Dear Cupid Page 20

  “Nah, this here’s fun and games. What I do on the computer, now that’s serious work.”

  Kate looked about, desperate for a way to calm her pounding heart. “I can’t believe it takes so many people to film one scene.”

  “It doesn’t,” Mike said, nodding toward the river. “Most of the people here are just using the stunt as an excuse to take a little time off. It’s not every day you get to see someone do something this stupid.”

  “Stupid?” she asked.

  “Well, I ask you—would you jump off that bridge? On horseback?”

  From where she stood, it didn’t look that high. But then she tried to imagine standing on the bridge looking down with the added height of the train and horse beneath her. “Absolutely not.”

  Mike nodded in agreement. “The one thing I’ve learned about stunts involving horses is that anything can happen. Like, what if Trey lands in front of the horse and gets pawed when the animal starts swimming? Or what if he gets kicked in the head on the way down? I’m telling you, anyone who does this kind of work for a living is nuts.”

  “I think you might be right,” she said.

  “What about the horse?” Dylan asked, and his hand tightened around hers. “Could it get hurt?”

  “Nah.” Mike ruffled Dylan’s hair. “Trey would never do anything he thought might hurt one of his horses, even if the ASPCA would let him. With all the animal rights police running around these days, you could beat up a kid on a film set easier than you could abuse an animal.”

  Kate scowled at him playfully. “Well, I would hope you wouldn’t abuse either.”

  “You sure?” He winked at her. “And here we were talking about tossing a kid off the bridge, just to see how he’d land.” He bent playfully toward her son. “What do you say, Dylan? You want to go for a swim?”

  “No way!” Laughing, the boy ducked behind Kate.

  “Ha, ha, very funny.” She tried to smirk at Mike but it felt more like a smile.

  “Oh, well, if you want to be a killjoy.” Mike gestured to a row of folding canvas chairs set up behind one of the cameras. “You want to meet some of the crew before the action begins?”

  “Actually, I think we have a better view from up here,” she said.

  “You got it,” he agreed easily. They settled down amid the wildflowers with Dylan between them. Kate tucked the skirt of her sundress about her raised knees. In the distance, voices shouted over the drone of generators as the film crew prepared for the shoot. A burst of laughter came from the crowd of other observers.

  “So,” Mike said, giving her his full attention, “did you get those sample packets of your column off to any papers yet?”

  She groaned. “No, but I will as soon as I have time to put them together.”

  “Come on, Kate,” he scolded her lightly. “How long does it take to write a cover letter and stick a few pages in an envelope?”

  “It’s not like I haven’t been busy this week.”

  “Kate.” He gave her an exasperated look. “You’ll never sell your column if you don’t send it out.”

  I won’t get rejected either. “I’m working on it, okay?”

  “I know.” He reached past Dylan and rubbed her shoulders. The contact relaxed her shoulders and melted something inside her. Studying his face in the sunlight, the kindness in the blue eyes surrounded by generous laugh lines, she felt the wall about her heart weaken a bit more.

  As their gazes met and held, he seemed to read her mind and silently urge her to give in, to let go of her fear.

  I can’t, she wanted to tell him. Some instinct warned her that a broken heart over Mike would hurt even more than what she’d suffered over Edward. Because loving a man like Mike with all her soul would be so very easy. While loving Edward had been girlhood fantasy.

  “Oh, look!” Dylan pointed down the hill. “The train’s moving. Is he gonna jump now?”

  Mike broke eye contact, and the moment was gone. “Not yet,” he said, glancing at his watch. “First Frank has to check all of the measurements from the cameras to the opening of the freight car to be sure they’re right.”

  “What do you mean?” Kate asked.

  “The animation has to be the same scale and angle as the live-action shot. This scene will be the climax of the movie when the train explodes, destroying my robot. Kevin Lee’s character will barely escape by leaping from the train on horseback. In order for the effect to work, all the technical data has to be dead-on accurate.”

  “Cool!” Dylan’s face tipped up toward Mike’s. “So, we’re gonna see the train blow up too?”

  “Not today.” Mike smiled at the boy. “That’s what the audience in the theater will see. Today, all we’ll see is Trey doing the stunt. The rest of the animation team will create the fireball on their computers back in California, while I finish creating the robot here. Once everything’s done, a film compositor will combine all the elements to make it look as if everything happened at once.”

  “And it’ll look real?” Dylan asked.

  “As real as the dinosaurs we created for Jurassic Park.”

  “You worked on Jurassic Park?” Dylan’s eyes widened.

  “Nearly every animator I know worked on that one.” Mike regaled Dylan with stories from the making of Jurassic Park and some other movies he’d worked on.

  Watching them, Kate saw her son’s eyes fill with awe, and her fear veered off in a new direction. If Dylan formed an attachment to Mike, how would he feel when his new hero disappeared? And if she couldn’t give Mike what he seemed to want from her, he would definitely disappear at some point. Or, even worse, she would give him her heart, only to watch his current interest turn to irritation—as it had with Edward. If she, as a woman, couldn’t compete with a stockbroker’s job for attention, how could she ever compete with a job like Mike’s?

  She frowned at the thought. Could Mike and Edward share that trait? They were polar opposites in every way except one: their absolute absorption with their careers. What if Mike, like Edward, wanted a woman in his life primarily for the convenience? Someone to take care of all his needs but have none of her own?

  Could a woman possibly figure that out before she gave her heart? Or was love an all-or-nothing gamble? Did she dare take that chance with Mike, knowing up front how much he loved his career? He had, after all, hired her to deal with things so he could dedicate more time to work. Was that a big red flag she’d be stupid to ignore? Or was she foolishly holding back for false reasons?

  “Here we go,” Mike said, standing up.

  Kate stood, as well, forcing her attention on the train as it moved onto the bridge. The director motioned with his hand and the mechanical arm holding his seat and camera rose. Downstream, near the ambulance and vet’s truck, Jesse mounted a second horse, and rode to the water’s edge.

  “I didn’t realize Jesse was in this shot,” Kate said.

  “She’s not,” Mike explained. “She’s waiting out of camera range to catch Trey’s horse if it gets away from him.”

  Someone hollered for quiet. The director spoke into a walkie-talkie and Trey appeared on foot in the doorway of the freight car, waved to Jesse, then disappeared back into the car.

  “What you can’t see,” Mike explained in a hushed voice, “is the platform attached to the other side of the train. Trey will back the horse onto that, so the horse can take a full stride before he jumps.”

  Kate nodded, her gaze riveted to the train.

  Then, suddenly, the horse and rider shot through the opening of the freight car to arch through the air. Trey leapt sideways, free of the saddle, his arms cartwheeling as he fell. Horse and rider landed with a splash several feet apart and disappeared beneath the water. The instant they resurfaced, Trey frantically swam toward his horse and grabbed hold of the saddle horn as the animal splashed and pawed its way toward the bank. Kate’s breath caught as she watched them struggle. Something must have gone wrong. Glancing toward Jesse and the rescue team, she wondere
d why they weren’t doing anything.

  Finally, the horse reached the bank, literally dragging the half-drowned Trey from the water. Kate covered her mouth with both hands when Trey collapsed face first onto the ground, his body seized by a violent fit of coughing. The horse staggered, with head down, as if barely able to stand. She took a step forward, not sure what she meant to do, but Mike grabbed her arm, holding her back. An instant later, someone yelled, “Cut,” and applause broke out along both sides of the river.

  Beside her, Mike clapped and whistled as Trey jumped nimbly to his feet, shaking water from his long hair. The horse, which had looked on the brink of death a moment before, tossed its head as if laughing. Trey grabbed the bridle and gave the horse a big kiss right on its nose as the crew gathered around them. Jesse rode up and tossed a towel at Trey.

  “Had ya fooled, didn’t they?” Mike winked at Kate.

  “Scared the tar out of me is more like it.” She pressed a hand to her heart.

  “That was too cool!” Dylan said. “Can we go down and see the horses?”

  “You bet.” Mike reached down, grabbed Dylan beneath the arms, and swung the boy up to ride on his hip. Dylan giggled in response.

  Kate froze, startled by the sight of Mike and her son laughing together. She realized with blinding clarity her heart wasn’t the only one at risk. If she fell in love with Mike, and he turned out to be another Edward, it would crush her son.

  Oblivious to her anxiety, Mike started down the hill, calling to her over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go join the party.”

  Okay, don’t panic, she told herself. No one had given their heart away. They were simply here to enjoy the day. Dylan deserved a little fun after the week he’d had. And frankly, so did she.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Mom, lookit me!” Dylan called from his perch in front of Jesse on her horse. His mother didn’t hear him, though, with all the people standing between them, laughing and talking. But he wanted her to see him sitting on a horse. An actual horse! Jesse even let him hold the reins, because he’d promised not to pull or jiggle them. He wouldn’t either, because Jesse said horses didn’t like that, and she knew everything about horses.

  Just like Mike knew everything about movies. Mike had introduced him to all his friends, and even lifted him up onto the horse when Jesse said it was okay.

  “Mom!” he called again. “Lookit me!”

  She finally turned around, and her eyes went round. “Oh my goodness! Are you okay up there?”

  “I’m a cowboy!” He bounced up and down, wishing Jesse would make the horse go faster, instead of just walking around Mike in a slow circle.

  “No, don’t kick,” Jesse said, placing a hand on his leg.

  “Sorry.” He glanced up at her and smiled. He liked the way she smiled back at him. She was really pretty. Even prettier than his teacher, Miss Marshall.

  “Dylan, be careful.”

  He glanced over and saw his mom chewing her thumbnail. For one scary moment, he thought she would charge over and scoop him into her arms, the way she did sometimes when he did something she thought hurt him. He braced himself, ready to holler if she tried.

  “Maybe you should come down,” she said.

  “Nooo!” He pressed back into Jesse even as she pulled the reins and the horse quit walking.

  “I’m sorry,” Jesse said to his mom. “Mike said it would be okay.”

  His mom shot Mike a funny look, like she was mad even through she kept smiling.

  “Kate?” Mike frowned back at her. “What’s wrong? Dylan’s perfectly safe. Jesse’s got a good hold on him.”

  “I know, he’s just ...”

  “Having a really good time,” Mike said with a laugh.

  “You’re right.” His mom nodded like a stiff doll.

  “Hmm, hey, buddy.” Mike stepped closer and patted Dylan’s leg. “Maybe you should come down.”

  “No. I like riding.”

  “I know, but I bet riding makes a man hungry, and they’re serving barbecue.” Mike held up his arms. “What do you say we hit the chow tent?”

  That sounded like fun, especially if he could eat with Mike.

  “Okay.” He lunged toward his new friend.

  “Whoa!” Mike staggered back, surprised at how fearlessly the kid had jumped. “You’re pretty brave for a little guy.” He settled the boy on his hip.

  “I’m gonna be a stunt man when I get big.”

  “Oh, you are, are you?” He glanced at Kate and saw she’d gone pale. “I think you’re mom might have something to say about that.”

  “I’m okay,” she said, coming over to straighten Dylan’s shirt. To her credit, she kept her smile in place, even through he could tell she was panicking inside. “You really liked that, didn’t you?”

  “Yep.” The boy bobbed his head.

  Mike put Dylan on the ground. “Come on, buddy, let’s grab some grub.”

  “You bet.” Dylan took off up the hill. “I’m starved.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said quietly.

  “For letting him ride, or for getting him down?”

  “Both.” She laughed as they followed Dylan at a slower pace. “I know I come off as a totally over protective parent, but it’s hard not to be with Dylan.”

  “I know. After seeing him in the hospital, I can understand.”

  “It doesn’t help that Dylan’s allergic to just about everything. How do I know he’s not allergic to horses?”

  “Sometimes there’s only one way to find out.” When she frowned, he sent her grinned. “Jump in and try.”

  She shook her head with that look that said she found him exasperating and amusing at the same time.

  “Life is a contact sport, Kate.” He tipped his head. “You can either spend it on the sidelines watching, or you can jump in, take a few knocks, and keep on playing. The second is a lot more fun.”

  “And painful.” She laughed.

  He started to tell her no one should bench themselves for life just because they’d taken one hard hit, but Dylan charged back to them.

  “You guys coming?”

  “We’re coming,” Kate assured her son.

  “Hey, Mom, Trey and Jesse live on a ranch!” Dylan took his mother’s hand, pulling her along. “Well, not a real ranch. Jesse said it’s a ... it’s a ...”

  “Rescue reserve for exotic animals,” Mike supplied.

  “They have camels and donkeys and ostriches.” Dylan took Mike’s hand as well and leapt forward so he swung between them, like a monkey swinging from two vines. “And they even have a tiger. Don’t they, Mike?”

  “They sure do,” he answered.

  “Can I go see it?” Dylan asked, his blue eyes pleading with his mother. “Pleeease. Mike said he’d take me.”

  “Oh, he did, did he?” She raised a brow and he could see she wasn’t sure about the idea.

  “Did I mention Rowdy, the tiger, is tame as a kitten and has no claws?” he offered hopefully.

  “Can I go see him, Mom?” Dylan jumped up and down, pulling on their arms. “Can I?”

  “We’ll see,” she said in a neutral tone.

  Dylan’s shoulders slumped as he looked up at Mike with surprisingly adult eyes. “That means she’s hoping I’ll forget so she won’t have to say no.”

  Smart kid. Mike nodded. “I guess we’ll just have to work on her then, eh?”

  “You betcha.” With renewed enthusiasm, Dylan dropped their hands and raced ahead toward the tent.

  “Talkative little guy, isn’t he?” Mike smiled, watching the boy. “And here I thought he was standoffish the first time we met.”

  She frowned as if equally surprised by the way Dylan had latched onto Mike, and not entirely happy about it. “Dylan isn’t the type to give his friendship lightly.”

  “Gets that from his mom, I guess.” He slipped his hand into hers and gave it a light squeeze. The gesture seemed so natural, he did it without thinking. But that simple contact, the mere holding of he
r hand as they walked, made everything inside him settle into place. This was so right.

  She raised her gaze to his, and he saw the same feeling flicker in her eyes, only to be followed by a small questioning frown, a wary crease between her brows. Why couldn’t she relax and let this thing between them follow its natural course?

  “Mike, about Dylan, I think it would be best if—” Before she could finish, Dylan came running back.

  “I found us a table,” the boy panted. “But hurry up, before it’s gone.”

  Mike stifled a sigh of frustration as they made their way into the cool shade of the tent. As much as he was enjoying the day, he wished he and Kate could go somewhere quiet and talk. They’d had very little time for that all last week. Sooner or later, he had to let her know how he felt. Except, he feared knowing how he felt would scare her even more. It had to be said, though, because this pretense of casualness couldn’t go on forever. He’d go out of his mind.

  They took their seats with Dylan between them at one of the long portable tables that had been set up by the catering service. Bowls of potato salad, pinto beans, and coleslaw sat on the red-checkered plastic tablecloth.

  “What would you like, sweetie?” Kate asked Dylan as she retrieved paper plates for each of them.

  “Everything,” Dylan answered, arching his back to pat his stomach. “I’m hungry.”

  Kate began filling his plate with side dishes as Mike accepted one of the platters of meat being passed around the table.

  “I’m going to be in a show,” Dylan announced as he took a giant-sized bite of beans.

  “You are?” Mike responded with exaggerated surprise.

  “Not a movie, or anything.” Dylan’s mouth twisted into a smirk with a smear of sauce on one cheek. “It’s just a dumb show at my school.”

  “Dylan,” Kate gave an oddly nervous sounding laugh as she wiped the sauce from his face. “I’m sure Mike would rather hear about your computer game than school.”

  “No, I’m interested,” Mike assured. “What play are you doing?”

  Dylan made a point of swallowing before he answered. “It’s not a play, exactly. We’re just gonna do a bunch of skits. You know, like vawdy-villa.”