Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Oh, good grief,” Adam muttered, crossing his arms as the meeting officially began.
Dawn eyed Adam, her expression thoughtful. “You don’t want the movie here?”
Adam shook his head. “No. Do you?”
“Sure,” Dawn said easily.
“It isn’t a good idea,” Hawk countered. He leaned back in his chair, careful of his cast. “We don’t need a bunch of outsiders running through town and creating havoc. Plus, it’s not like we want to encourage the tourist trade. I ran to Billings last week and hit traffic. Actual traffic.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Come on. There are no traffic jams in Montana. You probably saw a couple of bison in the road. That’s not real traffic.”
“Yeah, there was,” Hawk muttered.
Jem cleared his throat at the front of the room and tapped the microphone. “All right, we only have one item on the agenda.” He peered down at his notes, then back up. “Young lady, go ahead.”
Bianca stood and began pitching her idea for the movie. It was a Western, a romance, and she promised they would be in and out within three weeks. Her voice carried easily through the room, confident without being pushy, and Adam found himself enjoying the way she held herself, shoulders back, chin lifted.
“What about the environmental impact?” Madge Wilson, a retired librarian and current county commissioner as well as council member, asked.
Bianca shook her head. “There won’t be any environmental impact. We plan on using actual rain, and the movie takes place during spring, so we don’t need to create snow. There’s no artificial volcanic ash or anything like that, and we promise we’ll clean up any mess we do make.” She paused, then continued. “I’m scouting locations, so if anybody would be willing to offer their ranch or farm for a shoot that may take a few days, we’re happy to pay. In addition, we’ll need extras, so locals can get some screen time. We’ll also need places to put actors and crew, thus boosting the local economy.”
Adam couldn’t help noticing her small waist and long legs. She was tall and was built right with plenty of curves. She glanced toward him again, and their eyes met. Hers were the tawny brown of a new fawn, much lighter than his own. God, she was cute. Freckles dusted the bridge of her nose, and her eyes were animated as she spoke. She really believed in this.
Mrs. Hudson rose slightly in her seat. “As you know, Bianca is one of us. She was raised here until she was, what, eight?”
“I think it was closer to six,” Bianca admitted with a smile.
“Well, she’s local, and she’s coming back home,” Mrs. Hudson said firmly. “I think we should welcome her.”
Freddie Ironwood, a member of the Kooskia Tribal Council as well as a city council member, tapped his gnarled hand on the table. “I don’t mean to be negative, but we only have one motel and a B&B. It’s not like we can house many of your crew.”
Bianca smiled. “That’s all right. We’ll fill the motel and the B&B, of course. We’ll bring in trailers, rent or buy space for them, and we’ll use hotels in the closest cities and drive people in. We want to create the least amount of interference with Mineral Lake and Maverick County as a whole.”
Councilwoman and Tribal Council member Phyllis Rainwater winked a sparkling brown eye at Bianca. “We don’t really see any environmental problems.”
“That’s so kind of you, Councilwoman,” Bianca said. “In fact, the director would love to include the local tribe in some of the story, if you like. You’d have full artistic approval over anything added.”
Phyllis smiled. “That’d be real nice, and we can set up a meeting with the chief and council,” she continued. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t want to be involved.”
“I’m so happy to hear that,” Bianca said. “I haven’t seen Chief Lodge since I was a little girl. How is he?”
“Oh, he’s fantastic.” Phyllis grinned. “Still riding a bronc every chance he gets, and he’s going to officiate Hawk and Dawn’s wedding next month, so he’s been careful not to get injured this spring.”
Laughter rippled through the room. The chief was tough, well loved, and very much a part of the town, and Adam wondered if this movie might be harder to stop than he’d thought.
“It looks like we’re all settled. Is there anybody who is against this movie?” Jem asked.
“Yeah, I am,” came a low voice from the back.
Adam started and turned to see Billy Rockefeller stand.
“Ah, crap,” Hawk muttered at Adam’s side.
Rockefeller headed up a group that lived outside of town called the Concerned Citizens, who were pretty much a bunch of bozos who liked to shoot guns and were against any kind of development. Adam crossed his arms as the man spoke, already bracing for it.
“We don’t want a bunch of outsiders coming in and polluting our land,” Rockefeller said. “You want to put up an RV park? Do you have any idea what would go into that?” He lifted one finger. “You need water. You need sewer. We are against that on any of our land.”