Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2) (10 page)

Wednesday
night

As he geared up to head back to Georgia, Dalton decided to spend his
last night in town at The Rusty Nail, wanting to see Katie before he left town.
He hadn’t seen her much since Sunday, just for a few hours when she worked at
the bar last night. He had tried to see her on Monday, but she’d informed him
she’d had to get her homework finished or she risked failing one of her
classes. Who was he to argue with that? She had responsibilities, and he
definitely didn’t want to get in the way of them.

But tonight, he hoped to talk to her a little, maybe convince her to
dance with him once or twice. He had resigned himself to stay off the stage.
Not because he didn’t want to get up there and entertain the crowd, but he just
wasn’t sure he’d be able to give the crowd his full attention, and he wasn’t
going to half-ass it.

Walking into the crowded bar, he noticed there was a guy up on stage,
singing to the crowd. He stopped for a minute, trying to see if he recognized
the man. His voice sounded familiar, but his face was cast in the shadow of his
hat. Noticing Jack and Eric working the bar, he managed to squeeze through the
hordes of people and found an empty spot near the wall.

“What’s up, man?” Eric greeted. “Beer?”

Dalton nodded, turning his attention to Jack, who was attempting to
fill orders; however, his gaze continued to slip up to the big guy on the
stage. He gave Jack a run for the money on height, Dalton could tell that from
where he was sitting. Wide shoulders, thick arms, the guy looked like he worked
out a lot. Or maybe he had some sort of manual labor job that got him looking
like that. Dalton didn’t know. He could see blond hair peeking out from beneath
his black Stetson, but because of the distance, he couldn’t make out his
features enough to recognize him.

When Eric brought the cold bottle and set it in front of him, Dalton
stopped him before he wandered off again. “Who’s the guy up on stage?”

“Brett Basson,” Eric informed him simply.

“Why do I recognize the voice?” Dalton asked.

“He’s been in here a coupla times.”

“Has Coop heard him?”

Eric nodded as he wiped down the bar.

“I think we need to get David in here to listen to him,” Dalton told
Eric, referring to Cooper’s father, the man who’d recently taken on the position
of Cooper’s manager.

“Well, the big man’s supposed to be here next week,” Eric told him.

Dalton nodded, tilting his beer bottle to his lips and studying the guy
up on the stage. He had great presence, and the crowd seemed really into him.
Someone else seemed to be really into him, too, Dalton noticed. Jack was
stealing frequent glances while continuing to serve customers who came up to
the bar.

“Hey.”

Dalton turned at the sound of the female voice from behind him. His
lips had already curved up into a smile before he even turned around. “Hey,
darlin’,” he greeted Katie.

“Didn’t know you were comin’ by tonight.”

“Wanted to get one last night in before I head out.”

“You going to your parents’?” she asked before rattling off a list of
drinks to Eric. Once she’d given the order, she turned back to face him.

“Gonna be gone for a few weeks. Staying at my mom and dad’s for a
couple of weeks, then headin’ back to Nashville to work on the album before the
tour starts up again.”

“Well, you be careful,” she said, her tone much too friendly for his
piece of mind.

Dalton reached for her, pulling her over to him and pressing his lips
to her ear. “Stay with me tonight.”

Katie pulled back, her eyes raking over his face. She didn’t look
enthusiastic about his offer, and her words backed it up. “I’m not sure that’s
a good idea.”

Dalton cupped her face, swiping his thumb over her smooth cheek.
“Please.”

He saw her swallow hard, her gaze dropping down briefly. “I don’t know,
Dalton.”

He wasn’t above begging, but he wasn’t sure that was going to benefit
his cause at the moment, so he decided to play it cool for a little while.
“Think about it. I’ll ask you again before the night is over.”

She managed a small smile, but then they were interrupted when Eric
placed her drinks onto the waiting tray.

Dalton followed her with his eyes as she made her way through the
crowd, delivering drinks and chatting with the customers. He finished off his
beer, not looking away from Katie until she was swallowed up by the people
surrounding her. That was when he noticed the cowboy on the stage was putting
his guitar down, clearly taking a break.

When Brett approached the bar a minute later, Dalton raised his hand to
get his attention. The guy nodded as he squeezed through the people surrounding
the bar and then joined him.

“Hey, Dalton,” Brett greeted, reaching out his hand.

Dalton returned the gesture and then got to his feet, slapping the bar.
“Got a minute?”

“Sure.”

Jack came over, looking at Dalton.

“Can we get two beers?” Dalton asked Jack.

He noticed the way Brett and Jack glanced at one another briefly,
looking away just as quickly. Well, hell. Looked like these two had something
in common. Dalton smiled to himself as Jack disappeared to get the beers,
returning a moment later, his eyes still raking over Brett’s face.

“If you see Coop, will you send him upstairs?” Dalton asked Jack before
urging Brett toward the stairs. He didn’t bother waiting for an answer; he just
hoped Jack had paid attention to him in the first place. The guy seemed a
little preoccupied with the singer.

Once they were upstairs, Dalton opened the cheap plastic blinds that
covered the window overlooking the bar.

“How long you been singin’ in bars?” Dalton asked, breaking the ice.

“A few years now,” Brett answered, tipping his beer bottle to his lip
as he stared down at the crowd below.

“You lookin’ for a manager?” Dalton spared him a glance.

“You offerin’?” Brett countered.

“I might just know someone who’s lookin’ for talent.”

“And you think I’m that talent?”

Dalton liked the guy already. His straightforward responses were a nice
change of pace. He hadn’t had many conversations with up-and-coming artists,
but the few he had encountered were usually either hotheaded, thinking they
deserved to be in the spotlight, or they were too star struck to have a
legitimate conversation. Brett was neither.

“It’s possible,” Dalton answered. “I’ve got someone I’d like you to
meet.”

Brett didn’t answer, just tipped his beer back again and kept his eyes
trained on the bar below.

“Do you live here?” Dalton inquired when it was obvious Brett wasn’t
going to say anything.

“Austin,” Brett answered simply. “Spend a lot of time checking out the
bars in surrounding areas.”

“You’ve been here before,” Dalton said.

“A couple of times. One of the better places to hang out.”

Dalton agreed with Brett on that count. He’d actually been impressed
with the place from the moment he’d stepped foot in the door. Since his career
had taken off, he didn’t get to spend much time in the small-town bars, but he
tried to get back to them any chance he had.

Then again, The Rusty Nail had become one of his preferred hangouts for
more than just the stage. Katie was more of a lure than the chance to get up on
stage these days.

Dalton continued to watch out the window when he noticed Jack heading
toward the back. He figured the guy was sneaking outside for some air. He
spared a look at Brett, noticing the man was following Jack with his eyes as
well.

Part of him wanted to say something to Brett, to encourage the guy to
go talk to Jack. The other part knew he had to keep his mouth shut. Despite his
realization after the altercation on Sunday, Jack Rollins hadn’t come out of
the closet. Nor did he know whether the tall, blond cowboy standing beside him
was actually gay. Most important, none of that shit was his business, and he’d
do them all a favor if he just kept his opinions to himself.

“If Coop shows up, I want you to talk to him. He recently changed
managers.”

“His father, right? David Krenshaw?”

So the kid kept up with the local news. That was good. “Yep. His ol’
man will be in town for the holidays. Be a good idea for you to meet with him.”

“Why’re you doin’ this, Dalton?” Brett asked, turning his dark blue
eyes on him.

“David’s lookin’ for some talent. If you ain’t interested, just say the
word. I’ll drop it. Ain’t no skin off my nose.”

“I’m interested,” Brett said firmly.

Dalton slapped the guy on the back before turning back to the door.
“Good.”

He didn’t wait for Brett to follow, but he knew the guy was close
behind him. When he reached the main floor of the bar, he peered over his
shoulder to see Brett going out the back exit.

Dalton smiled again. Looked like Brett needed some air, too.

Another thing those two had in common.

Now it was time to mind his own business. And his business was the
black-haired, gray-eyed waitress who was casting him a look that spoke of some
serious promises for later tonight.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Katie wasn’t surprised to see that Dalton had hung around after closing
time. He had spent most of the night sitting at the bar, chatting with Eric and
Jack and then Cooper when he’d arrived a couple of hours ago. She’d noticed
when he’d slipped off to the office with the cowboy who’d been center stage
most of the night twice, once alone and then again with Cooper.

Not that she was keeping tabs on him or anything.

The thought made her smile. Yes, she was tracking his every move,
memorizing every smirk, every look he sent her way. Her smile faded as she
realized their time together was coming to an end. He was going home for the
holidays, and she had made up her mind. She was going to insist that he move on
when he came back.

Her secrets were weighing heavily on her heart, and the last person she
wanted to hurt was Dalton. She loved him. There was no doubt about that. He was
the only man she’d ever loved. Possibly the only man she would ever love. But
he deserved better. He didn’t need the baggage she carried with her, and she
wasn’t going to be his burden.

So, when he had asked her if she’d stay the night with him tonight, she
had given it serious consideration and decided she would. But this really had
to be the last night she spent with him.

Sure, she was probably inviting more heartache, but she just couldn’t
say no to him. Not when he was the one person plaguing her every thought from
the moment her eyes opened in the morning to the instant they closed at night.

Well, maybe not the only person, but he was certainly taking up a lot
of the real estate in her mind at the moment.

“Did you decide?”

Katie turned around to see Dalton standing behind her. She had just
tossed the dishrag into the bucket beneath the bar.

“Yeah,” she told him. “I’ll stay.”

The smile he gifted her with had her heart ripping in two.

“Wanna follow me back to my place? Or I’ll take you and bring you to
pick up your car in the morning.”

“I’ll follow you.” She wasn’t sure when she would leave, but she needed
her car or she would have to depend on him. Since she was contemplating
sneaking out, she had to think about the easiest way to do that.

“Good night, kids,” Eric called out as he emerged from the back room.

“Night,” Katie replied. “I’ll see you on Friday night.”

Eric nodded as he moved toward them. “I’ll be here.”

After Dalton said his good-byes to Eric, he took her hand and led her
out through the back door. She had parked in the back lot, knowing that the
place would be full. It always was when they had live music.

Dalton helped her into her car, and she waited to pull out of the
parking space until he was in his truck, his headlights shining through the
darkness.

The bar wasn’t far from his place, and at three o’clock in the morning,
there wasn’t anyone else on the road, so it took all of ten minutes to get to
Dalton’s, including the slow drive down the narrow dirt road that led to his
house at the back of Cooper’s ranch.

Dalton was faster than she was and opened her door for her, helping her
out and then holding her hand as they made their way inside.

“You hungry?” he asked, locking the front door behind them.

Katie took stock of her surroundings, noticing there was more
furniture. It wasn’t filled to capacity, but there were a couple of additional
pieces. She followed him into the kitchen, noticing there were small appliances
— a toaster oven, can opener, and a coffeepot — set out on the black granite
countertops.

“I could eat,” she told him, setting her purse on the breakfast bar.