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CAMERON

Fifteen years.

That was how long I’d wanted to work with Antonio Cruz, one of the most iconic directors in Hollywood history. He’d tackled every genre with immense success. Back when I was hopelessly auditioning for toothpaste commercials, he was reshaping audience expectations for big budget action movies. When I was playing minor characters in nationally touring musicals, he was accepting Oscar after Oscar for his take on the modern family drama.

Even after I landed my first big role as Gareth, the love interest in the Honeydew franchise, I never thought we’d ever work together. It didn’t matter that tickets were sold out months in advance, that the meet and greets were eight hours minimum per day. It didn’t matter that I’d gone from waiting tables to suddenly being waited on hand and foot, with a professional team at my beck and call around the clock. Antonio Cruz only worked with the best of the best.

And I guess I’d never felt like I was the best.

But a few months ago, he’d called me out of the blue and offered me the role of a lifetime.

I was going to be his next main character, a cowboy named Lee. I thought I was being pranked when he casually called me up, but my manager reassured me the offer was real. Cameron Clarke was going to be in an Antonio Cruz movie.

Cameron Clarke was going to lead an Antonio Cruz movie.

Since then, I’ve been doing everything in my power to get ready for the part. I’ve been reading non-fiction books about cowboy culture, watching an endless amount of YouTube videos on ranching. The only thing I haven’t done yet is spend time on a ranch for myself, which was why I was headed to Stratton Ranch right now. I needed to get into the cowboy headspace, really surround myself with them, learn how they walked and talked. I could already tell Montana was wildly different than Los Angeles, but the mountains were absolutely gorgeous.

And I couldn’t get enough of that perfectly cold, crisp air.

I checked the rearview mirror before making a turn down a dirt road. I checked it again right after, quickly glancing at the new stubble on my chin, my hair tucked deep underneath a trucker hat I’d bought at a gas station along the way. If anyone recognized me, this experiment was finished before it even began. I needed to experience something authentic on this ranch, and if it meant looking a little shaggier than I was used to, so be it.

When I pulled up to the ranch, there was an older man leaning against the front gate. I parked a short distance from him and walked up to the gate. “Is this Stratton Ranch?”

The man squinted over at me. “It’s a big place. You can’t miss it.”

“Is this… it, then?”

“Correct. You didn’t miss it.” He grinned. “And you are?”

“Cameron Miller,” I lied. “But everybody just calls me Cam.”

“Nice to meet you, Cam. I think we’ve been expecting you.” He nodded at the ranch behind him. “You’re the one who’s thinking about buying your own farm, right? The one who wanted to see what it’s like to be a ranch hand, get your hands dirty.”

“That’s me.”

“Honorable.” He whistled. He then leaned toward me like he was going to tell me a secret. “You want to know what I think, Cam?”

“What’s that?”

“I think that you’re trouble.”

“What?”

“I have a sense for these things.” He smirked again. “A real sixth sense. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think you’re going to burn down barns or anything. But something tells me you’re going to do… something. I just hope I get there in time to see it.”

“Sorry, what was your name again?”

“Didn’t offer it.” He winked. “And the name’s Virgil. Virgil Stratton.”

Virgil playfully waved before he turned back toward the gate. “All right. I’ve got to go. Places to be, people to see. Let me know if you need anything, Cam. I’m always around, somewhere.”

“Uh, is there a designated place for me to park? Virgil? Virgil?” I shouted, but he just kept steadily walking away, like he didn’t hear a word I said.

What the hell?

Who was that guy?

* * *

I’d managed to figure out the parking situation at Stratton Ranch.

No thanks to Virgil.

Once I’d figured out where to park my car, I checked the email they’d sent me about my lodging. I’d opted to stay in a smaller cabin, one that was closer to the edge of the property. It was the perfect amount of privacy while still giving me enough proximity to a few other cabins, though I didn’t know who they belonged to.

The cabin was rustic yet welcoming. There was a small fireplace, with wood already prepared inside. There were also pieces of wooden furniture, which looked lovingly hand-carved and homemade. The bed was comfortable, with just enough pillows and blankets, nothing overly fancy like the five-star hotels I’d been staying in. Honestly, it reminded me of being back at home during the holidays. When Mom would spend all day fussing over the family meal and making sure my bed was made, when Dad would ask-but-not-really-ask if I wanted to go bowling after dessert, a time-honored family tradition.

I smiled to myself at the memory.

Ever since my career had taken off, I hadn’t spent much time at home.

When I made my way back to the main room of the cabin, I let out a gasp. I hadn’t realized that the cabin’s large windows provided such an incredible view of the property, everything about it feeling like I’d stepped inside a work of art. The sky looked painted on, an impossible shade of blue. The fields were rolling and endless, a light breeze blowing them ever so gently.

I wondered what Stratton Ranch looked like at night.

Probably just as beautiful.

“Shit. Shit!” My eyes went wide just as I remembered something. “I’m supposed to be at one of the barns!”

* * *

I’d never run so fast in my entire life.

Before leaving my cabin, I’d hastily changed into what I considered my cowboy uniform, an oversized, tan hat, and a pair of fresh boots. A quick look at my itinerary for the day let me know that I was supposed to be checking out some new equipment that came in, all of it stored in one of the barns. Checking out the equipment would also give me a chance to get acquainted with some of the other ranch hands. Hell, maybe I’d even run into a real cowboy or two?—

Down?

I was going down.

My feet were off the ground, and I was hurtling towards the grass. I landed with a thump, my hat flying off somewhere to the right of me. I groaned as I turned on my side, my body stinging with embarrassment and just a little bit of pain. I spared a look at my feet, wondering what had caused my literal downfall?—

“Gopher hole.” A stranger’s voice was suddenly above me. “You’ve got to be careful about those. They’ll get you every time.”

I looked up at the stranger, narrowing my eyes to avoid the sunlight…

Whoa.

He was about as gorgeous as the rest of the ranch. His eyes were a steel sort of blue and completely focused on me. His dark hair was tousled, either naturally or on purpose, I couldn’t tell. Either way, it looked good on him. His black jeans and black tank top were immaculately clean, whereas his boots were rugged and worn, like he’d put them on a million times before. I knew it was rude to keep looking him up and down like that, but my brain was processing him like a natural wonder.

Of course, I had to get a good look at something so rare.

“You all right?” the stranger asked. “Your fall didn’t look that bad, but you still haven’t said anything?—”

“Cam.”

“What?”

“My name is Cam,” I sputtered out. “I’m… him. That’s me.”

“I’m Levi.” He grinned. “I’m him. That’s me.”

Levi bent towards the ground, offering me his hand. “Do you need some help there, Cam? Like I said, gopher holes will get you every time. They’re a real hassle.”

I took his hand and pulled myself back up to my feet. “Thanks, Levi. Not a lot of gopher holes where I’m from.”

“You’re the volunteer ranch hand, right? The one thinking about getting his own farm?”

“Yep. That’s me.”

“I think that’s amazing, Cam. I really do.” Levi smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how many people want to buy up farmland and don’t have the faintest idea how to do anything on a farm. It’s like wanting to run a restaurant when you’ve never worked in one. I mean, if anything goes wrong, how would you even know how to fix it?”

Levi stopped himself as he shook his head. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear all my opinions.”

“No, you’re right.” It was my turn to smile. “If I do something, I want to be all in. Being phony is so… overrated. Whatever I commit to, I want it to be as authentic as possible.”

“You sound like my kind of guy.” Levi gave me an approving nod. “Where were you running off to, anyway?”

“Oh, I just wanted to see some new equipment at the barn?—”

“Boo.”

“What?”

“Boo,” Levi repeated, flashing another grin. “How boring. Listen, Cam, you’re not going to learn how to run a farm by just staring at tractors all day. How about I give you a full tour of the ranch and then I promise you can get to the boring stuff?”

“Yeah. Okay. Whatever you say.”

* * *

Levi was straight out of a goddamn movie. Ripped from the headlines. Jumped out of the pages.

We’d loaded into his pickup truck before he sped away from the cabins. His cowboy hat was stylish and black, like the rest of his outfit. As he drove, he’d slipped it off the dash and back onto his head, which explained the perfectly messy hair. My heart raced as dust picked up around us, and yet, I couldn’t keep my eyes off him for even a full minute.

He was it.

He was the cowboy Antonio Cruz wanted me to be .

I was already taking mental notes on how he talked, how he moved. Everything about him seemed like he’d grown up around cowboy culture but still had a personality all his own, like he found a way to stand out from the crowd.

Like he found a way to capture everyone’s attention on the big screen.

“We have some stables over there. If you stick around long enough you might get to meet Ursula. That’s my sister’s favorite horse,” he continued, nodding towards the stables as he drove. “You ever been on a horse before, Cam?”

“Only at petting zoos.”

“You went to those a lot as a kid?”

“I worked at those a lot as an adult.” I chuckled. “Anything to make a few extra dollars, you know.”

“That’s the kind of work ethic that’ll take you a long way on a ranch, Cam.” His eyes were focused on the road ahead. “The best cowboys are always the hardest workers.”

“Would you consider yourself a cowboy?”

Levi laughed. “Something like that, sure.”

“Something like that?”

“I’m a Stratton. Being a cowboy is in our blood,” he replied. “To the point that I don’t really think of myself as a cowboy. I just… am. The last name always spoke it for me, I guess.”

“Wait. You’re related to Virgil?” I said, without thinking. “But you’re… uh…”

“You were going to say that I’m normal, weren’t you?” Levi laughed again, the sound of it perfect. “Don’t worry about Virgil. He’s harmless. You’ll get used to his quirks.”

“So, you like it? Being a cowboy? Being a Stratton?”

“I love it.” Levi shrugged. “But I’ve always been a nature lover. Especially at night. When everything comes together… there’s nothing like it in the world.”

Levi slightly adjusted his hat before he nodded at a trail to our right. “And there’s my favorite trail. It’s a good walk and you pass right by one of the lakes on the property. Sometimes, swans stop in.”

“Swans?!” I said, sounding way too excited.

Levi smirked in response. “Swans, Cam. Swans .”

The rest of the property tour went much the same way, with Levi pointing out various areas and me trying to remember it all. I was also trying to remember every detail about Levi that I could, taking him all in from head to toe. He was becoming my muse, whether he knew it or not, and I wanted to embody everything about him perfectly.

Although, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was already worried about how much I liked him. Even if I was studying him for a character, I needed to remain objective and detached. Which meant that I wasn’t supposed to get too close to him…

Even if a part of me really, really wanted to.