"Hey, I'm in Ty's trailer. Where's that box?"
We could hear Judd's voice plain as day when he went inside. There was a curtain in front of an open window, so he couldn’t see us, but we could hear everything. I turned and made a face at my sister. She made one back. We could not hear the voice of whoever he was talking to on the other end, and after a pause, he spoke again.
"Can you put Ty on the phone?" he asked. A pause. "Yeah, I'll wait while you walk over there. Ifeel like that's still going to be faster than looking for that box. These girls are not minimalist in this trailer."
There was a long pause. Knowing he'd be able to hear us, Audrey and I stayed quiet. I made another face at her, and she made one back at me as we waited in silence.
"One of 'em has a note from a secret admirer." There was a pause, and we listened closely. "Yes, I'm serious, and no, I'm not snooping. It's just sitting out for anyone to see. She knew I was coming in here." He paused. "Because there's no name or signature." He paused again. "It's a love note. There are two of them. They're short, but whoever it is… she's got an admirer among us." He paused. "She told me to come in here!" he said, defensively. "Thank you, I'll shut up. Hey, Ty, I'm in your trailer, and I don't see that little box." He paused. "Yeah, I see that bag. Do you want me to just bring the whole bag?" He paused. "No problem. I'm on my way."
Judd came out of the trailer carrying a royal blue duffel bag with LA Dodgers branding. He set it in the back seat, and we took off, heading toward the location where they were filming.
"How did you and Alex meet?" he said, looking at me with a curious glance. The glance was so curious that I wondered what Alex had told him.
"I was working at my sister's restaurant, and he came in there to eat. He was with his grandfather."
"Oh, my goodness, were you cooking eggs for your sister?" he asked. He looked at me, and I stuck my thumb out toward my sister.
"Yes, Audrey, this is my sister. I was working in her restaurant."
He paused and sighed, shaking his head. "I forgot about that. I'm putting everything together with the egg scene," he said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"There's a scene. It wasn't in the original script. Alex added it later." He shook his head and sighed again. "It's one of the best scenes in the project. Ty's character is cooking eggs, and she doesn't do it like her counterpart did. She panics and is afraid that she's about to be found out, and Sam's character comes in and saves her, teaches her. It's a great scene between them. I see what inspired him, now. That's cool. I'm really glad he met you if it made him think of that. We needed something more for Ty's character right after they've switched places, and it's going to be a key scene. I was like, 'how did he think of making eggs', but it makes perfect sense now. That's great."
Chapter 17
Alex
He sincerely thought Josie had lost interest when he talked to her that morning. He had kissed her last night, and they talked on the phone. Everything had seemed good. But the next morning, she said she didn't want to see him again. He had taken her at her word, but he felt sick over it. He knew in his heart that it wasn't over. He was blown away that he ran into her again, and his heart felt tugged to her—given to her.
She was with Judd when he returned on the golf cart. She was in jeans with a black t-shirt and tennis shoes. Her sister had on a long, flowy skirt, but they both had on black tops. Josie was like an angel. She was delicate and sweet, and she was smiling and in a good mood as they drove up.
Alex knew she wrestled with things, and seeing her smiling and looking so resilient gave him inspiration as a director. He would pull that energy out of his main female leads. He would get them to have this same confidence. Josie's peace was mesmerizing, and he made it his mission to make the audience feel like he did while watching Josie right then. She was smiling, confident, and lookingbeautiful and uninhibited as she stepped off the golf cart. She didn't see Alex at first. He had been behind one of the wagons when they drove up.
Josie Wells. Right down to her name, it all felt so meant to be. She was his very own Outlaw Josie Wells. There were two rows of wagons on set at the camp, and she had come up from behind them. Alex was able to see her before she ever noticed him.
Ty needed something out of her bag, and Alex called for a five-minute break, knowing he wanted to talk to Josie. He took off his director's headset and started walking toward the place where Judd had parked. Alex knew how to whistle loudly, and he gave a sharp, shrill sound out of his mouth that caused Josie to look his way. Her smile broadened when she saw him, and he called her over. He stopped in his tracks near one of the wagons and waited for her to come to him. He could have gone to her, but he wanted to pull her away from the others. She grinned at him the whole time she approached.
"Hey, am I interrupting your work?" she asked as she came closer.
"I'm the boss around here," he said. "We're done with a take. I told them to take five before we start the next one." As he was talking, she took the remaining steps toward him, and he took her into his arms.
He had no regard for others who were watching. He hugged Josie and held her for a moment, feeling relieved to feel her skin against his.
"Hello to you too," she said, staring at him and trying not to be shy. She stepped back and tucked her hair behind her ear, and Alex wanted to heft her over his shoulder and take her away from there.
"Are you spending the night with me?"
Her eyes met his at the question. "Notwith you, with you," she said, causing him to grin.
"I know, obviously. I just meant with me, like out here at the ranch."
"Oh, yes," she said. "You know it. We have a good breakfast planned, too."
He looked her over. "Can you sneak out and come to my trailer tonight?" he said.
"Yes. I will. I'm pretty sure my sister will be fine with it, but I'll think of it as sneaking out, still."
