“Chair,” he repeated, firmer now. He nodded toward the one beside the counter. “Now.”
She hesitated and then sat, letting out a breath she’d clearly been holding. “Blood doesn’t bother me,” she said weakly.
“Sure it does,” he said. “You’re human.” And cute. Way too cute.
Hawk snorted from the doorway.
Dawn shot him a look. “Don’t distract the doctor, Handsome.”
“Stop flirting with Hawk while you have a needle in my arm,” Adam drawled, gratified when Bianca gave a small smile.
Her phone buzzed, and she looked relieved to pull it from her back pocket and place at her ear. “Estrada,” she answered.
Last name. Like someone in an office in Hollywood. Yeah, Adam needed to remind himself of that fact. A lot.
Her head went back. “Excuse me? What do you mean they reneged?” Her gaze narrowed. “Someone got to them? What in the world does that mean?” She glanced over at Adam, her gaze distracted. “No. Well, yeah. I did tell—” She paused, her chin going down. “I’ll call you back, Clancy.” She ended the call.
Adam lifted an eyebrow. “Problem?”
Suspicion and then a series of different expressions crossed her face. “Apparently the Willoughby family decided they don’t want us filming at their farm. Yesterday they needed the money.”
Adam stared at her. “Privacy is more important than money.”
Her eyes flashed. “You’re the only person I told, Adam. Did you talk them out of working with us? Did you threaten them?”
“Of course not,” he said. He would never threaten his friends. Geez. “Guess they just changed their minds.”
She crossed her arms. “Then they’ll have to change it back. I’m going out there today, and if I find out you messed with our deal, you’ll regret it.” The woman looked like a hissing cat, all cute and indignant.
He knew better than to say that. “Oh yeah? What exactly would you do about it, Baby?”
She blushed, making her look even more enticing. Yeah. His city girl liked to be called endearments. He would use that.
“You don’t want to know.”
Hawk glanced up from reading his phone. “Maybe the two of you should stop flirting while my woman has a needle in your arm, Adam. Just sayin’.”
His grin was going to get him punched. Just as soon as that needle was free.
CHAPTER 7
After a day of scouting locations outside of the quaint town of Mineral Lake, rain drifted on the breeze. Bianca followed the county road, glancing at the directions from Clancy that she’d jotted down. Clouds clung to the mountains in long gray streaks, and the sky above the valley shifted between pale blue and gathering shade. Somewhere out there another storm was building.
The road curved through pasture and cottonwoods before opening into a wide pocket of ranch land. Bianca slowed her rental and rolled the window down a little farther.
The Willoughby ranch appeared ahead of her, simple and solid. A white fence ran along the road before bending toward a small farmhouse set back on a shallow rise. A red barn stood behind it with its doors open wide, and a pair of horses grazed in a nearby paddock. The yard looked chaotic with a colorful swing set, plastic toys, and a small pile of boots near the porch steps.
She pulled off the road and parked near the fence, scanning the property the way she always did when evaluating a location. The light was good here. The angle of the barn against the hills was perfect. Even the cottonwoods by the creek would frame a shot beautifully.
It really was ideal for this film—more accurate to the screenplay than even Dawn’s place was.
Bianca grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and stepped out of the SUV.
Two small children ran through the grass near the porch. The older one chased a dog that bounded away with a stick in its mouth. The younger boy toddled after them, determined and unsteady.
Bianca walked toward the house, happy she was wearing boots since wet grass competed with the gravel on the walk. She paused to look at a lovely line of marigolds that were crowding each other too much.
A young woman stepped out onto the porch before Bianca reached the stairs. She wore jeans and a faded sweatshirt, her hair pulled into a messy knot. A dish towel rested in one hand.