Page 65 of A Cameo for a Cowgirl

“But say it gets spooked. By a…”

“A snake,” Ainsley supplied.

He half-smiled at her. He’d recently shared his new commitment with her and she’d hugged him, declaring she was thrilled. It wouldn’t surprise him if she thought this now meant a green light as far as him seeking a relationship with Cassie. Maybe that was partly why she was gunning for this so hard.

“So she’s rescuing him?” Mal frowned.

“No, that doesn’t work,” Jerry said. “She can’t just save him then disappear. She would then have to become a continuing character and we’re just talking about a cameo. Someone who’s there and then gone and doesn’t return.”

Probably like how Cassie regarded him. Was that why she didn’t want to get involved with him? He hadn’t seen her since that Sunday evening, and it had now been eight days. Yes, he was counting. Lord, could you please make a way?

“You could always bump up her role and make it a recurring character?” Ainsley suggested, with a wink at Harrison.

“I don’t think that’s what we are going to do,” Mal said firmly.

It was testament to the working relationships on As The Heart Draws that Mal hadn’t shut this down already. Harrison had worked on many shows where the writers were basically gods, and the actors had no say in what their character did at all. He liked the collaborative approach here, although from the way Mal and Jerry were eyeing her, it’d be interesting to see what this might mean for Ainsley’s future on the show.

“What if it’s a double save,” he suggested. “Like, his horse gets spooked by a snake so she saves him from a runaway horse, and then he saves her because she’s bitten by the snake.”

“How many snakes are we gonna have on this show?” Jerry asked, rolling his eyes.

“It doesn’t have to be snakes. It could be a bear,” Dustin said.

“Hmm. It could be a bear…” Mal tapped his chin. “But then we’d need to hire a bear, and they’re expensive, and as Ainsley mentioned, Abigail has already had a bear encounter. So no, I really think—”

“What if it’s a near drowning?” Dana suggested. “You could have him stop the horse but they end up in deep water, and he gets injured by a log and she helps him stay afloat.”

“That sounds more believable.” Ainsley nodded.

“And he still gets to be a hero, doing Mountie things,” Harrison added.

“But doesn’t that set her up as a heroine?” Mal said. “Viewers would be expecting to see her again.”

“So maybe they do, in a recurring role. Or…” Ainsley straightened. “She could be someone from his past, and become the conflict between Abigail and Nathaniel because he’s now got divided loyalties, and that continues through the season.”

“But that would mean a far bigger role for Cassie.”

“Well, it’s not as if she has far to come to be on set.”

“But she’s not a trained actor. You don’t even know if she’d want to do this.”

“I can talk to her, and talk to my agent about her if necessary. And even if it’s just this scene that she does as a stand-in for Brenda, and you introduce a new character, I think a scenario like that would help add some extra tension that helps drive the series.”

“Hmm.” Mal glanced at Jerry.

Jerry glanced at the ceiling, his brow furrowed, so you could almost see the wheels turning.

“I don’t mind the idea of a runaway horse and a river,” Mal said. “But we’d need a nearby river.”

“There’s a creek not too far from here,” Harrison said. And he guessed the James family would be happy if it was used. “It has good access for vehicles, and some deeper water parts that might be good for filming.”

“And you know this how?” Mal asked.

“Um, it might’ve got mentioned on the day I had a certain encounter with a reptile.”

“I’m not going anywhere near a snake.” Dana shuddered.

“But you wouldn’t need to,” Ainsley pointed out. “It’d only be Harrison and Cassie in this scene.”

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