When Silas lifted the thermos to take a long drink, Dean slapped her shoulder. “The hot guy gave me a nickname,” he whispered.
“Control yourself, lover boy,” she said, under her breath.
Reining in his caffeine-induced giddiness, Dean rested the tripod and digital camera on his shoulder. “If you’ve got a few minutes, we could get your intro interview out of the way.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world,” Silas promised. He dropped the thermos, swept off his baseball cap, and shoved a hand through golden waves. “How do I look?”
They both stared at him for a beat too long.
“Um,” Maggie said.
Dean giggled nervously.
“Fine. You look…fine,” she said. “I’ll just go check on the electrical inside.”
“Hang on,” Silas said.
“Freeze!” Dean said at the same time, snapping out of his flirt zone.
“I believe you promised you’d hold my hand,” Silas reminded her.
She feigned a wince. “Ooh. Didn’t get it in writing though, did you?”
“Workaholic Nichols will stand by and supervise,” Dean said, resetting the tripod and pointing the camera in Silas’s direction.
“That’s a small camera,” Silas observed.
“Small but mighty,” Dean told him.
“I was expecting TV cameras and those cool folding director’s chairs,” Silas admitted.
“Our production’s pretty lean,” Maggie explained, nudging him to the right so the camera would pick up more of the chaos behind him. “We use this camera for most of the interview footage. I’ve got a smaller one for selfie videos and shooting on the fly. Sometimes we shoot on our phones. And Dean has a drone.”
Silas was watching her with interest. It made her nervous all over again. She unhooked the lavalier mic from her shirt and held it out to him. But he made no move to take it.
“You gonna stand there and hold the man’s mic all day or are you going to hook him up?” Dean asked from behind the camera.
She turned around, stuck her tongue out at him, and then clipped the microphone to Silas’s T-shirt.
“This is just an introductory kind of interview. Dean or I will ask you questions, and you answer to the camera,” she said.
“I’m ready when you are,” he said with that trademark smile.
“Okay, Sly Sy,” Dean said, hitting record. “We’ll warm you up. Where’s your barfing dog today?”
Silas grinned at the mention of Kevin. “Kevin’s at doggy daycare today. I keep him at home during the early days of a job because he likes to take advantage of the chaos. He sneaks off and noses his way into everyone’s lunches. Plus, I don’t like to bring him along until the owner gives permission. Not everyone likes to find a fat pit bull napping in their recliner.”
“Maggie doesn’t have a recliner, so I’m sure Kevin’s welcome here,” Dean said.
“He is. And if you need to keep him out of trouble, there are plenty of places inside he can hang out.”
Silas’s gray eyes were warm and amused and locked on her face. It made her wish she had something to do with her hands.
“So, tell us about yourself,” Dean said, directing them back to the task at hand.
Silas crossed his arms over his chest, little beads of sweat glinting in the sun in blue-collar perfection. “I’m Silas Wright, owner of Bitterroot Landscapes in Kinship, Idaho,” he began.
Maggie could hear subscribers swooning right out of their seats.
“What does it mean to you to be a part of this project?” Dean asked.
“The Old Campbell Place is part of our history in this town. Anyone who’s ever come to Kinship sees the big house on the hill and wonders about it. It’s a dream come true to get my hands on her,” he said, his gaze sliding to Maggie again.
She absolutely refused to think about the idea of him getting his hands on…anything.
“History’s important to Idahoans,” Silas continued. “We’re part of the Wild West. We like to make our mark on things. And we’re all proud that Maggie asked us to be a part of breathing life back into this landmark.”
Swoony. Savvy. Smart. She couldn’t wait for the world to get their first glimpse of Silas Wright.
When Dean asked him for an overview of what his crew would be doing, Silas suggested they walk and talk. Maggie followed along behind them as Dean filmed and Silas charmed. She found herself getting excited all over again as he discussed the plans for the grounds.