Her Leading Man by Alice Duncan Read Free Book Online

first
time Peerless had dealt with camels. A vampire picture Martin had directed the
year before had required bats. He would be very happy if his only problem
in this picture turned out to be the color of the camels. Turning back
to the driver, he said, “ I f these guys photograph all right, we’ll keep them. If
not, I’ll be
in touch with Mr. Beattie.”
    The driver seemed to have to jerk his attention away from Christina.
After focusing on Martin, he mumbled, “Right. Right. So I’ll go pick up them
elephants now. You gotta sign this.”
    He took a dirty delivery notice from his shirt pocket and handed it
to Martin along with a stubby pencil. Martin unfolded the paper and read it,
frowning. “I’ll sign it, but I’m going to make a note on it, so Mr. Beattie
will know I’m not altogether satisfied with his help in this
case.”
    “ Do whatever makes you happy,” growled
the driver, again focusing his attention on
Christina .
    Evidently his scrutiny of her granddaughter irked Mrs. Mayhew because,
without warning, she lifted her cane and poked the delivery man in the
stomach with
it. “Stop staring, you!”
    “ Gran . . .” Christina didn’t seem displeased with her grandmother,
although she did appear somewhat embarrassed.
    “ I don’t allow dirty men to stare at my
granddaughter, you,” Gran said, ignoring Christina. “And don’t you forget
it.”
    The driver scowled at Mrs. Mayhew. “What’s the matter with you,
lady? You crazy or something?”
    She poked him again. He grabbed his stomach and hollered, “Hey! Cut
that out!”
    “ Stop staring at my granddaughter, you
brute!” Gran waved the cane in the man’s face, and he backed up.
Unfortunately, he didn’t look where he was going and ran into the first
camel, who pushed him away, hard, with his nose, grabbing the hat from his head with its
teeth as it did so.
    “ Hey!”
the man yelled again.
    Martin, who had been writing a note to Clyde Beattie as all this
was going on, glanced up and noticed Christina grimacing at the scene unfolding
before her.
She appeared resigned. For some reason, her expression made
Martin feel happy inside. It was almost as if she considered all of these
shenanigans a mere comedy to be either enjoyed or endured, as one chose.
    He appreciated her attitude and decided to emulate it. With a chuckle,
he went to the delivery man and held out a hand to help him rise. “I hope
you have another hat, mister. I think the camel’s keeping
that one.”
    The deliveryman stumbled to his feet, his face red and his expression
furious. “That old lady hit me with her cane!” he cried, indignant. “She damn
well hit
me!”
    “ Yes, well, I suspect you were paying too
much attention to Miss Mayhew,” Martin said gently. “Mrs. Mayhew is very
protective of her granddaughter.”
    “ You’re darned right. I am,” said Gran
fiercely. Christina merely sighed and folded her hands
together in
front of her. On any other woman , the pose would have appeared demure and
innocent. On her , it looked more impish than anything
else.
    Martin, who admired her more than he could account for in
that instant, sent her a smile before returning to the deliveryman. “I don’t
suppose you’re going to want to make a fuss about it. After all,
you probably
don’t want anyone else to know you were bested by an old lady with a cane and
a camel.”
    The deliveryman made a show of dusting off his trousers and shirt,
then reached for his hat, which was hanging out of the camel’s mouth as
the animal chewed on its brim. He tugged, and the camel tugged, and it looked as
though it was going to be a draw.
    Since his eyes seemed determined to turn Christina of their
own accord, Martin opted not to argue with them. His and Christina’s gazes
locked for a
very few seconds, but Martin felt every one them in his body. She
had a quizzical expression on her lovely face, a half smile on her lips, and he
could feel
from where he stood all the good humor,