“Oh, my God,” Doobie wailed.“My wife’s peddling porn in the sanctity of our home.”
“Get a grip, Cuthbert,” Emmy Lou said.“It’s one scene, for crying out loud.And it’s not pornography, it’s art.”
“We’re all hoping you’ll do another,” Eloise said to Quinn.“Any chance of that inThe Brunette Wore Spurs?”
“No.”
“That’s too bad.”Eloise set down her cup and saucer.“Mr.Hastings, the ladies of the garden club would consider it a great honor if you would?—”
“What?”Quinn wasn’t aware he’d backed up until he bumped into a leather wing chair in the corner of the room.
“—speak to our group,” Eloise said.“Goodness, what did you think I was going to ask?”
“Uh, nothing.”Quinn cleared his throat and took a deep breath.“I’d love to do that, of course.”Not.He couldn’t imagine speaking to a bunch of women who ended every meeting ogling his bare butt.Or Hastings’ bare butt, which nearly amounted to the same thing.“But I’ll be pretty busy investigating the area and figuring out...”He racked his brain for what a filmmaker might need to know about a location.“I have to decide where we can plug in our lights.”
Jo turned to him with a puzzled expression.
But he’d hit upon a way to work in something he knew about, which was home improvement, and he decided to go with it.“Yep, electricity’s a big concern with these things.I look around at Jo’s ranch, and I like what I see, but I have to ask myself, are there enough outlets?When you’re filming, you can never have too many outlets.”
“Orgenerators,” Jo said, rolling her eyes.
“Well, there’s that option, too,” Quinn said casually.“Personally I like lots of outlets.”
“So I guess the Brian Hastings town festival is out of the question,” Doobie said, sounding relieved.
Jo turned to Doobie.“What Brian Hastings town festival?”
“Dick Cassidy brought it up last night when he was buying rounds of drinks at the Ugly Bug Saloon.I guess he’s pretty set up about getting a part in the movie.Word got back to the town council, and the mayor asked me to come out this morning and ask about it, considering that I have a close relationship with Jo, here.”
“Do you?”Quinn asked.From what he’d heard, Doobie could hardly wait to foreclose on the Bar None.
“Absolutely.”Doobie smiled at Jo.“She’s like the daughter I never had.”
Eloise bounced out of her seat.“Cuthbert Doobie, you have a daughter, and she’s given you nine lovely grandchildren.It’s not her fault that none of her husbands have been able to hold a job.”
Quinn decided it was time to stroke old Cuthbert’s ego.“I’ve been thinking about something ever since I walked in here.”He pointed a finger at the skinny banker.“You’re the perfect Pierre.”
Doobie blinked.“Pierre?”
“A French character in the movie.You have that same worldly look, that same sophistication.”
Doobie preened.“Maybe so, but I don’t speak French.”
“No problem.It’s not a speaking role.”
“Then how do we know that he’s sophisticated and worldly if he never says anything?”
“Trust me.The minute you walk in front of the camera, everyone will know the kind of person you are.”
Doobie nodded and looked wise.“I see your point.Then certainly, I’ll do it.How about a dance?”
Quinn’s jaw dropped.“You want to dance with me, Cuthbert?”
“No, no.”Doobie laughed, and his dentures slipped a little.“I meant we could have a dance, just a simple dance on Saturday night, instead of the town festival.Or say, even better, a small rodeo in the afternoon, followed by the dance.If you could possibly see your way clear to participate, the people of Ugly Bug would be very appreciative.”
Quinn glanced at Jo, and she shrugged, letting him know it was up to him.A dance sounded relatively harmless.He was a decent dancer.But a rodeo would expose him as a fraud, for sure.“You don’t want me to perform in the rodeo,” he said.“The liability, you know.If I got hurt, the resulting suit would bankrupt the town.”
“Oh!Then of course we don’t want you to be in the rodeo.You can be the guest of honor.”
