“But not this movie. This one is about her mother.”

“Oh my God, her mother.” Shanna’s head fell back at Gayle’s reminder. “Was she there when her mom was murdered?”

Both women waited, watching me.

I scowled. “None of your business.”

“Brody—”

“No!” My voice rose over Gayle’s. I stared hard at Shanna. “She is not a part of the movie, and it is not my job to divulge anything. My job is to act in this movie. I will do that, but I won’t do that.”

Problem number one just uncovered itself.

I was staring into the faces of two women I respected and wanted to keep working with, but they both had agendas. I shot Gayle a look. “You’ll have my back on this. There is no leeway on this subject matter.”

Her eye twitched once, then twice, before she glanced sideways to Shanna.

My director’s pupils were dilated. There was a sloppy, mad quality to her, but her eyes were still locked on me. Hard. Her mouth was set in a fierce line. “Brody.”

“I mean it.” I skewered both of them. “When it comes to her, there’s no negotiation on my part. None.”

“I can replace you.”

And threat number one was just thrown out.

I waited a beat, choosing my words, but not fast enough.

Gayle shoved back her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “His job is to be an actor, not an informant. Your argument is not with him for that one.”

“With who then?” Shanna’s head swung a little more than it needed to. She almost fell off the chair. “With the girl? She took off on a freaking wild horse. Let me go round up one of my own to find her! Are you kidding me?”

Gayle’s chest rose and fell a few times. When she spoke again, she was a little calmer. “I suggest you ask the appropriate people, like her stepfather or any one of her stepsiblings—not my client.”

Shanna’s gaze switched, settling directly on me before she slowly pushed back and stood. She took a breath, smoothing her hands down her shirt and pants and then patting her hair into place. “I see. If you’ll excuse me both, I have a few Kellermans to pin down.”

The room was thick with tension, and neither Gayle nor I spoke a word as Shanna walked across the room, opened the door, and went outside.

Once the door clicked shut, Gayle slumped back into her chair. “For fuck’s sake, Brody.” Her eyes sparkled in anger. “Goddamn warn me when you have a secret like this, would you?”

I swallowed. “It wasn’t supposed to come out.”

“Secrets like this always come out! That’s golden rule number one.” She leaned forward and jammed her finger against the table as she continued, “They always come out. You plan for when they do. Got it?”

I nodded. “Got it.”

“Now”—she waved in the direction Shanna just disappeared—“that problem is resolved, for now, but she’ll come back. Trust me. Shanna isn’t called a pit bull when it comes to her movies. She’s a great white fucking shark. She’ll be back.” She motioned out toward the mountainside next. “I have to know about your girlfriend. I don’t care if you’re in love with her. I have to know how to protect you as well as how to protect her.”

“No.”

“Brody!”

“No.” I didn’t yell, but I made sure she knew I meant it when I said, “I will not violate her trust.”

“Brody!” Gayle yelled again.

“Brody.”

We both swung around at the second name spoken. It was soft but clear, and like the ghost she constantly embodied, Morgan appeared just inside the patio doors. She had climbed up over the patio and came inside. Gayle and I hadn’t heard her at all.

Her hands were flat against her legs as she stepped farther inside, eyes fixed on Gayle. “I’ll tell you what you need to know if it means you’ll protect him.”

Gayle blinked a few times, and she looked taken aback. Then she nodded, her eyebrows pulling together. She cleared her throat. “I’d like that. Thank you.”

We were all off balance. The tension was still in the air, and for a moment, Gayle and I didn’t move. The only one who seemed calm was Morgan.

She took Shanna’s vacated seat and gestured to Gayle’s. “If you’d like to sit for all of this?”

Brody

It was three hours later when Morgan left to find her sister. Gayle had stayed behind longer to collect herself, and she was still shaking her head when I pulled the cabin door shut behind us. “That girl . . .” She wrapped her arms around herself. The air had gotten noticeably colder, but I didn’t mind it. “That girl is special, Brody.”

“I know.”

“No.” She turned around and placed her hand on my arm. “You aren’t fully understanding me. Yes, she’s special in the way that she’s remarkable, and I can see why Shanna is going to do everything she can to get that girl into the movie, but she’s special in a way that not even you can compete with. I can see the bond between you two. I can tell you think you love her.”

Think?

I wish I hadn’t. It was deeper than she could possibly realize.

Picking her words carefully, she went on. “She is wild in her heart. You cannot tame her. You will never be able to take her with you on your next acting gig. You travel constantly. You go everywhere, all over the world. You’re from two completely opposite worlds. You’ll never fully fit in with hers, and she’ll never fully fit in with yours. I watched her in there as she told me about her mother, about everything. She looked out that window no fewer than twenty times in three hours. Twenty times, Brody. Did you watch her body language? She kept rubbing her arms. She kept moving in her seat. She kept tapping her leg. She was restless because she wanted to go back out there. I saw how she took off before. Her mare was responding to her. She wanted to run, not the mare. The mare would’ve stayed beside her through a fire. It was her. Not the mustang.”