to wash the horses,” she said in a fake accent. She put so much emphasis on the word wash that it sounded like she was saying warsh.
“Good morning, darling,” she said again. Her accent seemed to get worse on every try. “Yes, I’ll be right there, I just need to warsh the horses.”
I tried not to laugh, but when she was tried for the fifth time to say the same sentence, I couldn’t help myself. A chortle escaped my mouth so loudly that it was impossible that she hadn’t heard me. I ran back to the horses and pretended to be busy when she walked in.
“Is something funny?”
I turned around and looked at her. Sloan might not have been wearing heels anymore, but she still looked so completely out of place. Her jeans were too tight, her shirt was too white, her face had too much makeup: the list was endless. It was hard to deny that she was beautiful, but it was hard to take her too seriously when she was dressed like that.
“No, nothing is funny,” I said. “I was just talking to Betty.”
“Betty? Who the hell is Betty?”
“Betty is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“What are you talking about?” she said without trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.
I quite liked that I was able to get under her skin so easily. “This is Betty,” I said and rubbed her nose. “She’s my favorite horse.”
“Oh,
” she said. “Well, she’s nice. Do you ride her?”
“All the time,” I said and smiled. “How about you? Do you ride horses?”
“Uh, yeah. All the time.”
“You do?” I said in surprise. “In New York?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s a big state. There’s places where you can go.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I didn’t realize. Well, come on and say hello to Betty then. I’ll show you her favorite spot to be stroked.”
“Uh, that’s okay. I sort of have things to do.”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “You sort of have things to do? You can’t say hello to Betty for just a minute? Remember, you’re probably going to have to ride her soon. You might as well get acquainted.”
“What do you mean? I don’t have to ride her. Who told you that?”
“That’s what Roger said when I showed him the horses. Didn’t you know?”
She shook her head. Her eyes had grown large. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“What’s the problem? I thought you rode horses all the time.”
“I do. I just, well, they’re different from these ones. That’s all.”
I laughed. “They’re different from these ones? What do you mean? How exactly are your horses different from mine?”
“They just are.”
I heaved an exasperated sigh. “Why won’t you just be honest about it?”
“Be honest about what?”
“The fact that you have no idea what you’re talking about. The fact that you are petrified to even touch a horse.”
“That’s not true.”
I sighed. “Really? Look, Sloan, you’re like a deer in the headlights here. Not only are you scared to be around horses, but your accent is completely wrong. If you’re going to pull this off, then you’re going to have to try a little harder. And lying about what you can and can’t do isn’t going to get you there. There’s no point in having a fancy Yale education if you can’t even survive a day in the country.”
Her hands were on her hips now. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to look threatening, but it certainly wasn’t working. “I have a terrible accent? So you did hear me practicing out there. And fine. If you know so much about everything, then why don’t you teach me? Isn’t that what your job is? Aren’t you supposed to do what we ask?”
“My job is to work on the ranch. My job is not to run after you. Anyway, there’s no point teaching the unteachable. Let’s be honest here; there’s not much hope for someone like you. You’re a city girl, through and through. And you wash your clothes,” I added in a western accent. “You don’t warsh them.”
“You’re the most infuriating man I’ve ever met. But if you really knew so much about it all, you’d show me what to do. Clearly, you don’t know anything at all. If you were really so great, you’d teach me. And anyway, from what I’ve heard, that is your job while we’re here.”
She stormed off, and I sighed. I patted Betty on the head and whispered to her. “Horses are so much better than humans.”
I stayed in the barn for the next hour, cleaning and getting it ready. The moment I finished, I saw Harold, who called me over.
“Hey, Brady. How’s it going?”
I wanted to tell him how terrible things were and how much I hated working with these people. But Harold was still so happy, and I couldn’t bring myself to burst his bubble. Not only that, but he was my boss and I had to listen to what he had to say.
“It’s going well,” I lied.
“I think so too. Listen, Sloan came to talk to me a little while ago.”
Uh oh! I thought. I figured he was going to tell me that Sloan had told him about our conversation in the barn.
“Oh yeah? About what?” I said as casually as possible.
“Well, she’s asked for help with the horses. She wants to learn as much as possible, and has specifically requested that you help her. Isn’t that nice? Sweet girl, that one. I told her that you wouldn’t mind at all. She’ll be here at around eight tomorrow morning.”
I could easily imagine her batting her long eyelashes at Harold. I felt annoyed that she’d gone behind my back with something like this. Clearly this girl was out to get me. Fine, if she wanted to come out and make a fool of herself in front of me, I wasn’t going to stop her.
“Sure. I’ll be there,” I said.
Chapter Eight
Sloan
I set my alarm for seven that morning, figuring it would give me enough time to get ready and make my way to the farm to see Brady. Harold had told me to get there by eight but I highly doubted that I would even be there by nine. I didn’t think it would matter either way. Brady could wait. And I was sure he wouldn’t be there as early as eight, anyway. When my alarm went off, I took my time getting out of bed. They’d put us in a quaint hotel, more of a guesthouse really, but it was nothing like my apartment in New York, which I was starting to miss more and more each day. I couldn’t wait to be back in that bed again. I had plans for spending an entire day there, just stretching out and enjoying the space. When I finally got out of bed, I made some coffee and enjoyed some muesli and yogurt. I’d insisted on having a small fridge to keep my food in, and they’d happily obliged. What hotel didn’t give their guests a fridge? It was madness. After the breakfast, I hopped in the shower and then contemplated what I was going to wear for the day.
I’d brought more than enough clothes to last me for at least two months, as I didn’t want to be seen wearing the same thing every day. I thought about how smug Brady had been when I last saw him, and I decided that I was finally going to show him a thing or two about who he was dealing with. I grinned when I thought of the outfit that I was going to wear. It was a tight black dress, with a neckline that was just low enough to give someone a hint of what was below. I’d been told before that the dress caused men to go crazy when they saw me in it. And while Brady wasn’t exactly like most people I knew, he was still a red-blooded male.
I squeezed into the dress and decided to wear black boots with it. It wasn’t what I’d usually pair it with, but I didn’t feel like listening to him about how my heels weren’t right for the dirt. I put them on and looked in the mirror. The boots, as it turned out, looked incredible with the dress. I looked at the time. It was now quarter to nine, which I decided left just enough time to work on my hair and makeup. My hair was long and blonde, and a little bit too much for the Wyoming heat. So, I straightened it and put it up into a high ponytail, so that it would sway back and forth when I walked. I put on some foundation, added a bit of color to my cheeks, and then began working on my eyes and lips. By the time I was done, it was quarter to ten, and I looked incredible. I walked downstairs and asked the lady at reception if she could get a driver for me.
“Of course,” she said. She called the driver and told me that he’d be there in a few minutes. Then she looked at me breathlessly. “You look incredible,” she said.
I smiled at her. That was exactly the type of reaction I was hoping to get from people. I thanked her and made my way outside to wait for the car.
The driver, a youngish man with a long beard, barely looked at me. Which, in contrast to the receptionist, was not the reaction I was looking for. I figured he was just having a bad day.
When we got to the ranch, it was just after ten in the morning, and I was looking forward to spending a day showing off in front of Brady.
I made my way to the ranch, marveling at how much easier it was with boots on, and found Brady sitting in the barn again. For a few seconds, he didn’t see me standing there, and I watched in amazement as he kissed the horse. It was a rare moment of love and kindness that I hadn’t seen in him before, and I had to admit that it suited him. He was actually a very attractive man when he let his guard down. But when he turned around and scowled at me, I took it all back. He was also an incredibly frustrating man.
“You were supposed to be here at eight,” he said.
“Don’t I even get a hello?”
“Why are you two hours late? Did something happen?”
“Well, no. But I thought eight just seemed a bit early. I didn’t expect you to actually be here, to be honest.”
He laughed. “Typical,” he muttered under his breath.
“Well, what time did you get here?” I asked.
“I’ve been here since six.”
“Six? What on earth for? Are you crazy?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not crazy. Do you know how hot it gets here? The middle of the day is a scorcher. I get here early to get some work done before it gets too hot. Also, the earlier it is, the better it is for me to teach you how to ride the horses. Trust me; you’re not going to want to do that in the heat.”
“Oh, so you were going to teach me?” I teased.
“Like you said,” he mumbled, “I’m here at your service.”
“Well, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think you’d be here. Eight seemed early to me.”
“I’m sure it was. What are you wearing, anyway? I thought you wanted to learn how to ride horses today. Isn’t that what we were supposed to be doing?”
“Well, yes.”
“So, why are you wearing a dress? You look like you’re going to a nightclub. This is a ranch, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
I felt the color rise to my face. So much for impressing him with my outfit. If he didn’t like this one, then I wasn’t sure what he’d like. Maybe he’s just not into girls.
“I know I’m at a ranch. I just thought you were going to show me what you do. I didn’t think we’d actually go riding.”
“What? Are you serious? How are you supposed to learn how to ride a horse if you don’t actually get on one? Are you for real?”
“You don’t have to be so mean about it,” I said. I couldn’t believe this guy. I wasn’t sure what I had even done to make him so angry. I shook my head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
Dirty Roomie_A Maxwell Family Romance Page 72