Chapter 5

5

G ennie dismounted from the horse, heart pounding. ‘Thanks, Buddy. You’re a star.’ She patted the horse’s neck and handed the reins to the handler. They’d just filmed the sequence where Marian and her lady-in-waiting escaped the Sheriff of Northumberland on horseback. With a grin, Gennie took the canteen and drank deeply. The first week and a half of shooting Bow had been smooth sailing and on schedule, as planned.

For the most part.

Like an ominous cloud rolling in on the horizon, something was stirring in her periphery. Chloe Winslow, the rising starlet Gennie was doubling for, sauntered onto the set. Late and flustered. Chloe was pulling at her costume, making a fuss about her discomfort.

Beautiful, talented, hip – and a massive pain in the ass. When she wasn’t behind schedule or struggling to remember her lines, Chloe was glued to her phone screen. Or hungover. Usually both.

Melody, a fellow stuntwoman, leaned over to Gennie. ‘Can you believe it? Almost an hour late today and still stumbling over lines. In this business, honey, everyone’s replaceable. Even them.’

‘Makes you appreciate the highly functioning pros.’ Gennie snorted and wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel. ‘Speaking of functioning,’ she continued as they walked towards the catering, ‘the lights in my pod are flickering like I’m at a rave.’

Melody laughed. ‘Maybe it’s the ghosts from the estate messing with you.’

Gennie raised an eyebrow. ‘Ghosts? C’mon, Mel.’

‘Apparently, this place has a reputation for being haunted.’ Melody lowered her voice. ‘The spirits of the former owners never left. That’s why we’re not allowed to get too close to the estate. The ghosts get pissed when uninvited guests snoop around. Hence the ban mile.’

Gennie stopped at the entrance to the catering tent. ‘A ban mile?’

‘Yeah, didn’t you get the memo? We’re not allowed within two hundred yards of the big house. Ominous.’

A few crew members huddled around a table, munching on scones, sipping coffee, and sharing wacky explanations.

‘A secret government facility,’ the gaffer joked and waggled his eyebrows. ‘Why not? London keeps all the nasty stuff they don’t want up here in Scotland. Like their nukes.’

Others had different theories: an eccentric billionaire with a pet tiger, a retired magician, a Scottish drug lord. Chuckles rippled through the group.

The First AD’s voice snapped through the chatter as she picked up a blueberry scone. ‘All right, folks. Let’s remember to respect the boundary rules here. Don’t want to deal with a lawyer on top of everything else. Stay away, am I clear? See you in nine minutes.’

Gennie nodded and bit into her scone. This job was her shot, and she wasn’t about to let faulty lights, disco ghosts, or actresses with attitudes spoil everything she’d busted her ass to build. She washed the last bite of her pastry down with a black coffee and made her way back to the set.

As the crew prepared for the next shot, Gennie checked her harness. Five minutes later, she was in position on the tree. The bark of the tall oak scratched against her palms. When the cue came, she launched into motion and leapt from the branch fork. For a heartbeat, she was airborne and free. Then the rope pulled taut and swung her in a wide arc. With a soft thud, she landed on the mark, knees absorbing the impact. The ache in her muscles, the roar of the wind in her ears – this was where she came alive.

As the crew repositioned for another take, she glanced at Chloe, who was still fiddling with her lines, annoyance etched into her delicate features. Gennie held in a sigh.

I may look a bit like you, but we’re worlds apart.

Unlike Chloe, she took her job extremely seriously. She had a career to build. One death-defying leap at a time.

Gennie’s lungs burned as she ran through the forest. Her feet struck the well-trodden trail in a steady rhythm. With each laboured breath, brisk Scottish air streamed into her nose, tinged with the rich scent of pine and wet bark. She’d just wrapped up a demanding day on set, and this run was exactly what she needed to unwind.

The narrow path led through the heart of the forest, a flat carpet of needles littered the ground and muffled the sound of her steps. Off to the side, wild heather and grass rustled against the trail, splashes of purple and green. The surrounding hills were a riot of fall colours: fiery reds, burnt oranges, and golden yellows mixed with the deep evergreen of the pines.

It was so beautiful that it made her slow down.

As she rounded a soft bend, a streak of bright purple caught her eye. There, just off the path, stood a blonde girl in a glittering tulle costume. She was peering intently at the base of a gnarled oak, her small hands patting the bark.

‘Look! I think I’ve found a fairy door!’ Her voice was high and excited.

A tall figure emerged from behind the tree. Gennie’s heart stuttered, and she stopped in her tracks.

Him?

Nathan.

The man from the gas station, the one who’d led her to Glenwood a week ago. The same guy who had the nerve to keep invading her thoughts after just one run-in. There he was, a few feet away, looking perfectly at ease. The low daylight played over his golden stubble, and that worn flannel clung to his broad shoulders as if it was made to measure. He had that tall and handsome thing down to an art, radiating quiet strength, a force that made everything around him seem small.

It also made her pulse do a break-dance.

He didn’t see her and crouched down beside the girl. She looked like the one from his car.

A smile softened his tough-as-nails expression. ‘Good eye, Abby. I bet the fairies are hiding inside, waiting for us to leave so they can come out and play.’

‘Shh, Da. You’ll scare them away.’

Gennie didn’t want to interrupt, so she turned around, ready to jog back the other way. But she stepped on a branch and the sound caught their attention.

Damn .

‘Hello?’ The girl’s voice carried across the clearing. Gennie turned to see her waving. ‘We’re fairy hunters! Are you looking for fairies, too?’

Any self-respecting fairy would be hiding as deep as possible in the undergrowth by now. Gennie smiled as she walked closer. She caught her breath and braced herself for small talk.

Nathan straightened, his tall frame unfolding with a fluid grace that made her breath snag. His face was closed off, but there was a spark of surprise in his eyes as he registered her presence.

‘Hello there.’ She made a playful little bow. ‘I’m Gennie. At your service, young fairy commander.’

Abby bounced on her toes. ‘I’m Abby. This is my da. We’re searching for fairy houses. They like to hide in the trees, you know.’

Nathan regarded Gennie with a measured look and narrowed his eyes. ‘What brings you to this part of Glenwood, Gennie with a G?’

She flicked away a tendril of sweaty hair that had fallen across her face. ‘I needed to clear my head after a long day on set.’

Those silvery depths clouded over. ‘On…set?’

Seriously, the intensity of his stare.

‘I’m part of the film crew staying in Glenwood. The stunt department.’

Something shifted in the chiselled planes of his expression, a ripple of disapproval that made her stomach clench.

But before she could dwell on it, Abby piped up. ‘What do you do?’

Gennie smiled, grateful for the diversion. ‘I do all sorts of things. I jump off buildings, crash cars, ride horses, fight bad guys. But my specialty is gymnastics.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

‘Like cartwheels and stuff?’

‘Exactly.’ She winked at the girl. ‘Wanna see a trick?’

Abby nodded eagerly. Gennie turned around and did a one-armed cartwheel on the path, arms raised in a sassy ta-da flourish.

Showing off? Yeah. But why not. Take that, brooding mountain man.

Abby squealed with delight. ‘That was cool! Can you do the splits, too?’

Gennie nodded. ‘Oh, yeah. On both sides.’

‘Wow!’ Abby’s eyes were huge and Gennie couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She’d made her first fan right then and there. But it was mutual. This little bundle of energy was criminally cute.

Nathan watched them. She met his gaze over Abby’s head and her heart skipped a beat at the ferocity she saw there.

‘You have to come to our Halloween party!’ Abby suddenly stated with irresistible enthusiasm. ‘It’s at our house!’

Gennie hesitated, glancing at Nathan. His carved jaw was taut, full lips flattened into a stern line. He did not look happy.

‘Oh, I don’t know, sweetie. I don’t want to impose.’

‘It’s not far, the house is right there’, she pointed along the trail to a Victorian building on a small hill, straight out of a Gothic novel. ‘The spooky one.’

So Nathan was the mysterious, elusive landowner?

Well, that was a plot twist.

‘It’s just my da and me, my mum lives in Boobye.’ Abby turned to her father. ‘Can she come to our party? Please, please, pleeease?’

His defences hardened and dusky shadows fell over his eyes. He glanced from his daughter up to meet Gennie’s eyes and cleared his throat. ‘Let’s not put Gennie on the spot, darlin’. How about we talk about it again closer to Halloween and see if she’s available? I’m sure she’s got a busy schedule with all the…stunting.’

Oh, he was good . He was giving her an easy out without having to decline his daughter’s invitation outright. Still, Abby’s face fell into a disappointed droop as she nodded. Gennie felt a twinge. But his wariness and hesitation made her pause. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Privacy was obviously a thing for him. And showing up at a house at the impulsive invitation of a kid was wildly inappropriate.

She knelt down to Abby’s level. ‘Your dad is right, sweetie. I do have a pretty busy schedule. But I’ll check my calendar and talk to your daddy.’

‘Cool!’ Abby grinned and her disappointment evaporated as she nudged her elbow into her father’s thigh. ‘You need to get her number. So you can ask her about the party.’

Gennie stood up again. Her pulse skittered as she caught Nathan’s gaze; it was like diving into a raging sea. She could tell he was displeased.

‘Sorry, Gennie. You don’t have to—’

‘I don’t mind at all, it’s okay.’

He gave a firm nod, his jaw set under the shadowed scruff, and fished his phone out of his back pocket. He looked as if he minded very much but was trying to hide it for his daughter’s sake. Gennie recited her number, aware of the discomfort radiating off him in waves. But damn if the scowl that lined those rugged features didn’t make him even more annoyingly handsome.

His presence was huge, filling the forest.

This man was a whole vibe .

Her heart fluttered as she watched him type her number into his phone with those big, capable hands. Ringless hands at that. Being so close to him, she smelled his scent. Pine, musk, and buttery leather, with an undertone of something smoky – whisky? A fireplace? So naturally masculine it made her dizzy for a second.

What was wrong with her? She never got this flustered around men.

She glanced at her Fitbit. ‘Should probably get back to my run. And you to your fairies. I think I spotted one just over…there!’ She pointed to her left and Abby’s eyes lit up.

The corner of his mouth lifted into the faintest of smiles, and she felt an odd sense of triumph.

‘I’ll check!’ Abby bounced away.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said.

‘Bout what? You’ve got an awesome kid. See you around, Nathan with an N.’

With a final wave to Abby, Gennie jogged off.

The roar of blood rushing through her skull almost drowned out the crunch of pine needles under her sneakers as she booked it. Her mind was racing even faster than her sprinting legs.

Abby’s mother was in Boobye? What on earth did that mean?

She couldn’t shake the image of the way his stoic face softened into heart-melting tenderness whenever he looked at his daughter. As if someone flipped a switch and cracked that armour just enough for the loving daddy to peek through.

In the next instant, the walls had clamped shut again.

What was it about this guarded man that had her so off balance?

As the thud of her heartbeat filled her chest, she shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. After the whole messy train wreck with Daniel, she certainly didn’t need some surly Scot squatting in the prime real estate between her ears. No matter how adorable he was with his kid. Sweat trickled down the valley of her cleavage as she pushed harder.

Focus, Rivers. You’re here to do a job, not get tangled up. You don’t need anything amorous in your life right now. Take a fucking break.

But no matter how fast her legs pumped, no matter how feverishly she ran, there was no outpacing the incessant pulse from her core. Against all rational judgement and self-preservation, all she could think about was getting tangled up, down and dirty with this rugged, brooding daddy.