Page 41 of Hero on the Road
His expression changed to one of pure innocence. “Nothing. I said I’m excited to get breakfast with you. Want to get breakfast? I dreamed about it all night.”
I narrowed my eyes, seeing the lie for what it was, but he gave me his best impression of a cherubic choir boy, all big eyes and raised eyebrows.
“Breakfast?” he asked again.
“Oh my God, yes. Breakfast,” I finally gave in, waving him off.
But as he slithered out of his sleeping back and opened up the van, looking around for the nearest bathroom, I watched him, wondering. Colin was just doing his job, covering the band he was following. And he was doing a pretty good job of it, in my opinion.
Connor evidently didn’t think so.
Was he... jealous?
Why?
* * *
We went to the fair right after breakfast and stopped at the entry, just to appreciate all the noise, color, and movement. The entire park was taking up by booths, a pony ride, what looked like an archery contest, and a stage where kids were dancing to the stereo. People were laughing and eating and blowing up balloons in the sunshine; weaving flowers for their hair and gossiping with each other.
“Looks like that summer fair in Arberry,” I noted quietly.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” he replied. “Makes me miss home.”
“Have you talked to anyone there lately?” I asked, feeling homesick as well. I’d been in Nashville for months—years, even—and it had started to feel comfortable to me, but being on this tour and in the middle of so many small communities had made me realize that I was a small town girl at heart. I liked the big city and all the action, but a part of me would always belong to a town where there was one main street and several smaller ones, and that was it.
I liked being in places where I knew everyone’s name.
I liked that Connor had come from that sort of place, too—the same place, actually. And I wondered if this tour had had the same effect on him.
“I want to go home,” I said. “I miss Arberry.”
I felt him turn to look at me but didn’t look up at him. I’d just admitted something that was deeply personal and I wasn’t sure I was ready to see how he’d taken it. I went to such great lengths to protect myself. And yet here I was admitting one of my most closely held secrets to someone who could take it and use it against me.
Not that I thought he would. Connor Wheating was quite possibly the best person I’d ever met. But still. Admitting weaknesses didn’t come easy to me. And there had been people who’d used them against me before.
Like my previous singing partner.
“Well we’ll be back there soon enough,” he finally answered. “The big show in Bozeman is the last one. One more week and we’ll be on a flight home.”
One more week. It was impossible to believe. Yes, it had been a short tour and I’d known that from the start. But it had also soaked right into my body and become... a way of life. In a few short weeks I’d gotten so used to being on the road with Connor that I didn’t really know how to feel about it being nearly over.
In front of us, on the stage, someone started playing a song that I recognized, and I shook my head. “Hey, I recognize that song.”
It was one of ours. One of the ballads that we’d been using at the start of the shows to warm the crowd up. We’d written it together and it had the sound that I’d come to realize flowed through all of our songs. Something with minor keys that pulled at your heart and made you want to sway slowly, taking the music in and making it part of yourself. Sure, the lyrics were great. They were mine. But the music was something Connor and I did together.
The thought made my eyes wet with unshed emotion. Because in a week, we’d be going our separate ways and this would just be a memory. Yes we’d told a lot of people here that we’d be back next year, but the reality was that was wasn’t our call. It depended on both of us actually getting contracts with Atomic and them agreeing to send us back to Montana.
It depended on us going on tour again together, and I wasn’t sure that would ever happen.
The thought cracked me through the middle.
When Connor reached down and took my hand, I looked up and saw the same realization in his eyes. He usually had a steady, bright blue gaze, alight with mischief and possibility. Right now, though, his eyes were gray with sorrow.
Neither of us was ready for this to be over.
“Dance?” he asked.
I grinned. “To our own song? Isn’t that a little bit too…”
