Page 7 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

He didn’t recognize the voice, but did the intention, so that meant a “Yeah.”

He pulled himself upright, then staggered to the door, swinging it open, then gingerly walked down the metal steps. Murmurs drew his feet to a group of chairs, positioned around a small campfire. Huh. So it really was kind of like back in the olden days, like they’d be portraying.

“Howdy.” He smirked at himself. Well, look who was going all cowboy. Even if it was a Mountie he’d portray. Man. He was getting as bad as that cowgirl-wannabe production assistant who’d walked them around the town this morning. The one who’d clobbered him in the shoulder when he’d startled her this morning. It was kinda weird he hadn’t seen her again. But then, this was a large production, with lots of crew, and while he was trying to remember people’s names he couldn’t quite remember everyone.

“So how are you settling in?” his co-star Dustin Trooper—now there was a Mountie-sounding name if ever he’d heard one—asked.

“It’s all good.” Well, he hoped it would be. Provided the coffee was hotter tomorrow. His gut tensed, regret kneading within at how he’d acted earlier. He didn’t like to complain—he was pretty sure that cowgirl assistant had overheard him and was adding that to his list of crimes and misdemeanors—but a man needed caffeine. And it was always best to start the way you meant to go on. Set your expectations high, and all that, so others could meet them. There was no point being a pushover, and resenting others simply because you didn’t speak up. Like his mom used to do.

His insides tensed as they always did whenever he thought of her. He tossed a smile at the others to hide it, but they weren’t looking at him. Instead, their heads were all lifted to the heavens above, like they’d never seen a night sky before. And well, fair enough. He was happy to forget the past and focus on the now. He’d never seen a sky with quite so many stars before, either. Maybe there were some good things about the country, after all.

He tilted back his chin, too. “Sure can see the stars well out here.”

“We always love coming to the ranch,” Dana Drewe, Ainsley’s character’s friend, said. “It’s so peaceful and relaxing, like you really are slipping back into the past. I have to admit coming here is the highlight of my year.”

Wow. Her life must be real exciting.

“I suspect plenty of us would think the same,” Dustin said, his gaze dropping to Harrison. “Good to have you here as part of the family.” He held up his mug. “Welcome.”

Aww. Now wasn’t that sweet? “It’s great to be here.”

And suddenly, like hearing the words spoken aloud had felled scales from his eyes, it was.

It was nice to be in an environment like this, where people were relaxed and welcoming. He’d been on plenty of sets where competition and envy were the name of the game. His time on As The Heart Draws had shown none of that. Of course, it was super early in the shoot still, but from all of the interactions he’d witnessed everyone appeared to get on really well. Well, apart from Ms. Cowboy Hat this morning.

“Hey, pardon the newbie question, but who was the chick leading the town tour this morning?”

Dana’s teeth glinted in the darkness. “You mean Cassie?”

“If she’s the one with the cowboy hat, then yeah. I haven’t seen her since.”

Dustin’s laughter rumbled. “Oh, you’ll be seeing her. Cassie is always on set, one way or the other.”

Hmm. Sounded annoying.

“She’s what I like to call a good-value woman. You can trust her to do what she says,” Dana said.

Uh huh. Trust her not to go out of her way to welcome a newcomer, that was for sure. What kind of person went all kung-fu and slammed a door into a man? She was lucky he wasn’t suing her. Although, maybe it was the tiniest bit impressive how she’d stood up for herself like his mom never had, but no man liked feeling like a fool or a coward. What had he been thinking, hiding behind a door like a child? Ugh. Considering these guys hadn’t exactly been privy to what had gone on before in the saloon, he wasn’t about to advertise his inadequacies. Well, they’d likely already seen him on a horse and now knew some of his shortcomings, but there was no need to add to any disenchantment.

“Yeah, she’s great. Nothing is too much trouble for her—”

Except for being nice to newcomers on set, maybe.

“—so if ever you have any problems, you can always talk to her.”

Yeah, no thanks. Silence stretched, and he realized they were waiting for him to respond. But he couldn’t say what he really felt, especially with them singing her praises like she personally had placed each star above. “Sounds like she’s, uh, committed to the cause.”

“That she is,” Dana said with a half-smile, her look full of curiosity.

Okay, so maybe he’d been a bit obvious in his dislike. Way to go with the no negativity vibe he’d hoped to portray. He offered a quick smile back then studied his Skechers.

“Imagine getting to live here.” Dustin exhaled. “Some people have all the luck, eh?”

Whoa. Dustin knew this wasn’t real, right? Sure, there were ranches nearby, and he supposed people actually had to live on those ranches, but it wasn’t like this was an actual place where one could live and have a Hollywood career. It might be thirty minutes to Calgary—or more like an hour if one had bad directions—but it was still way too remote to live long-term.

Actually living here would mean few amenities. No Uber-eats or Door Dash for food delivery. The sounds of cows bellowing every waking hour. Unfamiliar sounds. Hazards like snakes. Imagine the hike if you ran out of milk. Thirty minutes might not be the same as the hours it might take some people in deepest darkest Montana to reach civilization, but it was plenty far enough for him, thank you very much. Although, maybe running out of milk wasn’t a problem on a ranch. Or did that mean they ran beef cattle, and would never run out of steak?

His lips twisted, as new appreciation filled him for what the pioneers had to face, and understanding grew for why Mal and the team had insisted the cast stay on site. Living here, sitting under the stars, might give only a glimpse of what the pioneers had to face, but he could understand a little more what it would’ve been like in those days. A man couldn’t live isolated like he could now. People were important. Community was vital. People needed each other, relied on each other. And just as he relied on the riding instructor to help him with his horsemanship, so this cast and crew relied on Harrison to do his job and bring his best. Which meant sucking down the negativity that was all too quick to pounce.

---