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CAMERON

“What the hell—who are you?!”

I woke up with a start, halfway jumping out of bed. A stranger stood in the middle of my bedroom, with a huge backpack at his side. He had glasses on, but they looked designer and non-prescription, like he was wearing them to be fashionable instead of out of need. There was also the fact that his Polo shirt and pants looked designer, too, his whole outfit out of step with the rest of Stratton Ranch.

“Wait. Are you a Stratton?” I asked, before he could get a word in.

“What makes you think I’m a Stratton?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only met two and they’re either extremely normal or extremely eccentric,” I replied. “And you seem…”

“Exceedingly normal, naturally,” he joked. “And no, I’m not a Stratton. Although, it does seem like I’ve landed in the wrong cabin.”

“Who are you, then?”

“Teddy. Teddy Finch. And you?”

“Cameron Miller.”

“Nice to meet you, Cameron Miller.” Teddy smiled. “I’m a wildlife photographer. Well, an aspiring wildlife photographer. I come out to Montana from time to time because it’s teeming with beautiful creatures. Seems like the perfect place to get the perfect shot. What brings you here?”

“I’m a volunteer ranch hand. Just trying to learn the ropes of everything to do with ranch life.”

“I love that!” Teddy beamed. “What an incredible way to experience Stratton Ranch.”

He then took a quick glance around my cabin. “Ah, damn. This is definitely a cabin for the ranch hands. I swear, I could get lost in my own house if I’m not careful enough.”

“I could probably help you get where you’re going? I have a general sense of where things are now. We could maybe walk down the main trail and?—”

“I have an even better idea.” Teddy’s eyes shone with something behind them, something mischievous.

“Uh, what did you have in mind?”

* * *

“You’ve driven with Levi before, haven’t you?” I asked, as Teddy zoomed around the property. Apparently I needed to start asking questions before jumping into the passenger seat of trucks driven by mysterious men, the idea of going too fast being a foreign concept out here.

“You know Levi?” Teddy’s tone was warm. “I love Levi! He’s the main reason I’m able to come out here so often.”

“Oh.” Something sank inside me. “Is he, like, your boyfriend? Or?”

“What? No.” Teddy laughed as he took a sharp turn. “He runs Big Sky Rescue! Whenever I get into a pickle or a jam, he comes and saves me. It happens more often than you’d think. Wildlife photography can lead you to some pretty remote places.”

“He runs an emergency rescue company?”

“The only one in the region,” he replied. “I keep telling him that one day it’s going to blow up and he’ll have so much business he’ll be sick of it. Which is good and bad. Good for him. Bad for everyone else. Fantastic for me, though.”

“How long have you and Levi—Wait.”

“Wait?”

“You’re about to leave the property, I think?—”

“Right! I meant to ask you. Do you want to go on a photography hike with me? I’m trying to spot some owls, and an extra set of eyes always helps.”

“I thought you wanted me to show you to your cabin?”

“Yeah, that too. But we can save that for when we get back.”

“Teddy, this is kidnapping. You understand that, right?”

Teddy playfully scoffed. “Kidnapping? Since when do kidnappers take you to see the coolest owls in the world?”

I was about to protest my kidnapping yet again but decided against it. Even though I was supposed to be learning the ropes of cowboy-hood, there was something inside me that wanted to learn more about Levi, too. And even though Teddy seemed slightly out of his mind, if he was close to Levi, then in a weird way I wanted to be close to him.

“You know what, Teddy? Let’s go hunt some owls.”

Teddy shot me a horrified look.

“I meant, hunt to take pictures of them! Just taking pictures.” I tried my best to calm him down. “No one’s going to hurt an owl. I promise.”

* * *

“Aren’t most owls nocturnal?” I asked, as we climbed up a steep hill. “Are we going to camp out and then wait until nightfall?”

“Nope. We’re here for the day hunters,” he replied, somewhere behind me. “Better light for the photos that way.”

“How long have you been a wildlife photographer?”

“In spirit? All my life. In practice? Two years going on three.”

“What were you doing before this?”

“Have you heard of Bubble Cola?”

“I used to love those when I was a kid! All those fun flavors. You used to work for them?”

“Sort of. My granddad founded the company. The rest of us just live off the interest, whatever the investments bring in.”

“Teddy, are you telling me that you’re a billionaire?”

Teddy waved off the question with a smirk. “Don’t act so surprised! The Strattons bring in a pretty penny themselves.”

A few minutes later and we were fully up the hill. I sank down to the ground with a sigh, my legs burning from the climb. Teddy set up his camera right next to me, pulling all sorts of gadgets out of his backpack. Just as he took his place behind his camera, I felt a drop of water land right on my forehead.

Then another.

Then another.

I looked up at the sky just as it opened up in a full-on downpour. Teddy, panicked, began packing his camera up as fast as he could. When he was finished, we bolted down the hill. Of course, this turned out to be a huge mistake. What had been steady dirt beneath us climbing up the hill now turned to mud, causing both of us to slide down the hill instead. By the time we reached the bottom, we were covered in mud, little rocks, and debris, soaked through our clothes.

Still, the storm was unrelenting.

“We need to make it back to the car!” I shouted over the sound of it.

“In this weather? The trail has probably washed out!” Teddy shouted back. He pulled a radio out of his backpack, shouting at it, instead. “Levi! We need you! It’s me and Cameron Miller! Track us and find us! Please!”

* * *

I was shivering when Levi found us.

He offered us dry towels and dry clothes before he went to work securing the tow rope to Teddy’s car. Levi was methodical about the rescue, with no hint of judgment, no playful glint in his eye. It reminded me so much of when he’d adjusted the saddle on that horse for me.

“If it stops you from seriously injuring yourself, I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

I tried and failed not to blush at the memory. It was embarrassing being so attracted to him when I had a feeling he’d never looked at me that way once. And why would he? I was just a visitor in Levi’s world. He probably had people lining up every weekday and weekend to spend a night in his bed. I wouldn’t even be around long enough to get off the waiting list.

“Are you okay?” Levi’s question knocked me out of my headspace. I was sitting with him, upfront, as Teddy hung out in the backseat. He was wearing over-the-ear headphones, probably listening to a podcast about wildlife photography. He seemed like the type.

“I’m fine.” I shrugged. “Just happy to be out of the rain.”

“You should be more careful.”

“To be fair, it’s not like I signed up to go looking for owls,” I replied. “Teddy volunteered me. By kidnapping me.”

“Yeah, being careful includes not accepting rides from him.” Levi smirked. “One time, he offered me a ride to a bar in town. Next thing I know, we’re out at some riverfront, with Teddy trying to take action shots of fish.”

“Is that even possible?”

“I have no idea.” Levi laughed. “But Teddy’s a good friend of mine at this point, so it was fine.”

“He told me you run a rescue company?”

“Big Sky Rescue, that’s right. You’re being rescued by us right now.”

“So, a cowboy by blood, but a superhero by choice?” I let out a wistful sigh. “What are you trying to get out of life? A Perfect Person Award?”

“Nope.” Levi’s expression turned serious. “I’m just… trying to be happy. Isn’t everybody?”

“You’re… not happy?” I was a little shocked by his response. “You just seem like you have the world at your feet.”

“That’s not what I—I’m just mixing up my words.” Levi shook his head. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

I opened my mouth to say something else but soon felt Teddy tapping me on the shoulder. A few seconds later he was putting his headphones over my head, his fingers pointing to the name of a podcast on his phone’s screen.

Wildlife Photography: A Look Inside the Jungle.

Knew it.

“Give this a listen! You’ll love it. Trust me.”

I nodded back at Teddy, as I let the podcast drone on in my ears, my mind completely on Levi instead.

* * *

He isn’t happy?

I sat outside my cabin staring up at the night sky. It was brilliant and beautiful, the stars perfectly twinkling and white. I tried to remember the last time I’d been able to see constellations so clearly, but I didn’t know if I ever could. As I tried to recall the various zodiac signs beyond the clouds, my mind quietly returned to Levi.

He isn’t happy.

Had I gotten him all wrong? I’d taken him for a charming, cunning cowboy type, a rogue who played by his own rules. But maybe there was something more to Levi, something he didn’t like to wear on his sleeve. Or maybe I was just reading too much into things, wanting the character of Levi to have more emotional weight.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’d projected something onto someone that wasn’t there.

“Oh.” Levi’s voice was suddenly a few feet away from me. “Hey. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here.”

“Like how you’re out here right now?” I quirked an eyebrow, looking him up and down. He was wearing his usual trendy black ensemble, with a pair of old cowboy boots. The only thing different about Levi was the expression he wore on his face. He looked like he’d been thinking about something, hard.

“I was just out for a walk.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“That’s the best time to do it.” He smiled lightly. “I usually don’t have any company.”

“Did you want me to go back inside?”

Levi shook his head. He then came and sat next to me, his hands hanging in his lap. “It’s kind of nice. Having the company. Especially since you’re not going to ask me a bunch of questions about my company or the family ranch?—”

“I mean, I could, but I won’t.” I chuckled. “I’m too busy trying to remember which constellation is which.”

“Want to know which one’s my favorite?” Levi pointed towards a set of four stars, some distance between each one. “There she is. Lady of the Heavens. Andromeda.”

“Andromeda?”

“Yep. This might sound a little… you know… out there…” Levi moved his hand back and forth. “But I always liked her story. Almost killed by a bunch of angry nymphs. Got saved by Perseus and they lived happily ever after. And when she died, Athena placed her in the sky as a constellation, to honor her. It’s like a final fuck you to those nymphs, you know? They counted her out, but she still had something to contribute, she was part of something epic.”

“Are you talking about Greek mythology right now?” I was almost stunned into silence. “Levi Stratton, who the hell are you?”

Levi laughed, doubling over as he did. “Why do you sound so surprised? Did you think I couldn’t read or something?”

“I don’t know. I just wasn’t expecting…” My words trailed off as I spoke. “Most people aren’t that… layered.”

“Sounds like you go around with assumptions about people in your head.” Levi hummed. “That’s always dangerous, Cam. You never know what you’ll miss assuming things like that.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Levi nodded in agreement. “You should also read up on Andromeda. It’s a pretty good story.”

Andromeda.

I stared over at Levi as he stared up at the stars.

They counted her out, but she was still part of something epic.

I wondered why Levi related to that, curious about the rest of his family. Was that how he felt? Like no one expected anything from him?

I shifted closer to Levi, as crickets filled the air around us. I wanted to be closer to him, even though I knew that wasn’t why I was here. There was just something drawing me closer to him, something that may have gone beyond character work for my big break.

I wondered if Levi felt it, too, a thin piece of string that seemed like it was wrapping around him and me, too small to be seen, too small to be felt. And yet, there was something there…

Or maybe I was just projecting again.

Just then, Levi smiled over at me, taking a break from the stars.

And I smiled right back. Projection or not, his smile was one of the realest things I’d experienced in a long, long time.