Page 18 of One Kind Hand

“Sure. As long as visibility is favorable, I’m good to go.”

A woman with a small dog on a leash passed them, the pooch straining on its leash to investigate an overturned paper coffee cup on the sidewalk.

“What do you do with your dog when you’re shooting a movie?” Charlie asked.

“I take him with me as any good dog dad would do.” He gave her an incredulous look as if to say of course a sexy, action-adventure movie star wouldn’t be separated from his small Chihuahua.

“Your dog is here? In Vermont?”

“Berto is chilling back at the hotel. Has probably cracked into the bar by now or taken a bubble bath.”

“So he’s all about the amenities?” Charlie pictured a little Chihuahua with a tiny towel wrapped around its ears in a tub full of bubbles.

Then her mind immediately wandered to Austin in a tub full of bubbles. With no towels in sight.

Yikes. Good thing it was colder out now. Otherwise Charlie would be a melted smudge on the sidewalk.

“He’s a spoiled brat.” Austin hit the unlock button on the car keys as they approached the car.

“Isn’t that the reason people have pets?”

“I guess. You have any?”

She shook her head then paused. “Well, not the traditional kind. I do have a crow that visits my backyard looking for food. His name is Knox because he knocks on my sliding glass door.”

“How do you know it’s the same crow?”

They’d reached the car now and climbed inside.

“One of his legs is a little wonky,” Charlie said. “It’s definitely the same crow. He’s got a recognizable personality and crows can identify people. He knows seeing me equals some nuts or seeds and some conversation.”

Austin started the car, but angled to face her more. “Conversation? With a crow?”

“Sure. They’re super smart. I’ve had better conversations with Knox than I’ve had with the last three dudes I’ve dated.”

A single brown eyebrow arched over a blue eye. “Dated? As in you’re not currently dating anyone?”

OMG! Austin Rayhill asked if I’m dating someone! Isabel was going to pee her pants over this one.

“No. It’s just been me and Knox having romantic meals together for a little while now.” She hoped that didn’t make her sound pathetic. What she wanted to sound like was available.

“I’ve hit a dry spell too,” he said as he pulled away from the curb to merge into traffic.

“Austin Rayhill has dry spells?”

“Despite popular opinion, I am a human being.”

“Don’t say that too loudly. You don’t want to ruin your image.”

“That’s totally something Cody would say.”

“Hey, is Austin Rayhill your real name?” Now that he’d told her his sister had a stage name, she’d been wondering about his name.

“That’s what it says on my birth certificate. Cody and I brainstormed other names when I was getting started in acting, but we kept laughing at all of them. Names like Zane Majors and Weston Sinclair.” He scrunched up his nose. “We finally stuck with Austin Rayhill, which is good because I’d probably forget to answer to another name.” He stopped at a red light and looked both ways down the street that intersected with the one they were on.

Charlie pointed to the left, figuring he’d gotten turned around as he wasn’t a local. “You want to be in that lane. The airfield is down that way.”

“I know, but I’m considering asking you if you’d like to meet Berto.” He gave her a sideways glance that could only be labeled as bashful and Charlie was thankful she had a seatbelt to tether her to Earth.