STUDS AND STILETTOS (Romantic Mystery) (9 page)

Besides, it turned out she hadn’t needed to catch the Louisville bus after all. And it had been great fun watching him work with Bruno. She’d enjoyed a lovely sleep and now had a special skills job lined up for today. Life was looking up.

She strolled to the makeup table, eager to have her face fixed so she could report to set. Maybe she’d do such a good job holding Bruno the director would give her a line. Just a few words, but then she’d be eligible to join the union. That would jumpstart her career.

Perhaps she should find another agent too. Clearly Tamara wasn’t top notch. Heck, Judith would make a better agent. At least, she kept up with social media, and frankly Emily had landed this job solely because of Judith’s inside knowledge. Judith might even know about movies in more exotic locations. It would be nice to go somewhere hot, or even travel to a different country.

“No makeup for you,” the artist said, yanking back Emily’s attention.

“What?” Emily’s jaw dropped. “But I never go anywhere without makeup.”

“Today you do,” the woman said, checking her notes. She gestured at someone behind the chair. Emily winced as impatient hands pulled her hair into a painfully tight ponytail.

“We’ll just brush on a little anti-shine powder,” the technician continued, flourishing a thick brush. “Then you’ll be ready to go.”

Emily stared in the mirror, recoiling with horror. She’d expected to have the full movie treatment. She already felt grungy without a shower, but to have nothing on her face—she was bat shit ugly without makeup.

“Maybe just a little foundation and blush?” She averted her eyes, unable to look at her reflection. “Please…I really would feel more comfortable.”

“Sorry.” The technician snapped the powder case shut. “We just follow directions. And this isn’t about you. It’s about the movie.”

Emily jerked from the chair. No makeup. And now with her hair pulled back, it was as if she’d been stripped naked. And she was going to be on a big movie screen too. Everyone would see her. The back of her eyes pricked, and she blinked furiously, pressing a hand over her exposed face. The day that had started out so bright and shiny had turned disastrous.

The last time she’d gone anywhere without makeup, her father’s punishing hands had taught her a memorable lesson. If she hadn’t made a promise to Dan, she’d hide in the hay stall. But she had to show up; he was counting on her to hold Bruno.

She sucked in a fortifying breath and shuffled toward the set.

*

“Shania will have to step a little closer to the horse,” Dan said, trying to keep the impatience from his voice. It was difficult to show the affection between Reckless and the horse’s groom when Shania insisted on remaining two feet from Ice’s head. The attentive horse was waiting for his cue, but Ice couldn’t press his forehead against Shania’s chest when she stood so far away.

“Move closer, Shania,” the director called. “Perfect. Now reach up and smile. Action!”

Ice, a seasoned performer, immediately lowered his head against Shania’s chest. Shania, showing the acting chops that had made her a box office draw, blinked prettily and wrapped her arms around his neck. It looked so real even Dan smiled. No doubt about it, the lady could act.

“Cut!”

“Did you get the sunrise? Let’s see.” Anthony adjusted his headset and bent over the screen while an assistant rushed up to Shania and offered her a sip of coffee.

Dan picked up the lead line and scratched Ice behind the ear. “Good boy,” he murmured. The horse had been perfect. Anyone watching would never question his devotion to Shania. Ice was so savvy, he even knew the word ‘action’ and when to ham it up. Right now though, the gelding just wanted to return to his stall. He’d been outside the barn for the last hour and was due for his rest break.

“Moving on,” the director finally called, to a collective sigh of relief.

Dan nodded at Lizzie who stepped in and took Ice’s lead line. “Wash off the blaze and turn him out in the round pen for a roll,” Dan said. “Have someone hand graze him for thirty minutes but keep him off the clover.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “He’s a real lover boy.”

“That he is,” Dan said, with another pat for the horse. Ice had been in over ten movies and his specialty was his doglike behavior to humans. His trick of pressing his big head to a person’s chest could soften the most cynical of hearts.

“Can you train your horse not to shed, Dan?” Shania asked, as she brushed at the hair clinging to her shirt. Two more assistants rushed to her side. One waved a damp cloth while another carried a box of tissue.

Shania waved off her entourage and smiled at Dan. “Contrary to what you might have heard, I do love horses. Unfortunately, I’m slightly allergic.”

He nodded but his attention drifted sideways, drawn by the long-legged girl walking toward the set. Obviously Emily wasn’t allergic. In fact, she looked fresh-faced and dewy after a night in the barn. But there was something different about her walk, about the way she held her head.

Shania tugged at his arm. “Are you joining us for dinner tonight? The hotel is flying in live lobster. I hope you’ll make it.”

“I’m busy with the horses,” he said.

“Surely you can take a little time off.” She gave a pretty pout. “Everyone needs to eat.”

He gave a polite murmur but his attention shifted back to Emily. She probably wondered what had happened to the rearing scene. Maybe that’s why she looked so subdued. Or perhaps she hadn’t slept well, although he could have sworn she’d never once woken.

And he should know. The plastic chair had been too small, too hard and not at all conducive to a restful night’s sleep. Probably that’s why he was a tad impatient with Shania’s attempts to pull him into her fan league.

She was still prattling about how she preferred lemon butter with lobster but never ate the tomalley. He simply crossed his arms and let his mind drift. A makeup person tilted Shania’s head, brushing at her cheeks, and he seized the chance to escape. The next scene didn’t involve horses anyway. They were shooting Shania in the aisle, hard at work loading a wheelbarrow with manure.

He strode toward Emily who watched him approach with something akin to panic. He slowed his stride, wondering if his impatience with Shania was evident on his face.

“Your scene isn’t cut,” he said. “It’s only postponed until tomorrow. Sorry to drag you out so early today. I didn’t have your phone number or someone would have called.”

“Oh.” She flashed him a relieved smile. “I wondered what happened. I’ve been watching the shooting though. Which Reckless was that?”

“That’s the quiet one, Ice. He hugs on cue.” His eyes settled on the cute dusting of freckles over her nose. He’d noticed them last night when she was sleeping. There was a little mole on the right side of her mouth too, just above the rosebud curl. Damn sexy, and he couldn’t stop staring.

But she averted her head, her shoulders rounding almost imperceptibly. Definitely uncomfortable. And strangely tentative compared to yesterday. How the hell was she going to handle Bruno?

“Are you feeling okay?” He eased back a step, giving her more space.

She flinched, her hand sweeping to her cheek, and there was no mistaking the hurt in her big brown eyes. “I’m fine,” she said quietly. “Sorry I look a little rough.”

“If you want to go home, leave me your number. If you don’t hear anything, you’ll have the same call time tomorrow. But you’ll be paid a half day rate for showing up this morning.”

She blinked then gave him such a grateful smile, his chest kicked. “Really? I get paid for showing up? That’s awesome.”

“Or you can hang around and get paid for the entire day,” he said impulsively. Obviously she needed the money, and in his opinion she deserved it. “Do you live close by?”

“I’d love to stay,” she said. “I could clean stalls. Or wash dye off horses, bath them, whatever needs to be done.”

She hadn’t answered his question although her helpful offer was appreciated. Wranglers looked after the horses and delivered them for each scene, but it was always hectic, especially when animals needed extensive grooming. And Emily was obviously very capable in that department.

When they’d met in the dining tent, her shapely legs had been showcased by three-inch heels. During her interview, she’d flashed designer jeans and lipstick lips. She’d looked like someone pretending to be a groom. Today though, she was ponytail pretty in scuffed boots and faded jeans. She looked like a real horseperson, certainly someone who could bathe a horse. He already knew she was tough enough to sleep in a stall and skip a shower.

His eyes narrowed in sudden comprehension. Naturally she was eager to wash horses. There were no public showers on site; she probably needed soap and water. And her shirt today was typical groom issue. Clearly she’d been prepped by the wardrobe people. Maybe she was too proud to admit she had no place to stay…or that she couldn’t afford one. He knew what it was like to be reduced to sharing a horse’s bath.

“I could use some help later,” he said, watching her reaction. “There’s a wash stall in the stud barn past the caretaker’s cottage. A horse there needs cold water treatment.”

Her little shiver was almost imperceptible.

Almost.

“We’ll get the warm water going too,” he added. “The barn hasn’t been used in years but it was built for Reckless. It’s well equipped. If you can hang around for an hour or so, I’ll show you where it is.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

Her words were simple but her grateful smile lifted his spirits, and he returned to the set feeling more enthused than he had all morning. He even managed a genuine chuckle at one of Shania’s horse jokes.

“Roll camera!” the assistant director called, from the middle of the barn aisle.

Emily stood among a smattering of bystanders, surrounded by the smell of wood and paint and excitement, trying to resist the urge to pinch her arm. Dan had told her to watch the action from the periphery. There was no need to sneak or pretend. She actually had permission—such an odd and comforting thing. Already she’d learned so much.

This was the sixth take of Shania who played the missing groom, Tracey, with Robert Dexter, playing Mr. Hamilton. They hotly discussed the benefits of moving Reckless to a smaller barn. Apparently Tracey and Mr. Hamilton had enjoyed a very close relationship, and Hamilton had been almost as upset as Reckless when Tracey had left.

“Action!” the director called.

Shania dropped the wheelbarrow and jammed her hands on her hips. She wore a low T-shirt and her chest heaved with each impassioned plea. Emily blew out a wistful sigh. They hadn’t skimped on Shania’s hair, or makeup. The actress looked stunning. If the original groom had looked anything like that twenty years ago, there was probably some truth to the rumor that Hamilton had been completely infatuated.

At some point Emily had stopped feeling self-conscious about her own lack of makeup, mainly because Dan didn’t seem to notice. He treated her the same way as he had yesterday. And while most men salivated over Shania, Dan seemed only interested in the welfare of his horse.

“Cut!” the director called. Shania immediately turned to a hovering assistant and accepted a glass of mineral water.

“That looked realistic,” a satisfied voice behind her said. “Exactly as I recall.”

Emily glanced over her shoulder, recognizing Mr. Hamilton and his wife. Mrs. Hamilton’s expression was slightly bored while he wore a complacent smile. His eyes passed over Emily with a complete lack of recognition—obviously he didn’t remember their meeting yesterday. Or perhaps her groom’s clothes fooled him. More likely, he was only friendly to ladies with plunging necklines.

“Will they be shooting any gallop scenes today?” Hamilton asked, seeming to address no one in particular.

A pasty-faced man shrugged but nobody answered. It seemed Mr. Hamilton wasn’t well liked. The silence lengthened.

Emily turned. “I believe the gallop scenes are scheduled to start tomorrow,” she said.

“Good,” Hamilton said. “My wife and I want to be here. Reckless was truly unbeatable once he settled down and decided to be a racehorse. Did we miss the rearing scene?”

“That’s switched to tomorrow as well,” Emily said.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Hamilton said, politely inclining her head. “We’ll come back then. Do you happen to know when the scene starts?”

Emily paused. Her new call time was eight but it was rather disconcerting how the Hamiltons considered her an expert. Still, nobody else seemed inclined to answer. “Eight o’clock, I think,” she said.

“What about the scene when Reckless crashes through the rail?” Mr. Hamilton pushed in front of his wife, standing so close Emily could smell stale coffee and his liberal application of cologne. “Are they going to do that tomorrow as well?”

Emily doubted Dan would let one of his horses crash through a rail. He seemed very protective of anything under his care. “I’m not sure.” She crossed her arms and edged back, trying to escape Hamilton’s hot breath.

Suddenly Dan stood beside her.

“Morning.” He nodded to the Hamiltons. “Tomorrow is the next scene with Reckless. We’ll be using the horse you saw last week. Anthony’s assistant has a revised schedule ready.” He turned to Emily. “We need to go.”

She followed him from the barn into the bright sunshine, not sure exactly where they were going but relieved to leave. It had been almost three hours of shooting for what appeared to be a one-minute clip. No wonder Shania looked grumpy off camera. There was a lot of standing around and waiting. Obviously it was the people behind the movie scenes, not the actors, who had the most fun.

“So, what did you think?” Dan asked, as though reading her mind. “Still want to be in the movies?”

“Of course but, well…” She hesitated but he remained silent, one of those rare people who didn’t rush to complete someone else’s sentence. “I was surprised it took so long to shoot a one-minute scene,” she finally said. “Is the director always that fussy?”

Dan chuckled, and laugh lines bracketed his lean jaw. “Anthony demands excellence. That’s why I like to get the horse scenes right on the first take. There’s a strict limit to the amount of galloping or rearing they can do. And delays are expensive.”