I Choose You: A sizzling Hollywood Western romance. Kristina O'Grady

honey, you know Adrian is busy. He’s got a very busy practice to look after; he can’t take the time off to have kids right now. You should know that.”

      Helga rubbed her forehead.

      “I’m not busy? Dad, I’ve just finished shooting back to back films. I work sixteen to eighteen hours a day. I don’t exactly have time to have kids either! And it’s not like Adrian has to actually have the kids. He only needs to show up for a few minutes, job done. It’s Susan who will have to carry the thing for nine months.”

      “Don’t be so crude.” Her father’s voice snapped down the line and her hand clenched the receiver.

      “Sorry,” she mumbled. How was it he had the ability to make her feel five years old again? “Dad, we both know Adrian won’t help with raising the child, even if he was at home all the time. It would be beneath him. Poor Susan, I don’t know what she ever saw in him.” Her voice sounded bitter and she now regretted her outburst. Her brother wasn’t all bad, she just struggled to find the good in him sometimes, especially when he started blaming her for their sister’s behavior.

      “Helga! That’s enough. Adrian is your brother. I don’t want to hear you speak of him again like that.” Familiar anger radiated down the phone.

      As if Adrian ever had anything good to say about her, the thought floated into her head faster than she could stop it. She was trying to work on the principles of the Law of Attraction. So far, not so good. Actually this week had been pretty shit.

      “That’s not why I called, honey.” She could hear her dad struggling to bring his voice back under control. “We’re worried about you. This acting phase you’re going through is just not good for you. You’ll have to get a real job one day, pumpkin. Why not go back to vet school? You seemed to like that.”

      “Dad, I’m allergic to long-haired animals. I can’t be a vet if I break out in hives and struggle to breathe every time a dog or a cat comes through the door.”

      “But, honey…”

      “Look, Dad, I’ve got to go.”

      Helga pressed the end button before he could say anything else. She hated talking to her family. They just didn’t understand her. They spoke to her as though what she wanted didn’t matter. Sometimes she wondered if they even heard her at all. They have never supported her career choice. Not once. They’d been okay with her modelling to help pay her way through vet college but as soon as she starting picking up acting gigs, the criticizing started. Her dad was the worst. He made her feel worthless.

      She grabbed another iced tea from the fridge but then put it back. She had work to do and she couldn’t afford to ingest the sugar with a new job on the horizon. She put on a pot of coffee instead. The aroma filling her apartment eased the tension her day had deposited on her shoulders.

      After taking her low-fat milky coffee into the living room she picked up the script Rosie had sent to her apartment. She curled up on her leather couch and savored the first sip. Endorphins rushed through her veins as the caffeine hit her tongue. She flipped the cover and started reading.

      When the apartment’s porter had given it to her on her way in, her first instinct was to toss it in the garbage can beside his desk. She’d smiled at him instead and got into the elevator with it still in her hand.

      She needed to decide which film to do.

      She’d reluctantly accepted that Rosie was right: this one was something she could do blindfolded and after flipping through it on the way up the elevator, she knew it was written exactly for her. She’d felt familiar tingling in her spine the more she read. She’d been disappointed when the elevator had reached her floor and she had to put it away. The storyline was good and she knew right then and there that it wouldn’t be the flop the last two films had been. Plus, she knew it would be fun to make. To give Rosie credit, the part would show her in a slightly different light. It was a romantic comedy but there was some drama as well. This part would ease her into a more serious role.

      But there was still the package from Brian sitting on her coffee table. It called her name. And the further she read into the script from Rosie, the harder Brian’s was to ignore.

      Finally, halfway through Rosie’s script she tossed it aside and reached for the brown paper package from Brian. She ripped it open and started to read.

      Four hours later Helga placed the script gently on the coffee table and picked up her phone. She counted the beats of her heart while it rang on the other end.

      “Brian? It’s Helga. I’m in.”

      ***

      Benjamin wiped the sweat from his face and arched his back. The fence he’d been working on for the last week was nearly finished. New wire gleamed in the sun. The whole top wire had needed to be replaced and the other two wires had so many new additions they now looked more new than old as well. He’d finally managed to get around most of the field and only had one more spot to fix.

      The preparations for the film crew were almost done as well. They’d repainted the barn, planted more flowers outside the front of the house and moved stock to the back pastures so the grass would be green and lush where they would be filming. However, at the breakfast table this morning his mom and Beth had complained about how Mr. Hargrave’s assistant had sent in another request. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was but they’d been muttering about more flowers and trees. It’d been a dry spring and older tress probably wouldn’t take being moved in this weather. He was glad his mom was looking after organizing the aesthetic side of things. He just needed to make sure the fences were up and the animals were healthy, nothing more than he would be doing anyway.