by Alice Sabo
The clerk looked a little scared and went to get her boss. Bunny’s brows knitted together. Asher could see a confrontation brewing. Most likely, Bunny was used to working in a town where he was well known.
“You always do the shopping?” Asher asked.
Bunny shrugged. “I wanted to see what I could find locally. It’s a lot easier if I can get my hands on it right away.”
An older woman came out of the back looking very stern. Asher was determined to defuse this situation. The boss was a woman old enough to remember his salad days.
“You folks haven’t heard about the film crew, yet?” Asher asked with a professional smile. He pulled his hair back, then remembered he’d lost all his elastics, and let it fall down around his shoulders again.
She blinked warily at him until he saw the recognition hit her. Then she grinned like a schoolgirl. “You’re Asher Blaine.”
“I am.”
Her eyes flickered to Bunny and then back to the piles on the counter. “Oh. The Hollywood people. I heard something about you folks.” She turned a sunny smile on Bunny. “I am sorry for the delay. Bernice, I will handle this purchase myself.” She glanced over the stacks of fabric, her eyebrows inching up her forehead as she tallied them. “Please let me know if you need anything special ordered.”
Bunny gave an approving nod, and Asher relaxed. There ensued a long conversation about frogs: fabric, metal, bone, with and without toggles. Asher wondered if that was someone’s emblem. And if it was, he hoped it was the villain that ended up with toads on his coat. It wasn’t a very glorious symbol. If he was lucky, he might get a hawk or a lion. Wolf might be okay, but with all the werewolf movies lately, he’d rather something else. Bunny pulled him out of his musings to have him help carry stuff to the car. They had to take two trips. Fabric was surprisingly heavy.
“That was very helpful,” Bunny said as he pulled out of the parking lot back on to the narrow road.
“She was afraid that a sale that big couldn’t be real,” Asher said quietly. “Small towns like this live on a smaller margin. If you were a thief, it could have ruined her.”
“What if she didn’t recognize you?”
“Well, that was lucky. I was ready to tell her about the film. She might know Mrs. Wheatly. Small town.” Asher shrugged. “Dropping the right name might work.”
“Well, I think word will spread now.”
Asher wasn’t sure if Bunny was scolding him. Word would spread whether they wanted it to or not. As far as Asher knew, they were going to be filming all of the exterior scenes here. Crews had come out to start work on a castle facade somewhere, probably with a mountain view. The locals would all know soon, especially when the hiring started. Small towns ran the gamut when it came to the acceptance of outsiders, especially from Hollywood. Sometimes the movie was a well-kept secret that the locals jealously guarded. Other times news spread until the locations were mobbed and security had to be quadrupled. Asher hoped for the former, but expected the latter.
“Thank God it isn’t raining today. I swear I haven’t seen the sun in weeks,” Bunny said. “Perhaps that’s a good omen for you.”
Asher checked the sky for any trouble on the horizon. “Considering my day so far, it’s a bit doubtful.”
The road wound through thick woods. Bunny was a careful driver. Asher relaxed and watched the sun through the lacework of leaves overhead. Greens and golds so bright that the trees looked like they were lit from inside. This was a beautiful part of the country. Until they got to the construction site.
Despite bales of hay and erosion fencing, mud had been washed across the road in several places. Cars had tracked the mud down the road in both directions. Today it was bone dry. They left a plume of dust behind them, hanging in the shafts of late afternoon sun. Along the side of the road, a huge swath of land had been denuded of trees. The trunks were piled in a haphazard mess in the middle of the property. Mounds of dirt, scored by runoff channels hunkered randomly across the lot. Beyond the tree trunks and dirt piles, Asher could just make out some sort of structure rising on the far corner of the lot. It was swathed in plastic sheeting against the recent rains.
“That’s so ugly from this side,” Bunny said as he carefully drove through the debris on the road.
“Looks like it’s been there awhile,” Asher said. “That pile of dirt has a tree growing out of it.”
“I think that’s just a big weed.”
There was a faded sign announcing a shopping center Coming Soon! A few bumps and they were past it back into the cool shadows of the woods.
Chapter 5
Bunny insisted on taking Asher to dinner. They made a quick stop at the garage that had pulled the car out of the pond. Asher scrounged some trash bags for his sodden luggage before loading them into the back of Bunny’s car with the fabric. Having his belongings back eased a worry he hadn’t even realized was weighing on him.
They met Oscar, Bunny’s partner, at a small cafe off the state road that had a surprisingly sophisticated feel with white tablecloths and stained glass lamps. Somehow he hadn’t expected haute cuisine in the backwoods of North Carolina. A stocky woman in a crisp black dress led them to a table. “You folks here for the leaves?”
Asher wasn’t sure what that meant. Grape leaves? “Are they good?” She gave him a look that said he’d asked the wrong question. He gave her his ingratiating smile. “Sorry, I guess we aren’t.”
“We don’t get a lot of out-of-towners until leaf season in October. Most folks come to town to look at the fall colors, but it’s a little too early for that,” she said without missing a beat. Asher gave her points for composure. She hadn’t recognized him which might be a good thing. “You staying here in town?”
“Uh, Kozy Kottages?” Asher said, hoping it was the right answer.
“Oh.” She moved a bit closer and lowered her voice. “You aren’t the ones that found the body, are ya?”
Bunny pointed at Asher.
“Probably a bear, right?” Asher asked, hoping the dread wasn’t too evident in his voice.
“Well, we got catamounts up here.”
Asher glanced at Bunny and Oscar, who were both staring intently at the hostess. “Catamounts,” he repeated carefully. “How big would you say they were?”
“Bigger than a bobcat. We got coyote, too. Doesn’t have to be bear.”
“Do they know who it was?” Asher asked.
“Haven’t said yet.” She handed menus to them and left.
“I heard it was just a bloody shoe,” Oscar said.
Asher hunched his shoulders against the memory. “There was still a foot in it.”
“That’s not table talk,” Bunny said firmly. “We are here to relax and have a lovely dinner. Not talk of dark deeds.”
“Thank you,” Asher said softly. The evening proceeded more pleasantly. Asher had the fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. They were breaded with corn meal and served with a spicy remoulade sauce. That got his appetite to sit up and pay attention. He tried the shrimp with grits as a main course and a fabulous chocolate mousse for dessert. He passed on the pecan pie because it was made with bourbon. Even though the alcohol cooked off, he preferred to avoid it entirely. That way he didn’t have to worry about temptation slowly creeping back into his life. Just a whiff of Bunny’s wine had him longing for a stiff drink. After a day like today, he would once have drowned his sorrows liberally. He needed to find a different way to decompress.
Bunny and Oscar were interesting dinner companions. They were about the same height, but the similarities ended there. Oscar was wiry to Bunny’s husky build. Where Bunny had curly brown hair, Oscar was balding, with thick gray hair cut short. Those sharp blue eyes of Bunny’s were countered with Oscar’s warm brown ones, always seeming on the verge of laughter. Bunny had done the costumes for some very well known films and several of the ones George had directed. Asher recognized almost all of the names. Oscar was a stunt coordinator. His list of movies was equally im
pressive.
As they dug into their desserts, Oscar turned to Asher. “We should meet tomorrow to go over what you might like to do and figure out what you are actually able to do.”
Asher smiled. “Sounds like you’ve had some problems there.”
“I’ve run across some actors that insist they can do all their own stunts until we get down to the day, and they freak out. Learned my lesson there.”
“I’m not expecting any skydiving in this one,” Asher said with a grin.
Oscar returned the grin. “Nope. Battles on horseback, sword fighting, magic wielding, maybe some indoor fencing.”
Asher felt a little daunted. He’d read through those original scenes wondering how much would be retained when they finally got down to filming. Maybe hoping a little that they would be toned down. Magical explosions and big battles with horses and men in armor could be very expensive. “To be honest, it’s been years since I was on a horse. Not sure I’m up to any trick riding, but I should be able to stay in the saddle for simple stuff.”
Oscar gave him an approving look. “Can you handle a gallop?”
Asher tried to recollect his last horseback adventure. The memories were fuzzy. There was an Appaloosa with a gorgeous white mane that hated him and kept bucking him off. A dun that he loved riding. It was fast, and the first time he’d been able to match rhythm with the horse and enjoy the speed. But that had a giddy glow to it that made him think he might be remembering it wishfully. A story told often enough can become a real memory.“Huh, I don’t think I’ve ridden sober.”
“Good to know. Do you know how to ride?”
“Yeah. I worked on two, no maybe three shows with horses. I remember falling off a lot, so I must have gotten on a lot.”
That got him a smile from both of them.
“We can take a run out to the wrangler’s barn tomorrow afternoon. Get you up on a horse and see what you remember. There is a massive mounted battle scene that I need to start choreographing soon.”
“I think I might have fencing lessons tomorrow,” Asher added.
Bunny shook his head, hand raised until he finished chewing. “Imre hasn’t arrived yet. His flight got canceled. He’s due in tomorrow evening, now. Do you have an assistant?”
“Not until my wife arrives.” Asher’s mouth quirked in a grin. Wife. Every time he said it a good feeling bloomed in his chest. Despite the fact that Ellie was his fourth wife, this was the first time that he felt like he’d gotten it right.
“Who’s going to organize your day?” Bunny asked.
That made him laugh. “I guess I’ll have to do it myself.”
Bunny gave him a serious look. “Can you do that? There’s going to be a lot happening in the next few weeks: lessons, fittings, meetings.”
“Right.” It occurred to him that he had never done that. Never scheduled things and tracked appointments for himself. By the time he needed someone, he had been surrounded with assistants and handlers. Little by little, he had relinquished all responsibility to them as he sank deeper into the quagmire of addiction. Then when he started rebuilding his life, a young woman named Sharon had arrived to take charge of his affairs. His mind skimmed over her loss. He still thought of her fondly, but he had realized that she had been the wrong choice for an assistant. Her goals hadn’t exactly coincided with his own.
He pushed the memories aside and gave Bunny’s question some thought. Was there more to this than he realized? It didn’t feel overwhelming. In fact, it felt empowering to plan his own day. “I’d definitely like to try. And I can ask for help if I think I’m screwing it up, right?” Then he realized where his phone and tablet and laptop were. “But I lost all my stuff in the pond. I’ll need a datebook or something to keep track.”
Bunny pulled a notepad and pen out of his bag. He put them in front of Asher. “Start writing down tomorrow’s appointments and add one o’clock lunch and shopping with Bunny. I found a wonderful old stationery store in the next town over.”
By the time they’d finished dessert, Asher had a full day planned. Hour by hour, he’d filled his day with things. It made him realize that when he’d been the busiest, at the height of his career, people had simply moved him around. He’d rarely known what his day would be which led him to acknowledge that he’d never been ready to work. How could he prepare if he didn’t know, didn’t ask, what the next day had in store for him? Those memories were so blurry that they felt like they belonged to someone else. Someone that he couldn’t imagine being now.
“Asher?” Bunny called his name gently. “Everything okay?”
“I want to do this right,” he said. A heavy feeling of loss pressed down on him. There were years gone that he would never get back. Worse, that he could never correct. “I need to do this right.”
Bunny patted his hand. “We’ll help you, sweetie. Don’t get upset.”
“I never waited tables,” Asher blurted. He saw Bunny exchange looks with Oscar and knew that he’d done it backwards again. “I mean I never had to. I had the Disney version. Came into town and scored a starring role.”
“I remember. You were a skinny little heart-breaker.” Bunny gave him a sexy wink.
“Hey,” Oscar complained.
Bunny stuck his tongue out at him before turning a serious face to Asher. “I know what you mean. You didn’t come up through the ranks. But this won’t be that hard. We’ve got nearly a month to get ready. We’ll take it slow. You’ll figure it out.”
Bunny drove him back to the cottages. Oscar followed in his truck. After Asher said good night and thanked them again, he stood in the driveway and contemplated the heavens. A meandering path of solar lights lit the sidewalk but not much else letting him see clearly above the treetops . Stars blazed across the dark sky framed by the ragged edges of foliage. He hadn’t seen a sky like that in years. Crickets and cicadas sang in the darkness. There was a scent of wood smoke in the cool evening air, a harbinger of fall. For the first time since he’d arrived, he felt happy to be here. That was a good thing because now he could call Ellie and tell her that despite the disastrous start, things here were fine.
Chapter 6
Bunny shut the door then bolted it with the flimsy little lock. “Wouldn’t stop a child,” he grumbled. Feeling a little foolish, he locked the doorknob, also.
“What?” Oscar asked.
Bunny waved off his question. “What do you think about him?”
“Asher?” Oscar shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it on the back of a chair.
“Mm.” Bunny picked up the jacket and hung it on the hall tree beside the door.
“He seems okay. Why?”
“Not what I was expecting.” Bunny settled into an overstuffed armchair.
Oscar headed for the kitchen. “Wine?”
“Please.”
“You expected the old Asher?” Oscar continued the conversation as he poured two glasses.
“I’m not sure what I expected after that harangue from George.”
Oscar handed him a glass then took a seat in the matching armchair. “He wanted us on this movie. We told him how it had to go. If Asher gets out of line, we walk. George said he was fine with that. Pressure’s on Asher.”
“He was such a diva,” Bunny groused.
“How long ago was that?” Oscar asked. “Before we met. I bet you were with Ian then.”
“And you were with Lorraine!” Bunny snapped. He winced at Oscar’s wide-eyed response. Ian and Lorraine were the worst choices they’d made, long before they’d met. Although Lorraine had given Oscar a lovely daughter, she’d turned out to be as horrible a partner as Ian had been for Bunny. Seeing Asher had pulled up some old, bad memories, and he was feeling vulnerable and raw. Bunny closed his eyes and sighed out a groan. “God. The pair of them were more than I could bear. Half the time they were passed out in Asher’s trailer. The other half they were trying to get their hands on more drugs and booze.”
“What did Asher say when you brought it up?”
“I didn’t mention Ian. But he said he couldn’t remember anything about working on My Lady’s Displeasure, and that he was so sorry.”
Oscar snickered.
Bunny bristled. “Why is that funny?”
“He’s learned his lesson. Starts with an apology.” Oscar sipped his wine. “Do you believe him?”
Bunny tipped his head one way and then the other as he went over their interaction during the day. “I think I do. He’s been pretty forthcoming. And considering how high he was. . .every day. . .probably killed more than a few brain cells that year.”
“Did you tell him about Ian?”
Bunny snorted a dismissal, then sighed again. “What purpose would it serve? He probably doesn’t remember Ian. Telling him how he died wouldn’t mean anything.”
“Does it mean anything to you?”
Bunny took a healthy sip of wine. “I’m not angry at Ian anymore. He was a fun fling. I didn’t realize how serious his drug use was until we worked together on that movie. He was just a gopher, and he couldn’t even manage that much. If Asher hadn’t taken him into his entourage, Ian would have been fired in a week. The fact that he overdosed a month later wasn’t that much of a surprise.”
“But it hurt,” Oscar said gently.
“He loved his drugs more than me,” Bunny said with a shrug. “Can’t compete with that.”
“You going to be okay with this?”
“He’s sweet,” Bunny said with a puzzled smile.
“You sound surprised.”
“I guess I am. Asher was a bad man from a bad part of my life. He wrecked that movie and my love life. I was just a dresser then, and I was constantly chasing after him. He was skin and bones, and his clothes hung on him like a scarecrow. I didn’t think he’d live another year. And I so wanted to blame him for Ian’s death.”
“Wasn’t his fault.”
“No.”
“Wasn’t yours either.”
Bunny gave Oscar a sad smile. “No. I know that now. What about you? Are you okay with him?”
