Heart thumping, Geena drove up to the ranch house and climbed out of the rental car. Rosie had sounded like an excited teenager on the phone.
She must have been watching for the car, because she hurried out onto the porch and down the steps. “I sent him to the barn to muck out stalls.” She put a hand on her chest and took a quick breath. “He was driving us crazy.”
“How?”
“Going on and on about what an idiot he’d been to insist you go back today. We had to agree. But of course he didn’t know I’d already called you.”
Geena smiled. “You could have told him I didn’t leave.”
“It’s better if you appear and explain it to him. The shock of seeing you when he thinks you’re gone might finally convince him that this is true love we’re talking about.”
Geena’s throat tightened. “Yes, it is.”
“Have you been online this morning?”
“Of course. I’ve been fielding requests for interviews from people eager to talk to Matt about Thunder Mountain. All the negative stuff is old news. We did it, Rosie.”
“Mostly you did it. Now, get on down there before he takes a notion to come back to the house for some reason and ruins the dramatic moment.”
“Okay.” Geena figured that if Rosie had grown up in Hollywood she’d have become a director.
“I can guarantee you maybe thirty minutes of privacy. Herb’s in the office doing paperwork and Cade’s staying in his cabin until I give him the all clear. He mentioned calling one of his brothers about the caretaking job at Matt’s ranch.”
“So, Matt wants to keep it?”
“Honey, he wants it all, you included. After he sent that woman packing he was a changed man. The realization that he’s nothing like her was exactly what he needed, but he had to see her to believe it. Now, go on so you can make a grand entrance.”
Geena gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Rosie.”
“You’re welcome. It’s what I do.”
Yes, it certainly was, Geena thought as she walked down to the barn wearing the boots Rosie had given her. Her pants and blouse were clothes she’d brought from LA, but at least she was making this trek in Wyoming-worthy boots. On her way she glanced over at the pasture to admire the horses grazing in it.
After such a short time, the ranch felt like home. But Matt’s ranch would feel that way, too, once Damon and Phil made some changes and the place had furniture and a couple of horses in the barn. She yearned to be part of creating that ambience.
Matt had never had a place of his own, but then, neither had she. She’d postponed buying anything in the city and maybe this was why. She envisioned a no-maintenance rental in LA with plenty of room for two. When she was ready to kick back and relax, she belonged on a ranch in Wyoming. With Matt.
Rosie had assured her that he felt the same, but that didn’t stop the butterflies from swarming in her stomach as she walked inside the cool interior of the barn. The rhythmic sound of straw being shoveled into a wheelbarrow directed her to a stall near the back of the barn.
Although her boot heels clicked on the wooden aisle, he kept shoveling so he probably hadn’t heard her. The wheelbarrow nearly blocked the aisle next to the stall where he was working, but she managed to maneuver around it so she could look in.
He’d pulled off his white T-shirt and tossed it over the open stall door. His back and chest glistened with sweat as his impressive muscles flexed with each movement of the shovel. She almost hated to interrupt him.
Almost. She waited for the brief moment of silence between dumping one load into the wheelbarrow and scooping up another. “Matt.”
He wheeled toward her and stood there clutching the shovel. “Geena?”
“I didn’t leave today.”
He swallowed. “Obviously.”
“I didn’t leave because I love you.”
For one long moment he stared at her. Then he chucked the shovel in the straw and closed the distance between them. But when he was about two feet away he came to an abrupt halt. “I’m sweaty.”
“I don’t care. Hold me, Matt! Kiss me and tell me you love me as much as I love you, because if you don’t, then—”
“I do!” He swept her into his arms. “I love you, Geena.” He held her gaze. “I didn’t think I had the right, but now everything’s different in my mind. That woman is out of my head and out of my life. Which leaves room for us.”
“I love the sound of that word. Us.”
“Good, because you’ll be hearing it a lot.” He smiled down at her. “You stayed. I told you to leave but you stayed. How great is that?”
“Yeah, well, when you love someone, you stick around.”
“I sure hope so, because I want you to stick around forever, pretty lady. I want you to make love to me in the grass and practice tap dancing in our bedroom.”
“Our bedroom?”
“I thought of it that way from the minute we walked in.”
“Me, too.” She looked into blue eyes shining with love. “Now fog up my glasses, cowboy.”
Epilogue
Zeke Rafferty hadn’t counted on tearing a rotator cuff. Disability insurance was a pricey proposition, so he hadn’t taken out a policy. The surgery had wiped out his savings and now he had weeks, maybe even months, before he could go back to trick roping.
So when his foster brother Cade Gallagher called with a job offer that he could do with one arm out of commission, he thanked his lucky stars. “I can absolutely take care of Matt’s ranch for a few months,” he said. “But I have to be honest with you, bro. I plan to go back to roping as soon as my shoulder heals. If he’s looking for a permanent caretaker, I can’t in all good conscience take the job.”
“Here’s how I see it, Zeke. When I heard that you were laid up, I—”
“How did you hear about it, anyway? That’s a mystery to me.”
“You were in Cheyenne when it happened, right?”
“I was.”
“And while you were recovering from surgery you went into Rangeland Roasters for a cup of coffee.”
“Several times. They have an excellent brew. Okay, I get it. I talked to Whitney. She’s real friendly, which is perfect for someone managing a coffee shop. I’ve been so busy on the rodeo circuit I haven’t kept up. Didn’t know ol’ Ty was married.”
“Luckily Whitney mentioned you to Ty, who called Rosie, who gave me your number. When the planets align like that, I figure you should take the job and we’ll worry about finding a replacement later. Besides, if you move back for a few months, you can come to my wedding in August. I would have sent you an invitation but I didn’t have an address.”
“You and Lexi?”
“Me and Lexi.”
Zeke smiled at the pride in Cade’s voice when he said that. “Congratulations. You two were always meant to be together.”
“Fortunately she finally saw that, too. So, can I tell Matt you’re on board? That’ll be one less thing he has to deal with.”
“By all means, tell him I’m on board. And also tell him I always knew that scandal nonsense was bogus. The Thunder Mountain Brotherhood doesn’t pull crap like that.”
“Indeed we don’t. Listen, I just realized I have no authority to offer you a salary, so who knows what Matt will pay you. He’s a straight shooter, though, so it’ll be a fair wage.”
“Don’t worry about it. A free place to stay and a little money for food is all I’ll need. I’m obliged, Cade. I didn’t know how I’d navigate the next few months.”
“Yeah, and that reminds me that we shouldn’t have had to find this out by the back door. You should have contacted Rosie and Herb right away when you ran into a spot of trouble.”
“I feel like they did enough when we were there.” Zeke exhaled. “I’m not the kind of guy who goes running back home to—”
“Hey, we’re the brotherhood, remember? We stick together and we look out for our own.”
“That’s...that’s good to hear. Really good. See you soon, bro.” Zeke disconnected the call. He’d been a lone wolf all his life, even while he was a foster kid at Thunder Mountain. He’d vowed that once he was capable of living on his own, he’d make sure he never needed anybody.
But the torn rotator cuff had punched a big hole in that plan. For the time being, he’d take the job offered to him and be grateful, even if it chafed that he’d been brought so low that he required help. In the future he’d plan better so that wouldn’t happen again.
Hollywood Baby Affair
Anna DePalo
For DeLilah & Bob,
thanks for the support & encouragement
One
Actress and Stuntman Lovefest! More Than Movie Pyrotechnics on Display.
The gossip website headline ran through Chiara Feran’s head when it shouldn’t have.
She clung to Stunt Stud’s well-muscled shoulders, four stories up, wind blowing and helicopter blades whipping in the background—trying to act as if her life depended on it when the truth was that only her career did. After all, a gossip site had just written that she and Mr. Stunt Double were an item, and right now she needed the press distracted from her estranged father, a Vegas-loving cardsharp threatening to cause a controversy of his own.
She tossed her head to keep the hair out of her face. She’d learned Stunt Stud’s first name was Rick when they’d rehearsed, but she thought insufferable was a better word for him. He had remarkable green eyes...and he looked at her as if she were a spoiled diva who needed the kid-glove treatment.
I don’t want you to ruin your manicure.
Thanks for your concern, but there’s a manicurist on set.
They’d had a few brief exchanges over the course of filming that had made her blood boil. If the world only knew... True, his magnetism was enough to rival that of the biggest movie stars, so she wondered why he was content with stunt work, but then again, his ego didn’t need any further boosting. And the rumors were that he wasn’t who he seemed to be and that he had a shadowy, secretive past.
There was even a hint that he was fabulously wealthy. Given his ego, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d put out the rumors himself. He was a macho stuntman ready to save a damsel in distress, but Chiara could save herself, thank you. She’d learned long ago not to depend on any man.
She opened her mouth, but instead of an existential scream, her next line came out. “Zain, we’re going to die!”
“I’m not dropping you,” he growled in reply.
Chiara knew his voice would be substituted later with her costar’s by the studio’s editing department. She took perverse satisfaction in calling him by her costar’s character name. And since Rick was pretending to be her costar, and her costar himself was just acting, she was two steps removed from reality.
And one long fall away from sudden death.
Even though both she and Rick had invisible harnesses, accidents could and did happen on movie sets. As if on cue, more explosions sounded around them.
As soon as this scene was over, she was heading to her trailer for coffee and maybe even a talk with Odele—
“Cut!” the director yelled through a bullhorn.
Chiara sagged with relief.
Rick barely loosened his grip as they were lowered to the ground.
She was bone-tired in the middle of a twelve-hour day on set. She didn’t dwell on the other type of tired right now—an existential weariness that made it hard to care about anything in her life. Fortunately filming on this movie was due to wrap soon.
Action flicks bored her, but they paid the mortgage and more. And Odele, her manager, never stopped reminding her that they also kept her in the public eye. Her Q score would stay high, and it would keep those lucrative endorsement deals flowing. This film was no exception on both counts. Pegasus Pride was about a mission to stop the bad guys from blowing up the United Nations and other key government buildings.
As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ignored a frisson of awareness and stepped away from Rick.
His dark hair was mussed, and his jeans clung low on his hips, a dirty vest concealing his tee. Still, he managed to project the authority of a master of the universe, calm and implacable but ready for action.
She didn’t like her reaction to him. He made her self-conscious about being a woman. Yes, he was all hard-packed muscle and latent strength. Yes, he was undoubtedly in top physical shape with washboard abs. But he was arrogant and annoying and, like most men, not to be trusted.
She refused to be intimidated. It was laughable really—after all, her bank account must dwarf his.
“Okay?” Rick asked.
His voice was as deep and rich as the hot chocolate she wished she had right now—damn him. It was a surprisingly damp and cold early April day on Novatus Studio’s lot in Los Angeles. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Dozens of people milled around them on the movie set. “All in a day’s work, right?”
His jaw firmed. “This one is asking for more than usual.”
“Excuse me?”
He looked at her quizzically. “Have you spoken to your manager recently? Odele?”
“No, why?”
His gaze moved to her trailer. “You may want to give it a go.”
Uh-oh.
He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and showed her the screen.
It took a moment to focus on the newspaper website’s headline, but once she did, her eyes widened. Chiara Feran and Her Stuntman Get Cozy. Is It More Than High Altitudes That Have Their Hearts Racing?
Oh...crap. Another online tabloid had apparently picked up the original gossip site’s story, and worse, now Rick was aware of it, too. Heat rushed to her cheeks. He wasn’t her stuntman. He wasn’t her anything. Suddenly she wondered whether she should have sent that first story into internet oblivion when she’d had the chance by denying it. But she’d been too relieved they were focusing on a made-up relationship rather than the real pesky issue—her father.
At Rick’s amused look, she said abruptly, “I’ll talk to Odele.”
He lifted her chin and stroked her jaw with his thumb—as if he had all the right in the world. “If you want me, there’s no need for extreme measures like planting stories in the press. Why not try the direct approach?”
She swatted his hand away and held on to her temper. “I’m sure there’s been a mistake. Is that direct enough for you?”
He laughed at her with his eyes, and said with lazy self-assurance, “Get back to me.”
As if. In addition to her deadbeat father making news, she had to contend with burgeoning rumors of a relationship with the last stuntman on earth she’d ever walk the red carpet with.
She turned her back on Rick and marched off. The man sent a red mist into the edges of her vision, and it had nothing to do with lust. She clenched her hands, heart pounding. Her jeans and torn tee were skintight—requisite attire for an action movie damsel in distress—and she was aware she was giving Rick a good view as she stomped away.
At her trailer, she banged through the door. She immediately spotted Odele sitting at a small table. The older woman lifted her head and gave Chiara a mild look from behind red glasses, her gray bob catching the light. If Chiara had learned anything during her years with her manager, it was that Odele was unflappable.
Stopping, Chiara touched her forehead. “I took pain medication for my headache an hour ago, and he’s still here.”
“Man problems have defied pharmacology for decades, honey,” Odele replied in her throaty, raspy voice.
Chiara blurted out the gossip about her and Rick, and the stuntman’s reaction. “He thinks he’s God’s gift to actresses!”
“You need a boyfriend,” Odele responded cryptically.
For a moment, Chiara had trouble processing the words. Her mind, going sixty miles an hour, hit the brakes. “What?”
She was one of those actresses who got paid to be photographed sporting a certain brand of handbag or shoes. She glanced around her trailer at the gleaming wood and marble countertops. She had more than she could possibly want. She didn’t desire anything, especially a boyfriend.
True, she hadn’t had a date in a long time. It didn’t mean she couldn’t get one. She just didn’t want the hassle. Boyfriends were work...and men were trouble.
“We need to retain a boyfriend for you,” Odele rephrased.
Chiara gave a dismissive laugh. “I can think of many things I need, but a boyfriend isn’t one of them. I need a new stylist now that Emery has gone off to start her own accessories line. I need a new tube of toothpaste for my bathroom. And I really need a vacation once this film wraps.” She shook her head. “But a boyfriend? No.”
“You’re America’s sweetheart. Everyone wants to see you happy,” her manager pointed out.
“You mean they want to see me making steady progress toward marriage and children.”
Odele nodded.
“Life is rarely that neat.” She should know.
Odele gave a big sigh. “Well, we don’t deal in reality, do we, honey? Our currency in Hollywood is the stardust of dreams.”
Chiara resisted rolling her eyes. She really needed a vacation.
“That’s why a little relationship is just what you need to get your name back out there in a positive way.”
“And how am I supposed to get said relationship?”
Odele snapped her fingers. “Easy. I have just the man.”
“Who?”
“A stuntman, and you’ve already met him.”
A horrifying thought entered Chiara’s head, and she narrowed her eyes. “You put out the rumor that Rick and I are getting cozy.”
OMG. She’d gone to Odele with the rumor because she expected her manager to stamp out a budding media firestorm. Instead, she’d discovered Odele was an arsonist...with poor taste in men.
Odele nodded. “Damn straight I did. We need a distraction from stories about your father.”
Chiara stepped forward. “Odele, how could you? And with—” she stabbed her finger in the direction of the door “—him of all people.”
Odele remained placid.
Chiara narrowed her eyes again. “Has he said anything about your little scheme?”
“He hasn’t objected.”
No wonder Rick had seemed almost...intimate a few minutes ago. He’d been approached by Odele to be her supposed love interest. Chiara took a deep breath to steady herself and temper her reaction. “He’s not my type.”
“He’s any woman’s type, honey. Arm candy.”
“There’s nothing sweet about him, believe me.” He was obnoxious, irritating and objectionable in every way.
“He might not be sugar, but he’ll look edible to many of your female fans.”
Chiara threw up her hands. It was one thing not to contradict a specious story online, it was another to start pretending it was true. And now she’d discovered that said story had been concocted by none other than her own manager. “Oh, c’mon, Odele. You really expect me to stage a relationship for the press?”
Odele arched a brow. “Why not? Your competition is making sex tapes for the media.”
“I’m aiming for the Academy Awards, not the Razzies.”
“It’s no different from being set up on a date or two by a friend.”
“Except you’re my manager and we both know there’s an ulterior motive.”
“There’s always an ulterior motive. Money. Sex. You name it.”
“Is this necessary? My competition has survived extramarital affairs, DUIs and nasty custody disputes with their halos intact.”
“Only because of quick thinking and fancy footwork on the part of their manager or publicist. And believe me, honey, my doctor keeps advising me to keep my stress level to a minimum. It’s not good for the blood pressure.”
“You need to get out of Hollywood.”
“And you need a man. A stuntman.”
“Never.” And especially not him. Somehow he’d gotten his own trailer even though he wasn’t one of the leads on this film. He also visited the exercise trailer, complete with built-in gym and weightlifting equipment. Not that she’d used it herself, but his access to it hadn’t escaped her notice.
Odele pulled out her cell phone and read from the screen: “Chiara Feran’s Father in Illegal Betting Scandal: ‘My Daughter Has Cut Me Off.’”
Oh...double damn. Chiara was familiar with yesterday’s headline. It was like a bad dream that she kept waking up to. It was also why she’d been temporarily—in a moment of insanity—grateful for the ridiculous story about her budding romance. “The only reason I’ve kept him out of my life for the past two decades is because he’s a lying, cheating snake! Now I’m responsible not only for my own image, but for what a sperm donor does?”
As far as she was concerned, the donation of sperm was Michael Feran’s principal contribution to the person she was today. Even the surname that they shared wasn’t authentic. It had been changed at Ellis Island three generations back from the Italian Ferano to the Anglicized Feran.
“We need to promote a wholesome image,” Odele intoned solemnly.
“I could throttle him!”
Rick Serenghetti made it his business to be all business. But he couldn’t take his gaze off Chiara Feran. Her limpid brown eyes, smooth skin contrasting with dark brows and raven hair made her a dead ringer for Snow White.
A guy could easily be turned into a blithering fool in the presence of such physical perfection. Her face was faultlessly symmetrical. Her topaz eyes called to a man to lose himself in their depths, and her pink bow mouth begged to be kissed. And then came the part of her appearance where the threshold was crossed from fairy tale to his fantasy: she had a fabulous body that marked her as red-hot.
They were in the middle of filming on the Novatus Studio set. Today was sunny and mild, more typical weather for LA than they’d had yesterday, when he’d last spoken to Chiara. With any luck, current conditions were a bellwether for how filming on the movie would end—quickly and painlessly. Then he could relax, because on a film set he was always pumped up for his next action scene. In a lucky break for everyone involved, scenes were again being shot on Novatus Studio’s lot in downtown LA, instead of in nearby Griffith Park.
Still, filming wasn’t over until the last scene was done.
He stood off to the side, watching Chiara and the action on camera. The film crew surrounded him, along with everyone else who made a movie happen: assistants, extras, costume designers, special effects people and, of course, the stunts department—him.
He knew more about Chiara Feran than she’d ever guess—or that she’d like him to know. No Oscar yet, but the press loved to talk about her. Surprisingly scandal-free for Hollywood...except for the cardsharp father.
Too bad Rick and Chiara rubbed each other like two sheets of sandpaper—because she had guts. He had to respect that about her. She wasn’t like her male costar who—if the tabloids were to be believed—was fond of getting four-hundred-dollar haircuts.
At the same time, Chiara was all woman. He remembered the feel of her curves during the helicopter stunt they’d done yesterday. She’d been soft and stimulating. And now the media had tagged him and Chiara as a couple.
“I want to talk to you.”
Rick turned to see Chiara’s manager. In the first days of filming, he’d spotted the older woman on set. She was hard to overlook. Her raspy, no-nonsense voice and distinctive ruby-framed glasses made her ripe for caricature. One of the crew had confirmed for him that she was Odele Wittnauer, Chiara’s manager.
Odele looked to be in her early sixties and not fighting it—which made her stand out in Hollywood. Her helmet hair was salt-and-pepper with an ironclad curve under the chin.
Rick adopted a pleasant smile. He and Odele had exchanged a word or two, but this was the first time she’d had a request. “What can I do for you?”
