Bad Boy Brody(82)

It was as she had never been there in the first place.

But Morgan stayed.





Brody



For the rest of our shooting, Morgan was at my side. She waited on the sidelines while I was working and was there while I waited for my time. She even began to help Kara, running lines with her.

There were moments when she noticed a discrepancy in the script and told Shanna. She became an asset for Shanna. When we would arrive on site, Shanna would pull Morgan aside, and they would consult together. I knew Morgan’s input was invaluable, and Shanna grew more and more excited as the shooting drew to a close.

I couldn’t say that people started to forget who Morgan was. They just grew more accustomed to her.

We had two scenes left to do that week and then we were done.

Completely done.

There was an excited buzz with everyone. People had already started packing up, but most people were sticking around for the wrap party. The Kellermans were planning it, and there were rumors of kegs, wine, face painting, a DJ. Tents were put on the lawn.

They wanted to take advantage of the abnormal warm weather. Morgan insisted it wouldn’t last.

The new scene we were shooting wasn’t a hard one. I was supposed to be on a walk with my “sister,” and she was supposed to be telling me how much of a mistake it was to marry Karen.

The sister was walking with me. The cameras were moving ahead of us.

I was just about to deliver the line about how she was wrong, when someone screamed, ruining the scene.

One of the assistants was helping the horse handlers, but the horse was rearing up. Her hooves were flailing, and the handler was thrown off.

The actress by me screamed.

Everyone froze for a second.

Then, suddenly, there was a streak running past everyone.

Morgan weaved around those in her way.

I started forward, “Mor—”

The actress’s hand clamped on my arm, stopping me. “Look!”

The horse kept rearing up and down, and the rope had been released. The handler rolled to safety, stood, and started pulling the other horse away.

Morgan darted around the last person.

The horse saw her coming, swinging her head around, and even I could see the wild panic in her eye.

A wheelbarrow had been abandoned in the path, but Morgan jumped, used it as a springboard, and launched herself onto the horse’s back.

It happened so quickly.

The horse jumped around, trying unsuccessfully to buck Morgan off. She clambered forward, grabbing onto the reins and sliding into the saddle as her feet found the stirrups. She looked a little awkward in the saddle, but that was because I rarely saw her use one.

The horse stopped trying to buck her off, only lifting her head in the air and flaring her nostrils. Her ears were twitching all around, then finally settled straight up and alert.

When the horse stopped completely and lowered her head back down, Morgan kicked it into a soft trot. She looped around, going through the river, and letting her run in some figure eights on the opposite bank. She was letting her run some of her tension out.

“A snake!” someone shouted.

The shout broke everyone from their reverie. People started scrambling for safety, but the person laughed, waving his hands. “No. No. It was a snake. Taffy killed it.”

“Who’s Taffy?” the actress asked next to me.

And that was when I recognized the horse. I gestured to her. “The horse Morgan’s soothing.” I moved forward, walking next to Shanna toward where the handler was standing.

The guy had scooped it up and dumped it into the wheelbarrow.

A few girls ran the opposite direction, but he just shook his head. “It’s already dead.”

“Are you okay?” Shanna asked the handler who’d been bucked off.

She nodded. “Yeah, just shook up still. The snake startled Taffy, and then when I fell off, it almost got me. Taffy killed it.” She gestured toward where Morgan was still loping Taffy in circles. “She’s shook up too.”

Shanna didn’t say anything, but she turned to watch Morgan as the rest of us did.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. Her gaze darted to one of the cameramen, and he nodded, already swinging the lens around to zoom in on Morgan.

I stifled a growl. “Morgan!” I moved toward the river.

She looked over, wheeling Taffy back around. “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.” And because I knew it would grate on Shanna’s nerves, I waved down the river. “Why don’t you run her back to the barn and bring a different one for the last scene?”

I heard Shanna let out a sigh of frustration.

Morgan looked to the handlers. “Is that okay? Do you need her still?”

The male handler shook his head. “Nah. Run her back. Saves us time from loading her in the trailer.” He gestured to the snake. “I gotta get rid of this anyway. You’re saving me some work.”

Morgan nodded. She looked at the other female handler. “You’re okay? She didn’t get you?”

“No. I’m good. She saved me actually.”

“Okay.” Morgan grinned at me. “See you in a bit.” I heard the excitement in her voice. She loved Shiloh first, but she loved horses in general, and it wasn’t long before she had Taffy turned toward the barn.