Page 29 of Country Music Cowboy
And that was when Ethan Powell walked in, followed by four people Loretta had never seen before. Peggy followed and made her way around the table, passing out folders with a smile on her face.
“Thank you,” Margot said, instantly opening the packet.
Loretta couldn’t bring herself to look. She knew. Deep down, she knew what was coming. A teeny-tiny part of her clung to the hope that she was not here to discuss some sort of further collaboration with the Kings—namely Travis. But then Margot reached over to rest a hand on her arm and said, “Let’s hear this out and think things through before we react.”
Loretta nodded, staring blindly down at the packet. The cover read, “The Trail Blazer Tour, North America.”
She ran a hand over the glossy cover, the blood in her ears roaring as Ethan Powell and his team of market researchers laid out the where, when, and how of the way they saw things moving forward. They even had a nice PowerPoint presentation complete with bullet points and images from her and Travis’s IMA performance.
Thatwas what they wanted moving forward.
Loretta, on tour with the Kings. She’d partner up with Travis to sing LoveJoy songs and anything new they came up with—with plans to cut an album in the next year. And, because Mr. Powell knew how much Loretta wanted it, she’d get a couple of solo songs too.
Becauseshewanted it. Not because she was talented enough or that she’d earned the chance to go solo. It was a token—like they were pacifying her…
The words risk and risky were used more than a handful of times too. She understood what they were saying. They were doing them a favor. She and Travis. They were both risks. Her, because her success was tied to LoveJoy. Him, because he was a recovering addict backup singer—who happened to be a King. In a way, she guessed they were doing them a favor. They hadn’t dropped her. They’d put together a snazzy PowerPoint to try to sell her on performing with Three Kings.Three Kings, for crying out loud.She should be over the moon happy.Besides, it’s not like I have other options.
But another slide popped up and she couldn’t look away. She and Johnny had been LoveJoy. The name they picked for her and Travis… The urge to giggle was unexpected but—come on—really?
TrueLove.
Chapter 6
“It wasn’t like you weren’t already here. Baking,” Travis said, standing aside as Krystal pulled the pie from the oven.
“Uh-huh,” Krystal said. “I wasn’t making buttermilk pie.”
Travis shrugged. “Daddy’s idea.”
“It was?” Krystal smiled up at him and placed the pie on the marble countertop. “Interesting. Here, I thought buttermilk pie was your favorite.”
“It might be.” Travis shrugged, chuckling when she shot him a look. “Fine. It is. Have I said thank you?” He leaned forward onto the marble countertop and smiled. “Thank you, little sister.”
“Whatever.” Krystal rolled her eyes. “If you want me to make a buttermilk pie for Loretta Gram, fine. But, nice to Daddy or not, I’m not sure I’m a fan.”
“She’s been through some shit, Krystal.” He shook his head. “Maybe think about cutting her some slack.”
Krystal’s narrow-eyed assessment was obvious. “Uh-huh.” She stared up at him. “You had your meeting this morning?”
“Never miss one, you know that.” He winked at her.
“I do.” She paused. “I’m proud of you for working so hard. You’re in a good place, Trav. You don’t need to complicate your life.”
Travis didn’t bother arguing. If Krystal wanted to read between the lines, there wasn’t a thing he could do or say to stop her anyway.
“Stop hiding out in here.” Krystal poured lemonade in daisy-covered glasses, put them on a tray, and held the tray out to him. “Here.”
He wasn’t hiding, exactly. He was giving Loretta space. Hell, he was giving himself space. Ever since he’d climbed into that elevator, he’d been hard-pressed to ignore the pulse between them. If he was too close to her for too long, he was treading water—and she was the undertow. Whatever had been started in the hallway of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there was no going back.
“Besides, Daddy shouldn’t be doing all the talking,” Krystal reminded him. “His appointment is tomorrow?”
Travis nodded. It had taken a hell of a lot of strong-arming—including threatening to not go to today’s Wheelhouse Record meeting—before his father relented.
“You are going with him, aren’t you?” The mix of hope and concern was something they were all feeling.
“I’m going.” Travis shook his head, sighing. “He’s not happy about it and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to change his mind but—”
“You won’t let him,” Krystal finished.
