Page 7 of Everybody Needs a Hero

Not done with the conversation about the film’s lead, Drew stayed seated. “Wait,” she said with a wave at the screen still showing Tess’s face. “What are we going to do about this?”

With a sigh, the director settled back in the chair and looked Drew in the eye. “We don’t have a choice,” he said. “The producers are very clear on the topic. Tess is it. Or this film may never be made at all.” Drew’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe what the man had said.Not make the movie?she thought.But that’s impossible.With a shrug, the director rose to answer the door. “And you don’t want that.”

What the man said was an understatement. Drew didn’t only want the movie to happen. She needed it. Standing, she was in a daze, and it took her a minute to comprehend who was at the door. Instead of one of the second assistant directors like she expected, Tess stood on the steps. In her hands was a hardcover copy of Drew’s book. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to catch you before we were all on set,” Tess said, fixing Drew with her million-dollar smile. “So, you can autograph my book.” She held up the novel. “I read it last night. Cover to cover, and let me tell you, makeup wasn’t happy with the sleepy bags under my eyes.” She laughed. “Worth the scolding though.”

Looking at the familiar book cover, Drew shook her head. “You read my story?” Drew said, not able to stop the pleasure from filling her chest. “The whole thing?”

Tess nodded, stepping into the trailer past the director and moving closer to Drew. “And now I understand why you’re worried,” she said. “But Drew Andersen, I can play the part. You’ll simply need to coach me.”

“Coach you?”

“Yes,” she answered. “Because this is you, isn’t it.” The words weren’t a question. Tess no longer smiled, and her eyes held Drew’s. “And I want to do the role.” Feeling her chest tighten at the claim she had written about herself, Drew wasn’t sure how to react.

The director shifted his feet by the door, clearly uncomfortable with the intensity in the air between the two women. “I’m going to head to the set,” he said. “I think you two have some things to work out.” With that, he was gone, leaving Tess and Drew.

Alone again, Drew thought, remembering her surprising reactions in Tess’s trailer yesterday.

Making her hands into fists, she wasn’t going to get flustered. “Parts of the book are like me,” Drew said, steel in her tone. “But not all.”

Tess sank into the chair beside Drew. “Then tell me which parts. I want to know what’s you and what’s not.”

Surprisingly, Drew found herself wanting to share the private details with the woman. No one had ever asked the question. No one had cared to know. “How I handled the emergency department stuff? That was a mixture of many real moments,” she said, then hesitated, and Tess tilted her head.

“And the not real?” she asked, and Drew dropped her eyes to stare at the floor.

It was hard to say what was next, but her soul longed to share. “The love affair,” she whispered. “I’ve never had one of those.”

Parkingher truck on the street a few blocks from Landish Coffee, Bryce wasn’t ready for her time with Ashley to be over. While they talked about all kinds of imaginable topics, the run together had made for a perfect morning. Ashley’s suggestion for getting together was spot on for keeping things casual while spending quality time getting to know each other better. Unfortunately, it was about to end.But only for now,she thought.I will text her later and see if she wants to hang out again, maybe grab dinner.Bryce would keep things casual, but there was no way she would let Ashley slip away again.

As if having similar thoughts, Ashley paused before opening the truck’s door. “Want to come in and have an iced coffee or something?” she asked, looking at Bryce. “You’ve earned free drinks for life after what you did for us yesterday.”

Bryce felt her cheeks warm a little at the praise. She did what needed to be done in the moment. “I don’t expect a reward,” she said. “I’m just glad I was there when it happened.”

Ashley touched her arm, and her eyes were serious. “You saved us,” she said, holding Bryce’s look. “And I will never forget it. Come inside.” She smiled to soften her words. “Please.”

With nowhere else to be and nothing she had to do, plus getting to spend more time near Ashley, the decision was easy. “Since you said please,” she said with a grin. “Do you make smoothies? Because I could use a little protein after you made me run up all those hills.”

As she opened the car door, Ashley laughed. “Nice try,” she said. “You hardly even broke a sweat.”

That part was true. Bryce enjoyed the run but compared to the Marine Corps physical training exercises, it was a walk in the park. If she didn’t get back into more intense training soon, returning to service would be grueling while she got into shape again. The thought made her pause as she climbed out of the truck and met Ashley on the sidewalk.Am I going back to the military?she wondered while feeling the woman’s closeness beside her as they walked.Now that I’ve connected with Ashley again, do I want to return?She tightened her jaw.Well, the decision doesn’t have to be made today.Refocusing on the present, Bryce noticed a woman and her black and white dog sitting along the beach path. From the stained, torn clothing and overall look of her, Bryce guessed she was homeless. As they approached, she wasn’t surprised the woman was holding a cardboard sign asking for money.

“Hi, Bev,” Ashley said, stopping in front of her. “Hi, Floyd. This is my friend Bryce. She’s the one who stopped the robbery yesterday.”

Bev’s eyes widened. “Ohhh,” she said. “The badass Marine. People all over the boardwalk are talking about you. A real hero.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Bryce said, trying to ignore the heat rising up her cheeks. It seemed she couldn’t stop blushing lately. “But I’m glad—.”

Suddenly, Floyd stood and started to pull on his leash, nearly yanking Bev over. “What the hell, Floyd?” Bev said. “Get back over here.” The dog obeyed but continued to whine, and Bryce noticed the dog starting to shiver. Not liking what she saw, Bryce turned, scanning their surroundings for any threats. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful in the early morning.

“What is it?” Ashley asked, but Bryce only shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking back at Bev again. Floyd stopped whining as Bev petted his neck, and there was no more shivering either. Whatever made the dog upset had passed, but it didn’t help lessen Bryce’s unease.

“They hear things we can’t hear, ya know?” Bev said. “Probably some sort of siren somewhere that upset him.”

Bryce slowly nodded. “Maybe,” she said, forcing herself to relax. Bev was probably right, and there was nothing to be concerned about. But Bryce would keep an eye out for any sign of trouble.

7

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