Page 70 of Track of Courage

Dawson stared at him. “What?”

“She’s not at all like I expected. Quieter, for one, and resilient, although anyone who stands on a stage for three hours in five-inch stilettos has to have some kind of resilience.” He laughed.

Landon finished, walked over. “My boys have been freaking out for three days. They’re dying for an autograph.”

Again, Dawson just looked at him. “I don’t ...whatare you talking about?”

“Don’t you recognize her?” Griffin asked. “She’s Bliss.”

A beat while he scrolled through any recognition. Wait—“The pop singer?”

Bliss. He’d heard her songs on the radio, of course, and, “No. That’s not right. I saw her perform once. She wore an all-pink bodysuit, glitter on her face, and go-go boots. I think it was—”

“The Grammys, two years ago. I saw it while I was at Walter Reed. We all did—it was memorable. But she did have pipes. Hopefully the surgery worked, and she’ll get them back.”

So much to unpack there, butBliss?

So that was her secret. And yes, a big one.

“She never said a word.”

Griffin looked at Landon. Back to Dawson. “Sorry. I thought you knew. River recognized her right away, and Bliss—Keely—asked her to keep it quiet. That’s why I thought you never mentioned it. Sorry, man.”

“Why would she not tell me?”

Griffin picked up one end of the canvas tote, grunted. Dawson moved in to grab the other side, but Landon beat him to it.

“Maybe she thought you already knew.” He and Landon moved off with the tote.

Dawson stood in the chill of the barn.“You don’t knowanything about me.”

But he did, like he said. He knew about Vic, and her dad, and the death of her mother. He knew she could fix a car and...

Maybe that was the part shewantedhim to know.

The Bliss part? So, maybe he didn’t know her.

Still. Okay. So she was a city girl. And famous.

Very famous.

Except,“I like it here. I thinkI never want to leave.”

Yeah, he needed answers. Dawson blew out a breath and followed Griffin into the house.

He hadn’t realized how long he’d been gone. A few families sat at long tables, some of them with books open. He recognized homeschool when he saw it.

Caspian went from family to family, stopping to nose a kid, get a pat, and move on. Sheesh, the guy was in some kind of heaven here. Had stopped edging up to him, pushing against him as if needy. Still sat with his back to him, however.

Maybe he should leave Caspian behind, let him be a community dog. The thought put a slight fist in his chest. Still, he hadn’t been Dawson’s dog, really.

He could admit a spurt of warmth, however, when the dog spotted him and came bounding over. Sat and lifted a paw.

Dawson shook it—silly dog—and then petted him.

He glanced into the kitchen, spotted River and Nance and a few others, but no sign of Keely.

Movement at the top of the stairs caught his eye.