The color drained from Maggie’s face. “Oh… yeah. About that.”
A knot dropped into Bianca’s stomach. “I can’t raise the offer any higher. We already pushed the budget to the limit.”
“No.” Maggie’s shoulders sagged. “We’ve decided not to accept the offer.” The words came out uneven and apologetic. “I’m really sorry.”
Bianca stared at her. The timeline flashed through her head like a countdown clock. The crew would arrive in forty-eight hours. They needed that ranch. “Maggie,” Bianca said slowly, “what happened?”
Maggie glanced toward Boyd and then back again. “Well… Boyd, Pike, and Adam heard we needed money.” She shifted her notebook from one hand to the other. “They didn’t want us taking money from the film company, so they loaned it to us.”
The words felt like thrown stones at Bianca.
Maggie winced. “We have to pay it back, of course. But it’s only four percent interest, and Daniel felt a lot better about that.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re right in the middle of calving season,” she continued. “The ranch is busy enough as it is.”
“Did you say Adam?” Bianca asked, the name coming out sharper than she intended.
Maggie swallowed. “Yeah.”
“When was this decided?”
“Last night,” Maggie said quietly. “But we signed the papers this morning.”
For a moment Bianca couldn’t speak. Adam. He had known how important this contract was, and he’d still slept with her. Hadn’t mentioned a thing this morning, either. She was going to kill him.
Boyd cleared his throat, shifting his weight behind the counter. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about this, Bianca,” he said. “But the timing really is rough. We have to protect the ranch and the farmland around there. There’s quite a bit of it surrounding the house.” He hesitated before adding, “Do you still want to buy flowers?”
Bianca let out a strained laugh and threw both hands into the air. “I don’t have a place to put them.” Her pulse pounded in her ears. Randi was counting on her. The entire production team was counting on her, and she had just lost the primary location. What was she supposed to do now?
Maggie stepped closer, her expression full of regret. “I really am sorry about this,” she said. “But you could still film out by the mountain. There’s a huge section of land out there. Acres and acres. It’s far from the house.”
Boyd shook his head immediately. “No. If they’re not filming at the ranch, they should stay off the property altogether. They’d still have to cross ranch land to reach that area.”
“They don’t,” Maggie said quickly. “There’s an outside road that cuts around the back.” She looked at Bianca, almost hopeful. “For ten thousand dollars, we’ll let you film out there.”
Bianca felt the edge of panic closing in. The Willoughby contract had just collapsed. The crew would arrive in less thantwo days. Equipment trucks were already on the road. “Okay,” she said. “Let me get everything else figured out, and then maybe we can look at that property.”
Boyd hitched his thumbs in his jeans. “Maybe Montana isn’t the right place for this movie?”
She didn’t have time for this right now. “Boyd, I’ll be back for shrubs if I find a location,” she muttered as she turned toward the door. “Even though I’m not thrilled with you right now.”
The bell above the entrance rang as she pushed outside. Cool evening air rushed across her face as she crossed the parking lot and climbed into the SUV. Clancy and Ewan followed close behind.
The doors slammed almost in unison.
Ewan dropped into the backseat and ran both hands through his hair. “We are so screwed,” he said. “They’re arriving in less than forty-eight hours. We don’t have a ranch house, and nobody else is going to rent one on short notice.”
Clancy glanced at Bianca, then focused on the road ahead as he started the engine. “When I was scouting earlier,” he said slowly, “I found a pretty interesting place.”
Bianca straightened in the seat. “Yeah?”
Clancy rested both hands on the steering wheel and hesitated. “You’re not going to like it.”
“I’m not liking any of this,” Bianca said. Her jaw tightened as Adam’s name replayed in her mind. She still couldn’t believe he had done that. “What did you find?”
Clancy released a breath. “It’s a small ranch house,” he said. “No barns or outbuildings, so we’d have to shoot those scenes somewhere else. But the house itself is great. White siding, weathered wood, and it sits right against the mountains about half an hour outside of town.”
Bianca waited. “And?”
Clancy drove onto the main road. “It belongs to Billy Rockefeller. From the concerned citizens group.”