Page 37 of Knox
“Wecouldcancel, Kelsey. The chance will come again.”
“I’m fine—”
“You’re not sleeping, you’re wired—even I can see that. And yeah, the stage is your preferred addiction, but it could destroy you.”
She met Dixie’s eyes. “It’s all I have, Dixie, and you know it. It’s my safe place. Or it was… I just need to keep moving, figuring it out. I’ll be fine tonight.”
Dixie’s mouth made a tight line.
A knock came at the door, and Kelsey tore her gaze from Dixie to see Carter standing in the threshold. “Can I talk to Kelsey for a minute?”
Dixie nodded but walked over to Kelsey and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “No one thinks you’re weak,” she said quietly. “But no one would blame you, either, if you wanted to hit pause.”
Kelsey touched Dixie’s hand but let her go.
Carter walked into the room. Leaned against the counter. Folded his arms over his dress shirt. Concerned Clooney. “So, at what point are we going to talk about it?”
She stiffened. Met his gray eyes. Tried an easy tone. “Talk about what? The explosion?”
His mouth made a tight line. Then he shook his head. “You know I care about you, Kelsey. When Dennis asked me to be your manager, I knew he was really asking that I watch over you girls. You’re like daughters to me. Okay, more like kid sisters.” He smiled, but it quickly faded. “When are we going to talk about the letter you got from the New York Department of Corrections?”
Her breath caught. Oh. “You saw that?”
“I get all the mail. Yes.” He took a breath. “So, did they parole Russell?”
Her throat thickened with the question, and she found herself nodding. “Good behavior.”
He let the silence stretch out, then took a breath. “It wasn’t him, at the stadium in Texas. You know that, right?”
She nodded, drew up her knees.
“Vince Russell won’t get to you. And more importantly, he won’t hurt you. We won’t let him.”
She nodded, her eyes turning scratchy. She couldn’t look at Carter.
“Okay.” He leaned up. “You’re not going onstage tonight.”
“What—?”
He held up his hand. “You heard me. Listen, one night for you to get it together. I got this. Just…enjoy the show.”
“Carter—”
But he was already walking out the door.
And she had let him go, weighing his words for the next three hours.
Except, if she didn’t lead the group, who would? Not that Glo or Dixie couldn’t handle the crowd, but…okay, she wanted to be the headliner.
It’s all I have, Dixie. It’s my safe place.
The words found soil, dug in.
She was going onstage, so help her.
Vince Russell and his gang of thugs weren’t going to make her break her promises to herself.
She added lipstick, stood, and gave herself a once-over in the mirror. She was tough enough to keep the nightmares quiet for an hour, at least.