Dreaming With My Eyes Wide Open (Hollywood Legends #2) (9 page)

“You’re nothing like Lyle.”

“I like the woman in my arms to be willing.” He shrugged;
his voice dropped to a deep whisper. “Don’t get me wrong. In bed?” Nate smiled
when heard Paige sigh. “I can dominate with the best of them.”

“Dominate?” Paige’s eyes widened.

“I don’t hit.” Nate didn’t want any misunderstandings between
them. “A pat on the ass is as far as I go. Light bondage, if we’re both in the
mood.”

“Oh, my.”

“I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“You know what to do, Paige.”

Nate gave her one last look, and then headed into the house.

“Now what?”

He paused, his hand on the doorknob. Looking over his
shoulder, Nate sighed. He cocked his head toward the road where several cars
traveled their way.

“Looks like we’re making a movie.”

CALLING THEM RAG-TAG would be kind.

Nate looked at the group assembled in the Double C barn. For
a first-time director, this wouldn’t be anyone’s idea of a Dream Team. A few
local theater members and a whole lot of enthusiastic greenhorns.

Chuck was one of them. Enthusiastic and inexperienced. The
time he spent in Hollywood had prepared him for the basics. Setting things up
was one thing. He had called some old friends and recruited some current ones.
He knew what he needed to make a movie. However, when it came down to it, Chuck
gladly handed control over to someone else.

That someone was Nate.

“Everyone?” Chuck raised his voice, getting the attention of
the thirty-seven people who filled the barn. “First. Thank you. Taking time out
from your busy lives to help us make this movie, well, it touches me to have
friends like you. I can’t promise you fame and riches.” The crowd laughed. “I
hope when we’re done, we’ll be better for the experience. And we’ll all have a
DVD we can bore our families with for years to come.”

“If my kids want to inherit the
Wash and Go
, they’ll
have to show it every year on my birthday. I’m putting it in my will.”

“You have three lines, Bert.”

“My name will be in the credits, right?”

“Sure,” Chuck nodded.

“Then they can damn well sit through the movie to see it. No
fast forwarding.”

Nate laughed, drawing the attention of the crowd. Chuck took
the opportunity to make the introductions.

“Most of you have heard that we have been lucky enough to
enlist the help of a man who knows the movie business. He learned at the knee
of one of the greats and has years of personal experience. He has graciously
agreed to direct the movie.”

That announcement got the group talking.

“Everyone, say hello to Nate Landis.”

This was it. He had two choices. Run for the hills. If he
did that, he might as well keep running because he would never be able to face
his father’s disappointment.
You don’t leave friends in the lurch.

That left Nate with plan B. This movie was going to be made.
He would do the best job possible. And, the most important thing, they would
have some fun. This was his crew. Their experience level didn’t matter.

From this point on, it was up to him to make the most of
their abilities — whatever they were. If they saw that he believed in them,
they would believe in themselves. That meant it was up to him to set the tone.
Starting now.

Nate hopped onto a bale of hay, clapping his hands.

“Before we do anything else, let me introduce myself.”

“We know who you are. You’re Colton Landis’ brother.”

The speaker looked to be about sixteen. She and five girls
quickly huddled together, giggling like… like teenage girls. Nate gave a
resigned sigh. He was used to the reaction. His brother was a God to these
girls and millions like them.

Colt reveled in the attention — most of the time. He had the
perfect personality to be a movie star. Nate didn’t.

What he did have was infinite patience. He smiled at the
leader of the pack, signaling for her to step forward. The girl hesitated, but
her friends, still laughing, pushed her toward Nate.

Not wanting to intimidate her, Nate stepped down. She still
had to look up at him, way up. She might be used to strapping ranch hands, but
she had never seen anyone like Nate Landis. The awe in her eyes made Nate
smile. He was used to the reaction. He was a big, muscular man. To a girl who
stood just over five feet tall and maybe weighed a hundred pounds, he must have
looked like a mountain.

Wanting to help the girl feel at ease, Nate smiled. That was
all it took. From that moment on, Nate had his first unofficial fan club.
Colton Landis was gorgeous, but so was his brother. More importantly, Colton
wasn’t here, Nate was. Six teenage girls hadn’t left Colton Landis behind; they
simply added Nate and were now devoted to him. All it took was one dazzling
smile.

“What’s your name?”

“Jenna.” The girl giggled, and then squealed excitedly when
Nate put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m afraid Colt won’t be making any
surprise visits. You’ll have to settle for me.”

“Okay,” Jenna sighed. “How tall are you?”

“Six-six.”

Nate’s answer was automatic. He didn’t see anything unusual
in the question. When the girls gave a collective sigh, he looked around. The
men in the crowd seemed as perplexed as he was. Some of the women were smiling
odd, knowing grins; a few made fanning motions with their hands.

He recognized the look on Paige’s face. He’d seen it
earlier. She tried not to laugh.

What
? Nate asked her silently. She simply shook her
head.

“First,” Nate gently herded Jenna back to her friends. “I
want you all to understand. I am not a director. My end of the business
involves falling out of airplanes and jumping off cliffs. Most of the time I’m
good at my job. Sometimes…” He held up his cast. “I got lucky.”

“A broken arm is lucky?”

The question came from a middle-aged man toward the back.
Nate needed to learn their names. But there was time for that.

Nate nodded. “Considering the alternative, I was damn
lucky.”

“I forget the lead actor isn’t doing all those things. I
guess that’s the idea.” An attractive woman in her early forties waved at Nate.
“I’m Naomi Littlefield. This is my husband, Owen.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Nate shook Naomi’s hand, then Owen’s. It started the ball
rolling. Soon everyone introduced themselves. The rush of names and faces might
have been overwhelming, but Nate was used to a lot of people all at once. The
first day on any set was like the first day at a new school. If you were lucky,
you knew the main players. However, more often than not, Nate began each job
acquainting himself with the cast and crew. Depending on the prevailing
attitudes, it was sometimes easier said than done.

There was a pecking order on a movie set. The director was
top dog. Stunt people were considered a necessary evil. When that was the
attitude, it could make for an uncomfortable shoot.

Early in his career when jobs were at a premium, Nate put up
with the attitude. Now that he could pick and choose, he passed on projects he
knew would be more trouble than they were worth.

Nate didn’t want to be a director. However, since there was
no turning back, he wanted to start on the right foot. There was a fine line
between maintaining the respect his position deserved and coming off like Pol
Pot.

As his brother was fond of saying — director did not equal
dictator. Nate considered himself lucky to have worked with and learned from
one of the best in the business. Garrett Landis. His twin and his best friend.

Things quickly got out of hand. It wasn’t enough to
introduce themselves; everyone wanted to talk. About themselves. About Nate’s
family. They all loved his mother. Who could blame them? Nate was fond of her
himself. Having Callie Flynn as a mother was nothing but a joy. Except when
some guy would forget who he was talking to and proceed to make a salacious
comment.

Nate couldn’t think of anything as uncomfortable as hearing
about how sexy his mother was. She was beautiful. Vibrant. Smart. Loving. A
legendary screen goddess.

She was also the woman who gave birth to him. Some things a
son shouldn’t have to hear in relationship to his mom.

“Let’s give Nate some room to breathe, folks,” Chuck said
after a few minutes. “He isn’t going anywhere. You’re coming at him all at
once. I’ll be surprised if he remembers his own name, let alone any of yours.”

“My mom taught me a trick. She meets new people all the time
and hates forgetting names.” Nate deftly rattled everyone’s names.

“That’s impressive.” Naomi Littlefield brushed up against
him, seemingly unconcerned that her husband was two feet away. “I’ve been told
that I had the looks to be in the movies. But I decided to get married instead.
I suppose you see beautiful women every day.”

“Hollywood has a never-ending supply.”

Nate loved to flirt. He also knew when not to. Married women
with wandering eyes were not his cup of tea. Whatever Naomi’s game, she would
have to find a different partner. He wasn’t going to play.

“Nate?”

Chuck waved. Happy for the excuse, Nate crossed the barn.

“They’re an interesting bunch.”

Chuck nodded. “And green as grass. I’m sorry this morning
has been so disorganized. It isn’t exactly what you’re used to.”

“It’s the first day, Chuck. No one knows what to expect.
They’re nervous and excited. Things will settle down.”

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear you say that.”
Chuck gave Nate a companionable pat on the back. “I thought this might have
scared you back to Los Angeles.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere.”

As soon as he said the words, Nate knew it was true.
Physically he was committed to this job. He had been resigned to making the
best of it. Montana. He liked these people. He especially liked Chuck and his
hardheaded daughter.

Nate looked around, his eyes lighting on Paige. She laughed
with Lottie and two other women. The sound was happy and natural and it gave
Nate a funny little jump in his gut. Pleasant — but decidedly odd.

When Paige caught him staring, he didn’t look away. Neither
did she. If anything, her smile got wider, her eyes warm. Nate didn’t know what
she was thinking, but whatever it was, he didn’t want her to stop.

Chuck claimed his attention with a question about lighting
and location. Reluctantly, Nate pulled his eyes away. He had plenty of time to
look at her. The thought sent that feeling through his gut again. Odd, indeed.

PAIGE COULDN’T KEEP her eyes off Nate. The other women seemed
to have the same reaction. He filled the room with his size and personality.
People gravitated toward him. He was a big, sexy satellite drawing in the
lesser bodies around him.

“I thought I might have exaggerated his yumminess in my
mind.” Lottie sighed. “He’s even better than I remembered. How is that
possible?”

“I’ve never seen anyone so…” Lisa Stanhope couldn’t find the
words. She worked at the library, though with her shoulder-length red hair and
curvy body, she didn’t look like the prototypical librarian

“Sex on a stick.” Paige decided there was no harm in
verbalizing what everyone thought.

“Yes,” Lisa nodded. “Will I melt into a pile of female goo
if I get too close? I didn’t think men like that existed outside of the movies
and my fantasies.”

“Hold yourself together for a second and look at this.”

Lottie scrolled through the pictures on her phone, and then
held it out for the others to see.

“Four of them?” Lisa licked her lips.

“Four Landis brothers. The world knows about Colton. How
have they kept the others under wraps?” Lottie pushed a few buttons, making the
picture her screensaver.

“Who cares? We have them now.”

“What do you think, Paige? Can you believe that gene pool?”

“It’s impressive,” Paige nodded. “Imagine how many women
have gone swimming in that pool. Excuse me. Peter Minor is about to dump horse
manure down Holly Lopez’s shirt.”

“She’s awfully blasé.” Lisa shook her head after Paige left.
“If Nate Landis were staying in my house, I’d be over the moon. And a little sick
to my stomach. I might dream about a man like that, but I’m not sure I would
know what to do with him.”

Lottie laughed. “Sweetie, a man like Nate Landis knows all
the moves. All you would have to do is enjoy the ride.”

“Where do I sign up?”

“Nope. To ride that one you have to be this tall.” Lottie
held her hand up several inches above her and Lisa’s heads.

“What does that mean?”

“Paige.”

“But—”

“Do you think I didn’t make a play? My flirting had no
effect on him. And you know that isn’t something I admit easily.”

“Because it never happens.”

“True.” It wasn’t said with any ego. A fact was a fact. “He
only has eyes for Paige.”

“And Paige?”

“She’s stubborn.”

“True.”

The women exchanged smiles. Loving someone didn’t mean you
overlooked their faults. Paige was a fierce and loyal friend. She also had a
habit of digging her feet in when she didn’t want to face the fact that she
didn’t always know what was best.

“I know that look,” Lisa grinned. “You have a plan. What is
it and how can I help.”

“For the moment, I’m taking a wait and see approach.” Lottie
slung her arm over Lisa’s shoulders. “Nate isn’t going anywhere. I’m hoping
he’ll do his part. If the hungry wolf look he gave her yesterday is any
indication, he will make his move. Soon.”

Lisa sighed again. “What do think the chances are the other
brothers will drop into Basic?”

“Slim to none.” Lottie gave Lisa a commiserating look. “But
there’s always hope.”