Cheers and stomping revealed an audience that was well and truly drunk with beer and glorious entertainment, high on music in a way that hadn’t anticipated. A happy, happy crowd.
She grinned and raised her guitar briefly overhead like a prizefighter and let the cheers rain down on her as if they could soak into her skin, right down into her soul, wash out every ache she’d ever had.
Wash out how it felt to have Eli standing there next to another woman, who would ride home with him in the dark, and maybe he would kiss her, and maybe he would even make love to her, but the whole time, thewholetime Glory was sure he’d be thinking about her so hard it would be a wonder he didn’t cry out her name.
It wasn’t fair but life wasn’t fair and love might as well be war and music was hers to use any way she wanted.
And then Glenn grabbed the mic from her and practically elbowed her out of the way.
So much for mystique. But zoning and noise laws were what they were.
“Thank you, Glory Greenleaf! Wasn’t she fantastic? Thank you all for coming! Now get out!”
The crowd laughed merrily. Everyone thought Glenn was a character.
But he meant business.
A kid fought his way up to the front.
“That was awesome, man. Glory! Do you have a CD I can buy? Will you sign my boobs?”
He hiked up his shirt.
Jesus. He was pretty hairy.
But earnest.
“I don’t have a Sharpie on me, but—” she started.
Another guy popped up. He had a huge beard and a zealous gleam in his eyes.
“You wereincredible. You remind me sort of Adele meets Grace Slick meets PJ Harvey meets—”
“GET OUT, young man. Shoo!” Glenn waved his arms at them like they were bears getting into the garbage.
They scrambled backward and turned and jogged for the exits.
So much for savoring the afterglow.
But she understood. There were noise laws and there was at least one lawman on the premises.
“I can’t thank you enough, Monroe. You werebrilliant.” She high-fived him.
They were both incredibly sweaty. His Motörhead shirt was glued to him.
“You, too, Glory. I loved it. Hey, I’d stick around to talk some more, but gotta strike while the iron’s hot. You know how it is.”
She rolled her eyes, but she fist-bumped him.
He grinned and leaped off the stage. Given that he was a newly anointed rock star for the evening. A cluster of girls were around him almost immediately, chattering happily.
She hoped Monroe got lucky tonight. He might not ever find the perfect death-metal singer here in Hellcat Canyon, but getting laid might help take the edge off the disappointment, and she knew how precious dreams were.
“OUT!” Glenn bellowed into the mic, and the final stragglers finally massed and scurried out. “Drive safely, people. We want you to get home alive. And if you drive drunk our deputies will get you immediately.”
Glory reflexively reached down into her case for her red bandanna to begin wiping down her strings.
“Here.” Glenn pressed something into her hand. It looked like a stack of order pads.
