Page 3 of Holding On to a Hero
“My name is Jason Shelton. I just want to talk about the photos you took today.”
The asshole had the balls to look amused. “Okay, Jason. I’d love to talk about the photos I took today. What do you want to know?”
“I want to know what you’re planning to do with them.”
He smirked. “I put the good ones up on my website or stock photo sites for sale to the public. I also promote them on social media.”
This was…odd. He hadn’t mentioned the tabloids or gossip sites. “Look,” I started and then stopped. “I’m sorry, could you please tell me your name?” I began walking toward him. He didn’t budge.
“Will. Will Graham.”
“Okay, Will. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement here.”
He raised one eyebrow and smirked again. “Oooh. Anagreement.How very mobster-like of you.” What was his deal? Didn’t he want money? I was missing something. The twink look was good camouflage for him. I’d bet people underestimated him all the time. I wouldn’t be one of them.
I made a placating gesture and managed to start out stating my case calmly. “I just want to make sure the photos you took today don’t go public. Cole’s privacy is very important. He’s going to come out, but he’s not ready yet.”
He kept staring at me with that same fucking smirk on his face. My voice got a little louder. “His coming out should happen when he wants it to, not when some money-grubbing paparazzo does it for him.” He didn’t blink and I lost it. “Look, dammit, just tell me how much you want for the photos!”Crap.Way to keep your cool, Shelton.
He held my gaze for another few seconds, then he dropped the smirk, sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, man, I’m just messing with you. I didn’t take any photos of either of you until you pulled up right here in your truck. I’m gay. I’m not going to out anyone without their permission.”
I scoffed.Seriously?Did he really think I’d buy that? He’d been taking photos of us for a month. I managed to control my volume this time and said, “I’d really like to believe you, but I’m sure you’ll understand when I ask to see the photos on your camera.”
He gave a jerky nod and pulled the camera strap from around his neck but held it away from me. He looked at me sternly and said, “I use a wifi-enabled SD card that goes through my phone to automatically upload every shot to the cloud. So don’t get any ideas about deleting anything.”
Well, that was bad news. And I was trying very hard not to notice I was a little turned on. The bossy schtick could sometimes get my motor running. I mentally slapped myself.Pay attention. Sexy or not, this guy could seriously damage Cole’s life and peace of mind.
“I promise I won’t delete anything,” I gritted out through my teeth. I moved closer to him so he could show me the camera’s screen without reaching too far. I could smell some sort of citrusy cologne or body wash mixed with clean sweat.Crap!
Will fiddled with the buttons on the back of the camera and then to my surprise he handed it to me. “Here’s the last photo I took of you.” The smirk was back. “Angry is a good look for you. To go back through the other shots just press this button.”
The photo actually made me look kind of badass. I guess even paparazzi could be talented.
I pressed the back button to move past the shots of me in the truck. Then I was looking at a gorgeous photo of Endora, the newest rescue horse. “Oh.”
Will looked over my arm at the camera. The citrus/sweat scent grew stronger. “Yeah, she’s really regal. I love that photo.”
I pressed the button again. Now I saw a distance shot of both horses in the paddock. Then a shot of a hawk circling. Then a…beaver?
“Is that a beaver?”
Will laughed. “Yes, keep going.”
More beavers. Then a frog, then a hawk again, then more beavers. That was it. There weren’t any other photos in the camera.
I glared at him. “You deleted the photos of Cole and me.”
He sighed and looked at me with something that might have been pity. Or maybe just resignation. He opened the side pocket on his cargo pants and took out his wallet. He pulled out a business card and handed it to me.
William Graham, Wildlife Photographer
I snorted. “Just because you take photos of animals doesn’t mean you don’t also take photos of celebrities. You’ve been lurking over there for weeks.”
He shook his head. “I’ve only been coming out here to get pics of the beavers. I didn’t even know who was living at the ranch until I went over there. And for the record, I just wanted to ask if anyone knew how long the beavers had been in the pond. Your boyfriend was – uh – less than willing to even listen to my questions. Anyway, you can go on my website and check out all of my photos. For the past year I’ve only been taking photos of animals.
“And I’m sorry for pointing the camera at you this morning, but I’d just taken that photo of the horse and I heard a noise by the house. It’s instinct for a photographer to keep the camera up when something attracts their attention.”
I considered Will. He looked earnest. I wanted proof but there wasn’t any. He didn’t have any tells that indicated he might be lying. Cole and I were going to have to trust him and I hated that. I noticed he had hazel eyes and a couple of freckles across his nose. Cute.What the hell, Shelton?
