“No kidding.” Tracen grunted. “If they hadn’t been paying me to keep you safe, you’d still be out there.”
Jack slapped his thigh. “I’m sorry, man. I’ve been kind of irritable because Emily won’t go out with me. Let me make it up to you. I’ll buy you a drink at The Point tonight.”
Who was this guy? And was he telling the truth about Emily?
Tracen found the satisfaction that came with Jack’s story to be disturbing. Well, it didn’t matter. The cast and crew would all be headed back to Hollywood within a month.
A bullhorn blared. “Attention please. I need my actors. Gather round.”
Tracen hesitated at Bruce’s call to action. He wasn’t an actor, but he’d be on the raft. Should he join in? Emily would be there, so maybe he shouldn’t.
“That’s you, man.” Jack wrapped a friendly arm up around Tracen’s shoulders and pulled him toward the small group gathering.
Yep, there she was, glowing with cosmetics. Her makeup artist had turned her into the image of perfection, but Tracen preferred her fresh-faced. He looked away.
A flash of color by the road caught his attention. He squinted into the sunlight and focused. It couldn’t be.
Jerking from Jack’s hold, Tracen scaled the hill. He’d have to be quick because they were filming soon.
“Jor-El?” The kid was on his unicycle. Unbelievable.
Jor-El dropped to the ground and grabbed the seat of his unicycle in one smooth movement. The coordination was impressive but also out of place.
Security stopped the kid at the road. “You can’t go down there.”
“It’s okay.” Jor-El tried to step past the crewmember. “I’m friends with Emily Van Arsdale.”
The security guy blocked the kid’s progress with arms crossed. “I didn’t get any authorization from Miss Van Arsdale.”
Tracen huffed with exertion by the time he reached the road. “The kid’s with me,” he said between gulps of air.
Jor-El’s eyes grew wide then he glared back at the security guard as if to say, “I told you so.”
Pulse slowing, Tracen shook his head and walked the boy away from the film location. “But you’re not joining us, Jor-El.”
“What? I rode all the way out here—”
“I see that.” Tracen eyed the unicycle. “Not your wisest idea.”
“Please, Tracen. Emily would let me stay. You saw how she invited me to eat lunch with her yesterday.” His voice turned whiny.
“Well, today she’s working.” Tracen continued to walk the boy away from the crew.
Jor-El stopped. “You want me to go home?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t. This is my dream come true. A real, live comic book hero has come to town. I can’t let this chance pass me by.”
Tracen wrinkled his brow and shook his head in exasperation. “A chance for what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look.” Tracen motioned toward the film crew. “Emily can’t let every comic book fan join her. You got to eat lunch with her yesterday. That’s more than most people get to do.”
“Please, Tracen, I’m not going to get in the way. I only wanna watch. I don’t have anything else to do today. I’m sure—”
“You need to leave right now, Jor-El.” Tracen crossed his arms, feeling much like the cold security guard who already tried to get rid of the kid. He could do better than that for a neighbor, couldn’t he? “But I’ll talk to Emily and see if there’s another time you can watch the filming.”
The boy’s face lit up. “Awesome. This is the best summer ever. I can’t wait to—”
“Go.” Tracen pointed down the road. “And don’t let me catch you riding your unicycle out of town anymore. These roads aren’t safe.”
Jor-El nodded slowly but finally took off.
Tracen descended back toward the raft. Emily sat on the right side. She wasn’t relaxed the way she’d been before. Her spine held her body tall, and her head whipped around with the excitement of a puppy dog’s tail. When she spotted Tracen, she bounced up and down in her seat.
****
EMILY’S HEART RACED WITH the high of preparing for a stunt. She felt alive, as if her skin could barely contain the adrenaline that surged within. She was ready to go. If Tracen didn’t get there soon, she was going to shove off and demand he be written out of the scene. Of course, it would be more fun if he were there to share the excitement.
Oh! There he was. Her thighs flexed and relaxed in preparation, causing her to bounce on the inflated raft. This is when her actions became uncensored. Since she’d deliberately be putting herself in harm’s way, she had to switch off the filter that would keep her acting sensibly.
Waving a paddle, she taunted, “One might expect you to get here faster with those long legs of yours.”
Tracen hopped into the paddleboat and sat down in one motion. “Are we talking about height again, Shorty?”
Emily’s guffaw turned into a grin. “Actually, we’re talking about timing. Where’ve you been?”
Tracen motioned toward the hill with his head. “Jor-El wanted to watch the show. I told him he needed to get your permission first.”
Emily peered up past the trees. No Jor-El. Too bad he’d already left. Stunts were what she did best and what a comic book fan would enjoy most. “Do you have his phone number? I’ll have to call him.”
Tracen gave a belly laugh, causing Emily to frown. “What?”
He grabbed an oar as he shot her a smile. “The kid’s in love with you, that’s all.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “No, he’s in love with Wonder Woman. Most men are.” Everybody except Tracen. “You didn’t see my first movie, did you?”
“I fell asleep at the theater.”
Emily gasped. “You did not.”
Tracen chuckled but didn’t have a chance to respond before Bruce’s bullhorn blared.
“Ready, crew?”
Emily pushed away thoughts of Wonder Woman and Tracen. She nodded once at Dave, Jack’s stunt double. They’d already rehearsed how he was going to grab her after she “fell” overboard, though you never really could plan a stunt. Whatever happened, happened.
“Rolling.”
Tracen pulled his oar up from underneath the water. He’d been using it to anchor the raft in place. The waves came without warning.
The raft bobbed and spun, the current fighting itself to pull them under and forward at the same time. Stinging cold water frothed around Emily’s right leg, the slapping of its waves a warning of what was to come.
She marked her spot downstream, ignoring the present pounding she was receiving from the river. It would all happen so fast. She had to be ready.
Flexing every muscle in her body, she crouched, ready to spring. Time was up. Dramatically throwing her body forward, she reversed directions as if her torso was a pendulum, arching her back and pushing against the bottom of the raft. Letting go of her paddle, she surrendered to gravity and folded herself into a loose pike so her hips hit the water first. She barely had time to catch her breath before the rest of her body was sucked under as well.
The roaring river gave way to a peaceful gurgle underneath the waves. Her hair floated around her head, dancing to a silent melody. The tranquility shattered as her life vest yanked her back up to the surface. With hair plastered to her face, Emily fought the current that juggled her. The waves snaked their way up her nostrils and down her throat. She choked and sputtered, looking for Dave. Hopefully he could reach her within range of the cameras.
“Help!” She raised one hand overhead. Pretending to drown didn’t take much acting at all, but she didn’t want to have to do it for longer than necessary.
Catching sight of the raft, she saw Dave lean toward her in preparation of the rescue. Thank goodness they weren’t too far away. But before Dave could dive out, Tracen shoved him back in his seat and, with one mighty pull on his oar, steered the raft adjacent to Emily’s body. In the next instant he had
his hand on her vest and was dunking her under the surface of the river. Emily didn’t have a chance to catch her breath this time.
Water burned her nose, her throat. She clawed at Tracen’s arm.
He must have meant to pull her up, not push her down. Though he shouldn’t have touched her at all.
Then she was shooting out of the river like a rocket. Tracen had only pushed her under so the life vest would propel her up with more force. He caught her the moment she reappeared and jerked her to safety. Together they slipped down to the bottom of the raft, Emily cradled in his arms.
Coughing, she wiped strands of hair out of her eyes. She leaned back, shivering against the side of the raft and gulping oxygen. Tracen looked just as beat, which was weird since he’d been in the boat the whole time.
The rest of the actors maneuvered them toward shore, jabbering about what had happened. Their voices faded into the background as Tracen flipped his sunglasses onto his forehead.
“You okay?” he asked, his eyes roaming over her face in search of any indication that she needed medical attention.
Emily let out a breathless laugh at her predicament. She was okay — more than okay. But not for the reasons he was asking.
“Dude, I was supposed to rescue her,” Dave admonished. “You ruined the scene.”
Tracen’s gaze went hard. He glanced up at the stuntman before locking eyes with Emily. “I guess that’s what I get for missing the meeting.”
Emily made no effort to climb off Tracen’s lap. Her limbs still hung limp, recovering from the adrenaline rush. She sprawled sideways, body growing heavier. Tracen didn’t attempt to move either, and she couldn’t resist shooting him a knowing smile.
CHAPTER SIX
TRACEN HAD TO RUN THE RAPID a couple more times. First so they could reshoot the stunt from a distance. Then they had to do it close up. Now the director was busy arranging cameras for the scene where Jack would drag Emily up to shore. The idea of Jack Jamison rescuing Emily was a joke, but the way Tracen had accidentally rescued her earlier was no laughing matter — despite the way the other rafting guides seemed to find humor in it.
Now he knew not to miss any of Bruce’s pre-production pow-wows. If he hadn’t been chasing Jor-El around, he would have realized the former stunt woman still did her own stunts.
Well, it was too late now. He couldn’t take back his mistake. And he couldn’t erase from his memory the expression Emily had shot him after he’d pulled her into his arms. That was the worst of it. Of course, he would have done the same thing for any one of the crew — it was his job. But he wouldn’t have felt the same way with them sprawled across his lap. And she’d known it.
It was a ridiculous attraction. She’d pretty much told him that all men wanted her. The question was, did she treat all men the way she was treating him? The smiles she sent him seemed intimate somehow. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Or maybe she really only saw him as a challenge the way he’d suggested. Good thing she’d be leaving soon. He didn’t need such a complicated distraction.
The other actors bantered back and forth behind him as they carried the raft upstream. Emily and Dave had already swum to shore — for the seventh time. The idea of making movies used to seem like such a glamorous lifestyle, but in reality it was nothing but repetition. And waiting. Waiting for more repetition. At least he got a little break.
The actors dropped the raft and took off for their lunch break. Tracen grabbed his water bottle and joined the other guides, who were only there for the show. Yeah, he’d been the entertainment.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” teased Howie. The big man more closely resembled a logger than a rafting guide.
Honey joined in, her braids tucked under a baseball cap today. “You better go make sure she doesn’t need any more rescuing.”
Tracen sank onto a stump. “Nah. She’s a superhero. She’ll be fine.”
Honey tossed him her bag of trail mix. “Are you gonna be fine?”
Tracen slanted his eyes toward the middle-aged woman. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Honey stood up and wiped pine needles off her rear. “For some reason I thought you’d be avoiding Hollywood starlets. I even told Wonder Woman you wouldn’t be interested in her.”
So that’s who Emily had been talking to. “You know, she mentioned that.”
Honey gave a toothy grin. “Am I right?”
Tracen groaned. “You’re ridiculous. What are the chances that a movie star would come to a small town like Sun Valley and fall for a local?”
This shouldn’t be a big deal. Everyone was making too big a deal out of it. Out of nothing. Yeah, he’d been hurt before. But he’d learned his lesson. And it wasn’t like he even had a chance with the actress.
“Come on.” Honey headed toward the river. “I’m in the mood to go pick huckleberries.”
Tracen knew what Honey wanted. Her favorite huckleberry bush was most accessible from the water. He climbed to his feet to take her downstream. “Are you coming, Howie?”
“What?” Howie’s low tone teased. “You afraid I’m gonna stay here and make a move on your woman?”
Tracen chuckled at the image of Howie making a move on Emily — the only funny thing about this whole situation. The older man wasn’t exactly known for being smooth. Tracen shook his head and followed Honey. His buddy could join them if he wanted, but he wasn’t going to stick around to be the butt of any more jokes. Turning a corner in the path, he slowed at the sight of Emily seated on a rock in the sunshine. He couldn’t get away from her. It was as if his thoughts conjured her up every time. Hopefully she hadn’t heard his conversation.
The actress had changed into shorts and a tank top, but her skin still glistened with moisture. Her smile was every bit as slick. She gestured past him toward Howie, who’d apparently decided to follow.
“Who are you going to make a move on?” she asked sweetly.
Mercy. She’d overheard and was feigning innocence.
Tracen’s best bet was to feign innocence, as well. Though he really felt like kicking something — Howie’s backside would do. He tilted his head back toward his friend and pasted on a smile. Emily couldn’t see the dare in his glare. “Yes, Howie, who are you making a move on?”
Howie’s normally ruddy face ripened enough to resemble a tomato. “Uh, nobody?”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Emily purred. “You’re a handsome guy. Some woman out there is going to be awfully disappointed.”
Howie’s chest puffed out far enough to rival his beer belly. Tracen rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head at the reaction. Flattery would get Emily anywhere with him.
“Do you want to come pick huckleberries with us?” Howie’s invitation exploded like a bomb before Tracen could defuse it.
Maybe he could still prevent the disaster. “Emily is working, remember?”
Howie looked down, as if he were a kid being chastised. “Oh, yeah.”
“Actually…” Emily’s one word drew all of Tracen’s attention. He held his breath. “One of Bruce’s cameras broke. He’s sending a grip into town to retrieve another part. That gives me plenty of time to pick huckleberries.”
****
EMILY WATCHED BRAID LADY — now Baseball Cap Lady — send Tracen a questioning look as they joined her at the raft. The man shrugged his wide shoulders, waiting quietly for Emily to hop in. The other two guides sat together, and Tracen swung a leg up to straddle the raft behind her. The awareness of his proximity felt like static electricity. Her hair practically stood up on end as he leaned even closer to push them away from the bank.
“So you like huckleberries?” Baseball Cap Lady asked.
Emily turned her head to face the woman. She could respond and have a normal conversation. All she’d have to do was block out any thoughts of Tracen. “Mmm… yeah.” Huckleberries. She was talking about huckleberries. “I especially like taking a raft to pick them.”
Baseball Cap Lady smiled. “I like you.” She let go
of her oar with one hand to reach across the raft and shake. “My name’s Honey Christiansen. I know we spoke yesterday” — her eyes slid back toward Tracen — “but I didn’t get to introduce myself.”
Ah, that’s why Tracen had called her “Honey.” It wasn’t an endearment — it was her name. So what was with the look she sent him?
“And I’m Howie Christiansen.” The big man reached over to grab her hand, as well. His shake was firmer, almost painful.
Emily nodded. Honey and Howie. Howie and Honey. They had the same last name. Were they married? Or brother and sister? She opened her mouth to ask, but Honey spoke first.
“And you are Emily Van Arsdale.”
“Oh, yes.” That was rude to assume they knew her name, even if they did. “Nice to meet you.”
“Hard right.” Tracen grunted.
Emily gripped her paddle with both hands and dug into the heavy waves. An inlet with water as smooth as glass rushed toward them. “Is that where we’re going?”
“If we can get there.” The current threatened to push them past. Emily pulled on her oar, testing her shoulder muscles. Wasn’t she freezing cold a moment earlier, and now the moisture on her skin came from beads of sweat?
The front of the raft kissed the mouth of the inlet, but the current attempted to pull them away. Emily whipped the oar in and out of the water, trying to resist the force of nature with greater speed.
Then she felt another force press against her. This time it was Tracen’s warm, hard chest pressing into her back. She had no choice but to lean forward, straining her neck to get her head out of his way. What was the man doing?
“Grab on,” he growled in her ear, his arms reaching around her. A tree branch scratched her hand — a tree branch Tracen was pulling. Emily mimicked his actions, grasping at leaves and stems and anything else that could be used like a rope to tug them towards the shore. The work took all her physical effort, but her mind still had time to wonder if the musky scent that surrounded her came from nature or the nature lover.
Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho (Resort to Love Book 1) Page 4
