“You’re in danger,” he said quietly. “You need to be careful.”
“It seems so unreal,” she admitted. The notes hadn’t bothered her too much at first. Creepy, yes, but people did strange things when they were upset about movies invading their towns. She’d seen protests before. But a bullet? That was different.
Just how far would this person go to stop the movie from being made?
CHAPTER 15
Bianca sat in the front passenger seat of Clancy’s rental SUV as they drove away from a gently curved bay along Mineral Lake. The water behind them shimmered under the late afternoon light, its surface broken by faint ripples where a breeze brushed across it. The quiet beauty of the place lingered in her mind as she scrolled through the photos she had taken.
She studied one image in particular. The water deepened from pale blue near the edge to a darker sapphire farther out. “I think that’ll be perfect for the lake scene,” she said, swiping to the next photo.
“The skinny-dipping one?” Ewan asked from the backseat. His laptop rested open across his knees, the glow of the screen lighting his face. His fingers moved constantly across the keyboard, pausing only long enough for him to glance up now and then.
“Yeah. That one.” Bianca nodded. “Look at the depth in that water. It’s gorgeous.”
Clancy guided the SUV onto a narrow road that curved away from the lake. “So where to next?” His gaze flicked toward theside mirror and then to Bianca. “So far, nobody’s shot at us today,” he added.
Bianca eyed the trees on either side as if they hid assassins. “I still can’t believe that happened.”
“Same here,” Clancy said, light dancing across his handsome face. The sky had begun its evening transformation, fading from blue into bands of gold, peach, and pale lavender.
Bianca continued scrolling through photos, but her thoughts wandered. She had stayed in contact with Adam throughout the day. He had spoken with the concerned citizens group and didn’t believe they had anything to do with the bullet that shredded her tire.
Unfortunately, that didn’t help much. Then there were the flowers. Who in the world was sending them?
Clancy slowed the SUV at an intersection and let out a low whistle. “Now that sunset is impressive.”
Bianca twisted in her seat to see. The sky looked as though someone had brushed it with liquid gold. Streaks of pink stretched across the clouds while a band of soft blue hovered above the mountains in the distance. “We need that on film.”
Ewan typed for another few seconds before speaking again. “I have the schematic ready for the Willoughby farm.”
“Good.” Bianca checked the time on her phone. “I’ll take the contract to them tomorrow.” The Willoughby ranch would serve as the primary homestead location in the film. The old house, with its broad porch and weathered wood siding, looked exactly like the director had envisioned. “Hey,” she said, glancing toward Clancy. “Would you mind driving about fifteen miles outside town?”
“Sure.”
She thought about the needed landscaping. “There’s a nursery out there. I want to see what kinds of flowers and shrubsthey have. We might need landscaping pieces for the homestead scenes.”
“Works for me,” Clancy said. “But after that we’re getting food.”
Bianca blinked. “Food?”
“You forgot lunch again.”
“Oh.” She groaned softly. “Right.”
“You always do,” Ewan said from the backseat. He pushed his glasses up his nose while studying the laptop screen. “So… are you dating that rancher guy?”
Bianca turned around. “Excuse me?”
Ewan grinned. “The tall one. Adam.”
Clancy snorted.
Bianca folded her arms. Considering she’d moved her belongings from Mrs. Shiller’s B&B to Adam’s house earlier that day, it wasn’t going to be a secret for long. “Maybe.”
Ewan groaned. “That’s a yes.”
Clancy rolled his eyes.