Page 47 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 2

FINN

I’d just arrived to the set first thing in the morning when a flood of baby pictures came streaming in over text.

“Oh my god, who’s that?” the lady at craft services squealed.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with her to flip through the shots and tried explaining that this was my boyfriend’s… friend’s baby. “So this little nugget is kind of like my nephew. Kind of. I mean, not really at all, but maybe one day.”

I felt so happy for Declan and Tess. The pregnancy had brought some health scares, so knowing the baby had safely arrived was cause for celebration.

After celebrating my way through an omelette, a cup of fruit, and a giant vat of coffee, and trying unsuccessfully to call Declan with my congratulations, I finally arrived at my trailer to find the day’s call sheet.

And it was complete bullshit.

Location: Hideout shack

Exterior shot of Ladd sneaking around shack and approaching mouth of cave.

Location: Mountainside cave

Interior shot of Ladd confronting Mona near stack of gold bars.

Location: Mountainside cave

Interior shot of Ladd, Mona, and Murdoch arguing.

Location: Mountainside cave

Exterior shot of Ladd pulling Mona out of cave as cave explodes behind them.

I reread it several times. The explosion was supposed to be the shack only, not the cave, and it wasn’t scheduled to happen until late next week when we wrapped filming on location in Aster Valley.

Never in my entire career had I come across such an unprofessional and unorganized shoot. This was completely unbelievable.

I shot off a quick text to Declan, congratulating him and telling him I had some stuff to talk to him about that night.

Part of me wanted to call him and cry on his shoulder about it all, but he was dealing with Tessa and the baby.

And I didn’t want to start what I hoped would be a long and happy life together by giving Declan the impression I was a child. I wasn’t.

I was going to handle this like an adult.

When I knocked on Nolan’s trailer, one of the PAs answered. “He’s already up at the site for this morning’s shoot,” she said. “He sent me back to grab him a jacket because it’s windy up there.”

Instead of going straight to the site, I went ahead and reported to makeup and wardrobe, hoping like hell I could talk some sense into Nolan once I got to the set location.

I was happy to film everything except the explosion scene.

That shit wasn’t happening until and unless he could convince me it was all legal and set up according to official safety protocol.

I’d reached out to my union rep the day before and asked several hypothetical questions.

Now I was armed with some language about safety protocol and my rights.

And I was interested to find out how the hell the stunt coordinator had signed on to such a shoddy production.

He had a good reputation in the industry, but his complicity with Nolan’s corner-cutting was mind-boggling.

Once I’d been to makeup and wardrobe, I got a shuttle to the site higher up the mountain. I found Nolan right away.

“Nolan, I’d like a word, please,” I said when I noticed him finishing up a conversation with a crew member.

“You look great, you look great!” he said, bouncing on his feet. “Look at this gorgeous day. Could it be any more perfect? I don’t think so. No, I do not. What do you have for me, Finn?”

He patted my shoulder like we were best buds. “I’d like to talk to the stunt coordinator about the explosion scene. It’s my understanding we’re only permitted to blow up the shack, so I think I have misunderstood the blocking we went over the other day.”

“Heh, no. That’s… we’re going to change the blocking this morning. See, it’s all changed. I had some great ideas, absolutely fabulous ones. It’s going to be amazing. Trust me. You’ve never seen anything like this.”

I stepped away from him so I could meet his eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve never seen anything like this. So far this production isn’t adhering to union safety protocols, so I just want to make sure?—”

“Don’t be such a fucking square. Jesus, Finn. There’s annoying principals, and there’s you. Stop whining like a baby. Follow the damned script, and let Joel get the shots we need. Don’t use your head. Let us be the brains of the operation, m’kay? Okay. Great chat, great chat.”

He began to wander off, calling for Joel’s attention.

“I’m walking off the set, Nolan,” I said in a calm, professional voice. “If you can’t respect my contractual rights to safety protocols during filming, I am within my right to walk away from the production. It’s breach of contract, and you’re in it.”

He turned back to me with a narrow-eyed glare. “Remember our deal, kid? You do this for me, and I’ll give you Merchant of Fucking Venice. Got it? But if you insist on giving me hell over every single fucking aspect of this?—”

“You mean The Taming of the Shrew ,” I said, knowing with absolute certainty he didn’t mean either one. How had I been so gullible? I’d believed his ridiculous promise even though the man was known for filming action movies.

Kix had been right. And I’d been a fool.

“You were never doing a Shakespeare project, were you?” I asked quietly.

I didn’t want people to overhear the disappointment in my voice.

Sixteen years in the film industry and I was still that naive eight-year-old walking onto my first set with stars in my eyes and an idealistic vision of the way it all worked.

Nolan’s face settled into an ugly sneer.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Me? Putting out some Kenneth Branagh bullshit?

Pfft. I’m in this for money, Finn. Just like everyone else, including you.

Don’t kid yourself. This movie is going to put you on the map as an action star.

It’s going to make you millions, and it’s going to lead to more multimillion-dollar roles for you.

And you can thank me when that happens. But you know what’s not going to happen?

You walking off the set of this fucking film.

Now get over there and prep for the first call. ”

His PA came running up with his jacket. I ignored him even though I was glad he was there to bear witness. “Are you blowing up the cave during a scene I’m in?”

“You’re damned right I am. I’m the director of this film. You are not.”

I nodded. “Then I’m sorry. I’m leaving. Let me know when you change your plans or can prove this shoot meets legal requirements. I will return to fulfill my legal obligations at that time.”

After making eye contact with the PA to make sure they’d heard every word, I walked calmly back to where the shuttle had just arrived with Crystobell and her makeup coordinator. I nodded to her and asked the shuttle driver to return me to my trailer lower on the mountain.

As soon as I got there, I changed back into my clothes, washed off all my makeup, and hopped in my car.

There was a text from Declan on my phone.

Declan

I miss you too. Have a good day at work, and good luck with whatever is going on.

I know you can handle it, baby. I’m going to head back to Aster Valley as soon as Shawn gets here to hang out with Tessa.

I don’t know what time, but if you want to meet me at the house after work, the keypad code is the way Penny would relay confidential information ;-)

After referring to my trusty police code cheat sheet, I learned confidential information was a 10-36. Declan was a total geek.

I knew if I told Declan what had happened, he’d want to leave Tessa and race back here right away. So I decided not to call him. Instead, I’d tell him about it over dinner, a nice quiet dinner at home just the two of us.

Before I got the top down on the McLaren, my phone was already buzzing with calls from Iris, my mother, Kix, and one of the PAs. I powered it down completely and stashed it in the glove box.

Once the top was down, I realized Nolan had been right. It was a perfect day.

I shifted into Drive and sped away from the Gold Rats set. With no destination in mind, I drove and drove. Music blasted from the speakers, and the sun bore down on my head and shoulders. This part of Colorado was stunning, and since I wanted to move here permanently, I decided to check it out.

I drove for hours, simply enjoying the weather, the views, the music, and the blessed silence from my glove box. When I pulled into the town of Steamboat Springs, I saw a bicycle shop.

On a whim, I parked the car and went in.

“Help you?” a guy said from down by the floor where he was unpacking some water bottles from a box.

“Yeah, I think… I want to buy a mountain bike?” It was the silliest thing I’d thought or said in a long time, but it felt incredibly right.

He glanced out the open door to where I’d parked the car. “You got some kind of bike rack for that thing?” he asked with a laugh.

“Oh, uh… I was thinking maybe you could have it delivered? Except I live… I live…” I swallowed and took the leap. “I live in Aster Valley.”

He stood up and reached out to shake my hand. “Name’s JT. Nice to meet you. This your first bike, or are you replacing one?”

He clearly recognized me because later in the conversation he teased me that I’d forget all about rock climbing as soon as I got out on the trails, but he treated me like a normal person, and I appreciated that more than I could say.

Once I’d picked out a high-end Trek with full suspension, JT convinced me to try a SeaSucker bike rack which used big suction cups to hold the bike onto the car.

I had to drive back with the top up, but it was worth it.

As soon as I got to Declan’s house, I took the bike off the rack and rode it to the nearby grocery store to pick up food for dinner.