“And you never see anything but the good stuff.” Heather hugged him again. “Which I miss, like, a lot. Because college kids are all ‘let’s talk about the meaning of life and be depressed.’ Not fun.” She paused. “Wait? Was?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure where I—we—go next.” Which was true.
“Hotels and buses.” Emmy Lou nodded. “And then there’s this.”
“Which isn’t you,” Krystal said, setting the table.
“It’s not?” he asked, more than curious to hear what she considered ‘him.’
“No. Of course not.” She seemed almost offended that he was doubting her. “You’re a country boy at heart. You might not need much on the inside, but you don’t want to feel fenced in on the outside.”
“You nailed him.” Heather smiled.
The pained expression on Travis’s face was almost comical. Almost. But he wasn’t ready to start making sex jokes with Jace’s little sister around. And, shockingly enough, Travis managed to stop himself from running with Heather’s unintentional slip.
With the breakfast spread, they sat at his stone-topped table and ate, listening as Heather filled them in on dining hall food—she was too skinny still—and how her roommate Brenna’s favorite time to study was two in the morning, with the lights on.
“See, Emmy Lou? You thought we missed out by doing everything online.” Travis added another scoop of scrambled eggs to his plate.
“I wouldn’t mind that.” Heather glanced his way.
“Eat.” Jace handed her another piece of toast. “You’re going back, kid. I’m not dragging you all over the place when you’re where you need to be. If we need to figure something out with food and housing, we will. But you know I’m right.” He might be “living the dream,” but this life came with no guarantees. He wanted security for Heather—nothing would change his mind on that.
“He’s all crabby, like a grown-up,” Travis stage-whispered.
“He’s always been like this.” Heather nodded, spreading jam on her second piece of toast. “But it means he loves me.”
Jace nodded. “You know it.”
Krystal was studying him, elbow on the table, chin resting in her hand. She smiled slowly, like whatever she was thinking about was a good thing. He could only hope like hell it was him.
“What about you all? Krystal?” Heather asked. “Miss being home? Since y’all are on the road so much?”
Krystal shrugged, her gaze falling from his. “Not particularly.”
“Home gets pretty damn crowded, oh, say thirty minutes after we get there.” Travis crunched on a piece of bacon.
Emmy Lou and Krystal nodded. Jace had been there, he knew firsthand how strung-out the energy was. Long-term? It would take a toll. A serious toll.
“Why don’t you move out?” Heather asked. “Get your own places?”
“I’m not sure.” Emmy Lou laughed. “We spend so much time together, work and all, it seemed convenient to stay put.”
“For me? Lazy.” Travis grinned, taking the last piece of bacon. “Besides, I’m not the one getting picked apart. Krystal here?” He had that look—one that said he was up to no good. Jace braced himself as Travis said, “You should get your own place, Krystal. Hell, I bet you could move in here. You and Jace, shacking up?”
Jace sighed. He was beginning to accept that he and Krystal, when it came to their relationship, were in different places. If he pushed, she’d take a step back—not forward. Travis wasn’t pushing. He was shoving.
He saw the tic in Krystal’s jaw, the way she avoided his gaze. Any second, she was going to do that defensive head tilt thing and change the subject. Damn Travis anyway.
>
“I am impressed with the food.” Krystal winked at Heather. “Is this the norm?”
Which was the last thing he’d expected her to say. Now she was smiling and talking to Heather about their shopping trip later in the weekend, like Travis’s suggestion wasn’t some way to get her worked up. She wasn’t. Not in the least. Maybe it was for Heather’s benefit? Or maybe, hopefully, it wasn’t.
Chapter 15
“Nothing changed but the love I had for you…” Krystal sang, strumming through the last notes while Emmy Lou belted out the chorus again. When the music faded, there was a smattering of applause from the festival workers and a select few members of the press given early access.