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Hanging her head, she sat next to her aunt and stuttered through the story. By the time she finished, her anger had given way to embarrassment and shame. She could’ve injured someone—or worse, killed them.

“I really am a good driver, Aunt Edith. I just... ugh.” Another metaphorical slap of reality smacked her in the face, the second one that day. The first came when she took the stand after listening to the sheriff testify. Her entire body sagged. “No, I’m not. I’m an idiot who wasn’t watching the road. Thank God no one got hurt, including that damn cow.”

Edith patted her hand. “It’s over and done with. All you can do now is move forward, pay your dues, and make amends. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s part of life.” Her expression softened. “But I worry about you, Mandy. You put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect, and honey, nobody is. Stop expecting the impossible from yourself. Learn from what happened and do better next time. I know you will.”

She buried her fingers in her hair. With her driving restricted and community service mandatory, her stay in Antelope Rock had just been extended. She’d have to contact her agent and assistant. Rearranging her schedule again would cause even more problems, and she dreaded the calls she had to make.

“I need to make arrangements to stay here until my community service is done. You’re going to have the pleasure of my company longer than planned.”

“I’m not complaining. This is your home, too, Mandy. You can stay here as long as you want or need.”

Wanting a moment alone before she called her agent, Amanda kissed Edith’s temple, then stood and went to her room. She flopped face down on the bed, groaning into the comforter. She loved her aunt more than words could say, but she hated Antelope Rock. She was a city girl who loved the hustle and bustle and having a million different things to see and do. This small town was so far removed from that, it might as well have been on the freaking moon.

Rolling over, she stared at the ceiling and decided to allow herself exactly five minutes for a pity party before pulling up her big-girl panties and making the best of the situation. She didn’t have much choice, so she did what she always did—took what life gave her and spun it to her advantage. She’d fought for success her whole life and wasn’t about to stop now because of a hick cop—sheriff—and a stupid cow.

That reminded her she had to call her insurance company about her car too.

Dammit. Maybe ten minutes of self-pity would be better.

“What?” Madeline shouted in Amanda’s ear, making her wish she’d taken more time before calling her agent. Or maybe poured herself a glass of wine first.

After filing a claim with her insurance company, she’d contacted her assistant, Fenton Albright, because she thought he'd be less freaked out about her situation than Madeline. How wrong she’d been.

It had taken him fifteen minutes to stop hyperventilating and crying after she explained why she would be staying in Antelope Rock longer than expected. It took another ten minutes for him to write down everything she needed him to do. Dramatic reaction aside, she knew Fenton would take the list and run with it. He could work magic and get things done when others floundered. Sometimes, though, he just needed a moment to screech like a scalded cat first.

Aunt Edith had gone down for her afternoon nap shortly after Amanda started making calls, leaving her alone in the living room to deal with the mess the disastrous morning had created. Now, she had to deal with a dozen questions and arguments from her agent, most of them concerning her arrest, whether they could keep it from the press, and how to handle the fallout if they couldn’t.

Once the interrogation was over, Amanda added, “Tell the producers I have a sick elderly relative I’m taking care of, and I’ll be back as soon as she’s feeling better. It’s basically the truth—just leave out the part where I got arrested and I’m stuck here until I finish my community service.”

“Oh, I’m definitely leaving that part out,” Madeline retorted, then sighed. “So what do you have to do for that?”

“Well, there were a few choices—some I didn’t even want to consider, like picking up garbage on the side of the road. With my luck, I’d have another run-in with a cow. But the court clerk recognized me⁠—”

“What!”

Before Madeline could launch into another rant, Amanda cut her off. “Stop yelling. The woman was pleasant and assured me she wouldn’t go running to the press. The stenographer said the same thing.”

“And you believed them? Jesus, I’m going to have to call a meeting with public relations as soon as I hang up with you.”

She closed her eyes and dropped her chin. “Yes, I believe them. Even the damn sheriff vouched for them. Anyway, the clerk said the local high school’s drama club needs help with the sets and costumes for their upcoming spring play. Apparently, the woman who usually handles all that is pregnant and was just put on bed rest until she gives birth. So they’ve been looking for someone talented enough to help and with the time to devote to it. Since that’s right up my alley, and I unfortunately have the time, I agreed. I have to meet with the students and drama teacher tomorrow after school. When I’m done with my community service, the misdemeanor charge will be expunged from my record, and no one will care that I got a few traffic tickets in this Podunk town. Speeding tickets are practically a rite of passage in L.A. anyway.”

“Well, they may not care about that, but I can guarantee the producers are going to be pissed about pushing back the filming dates for the new season. And pissing them off is not going to help you get picked up by one of the big networks.”

Getting her own show on the major networks had been her ultimate goal for years, and she wouldn’t let this little bump in the road stop her.

“Convince them it’s necessary. That’s what I pay you to do.” She gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to scream in frustration. She’d been on an emotional roller coaster since finding out about Aunt Edith’s injury, and it had only gotten worse with the events of the past few days.

Madeline snorted. “Fine, I’ll figure out something. Just finish up your shit there, then get your ass back to L.A. Have you called Fen yet?”

“Right before I called you.”

“Did he hyperventilate?”

“Yup.”

“Wonderful.”

Amanda grinned for the first time all day. “He may be a drama queen at times, but he’s the best assistant I’ve ever had. Just don’t yell at him about anything for a few days. It took me forever to calm him down.”