Chapter 12
THE WEATHER WASN’T half bad for a barbecue. Well, considering it was December, Lila thought. Red jumped to his feet and opened the patio door for her. Juggling two large platters, she smiled her thanks and braced herself before she stepped out onto the patio.
A light gust of cold air greeted her, but that wasn’t the reason she paused by the door. She smiled as she watched Clint flip steaks and burgers on the massive stainless-steel barbecue. He looked right at home, sipping from a bottle of beer and keeping close tabs on the progress of the meat.
About half the crew had shown up. The wranglers were wandering around the barns and stable.
Some of the guys were watching a televised football game in Spencer’s den.
With the exception of Rhonda, Davis and the new camera assistant sitting around a fire pit at the other end of the patio, the rest of the crew had gathered in the rec room to gripe about one thing or another.
Lila was having fun helping Erin in the kitchen. Mostly it was the other way around. Lila loved to cook and bake, and Erin was always much happier to have no part of it whatsoever.
Clint had dropped her off at Shadow Creek, zipped home and still arrived ahead of everyone else.
Erin had put him to work assisting Spencer.
The two men had hit it off right away, which made Lila stupidly happy.
What did it matter? Sure it made for a more pleasant afternoon.
But to expect anything beyond today? She knew better.
“Wow, you’re in some serious like.” Erin had come up behind her, a beer in each hand.
“No.” Lila rolled her eyes and slid another peek at Clint. “Maybe.” She sighed. “Okay, I’m pretty screwed.”
Erin grinned. “Why? He’s a good guy.”
Clint must’ve heard them because he turned and smiled.
Lila smiled back. He returned his attention to the grill, and she sighed. “What difference does it make?” She’d lowered her voice. “I mean, I do like him and we’re having fun. But you know how it is in this crazy business...” She looked her friend directly in the eyes. “What about you and Spencer?”
Erin blinked and took a sudden interest in the bottles she was holding. “Oh, here,” she said, trying to pass a beer to Lila.
“You can’t tell me you haven’t been wondering what’s going to happen once we wrap up here.”
“Of course I have. But am I going to discuss it now? Here?” She glanced around, mostly for effect. “No.”
“You always were a bad actress.” Lila grabbed a bottle and twisted off the top.
“Never claimed to be one at all,” Erin replied.
Clint glanced back at them. “The meat’s done. You want to hand me that platter?”
“Coming right up,” Lila said, and then to Erin, “To be continued.”
“I can hardly wait.”
Ignoring her, Lila moved close to Clint and kissed his jaw.
He lifted a brow in surprise.
No one had asked why he was here. Besides Spencer and Dusty, who worked at Shadow Creek, Clint was the only other outsider.
She took a whiff of the sizzling steaks. “Oh, my God, I think I’m going to faint.” At his look of alarm, she grinned and set the beer aside. “These smell crazy good. How about I hold the platter while you transfer the steaks over?”
“What about the burgers?”
“I don’t care what you do with those.”
Clint laughed. Leaning closer as he reached for the tongs, he murmured in that low, raspy tone she loved, “I want to kiss you all the way into next Sunday.” He straightened and returned to his normal voice. “Pick out a steak, and I’ll set it aside for you. Medium is on the right.”
She’d thought for sure he’d been about to bite her earlobe. “Thanks, now I’m one big goose bump, you rat.”
His mouth curved in a self-satisfied, purely male grin. He glanced behind them before going to work filling the first platter. “Why do all these folks think I’m here?”
“Because Erin invited you.”
“That’s all?”
“I’m sure there’s been talk...”
“You do realize you kissed me.”
“On the jaw.” She grinned and pressed her leg against his. “Only because I couldn’t reach your mouth.”
“Warn me next time. I’d be happy to cooperate.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to desert you.” Spencer’s voice came from behind. “I got cornered by—”
Lila hastily moved away from Clint, as if she’d just been caught raiding the Christmas candy. She couldn’t explain her reaction. Reflex?
“And now I’m interrupting.” Spencer hesitated, even when Lila turned to smile at him.
“Of course you aren’t. As a matter of fact, you’re just in time.” She held up the platter piled high with steaks. “Mind taking this to the kitchen?”
“No, ma’am. It’s the least I can do after leaving Landers here to do the grilling.”
Clint chuckled, and as soon as she’d lifted the second platter, he started loading that one, too. “This is a damn nice barbecue. Makes me wonder why I’m still using charcoal and an old barrel.”
“Because you aren’t lazy,” Spencer said, laughing. “Want me to wait for that other platter?”
“Thanks, but I can manage,” Lila said, but almost dropped it when Clint pushed the steaks to the side to make room for the burgers. It weighed a ton. “Didn’t know you were feeding a whole regiment, did you?”
“Good thing I’m in the cattle business,” Spencer said with a grin and started toward the door. “Clint, you want another beer?”
“Maybe later.”
“Oh.” Lila nodded to the bottle she’d taken from Erin. “That’s for you. I took a couple sips.”
“Thanks,” he muttered, focused on scraping the grill with a spatula. “You know if there’s anything else to go on here?”
“Erin didn’t say.” Lila could tell something was wrong, and she hated that she might’ve made things awkward between them. “I’ll go ask.”
He caught her arm as she turned. “I understand why you’d want to be cautious around the crew. I’ve got no problem with that,” he said, and then with a self-deprecating smile added, “Not that you should care what I think.”
“I’m not trying to downplay anything, but I knew you’d think that and I’m sorry. I can’t tell you why I...” Lila sighed. “Half the guys have already hooked up with locals. It’s practically a tradition when a movie’s on location, but I never do, so...”
“It doesn’t matter.” He squeezed her arm, and while he tried to hide it, she caught his little satisfied smile. “Why don’t you take that inside and find out if there’s anything else for me to grill before I turn this off.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Wait. What do you mean turn it off?”
“It’s gas. No charcoal mess, just on, off, done. Plus it’s hooked up to the line going into the house. I’m gonna steal the idea for the home I’m building.”
Lila thought she’d heard wrong. “You’re building a house?”
He glanced up, looking very much like a man who wanted to kick himself. It made her all the more curious. “I have plans to build. Just not at the moment.”
“How exciting,” she said, and meant it, if only for a second.
A man usually built a house when he was ready to settle down.
Start a family. Did he have a woman in mind?
Clint had denied having a girlfriend, and she’d believed him.
She still did. That didn’t mean he wasn’t narrowing down prospects. “Where will you build? Around here?”
He nodded. “You should get the meat inside before it gets cold.”
“Oh. Right.”
She hurried to the kitchen where Erin started firing questions at her. For a smart woman, Erin was terrible at coordinating cooking times. Lila was glad she was too busy to worry about anything but getting the food to the table without turning every dish into jerky.
Clint had done as instructed and undercooked the burgers and steaks so they could be finished in the oven.
Spencer had thought of that little trick though, not Erin.
Lila would’ve keeled over if her friend had put that much thought into anything related to cooking.
But what really interested Lila was why Clint had urged her inside with the steaks.
Obviously he’d regretted mentioning the house and wanted the subject dropped. And now she wondered why.
Dinner was a boisterous affair, everyone talking over everyone else as if they didn’t live in one another’s pockets.
But finally the dishwasher was loaded, and most of the gang had settled on couches and chairs, or on the floor in the rec room.
It took all of thirty seconds before the conversation turned to Baxter.
“Is the prick going to be around for the sequel, too?” Red asked just as Lila entered the room.
Clint immediately got up from the recliner he’d nabbed.
Lila motioned for him to sit back down. “We’ll share,” she said, and then sat on his lap.
Practically everyone in the room stared at her.
“Really, guys?” She swept her glare around. “I wish you’d paid this much attention when we needed help washing pots.”
Clint’s chuckle tickled her ear. She snuggled back against him, and he wrapped an arm around her as she got comfy.
Charlie cleared his throat. “I hope not,” the grizzled wrangler said in his tobacco-roughened voice, referring to Baxter. “That kid’s got as much sense as a hen’s got teeth.”
“Hell, that’s giving him too much credit.” Red looked at Erin as she and Spencer joined them. “Erin, you must know. Tell me that kid ain’t hanging around for the sequel.”
After a brief hesitation, she said, “Probably, he will.”
“Probably?” Frowning, Red gave up his seat on the couch for Erin. “You don’t know for sure?”
Spencer walked straight to the fireplace and took his time adding logs to the fire. He knew something. Lila had seen his jaw tighten before he’d turned his back to them. Obviously Erin had confided in him.
It was silly for Lila to feel hurt, but she did.
“Okay. Look...” Erin huffed an exasperated sigh. “He’s a pain in the ass. I know that, and I’m not asking you to go out of your way to be nice to him—”
“Shiiit,” the camera crew drawled in unison.
“Yeah, if I’m going outta my way,” Red said, “it’ll be to wrap his goddamn Beemer around his goddamn fat head.”