Page 79 of Country Music Cowboy

“Stop it. You have never let me down.” Never.And I’ll never let you down.

“It’s not you, Loretta, is what I’m getting at. You hear me? You’ve been dealt a crap hand until now. Now…well, I think you’ve got all the cards you need to play through.”

“You know I don’t play cards.” But Loretta was laughing.

“I don’t either. I doubt what I said made a lick of sense.” She giggled. “But you know what I’m getting at.”

“Ithinkso.” She knew exactly what Margot was getting at. She didn’t do feelings because she didn’t want to be disappointed or hurt again. Or hurt someone else. According to her father, she was very good at both. “How are you feeling?”

Loretta hung up sometime later. Margot was doing well—at least that’s what she’d told Loretta. There were times Loretta worried Margot was keeping things from her.Just like what I’m doing to protect her.The difference was Loretta was trying to preserve her peace of mind. If Margot was keeping secrets… Well, Loretta didn’t want to think about that.

The water was cold and the bubbles were mostly gone by the time she pulled herself out of the massive garden tub. She rinsed off the bubbles, reached for the room service menu, and flopped onto the bed in her favorite pink fluffy robe.

Her phone started ringing.

Unknown caller.

She pressed ignore and hopped up when room service knocked on the door.

“Sawyer?” She frowned. “What are you doing here?”

He handed her a manila envelope. “Travis wanted you to take a look at this.”

“He sent you?” She took the envelope and opened it. The first words…

“Sawyer.” She didn’t make it very far. With a shake of her head, she shoved the pages back into the envelope. “Give it back to him.” Her eyes were stinging.Do not cry.

“I think he wanted you to keep it.” His voice was gruff.

Her eyes were burning now. “I can’t.” Her voice wavered and she sniffed. “Just, here.” She shoved it at him and slammed the door in his face.

But Travis’s words were still there. The lyrics their own sort of melody.

One night is what you offered,

I said yes, of course.

But let’s make that forever, just me loving you.

Rules are meant to be broken.

I’ll break them all for you.

It was a song.Just a song.

She headed back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. Why had she reacted that way? It wasn’t the first time bits of real life had spilled over into music. But the forever part? The love? That was pure fiction.Part of the song.

She wiped the tear from her cheek and shook her head.This is why I don’t do feelings.Once they started, she didn’t know how to stop them. It was that lack of control part that made her fight so damn hard not to feel.

Her phone beeped. One missed call and voicemail.

She dialed her voicemail.

“Loretta, it’s your father.” He broke off, his voice thick and slurred. “I’m here. Came all this way to see your show, a proud papa. I came to see you… Where are you? Am I talking to your damn cell phone? After all I’ve done to get you here and you can’t even take a phone call from your daddy?” He sighed. “I need you to come get me, Loretta. I need you now, you hear me? Where am I?” There was another voice, deep and gruff. “I’m at the South Salt Lake City Police Department. South. You hear? You come and bail me out. If you don’t, I guess I’ll have to call that lady back atTNM—let her know you’re letting me sit here in a jail cell all night.”

Loretta hung up, threw her phone onto the bed, and pulled on some clothes. He was here? After years of phone calls and canceled plans, he was here. If he had an ulterior motive, she’d deal with it later. For now, she’d pretend that he’d come just to see her and her show.

The burning was back—and a solid lump blocking her throat.