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Audrie didn’t want to be rude, but she had no idea who she was talking to. She’d introduced herself— well, sort of. She decided the best thing to do would be to tell him who she was, and then maybe he’d explain what his role was in all of this.
“Audrie Bishop.” She stepped forward and extended her right hand. It was what a true professional would do. Professionalism applied to movie sets, too, didn’t it? “I run the salon in town.”
She’d already mentioned that. It was worth mentioning again, though. She didn’t want to tell him that her mom was the best friend of the woman who owned this ranch. That woman had died seven years ago. Connections were inevitable in a small town like this, but she truly was close to this family—both the family that had lived here and the brother who remained.
“Landon Dixon,” he said, reaching out and gripping her hand in his.
He had a strong, firm handshake, and she found herself warmed by his touch. He seemed like someone who might be running security for this place, but she didn’t want to ask. She’d just wait for him to say.
“Is the property owner here?” Audrie asked, gesturing toward the house.
“Yeah, he’s been around this morning,” Landon said. “The location scout went to town to line up some catering for lunch.”
“Hmm,” Audrie said. She didn’t add what she was thinking, which was that she would have assumed a Hollywood production crew would bring its own catering company.
“This all came together pretty quickly,” he said as though reading her thoughts. “Normally, we’d have things together a lot better.”
“So, you work for Sugar Cookie Productions?” she asked.
“You could say that. Sorry about this.” He gestured to indicate the trailer behind her. “They didn’t want us pulling it onto the grass.”
They? Christian had long run this place by himself, but he was now dating the location scout who’d come to the property to photograph it for the production company. Audrie didn’t think they were making joint decisions about the property, though. That seemed a little farther in the relationship than they would be at this point.
Besides, she definitely wouldn’t think Christian would be picky about his lawn. He was pretty laid back.
“Who told you that you couldn’t pull onto the grass?” Audrie asked. “Christian?” She tilted her head. Maybe Landon hadn’t met the guy who lived here yet. “Christian Snow. This ranch belonged to his mom. It was in her family. She died seven years ago, and Christian took it over.”
Well, Christian and his brothers, but the brothers had been M.I.A. for a while. Audrie had been Landon’s biggest support system after he’d ended up alone here, but in recent years, he’d pulled away. Sometimes, she went weeks without seeing him. Luckily, he relied on her to cut his hair, so he had to get in touch at least every few weeks.
“Sorry,” she said. “I guess you didn’t need to know all that.”
She always got a little chatty when she was nervous. And handsome guys like this one made her nervous. Not that she ever, ever saw guys this handsome around this tiny town.
“You’re good friends with the owner?” Landon asked.
She shrugged. “You could say that. My mom and his mom were best friends. We kind of grew up together. He’s like a brother to me.”
Their families had been close throughout Audrie’s childhood. She was the oldest of two sisters in a family with no other siblings. Christian’s mom had three boys, so it had given their life a little variety that they’d been able to spend so much time here as kids. Audrie credited what little she understood of the male species to spending most of her life around the Snow brothers.
“Do you know where I’m supposed to be?” Audrie stepped away from the trailer and looked back at it. “I see the door that says ‘hair,’ but considering the person with the hair emergency is in the main house, maybe I’m supposed to go there?”
She returned her attention to Landon, who was staring off to the right. As she followed his gaze, she heard it. The not-so-subtle screech that always told her Christian’s truck was approaching. He really needed to get that looked at.
At the sound, Audrie breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Christian could give her some guidance. Maybe he’d even let her know what this guy’s role was here.
But Landon seemed more excited to see her best friend than she was. He was already heading in that direction, his strides quick and confident. He knew where he was going and what he was doing.
At least that made one of them.
Audrie followed, crossing her arms over her chest and watching as Christian’s familiar black truck came to a stop behind her tiny silver coupe. She saw Christian and his girlfriend, Poppy, through the windshield. Poppy had a big smile on her face as she waved at Audrie.
Audrie and Poppy had gotten to know each other over the past week while Poppy was staying in the apartment above Audrie’s salon. Audrie already adored her. She was just what Christian needed. He’d had a long, rough recovery after his wife’s unexpected death three years ago. It had started to look like he’d spend the rest of his life single, rambling around this ranch.
“Howdy!” Landon called out.
Christian shut the door with the hand that wasn’t holding a stack of bakery boxes. He gave Landon a nod, but the big smile on his face was clearly for Audrie.
“You made it,” Christian said. “I stopped by your favorite doughnut shop.”
