I settled my bulky blanket around me and climbed on then took a sip. Icy and perfect. “So good.”
“You have a lot more color than you did last night.”
I sighed. “Yeah, sorry that I scared you. I knew I was pushing too hard, but it was the last night, and I couldn’t let my fans down.”
“You have to take care of yourself, or your fans won’t have you at all.”
I winced. “You’re right.”I was afraid to check my phone to see the aftermath of my collapse on stage.
I just hoped the house lights were down enough that I’d been hidden.
There was nothing I could do about it now anyway. I’d hear from Stevie sooner or later. Heck, she’d probably already blown up my phone. That was tomorrow’s problem.
“Your brother is driving in tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, geeze. Danny doesn’t need to come. He just started his residency.”
“He won’t be happy until he looks you over himself.”
I rolled my eyes. My little brother was a newly minted ER doctor who was fighting for his life—and sanity—at Albany Medical. Haven was about ninety minutes northwest of the capital region.
I finished off three cookies and tried not to feel guilty about it. The glass of milk was also another no-no on my usual diet. However, I wasn’t training to run around a stage for two hours anymore.
I reached across and filched another cookie.
“That is not a proper dinner.”
“I know, but I missed out on the fish fries.”
“Sorry, they don’t really reheat very well.”
I shrugged. “All good.”
“I can make you an omelet.”
“Oh, yes please.”
She smiled and turned away to grab a few eggs from the perpetual basketful next to the fridge. Ten minutes later I was tucking into a cheesy and tomato omelet and listening with half an ear to the town gossip. My mind was wandering as she talked about the Halloween parade happening the following weekend.
It was a staple for Haven in the fall and one of my personal favorite things. It was one time where I could sneak around and no one knew who I was.
For the most part, the people of Haven didn’t see me as anything other than Sadie and Thomas Dalton’s daughter, but enough were dazzled by my fame to make things a little tricky sometimes.
A name dented the endless small-town gossip and had me holding up a hand. “Wait, what did you just say about Tate?”
The name itself made something tingle inside of me for the first time in months. Then again, Tate Reynolds had always made me sit up and take notice. He’d been the boy next door for my entire life. The one who made me wonder what boys were all about for the first time as a teen.
But he was a year older than me and just enough out of reach that I never was really on his radar. Except that one, almost moment.
Boy did I dream about his celadon eyes though.
“Didn’t you read my email about Tate?”
I winced. “Sorry, Mom. I was juggling so many things I think I only skimmed it for stuff about you and Dad.”
She gave me an exasperated sigh. “It was a pretty big bit of information, honey.”
“Well, now you get to tell me in person.”
