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After letting Michael know he was going to talk to his brother, Landon hopped into one of the trucks they were using to go back and forth on the property. But when he pulled up to the main house and spotted the makeup trailer, he knew he had to at least check.
He pulled the crew truck in next to it and got out, walking over to Audrie’s door. He knocked, hoping for that familiar voice to ring out, inviting him to come in. When that didn’t happen, he pulled the door open and stepped up to look inside.
The hair trailer was empty.
Landon moved up the stairs, searching for any signs of her. No Christmas music played, but the tree and decorations were still in place. There was something wrong about the festive display when the very person who had made it such an enjoyable place to visit was now gone.
Yes, she was gone, but she couldn’t have gone far. This was her town. He knew where her hair salon was. He might not find her there if he stopped in, but her sister worked there. She could help him track Audrie down. Maybe.
A knock on the door behind him caused him to jump and spin around. He hadn’t even realized the door had closed behind him, he’d been so caught up in what he was looking at in here.
“Come in,” he said.
As the door swung open, he fully expected to see Audrie standing there. Instead, the face of his brother emerged in the crack between the door and the doorjamb.
“She’s gone,” Rourke said. “Just up and left. Even took her stuff with her.”
Landon turned and looked. Sure enough, the countertop was clear. Even that smart speaker was gone. That must have been hers.
“Did she say anything before she left?” Landon asked.
Rourke shook his head. “I don’t know what happened with Jessica this morning, but it must have been pretty bad. Christian said even he wouldn’t let her come back after what happened this morning. He won’t say what it was, though.”
So, she’d spoken to Christian about it. Landon felt a little hurt that she hadn’t turned to him with her problems, but why would he expect her to? She and Christian were longtime friends. It made sense she’d confide in him.
“It looks like Christian won’t go get her,” Rourke said. “He simply said to give her space. That’s where I need your help.”
“My help?” Landon looked around. “How so?”
Rourke pulled the door open wider and propped it open with his shoulder. Arms crossed over his chest, he looked up at his brother.
“Go find her and talk her into coming back,” Rourke said. “Humor Jessica.”
“Humor Jessica.” Landon repeated the words slowly to let Rourke know he couldn’t make sense of them.
“Look.” Rourke glanced off to the left, around the door, then turned his attention back to Landon. “I don’t like the way she acts any more than the next guy, but we have the rest of this week and all next week, with Sunday off in between. We can keep her from stomping off the set for nine more days or so, right?”
Nine days sounded like a long time to put up with Jessica’s nonsense. But if he had Audrie back, he could put up with a lot.
“What do you mean by humor her?” Landon had to know before he could commit one way or another.
“It seems Jessica has an interest in you,” Rourke said. “And I know you’re not interested in her. It’s clear as day. I don’t know if you and the hair lady have something going on…”
“We don’t,” Landon blurted. That wasn’t a lie. Not really. “We’re just friends.”
“Well, Jessica doesn’t seem to see it that way,” Rourke said. “All I’m saying is maybe do what you can to keep Jessica from freaking out and storming off the set for good. Eventually, she’ll get bored and find someone else to chase around.”
“She’s just trying to make Peter jealous,” Landon said. “She’s not interested in me.”
“That may be so, but the point remains that Jessica is a very important part of this production. And if she walks off, and we have to start over, it’s bad. She’s the top star we have for this bundle of productions, and we’re hoping to land a big deal.”
That was the first time Rourke had put it that way. Landon got it. He knew how much they’d invested in this venture, and he knew what doubling or tripling that investment meant for his future. He had as much to gain from this as Rourke. A big payout would put him closer to achieving his goal of getting back to ranching.
“She’s under contract,” Landon said. “Do you think she’d walk off? She’d be legally liable, wouldn’t she?”
Rourke shook his head and pushed away from the door, this time propping it open by putting his left hand, palm flattened, on its surface. “I don’t think she’d walk off. Even if she doesn’t, though, she can make life miserable for everyone, including Audrie. So just try to keep the peace.”
Landon took a deep breath and slowly let it out. When he’d signed on to put money into this venture, the last thing he thought he’d be hearing was that he needed to avoid scaring off a self-involved actress who labeled him as something she wanted. And Jessica always got what she wanted. That was pretty clear.
