Rock and A Hard Place (Cascade Brides Series) Read Online Free

“That's what the telephoto
lens is for.”
    Shane coughed, then blocked his mouth with his fist.
    “Why don't you use that cougar shot for the front of the summer
brochure for the Eastern Wildlife Conservation Association. It's
truly magnificent.”
    Pleasure made her smile genuine this time. “Thank you, Merle. That
means a lot.” And maybe if she could keep him impressed, he
wouldn't ask his nephew to horn in on her territory.
    “Come over and get a look at this, Shane. We could use stock
photography, but I pride myself on only using local images we
capture ourselves. Before the brochure goes to print, we caption it,
stating where the photograph was taken so the reader knows it's the
real deal.”
    Shane edged over for a look.
    Faith watched his face for his reaction. Surely even he would be
impressed. If he wasn't, she hoped he wouldn't be arrogant enough to
recommend improvements.
    He looked up at her. “You framed the shot well, Miss Conrad. But
if I could make a suggestion, you might consider running it through
a filter to give it a more gritty look.”
    Her smile froze. “Uh.”
    “A gritty look?” Merle asked. “What do you mean?”
    Shane's expression was benign, but that fact did not mollify Faith.
“Well, it's difficult to explain. Do you mind if I just try it? I
use this same photo editing software myself.”
    Bracing herself for the worst, Faith stepped aside even further,
hoping the direction of her movements wasn't a symbol for what was
to come. Her ankle panged in painful agreement.
    Mortification warred with curiosity at what he would come up with.
But if she had any hope of keeping her position, she would have to
become firm about letting just anyone tell her how to edit her
images.
    Shane bent over her keyboard and opened the photo-editor. With a few
clicks and a quick crop, he adjusted her photo. Faith studied the
result. Of course it looked better. She refrained from releasing a
huffy breath.
    Merle peered at the image and stroked his mustache. “I like it,
but it's rather stylized. My goal for Bascombe photos is to give the
truest portrayal of animal life in eastern Oregon.”
    Shane smiled helpfully. “It is a true portrayal because the
cougar was shot here, but the changes give the image a modern edge
that appeals to the audience you want to reach—tourists from the
valley and out of state.”
    “Hmm, I think you might be right. What do you think, Faith?”
    Faith maintained a careful expression despite the dread building
within. How many times had she asked to add an artistic slant to her
photos and how many times had her boss only wanted realism? Leave it
to the nephew to upset the apple cart. “I like it,” she said in
a noncommittal tone.
    Shane grinned, his eyes gleaming with a knowing humor. “Of course,
without an excellent base image, no amount of editing can make a
great photo. What I did was easy. Miss Conrad is the one who did the
hard part.”
    Faith was tempted to roll her eyes. He sounded like the smarty-pants
kid in school who was trying to butter up the teacher. And his look
told her he knew it. She mashed her lips together to let him know
she disapproved of his light-hearted manner. There was too much at
stake. Her job being the main thing.
    Merle straightened, a broad grin on his face. “Looks like you two
could be a real team.”
    Faith looked away, staring at the front door with unseeing eyes. I
hate being right . Turning to her boss once her emotions were
under control, she kept her tone level. “I'm sure Mr. Zadopec's
ranger activities give him a lot of opportunity to get even better
shots.” But she couldn't bring herself to say what followed. Perhaps he should have my job .
    When she peered up at her competition, Shane caught her gaze and
held it. “Actually, my work keeps me a little too busy for that.
Getting an occasional shot is one thing, doing all the design work
is another. But I do have access to restricted lands that could help
you in your