Page 7 of Country Music Cowboy
As far as choreography went, they didn’t really have any. She walked in from one side of the stage, he walked in from the other side, and they met in the middle to finish the song.
“I’m fine just walking through our marks?” Loretta asked, glancing Travis’s way. No singing. No dragging this out. Just run through their blocking, pausing on the little taped “x” marks for the right amount of time, then moving on to the next. That would wind things up nice and quick.
Travis ran his fingers through his hair, the muscle in his jaw twitching. “Fine by me.”
The hair, the jaw twitch, the shift of his arm muscle… She had to admit there was a certain mesmerizingly virile quality about Travis King. He was ripped. Distractingly so. If she hadn’t seen him popping pills with a whiskey chaser, she’d have thought he was some health nut that worked out all the time.
Travis’s blue-green gaze bounced her way—and held.
Even knowing he was all the things she despised most didn’t dampen the rush of warmth that filled her belly. The sudden tightness in her chest only compounded her frustration. She was only vaguely aware of Gabriel saying, “Wonderful.”
Wonderful?This was not wonderful.No, it’s fine.She was in control of this situation. A pretty face and an incredible body were not going to cloud her judgment.I refuse to be distracted by you.With an impatient sigh, she ended the over-long look with a pointed glare and all but stomped off the stage to wait for Gabriel’s count.
Altogether, it took less than three minutes and they were standing awkwardly in the middle of the stage.
A smattering of applause broke out from the back of the dimly lit theater.
“Bravo!” A woman’s voice echoed from the shadows. “I’m pretty sure there was supposed to be a song, though.”
Travis groaned.
“Behave.” Another woman’s voice. “You two look good together. I can’t wait to hear how you sound.”
Travis groaned again. “You’ve met my sisters? I’d hoped they wouldn’t come after I explained things to them. But they didn’t believe me.” He shook his head. “I’ll go ahead and apologize now.”
“What?” Loretta was still scrambling to understand what he’d said. She’d managed to glean his sisters were here, but that was it.
“You. Not liking me.” He shrugged. “They don’t believe you—No, I guess they don’t believeIwas telling the truth about younotliking me.” He shook his head, the corner of his mouth kicking up. “Most people like me. I’m a likable kind of guy. Try it, you’ll see.”
He’d told his sisters what she’d said? And now they were here? Loretta was horrified. But before she had time to make a quick exit, the beloved twins of country music, Krystal and Emmy Lou King, were walking across the stage toward her.
Loretta had nothing but respect for the sisters. As musicians and advocates for several worthwhile charities, they understood the difference they could make—beyond their music. They might be twins, but they were as different as night and day. While she didn’t know them all that well, the Kings were media and tabloid staples.
The midnight black stripe that had been added to one twin’s signature long honey-blond locks was a dead giveaway as to which twin was Krystal. But, even without the hair, Krystal’s resting bitch face and confident “Fuck you” vibe was unmistakable. What Loretta admired most was the woman’s refusal to explain or apologize for who she was. And who Krystal King was, was one hell of a performer—and one hell of a survivor.
Emmy Lou King had some sort of inner glow thing happening. She was like a fairy-tale princess come to life. From her megawatt smile to her genuine warmth, Emmy Lou King oozed “it.” Star power. Like millions of Instagram and Twitter followers and record sales and ridiculously loyal and adoring fans sort of star power. And yet, somehow, she’d managed not to lose her down-to-earth accessibility and, by all appearances, kindness.
“Loretta.” Emmy Lou drew her into a hug. “My heart hurts for you. I am so sorry about Johnny. He was a gentle soul.”
Between the emotion lacing Emmy Lou’s words and the ferocity of her unexpected embrace, Loretta nearly crumpled. There were times she ached for this—for support. Just as quickly, Emmy Lou stepped back and Loretta did her best to recover.
“I didn’t know him all that well, but I loved every single one of his songs. His lyrics said a lot about who he was, I think,” Krystal said, her green eyes assessing. “I am sorry. I can’t imagine how hard this has been for you.”
The ache in Loretta’s chest turned painful, but she did manage to say, “Thank you.” She could leave now, couldn’t she? The sting on her eyes was telling; so was the lump in her throat. She really needed to leave. “Well, it was nice to see you.”
“We thought, maybe, you’d like to have dinner?” Emmy Lou asked.
They wanted her to have dinner with them. She’d been thinking “Why?” but apparently, she’d said it too. And now they were all staring at her.Because that was rude.“I mean, that’s kind of you, but—”
“That’s Emmy Lou.” Krystal smiled, nudging her twin. “She’s kind. I’m not. But we are both nosy. Which is another reason we were hoping you’d come to dinner.”
Which was a bit brash but Loretta appreciated the woman’s honesty.
“Krystal.” Emmy Lou looked and sounded mortified.
Travis mumbled, “And now you see why I apologized.”
“You apologized?” Krystal’s brows rose, shooting her brother a narrow-eyed glare. “For us?Really?”
