took Shadow by the reins and led him into the corral, while Nate brought Toby. Reece glanced around the freshly painted barn. “You’ve got a nice place here.”
“Thanks.” Nate closed the gate and removed the lead rope from the horse’s bridle. “The Double H had been in the family for generations, but we’d lost it when our father died. I bought it back about ten months ago.” A sudden sadness masked Nate’s face. “It was shamefully run-down. My brother Shane, owns a construction company, and he’s responsible for all this restoration work.”
Reece released Shadow and the animal ran off. “I take it he’s the one building the movie set?”
Nate nodded. “The producer is a stickler for detail, so we’re replicating the original homestead.”
Reece had worked for Jason before so he knew the man’s desire for realism. He was anxious to see the location, but he also needed to get Sophie settled for the night.
“Do you know what the accommodations will be?”
Nate nodded. “The actors will have trailers. Jason and I have an agreement for the crew to stay in the new bunkhouse. There are five female crew members that will share the foreman’s house.”
“You’re being pretty generous with your place.”
Nate watched the horses gallop around in the sun. “I haven’t exactly got the ranch up and running yet so I’m not using most of the facilities right now. At the moment I just have a small herd and a few saddle horses. My hope is to have things up and running by the spring. The truth is I’m not even sure how big an operation I want to handle, and if it will be cattle, or mostly horses.”
Reece wouldn’t have any trouble deciding at all. “If I had the money and a place like this, I’d do both, but I’d definitely breed horses.”
Nate smiled. “My great-great-grandfather was a horse breeder. He had a line of champion stock that was well known around this area,” he said. There was obvious pride in his voice.
“Must be nice to trace your family back so far,” Reece said. Hell, he didn’t even know his father.
“Damn straight. That’s why it’s only right the Hunter family story be told where it all began. For a while there, we’d lost everything, but we still had each other. That’s the most important thing. I take it you’re Sophie’s only family.”
Reece nodded. “Her mother died recently, and her father was never in the picture. I’m her guardian now.” He didn’t want to go into any more details. “And I need to talk to Jason. Is he around?”
Nate shook his head. “He flew to L.A. earlier this morning, but he’ll be back Tuesday.”
“Did he happen to mention about arrangements for a place for me?”
Nate’s eyebrow drew together. “No, he didn’t say anything to me.”
“Damn, I was afraid of this. I can’t work on the movie if I don’t have a place for Sophie and me to stay, and someone to watch her while I work. Jason promised to help me out.”
Nate raised a hand. “Let’s not panic. I’m sure Jason has something in the works, but in the meantime, why don’t you move into the bunkhouse. It’s just sitting empty.”
That wouldn’t solve Reece’s long-term problem, but he was grateful he and Sophie would have someplace to sleep that night. “You sure it’s okay?”
Nate smiled. “It’s my bunkhouse. So relax. Now, let’s get out of this heat and go up to the house.”
Reece hesitated, but ended up following Nate. He wasn’t going to stay long. They’d spend the night, but there was a good chance that this job wasn’t going to pan out. He glanced toward the mountain range. That was a shame. This sure was beautiful country.
In the ranch kitchen, Emily sat on the hardwood floor with Sophie. The child played silently, putting a dress on one of Emily’s old dolls that they’d found in the attic. Emily tried to interact, but the little girl seemed more comfortable on her own.
“Too bad you’re having a boy,” Emily said, glancing up at her pregnant sister-in-law. “All these dolls are going to waste.”
The petite blonde ran her hand over her protruding stomach. She was due in a couple of months. “We might just have a girl one day.”
Emily studied her sister-in-law’s smile. Nate and Tori were so happy, but that hadn’t happened easily. Although Nate had fallen in love with the San Francisco heiress almost immediately, Tori had men issues, a dominating father and a bad relationship with a man who cared only about her money. Nate had changed all that. And even though she’d been raised in the city, Tori took to ranch life as if she were born into it.
“So, you’re already thinking about another baby?”
Tori glanced at Sophie. “Who wouldn’t want a child like this little one? She’s beautiful.”
The girl looked up. Her eyes showed her excitement as she held her doll up to Emily.
“Oh, what a good job you did dressing Sunny,” she praised her. When the child didn’t move the doll, she realized she was giving it back. “Sophie, you can keep her,” she said.
There was a glimmer of joy on Sophie’s face and Emily decided she’d do almost anything to see that look again. Just then the back door opened and Nate walked in along with Reece. Tori went to her husband and kissed him. Amazingly Emily found she wanted to go and greet the brooding man standing stiffly in the doorway. She told herself it was to see if she could get a reaction from him. Her gaze went to his mouth, wondering how it would feel to kiss him. She raised her eyes to his and heat rushed to her face.
It was Sophie who distracted them. She got up and ran to her uncle. She held up the doll and whispered his name. “Unca Reece. See? Her name is Sunny.”
He looked confused. “She’s pretty.”
Nate brought his wife closer. “Tori, this is Reece McKellen, the stuntman on the movie. Reece, my wife, Tori. And she’s carrying our son, Jake.”
Reece removed his cowboy hat and nodded. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. And congratulations on the baby.”
“Thank you. And please, call me Tori.”
“I hope Sophie hasn’t been too much trouble.” He tossed a quick glance at Emily.
“Oh, no,” Tori said. “She’s been a joy. She’s so well behaved.”
Smiling, Nate placed a glass of iced tea on the counter for Reece. “And Tori should know about kids, she’s taught school.”
Reece liked the Hunters. They’ve graciously welcomed him and Sophie into their home, but it didn’t change the fact that he always felt like an outsider. He hadn’t fit in many places, especially ones like this. He glanced around the beautiful kitchen as he took a long drink of tea. Man, it was something. He admired the honey maple cabinets and dark granite counters. The hardwood floors gleamed with high-gloss polish.
There was a knock on the door. It opened and an older woman peeked inside the room. “Hi, I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”
“Mom, you don’t need an excuse to come by,” Nate said as he went to the woman and hugged her.
“She’s here to check up on me,” Emily began. “Sam called you, didn’t he?”
The attractive older woman smiled innocently. “He may have mentioned that you didn’t finish your shift.” Mrs. Hunter glanced at Sophie. “Well, who do we have here?”
“Sorry, Mom,” Emily began. “This is Sophie and her uncle, Reece McKellen. He is working on the movie. Reece, this is our mother, Betty Hunter.”
Mrs. Hunter had short gray hair and a slender build. “Oh, my, you’re one of the movie