“And what happens when Denson Oaks gets more popular, so a big-box store comes into town and they sell more books for cheaper? People get their books at the cheaper store, and this family-owned shop has to close its doors forever.”
“That wouldn’t happen,” Anna said.
“How can you know that?”
She tilted her head back in a moment of thought, and he almost began to believe he had her cornered. But then she said, “This way,” and directed him to the park at the center of town. “Do you see that there?” She pointed to the gazebo as they continued toward it. “The love confession happens in a spot exactly like it. I’ve been doing location scouting for a long, long time. Here’s what I’ve learned.” Before she continued, she walked with him the rest of the way and stepped up into the gazebo itself.
Charlie declined to follow.
Anna looked a bit disappointed, but she didn’t let it stop her. “When a movie is beloved like I know this one will be, its location becomes sacred. If you want your town to remain unchanged, this is exactly the way to get it. The pressure fans will apply to keep things exactly as they were in the movie will be real. Their financial contribution to the town will give you the money you’ll need to do restoration rather than knock-downs with cheap replacements. It’s as good as having your house declared a historic landmark.”
Charlie did his best to glare at the beautiful woman leaning on the gazebo rail to talk to him right now. “I don’t want my house declared a historic landmark.”
“We’ve established that,” she said. “I still think it’s a mistake. Your ranch would be a landmark just like this town, which would make it important to all the right people. And anyway, the fees are astronomical.”
“Fees?” Charlie grimaced. “All the more reason to avoid it.”
“The fees we pay toyou, silly.” She was smiling so wide now, like she knew she’d already won. “I tried to tell you earlier. You would be compensated, and we’re open to negotiation. With abudget this big, do you have any idea what that means? So, tell me how much you need to keep your ranch, and we’ll double it. I’ve never seen a more perfect location. I’m confident everyone else working on this film will agree.”
Charlie almost burst out laughing. It seemed like the most ridiculous joke to him, but Anna wasn’t laughing. On the contrary, she looked more serious than he’d ever seen her. “You’re kidding,” he said, though he already knew her answer.
“Not even a little bit,” she said, climbing back down the gazebo steps to stand on even ground with him. “Mr. Greene…” She paused and cocked her head at him. “Charlie. I don’t think you really understand how big this could be, how many people will fall in love with both Denson Oaks and your ranch and will fight for years to keep them just as they are.”
What more could he say to counter her? Maybe this gift would turn out to be a kind of Trojan horse, after all was said and done. But it felt like the only chance he had to keep his property in his name and under his protection.
CHAPTER 9
ANNA
As soon as she was given the green light for anything, Anna got immediately to work. That was how she’d always done things. Green meant go, so she went about a mile a minute the second she could. She had to be on site to manage things in Denson Oaks as per her contract, so she decided to attempt to manage some aspects of filming on the ranch, too. Knowing how prickly the owner could be, she thought it best if she was there to act as a go-between.
When Charlie came marching across the property toward her with a severe expression that almost made her second-guess her decision to film here, she knew she’d been right to stick around. He was livid for some reason. As he came closer, she preempted his complaint with a friendly smile. “What can we do for you?” she asked, like she was a waitress dealing with a particularly ornery customer.
“I want to show you something,” he said through his teeth.
She followed without arguing with him. Listening was usually the best way to deescalate any kind of conflict, so that was how Anna preferred to start. He led her out to a particular pasturewithout saying a word, leaving her frantically guessing at what it was that had upset him so much.
“Do you see this?” he finally said when they’d gotten to a field of lush green vegetation and grazing cattle.
Anna shrugged. “It looks… okay? I’m confused.”
“Really?” he said, gesturing more forcefully toward the pasture. “You’re going to pretend you don’t see that?”
She squinted at the field in front of her. Some of the plants did seem to be a bit trampled, and her crew had been filming in the area that morning. “It’s just a few plants,” she said. “Surely they’ll grow back.”
“This!” He pointed at the field even harder. “This is not justa few plants. This is alfalfa, an important crop I’m growing here. And it shouldn’t be eaten by cows!”
“I don’t see that much of it has been eaten or trampled,” she argued. “We’ll compensate for the lost alfalfa anyway. No problem.”
He groaned like he was trying to explain something simple to a less-than-bright child. “It’s not about the crop. It’s about the cows. Eating this much growing alfalfa will make them sick.”
“Then why would you let them roam around in the fields?”
He opened his mouth to respond but closed it and shook his head at her. Anna waited while he waded out into the field of alfalfa, waving his arms and shouting at the cows. “Go back, cows! Go! Shoo! Move, cows!” He made himself as loud and big as he could. His voice was booming, and his cattle took notice.
Slowly, the grazing cows started shifting in the direction he was pushing them toward. They would gallop for a few feet before going back to their slow meander and occasional nibbling. They seemed deeply unbothered by Charlie’s loud insistence, instead glancing back at him like he was a noisy fly they were moving away from. Anna couldn’t help laughing at the sight. Then Charlie hollered back at her. “A little help? I need them back in their pasture.”
She perked up and jogged toward him. “How?”
