― Carl Sagan, Contact
~Jethro~
Tuesday was the first time I saw Sienna since our date.
She didn’t see me because she was on set, doing her thing.
Cletus and I were nearby. He had me holding his hand while he fixed the Colt¸ not that he actually needed me there. I knew my brother well enough to recognize he liked having someone present to hand him the tools in a dramatic fashion.
“Socket wrench.” He held out his palm, not looking at me.
I gave him the wrench, and he passed me the wire cutters. I shifted my weight while he fiddled around for a stretch. The contraption he was working on was a real antique. Red rust dotted the yellow paint. As far as I could tell, this bucket of metal machinery was two hammer hits away from collapsing into a pile of garbage.
“Flathead.” Again, not looking at me, Cletus held out his hand.
I gave him the flathead screwdriver, and he passed me the socket wrench.
“Switch out the socket, would you? I need it a quarter larger.”
“Sure thing,” I mumbled, thankful to have something to do other than hand off tools within his easy reach. If I thought I could get away with it, I would’ve been listening to one of my favorite podcasts, either Curious Handmade or The Renaissance Woodworker. But Cletus had the tendency to take offense and make trouble if he wasn’t given undivided attention.
Leaving him to his hunk of junk, I walked around the harvester and some yards away to his big toolbox. Once there, I picked through the socket heads ’til I found the right size.
“Hey, Jethro. Are you here with Cletus?”
I glanced up at the question. One of Sienna’s bodyguards, the one I’d punched in the face, approached from the direction of the active film set. I’d caught sight of the staffers setting things up earlier in the day. Beyond the bodyguard I saw a flurry of activity. Now it looked like they were almost ready to start filming.
“Hey, Dave? Right?” I straightened from the toolbox and held out my hand for him to shake, though my eyes kept looking beyond him to the set. Without wanting to, I was looking for her.
He gave me a quick handshake as I divided my attention between his nose, which wasn’t in good shape, and the movie people behind him.
“Yes. Dave’s the name.”
“Hey, sorry about your . . . sorry about the . . .” I motioned to my nose.
“Occupational hazard. Like I said, I’ve had worse. So, um, are you here with Cletus?”
I nodded warily. “How do you know Cletus?”
“He came around last Friday and introduced himself to people.”
“Did he?” That was odd. Typically, Cletus avoided people.
“Yes, sir. He said you were looking for people to help with the bears?”
“Really.” I crossed my arms, wondering why Cletus would say such a thing.
Dave tilted his head back and forth as though reconsidering his words. “Actually, it was more like Cletus mentioned you’re moving the bears out of the prairie so we can film, and I asked if you needed any help.”
I scratched my jaw and considered this Dave. It was obvious he wanted to get up close and personal with a black bear and saw me as his front-row ticket.
“I could always use an extra set of hands, but it’s my job to protect these animals.”
He nodded quickly. “Of course, of course.”
“Just so we’re clear, it wouldn’t be any help having someone along who’s going to antagonize a bear. Spelling it out, you’d have to be respectful and compassionate with the creatures.”
“Absolutely.”
“That means no flash photography, no poking at it, throwing things at it, no—”
“I get it. I wouldn’t do that kind of thing. I just . . .” Dave’s eyes, still puffy and bruised, widened as he chose his words. “I’d just love to see one, while we’re here.”
“Fine.” I nodded once, extending my hand for him to shake. He took it, a big smile on his face. My attention snagged on the activity going on behind him. Specifically, the tall, gorgeous woman walking toward the set, dressed in a garment befitting a Quaker.
My breath seized in my lungs as Sienna tossed her chestnut hair over one shoulder, giving her companion a wide, sunny smile. She made the other woman laugh. Then she laughed. The melodic sound traveled to where I stood, as I stared at her like a fool.
“Oh, yeah. She’s filming today.” Dave followed my line of sight, turning and standing next to me. “Have you seen her act yet? On set? She’s brilliant. The camera doesn’t do her justice.”
I tore my gaze from Sienna, my chest and throat burning with something unpleasant, and eyed the big man next to me. He spoke of her like he was proud. I was glad. She deserved to be surrounded by good people.