Charlie
What he could make out was remarkably unhelpful.
Something about roots and ancestors. Something about waking up from dreams and trying to go home, only to find it transformed into something unrecognizable.
Blah, blah, blah. Unless he thought of something particularly profound in the next couple of hours, he was going to have to wing it, and winging it never went the way he hoped it would—not when it was him doing the winging.
His cattle were just starting to graze when he got out into their pastures.
It was the edge of sunrise, with a sliver of golden-red light cresting over the distant hills.
Almost everything was in silhouette at dawn, which was his favorite time of day by far.
The quiet beauty of it was something experienced by the few who were capable of rising that early, and because it belonged to so few, it was unlikely to change anytime soon.
Then it hit him. This was it—the theme of the speech he wanted to give.
Dawn was beautiful because it was experienced by so few people; because of its quiet, contemplative nature.
A crowd would ruin it. A crowd would bring noise, disorder, and distractions.
How could anyone appreciate the dawn in a large crowd of chattering, gawking people?
For the first time in his life, he began to feel confident about public speaking.
Having a proper metaphor really did help in these matters.
By the time he was ready to head into town, he was feeling pretty good about what he wanted to say.
He was daring to feel hopeful, even. The whole drive there, he thought more about what he planned to say.
It was going to be so persuasive that he was sure even that LA woman would agree.
Too bad she wasn’t going to be there to hear his argument.
He’d timed his arrival to happen five to ten minutes after the town hall opened.
He knew there was a scheduled meeting today, and he fully intended to show up beforehand.
Before they could even get into the details, he would shut this thing down.
The parking lot was mostly empty when he arrived, which pleased him at first. Then he saw something that made his blood run cold. The car he’d worked on a day or two ago was sitting right alongside the others. That woman was already here.
“Dammit,” he muttered. Well, fine. He’d speak his mind to her, too, and then he’d see whether his words had any kind of effect on her.
If they didn’t, he decided, she was as good as heartless.
But members of the town council had been living here their whole lives, for the most part.
Surely they would understand that losing Denson Oaks to a movie crew and tourists wasn’t worth the money it would bring in.
Their town, as it was now, was priceless, and surely they realized that as deeply as he did.
They wouldn’t be on the council otherwise.
A little voice in the back of his mind told him not to be so na?ve, but he ignored it.
The kind of courage he needed now didn’t allow for that kind of doubt.
He shoved both of the double doors open when he entered, like he owned the place.
Because he did, in a manner of speaking.
He paid his taxes to Denson Oaks like everyone else who lived here.
That LA woman couldn’t claim the same. She was the stranger. She was the outsider.
When he got into the meeting room, they were already gathered around a table, signing papers. “Absolutely not!” he shouted.
Every head in the room turned toward him at the same instant, as though it had been choreographed ahead of time.
“Charlie?” One of the council members recognized and addressed him in a shocked voice. “Can we help you? We’re in the middle of something important.”
“That’s exactly the reason I’ve come here,” Charlie said. “To stop you.”
“Stop us from what?” another council member asked.
Just then, Charlie’s eyes found the woman.
Anna, he reminded himself. Her name is Anna.
And he became lost for words at the sight of her.
She looked… amazing. She wore a white and pastel sundress that softened her look in a way he wouldn’t have thought was possible yesterday.
Her sandy blond hair was up in a ponytail with some extra curls framing her face.
All of it was deliberate, he knew. She was trying to charm the council just as much as he was.
The trouble was, she was succeeding in charming Charlie, too.
She looked like the kind of girl he’d dreamed about when he was younger—the kind of girl he had come to believe didn’t really exist. It was all an illusion, of course, but his body didn’t seem to know the difference.
He could feel his throat going dry at the sight of her.
“Charlie?” The first council member who had spoken to him brought him back around to his task, and he somehow managed to tear his eyes away from Anna. “Was there something you wanted to say to us?”
“Yes!” He took a deep breath and straightened his spine. “Obviously there is. I’m against this whole thing.” He gestured back to Anna without really looking at her. “The movie. I don’t think it should be made here.”
“Why not?” a third council member asked.
Charlie noticed the exposed brick on the far wall and thought it could use regrouting. What was it he was going to say? Something about a sunrise? Oh, yes. “Because dawn isn’t as nice in a crowd, is why.”
They all looked at him like he’d gone completely off the rails. He couldn’t blame them.
He did his best to course-correct. “I mean, more isn’t always better.
More people isn’t always good. Sometimes more can ruin a good thing.
” He sounded like an uneducated child. “Denson Oaks… I grew up here. It’s like a sunrise, right?
It’s like dawn. It’s better when it’s quiet.
Do you really want to add a crowd to it? ”
By the looks on their faces, he was failing to get his point across. He shook his head and pressed a palm to his forehead. “I’m just afraid we’re going to lose something we can’t get back,” he concluded. It was useless. No one was listening. And why should they? He sounded like a raving lunatic.
Mercifully, Anna put a stop to his failed speech. “Can I speak to him for a moment?” she asked the council. “I think I can explain what it is we really want to do here a bit better than I have. I’m sure this is all just a big misunderstanding.”
Charlie bristled at that. “Oh, there’s no misunderstanding.”
Anna shot him a disapproving look, and he shot one right back at her. He might not be the greatest public speaker, but Charlie had disapproving looks in the bag. She just rolled her eyes and stood. “Let’s go for a walk,” she said.
He shook his head. “Not a chance. You’re just trying to get me out of here so I can’t make my case before they sign the town away.”
“They aren’t signing the town away,” Anna said with a heavy sigh. “I promise they won’t sign anything until I get back.”
“And why should I trust you?” Charlie demanded.
“Because you fixed my car, so I owe you one. I’m not going to betray you now. After this, we’ll be even. Just hear me out.” She came close and looked up at him with eyes that sucked him right into her world effortlessly. “Please.”
What could Charlie do but cave? She softened him so easily. He found himself thinking she might actually have some good points. He shot that idea down right away, but it had definitely invaded his mind for a moment before he managed to stifle it. “Fine,” he finally said.
Anna offered him a sweet smile as well as her arm. “Let’s go.”
She walked with him around the town center, her hand casually resting on his forearm like they were some kind of couple.
He noticed that her sundress allowed a little light through.
It was nothing scandalous, just enough that the shadow of her shape was barely visible.
He forced himself to stop staring at her.
Why did she have to be so beautiful? It was going to take every ounce of self-control he had to resist forgiving her for everything without even thinking about it.
“There’s a scene that takes place in a bookstore,” she said, pointing to the local bookshop.
“They call it a meet-cute in the industry. And it is super cute in the book. Some people will walk into that bookshop just to feel like they were closer to the moment. They might even buy a book or two while they’re there. It could be huge for the owner.”
“And what happens when Denson Oaks gets more popular, so a big-box store comes into town and they sell more books for cheaper? People get their books at the cheaper store, and this family-owned shop has to close its doors forever.”
“That wouldn’t happen,” Anna said.
“How can you know that?”
She tilted her head back in a moment of thought, and he almost began to believe he had her cornered.
But then she said, “This way,” and directed him to the park at the center of town.
“Do you see that there?” She pointed to the gazebo as they continued toward it.
“The love confession happens in a spot exactly like it. I’ve been doing location scouting for a long, long time.
Here’s what I’ve learned.” Before she continued, she walked with him the rest of the way and stepped up into the gazebo itself.
Charlie declined to follow.
Anna looked a bit disappointed, but she didn’t let it stop her.
“When a movie is beloved like I know this one will be, its location becomes sacred. If you want your town to remain unchanged, this is exactly the way to get it. The pressure fans will apply to keep things exactly as they were in the movie will be real. Their financial contribution to the town will give you the money you’ll need to do restoration rather than knock-downs with cheap replacements.
It’s as good as having your house declared a historic landmark. ”
Charlie did his best to glare at the beautiful woman leaning on the gazebo rail to talk to him right now. “I don’t want my house declared a historic landmark.”
“We’ve established that,” she said. “I still think it’s a mistake. Your ranch would be a landmark just like this town, which would make it important to all the right people. And anyway, the fees are astronomical.”
“Fees?” Charlie grimaced. “All the more reason to avoid it.”
“The fees we pay to you, silly.” She was smiling so wide now, like she knew she’d already won.
“I tried to tell you earlier. You would be compensated, and we’re open to negotiation.
With a budget this big, do you have any idea what that means?
So, tell me how much you need to keep your ranch, and we’ll double it.
I’ve never seen a more perfect location.
I’m confident everyone else working on this film will agree. ”
Charlie almost burst out laughing. It seemed like the most ridiculous joke to him, but Anna wasn’t laughing. On the contrary, she looked more serious than he’d ever seen her. “You’re kidding,” he said, though he already knew her answer.
“Not even a little bit,” she said, climbing back down the gazebo steps to stand on even ground with him.
“Mr. Greene…” She paused and cocked her head at him.
“Charlie. I don’t think you really understand how big this could be, how many people will fall in love with both Denson Oaks and your ranch and will fight for years to keep them just as they are. ”
What more could he say to counter her? Maybe this gift would turn out to be a kind of Trojan horse, after all was said and done. But it felt like the only chance he had to keep his property in his name and under his protection.