Hatten, Catherine - Trailer Trash [Deep Ellum] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Catherine Hatten

  Sherry shrugged. Thomas turned to Nina. Nina shrugged.

  “So, did we just magically pull this out our ass, or what? What are you two keeping from me? Remember we said no secrets in our partnership?” Thomas’s stern tone matched his face.

  Nina had gone to the facility to wrangle the deal and was referred to Carl, the PR guy, which had seemed unusual. But she did as she was told and found out that Carl was the guy who had been prosecuted as the stalker of one of her old friends. This had happened years ago, but she knew from experience that people rarely changed. She could see straight through this sicko’s polished exterior and had tried several other routes. Unfortunately, it always referred back to Carl. It had taken everything in her to agree to it, but she went to lunch with the creep to get what she needed. With Thomas’s protective nature she had no intention of letting this cat out of the bag. The jerk had been hanging around the studio pretending he wanted to have them shoot a commercial for the last two weeks. She knew what he wanted was in her pants and forced away the shiver that ran down her spine. Shrugging was easier.

  Thomas straightened his back and looked from Sherry to Nina. Sherry looked out the window.

  “Nina?” Thomas persisted.

  “What? Look, I got it. That’s all that matters, right?”

  “You just seem weird about it. And they don’t normally let people come in there to shoot, especially romance-book trailers. Does it have anything to do with that Carl guy? Is he bothering you? Is that why he’s been coming around so much lately? I get a really bad vibe from him.” Thomas visibly bristled.

  The roar of engines got everyone’s attention as five motorcycles pulled up in front of the cafe. Just as suddenly, five huge guys lumbered through the door.

  “Hey, man, look who’s here!” one of the men hollered across the room, pointing to Thomas.

  “Let me scoot outta here, girls. I’ll be right back,” Thomas said and elbowed Nina gently. Once out of the booth, he turned. “We’re not through discussing this.”

  Nina let go a sigh of relief. Thomas was her and Sherry’s protector, and they loved him for it, but she wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of this shoot in the morning and didn’t need him getting them uninvited to use the arboretum.

  “Thomas smells a rat,” Sherry said and nudged Nina’s leg under the table for emphasis.

  “I know. I just want to eat, go soak in my tub, and crawl in bed, Sher.”

  She’d find another jungle set if she ever needed one in the future. But tomorrow was going to be a one take per scene deal. She’d make damn sure of that.

  * * * *

  Nina loved the soothing blues and greens in her bathroom and the stained glass vertical window accenting the room. She looked around appreciatively as she relaxed into her enormous tub, the hot water reaching to just under her chin. She pulled the scent of eucalyptus oil deep into her lungs and closed her eyes.

  Judson Lane.

  Her eyes flew open.

  What was it about him that made her think of him, made her wonder about who he really was, what he was really about? It couldn’t be his looks. She was surrounded by good-looking men. It wasn’t that.

  No, there was something inside him that pulled her thoughts to him and made her body want him even when he was nowhere around. The love scene they’d shot today had caused her to ache, down there. She ached even now, and her fingers delved between her closed legs to massage her “special spot.”

  “No!” she said into the air, pulled her hand back, and reached for the wine glass she’d put to the side of the tub filled with Cherry Coke. She sat up and drank deeply.

  “God, I’m losing it!” She drained the glass and got out of the tub.

  Drying her body, she reached the pounding area between her legs, wondering if some of that gel-type tooth desensitizer would help. She pulled open a drawer in her dressing table and stared at the tube then slammed the drawer shut. No, tooth desensitizer gel would probably not do the trick. Nothing would help but to get what was inside her under control. She sent up a silent vow to get these three trailers done and get herself away from this man.

  This man she had begun to want.

  The phone broke into her preoccupation, and she ran to get it, thankful for the intrusion.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Nina?”

  “Yes?” Her heart pounded in unison with her lady parts, now including her nipples.

  “Judson here.”

  She gulped and tried to steady her voice without making any noise. She sat on the nearest thing she could find, a little foot stool she’d used earlier to reach the top shelf of her closet.

  “Nina?”

  “Yes, sorry, I’m just getting out of the tub. Can you hold on a second?”

  “Oh, sorry, let me call you back.”

  “No. Just a minute.”

  Why in the hell did I let him know I’m standing here talking to him naked?

  “Sure, glad to.”

  In fast motion she finished drying off, threw on a robe, and fluffed her hair as she looked into the mirror.

  “Judson? How can I help you?” Stiff, cool, professional.

  “I’m really sorry to bother you, but we’ve got a bit of a conundrum.”

  Conundrum? She hadn’t heard that word in ages.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Deannie. We’ve had to take her to the hospital. We’re there now. She fell down some stairs, and it looks like she’s broken her foot pretty badly. She’s going into emergency surgery. We may have to cancel the shoot in the morning.”

  “Cancel the shoot? No! We can’t do that. We’ve been allotted this certain time, and it was very hard to come by. No, no way can the shoot be cancelled.”

  Silence.

  “Why would we have to cancel the shoot? We can go forward without Deannie and let her watch back what we get. I’ll bring it to her myself. She can watch on a laptop.”

  “The last thing she said before they took her into the operating room was she wanted the shoot cancelled until she can be there for it. I’m all for going forward, but I want to give you a heads-up. She threatened to pull the trailers if her request isn’t honored.”

  Silence.

  “You just tell me what you want, Nina. It’s not going to bother me to lose this gig. Seriously. But I don’t want you to.” His voice was comforting, supportive. And deep. Nina liked that he didn’t give a damn what Deannie wanted but did care about what she, Nina, wanted.

  “Judson, we have to go forward. Period. We’ll make it quick, but I can’t cancel the shoot. I just can’t.”

  “I understand.”

  “I promise we’ll finish quickly, and you can be back up at the hospital before Deannie realizes we even shot the scene.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help? You sound rattled.”

  “No, I’m fine. Just you and Shasta be there in the morning at six o’clock.”

  “See you then. Sleep well.” His voice was gravelly, soothing.

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  The phone clicked, and she hung up.

  Nina knew Judson was in a tough spot with Deannie, but he didn’t seem the least bit worried. She was in a tough spot with Deannie and couldn’t afford to lose this gig. But she wasn’t going through Carl-hell again to reschedule.

  That damn Carl!

  Once again the past had crashed back in to complicate her life. She had to figure out how to make it to stop.

  Chapter Six

  Judson ended the call and walked back into the hospital to find his way back through the hospital maze to the sterile waiting room.

  Something about their conversation bothered him. It was almost like using the arboretum frightened Nina. This wasn’t about Deannie. As much as Nina wanted Deannie’s project, she hadn’t been afraid of bucking her. No, this was something to do with the arboretum.

  He found and entered the waiting room greeted by the drone of a television and the irritating florescent lig
hting. Still, he couldn’t stop the tug of a little smile.

  Nina Graham was some kind of woman. She just was. Professional to the bone, focused on her work to the point of perfection. He’d seen a few of her other book trailers, and they were really good, in no way cheesy. It was refreshing to see a serious businesswoman be so…so, what? Bohemian chic? Intelligent, beautiful? Hell, all those things. There was something about her he just couldn’t shake, a softness somewhere within that hard line of creative expertise and business acumen.

  Not soft in a weak way, soft in a womanly way with hidden embers buried within her that she didn’t even recognize and having nothing to do with her work. No, there was fire inside her body that called to him. And it was really beginning to get to him. He’d almost lost it in the car on the way from Nobu and again standing at the door to her building.

  He sat down hard in the orange plastic chair and covered the hardness throbbing in his crotch with his hands. Crap! He looked around the waiting room, relieved that he was alone. He found a magazine and set it in his lap. Go away, he said to his desire. It would never be fulfilled with Nina Graham. She fought it too hard, and he would never push himself on her. He would just have to find a way to vanquish it.

  The book trailers for this trilogy would end soon, and he would separate himself from her the best he could. He knew he would have to work hard to avoid her with her living and working in Deep Ellum. He reminded himself that he’d never seen her around the neighborhood in the month since his return. He’d manage to keep it that way.

  He looked up as Shasta blasted through the door, swinging white paper bags filled with food. He was starving.

  “Got us a couple sandwiches. They actually don’t look too bad,” Shasta said and handed him one of the bags.

  Judson opened it up, took a sandwich, then handed the bag back to Shasta.

  “Thanks, Shasta. Do we have chips?”

  Shasta bobbed her head. “Yep, even though you don’t eat them, I got some. Oh, and both sandwiches are on whole wheat.”

  “Thanks. You’re a good girl,” he said and took a bite of his sandwich.

  “Reading Cosmo?” Shasta asked, looking down at the magazine in Judson’s lap.

  “Oh,” he managed after he swallowed his too-large mouthful, “yeah. It’s pretty boring sitting in here. It was better than nothing.” He ripped open a bag of chips.

  Shasta dug two bottles of water out of her enormous purse and offered him one. “Here.”

  “Thanks. Hey, how much do I owe you?”

  “Nothing. You gave me twenty bucks to go to the cafeteria, remember?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, you were going to call the studio to tell them we weren’t going to make it to the arboretum in the morning.” Shasta chewed as she talked.

  “That’s right. Yeah.” Judson took another bite of his sandwich and put a chip in his mouth.

  After a sip of water, Shasta asked, “So? Did you reach someone? Are we cool or what?”

  “Uh-hmm.”

  “And?” Shasta took another big bite.

  “I got hold of Nina Graham.” Judson shifted a bit in the flimsy plastic chair, which bent under his weight, opened his bottle of water, and swigged, nearly emptying the bottle.

  “Okay.”

  “She insisted that we show up. We’ve only got the arboretum for in the morning. She said the shoot won’t take long, and we can be right back up here before Deannie misses us.”

  “Misses you.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Did you tell her Deannie threatened to pull the project if we shot without her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nina doesn’t play. I’m not surprised she said we’d have to shoot tomorrow. Let’s just not say anything to Deannie about it. She’ll be groggy from the surgery and meds and all that anyway. And I don’t want the studio to lose this account because Deannie’s being a butt.”

  “I think that’s right. The more we get done tomorrow, the closer we’ll be to wrapping and moving on to the other two.”

  “I know there are still modeling projects in the pipeline, but have you got anything planned after these trailers? Are you gonna focus on writing or what?

  “I’m focused on it now. I’m just about done with the first draft of Why Spy.”

  “Can’t wait to read it! I’ll bet it’s as good as the last book you wrote. It’s neat that you’re doing this. Brains and beauty! That’s our Jud.” Shasta grinned over at him.

  “I just wanna write. I’m thankful for the modeling and these parts in trailers, but writing is the gig I want. The only gig, I mean.”

  “Where do you come up with stuff to write? I know you’ve never been a spy. Right?”

  “I read and research. Spy novels are my favorite genre, so that’s what I want to write. It’s not that hard if you write about what you like.”

  “You must write about Nina, then.” Shasta had a sly look in her eyes.

  Judson snapped his head toward his fellow model, castmate, and friend, and his jaw dropped. Shasta patted his thigh.

  “Don’t worry. Deannie doesn’t suspect there’s anything to it, and I certainly won’t say anything. This is good, Judson. Nina’s a pretty awesome lady.”

  “I don’t write about Nina Graham. I don’t think of her in that way. She’s producing and directing a project I’m involved with. That’s it.” His tone wasn’t defensive or fussy, just matter of fact.

  “I don’t know about your writing, but you’re a right-on actor. You just delivered a truly believable line.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” His eyes blazed.

  “I’m talking about the way you look at her. Like she’s some faraway dream that haunts you. Like you almost can’t stand to be in the same room with Nina because it takes too much control to stay away from her.” Shasta took another chip from her bag and put it in her mouth.

  Judson kept his eyes on Shasta, not blinking, not moving, considering what she’d said for a moment. He got up and walked to the trash can and tossed his sandwich, chips, and empty water bottle.

  “You’re wrong,” he countered, but he knew Shasta was right. “If what you say is true, and I’m that transparent, I’m obviously not a very good actor.”

  “Oh, I’m the only one who sees it. And Sherry, because she’s so close to Nina. I’m used to being around you, modeling and now acting like we’re lovers on camera. We have a bond, Jud. You’re my friend and I care about you. I’ve seen women—beautiful, knockout women—chase after you time and time again, and you never seem to long for them or even give them a second thought. And you know my secrets, too. I act like a dumb bunny because it’s easier to get through life that way sometimes. People don’t know what’s deep inside. They don’t even think there’s very far to look. But you know.”

  Judson walked back over to his chair and sat down.

  “Yes, I do know that about you. I guess I’ve done some of that, too. But—”

  “But nothing. You carry your pain, whatever caused it, which I haven’t figured out, down deep inside you, try to hide it, try to keep yourself safe from hurt. And it’s the smart thing to do, act like you’re a womanizer. It keeps the serious girls away because none of them want a playboy, and you can just blow the ditzy girls off when you’re done.”

  Judson rubbed the top of Shasta’s head fondly. “You really are a good girl, you know that?”

  “Nah. Just a dumb blonde trying to earn a living,” she said and took another chip.

  “That’s such a lie,” he laughed and stretched his long denim-covered legs out in front of him. The plastic chair bent against the wall.

  “You said Sherry knows?”

  “Yep. She sees the same thing in Nina.”

  “Sees what in Nina?”

  “Oh, how she looks at you, how she changes when you’re around like she’s happy and not so serious. And Sherry says Nina’s pretty fierce. She’s got pain in her, too. That’s why she’s so guarded and stiff
. But I know she’s thinking about you.”

  He didn’t move. “You do?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s just a feeling I get when I’m in the same room with the two of you. It’s like an energy or something.”

  “Have you been back over to see Deep Ellum’s resident psychic? What’s her name? Katie?”

  “Kathleen, and yes, I have, and keep it quiet because she doesn’t advertise her abilities. It’s a word-of-mouth thing and not even supposed to be that yet. Her main gig is the store and massage therapy. And, believe it or not, Mr. Wonderful, none of our conversations have been about you! I’m just saying that there’s something there, between you and Nina. I don’t know what, but there’s something. Would it hurt to explore it a little bit? Just for the hell of it?”

  “There’s nothing there. She’s just a pretty girl with brains and brawn. I think it’s great that she’s making her way on her own, doing something she loves. Most people don’t make that happen for themselves.”

  “You’re right, Jud, most of us don’t.”

  “Excuse me. Are the two of you with Ms. Marks?” A small lady in blue scrubs stood in the doorway.

  Judson stood. “Yes, we are. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, fine, but we’ve run into a little situation, and surgery will take a while longer than we thought.”

  “A situation?” Shasta stood and crumpled her chip bag to throw away.

  “It’s minor. She should be out of surgery in an hour, then into recovery. We just wanted to let you know in case y’all wanted to go somewhere for supper.” The lady looked at Shasta’s crumpled bag.

  “No, we’re good. Should we wait around for her to come to?” Judson asked.

  “She’s probably going to be out of it until the morning. But you’re certainly welcome to wait if you’d like.”

  “We’ll wait. Thank you,” Judson answered.

  After the surgical nurse left, Shasta said, “If we’re not here in the morning when she comes to, she’ll have your ass.”