Page 114 of The Fire Line

“You need to talk to your family before you decide,” Jay said.

“Obviously.”

“And I’m not asking you to decide right now.”

“What else changes?”

They worked through the important parts together. The private house remained off-limits, as did Harris’s cabin. Nell’s material required specific family approval. Work came first, camera down still meant camera down, and the girls and guests retained the protections already in place. Harris accepted most of it with little more than a nod until Jay reached the final section.

“There could also be follow-up filming later.”

“How much later?”

“Post-production. Maybe festivals, if we get that far.”

Harris’s eyes moved down the page. “Travel?”

“Possibly.”

“Where?”

“New York would be the obvious one.”

Something changed in Harris’s face.

It was small enough that Jay might have missed it a month ago. He didn’t now.

“You’d be there,” Harris said, not quite a question.

“Yes.” Jay waited a beat. “I do continue to live there.”

“Right.”

Harris looked back at the amendment, and Jay resisted the impulse to soften what had just passed between them. The shoot would end. Jay would leave. Whatever they were doing now had always existed alongside that fact.

“Nothing automatic,” he said instead. “Every trip gets agreed separately. You can say yes to this and no to New York.”

Harris nodded, still studying the page.

“There’s something sooner too. That regional meeting you’re going to next Wednesday and Thursday—I’d like to come.”

“To film?”

“Primarily.”

Harris looked at him.

Jay maintained a professional expression for almost two full seconds.

“Thursday starts early,” Harris said. “Host county’s covering rooms for people coming in from outlying areas.”

“So we stay overnight.”

“Looks that way.”

“Separate rooms.”

“Obviously.”