Hillbilly Rockstar (Blacktop Cowboys 6)

“He’s amazing in concert. I was pretty blown away, to tell you the truth.”

Crash nodded. “I’ve managed his road crew for eight years and I’ve not lost the excitement of seeing him onstage.”

The sea of people parted, clapping started, signaling the star had arrived.

Liberty had wondered if Devin would show up with a woman on his arm, but he came solo.

Coming solo was probably rare for him since he had women lined up, ensuring he didn’t have to take himself in hand. She snickered. Not PC. But hey, at least she hadn’t said it out loud.

Devin looked around, saw Crash and beckoned him over.

“Duty calls. Enjoy your break. I figure he’ll be ready to head back to the bus in an hour.”

Liberty watched him doing the meet and greet, and she could tell he genuinely enjoyed it. He must’ve had his picture taken a hundred times. He signed T-shirts, ball caps, posters and CD covers without missing a beat or losing his smile.

Finally, the crowd thinned. But he wasn’t done. Looked like he had media interviews. During that time, he’d finished a bottle of water. She thought she caught him staring longingly at the food table, but he didn’t stop what he was doing to eat.

She had the strangest compulsion to fill a plate with food and force him to sit.

Don’t go there. It’d set a bad precedent. You’re not his caretaker; you’re his protection.

But the truth was, Devin McClain looked like he needed a caretaker.

“Thank you so much. I appreciate y’all comin’ to the show tonight.”

Devin realized there wasn’t anyone else waiting in line to talk to him. Before that changed, he headed for the food tables, only to find most of the food gone, except one mini sandwich and a handful of chips. Better than nothing. He devoured it in about five seconds and glanced up to see Liberty watching him.

She wore the blank expression of someone who’s seen it all, done it all and was bored with it all.

That expression didn’t change one iota as he wandered to her. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“Not as good as you’ve had.”

Of course she’d point that out. “I meant the show. What did you think of it?” Why had he asked when he knew how brutally honest her answer would be?

“It was . . .”

“What?”

When Liberty leaned forward, her silver eyes shone with pleasure. “Fucking spectacular. I’ve never seen anything like it. And it’s lucky you had other security keeping an eye on your safety because I couldn’t look away from you . . . I mean from the show.”

Devin grinned. “Thank you. I mean it.”

She pushed a plate of food toward him. “I noticed by the time you got a break there wasn’t much food left. I didn’t touch this. Go ahead if you want it, although it is cold.”

There was a glimpse of the real Liberty, the thoughtful woman behind the gun. “Thanks again.”

“So what happens now?”

“Usually after the first show we have a meeting with the crew to talk about problems. In fact, they’re all waitin’ for me in the arena right now.”

She eyed the security guys. “Their shift is about up.”

“Let them go. I’ll be surrounded by people the rest of the night. You’re here to escort me back to the bus.”

As Liberty spoke to the security team, Devin couldn’t help but admire the way she dealt with them. Professionally, with a hint of don’t-fuck-with-me charm that should’ve been off-putting but was effective.

Devin knew he shouldn’t be having those thoughts, but even after just one day, he knew he’d never met a woman quite like Liberty. And he looked forward to getting to know her better.

She nudged him. “Come on, slowpoke. Crash has beckoned you over, like, two times.”

“Sometimes I’m a little spacey after the performance high wears down.”

“I imagine it’s hard to shut off that adrenaline rush.”

He looked at her. “How do you know that? You’re a performer?”

Liberty shook her head. “I assume it’s similar to being in a firefight. The intensity puts you on another plane, and when it’s over . . . you don’t crash right away. You want to do something that’ll keep up that level of intensity.”

Shocking that she did understand. Was this her way of telling him she thought having a woman to take the edge off after he got offstage was okay?

“But just because I get it doesn’t mean the women you use and discard do.”

And . . . there it was. Judgment. Before he could remind her who he f**ked wasn’t any of her f**king business, she spoke again.

“Get moving. They’re waiting on you.”

Devin grabbed a beer from the cooler and joined his crew. For the next half an hour they dissected the show from start to finish. By the end of his second beer, they’d changed the lighting on a few songs and decided on a short rehearsal tomorrow to get a better balance between the fiddle, the drums and the guitars.

Liberty waited in the wings and fell into step with him as they exited the arena.

“You up for a poker game tonight in your fancy-ass new ‘I’m a rockstar’ tour bus?” Jase asked.

“Nah, man. I’m whupped.”

“And he’s got press meetings in the morning,” Liberty reminded him.

“Catch ya later.” Jase took off.

Crash said, “You’ve got that hospital visit tomorrow before rehearsal.”