Page 65 of Under the Ink

“Let me go ask him.” Naomi walked to the front of the bus and quietly sat in the passenger side chair, not wanting to distract or alarm him. She figured she’d wait a few seconds before saying something, but he beat her to it.

“How are things going, Miss Naomi?”

“Morning, Pat—if you could call itmorning.”

“Oh, I do. See how the sky’s getting lighter? How you can’t see any stars no more?”

“I guess.”

“Sunrise is coming soon. It’s one of my favorite times of day.”

Naomi nodded but here in this bus she couldn’t see how the man could enjoy it. After a few more quiet seconds, she said, “Sage made some coffee and I wondered if you’d like some.”

The way his face lit up and his brown eyes sparkled when he glanced away from the empty highway said it all. “I’d love that. My travel mug is in that holder.”

Picking up the silver mug, she asked, “How much do you want?”

“However much you want to put in there.”

“Do you want cream or sugar or anything?”

“Nope. Black’s fine.”

“Okay. Be right back.” As she made her way back to the kitchen, Sage gave her a nod. “Do you care if I fill up his cup?”

“Nah. We can always make more.” While she took the lid off and started pouring coffee in, Sage asked, “How do you know him?”

“I talk with him all the time. Are you such a big rock star that you don’t mix with the riffraff?”

Sage laughed. “Yeah, that’s it. Have you noticed I completely ignore the roadies and the fans?”

“You know what I mean. Pat’s a good guy—and he always gets you to venues safely and on time. So maybe it wouldn’t hurt if you said hi once in a while.”

While Naomi slid the lid back on the cup, he said, “You’re right. So would you mind ifItook the coffee to him?”

This guy…he was hard to not like. But that was all she felt:fondness. There was not and would not be anything more than that. But she was beginning to realize it was nice having a real friend out here.

A couple, actually. Pat also had her back.

“Yeah, why not?”

As he walked away, he said, “I already poured you a cup—but you’ll have to doctor it up however you like it.”

“If you made it right, I won’t need todoctor it up.”

Sage made a funny face at her and she half expected that silly British voice to come flying out of his mouth—but maybe that was a reminder that they were going to have a halfway serious conversation.

Damn it all to hell.

They’d had a good enough time together. Why couldn’t they just leave it at that?

Picking up the cup of coffee, Naomi hesitated for a brief second before taking a sip. But that was stupid. If she could trust anyone on this bus, it would be Sage.

Wouldn’t it?

It warmed her heart to see Sage actually talking for a bit to Pat. Back here in the kitchen area, she couldn’t hear the actual conversation. When Sage stepped back into the living area and said, “Give us a holler if you need a refill” and Pat responded positively, shecouldhear that.

Getting closer to her again, Sage said, “You want to sit here at the table?”

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