“When I actually get five minutes to date, you’ll be the first to know. This weekend is about friendship and relaxation. Nothing else. Where’s Dad?” she said, coolly changing the subject.
“He’s upstairs, in the room. Playing video games. Some old western thing with cowboys. He’s excited because there’s a part when you can pet the dog.”
“Oh good.”
“He stopped playing online. He didn’t like the language some of the young people were using.”
“Even better. Well, I need to get on the road and I know you want to watch some sexy blacksmiths.”
“Sure do, baby girl. Gotta pick out my second husband.”
“Do not tell Dad that.”
“I will tell him that. He’s gotten too comfortable,” she joked. If anyone loved the heck out of their wife, it was her dad.
“Mom!” Amanda replied with a sputtering laugh.
They said their love-yous and goodnights and Amanda fought another wave of homesickness and loneliness. She’d seen her parents at Christmas, but she’d only been home for four days. Four days out of the whole year. She knew it had been a mistake and that this year she should ask Dru for more time, a whole week off, but with her shooting schedule and other engagements—no. She refused. She was not going to think about Dru right now.
Right now she was going to grab her toothbrush and make sure she had her silk bonnet and then she was going to hop on the 10 and get the hell out of this town. And maybe in the spring when Andromeda wrapped she’d go home again for another visit. She missed her family. She pushed that unique sadness aside with a sigh and finished packing. She doubled-checked that she had her necessities, her phone, extra chargers, and the route to Big Rock Ranch already programmed into her phone.
She grabbed her keys and headed out to her car. Once she was behind the wheel, she loaded up her maps app, then started her favorite eighties pop and R&B playlist. More than two hours of music that would keep her awake and keep her mind off thinking of ways to poison Dru and make it look like an accident, as she drove east toward Charming.
* * *
The playlist didn’t work, not completely. She listened to her favorite Prince and Janet Jackson tracks over and over and that definitely helped lift her mood, but for some reason she couldn’t take her mind off Dru’s recent behavior. She knew Dru could be a good person deep down, but for some reason this asshole persona she seemed so committed to just wouldn’t let up. She knew she was under pressure and she knew she was still upset about not booking the TV movie project, but Dru needed to channel her emotions better. Maybe after a weekend away Amanda could reset her own feelings about this situation and gently nudge Dru toward greener, more positive pastures—after she found another vegan restaurant that served early breakfast.
Forty-five minutes away from the ranch, she glanced down at her phone and had an odd realization about where she was going and the much needed break she was giving herself. The break Sam had given her. A giddiness flooded through her, a giddiness that made no damn sense. And she suddenly struggled not to lean too hard on the gas. Traffic was moving smoothly. She would make it there with plenty of time to enjoy a bath and some room service before she went to sleep. There was no need to get pulled over for speeding. Still, she wanted to be in Charming now.
When she was twenty minutes away, Amanda grabbed her phone and sent Sam a voice memo so she could keep her eyes on the road.
“’Sup, Tex,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Just want to let you know I’m about twenty minutes away. Thanks again for setting this up. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime tomorrow.”
She hit send, then set her phone back in her cup holder. She was going to make the best of this weekend. She just had to figure out how to spend forty-eight hours at Big Rock Ranch while pretending she had no intention of spending any time with Sam. It wasn’t the point of this trip. She needed to rest. She needed to do therapeutic things like taking in the fresh air and petting a horse or two. Maybe she’d even ride a horse. Wouldn’t that be something. She was definitely going to sleep in and she wasn’t going to spend one minute thinking about if and how Dru was taking care of herself. She had to give herself permission to be off the clock, mentally and emotionally. She’d be back to work soon enough. This weekend was about Amanda and Amanda only.
She passed through the town center of Charming, crossing through the other side to the area populated with horse ranches and produce farms. Soon the ranch came into view, the lights from the main lodge creating a break in a dark expanse of the landscape. Amanda let out a deep breath as she slowed her car and pulled through the large gates, set with a massive B and R on either side. She’d been there just a week ago, but this time felt different. She knew exactly what the difference was, but she refused to acknowledge it.
She pulled to a stop in the curved driveway of the main lodge and reached for her phone and purse as two young guys, one Asian and one Latinx, approached the car.
The young
