Chapter One
“Come on. When will you ever get another chance to get this close to a real-life movie star?” Colton Edwards pleaded, holding the screen door open but remaining outside on the porch.
Zeke MacAllan shook his head at Colton, his lifelong friend—and, more importantly in this context, the newly appointed Fire Marshal for all of Stephenson County.
Granted, no one else had been willing to take the job.
“Man,” Zeke replied, “I’ve got one day off. Why would I want to spend it watching a film crew taking pictures of people who are too dang prettified to ever even get close to a cow pretending to do the job I’ll really be doing tomorrow?” With a shake of his head, he gestured Colton inside the tiny cabin he’d recently moved into when he’d agreed to act as lead ranch hand for Colton’s cousin Tor.
Colton’s dismissive snort showed what he thought of his friend’s argument. “This from the guy who spends every spare moment lazing around with his boots kicked up on the coffee table, watching that giant-screen TV Tor gave you?”
“That TV came with the house. And I work outside all day, every day. Coming home to some down time is not the same as lazing around.”
“Dude,” Colton snickered. “‘Netflix and chill’ is not something you’re supposed to do alone.” His voice took on nasal quality they both associated with their fifth-grade elementary school teacher. “It means getting a chick over here to watch the movie and then … not watching it.”
“I know what it means. And you are not funny.”
“You say you know what it means, but how long has it been since you’ve done it?”
“Shut up. Fine. I’ll go look at the movie stars.”
Colton’s good-natured ribbing erupted into laughter, and Zeke grabbed his straw cowboy hat off the hook inside the door.
Colton always had been able to talk him into the stupidest shit, and even though he knew this was likely to be a wasted day, he had to admit—if only to himself—that the chance to get a glimpse of Sophie Daniels on the set appealed to him.
She was his favorite actress, after all. He’d seen all her movies.
Along with about a hundred million other guys.
But, maybe today, he’d get to be one of the ones who met her.
Maybe he’d even get her autograph.
He could dream, anyway.
* * *
“So what is it you’re supposed to be doing here?” Zeke asked Colton a half hour later, when they stood outside The Chargrill, under the scant shade offered by the awning in the midday sun.
Across the street, the film crew had set up outside Maryann’s, the only other restaurant in town, unless you counted the Dairy Queen up by the I-20 cut off.
“I’m not real clear on that myself,” Colton admitted. “Some town ordinance requires any movie crew working in Necessity to have a Fire Marshal on the set when they film. I’m supposed to head over there in about fifteen minutes.”
Maryann, the owner of the café, had just pushed open the glass door leading into her restaurant. She carried two straight-backed chairs looped over her arms, and Zeke hastened to take them from the short, round old woman he had known for as long as he could remember. “These for Colton and the crew?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she replied, her tone cranky, but the twinkle in her faded blue eyes giving away how much she enjoyed the game. “I brought these here chairs so’s I could sit out here and wait to see somebody famous.”
“Who’s the other chair for, Miz Maryann?” Zeke knew she was waiting for him to ask as she lined the two chairs up on the sidewalk and took a seat in one of them.
“Why, that’s for when I get me one of them movie star boyfriends.” She slapped the seat of the extra chair with a wild cackle, inviting the two men to join in her laughter.
Zeke reached out and took her hand. “And he will be lucky to have you,” he said, dropping a light kiss on the back of Maryann’s hand.
The café owner laughed harder and patted the seat again, this time invitingly. “Just for that, Zeke MacAllan, you can sit right down here next to me.”
“What about me?” Colton asked.
“Until the film crew’s ready for you, you can go ahead and bring a few more chairs out here. I closed down the café today for everybody except employees. Oh,” she added as more people begin drifting up on the sidewalk, “and The Chargrill’s employees. And the people who have to be here officially, of course, like Colton. And maybe a few regulars.”
In other words, Zeke reflected, pretty much the entire town of Necessity had been invited to come gawk at the film crew from the sidewalk in front of Maryann’s Café.
Pretty quickly, the atmosphere turned festive. Filming had shut down the entire downtown—it was only one street, after all—and as many people as could get away from their day jobs had turned up for the most exciting event in Necessity in a good, long while.
“What’s the name of this flick, again?” Zeke asked.
“Ten-Gallon Texas,” Colton answered absently. Zeke could tell his friend was loathe to leave the impromptu party in order to attend to his duties as Fire Marshal—not least of all because Maryann’s pretty granddaughter had shown up.
“You gotta go on over there and get to work,” Zeke said, chortling at Colton’s clear reluctance. “What if there’s a fire and you aren’t there to save Sophie Daniels? It would be a national catastrophe.”
“Some friend you are,” Colton said—but he was laughing too. “Sure you don’t want to come over with me? I can get you a behind-the-scenes look.”
“No, I’m comfortable right here.” Zeke had just finished speaking when a black sedan pulled up in front of The Chargrill and Sophie Daniels herself stepped out, her thick, chestnut-colored hair blowing in the slight breeze in a way that made Zeke’s breath catch.
“On second thought,” he said, unable to take his eyes off the movie star, “I believe I will join you, after all.”