Page 25 of Deck the Hauls

Oops. My face heated.

I forced my gaze back on my friends.

“And...action!”

A few moments later, a mug of coffee appeared in front of me. Finally.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to Hannah, remembering just in time I wasn’t actually allowed to speak.

Holy crap, it smelled good. It took all my willpower not to throw it back like a shot of tequila. In case the cameras were on us, I picked up my mug and sipped it, resisting the urge to moan out loud. Nothing beat George’s coffee.

My shoulders relaxed as I gulped down another mouthful. Caffeine spread through my veins, warm and energizing. The throbbing in my head began to subside, although the general feeling of unease that had been sitting heavy in my stomach since Jake’s visit yesterday remained.

Jake. He was having a baby. With Kelsey. They had everything I wanted—our family farm, with its sprawling orchards and cattle, my parents, each other, and now a child too. It was hard not to compare my life to theirs. They were living my dream, while I’d been the one to lose everything. I took another gulp of coffee. I was being dramatic. I had great friends and I loved Red Tractor Farm and Sapphire Springs. Until Jake showed up unannounced, I’d been quite satisfied with the life I’d built for myself here.

“Cut!” Charles rushed past, holding a wad of paper with notes scribbled on them. “Okay, where is our grumpy waitress? Is she feeling better now?”

The same man who’d given me the release form muttered something in Charles’ ear.

“Shit. Hopefully it’s not contagious. We’ve held off filming her lines as long as we can. We’ll need a new grumpy waitress.” He frowned at Hannah and George. “You two are too cheerful.” He gazed around the room until he reached our table. “Dana. You’d be perfect.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Me?”

I glanced at Emily, who looked like she was trying not to laugh. She’d better not tell him that I was actually well acquainted with the grumpy waitress role.

“Yes, you,” Charles said. “It’s the least you can do after ruining three shoots.”

“Three?” Olivia’s eyes widened.

“I’ll tell you later,” I muttered, before turning to Charles. “Surely there’s someone more qualified than me who can help.”

Charles waved his hand at me. “This grumpy thing you’re channeling right now is just what we need.” He looked over his shoulder. “Someone get Dana an apron, the props, and the script.”

Jenny nudged me. “Come on, you’ll be great.”

I sighed. I did know all the lines, and I did want the movie to be a success to help with publicity for the farm. And this scene would be great publicity for Novel Gossip as well.

Charles looked at his watch. “We need to keep moving. Dana, are you in?”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Okay, fine.” I pushed my chair back and stood.

As Charles conferred with Emily and Austin about something, a tall man jogged over with an apron, notepad and pen, and the script. I slipped on the apron and read through the script, as though I hadn’t spent over an hour rehearsing it with Emily a few nights ago.

“Okay, Dana.” Charles pointed to a spot three feet from Emily. “You stand here and then walk over and ask, ‘What do you want?’ Then write down their order and walk away. All while being your surly self. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“And...action!” Charles yelled.

My gaze landed on Austin’s hand rubbing Emily’s leg. Ugh. I gritted my teeth. His character was already irritating enough.

It didn’t require any acting to sound pissed off as I said my line, nor to deliver a glare to Austin as he ordered for Emily without checking what she wanted.

“Cut,” Charles said. “That’ll do. Dana, for the next scene dial down the surliness a touch. You’re coming across like you’ve got a personal vendetta against Austin, rather than being grumpy at the world.”

“Okay, let’s keep moving people.” Charles clapped his hands. “George, can you give Dana the pot of coffee?”