Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

“You were never doing a Shakespeare project, were you?” I asked quietly. I didn’t want people to overhear the disappointment in my voice. Sixteen years in the film industry and I was still that naive eight-year-old walking onto my first set with stars in my eyes and an idealistic vision of the way it all worked.

Nolan’s face settled into an ugly sneer. “Don’t be ridiculous. Me? Putting out some Kenneth Branagh bullshit? Pfft. I’m in this for money, Finn. Just like everyone else, including you. Don’t kid yourself. This movie is going to put you on the map as an action star. It’s going to make you millions, and it’s going to lead to more multimillion-dollar roles for you. And you can thank me when that happens. But you know what’s not going to happen? You walking off the set of this fucking film. Now get over there and prep for the first call.”

His PA came running up with his jacket. I ignored him even though I was glad he was there to bear witness. “Are you blowing up the cave during a scene I’m in?”

“You’re damned right I am. I’m the director of this film. You are not.”

I nodded. “Then I’m sorry. I’m leaving. Let me know when you change your plans or can prove this shoot meets legal requirements. I will return to fulfill my legal obligations at that time.”

After making eye contact with the PA to make sure they’d heard every word, I walked calmly back to where the shuttle had just arrived with Crystobell and her makeup coordinator. I nodded to her and asked the shuttle driver to return me to my trailer lower on the mountain.

As soon as I got there, I changed back into my clothes, washed off all my makeup, and hopped in my car.

There was a text from Declan on my phone.

Declan: I miss you too. Have a good day at work, and good luck with whatever is going on. I know you can handle it, baby. I’m going to head back to Aster Valley as soon as Shawn gets here to hang out with Tessa. I don’t know what time, but if you want to meet me at the house after work, the keypad code is the way Penny would relay confidential information ;-)

After referring to my trusty police code cheat sheet, I learned confidential information was a 10-36. Declan was a total geek.

I knew if I told Declan what had happened, he’d want to leave Tessa and race back here right away. So I decided not to call him. Instead, I’d tell him about it over dinner, a nice quiet dinner at home just the two of us.

Before I got the top down on the McLaren, my phone was already buzzing with calls from Iris, my mother, Kix, and one of the PAs. I powered it down completely and stashed it in the glove box.

Once the top was down, I realized Nolan had been right. It was a perfect day.

I shifted into Drive and sped away from the Gold Rats set. With no destination in mind, I drove and drove. Music blasted from the speakers, and the sun bore down on my head and shoulders. This part of Colorado was stunning, and since I wanted to move here permanently, I decided to check it out.

I drove for hours, simply enjoying the weather, the views, the music, and the blessed silence from my glove box. When I pulled into the town of Steamboat Springs, I saw a bicycle shop.

On a whim, I parked the car and went in.

“Help you?” a guy said from down by the floor where he was unpacking some water bottles from a box.

“Yeah, I think… I want to buy a mountain bike?” It was the silliest thing I’d thought or said in a long time, but it felt incredibly right.

He glanced out the open door to where I’d parked the car. “You got some kind of bike rack for that thing?” he asked with a laugh.

“Oh, uh… I was thinking maybe you could have it delivered? Except I live… I live…” I swallowed and took the leap. “I live in Aster Valley.”

He stood up and reached out to shake my hand. “Name’s JT. Nice to meet you. This your first bike, or are you replacing one?”

He clearly recognized me because later in the conversation he teased me that I’d forget all about rock climbing as soon as I got out on the trails, but he treated me like a normal person, and I appreciated that more than I could say.

Once I’d picked out a high-end Trek with full suspension, JT convinced me to try a SeaSucker bike rack which used big suction cups to hold the bike onto the car. I had to drive back with the top up, but it was worth it. As soon as I got to Declan’s house, I took the bike off the rack and rode it to the nearby grocery store to pick up food for dinner.