CHAPTER EIGHT
Her last day on the set was a nightmare.
“I feel like we need to do the wildfire scene,” Sloane said again, gesturing at the script. “We still don’t have the punch we need to make this movie memorable.” And he looked pointedly at Annie.
Not this again. “I know what my dog is capable of, and a wildfire scene isn’t it,” she told him, pulling Spidey into her lap. They sat under the big shade umbrella, and she was on the ground so to be at Spidey’s level. The dog was getting more nervous by the day, to the point that he was acting up even when simple tricks were required. It only made Mr. Sloane more agitated, which made Spidey even less likely to perform.
In short, it was turning into a disaster.
She couldn’t blame the dog, though. Heck, she didn’t want to be here, either. He was really giving her everything he had. He’d done the horse roundup scene perfectly, but when it came time to simple interactions with the actors (in a scene where he was supposed to be “listening” to what they were saying) he spent more time watching her than paying attention to his cues.
He was done, poor little guy. And he wasn’t the only one. Because the last few days on the set were so stressful, everyone was cranky and on edge. They were all glaring at her like she was the holdup and the problem. No one wanted to be finished more than Annie, though. But she also knew her dog, and she wasn’t going to risk him.
“Just a small wildfire,” Sloane told her, as if he was being reasonable. “We can manipulate the film after the fact to make it look bigger.”
She shook her head. “He’s not prepared—”
“You’ve had a whole week to prepare him! We talked about this the other day!” He threw down the script in front of her, and she felt Spidey cringe in her lap. “I specifically brought it up a week ago—”
“And I told you a week ago that it wasn’t doable. I didn’t have the time and the dog doesn’t have the nerves. We just can’t do it. If you want to CGI it in, I’m more than happy to bring him to the studio and train him to do whatever you need for the motion capture.”
“Do you think this picture is made of money, Miss Grissom? We’re already over budget as it is.”
People were starting to stare and the looks she was getting were distinctly unfriendly. Normally everyone on the set supported each other and worked well together, but things were running long and tempers were frayed. If she caused the picture to be delayed more than it already was, she’d be making enemies. She was already going to have a black mark against her reputation once word got out about how much she and the director clashed, and in a small business like movie making? Reputation counted for a lot. It was what got you hired.
All of this made her stomach hurt, nerves starting to affect her, too. She knew how Spidey felt—right now Annie wanted nothing more than to run away from the set herself.
So she tried a different tactic, stroking a hand down Spidey’s short fur to calm his quivering. “There’s another problem we haven’t considered—he’s a white dog and all that fire is going to leave him covered in soot. That’s going to be worse than the mud.” When Sloane frowned, obviously considering her words, she decided to push a little further. “It’s not the same as having, say, Chad Weathers do an epic wildfire scene.”
Sloane’s eyes narrowed. He turned to his assistant. “Get Weathers out of his trailer. We can have him film this. He’s always talking about doing his own stunts—here’s his chance.”
Saved. For now . . . though she was going to be in deep if Chad Weathers found out she’d hinted that he could do the scene, instead. She just hugged Spidey against her chest and waited for the day to be over.
Dustin’s phone had been quiet that day. Normally they texted back and forth during slow periods. Annie would send selfies of herself or photos of Spidey, glimpses of the set, or just anything that crossed her mind. He wasn’t much for texting normally, but he found it fun to send her notes throughout the day. He even sent pictures of himself, though he felt a bit like a tool for doing so. She liked it, though.
Today, however, she was silent. At first he thought she might be mad about something and wracked his brain as to what would have annoyed her, but then somewhere after repairing his fifth fence post, he remembered that today was the last day on set for her.
It meant she’d be going home soon.
He wasn’t all that sure how he felt about that. Normally by the time he and a girl split ways, it was a mutual thing. She’d have made it clear what she was looking for, and he’d have made it equally clear that he wasn’t it. They’d drift apart and he’d be glad of it.
But he wasn’t quite ready to drift from Annie, not yet. Not when he was still utterly fascinated by her. Not when he thought about her endlessly all day and looked forward to each and every text, no matter how trivial. Not when he couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her, or how soft her hair was, or how pink her mouth when they made out. No, he definitely wasn’t ready to stop seeing Annie. Maybe it was because he was very aware of how temporary it was between them that he’d settled in so easily. They’d seen each other every day, determined not to waste time.
The afternoon filled up with a couple of calves that wandered into thick mud around the watering hole and had to be carefully retrieved so they didn’t break a fragile leg. After that, he and Eli and Clyde discussed moving the cattle to a different pasture in the morning that’d be less muddy. This particular pasture was still green with thick grasses, but the stock ponds here were also boggy and the animals had a hard time getting down to drink, especially the calves. It was a little early to switch fields, but if the calves were going to be putting themselves in danger, they needed to take action. So they rode out to the new pasture, checked the fences and the mud situation, and decided they’d move them there in the morning. For now, it was getting late and they were ready to head in for dinner. Eli kept glancing in the direction of the house, his horse nearly as antsy as he was, and it was clear he was ready to get back to his new wife.
Dustin pulled out his phone and checked it. No messages from Annie.
“We keeping you from your woman?” Old Clyde asked, and Dustin glanced up, expecting to see the weathered cowboy shooting a smirk at Eli. Instead, they were all staring at him.
“What woman?” Jordy asked. “You got another girlfriend?” He made a sound of disgust. “Is there a woman in this town you haven’t dated?”
“Plenty,” Dustin said defensively. He didn’t say who he was seeing, though. He didn’t want to hurt Jordy’s feelings.
“The redhead?” Old Clyde guessed. “The one with the dog. I saw you with her on Main Street the other day.”
So much for not hurting Jordy’s feelings. “We’re just having a good time,” he said evasively. “She’s not staying long-term.”
“The redhead from the bar?” Jordy asked, tugging on the reins of his dancing, high-strung horse. “With the freckles?”
“Yeah. You mad?” He felt a surge of guilt. Annie was fantastic, and Jordy had been interested in her. It didn’t feel right to steal her from him.
“Me? Nah. She didn’t like me at all. No violation of bro-code here, buddy.” Jordy gave him an easy smile. “But if she’s got a hot friend, you could hook me up.”
Dustin chuckled, shaking his head. “Most of her friends are four legged and have tails.”
“That why we got a new dog?” Old Clyde asked.
“Not the only reason,” Dustin admitted, scanning the landscape for Moose. The dog was at the edge of the herd, parked in the grass, watching happily. He’d taken to ranch life as if it was utterly familiar, and he suspected it was. The dog had settled in right away, a gentle giant among the other ranch dogs and an adoring shadow to Dustin. He liked the big guy and had no regrets about adopting him. He needed to be wild and free, that was all. Dustin knew what that was like.
“Well, if you’ve got a lady to impress, we should head in.” Eli pulled off his hat and wiped at his brow. “And I want to check on my wife. She was sick all night.”
“You could text her,” Dustin suggested.
Eli just stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Why?”
“Because that’s what modern people do?” Jordy countered. “This ain’t the 1870s, bud.”
Eli snorted. “I don’t need a phone. I can go talk to her.”
Dustin shook his head, amused. Of all of them, Eli was the one most resistant to the constant connection to others. He was pretty sure the guy would be perfectly happy completely isolated from the rest of the world as long as he had his wife at his side. Once, Dustin might have thought that was insane—he liked people, liked their stories, liked getting to know strangers. But now, well . . .
Maybe he could see it, if it was just him and Annie.
Of course, he might be mooning over a woman that wasn’t interested in him any longer, and wouldn’t that just be ironic. He did his best not to frown as the other cowboys teased him and they all headed in out of the pastures and back toward the ranch, the dogs chasing around the horses with excitement. He’d give Annie a call—a real call, not this texting crap—when he got out of the shower. Texting was far too easy to avoid. If he could talk to her, he could find out what was going on.
You realize you’re screwing your career, here,” Katherine told her as they got off the crew bus and went inside the hotel. “You think Sloane’s going to stay quiet about how big of a pain in the ass this movie was? That all will be forgiven the moment he gets back home? He’s married to the freaking producer.”
“I know,” Annie said, her stomach churning with nerves. They’d gotten steadily worse throughout the day and right now she felt like throwing up. Everything Katherine said was true. “But . . . he wasn’t being reasonable.”
“He doesn’t have to be reasonable! He’s the director!”
She hugged Spidey in her arms, ignoring the dog’s squirming. “And I’m the dog trainer. If I don’t think the dog can do it, it’s my responsibility to say so.”
“No,” Katherine snapped, shoving the door open and then holding it for Annie, as if she couldn’t decide whether or not to be angry enough to be impolite. “Your job is to make the dog do tricks. It’s the Humane Society’s certification expert’s job to determine whether or not it’s unsafe. I think you’re just being an ass because you don’t like Sloane.”
“That’s not true,” Annie protested, but the moment the words left her lips, she wondered if Katherine was right. Was she deliberately being difficult? She’d certainly worked with a lot of bad directors before . . . and she probably would again. The thought was depressing. Why was she doing this job when she despised all the people she worked for? “At least I’m pretty sure it’s not true.”
“You’ve been distracted all week,” Katherine lectured. “You know what I think it is? I think you’re too busy giggling with your cowboy to focus on the movie and because the movie stars your dog, we all have to suffer.”
That stung. “What, I’m not allowed to date someone? That must be a new rule on set, because no one else is paying attention to it.”
Katherine paused at the foot of the stairs. “All I’m saying is I hope he was worth it, because you know that it’s going to get around that you were difficult to work with on this movie. I’m your friend and I’m trying to give you advice because this industry sucks, and there’s no need to make it harder on yourself.”
She didn’t know if she was touched by Katherine’s words, or irritated. The bad day was polluting her thoughts and all she wanted to do was forget anything and everything related to the stupid movie.
“Except you, buddy,” she murmured to Spidey, rubbing his head as she headed up the stairs.
Once inside her room, she unharnessed Spidey and put down a bowl of fresh water, then flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Now that the movie was done, there were still a million things to do. Head to the laundromat. Pack her clothes. Decide if she was going to rent a car or fly home with Spidey.
Prep Spidey for adoption.
Locate another dog for her upcoming movie and start training him.
Contact her agent and let her know how much of a disaster the film was so she could spin it. Or heck, contact her agent and tell her Annie needed a break. Just the thought of another movie made her tired right now. Plus, the thought of giving up Spidey made her heart hurt. She wasn’t ready to do that, not yet. She had a hard time letting go of any of her charges, but every now and then, one snagged her heart and didn’t let go. Spidey with his big, sad eyes and his little grunts of happiness had definitely captured hers.
And then, of course, there was Dustin.
And Moose, naturally.
But mostly Dustin.
She fumbled for her phone in the pocket of her oversize sweater. She’d turned the thing to silent when the incoming texts were distracting her and she was too busy arguing with the director. Then, she’d forgotten all about it and now the entire day had practically gone past without talking to Dustin. He’d be wondering what happened.
At least, she hoped he would be.
Before she could send him a text, though, her phone rang. Dustin. She picked it up, surprised and pleased. “Hello?”
“So you’re not avoiding me after all.” His voice came through, rich and smooth and slightly teasing.
She found herself smiling. “No, just had a hell of a day and couldn’t scrape together five minutes to look at my phone. I’m glad you called me, though.”
“Wanted to see if you were interested in getting together tonight. Dinner?”
“I’m not much for going out on the town tonight,” Annie admitted, thinking of all the blaming eyes that would be focused in her direction. “Maybe your place?”
“How about I come to you?” he suggested, instead. “I’ll bring food.”
She smiled. “Sounds good.”
“Be there in an hour.” He ended the call, and she smiled idly to herself.
Of course, then she started thinking about Katherine’s words. How Dustin was just using her. How they always ended up in Annie’s hotel room instead of going to the ranch. Of course, he’d said before that they had no room over at the ranch. That it was even less private than her hotel. But still.
She hated that the seed of doubt had been planted.
Annie slicked lip gloss over her lips and fluffed her awful looking hair, just because she needed a night of kissing and making out to remind her of the good that had come out of this particular movie set. She had Spidey, after all, and he was the sweetest dog. He’d make someone a great companion . . . and that made her heart ache. She didn’t want to give him up, but at the same time, she had another movie coming up in about two months, and she didn’t have the time to devote to both him and a newcomer. Plus, her mother would have a heart attack at the thought of keeping a dog while Annie was on location. It wouldn’t work, and that made her sad.
At least Moose had a happy home.
Thinking of Moose made her think of Dustin, and her body flushed with heat in response. She studied her clothing. Tonight was the last night she’d be here, more or less. She could schedule a flight a few more days out, but her hotel room was paid for by the movie production through tomorrow and that was it. Anything after that would be on her dime. Still, she could spend a few days with Dustin, she figured. Enjoy a little personal time before she had to go back to LA.
Squeeze in another makeout session. Maybe more.
Of course, she wasn’t exactly wearing her sexiest gear. Not that she had sexy gear. She wrinkled her nose at her bulky tan turtleneck sweater—because the spring in the mountains was cold—and decided to change. The slinkiest thing she had was another sweater, this one black and soft as a baby rabbit’s fur. It clung to her body and made her curves look fantastic while still being modest enough to wear out in public. Her jeans were all right, but her bra and panties were boring, boring beige.
Why did her bra and panties matter, though? They were just playing around . . . weren’t they?
But if she only had a day or two left with Dustin, she wanted to go further. They’d been hot and heavy for a week now, and every touch made her think of more. Made her think of the way his mouth would feel on her breasts, on her skin, the way his hands would feel as he caressed her thighs . . . yeah, she was having a lot of dirty dreams about Dustin. She wanted to see him naked. She wanted him to see her naked.
But maybe, maybe not in this bra and panties. Annie picked through her lingerie drawer and couldn’t find anything that matched or looked sexy together. Eventually, she decided on a pair of basic black bikini panties and to skip the bra entirely. So she stripped down and got dressed again from the skin out, and by this time, her sweater was full of static and clung to her body rather inappropriately . . . but it did look fantastic. She admired herself in the mirror once more, and jumped when there was a knock at the door.
Spidey gave a low bark then looked at her for approval.
“Good boy,” she told him, patting his head before moving to the door to answer it.
Dustin stood in the doorway with a bottle of wine and what looked like a long, wrapped baguette of some kind. His hat today was black, his shirt a checkered blue and black that stretched taut over his shoulders, and he looked good enough to eat. The gaze he gave her was equally admiring. “You look nice.”
Annie’s nipples pricked at his intense gaze. “Thank you,” she murmured, pulling him inside. Then, because she couldn’t wait any longer, she took the wine and bread out of his arms, set them on the nearest counter, and then grabbed him by the front of his shirt and plastered her mouth to his.
He groaned, his arms immediately going around her. His mouth was sweet and tasted faintly of peppermint, and his tongue slicked against hers in a practiced, expert way that made her toes curl against the carpet. She gave a happy little sigh as the kiss grew deeper, their mouths meeting over and over again with hungry need. Kissing Dustin made her forget the world around her. It made her forget her bad day, or the fact that she was leaving—it made her forget everything but the way his mouth felt on hers, the way his lips were soft but firm, the way his tongue managed to tease hers in a way that was completely sexy and made her tingle all through her body.
Dustin nipped at her lower lip before breaking the kiss, and then pressed a small one to the tip of her nose. “That was a nice greeting.”
“Mmm.” She slid her arms around his waist and tucked her head against his shoulder. “I had a bad day.”
“I see that.” One hand rubbed her back idly. “You want to talk about it?”
“Not really. I’ll just get mad all over again.”
“You want to eat, then? I have enough sandwiches for you, me, and that little butterball you call a dog.”
She chuckled. “You made sandwiches?”
“Nah, Cass did. She shoved one in my arms the moment she heard I was going out. She’s good like that.” He rubbed her shoulder. “Eli’s a lucky man.”
For some reason, she felt a little stab of jealousy to hear that. Cass lived with them, didn’t she? “I hope I get to meet her before I leave.”
He just rubbed her shoulder. “I hope so, too. You’d like her. Not a mean bone in her body.”
And that was a good answer. Mollified, she pulled out of his arms and moved toward the tiny table in the corner of the room. “Shall we eat, then?”
They split up the sandwich, with Dustin getting the majority of it and Annie pulling out bits of meat from hers and giving it to Spidey. He was well trained enough that he wouldn’t touch it without looking at her first. She knew giving him scraps was destroying the training she’d carefully built up, but the movie was done and it didn’t really matter anymore, did it?
The wine was delicious, and she took healthy sips of it while gazing at Dustin. He told her about his day, how he hoped the weather would hold because the last thing they needed was more rain and mud, and normally she’d be interested in it, because she liked to hear him talk about life on the ranch. Tonight, though, Annie kept thinking about his lips.
She thought about kissing, and more. So much more. It occurred to her that she was more attracted to Dustin than she had been to anyone else in a long, long time. Cowboys hadn’t really been her thing before meeting him, and now that she had? Well, he was giving cowboys a good name, that was for sure. He breathed sexiness and charm, and she only had a day or two left here.
It’d be a shame to go home and not hook up with him.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, Annie was both shocked and excited by it. She wasn’t a virgin. She’d dated a few guys off and on, and one boyfriend back and forth for a few years before they’d finally called it off. She knew how sex worked, and while it wasn’t always great, it could be downright enjoyable even if she didn’t climax. She bet Dustin would make sure that she climaxed, though.
The thought made her toes curl against the carpet again, and she drank more wine.
He tilted his head at her. “You all right?”
“More or less,” she admitted. “I’m just distracted tonight.”
“Anything I can help with?” He set his wineglass down, and she noticed his gaze flicked to her loose breasts, prominent under the sweater. Desire shot through her again, and she wanted to forget all about work, or travel, or anything else. Tonight she just wanted Dustin.
“Actually, yes,” she murmured, and got to her feet. He watched her with interest as she moved to his side and gently tugged the hat off his head, then tossed it onto the bed. His eyes gleamed and a smile curved his mouth as she stood over him. He was the perfect height to touch her breasts like this, with him seated in the chair and her standing, but all he did was put his hands on her waist and look up at her, waiting. Waiting to see what she wanted from him.
Because even though Dustin was a flirt, he was also a gentleman. And she liked that, so so much.
“I was wondering if you had condoms,” Annie told him, and she hated how shy she sounded. She wanted to be sexy and bold. She wanted him to think she was delicious and daring and exciting, not a shy miss afraid of her own body.
He looked surprised.