“Oh, Levi.” Her heart ached for him. “I hope you don’t blame yourself.”
“How can I not, to a certain degree? I know—everything happens for a reason, and God has His reasons, and He calls us home when He wants to. Believe me, I’ve heard all the platitudes.”
“I’m sorry.” She tightened her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head against his, as much of a hug as she could give him at the moment.
“Thanks. But maybe we could talk about something else. Like... what’s next for you? Your next role?”
“I’m shooting a film calledLesser Daysstarting in late July.It’s a relationship drama with some strong female leads.”
“Is that what attracted you to it?”
“That and the fact that it’s the role of my dreams. It’s a multigenerational thing. Really good script. I sure hope this ankle heals up in time.”
He brushed too close to a tree, and her foot caught on the trunk. She sucked in a breath.
“I’m so sorry.” He paused, looking over his shoulder. “You all right?”
“I’m fine. You must need a break by now.” Her own arms were aching.
He looked around. “I think there’s a log up ahead. We’ll take a little break there.”
He marched on, ducking low under branches, careful to shield her foot. When they reached the fallen tree, he lowered her onto it and straightened, shelving his hands on his hips.
“Better prop that foot. It must be throbbing.”
She set it on the log. It had swollen more and turned bright red around the ankle.
“Here.” He extended his water bottle, which he’d tucked into one of her shoes. “You can have the rest.”
Her mouth was dry, but there was only an inch or so left in the bottle, and he’d just hiked all this way, carrying her.
“I’m okay. You can have it.”
“You need to stay hydrated. Drink up.”
She reluctantly did as he suggested. When she was finished he took the empty bottle and stuffed it back into her shoe.
“What kind of preparation do you do before you film? Other than memorizing your lines, of course.”
“Depends on the role. For the last one I had to learn how to use a firearm, so I took lessons. It took a while to get comfortable with it—to look comfortable.”
“And for the next one?”
“I do a lot of physical labor, so I need to be in shape, and I need to stay slim. It’s set in Ireland, so I’ve been working on my Irish brogue.”
“Let’s hear it.”
She cleared her throat, got into character, and rattled off one of her favorite lines from the movie.
He listened intently, and when she was finished he chuckled. “That was really good.”
She beamed. “Thanks. I worked on it with a dialect coach back home.”
“I’m impressed. What do you do back home, when you’re not filming a movie or preparing for a role?”
“Oh, let’s see, there’s premieres and speaking engagements. Sometimes I make appearances. I also have a ‘little sister’ named Ana Marie. She’s eleven and a real cutie.”
“I’ll bet she’s completely starstruck.”
