“I was so worried about screwing up. I didn’t think playing a great show would be the problem.”
“Everyone’s got an ego,” Ruthanna said, “and stars’ egos are usually the biggest and the most easily wounded.”
AnnieLee caught a spiraling leaf and ripped it into tiny pieces. “You were never threatened by me,” she said.
Ruthanna laughed. “I’m retired, don’t forget. But if I were still playing out, I like to think I’d welcome you with open arms. I happen to believe there’s enough love—and enough ears—out there for all of us.” She paused. “You done good, kid. Don’t let Kip Hart take that away from you.”
After they hung up, AnnieLee went back inside and flung herself down on the couch. Hurt and angry, she picked up her phone again and went to her Instagram account.
That ol’ hat act should’ve opened for you, said bellacatlady.
Damn right he should have, AnnieLee thought.
I’ve got a good fiddle part for Driven, said honest2goodnessmandy.
DM it to me, AnnieLee wrote.
I know who you really are, said ark_north.
AnnieLee’s breath caught. She looked down at the next comment.
Some songs can get a girl’s jaw broke, said bax990.
AnnieLee dropped the phone as if it had turned into a snake. Every time she managed to forget all that she’d left behind, the past reared its mean, ugly head.
She got up and started digging through her old backpack. She pulled out old notebooks and holey socks and the musty sleeping bag that had once been her bed. Near the bottom of the pack, she felt the cold metal of the Smith & Wesson, and her fingers closed around it.
AnnieLee had never liked guns. But maybe it was time to start keeping hers closer.
Chapter
60
Well, well, well. What brings you back to these parts, little songbird?” Billy asked as AnnieLee came into the Cat’s Paw, practically blown through the door by the blustery October afternoon.
“Not little, Billy, remember? Sheesh,” AnnieLee said. “I’m meeting Ethan. We had a hankering for your French fries.” She looked around the familiar, welcoming room as she climbed onto a barstool. There were only a few other customers scattered around, and Willie was playing on the stereo. She’d missed the festive Christmas lights, the smell of Bar Keepers Friend, and gruff but warmhearted Billy himself. “He’s late, so that means he’s buying.”
Billy put four maraschino cherries on a little plate, shoved them toward her, and then poured her her usual drink of club soda with lime. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten about us,” he said.
“Never ever,” AnnieLee said. “I’m eternally grateful to you, remember? You gave me my first break.” She looked at him ruefully. “But my so-called big break? Well, it didn’t quite work out the way I thought it would.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, kid. But no cowboy ropes every steer, if you know what I mean. Or cowgirl—whatever. And I still hear you on the radio, so you can’t be doing that bad.”
Maybe not, AnnieLee thought, but she’d like to be doing a whole lot better. Thanks to new expenses like cottages and publicists, she was still just scraping by. And ACD was mad about Kip Hart, even though they’d seen the footage and they knew it was hardly her fault.
She popped one of the cherries into her mouth. It was so sweet it made her teeth hurt. She cocked her head toward the stage. “You got anyone playing tonight?”
“I’m giving my ears the night off,” he said. “If you were going to offer, though, now that would be something else.”
She laughed. “I’m taking the night off, too,” she said.
There was a bang from the back of the bar. Startled, AnnieLee nearly leaped off her stool. Billy glanced up in alarm as the emergency exit door swung open. But it was only Ethan striding in, followed by Ruthanna, her face nearly invisible behind huge sunglasses and a headscarf.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Billy said. “Ten years she didn’t set a high heel in this place, and then you come to town and she’s practically a regular.”
AnnieLee took a casual sip of her drink as if they hadn’t just scared her half to death.
Ethan waved. “Sorry, we had to sneak in the back,” he said. “I didn’t want a mob following us in.” He glanced around at the other customers. “These guys in here gonna be cool?”
“Yeah, they’ve pretty much only got eyes for their beers.”