Suddenly, the mood shifts.
Caleb’s smirk drops and his shoulders pull back. “Ready, ma’am.”
“I’ve been ready my whole life,” Rust says.
Erin puts on her instructor game face. “Let’s give Dalton heck!”
A tear slips down my cheek, my belly tingling with nerves. Tonight’s gonna be one of the hardest nights of my life, but I’m glad I don’t have to do it alone.
50
TALLY
Hidden in a side street,Rust and I watch a neon pink stretch limo with tinted windows pull up to the front entrance of the venue. The rumbling motor wakes the group of paparazzi and fans from their bored stupor. Like hypnotized lemmings, they stream toward the flashy vehicle.
“Thanks again for doing this,” I say into the phone pressed against my ear.
Erin’s bright laughter rings through the line. “I should be the one thankin’ you. You really splurged. A first-class flight to LA, a designer outfit, and now I get to pretend to be a superstar. That’s every little girl’s dream!”
I smile even though she can’t see it. “You got my old, empty guitar case with the tracker?”
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll leave it in the car when we enter the venue. Everything will work out fine.”
“And I’ll protect your pretty,singlefriend!” Caleb shouts in the background.
Erin sighs, but it doesn’t sound entirely annoyed. More flustered. Maybe a little amused. “Since we got in thestretch limo, he’s been doin’ the seductive drawl thing again. He already compared my eyes to a summer creek and my hair to golden wheat. Then he tried to impress me with facts about Kentucky. I almost threw hands when he first mentioned his balls.”
“I saidBourbonBalls!” Caleb yowls.
I look at Rust. “He told Erin about his Bourbon Balls.”
“Took me a while to figure out he was talking about chocolates…” Erin mumbles.
Rust smirks. “Let me guess. He pulled out the creek eyes line, too.”
“Yep.”
Rust gives a grave nod. “Tell her she has my condolences.”
“Hey, I heard that!” Caleb shouts. “Bourbon is the cultural heritage of Kentucky. Everybody should know about it. And Bourbon Balls are delicious! My nana gave me her recipe.”
“I’m straight edge,” Erin cuts in. “And that doesn’t explain the weird compliments.”
“Well, ma’am…” Caleb’s voice fades a little like he’s turned away from the phone and toward Erin, presumably. “I’m a simple country man and you got the kind of beauty that’s like the sunset. I don’t choose to look; I’m just honorin’ the perfect creation God put in front of me.”
Erin gasps. I can basically see her blush in my mind’s eye. “A-anyway, gotta go, Tally. My fans—I meanyourfans—are waiting.”
She hangs up. Cameras flash as a blond man in a black designer suit gets out of the limo. There is no trace of the smiley, casual guy Caleb usually is. Playing the bodyguard with his mouth pulled into a grim scowl, he actually looks scary.
“Give him another hour with her and Erin will fold like a house of cards,” Rust says, warmth in his tone.
“She’s doomed. Tragic. They’re gonna have cute blond angel babies,” I agree.
Caleb pushes back the crowd when the sunroof of the limousine opens and a blond bombshell with a bedazzled cowboy hat and oversized sunglasses peeks out.
“Tally! Over here!” a photographer shouts.
My knees sag with relief.
