The Last Goodbye (The Women of Independence) (16 page)

Danielle looked up to Scott and Marty.
“Would you two please help her up? But be careful.” She hovered as the men got
Andrea to her feet. “I’m afraid this means another trip to the hospital.
They’re going to wonder what’s going on out here.”

“I’ll take her,” Sean volunteered. “It’s
not hard to find, is it?”

“No. It’s just half a block off Main
Street. One block past the light, you’ll see a green sign with a big H on it.”

Hayden stepped forward. “I’ll go too, if
you like. You’ll need some company while you’re waiting for her to get fixed
up.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Sean held Andrea
gently by her good arm, but she lurched away, took a few steps to the side of
the verandah and vomited into the flower bed.

Carmen watched her dispassionately.
“It’s a combination of the booze and the pain setting in. I’ll be right back.”
She ran into the house and came back a moment later with a glass of water and a
wet cloth. She tended to the actress and guided her toward Sean’s vehicle.
“They’ll give you something for pain at the hospital,” she said, settling her
in the passenger seat and making sure her seat belt was fastened. “We’ll see
you later.”

* * *

They watched the vehicle drive off, each
lost in their own thoughts. Scott’s stomach growled, breaking the silence, and
they all laughed self-consciously. “Come on,” Danielle urged. “Let’s get
something to eat. Esperanza’s gone to a lot of trouble to make us a nice meal.”

Scott filled one of the large fluted
taco shells, wolfed it down and went back for a second. “Delicious,” he said,
eating more slowly this time. “Nothing like a successful day’s work to give a guy
an appetite.”

The First wasn’t the only one enjoying
the food, and Danielle made a mental note to tell Esperanza how much everyone
appreciated her culinary skills. “So how did Silverton work out for you?” she
asked.

He paused, a piece of lettuce dangling
from his fork. “It was amazing. The buildings may seem dark and uninteresting,
but we did some close-ups, and the texture of the hand-sawn boards was really
something.” He dug around in his taco bowl for a chunk of tomato. “And everyone
commented that the buildings on the main street looked like a set, only
better.”

Danielle grinned. “I’m glad it worked
out.”

Scott nodded. “Me, too. Even your
painted-over roof looked good on film.” He sat back, patted his stomach and
looked around the table. “But now we have a new problem to deal with.” He
glanced at the call sheet he’d brought to the table. “It’s for sure Andrea
won’t be able to work tomorrow.”

“She has a scene tomorrow?” Danielle
looked from Scott to Carmen, who nodded. “Excuse me for saying this, but the
way she was drinking tonight, she’d look terrible.”

Scott pushed his plate away. “That’s
just it. It’s a long shot, so it wouldn’t matter if she was a bit under the
weather.” He spread his hands, clearly frustrated. “But this... there’s no way
she can ride a horse with a broken arm. Grayson is going to go ballistic when
he gets here.”

“Scott.” Carmen spoke kindly but firmly.
“You should let him know tonight. You don’t want him finding out when he flies
in here tomorrow.”

“Grayson’s coming back tomorrow?”
Danielle blurted.

Wrapped up in his own problems, Scott
just nodded. “Yeah. The plan was for him to arrive in the morning, but he
called this afternoon and he may be delayed.” He looked over at Tyler. “You
know how he is about lighting. There’s perfect a spot over beyond the lake
where the sun comes through the trees around noon, but I guess it doesn’t
matter now.”

Danielle’s heart did a little happy
dance in her chest. Grayson was coming back tomorrow. Not that it mattered,
but... oh damn, who was she kidding? She wanted to see him one last time.

“Scott.” There was something in Carmen’s
voice that broke through Danielle’s reverie. “I have an idea.”

The Assistant Director exhaled noisily.
“I could use one.”

Carmen narrowed her eyes and looked
across the table. “Danielle could do it.”

“Could do what?” Danielle and Scott
spoke at the same time.

Carmen held up a hand. “Hear me out.
Danielle is the same size as Andrea. She has gorgeous, curly blonde hair when
she takes it out of that braid, and she can ride like the wind.”

It was Scott’s turn to narrow his eyes.
“Is that true?”

Danielle wasn’t sure if she could speak.
“Which part?” she stammered.

“All of it.” Scott leaned forward and
started to smile. “You know, I think we’ve got something here.”

“Now just a minute!” Danielle bristled
under his scrutiny. “You can stop talking about me like I’m a piece of
furniture, or something.”

“I’m sorry.” Scott pulled back, giving
her some space. “But if we can pull this off, it will save the day.” He gave
her a saucy grin. “No pressure.”

“Yeah, right.” She tried not to smile.
The truth was, taking Andrea’s place sounded like fun. She glanced at Carmen
for guidance. “Do you think I can do it?”

‘I know you can.” The actress was
getting some of her sparkle back. “Tell you what; let’s send to wardrobe for
that dress and we’ll get Danielle to try it on. We’ll do her hair at the same
time so you can get the full effect.”

“Dress? I thought you said she was
supposed to be riding a horse.”

“She is!” Carmen’s excitement was
contagious. “Or I should say you are. That’s what makes it such a special
scene.” She turned to Marty. “Would you mind going for it? We’ll be upstairs in
Danielle’s bedroom when you get back with it.”

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Danielle
nervously undid her braid. “I mean it sounds like fun, but are you sure I can
pull it off?” She turned to the older woman. “What if Grayson hates the idea?”

Carmen shrugged. “Then he won’t use it.”
She motioned Danielle to sit down and started brushing her hair. “But I can’t
see him objecting.” She chuckled to herself. “He’ll be glad we’ve solved the
problem.”

“I suppose so.” Danielle leaned forward
and stared at herself in the mirror. “But I don’t really look like her.”

Their gazes met in the mirror. “No, you
don’t. You’re much lovelier than Andrea, but unfortunately you’ll have to wear
makeup.”

“But if I’m far away...”

“Trust me, you have to wear it.” She
turned at a knock on the door. “Here’s the dress.”

Marty held out the garment bag. “Lureen
didn’t want to give it over, so I had to tell her what happened to Andrea.”

“That’s okay.” Carmen relieved him of
the bag. “They’ll all know soon enough.”

He lingered in the doorway.

“We’ll be down in a few minutes,” she
said kindly, shutting the door.

She unzipped the garment bag and pulled out
the dress.

“Oh, my God.” Danielle’s eyes widened.
“That’s not a dress, that’s a gown.”

Carmen held it out and looked at it.
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” The satin, ivory-toned fabric shimmered in the soft
bedroom light. “It’s absolutely beautiful.” The floor-length dress was artfully
draped and layered.

Danielle touched it reverently. “I’ve
never worn anything so beautiful. I think I’ll feel guilty wearing it to ride a
horse.” She held up her arms and Carmen slipped it over her head. It settled
down over her body as though it had been made for her.

The actress zipped it up and turned
Danielle toward the mirror. “What do you think?”

A small gasp escaped Danielle’s lips.
She didn’t recognize herself. ‘It’s beautiful.”

Carmen smiled and remained quiet.

Danielle turned this way and that in
front of the mirror, delighted as the fabric moved sensuously around her body.
What would Grayson think when he saw it? A tingle of anticipation raised goose
bumps on her arms and she rubbed them self-consciously.

“Grayson will love it,” said Carmen
softly.

Danielle looked up, unsure if the
actress was speaking personally or professionally. Either way, she accepted
that she looked amazing.

“Come on, let’s go downstairs and show
the men.”

Danielle was suddenly shy, but she’d
promised. Picking up the voluminous skirts, she made her way down the stairs.
The men had moved out to the verandah for their after-dinner drinks and she
stood at the screen door, gathering her nerve.

“Here she is.” Carmen opened the door
with a flourish.

The three men looked at her silently

“Well, say something,” she said
nervously.

They all spoke at once, voicing their
approval.

“You’re absolutely beautiful,” said
Tyler, offering her his hand and twirling her around. “I can’t understand why
you keep your hair hidden the way you do.”

The admiration in his eyes went a long
way to shoring up her self-confidence. She gave a small laugh. “I’m around
construction sites most days, and when I’m not there, I’m usually riding.” She
touched the wild mane of hair. “Not much call for big hair.”

“Yes, but wow. You look amazing.”

“Thanks, Tyler.” She accepted similar
compliments from Scott and Marty, then went back upstairs to change. Before
slipping out of the dress, she took one more look in the mirror. The woman who
looked back was attractive, but she wasn’t real... just like the world
inhabited by these movie people. It was fun to play dress up; even to be part
of their world for a day, but that’s as far as it went, and when Grayson came
back tomorrow, she’d need to remember that. No matter what happened.

Grayson had worked past midnight last
night in an attempt to review all of the footage. When he fell asleep for the
second time, he knew he’d pushed himself far enough.

“Sorry, Michael. Looks like we’ll need
another hour or two in the morning.”

The film editor clapped him on the back.
“You’ve done an amazing amount of work in a day and a half, but I’m glad you’re
calling it quits for today. I can’t see straight.” He stretched. “See you in
the morning.”

He’d done another two hours this
morning, and determined that they needed to re-shoot only one scene with Hayden
and Tyler. Luckily the set hadn’t been struck yet, and he communicated the good
news to Scott as soon as he’d made his decision.

“But you’ll have to go ahead and shoot
that scene on the horse without me,” he said from the plane. “I’ll never make
it in time.” His presence wasn’t really required, but the jet was needed for
tomorrow to bring Sean and the others back, plus he hoped to have dinner with Danielle
tonight.

Fully immersed in editing, he hadn’t had
time to think about her. Just as well, he thought, looking down on the clouds.
In spite of her fiery temperament, Danielle made him dream of lazy days on his
ranch, and even lazier nights with her wrapped in his arms. Life with her would
never be dull, that was a given. But it would be real. Yes, he said to himself,
real and uncompromising; two things that had been lacking in his personal life.
He found himself sitting forward on the seat, staring out the window. He could
hardly wait to see her.

* * *

“
She’s
going to take my place? No
way.” Andrea’s lip curled when Scott informed her of their decision. The pain
medication was doing nothing to improve her attitude.

Sean walked into the dining room. “Need
I remind you that you got drunk and fell down the stairs? We wouldn’t even have
this problem if it weren’t for you.”

She gave him a sulky look but was wise
enough to bite her tongue.

“Besides,” said Sean, a gleam in his
eye. “I hear she looks wonderful.”

Andrea stood up from the table, settled
her broken arm in the sling and stalked out.

Sean watched her go, then turned to
Scott. “What does Grayson think about using Danielle?”

The First shrugged. “Dunno. I didn’t
want to worry him so I didn’t say anything.” He drained his coffee and eyed the
producer. “Probably should have, but you were okay with it, and he still had a
couple of hours of film to look at this morning, so I didn’t tell him.”

Sean gave him a level look. “I
understand your thinking, but next time, better run it by me.”

“Yes sir.” Scott’s tone was respectful.
He knew he’d walked a fine line, but what could Grayson do from LA? He’d be
here soon enough. “I think I’ll go and check the set-up.”

* * *

“Is this really necessary?” Danielle
closed her eyes as instructed, while the makeup tech outlined her eyes.

The tech surveyed her work. “Trust me,
you look gorgeous.”

Danielle looked at herself in the
mirror. All of these compliments were beginning to unnerve her. She couldn’t
possibly look that great. Was everyone simply trying to make her feel better?

The trailer door was yanked open.
“They’re ready for you, Miss Flynn.”

The makeup tech whisked away the bib,
and Danielle gasped. She didn’t know where to look first... hair, makeup or the
gown. Maybe she
could
pull it off. “Coming,” she said, stepping outside.
“Let’s do this.”