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And now it’d abandoned her as easily as it’d come. She had money to live on from the divorce settlement, but it wouldn’t keep her in the lifestyle he’d gotten her used to. Nothing would. And that was okay. She didn’t need to live like a princess in a castle. She just needed somewhere to call her own. Somewhere she could have a cat or two and be happy with herself.
Somewhere was just as good as anywhere.
“It sounds dumb.” Teri waited for Laurel to respond, but she didn’t give her friend any rebuttal. “But that’s why you want to go, isn’t it?” Teri sighed and down the last tequila shot, plunking the empty shot glass back down on the tray with a heavy thud.
“Don’t you want to help me look for a house?”
Teri’s eyes widened and her mouth curved into a small grin. “You bet I do. And it better have a spare bedroom for me.”
“Absolutely.”
Chapter 2
He’d won.Holy shit.Mick read the email again, still not quite believing that his screen play had not only won the New Voice Contest hosted by Alek Sumners—one of the most raved over Hollywood actors of the decade—he was invited to the Oscars in Hollywood. And a plus one.
Not that he had a plus one. But he could damn sure work on it. Of course he couldn’t think of a single female in Somewhere that wouldn’t out his best kept secret—movie-buff-feed-store-manager Mick Ramsey wrote screen plays and hoped to hit it big in the film industry. It even sounded laughable in his head. Which was why he kept it there and didn’t share his dreams with any of his friends. They wouldn’t understand and he didn’t want to hear the constant teasing that would follow if they ever found out.
“Mick. VonBrandt is out back.” Old man Skinner’s voice hollered through the whole store. Using the comm system would be too easy for the old codger. Nope. The owner didn’t like “tech” as he called anything with a “chip” inside it. Mick had been lucky to convince the old man to upgrade the register five years ago when the twenty-year-old-antique had finally given the ghost.
“Where’s Logan?” Mick shouted back, closing his email app and shoving the cell into his back pocket.
“He called in. Something about studying for a test.”
Mick rolled his neck and sighed. “Right.” He’d forgotten the young VonBrandt had asked for today and tomorrow off. It left them short-handed, but it wasn’t like there would ever be a rush on anything at the Feed & More. They could handle it. Correction. He could handle it. The only thing Skinner did, was stand around and jaw with the other retired customers.
He turned the corner around pallets of feed stacked taller than his chest and yanked the strap on the loading dock door—yet another thing Skinner wouldn’t upgrade. It wouldn’t cost that much to put a motor on the damn heavy door. He groaned, throwing his weight against the strap until the momentum carried the steel door all the way up and over his head.
Adam VonBrandt’s big black truck was backed into place, tailgate down, ready and waiting. The happy-go-lucky dude smiled at Mick and tipped his chin down. “Hey.” Mick couldn’t remember ever seeing Adam VonBrandt upset about anything. He’d been in high school with Adam and Berg Klein—even graduated the same year—but since he’d never been into sports, Mick hadn’t ever been in their “circle”. Even so, the guys were always inclusive and friendly.
Mick nodded back. “Afternoon, Adam.” Then moved to the wall where the clipboard hung with the ready-to-go orders. He moved Adam’s invoice to the top and handed over the clipboard. “Just sign for me here.”
Adam snagged the pen dangling from a string and scribbled his name on the invoice. “Logan’s not here today?”
“That hurts, man.”
Adam’s laugh boomed through the loading bay. “Always joking, Ramsey. How you been?”
“Not bad, actually. You?”
“Ranch always keeps me busy.”
“Animals will do that.” Mick took the clipboard from Adam and smiled. “Hang tight. Lemme grab the forklift and get your order.”
Mick maneuvered the forklift slowly through the loading area. It’d been weeks since he’d had to drive the thing and tipping over another order or slicing a hole in someone else’s feed order would not make his day go any faster. And he wanted it to move quick. He needed to email the contest coordinator back. Accept the tickets. Thank them… And he needed to make sure Charlie could cover his shifts while he was gone.
Stopping the forklift at the edge of the drive, he extended the pallet until it was hovering just a few inches above Adam’s truck bed. A few minutes later the truck was loaded and Adam was on his way back to the VonBrandt ranch.
Mick pulled the dock door down and swung the lever into place to lock it. “Charlie,” he said, pressing down the comm button on the radio hanging from his belt.
“Yeah, boss.” Charlie’s voice rang over the channel.
“Can you pop in the office when you get a chance.”
“Be there in five.”
“Thanks.” He crossed the storage area and sat in the chair in front of the one and only computer in the entire Feed & More store. He pulled up the February schedule and looked at the four days he needed to rearrange so he could enjoy the fruits of his winnings. He’d work longer days for a week, if that’s what it took to get Charlie to cover. Whatever it took. A chance like this was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Unless the script got bought. Then it could just be the beginning. Mick scoffed at his thought. The script was good. Good enough to get noticed. Apparently good enough to win a newbie contest. But selling it right off the bat was a pipe dream. Still, connections were made one at a time. It was all about who you knew. If Sumners really was interested in his voice, getting a job at the studio he was launching next year, might just be a possibility.
