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1
It was going to be an interesting fall.
That was Audrie Bishop’s overriding thought as she took the small road that led to her best friend’s ranch. She’d practically grown up here, but in recent years, she hadn’t set foot on the property. But today, her best friend needed her help. And she was all too happy to pitch in.
All seemed normal until Audrie turned left into the driveway for the main house. She smiled at the small wooden sign with the hand-painted word “house.” For as long as she could remember that sign had been there.
She turned into the driveway and gaped at the freshly trimmed shrubs lining both sides. They were covered in Christmas lights. Considering it was still blazing hot outside, the sight was more than a little jarring.
As she shifted her gaze to the gravel driveway ahead, Audrie stopped for a different reason. Some sort of large white outbuilding on wheels took up half the driveway, leading all the way to the main house.
“That’s new,” she said to herself as she shifted into park.
Was someone inside? That trailer no doubt went with the Christmas movies a Hollywood production company was filming here, but why would they park it in the driveway?
Finally, Audrie’s impatience took over. She cut the ignition and stepped out of her car, slamming the door behind her. She looked around. There was nothing else out of the ordinary here. It looked like it had every time she’d visited since she was a kid. A big white farmhouse and a flat, freshly mown lawn with gigantic oak trees.
“Hello?” Audrie called out, pasting a smile on her face in case someone was watching through the windows in that large outbuilding. She’d expected a strange vehicle or two in the driveway, but not something quite this big.
Audrie began walking toward the main house, which gave her a closer look at it. The outbuilding had multiple doors, and the first one had a sticky note on it that read “Wardrobe.” She had a feeling the second door would be some variation of that. It was. “Makeup” was scrawled on that sticky note, and the third door’s note read “Hair.”
Maybe she should knock. Hair was what she was here to do. But instead, she continued toward the front of the building.
There was a tractor in front of the trailer. Maybe a driver was still in there? It was doubtful, but she figured it was worth a look. She walked up to the driver’s side and peered in the window. Finally, she rose on tiptoe and pressed her face closer, putting a hand on either side of her eyes to block the early morning sun.
“May I help you?”
At the sound of a male voice behind her, Audrie gasped and spun around, flattening her back against the tractor. Just behind her was a cowboy, and this cowboy wasn’t the cowboy she expected to see. This cowboy had penetrating brown eyes and a strong, muscled set of arms that looked like they were built to keep a woman safe.
“I’m… I’m… I’m…” She couldn’t seem to push another word out. Why couldn’t she push a word out? Finally, she blurted, “Here to help.”
She automatically reached up and grabbed a strand of her freshly highlighted hair. His brow furrowed slightly—a move that was barely perceptible, but she got it. He had no idea why she was holding a chunk of her hair.
“I run the hair salon here in town,” she rushed to explain. “I was told you need help with hair?”
Why was she explaining herself to this person? She’d lived in this town all her life. She belonged on this ranch more than this trailer, this tractor, or this gorgeous cowboy, whoever he was.
Suddenly, the accusatory expression changed. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes softened as he seemed to actually see her as a person, not a threat to the security of the property.
“Oh yes, you’re here to save the day,” he said. “Good luck with that.”
She opened her mouth to ask what he meant by that, but before she could say a word, a door to the left of her slammed open. A female voice filled the air.
“It’s my image on that screen,” she said. “Mine. Only mine.”
The cute cowboy lifted his left shoulder slightly in a shrug, then broke their stare to look to his right, in the direction of the chaos. Audrie followed his gaze to a petite, stunningly gorgeous blonde. She was gorgeous despite the fact that her hair hung in limp waves around her face.
The woman stomped toward them, then right between them, continuing in the direction of the main house. Audrie’s gaze followed her until it became too uncomfortable to twist around and look. At that point, she turned back to face the cowboy.
“She tried to bring her own stylist, but she quit at the last minute,” he said. “It’s going to be a couple of days before they can get someone else on set, and apparently this weather doesn’t agree with her hair.”
“It’s the elevation,” Audrie said. “Some people do well with it, some don’t.”
“Do you have a fix for that?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said. “I just have to get my supplies out of my bag…” She gestured toward her car, letting her voice trail off.
“Yeah, she’ll calm down,” he said. “Just give her some time. This happens a lot.”
