I was transported in time. The heat of a tail pipe burned through my jeans, the vibration of a motorcycle shook my body, the smell of cloves encompassed me. The back of my knees tingled.Oh, come on, universe.
“Kim, what’s going on? Is it your car? Need me to call Cletus?”
I shook my head back to the present.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know …” I took a deep steadying breath. I could do this. “This is what I need. My car is out of gas. If you think Cletus could bring someone in time so I can leave in the next ten minutes, then maybe. But what I’d really love—”
“Daddy” a small voice called out.
Jethro—afather, so weird—turned in his seat to smile at the rosy-cheeked toddler in a car seat in the back. “What’s up, buddy?”
Holy child, Batman.
“Water.” The toddler pointed to the ground.
Jethro smiled back at me. “Hang on a sec.”
As he struggled with one arm reaching behind the driver’s seat, presumably to search for a missing sippy-cup, I scanned the rest of the car. The passenger seat was empty and admittedly, I was only twelve percent disappointed Sienna wasn’t there. Suzie said Sienna had attended one of her classes and she was as amazing as we’d imagined her to be. I’d never seen her in person.
“She’s shooting in another state,” he said as though reading my thoughts. Or probably because, no offense to Jethro and his fantastic good looks, but Sienna Diaz! “Just me and the little one this week.”
I cleared my throat to find my voice. I was still half bent to look in the car. The happy toddler with dark curls waved from the back seat, saying “hi” every fifteen seconds. I waved back. “Never thought I’d see you driving around in one of these.”
“Never been prouder of a car.” He winked and just like that my insides melted.
I made an awkward face but I was in a pickle. “This may be too much, but I don’t suppose y’all could give me a ride to the performance center? I’m late.”
He glanced in the rear view mirror. “Not a problem. Just so happens we’re headed into Knoxville.”
Hopped once excitedly. “Thank you so much! Just gotta grab my cello, hang on.”
“Plenty of room,” he called after as I ran to get my instrument.
Back on the road, my nerves abated a little.
“Glad to see you're back in town and playing again,” Jethro said.
His voice—so many memories. This wassoweird. If not for the fact that my mind was on a totally different man right now, I’d be having a freak out. What a place I’ve come to when Jethro Winston didn’t turn me into a puddle on the ground. In fact, I could hardly hear what he said for my thoughts of Devlin. I just needed to get there before he finished. I just needed to show him.
“Nerves?” Jethro’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I realized I was gnawing on my thumb and shaking my leg like I was making butter. “Yes. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t know you were playing that show tonight,” he said.
“In theory. Hopefully.”
“Been following your career. You’ve taken off lately.”
“Really?” I glanced over at him.
His face was clouded over with a frown. He glanced to the rearview mirror at the kid babbling happily.
“I gotta say something real quick,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
It wasn’t that I had ill feelings toward Jethro. It was just that I had no feelings toward him. I had happy-ish memories of some real wild nights together, but all my big feelings, the real ones, those were all wrapped up with a man about to step on stage alone. A man I needed to get to ASAP.
