Jesse

by Reina Torres

  If she could fake being happy then, she could do it now.

  Letting out a soft groan she stopped and tried to settle her nerves. She needed to do at least that before making the walk back to the main house.

  “Hey-”

  “Oh my god!” She jumped, almost clear out of her skin and stumbled against the side of the trailer, clasping her hands to her chest to keep her heart from tumbling out.

  She half expected it to be Jesse wondering where she’d gone, but it wasn’t.

  Standing before her was a rising star in Hollywood. “Wow.” She really couldn’t think of anything to say besides the obvious as she held out her hand. “You’re Randy Calhoun.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Miss-”

  “Etta… Etta Bradford.”

  She couldn’t help but feel the warmth of his hand as he held hers. And then he covered their joined hands with his other hand.

  It was almost stifling, the heat from his hands surrounding hers, but she wasn’t quite sure how to take it back without seeming rude.

  “Well, Etta Bradford, are you going to be in this film with me?”

  Heat, and surely color, rose in her cheeks. “Me?” Laughing, she tried to use the moment to withdraw her hand, but he only brought it closer. And she had to step away from the truck or stumble. “No, I’m not an actress. I’m working here at the ranch.”

  Randy lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss just past her fingers on the back of her hand. When he lowered it from his lips he looked at her over their joined hands. “I’m going to see what I can do to fix that problem. I think you’d be perfect in the film.”

  Her nerves got the best of her and she all but snatched her hand back and held her hands behind her back. “No, no… that’s not something, I’m interested in. I’m tired of having people look at me.”

  His expression was a bit of shock and a bit of humor. “A woman who doesn’t want people to appreciate her beauty? That’s unique in and of itself.”

  He moved closer. Smiling at her. His eyes roaming over her face.

  “Why don’t you want all the attention that you deserve?” He lifted his hand, bringing it closer to her face.

  But right before he touched her, she stepped back and bumped her head into the side of the trailer. “Ow!” Ducking her head, she touched the spot where she’d hit herself. “So stupid!”

  She froze when she felt a hand close over hers.

  “Hey there, let me take a look.”

  She didn’t know what to think or do, so she stood there and let Randy Calhoun touch the back of her head. She just couldn’t believe what was happening.

  “Hmm… seems to be okay. Does it still hurt?”

  Etta started to nod and winced when she bumped her head on his hand. She started to laugh. “I’m such a mess.”

  “You’re beautiful.” Randy’s hand touched her shoulder and then smoothed down to her elbow.

  She felt shivers, but pulled away, just a fraction of an inch before she side-stepped and looked back at him. “I- I’m sorry. I’m just a little… nervous.”

  He gave her a brilliant smile and held his hands out in a curious gesture. “Of me? Did I… did I do something?”

  “Did you-” she had to laugh… at herself. “You’re-” she took a step closer and lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “You’re Randy Calhoun.”

  His laugh was big, boisterous. “I know that.”

  “You’re a star.” She stared at him, waiting for him to understand.

  And he didn’t.

  “You’re nervous because I’m a…” His laugh was almost a snort. “I’m an actor.”

  She stared at him like he was crazy. “You’re not just an actor. You’re a huge star and incredibly handsome-” Her jaw dropped. “I can’t believe I just said that. To your face.”

  His smile broadened and he leaned closer to her. “I’d rather you say it to my face than to other parts of me.”

  The air in her lungs just disappeared.

  His smile changed, but she didn’t know how to describe the way he looked at her, but it made it harder for her to breathe.

  “Or maybe I wouldn’t mind if you liked other parts of me.”

  Etta swallowed and her breath caught in her throat. “I really should get back to the house.”

  There was a moment when she could almost see him thinking and then he stepped back, clearing enough room for her to walk in either direction.

  She started off toward the house and made it a few feet before he called to her. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw him smiling again, like he had before.

  “Etta Bradford, you are truly a mystery, wrapped up in a pretty little package. I wonder if you might do me the honor of having dinner with me tonight.”

  Her head felt light, her skin warm and tight, she wasn’t even sure she could speak.

  “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  “Now,” he crossed his arms over his chest, “I really want to take you to dinner. I want to talk to you more, Etta. I want to know more about you. Will you give me a chance?”

  Unbidden, the image of Jesse hugging the pretty blonde woman in the barn popped up in her head. Disappointment welled up inside of her. It wasn’t Jesse’s fault that she was hoping for more. And she needed to get her mind off of him.

  “Etta? What is it going to take to get an answ-”

  “I don’t have my car here. Missus Sutton picked me up today and I think Jesse’s going to take me back to the motel.”

  “The Sagebrush?”

  She smiled. “The only one around here. Yes.”

  “I’ll take you there and you can change. Put on a pretty dress so I can show you off.”

  She felt her face blanche.

  “Okay, okay…” he laughed, “I’ll find a nice quiet place for us to have dinner. Does that work?”

  “Yeah,” she smiled but wasn’t sure she was all that happy about it. “Sure, that works. I finish here at six.”

  His lips pressed together as he nodded. “I’ll be ready for you then. I’ll meet you at the driveway out of town. Okay?”

  “Sure. That works.”

  As she walked away, Etta wondered exactly what she’d just done.

  Chapter Seven

  ETTA

  Seeing her face with make-up on was a change. Before she left her father’s house, wearing make-up had been a daily occurrence, usually requiring her to refresh in the evenings if they were on their way to an event for his work. Now, she felt as if her hands were shaking. She wasn’t sure about going out with Randy.

  He must have had too much sun if he thought that she was pretty enough to go out with a man who was likely to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Maybe somewhere near Robert Duvall or Fred Astaire! What was he doing taking her out to dinner?

  A car horn blared loud enough that she could hear it through the window. Dashing on her lipstick, Etta put it back in her purse, just in case she needed it again. Etta grabbed up a sweater that she’d set on the bed when she’d gotten back to the motel and left the room, a smile on her face.

  She still couldn’t believe that she was going to ride in a Maserati Ghibli. Her father had a picture of it on his office wall. It was his dream car.

  Etta knew he’d never believe that she was not only riding in one, but going out to dinner with Randy Calhoun? He’d call her a liar.

  “Come on,” Randy’s voice had an edge to it, but he was smiling, “get in the car.”

  “Sorry,” she pulled open the door and slid into the car, “I was doing my make up.”

  He started the engine before she could get her seatbelt secured and took the turn onto the road a little fast, but when he reached over and took her hand, she felt her heart kick in her chest.

  “I don’t think you need make up.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s sweet of you to say.”

  He looked out the windshield and shrugged.

  The silence that fell was odd. At least to her.
>
  Etta didn’t want to push.

  She hadn’t dated much. Her father hadn’t allowed her to until she graduated from high school and even then, he’d given her so many stern-talking-tos that she’d balked at the idea when she’d been at home.

  Looking out the window she watched the passing buildings and soon the silence got to her.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “Just be patient.”

  “I’m more curious than anything,” she explained, “I’ve only been to the café nearby the motel and at the house with the Suttons. I just wanted to know what else was around.”

  There was another moment when their voices went silent and she could hear Elton John belting out the chorus to Rocket Man. She’d said something wrong. She knew it. She just had no idea that asking about where they were going to dinner was a bad thing.

  Etta just didn’t know if she should apologize or just keep quiet.

  The music on the radio changed to a song she didn’t know, but she didn’t ask. She didn’t want to chance making him mad instead of just irritated. Looking out of the window she realized that she had no idea where they were, just that they were probably on the same road they’d been on for a while.

  “Where did you get that dress?”

  Smiling, she looked down and smoothed her hands over her skirt. Betty had dry cleaned it for her as a gift. “It was my mom’s originally,” she smoothed a part of the hem that had bent back, “I altered it to fit me a few months ago.”

  He laughed and leaned an arm on the open window frame. “Phew. I was wondering if you actually bought that.”

  That was when she heard the tone. She started to look over at him, but she didn’t want to. Not if his face was going to look like his voice sounded.

  “You actually thought you should wear that?”

  She blinked, fighting back the tears. “It’s the nicest dress I own.”

  A moment of silence was punctuated with a chuckle. “Well, that says a lot.”

  The music droned on and Etta kept her eyes down on her hem. “I’m sorry, Randy. You told me to dress up. This is what I have.”

  “Well, let’s just put that behind us so we don’t ruin the rest of the evening.”

  That was something she could completely get behind.

  “Great.” She turned and looked at him only to be surprised by the bright smile on his face. She’d just heard him make fun of her dress and laugh at her, but he was back to smiling at her like he had when he’d asked her out.

  The change was shocking, but she tried to ignore it. Moving forward, right?

  Right.

  Randy turned the car, a hard left into a parking lot that left her gasping in a breath and reaching for the arm rest.

  He looked over at her with his big grin set on his face. “Exciting?”

  Nodding at first, Etta manage to pry her hand off the arm rest and set it back in her lap. “Sure! Like an adventure.”

  The words felt wooden on her tongue, but Randy seemed to enjoy them.

  “Yeah, we can stop here.”

  Leaning forward, Etta looked through the windshield and saw the neon lights of a diner at the back of the parking lot.

  Her heart fell into her stomach. It wasn’t that she didn’t like diners. Diners were great, but the way Randy had made it sound, he was taking her to a really nice place. He’d told her to dress up.

  When he pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine he turned and looked at her again. She smiled at him, but maybe he saw something in her expression that he didn’t like, because his smiled dimmed again.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Etta reached for the door handle to open it, but Randy grabbed her wrist holding her in place, she turned back to look at him. “Randy-”

  His hand tightened on her wrist. “What was that look?”

  “Nothing. Nothing!” She tried to pull away from him. “I was just surprised.”

  “What did you expect?”

  He let go of her wrist and opened his own door, getting out in the rush. She had to hurry to get out and closed the door behind her. “Wait!” She stood just outside the car looking at him as he neared the front door of the diner.

  He turned and stared at her, his jaw tight even though he was smiling. “You’re seriously going to make me wait?”

  She was startled and didn’t know what to say to him.

  Gesturing at the door he gave her a hard look. “Come on. If you want to eat, let’s go.”

  “Randy, I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on is that I’m standing here, starving. And you, are standing by my car. Do you need me to hold your hand?”

  “No,” she felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, “I just don’t understand why you’re getting so angry at me.”

  “Get. Over. Here.”

  Unwilling to get in even more trouble, Etta rushed up onto the curb and ducked around Randy, pushing the door open for herself. Once inside she managed a smile for the waitress and sat down at a table just inside the door. Randy didn’t even stop, he just kept walking until he sat down at the booth in the back of the diner next to what was likely to be the hallway to the bathrooms.

  She got up, trying to ignore the curious looks from the other patrons and went over to the booth, standing by the seat on the opposite side from Randy. Her hand was on the back of the booth. “Randy?”

  He looked up at her with a smile but his eyes were angry. Cold.

  “Sit down.”

  “Randy, please. I want to know what’s going on.”

  “You’re making a scene. Sit. Down.”

  She looked up and saw folks sneaking glances at them. Well, not really sneaking.

  “I think you’re being rude and I don’t understand.”

  “I think you’re asking to walk back to the Sagebrush.” His smile never faltered as he pointed at her seat. “Sit down and we’ll talk.”

  Looking down at the purse that she was clutching, she realized that she’d been so excited she didn’t even think to add more cash to her purse than she’d already held in it. That was her mistake. And she knew the phone number to the ranch, but she couldn’t even think about calling the Suttons. Holt and Caroline shouldn’t be driving out to save her from a stupid idea and there was no way she was going to ask Jesse to pick her up.

  Taking a breath, she beamed a smile at the restaurant and sat down with all the grace that she could manage. Holding her purse in her lap she looked across the table at Randy.

  “What’s going on?”

  He looked down at the table where he’d folded his hands and when he looked back up at her, she felt her heart shudder. He was smiling again, that same warm, inviting smile that had captivated her earlier in the day.

  “Hey, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

  She barely kept from gaping at him.

  “Look, it’s been a long day and I probably shouldn’t have invited you out tonight. If I’d been thinking about it with a bit more common sense, I would have waited.” He leaned forward and reached out a hand to her. “I just couldn’t help jumping at the chance to spend time with you. It was a complete case of falling head over heels for a beautiful woman. I saw you and I wanted more time than our little conversation. I should have postponed until I was in a better mood, but again, just the thought of seeing you made me a little crazy.”

  He brought his hand back to his side of the table, but his smile didn’t fade.

  “And then when you got into my car, I saw your beautiful face. And I felt like I couldn’t put this off. I know I’ve been an ass, but after-”

  “Hey, folks. Sorry to bother, but the cook’s getting antsy.” The waitress walked up and smiled at both of them but looked back at Randy. “Oh, aren’t you handsome!”

  Randy smiled up at her. “That’s real sweet,” he shrugged, “but I’m here with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” When he gestured at Etta, she couldn’t help but relax a little.

&nb
sp; The waitress looked at her. “Aww… he’s a doll! You’re so lucky, honey.” Tapping her pencil against her pad she looked back and forth at them both. “What can I get for you?”

  Moments later, Randy had ordered for them both and the waitress had walked away. Randy looked at Etta with a softened grin, looking more at ease than he had been since he’d met her to leave the ranch.

  “Again, I’m sorry. I was wound up after what happened during training, but I don’t… you don’t need to know about that.”

  “I think I’d like to know.” Sitting back against the booth, she struggled to understand. “During training? What are you talking about?”

  She saw how hesitant he was to explain.

  Lifting her hands from her purse, she set them on the table. “Tell me. I’ve had my share of frustrating days.”

  He let out a breath. “As long as you don’t tell anyone.”

  She shook her head. “Why would I tell anyone?”

  “I just don’t want it to be some kind of rumor that gets around and this film means a lot to me. If things don’t go well, I won’t get to be in this film.”

  Etta leaned closer and looked into his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that to you. What’s going on, Randy?”

  He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the diner and so did she. There were a few people at tables and two at the counter but no one was close enough to hear their conversation. “I’m not exactly Burt Lancaster or Bruce Dern. Hell, I’m no where near the Duke either, but I’ve been a fan of Westerns since I was a little kid. Who didn’t want to be a cowboy when they were playing?”

  Before she could answer, he went on.

  “The studio agreed to let me be in the film, but I needed a crash course in riding horses. Thank God they don’t need me to rope anything. For that, they can just shoot from the back and let a stunt man do it.” His expression soured, “Although, after all of this, I wish they’d get someone else instead of him.”

  “Him?” She felt so confused.

  Randy lowered his head for a moment and that’s when the waitress came by with their drinks. She left after another brilliant smile from Randy.

  But as soon as they were alone, Randy gave her a look that she could only describe as pleading. “Are you sure you want to know?”