She blinked. “Oh. You really didn’t.”
I sat up straighter. “Lydia, could you just explain instead of talking in circles?”
“He was huge,” she said. “Not, like, fill a stadium huge, but radio huge. He was a big up and coming country singer. Caleb had awards and was doing a country wide tour. He was everywhere for a while.”
I stared at her. “You’re joking.”
“I am absolutely not joking,” she said. “He had songs that people cried to. There was a whole phase. I even used some of his music in my videos under fair use.”
My mind raced backward, rearranging memories. His refusal to perform. His calm distance. The way he never talked about music like it was a goal anymore, only a craft.
“He never mentioned it,” I said quietly.
“Why would he?” Lydia replied. “He moved to a small town and opened a music store and repair shop. That’s not a man clinging to fame.”
I swallowed. “How do you know this?”
She shrugged. “People talk. Also, Jane listens to the radio like it’s still 2012.”
My cheeks warmed, embarrassment blooming too late to stop it. “I asked him for help with the talent show.”
Lydia winced. “Oh.”
“And he thought I was asking him to perform,” I continued, the pieces sliding into place with painful clarity.
“He disappeared out of nowhere so I’m assuming something happened,” Lydia said gently. “There were a lot of rumors but no one knows the story for sure. Well, I suppose Caleb knows.”
I closed my eyes. “I had no idea.”
“I don’t think he thought you did,” she said. “But I can see why he reacted.”
I let out a slow breath, pressing my fingers against my forehead. I had accidentally walked straight into a history I didn't know existed.
Later that night, when the inn finally quieted and I thought everyone had gone to bed, curiosity got the better of me.
I opened my laptop and stared at the search bar longer than necessary.
Caleb Green.
I hesitated, then typed his name and hit enter.
The results populated quickly with articles and images. Old interviews frozen in time. A younger version of him with longer hair and a guitar slung low across his body, smiling like the world had not yet taught him caution.
I clicked one.
The headline talked about a sold-out tour. Another mentioned an abrupt hiatus. None of them explained why.
I closed the laptop slowly with more questions than answers.
Caleb had not pushed me away because I asked too much.
He had pushed me away because I had unknowingly asked him to step back into something he had very deliberately left behind.
Downstairs, a door opened with unnecessary force.
“Kitty,” Lydia’s voice rang out. “Do not panic.”
I panicked immediately.
