Page 18 of Every Good Thing
Four
LENA
The coolest person I’ve ever met approaches like she’s on a mission she believes she’ll win—squared shoulders, a determined gait, a tiny smirk, and enviable confidence. Jaye Kent is otherworldly awesome. As a graphic novelist and actress, her imagination alone puts her on a different creative level than other mere mortals. But so does her unique beauty and general ease.
“Did you know she was coming?” Dot demands nervously as Jaye moves closer up the lane. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know. Be cool. Not weird.”
She rolls her shoulders and her eyes. “How? It’s Jaye Kent. What the fuck do I say?”
“Follow my lead… Hey, Jaye, it’s great to see you again.”
She eyes our Cheetos bags. “Ah, the breakfast of champions.”
Dot’s Cheetos fall to the dirt like she’s lost all motor function. I scoop it up before the dogs get it. “Yep, we run on caffeine and Cheetos around here.”
Her head tilts toward the stone-like woman beside me. She extends her hand. “Hi, I’m Jaye. You must be Dot?”
Dot stares in stunned disbelief at her gracious offering. Does she not know what to do? At her side, I push her arm out with mine like she’s my puppet.
A quicker, limper handshake has never happened.
“Um, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jaye says, her confidence dipping slightly. “Ruthie loves your monster and alien collection.”
Shadow grunts when Dot doesn’t answer—even my grumpy horse understands her social awkwardness.
“Dot’s a horror and sci-fi expert.” An arm pinch pulls me into Dot’s whisper. I roll my eyes. “And graphic novels. She loves your books.”
“Thanks.” Jaye’s cheeks redden. Her bronze shoulders bounce lightly, bringing my eyes to the delicate inked flowers stretching over her upper chest and disappearing into her shirt. “Writing’s my passion. I don’t feel happy unless I’m in front of my laptop.”
“I’m the same way about baking.” Another violent pinch brings me closer to Dot. “For Dot, it’s building or fixing things.”
She confirms with a brief nod. I can’t wait to tease her relentlessly about her crush.
“So, Jaye… here for your usual? There’s a hot cinnamon roll with your name on it.”
Her hands slip into the pockets of her high-waisted army-green wide-leg pants. She wears a buttoned-up silky blouse that gathers around her waist, revealing peeks of tattoos and her tight abs. This woman works out—her muscular arms make me want to join Ben for weightlifting. She’s my height, around five-eight, but her short haircut makes her look taller. She gives off a serious professional vibe softened by delicate gold jewelry and her heeled Converse, which I hope aren’t getting too muddy.
“I’ll never turn down your cinnamon rolls,” she grins, “but that’s not the only reason I’m here.”
“As I suspected,” I say, stifling my bother. I don’t have time for this.
Her pleading brown eyes land on mine. “It’s down to the wire, Lena. Nothing suits us like Saddletree. The only thing close is two hours away in Kinston. Will you humor me and listen to one last pitch?”
I met Jaye last month when she showed up with a team from Diamond Studios to scout locations for their next feature, Hunter, The Return. My property has everything Jaye’s movie needs—a beautiful country house, horse pastures, a pond, a barn, and a thick tree line.
“It’s the perfect vibe—gentle beauty, rough and wild, with an undercurrent of anticipation like anything can happen here,” Jaye said then (and many times since), which made Saddletree sound like the Australian outback or Grand Canyon.
Knowing little about graphic novels or horror movies, I turned to my expert, Dot. After happy cursing and ecstatic screaming, Dot explained that Jaye’s best known for her graphic novel series, The Watchers, about a ragtag team of oddballs (some with powers) who fight supernatural forces when they aren’t working their day jobs.
The Hunter franchise is semi-based on that series. The team’s mentor, archaeological anthropologist Dr. Jim Hunter, investigates “haunted” artifacts and places for his research. He’s like Indiana Jones, but with horror. In the first surprise mega-hit movie, Hunter, he investigates a demon possession. This time, he investigates a farmhouse based on rumors of witches and lore about an ancient relic that summons them.
They offered me a deal.
I turned it down multiple times. As amazing as it sounded (and as much as Dot begged me to do it), I couldn’t.
Three hundred grand to film a horror flick here sounds like a jackpot, but it means closing Saddletree for two months. Too many people count on me and this place for food, peacefulness, and connection. I can’t let them down.
