Page 85 of Country Music Cowboy
“It didn’t.” Krystal shook her head, cradling her guitar close. “I think, maybe, Travis overheard something last night. Something Emmy Lou and I were talking about.” She glanced at Jace. “Something that would have really, really upset him.”
Loretta’s heart dropped. Travis… “But Sawyer is with him?” Sawyer was levelheaded. He might not be the most emotive man on the planet but, in a crisis, he’d remained calm. Last night, she’d appreciated that.
“I don’t know.” Emmy Lou shrugged.
It wasn’t the first time Loretta felt that prick of unease along her spine. Whatever had the three of them worked up, they knew more than they were letting on. Whether she had the right to it or not, it angered her.
“If Travis… If you’re worried about him drinking, shouldn’t we call his sponsor?” Loretta asked. “That’s what he’s there for. And, if Travis needs help, then we should get it for him, shouldn’t we?”
Jace nodded. “Yeah. I’ll call Archie.” Phone in hand, he walked off the stage.
Loretta forced herself to breathe. She’d been here before. With her father. With Johnny. Teetering on that line of despair and anger and hope. Despair that all they’d worked toward was gone. Anger that they’d let themselves slip. And hope that there was still time to step in and stop this before it got out of hand.
But, dammit, Travis wasn’t her father. It had taken her a while to accept that Travis King wanted to get sober. He’d had that a-ha lightbulb moment. He was all about owning his decisions and choices. He wouldn’t do this.
He wasn’t Johnny either. Travis had a strength Johnny never had. Johnny’s light wavered long before his death. But Travis? She’d never know a person to burn as bright as he did. He was too alive, too vital and determined—stubborn even.
“He won’t drink,” she said. She said it and she meant it. “He won’t.”
Krystal and Emmy Lou looked at her then, uncertain.
“Loretta, you don’t know—”
“I don’t need to.” She interrupted Emmy Lou. “I trust him. That’s what he needs. You to trust him.”
Emmy Lou reached out, her lower lip trembling. “How can you be so sure?”
Loretta took her hand. “I just…am.” She squeezed her hand. “He’s so damn stubborn. After all the gossip and radio and trash-talk, he won’t drink just to prove the whole damn world they’re wrong about him.”
Krystal’s smile was reluctant. “She’s got a point.”
Jace returned. “I called. He said he’ll call him, but he’s not worried.”
“Well if his sponsor isn’t worried and Loretta’s not worried, maybe we should trust that he’s doing something important and we should rehearse?” Krystal asked.
As far as rehearsals went, they sounded terrible, but Loretta appreciated the effort they all made. They had dinner together in one of the greenrooms, sharing cartons of Peking duck, chow mein, kung pao chicken, and spring rolls while helping Jace solve a celebrity crossword puzzle.
By the time they split up and headed for their dressing rooms, Loretta was on edge. It wasn’t that she’d changed her mind about Travis; she hadn’t. But what if something had happened to him? What if something was wrong—something that had nothing to do with his recovery?
He’s fine.She looked her reflection in the eye.He is fine.
Wardrobe was first. The costumer had designed matching dresses for all three women. Skin-tight and suede, with small cutouts of stars and hearts. But tonight, her peacock dress felt too hot and extra tight. Her hair was smoothed and ironed and sprayed while color and foundation, cream and powders were dusted and sponged and blended until her reflection was bright and shiny and technicolor.
He is fine.
Final touches like the black choker necklace with the peacock stone heart and shimmering peacock earrings signaled the end of all the prep work.
She almost fell out of her director’s chair when her phone vibrated.
He’s here,Emmy Lou texted, followed by a string of thumbs-up, smiling, and clapping hands emojis.
She hurried down the hall to wait in the wings of the stage for her entrance, for her and Travis’s first song, “Close and Deep.” When the lights dimmed, she maneuvered her way across the cords and tape, light stands and support poles, until his broad back was in sight.
Travis.She could breathe and the fear that had a vise-grip on her heart slowly began to fade.
He turned right about the time she reached his side. The opening song had a lot of flash. Drums and confetti, a guitar solo, and a whole lot of Travis stirring up the crowd. The lights came up and Loretta drank him in. Travis. Those blue-green eyes. Right here. He was breathing fast and there was a hint of sweat on his brow, but it was his smile that did her in. That smile reached into her chest and decimated the walls she’d spent years reinforcing to protect her heart. One smile.
I love you.Dammit.I’m a damn fool.But it was true. She reached out, grabbed the front of his shirt, and held on.
