a transition of my own. Even now, all these years later, I was referred to as that kid from California by some of the old folks in town.
So yeah, maybe there were reasons why I still didn’t feel like I totally fit in. But if I didn’t fit in, then this girl stood out like a circus clown.
“Hi.” Amber stepped forward first, stretching out a hand. “I’m Amber.”
The blonde’s answering smile wasn’t exactly fake, but it was about ten times less enthusiastic than Amber’s. Then her gaze flickered over to me, and everything about her shifted. Her smile grew, her eyes warmed, and something in her seemed to soften at the sight of me.
Wariness kicked in even as I matched her smile. “Brandon. Nice to meet you.”
“Lila,” she said. “And I know who you are.”
Whoa. The girl was Marilyn Monroe meets Grace Kelly—all seductive voice, killer body, and an air of untouchability that made you want to bow down at her feet.
Her words registered belatedly, and I felt a heat creeping up my neck—an embarrassment I hadn’t felt in ages.
For all my complaints about the small-town life in Pinedale, it did have its perks. And the fact that everyone was over my short-lived fame was one of those perks. No one mentioned my father other than to talk about what a great rancher he was, and not even the most annoying class clowns at my high school found it funny to mock my childhood career anymore.
My mom and I had achieved what we’d set out to do when we’d moved back here for good all those years ago.
We’d been forgotten.
But apparently, not by everyone. Definitely not by this outsider.
“You do?” I rubbed the back of my neck and glanced over at Jack, who watched this Lila girl closely, his eyes narrowed like he was wary she might pounce.
I took a small step back. Jack was one of the more laidback guys I knew—not exactly happy-go-lucky but unconcerned by what was going on around him. His role in this little world of ours was the smart aleck who watched it all from the sidelines. Usually with a smirk. He was a watcher. An uninvolved voyeur as he bided his time before getting out of town. He was also overly protective of me. Even when we were toddlers and my dad would bring me here for holidays and breaks in shooting, Jack had been my best friend. My protector. The closest thing I had to an older brother, even though we were nearly the same age.
So, right now? I recognized that wary look for what it was. Protectiveness. But the fact was, this girl was new here, and she was just that… a girl. What harm could she do?
“Lila and her sister are here from California,” Jack said, a note of warning in his voice, though the warning seemed to be directed toward Lila since he hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
She didn’t notice. Her gaze was still locked onto mine as she made her way toward me, carefully picking her steps as she trod over sticks and stones.
“Those are some shoes,” Amber said, laughter in her voice. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Louboutins in the wild before.”
Lila ignored her, all her attention was on me as she reached my side and placed a hand on my arm. “It’s such an honor to meet you.”
The heat that had been burning my skin made my mouth go dry. “Uh…”
Yeah. Eloquent. That was me.
“I’m such a big fan of Love on the Range,” Lila said. Her blue eyes met mine, and they were filled with sincerity and warmth and something so sweet it made my chest hurt. “Your father was a hero for me.”
“Thank you.” I managed to get words out even though they sounded gruff. Like I’d said, few people spoke about my dad anymore, and when they did it was about something that seemed foreign to me. The memories the older folks here in Pinedale had of him didn’t mesh with the man I remembered.
But then, my memories of my dad were mainly from the set and from the stories my mom had told me about him. I preferred the memories from the set. “He was my hero too,” I said.
I think I surprised all of us with that mushy comment. I felt Amber’s hand squeeze my other arm, and Jack looked down at the ground and kicked the dirt with his toe.
Ah hell, I hadn’t meant to make this weird.