Dreaming With My Eyes Wide Open (Hollywood Legends #2) (4 page)

Paige didn’t return to school. Over the next year, between
working hard on the Double C and researching the best way to build up the
business, she completed her degree online.

Chuck was glad Paige kept busy — that she had a vision for
the future. It wasn’t until the haze of grief lifted that he began to wonder if
she was working for the right reason. Was she entrenching herself on the ranch
for him and for her mother’s memory? If Erin were still with them, would
Paige’s choice have been Montana?

All these worries and questions spurred Chuck on. He would
make Erin’s movie. Once he had all the details smoothed out, it would be
something he and Paige could work on together. They could reconnect.

A few months into the project, he finally shared what he was
doing with Paige. To say that she was surprised was putting it mildly.

“You’ve been doing what?”

“Putting together the funding to make a movie,” Chuck said.

It was such a matter of fact statement. Like saying it looks
like rain. Paige stared at her father for a moment trying to decide if she
heard him correctly or if he was going out of his mind.

They were having breakfast, as they did most mornings,
before heading out to do the chores. Chuck had his usual coffee and cold
cereal. A habit no amount of tempting from his wife and daughter could break.
The only exceptions were Christmas morning and his birthday. On those
occasions, he sat with the family for a feast of Erin’s choosing.

“How long has this been going on?”

“A month.” Chuck shrugged. “Or two. I found that old script
your mother wrote. It’s good, Paige. Better than she ever let herself believe.”

Trying to wrap her mind around her father’s words, Paige
sipped her hot chocolate. Two months. That was about the time she had noticed a
change in her father. Livelier. The word that popped into her head. After
almost two years of going through the motions, she had been relieved to see
glimpses of the man he was before her mother’s death.

Now Paige found out the change wasn’t a simple progression
past his grief, it was caused by a crazy scheme.
Finance a movie? What the
hell?

Paige didn’t say that to her father. She tempered her words.
It appeared he was in the early stages of his plan. Not too late to scrap it
altogether.

“Mom’s script.” Paige vaguely remembered hearing about it.
“Have you found investors?”

“It’s been slow going,” Chuck admitted. “I tried some of my
old Hollywood connections.”

“And.” Paige mentally crossed her fingers that her father’s
connections
turned him down flat.

“There wasn’t a lot of interest.”

“That’s to be expected. You’ve been away from the industry
for a long time. And even then…”

“Even then I wasn’t anything but a glorified gopher.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“I’m not embarrassed, Paige. I served an important
function.” Chuck smiled when he thought back. “Those bigwigs had no idea how
important. Without people like me, a movie would grind to a halt in no time.
They had the money and the ideas. However, the little things make it all run.
The toilet paper alone. There were times when every actor wanted a different
kind. Can you imagine? If the leading lady didn’t have the made-in-Europe,
triple-ply, double-quilted to wipe her pampered backside, good luck getting her
on set for her love scene.”

“Who knew that toilet paper ruled the movies?”

Paige loved her father’s stories. Even the ones she had
heard a thousand times. They fascinated her as a child, filling her head with
ideas. Dreams. As she grew older, she put those dreams aside for a more
practical life. She was happy with her life. What they did on the ranch was
grounded in reality — not fancy. Something her father needed to be reminded of.

“It’s probably for the best, Dad. Making a movie, even one
on a shoestring budget takes time and know-how. We have neither.”

“What’s time?” Chuck dismissed the notion with a wave of his
hand. “You need to loosen the reins a little, Paige. Ambition is fine, but your
mother always made time for fun.”

“I have fun,” Paige mumbled defensively.

“When was the last time you went out with… anyone?”

“Lottie and I do things all the time.”

“Getting coffee in Basic with your best friend doesn’t
count.”

“You think making a movie is the answer to my social woes?”

“I think it will be
fun
. For both of us.”

For the first time, what her father said began to sink in.
He needed this. Maybe it was his way of staying connected with his wife and
moving on at the same time. It was hard to argue with that.

Then there was the other part of it.
Fun
. Paige
wondered when she had become such a stick in the mud? She knew the answer. Her
mother’s death had hit her hard. In trying to make the most of the time she
had, Paige had lost sight of everything except work. If it didn’t involve the
ranch and horses, she wasn’t interested.

Paige let the idea of a movie flow over her.

She had the business in a good place. A
very
good
place. Every horse on the ranch was spoken for. Paige had plans to expand next
year. She wanted to add on to the stables. Make the corral bigger. That meant
hiring extra help. At the moment, they had one full-time employee and three
part-timers. If her vision became a reality, those numbers would grow a little
each year.

If her father wanted to play for a few months, now was the
best time he could have chosen.

Paige was about to tell him that she was on board when her
father dropped his bombshell.

“I’ve decided to finance the movie myself.”

“
Are you out of your mind
?”

“Watch your tone, young lady.”

“This isn’t your daughter speaking,
Chuck
.”

“You’re afraid I’ll lose the ranch.”

“The thought had crossed my mind.” Paige set the cocoa
aside. With her stomach in a knot, the sweet hot chocolate no longer held any
appeal. “Not that I have any legal say. Technically, I work for you. The ranch
is yours to do whatever you want with.”

“Low blow, Paige.” Chuck leveled a steady look toward her.
“The Double C is your legacy. I might be the legal owner, but we are equal
partners in every other way.”

“Then don’t do this, Dad.”

“It’s already done.”

“What?” Paige felt the knot turn into a fiery ball of
anxiety. “Exactly
what
is done?”

“I’ve mortgaged half of the land. The house and all the
buildings aren’t included.”

And that makes it okay
? Paige wanted to shout. The
land that the horses ran free on? Where, as a child,
she
ran free?

“That can’t be enough money. Even a do-it-yourself
production costs several million dollars.”

Even as she said the words, Paige wondered at the amount.
Millions
.
She dealt in thousands of dollars. When she occasionally reached into the tens
of thousands, her palms would sweat. Her father wasn’t batting an eye.

“It is an all-volunteer cast and crew. I promised them
screen credits and a percentage of the profits.”

“Profits? You expect to make a profit? And who have you
recruited?”

“Like I said before, this is for fun.” Chuck patted her
hand. He put his bowl in the dishwasher before rinsing out his cup and setting
it beside the half-full coffee pot. He would use both later in the morning when
he came in from feeding the stock. “As for who is on board? Myra Winslow is
doing the catering. She has a small part, too. Then there’s Sonny Dawson. He
can fix anything with an engine. That’s bound to come in handy. I thought he
would be good for the grandfather. He has experience in local theater.”

“He played Santa Claus at the high school pageant, Dad. No
lines.”

Chuck shrugged. “Hence the grandfather. He only has a line.
It will all work out. You’ll see.”

“I suppose I should be grateful you told me about it before
you started production.”

“Don’t be snarky, Paige. I’m telling you now.” Chuck kissed
her forehead before grabbing his jacket from the peg by the door. “We’ll go
over everything after dinner.” He reached for the door. “And Paige.”

“Yes.”

“It will all work out. Trust me.”

Trust me
.

Paige had trusted her father all her life. Without
reservation. She wanted to trust him this time. However, with so much on the
line, she decided she needed some help knocking sense into her father’s head.
That was why she wrote to Caleb Landis. It had been a long shot.

Instead of a calming influence, what had she gotten? Not
only hadn’t the legendary Hollywood producer discouraged Chuck, he gave him
money. Then to top it off, he sent his son.

Paige shifted the truck into second gear. She had dropped
Lottie off before heading back to the ranch. Her passenger seemed content to
ride in silence. Strange. She imagined all Hollywood types to be talkative. And
their favorite subject of conversation — themselves.

Nate Landis wasn’t conforming to her ideas. But it was
early.

“How much of this belongs to your family?”

“As far as the eye can see. And beyond. It isn’t big by some
standards, but it suits our needs.” At least it was theirs for now. After her
father was finished, who knew what would be left.

“This is beautiful country. Living at the base of the
Bitterroots. All that open, undeveloped area. You’re very lucky to have all
this.”

There was nothing condescending in Nate’s tone. Why Paige
expected it, she couldn’t say. From the moment she found out about his
impending arrival, she had been on edge. Now that he was here, Nate Landis
posed a different problem than she had anticipated.

She wanted him. Plain, simple, unadulterated lust.

Paige couldn’t remember the last time she felt this kind of
instant attraction. Oh, when she was a teenager gushing over the latest
heartthrob’s music video. But that didn’t count. At fourteen, she wouldn’t have
known what to do with one of those boys if he had magically appeared before
her.

She was well past the age where she had figured it out. She
knew exactly what she would like to do to Nate. Over and over again.

Sneaking a quick look, she almost sighed aloud. No one
should be that good looking. Not that looks mattered. She could ignore the
muscles and the chiseled jawline. They were a nice bonus. Her problem was that
Nate Landis practically oozed sex appeal.

The man smelled good enough to eat. Clean and masculine.
That was it. Good Lord. He wasn’t wearing expensive cologne. It was
straightforward soap and something that was uniquely Nate. Bottle
that
and you could make a fortune.

On top of everything else happening, she would be dealing
with sexual frustration. Nate was not for her, even short-term.

First, he was attracted to Lottie and the feeling was
mutual. That signaled off limits in big neon letters. Second, he wasn’t here to
give her a tumble. Nate’s father sent him to help, not to scratch an itch she
hadn’t known she possessed until he stepped off that plane. Third, in spite of
the instant attraction, something about him rubbed her the wrong way.

Nate Landis, with his confident swagger and scuffed boots,
was
too
casual about his appeal. He had to know that he was sex walking,
yet there he sat. Cool and relaxed. It pissed her off. And knowing it was
irrational pissed her off even more.

Layer upon layer of frustration with no end in sight.

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were muttering something under your breath, and then
you gave a long sigh.” Nate pulled down his sunglasses, his eyes meeting hers.
“Something is wrong. Want to share?”

“Blue eyes.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have blue eyes.”

So blue. Like the clear mountain lake on the Double C. She
swam in that lake every summer. Just as she swam in his eyes right now. With
effort, Paige broke away, shifting her gaze back to the road before she drove
into the ditch. Dangerous. That’s what he was. It was something she would have
to keep reminding herself.

“And yours are brown. Like rich, dark chocolate.”

“No.”

“You’ve lost me again,” Nate chuckled. “No what?”

“Do not flirt with me. You see this.” Paige motioned over
her body with her hand. “This is off limits. I don’t know what you’re used to,
but around here you get one woman at a time.”

“And you are one woman.”

Nate’s voice lowered. Deep and a little husky. The sound
shot straight into Paige’s bloodstream, causing her pulse to throb. Along with
certain other parts of her body.

“Lottie is my best friend.”

“I figured.”

“Well, there you go.”

The woman was confusing as hell. Nate looked out the window,
a grin plastered on his face. Confusing and fascinating. She seemed to think
her friend had dibs on him. Normally, the sweet, curvy Lottie would have been
right up his alley. However, the long-legged blond made him think of a soft bed
and those legs wrapped around him — hour after hour.

Paige Chamberlin was a little prickly, but she had a sense
of humor. He liked a woman who could laugh at herself. With that long,
honey-blond hair and full mouth, she was just the right combination to keep him
interested while he was in Montana.

There was only one problem — a big one. She was the daughter
of his father’s friend. A man who would be his host for as long as he was here.
There were rules about this kind of thing. Nothing written in stone, but rules
nonetheless.

Nate wasn’t a rutting boar. He was capable of keeping his
dick in his pants. But oh, Lordy. He shook his head when he glanced at those
long legs. This was a temptation he didn’t want to resist.

“I read the script.”

Paige gave him a surprised glance.