Page 40 of Deck the Hauls

Like most of the props in the kitchen, the oven had been sourced from a second-hand or budget store.

Blythe dumped the cake tin on the top of the stove, the wet mixture slopping inside, and raised her hands. “Okay, okay. Sorry. It’s just that once you finish making the cake mixture, you put it in the oven. You don’t leave it on the counter to settle.”

“We’ll just have to hope our viewers suspend disbelief for a few minutes, because we don’t have the budget to buy a new oven.” Charles looked at his watch. “Okay, one more time, then we’ve got to keep moving. And remember, you’re meant to be a lovable but slightly nagging mom. If you could try to channel those vibes a little more, that would be great. At the moment, it’s falling a little flat.”

That was an understatement. Blythe appeared to be acting—if you could call it that—on autopilot. Going through the motions with basically no emotion. And I was struggling to get back into Molly’s head today as well, even after I’d convinced Charles to modify a few lines to make Molly sound a little less air-headed.

I wonder what Dana’s doing now? Hopefully no more run-ins with skunks. Perhaps I should message her to see if there were any updates on the mystery animal?

“Emily! Are you ready? Positions please.”

My cheeks heated. “Yes, sorry about that.”

We’d already had to shoot one retake earlier when Dana drove past as we were filming outside and I forgot my lines. Forget Dana and focus on acting.

Maybe offering to help with the decorations on Friday hadn’t been the best idea. But I couldn’t cancel on Dana now.

I took my place next to Blythe behind the kitchen counter.

“And...action!” Charles yelled.

I poured flour into a measuring cup.

“Maybe you should sell the farm,” Blythe said, as she cracked two eggs into a bowl. “I hate seeing how stressed it’s making you.”

“I can’t give up on the farm.” I handed Blythe the flour and she added it to the eggs. “It’s been in our family for six generations.”

“But you’re working yourself to the bone trying to save it.” Blyth stirred the ingredients together and then poured them into the cake tin on the countertop. “Your father died of a heart attack at fifty-seven. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”

The doorbell rang. “Sorry, Mom, I’ve got to go. That’ll be Austin picking me up. I’m going to try his fundraiser idea. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll consider selling, but I’m not going down without a fight.”

I gave Blythe a peck on the cheek and walked out of the kitchen.

“And cut! Good job, Emily. And good work not opening the oven door, Blythe,” Charles said. “Okay, because Austin’s got a migraine today, the next scene will be Emily and Mihira having a heart to heart as they walk next to the Christmas trees. We’ll need an hour to set up. Have a bathroom break, grab some food, and meet us back here at three.”

I stepped off the set. Behind Charles, Mihira was sitting on a milk carton, in jeans and a rich-purple sweater that complemented her brown skin, watching the filming. She stood, and we walked out of the barn and into the mid‑afternoon sunshine.

“God, that was painful to watch,” Mihira murmured, tucking her long, wavy, dark-brown hair behind her ear. “Not you, of course. But Blythe. I don’t know what happened to her. Have you watched Maryland? She was so good in that.”

“Yeah.” I looked around to check that Blythe hadn’t followed us out. “I loved her in that. Maybe she’s bored out of her mind after doing HolLove movies for years. I guess the novelty wears off after playing a doddering mom twenty times?”

“Probably. Do you want to grab a snack from crafty?”

“Sounds good.” We walked toward the craft services table.

I glanced at Mihira. “Do you ever worry that doing HolLove will pigeonhole you? That we’ll end up like Blythe, playing the same role over and over again?”

I was probably getting ahead of myself—it’s not like HolLove had even offered me another role. But my agent, Brittany, had indicated it was a possibility if I impressed them, and I was interested in Mihira’s thoughts.

Mihira nodded. “Yes, definitely. This is my third HolLove role, and it’s almost identical to the last two. I really don’t want to be the side character for the rest of my career. But work is work. And I live in hope that maybe I’ll end up like Nicola Fontaine.”

I frowned. “Nicola Fontaine?”

“She started out doing HolLove movies. Her first role was as the lead’s best friend. And look at her now.”

“Really?” My eyes widened. “Wow, I had no idea she started with HolLove. Her career has really taken off in the last couple years.”

“I suspect she doesn’t go around yelling it from the mountain tops. And did you hear Austin got really close to getting the lead role in Rolodex a couple of years ago? According to him, they’d even sent over the contract but then the movie Jesse Castle had been meant to film fell through and Jesse got the part instead.”