“Thanks for the ride.I appreciate it.”
Before I can escape, he hits a button and I’m trapped.I jerk my head to look at him.
“What the hell?”
“Child locks.”
“Yeah, I get that.Now let me out.”To myself I add,Before I do something stupid, like throw myself at you.
Boone crosses his arms and his expression turns determined.“You’re not gettin’ out of this truck until you tell me you’re not giving up on us.I saw the video of you and Frisco.I know the song.If that was supposed to be some kind of message to me, I’m sayingno fucking way.I told you we’re not done.We’ve barely gotten started.Now I need to know that you get me.”
“It was just a song.”
“Bullshit.”The word comes out with a sharp edge.“You want to feed that line to someone else, go right ahead, but I perform for a living and I know when an artist feels the lyrics they’re singing.”
“It wasn’t just about you.It was about me too.”
Boone’s blue eyes drill into mine.“And I have an even bigger problem with that.You’re not giving up on yourself either.I won’t let you.”
“That’s not a choice you get to make.”
Boone grips the steering wheel with one hand, his frustration evident as his knuckles turn white.
“Give me a chance, Ripley.Just one goddamned chance to prove that this can work, that it can be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever had in your life.”
The conviction behind his words knocks a few bricks from the wall I’ve built around my heart.
I want that.I want something beautiful.But I’m scared to believe him, and feel the sting of life ripping it away from me.
“I need to go to work.I can’t afford to lose this job, Boone.”
His lips compress into a thin, flat line and his nostrils flare.“I’ll pick you up at closing.You’re not walking home.”
“I’ll get a ride.It’s no big—”
“I’ll be here to pick you up.”
His tone leaves no room for argument, and the clock on the dash says I don’t have any more time for it either.And, dammit, I didn’t get to ask him about the charges being dropped.
“Fine.”
Boone unlocks the door, and I open it and slide out.
Before I can shut it behind me, he asks, “You gettin’ onstage again tonight?”
I shake my head.“It’s not open-mic night.Why?”
“Because I want to hear that incredible voice of yours in person.”
14
Boone
Ican do incognito.It’s a skill you hone in this business, and tonight I’m putting it to work and walking into the White Horse unnoticed.
I’m not taking the chance that Ripley will get it into her head to be stubborn and walk home.I just found her, and there’s no way I’m going to risk losing her.
Sitting at the bar, I glance at the stage, wishing I’d been here last night when the videos I saw on YouTube were recorded.Am I insanely proud that she can bring a crowd to its feet and hold them enthralled?Absolutely, even if it does complicate things.