by Lee Kilraine
“Brace yourself.” Pia must have recognized the third man just before Avery did. “How the hell did Ferret Face track you down?’
Avery looked at Pia. “The photo in The Tattler. The totally unnecessary photo in The Tattler.” The irony tasted like acid in the back of her throat.
Pia stood up and put herself in front of Avery as if she could run interference. It was a sweet thought, but it looked like her nice, quiet life had come to an end. Amazingly, Avery found herself very calm about it.
“I thought we were already treated to the welcome committee yesterday, Sijan.” Pia’s voice was sharp with warning.
Sijan cleared his throat. “We ran into Dirk, who said he was looking for you, Avery. He said he’s an old friend of yours.”
Dirk looked like he wanted to reach down and hug Avery, but Pia didn’t move out of his way and Avery didn’t stand up in welcome. Both women stayed solidly in place and stared him down. Until Tynan said, “Well, this is fun. Looks like you lied to us, Dirk.”
“Ariel.” Dirk ignored Tynan. He had eyes only for Avery. “God, you’re even more beautiful than you were five years ago. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Dirk, here, thinks you got your photo in the paper with Sijan to jump-start your career again.” Tynan’s gaze roamed over the filming equipment set up and waiting for use before landing accusingly on Avery. “And imagine that, here you are making a film.”
Pia shook her head at Tynan.
Avery stood up next to Pia. “It could be it’s all an amazing coincidence. What do you believe, Sijan?”
“Avery, four days ago I listened to every crazy lie you spewed and ignored them all. And you and I both know that didn’t end well, did it?” Sijan took off his sunglasses to look directly in her eyes.
Dirk grinned. “Yeah, and it’s a coincidence I’m in Climax too. Not like I’m trying to sweet-talk Sijan into a part in his next blockbuster movie, either, right? Ariel, why didn’t you come to me to help get your career going again?”
“Because you’re the second to last man on earth I’d ask for help?” Avery finally looked right at Dirk, and found it . . . anticlimactic. Huh. “My name is Avery. Ariel was another person in a different life.”
Tynan took a step forward. “This sure is a lot of expensive film equipment for someone not trying to jump back into acting. What’s all this and who is the guy named Petey you’re working with?” Tynan wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Maybe you’re moving in a different direction. Are you shooting porn out here in the middle of nowhere?”
Jeff and Kent, who had been enjoying the show, choked on the coffees they were drinking.
Exasperated, Avery said, “I’m sure it’s porn to someone in the world.”
Pia snorted. “Colonel Sanders maybe.”
“Frank Perdue,” Jeff threw in.
The door to the barn behind the film equipment opened and a good-looking twenty-something guy came out with only jeans and cowboy boots on. No shirt covered his well- muscled chest. He was carrying a chicken.
“Looks like chicken porn,” Tynan said with a straight face.
Dirk stepped over and stuck his hand out to the man. “Pete? I’m Dirk Ferris.”
The man looked confused. Partly because it’s hard to shake someone’s hand when you’re holding a chicken in two hands. “Um . . . no, I’m Boyd.” Lifting the chicken, he said, “This here’s Petey.”
“You know, I’m not even going to ask,” Sijan said.
“Okay, gentlemen. I wish I could say this has been fun,” Avery said. “Actually, no I don’t. And we’ve got work to do, so . . .”
Sijan put his sunglasses back on, making it hard to read him, except that his jaw was clenching tight every second or so. That was pretty easy to read. “Yeah, I think I’ve seen enough. Have a nice life, ladies.”
The silver truck drove off at a speed that had gravel flying, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake and an empty feeling in Avery’s chest. And with that, Avery walked off to attempt to cajole a great performance out of the moody Petey, the star of the last three Rise ’n’ Shine coffee commercials. It took patience and a lot of work from Boyd, Petey’s trainer, and three long hours. For some reason, Petey hated Pia, so whenever they needed a close-up, they had Pia move her hands in close. That was enough to rile Petey up so he’d fluff his feathers and strut around. Unfortunately, sometimes that also put Petey within pecking distance, and poor Pia’s hands were sacrificed for the cause.
“Okay, that’s a wrap. Petey, you were great. Boyd, fantastic job, as always. That latest scratching trick you taught him is great. It looks great through the camera.” Avery started breaking down the set as she talked. “That’s two commercials down and one left to go. Should we keep going?”
Boyd shook his head. “I’m sorry, Avery. But I think two commercials did Petey in. Can y’all come back in a couple weeks after he’s rested his wings?”
Avery tried not to look relieved. “Not a problem. Petey outdid himself this time. He’s earned a rest. We’ll call you in a few weeks. Thanks again, Boyd.”
“Thank God,” Pia mumbled under her breath as Boyd and Petey headed back to the barn.
Jeff and Kent started packing the cameras and lights into the back of the RV.
“Why didn’t you just tell him?” Pia pushed her spiky hair off her face.
“Tell who what?
“Sijan. That our little company has been producing some of the top commercials featuring animals for the past three years and you would rather someone stake you down in front of a herd of stampeding hyenas than ever be back in front of a camera again.”
Avery sighed. “Well, because you’re wrong on a few points. First, it’s a clan of hyena, not a herd. And second, hyenas don’t stampede. They chase, isolate, and attack. But you are very, very right about not wanting to be in front of the camera again.” Avery pulled her hair off her neck, wrapped it around into a loose bun, and used the elastic around her wrist to secure it. “Tell him? I didn’t see the point. It’s better I just keep quiet and get the heck out of Climax because of the pesky little third reason. It’s a little hard to deny using him . . . when I did.”
***
Avery and Pia ended up at the diner for dinner again. They did call to try to place an order, but were informed that Dave’s had stopped making deliveries that morning. What a coincidence. They would face the Climax Grapevine one last time before they left town. Game. On.
Renee greeted them warmly at the door. “Hello, Pia. Avery, I mean Ariel. Would you like a booth in the corner?”
“Oh, let’s not put everyone to so much work. Just give us a center booth so everyone can hear,” Avery said.
“Isn’t that sweet of you, Ariel. Sure thing, hon.”
“Renee, if you call me Ariel one more time, you and I will have an issue, okay? Hon?”
Renee flashed her a grin. “Okay, Avery. Good luck tonight. I’ll be right out with your waters and decaf teas. Please don’t talk about anything juicy until I get back out. I’ll put in an order for burgers, too. I heard the Cates brothers were on their way.”
“That explains the good luck. Thanks for the heads-up.” Pia looked at Avery with a raised brow. “This could be uncomfortable.”
Avery clucked her tongue. “We have just as much right to eat here as the Cates brothers. We’ll just ignore them, eat our meals, and leave.”
They tried. They really did. But when Renee had said the Cates brothers were coming in, she’d meant all of them. Sijan, Tynan, Quinn, Paxton, and Kaz. And they still had Dirk with them, too. Seriously? What? Did they need back-up? Seeing all that good-looking genetic material packaged so perfectly in each one of them was a sight.
“Wow. How does the female population of Climax take it?”
“Lying down is my bet,” Pia said. “But ‘anyway they can get it’ comes to mind too.”
Sijan and Tynan gave the women a curt nod and moved on down a few booths. Apparently, cool and impersonal was the orde
r of the evening. Fine. She could do that. Once she got her heart rate and pulse under control.
“All right, Pia. I’m ready to write off this whole experience. I’ve learned a lot. Good and bad about myself and Tansy and relationships.” Avery rested her chin in the palm of her hand with her elbow resting on the Formica table.
“And sex.” Pia looked over her menu at Avery.
Avery sighed a sad sigh. “Yeah. And sex. Tomorrow we just have to take those last few photo sessions with our new clients, and then we can leave Climax behind for good.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Av. I thought I was helping, and it blew up in our faces. I’m—” Pia turned and looked at a man standing next to their booth. “Yes, may we help you?”
The man, in khaki pants, collared shirt, and horn-rimmed glasses, looked like a thirty-year-old frat boy. A frat boy fixated on Avery. Pia waved her hand in front of his face. “Hello? Can we help you?”
“Ariel Diamond,” the man said, still staring in awe. “I almost can’t believe it. You know people thought you were dead. Or addicted. Or institutionalized. And here you are.”
“Here I am. Although your choices sound better.”
Sijan left his table, approached the man, and put his arm around his shoulders, trying to steer him away. “Jerry. It’s about time you got back into town. I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”
“Hey, Sijan. I’m not here to talk to you.” He nodded his head toward Avery. “I’m here to talk to Ariel.”
Avery narrowed his eyes at the man. “Jerry, is it? My name is Avery Danford. Maybe you have me confused with someone else?”
Jerry shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that—let me start over.” He held out his hand to Avery. “Hello, Avery. I’m Jerry Vickers. I’m an agent out in Hollywood and I need to talk to you. Preferably in private.”
Pia looked him over skeptically. “I don’t think so, Mr. Jerry Vickers. She doesn’t need to talk to an agent. She had one of those once. He died. In fact”—Pia swept her glance onto Sijan—“she doesn’t need to talk to anyone from Hollywood. There will be no private conversations with people from Hollywood.”
Jerry nodded and placed his leather briefcase onto the table. He pulled out a manila folder, took out a legal-looking document and placed it on the table in front of Avery. “I apologize for having to do this in public, but when you left Hollywood five years ago, you still owed the Avant-Garde Studio one more movie. A few days ago, an anonymous party bought out your contract. They expect you to fulfill the contract by making one last movie. Or they’ll sue.”
Chapter Sixteen
The air rushed from Avery’s lungs. Pia reached out and grabbed her hand, but she still wasn’t sure this was real. “Excuse me, what did you say?”
Jerry pushed his glasses up, then tapped his finger on the contract sitting in front of Avery. “Avery is contractually obligated to appear in a film, and the filming must be started within the next two weeks.”
Avery shook her head. She turned to Pia. “I had no idea I still owed the studio a picture. I . . . I just left. I had to.”
“Lord, Av. It was the last thing I was thinking about too. I had our bags packed the day your last movie was in the can. We drove out that night.” Pia frowned and turned to Jerry. “Why would we even believe you? Who are you? How do we know you’re not just someone making this up to make money off of her?”
“Jerry’s my agent. He’s one of the best in the business. He wouldn’t make something like this up.” Sijan’s gaze stayed on Avery. “Who bought her contract, Jerry?”
“I can’t reveal that. I don’t have that information. But I can reveal that they have excellent connections in Hollywood.” Jerry glanced nervously between Avery and Sijan.
“How do you know that?” Tynan asked, because by this time all of Sijan’s brothers had gathered around.
“They talked Majestic Studios into signing Sijan’s next contracted film over to them too. That’s part of the deal. Avery and Sijan must act in the film together.” Jerry reached into his briefcase and pulled out another contract, handing it to Sijan. “And Dirk Ferris. Dirk’s in the movie too.”
Dirk was the only one not shocked, unhappy, or pissed. He held his hand out to Jerry, waiting for his contract. Jerry obliged. “This is so awesome. Can you imagine the kind of publicity this will get?”
Oh, she could imagine, all right. Avery sat back in the booth, overwhelmed, staring at the contract in her hands. How could this be happening? For five years, she and Pia had been able to stay below the radar, totally anonymous.
“This does not even sound right,” Sijan said.
Jerry glanced at Sijan while he pushed and pulled on the zipper of his briefcase. One inch forward. One inch back. “Yes, well, it is highly unusual.”
“Highly unusual? It’s bullshit.” Sijan handed the contract to one of his brothers. “What do you think, Paxton?”
Pia grabbed Avery’s contract out of her hands and shoved it at Paxton also. “Yeah, what do you think, Paxton? Do these look real to you? Or is this a big scam with fake documents from Documents R Us? Is this your idea of a sick joke, Jerry?”
Paxton looked over both contracts, flipping pages back and forth, comparing signatures, dates, and fine print. He looked up at Sijan. “At first glance, they appear to be in order. It’ll take a few phone calls to actually verify them for certain, though.”
Sijan speared Jerry with his gaze. “Wait. What about the movie you were trying to rush me out of Climax for last week? All those meetings? Directors and actors lined up and waiting to sign? There is no way you are serious about this.”
“Are you kidding me? One of the brightest young actresses, who up and disappeared with no trace, turns up out of the blue in Climax, the hometown of the hottest box-office hero today? And, oh yeah, she’s his fiancée. You two could throw up on screen and it’s already guaranteed to make millions in profit. I mean, people don’t write scripts this good.”
“That’s good to hear,” Avery said, fanning her face with the nearest menu. “Because the throwing up is a strong possibility. How could this happen?”
“It’s Climax,” Sijan said. “I swear it’s something about this town.”
“I’m blaming this on Tansy.” Pia crossed her arms. “And Sijan.”
“I’m not the one trying to jump-start my career, am I? I guess this is one big coincidence too, huh?” Sijan’s silver gaze slammed Avery up against her seat back. He pointed at her. “If Paxton can’t get me out of the contract, I’m telling you right now, we won’t be shooting any skin flick.”
Avery’s cheeks heated, but she wasn’t going to sit and take Sijan’s abuse. “That’s chicken porn if you don’t mind, Mr. Movie Star. Award winning, I might add.”
Tynan grinned. “Now wait a minute . . . let’s not anybody rule anything out until we think this through.”
“Shut up, Tynan,” the brothers said in unison.
“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve got the body for porn, for sure.” Dirk tilted his head, weighing his career options. “But I don’t think it’s a good career choice for me. Not if I want to win an Oscar one day.”
Renee walked over, not even pretending to serve meals or take orders. “Y’all, I just got a call from LuAnn. You know she works over at the Greensboro Airport? She said the flight from L.A. came in about two hours ago, and not only was it full, which normally it’s only half full, but almost everyone got off in Greensboro, which is also unusual.”
“Charles over at the hotel called to say they booked up full in the last three hours,” another customer called from her seat, one ear to her phone and the other to the happenings in the diner.
Kaz walked over and said, “That would explain the parking lot.”
Everyone turned to look out the front windows and groaned.
“Oh, boy. Paparazzi. Lots of them.” Okay, that used to be her cue to hyperventilate. She scooted down to the end of the seat bench
and lowered her head between her knees, trying to breathe normally.
Pia patted her back. “Breathe, Avery.”
Well, she was trying, darn it. In. Out. She sat back up, the black spots at the edges of her vision receding.
Sijan looked at Jerry. “Seriously, Jerry? You called them again?”
“Hell no, I didn’t call any paparazzi. Are you kidding me?” Jerry grunted. “Why would I blow the chance at a huge press conference and publicity build-up for a few photos in a tabloid?”
“Si, I suggest you and Avery exit through the back kitchen entrance. Now. Take my truck.” Paxton tossed Sijan his keys. “We’ll run interference while we can.”
Sijan gave a nod, fished out his key ring, and tossed it to Paxton. “Okay, I’ll take Avery out to my farm. Pia, you go with Tynan and check out of the hotel. Ty will bring you out also. Ty, do not let anyone—”
“Please. Don’t insult me.” Tynan spread his hands out to his sides. “Don’t forget, I’ve actually done some real live ‘escape and evade.’ From people holding machine guns, not cameras.”
“Dirk, you probably better come with us. Ty can bring your stuff from his house later. And Jerry, you are going to give the performance of your life. Deny this story as if your life depended on it.”
Jerry shot a nervous look over at Tynan, who wiggled his eyebrows up and down at him, followed by an evil grin. “Okay, but they won’t buy it. This story has legs. The fact that Ariel is alive and popped up in Climax was spreading like wildfire in L.A. when I grabbed my flight.”
“You just have to lie well enough to create a seed of doubt. That will buy us some time to check on the legality of the contracts and think through the situation.”
***
“You have no food in your kitchen.” The stress vibrated through Avery’s body until it felt like it was going to explode, sending a shock wave in every direction.
