Page 123 of Need You
“Yep.” Colt nodded his head.
“But you think she’s running away, like Lisa did?”
“Ah, jeez. I just got an earful from Carrie Jo. Enough, already. It’s not like we were a couple. Whatever she wants to do is fine.”
“Ah, that’s bullshit, Colt. We can all see that you care about her.”
He more than cared about her. This time he didn’t know if a rash of cave diving, BASE jumping, and extreme skiing would fix the damage she could do.
“We truck in two different worlds,” he said. “I knew that from the get-go, so it’s nothing like Lisa. Don’t you have a tour to guide, paperwork to do?”
Josh gave him another one of his penetrating army ranger stares. “You can lie to yourself all you want but you’re not fooling me. I almost lost Hannah because of stupid pride. If Delaney is important to you, which I know she is, man up and make it happen.”
Josh got to his feet and walked out. Good! Colt was tired of everyone telling him how to run his life. The clock on the wall said lunchtime and that’s the only advice he had use for. He hauled his ass out of his chair and walked over to Old Glory for a burger.
The usual crowd was there, including Rita, who avoided eye contact with him. That couldn’t be good. Colt took a seat at the bar. Boden came out from the kitchen and took his order. At least he had the decency not to ask Colt about Delaney, too caught up with the good-looking brunette filling out a job application.
Halfway through his burger “Crazy about You” came over the sound system. Just what Colt needed. Boden stopped talking to the brunette, opened a panel behind the bar, and the music suddenly changed to a Bruce Springsteen song. A couple of patrons grumbled. Colt bobbed his head at Boden and left without finishing his meal, his mind made up.
After returning to the office, he got on his computer, then went into Jack’s office to ask if he’d cover him. Colt needed a few personal days. The next morning, he got in his truck and drove to Portland.
It took ten hours, but he made it in time to get to the Moda Center before the show opened. Tickets were sold out. He wandered to the back of the stadium, hoping to find a roadie or someone who had access to the talent. Eventually, he latched on to a security guard, whom he showed his police badge to. Pretty unethical, but it got him in the door.
He wandered the bowels of the center, looking for someone who seemed important enough to get him where he wanted to go. A couple of gaffers taped cords to the stage and he managed to get their attention.
“You know Gordon Richards?” he asked, and one of them grunted in the affirmative but kept his eyes on his task. “Can you get him a message for me?” Once again, Colt flashed his badge. That got the guy’s attention.
“Gordon’s busy.” The other one wasn’t impressed. “Show starts in an hour, so unless you’ve got a warrant . . .”
“You want me to pull Lisa Laredo out and make a scene during the show?” he bluffed. “Tell Gordon that Colt Garner is here. That it concerns Ms. Laredo’s future.”
The stagehand got up and stood in Colt’s face. “You know how many whack jobs have used that line in the past? Look, buddy, in ten seconds I’ll have you thrown out on your head. Why don’t you save yourself the embarrassment?”
“Colt?”
Colt’s head jerked up, remembering that voice as if it were yesterday. She looked good, Lisa did. Thinner than he liked, but beautiful.
“You want me to call security?” the stagehand said, showing no surprise that the number-one country act in America was standing next to an empty stage in an empty room in a pair of faded jeans and a college sweatshirt.
“No, he’s a friend.”
A friend? That was a good one.
“Did you come to see the show?” she asked him, a hesitance in her voice.
“I came to talk to you.”
“You could’ve just called.” She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and Colt could tell she was nervous.
“Like I did all those other times when you first left?” She hadn’t even had the decency to tell him where he stood.
“Colt . . . there’s someone else now.”
“Seriously, you think I’m here to get you back?” He laughed. “You want to do this now or in private? Makes no difference to me. I’d like to get on the road before traffic.”
She shuffled again, clearly contemplating what to do. It would be a little strange for her to call security after she’d told the gaffers he was a friend. “Come with me.”
He followed her through a private hallway to a dressing room. The cloying smell from all the flowers gave him a headache. And under the good lighting he could see worry lines around Lisa’s eyes and brackets around her mouth. Stardom had made her road-weary.
