Chapter 4
Six Months Later
Windsor stepped off the jet in Thompson Falls, Montana, and the first thing she noticed was how good the air smelled and then how stunning the evergreen-covered mountains were.
“Oh, wow, it’s like a set in real life,” Lyric said with a hand shading her eyes. “You can see so far.”
The wonder in her assistant’s voice echoed exactly what Windsor was thinking. Thompson Falls looked like it was a movie. She’d never seen mountains so close to a runway. Granted, it was the smallest airstrip she’d ever landed on, but by far the most beautiful.
“Oh, great. There’s the car,” Lyric said as a massive black truck pulled up nearly to where the jet was parked on the tarmac. “Well, a truck anyway. It has to be for us. Right?”
The driver’s window rolled down, and Lyric stepped toward it with Windsor’s Louis Vuitton garment bag and duffel in hand.
“Y’all must be the ones here for the movie, right? Boss sent me to getcha and take ya to the ranch. He said I couldn’t miss ya.”
“This is Ms. Reed,” Lyric said. “And I’m Lyric, her assistant. We are heading to Granite Point Ranch for the film. I presume that’s where you came from?”
“Yep.” He swung open the door and climbed out of the huge truck.
“I’ll get your bags. Don’t worry; I threw a horse blanket down in the back ’cause Boss said you wouldn’t want your fancy luggage scratched up.
” The man wore a red-and-blue flannel jacket, baseball cap, tan canvas pants, and cowboy boots.
“I’m Ephraim,” he said with a nod at Lyric and Windsor as he reached for the bags in her hands.
“Granite Point Ranch foreman. Pleasure to meet you, ladies. Welcome to Montana.”
“Thank you, Ephraim,” Windsor said.
“You wanna hop up in the truck and put these inside with ya?” He shifted both bags to one hand and reached for the door handle.
“Yes, that would be perfect.” Lyric turned to Windsor. “Ms. Reed, after you.”
Windsor walked toward the truck, grateful she’d chosen flat boots for the flight because climbing up into the monster truck would have been tricky in the sky-high heels she was accustomed to wearing.
“Need a hand, ma’am?”
As she neared the foreman, she realized he was probably around her same age, if not younger. His brown hair was shaggy under his hat, and his thick, dark beard added the appearance of nearly a decade.
“I can manage. Thank you. We appreciate the ride and your punctuality.”
“Boss said you’d probably never ridden in a truck before. Figure he’s right? ’Cause I found that hard to believe.”
“Not one this big and not outside a movie set.”
“She’s a Mega Cab with a Cummins, fully loaded. Good for Sunday driving. Boss wanted you to have something nice.”
“Thank you. Very thoughtful.” Windsor was grateful for years of Pilates and yoga as she lifted her foot high to step on the running board and grabbed the handle to boost herself into the truck.
“Goodness, that’s tall. You might need some help, Lyr.
” Windsor looked down at her five-foot-nothing assistant.
Ephraim slid her duffel across the leather bench seat. “No worries. I got her.”
“Thank you, but I need to make sure all the luggage is loaded first.” She plucked the garment bag from his hand before laying it across the seat.
“Be right back, Win. Come with me,” she said to Ephraim before marching toward the crew member unloading several trunks and suitcases onto the rug beside the plane.
Windsor couldn’t miss his grin as the ranch foreman watched Lyric count the pieces and check them off her list.
Once they were all loaded in the back of the pickup, he lifted her assistant higher than the running board with both hands around her waist.
“Whoa. Okay. All right. I’m good,” Lyric said, wide-eyed and flushed as she grasped the handle inside the truck.
“Sorry ’bout that. Thought you’d weigh more.”
“Thank you?”
His wide smile as he waited for her to move the garment bag and sit had Windsor looking away to cover her chuckle.
Lyric already has a fan.
He shut the door, and she met her assistant’s gaze with raised brows.
“Are you good, Win?”
“Are you?” she asked as Ephraim climbed in the front seat.
“Perfect.”
Win just smiled in response. This is going to be fun.
As they drove off the tarmac, Windsor’s attention was riveted on the gorgeous scenery. A picturesque river ran between the mountains.
“How long is the drive to the ranch?” Lyric asked.
“Pretty quick this time of year. Longer come winter.”
“Do you get a lot of snow?” Windsor asked.
“Fair bit. Some years more than others. More, the higher in elevation you go.”
“This is beautiful,” Windsor said.
“Welcome to God’s country, ma’am. Ain’t no place like it in the world.”
“Are you from here?” Lyric asked.
“Born and raised.”
“What’s that like?” Windsor replied.
He glanced back at them before he pulled out onto the road. “Makes me a lucky man—that’s for sure.”
Something about how much he loved his hometown made Windsor the tiniest bit envious. There had been definite advantages to growing up in LA, and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but she couldn’t say she loved the Hollywood Hills like Ephraim loved Thompson Falls.
“Oh, wow,” Windsor said as he drove through a quaint downtown area with the river running along it. “Utterly charming.”
“Told ya. Best place on earth.”
As they drove out of town, which was only a few blocks long, the scenery turned even more stunning. The river rushing between the forest-covered mountains was absolutely breathtaking.
It helped Windsor quickly understand why someone like Silas Bohannon had opted to leave the city.
It was … incredible. Natural beauty was everywhere she looked, and unlike LA, there were no rooftops covering the hills.
She wondered if that was why he’d taken the role.
Being able to work in this kind of environment was a much bigger draw than she had realized.
It was at least fifteen or twenty minutes before they drove through a big wooden entrance made from two massive tree trunks and a gigantic beam spanning them. It literally looked like something out of a movie.
Great set choice, Windsor thought. For this period piece, she had wondered how they would keep it authentic, and so far, she was impressed.
They slowly made their way up a long driveway, with horses running free in a big meadow beside the river, and Windsor’s breath caught.
Absolutely stunning.
“Wow,” Lyric whispered.
“Best place on earth,” Ephraim repeated.
“I get it now,” Lyric replied, and there was no missing the awe in her tone.
“I’ll show you into the main house, Ms. Reed. Ms. Lyric, you’ll be in one of the cabins by the river.”
“Oh my goodness,” Windsor whispered as the enormous log ranch house came into view.
“Whoa,” Lyric said.
Massive log walls rose to giant beams, which supported soaring roof peaks, covered with aged copper. A circle driveway curved beneath a covered area with a twenty-foot-wide staircase leading to double glass doors that made the grand front entrance of her LA home look small by comparison.
As Windsor took it in, Ephraim slowed to a stop, and like they were already filming, a ruggedly handsome cowboy came down the stone stairway.
Windsor’s breath caught again when he reached the bottom, and piercing aqua eyes became visible beneath the brim of the cowboy hat.
Bo.
“Holy. Shit,” Lyric whispered. “He’s definitely perfect for this role. Casting win.”
“Welcome to Granite Point, ladies. Boss will help you out of the truck, Ms. Reed. Ms. Lyric, I’ll get you.”
Boss. Windsor’s mind went blank as Silas Bohannon opened the door.
“Hey, Win. Welcome to Montana. Hope you enjoyed your flight.”