Page 66 of A Lucky Shot

Dawson muttered a string of incomprehensible words under his breath, toying with the edge of the jacket’s cuffs. Cass caught snatches of “my momma ain’t gonna be happy ‘bout this” and “I’m gonna hurt her” over and over.

“Ain’t nuthin’ to be sorry ‘bout,” she teased, mimicking his broad Southern drawl, and he broke out of his daze to smile down at her.

Josh stomped over to them. “You done?” he asked curtly.

Dawson puffed out his cheeks and stared out at Brynne, silent.

Josh blew on his gloved hands, plumes of white breath escaping between his fingers. “You’re not worried about preventing her from reaching her goal. You’re just trying to keep her safe. If she gets to that shed, you don’t know what’ll happen to her.”

Dawson nodded and glanced down at Cass making the final adjustments on his jacket. “If he loved her, he wouldn’t be chasing her and making her scream.”

Cass bit down on her grin and flicked her gaze to Josh, who narrowed his eyes at her, the dimple forming in his cheek.

“Imagine she’s about to step into the street and you’re the only one who can push her out of the way of oncoming traffic.” Cass said with a final tug on his sleeves. She tilted her smile up to him. “She has brothers. She’s tough.”

Dawson gave her a doubtful look.

“You got this. Now, scoot. Brynne’s waiting for you to take her down. Plus, I added padding to her costume. She’ll be fine.”

He gave a chagrined nod. “Thanks, darlin’,” he said, and strode off to his mark.

She pulled her mittens back on as she walked back out of sight lines. Josh glowered as she kicked the snow off her boots and curled up in the chair under the heat lamps. It wasn’t really cold yet, only minus fifteen, but all the out-of-town crew shivered like they were on the set of Snowpiercer.

“Darlin’?” Josh repeated, dimple gone.

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was jealous. Cass clicked her tongue. “He says that to everyone.”

Josh looked unconvinced.

Everyone was in position. On cue, Brynne took off at a sprint, arms and legs pumping and her breath billowing behind her, with Dawson charging after her like a bull. The camera raced ahead of them, lens fixed on Brynne’s furious expression, with Dawson gaining on her from behind, a look of brutal determination transforming his kind face. Closer, closer …

Dawson steamrolled Brynne at full speed, tumbling out of sight and onto the mattress, softer than a kitten batting a cotton ball. Brynne popped up as soon as Josh yelled “Cut!” brushing snow from her hair and pants, and Dawson pulled her into a tight hug.

It was a dick move in the story; Dawson’s character blocks Brynne’s attempts to discover the truth at every turn, even if it came from a place of concern.

In the book, with the female main character sabotaging the male main character, a whole swath of the fandom had written it off as stereotypical sexist nagging, her chasing him across the fields shrieking like a banshee. In Josh’s adaptation, with the gender roles reversed, it framed everything through the patriarchy thwarting a strong woman’s ambition.

So much more poignant, topical, and, frankly, fixed a major issue that even the author had admitted over a production phone call.

When the fandom found out their precious Dawson’s Dr. Donovan Rykoff, NASA physicist, had been demoted to the love interest of Brynne’s Dr. Amelia Andersen, half of them would cheer. The other half would riot.

The set had been locked down for months, with non-disclosure agreements signed by everyone from the producing team to the caterers. Every blog article and podcast contained only wild speculation, with only cast lists and the vaguest of locations to pore over. Cass even stayed tight-lipped with Jill, who followed every fan site and still pumped her for information at every brunch and girls’ night. If Jill hadn’t learned anything, no one had.

It would be explosive when the word got out.

Josh huddled over the director’s monitor, grunting something in approval and his eyes narrowing even farther when Cass came into his field of view.

Ever since he had left her place a few nights ago with barely a good night, he’d been not exactly cold, but aloof. Distant compared to the way he’d acted with her previously. He’d speak to her minimally, replying with one-word answers, even as she saw him tracking her with his gaze. If he hadn’t been so adamant about setting her up with other people, she’d have thought he was interested in her.

It wasn’t that farfetched of a thought, was it? They had insane chemistry that night in Vancouver. But that had been one time. Month ago. She’d just been in town for the weekend. No strings. No expectations. A few spicy texts for a bit of fun. And besides the relentless flirting that she suspected was as natural as breathing for him, he’d never suggested they revisit said insane chemistry. He’d basically said he wanted to avoid it altogether. Avoid her altogether.

Besides, the aloofness was probably something else. Not a cold shoulder at all. The shoots had been gruelling the past weeks, lasting well into the small hours of the night, followed by pre-dawn starts the next morning. Maybe his mercurial moods were just a factor of the pressure of the schedule, and nothing at all to do with her.

Why would it?

“That was it. Perfect,” Josh said, as Dawson jogged up to view the take, and Cass pulled her shoulders down and turned her sweetest smile to the actor.

“I believe it. I believe him,” Cass said, watching the replay, “that he’s doing this from a place of love.”

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