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Dean chuckled. “Some people aren’t quite as starstruck as you are. I heard Rita Mullins and Carol Carson were already over at his trailer this afternoon, plying him with baked goods and trying to set him up with Rita’s granddaughter.”
“Oh no.” Kaylee joined in their laughter. “Did it work?”
“I don’t know. I heard he got so flustered over them trying to get him to choose whether he thought Rita’s cream puff dessert or Carol’s biscuits with strawberry jam were better that they never got around to the introductions.”
“Poor guy,” Marnie said.
“Poor guy?” Dean pulled his head back. “What are you feeling sorry for him for? He got to eat cream puffs and biscuits with jam.”
Kaylee laughed as she settled into her seat and listened to Emma’s strategy of how she was hoping to nab Chase’s autograph after the concert. “It sounds like you’ve got a solid plan,” she told her then gestured toward Marnie. “I love your shirt.”
Marnie tugged at the front of her black T-shirt with the silhouette outline of Chase Dalton’s face and cowboy hat on the front. “Thanks. They have a whole display set up over by the stage. I’ll go over with you later to check them out, if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
“No need,” Luke said, coming up beside her. He held two cardboard food containers in his hand, had two cans of Diet Coke tucked under his arm, and a black Chase Dalton T-shirt slung over his shoulder. He set the food and drinks down and passed Kaylee the shirt, a proud-of-himself kind of grin on his face. “I thought you needed one of your own.”
She smiled up at him, her heart pounding with glee. No guy had ever bought her a souvenir t-shirt before. And as cheesy as that sounded, the idea of Luke getting her this one made her giddy. “Thank you. I love it.” She stood and shimmied out of her jean jacket then pulled the t-shirt over her head. It was stiff and smelled of starch and vinyl, but she didn’t care. She held out her arms. “How does it look?”
Luke’s smile told her all she needed to know.
“It’s great,” he said with a small laugh, his gaze only on her. “You look great.” He must have realized that everyone at the table was looking at him, because his smile turned to a frown as he cleared his throat and looked down, busying himself with the food as he mumbled, “Food’s getting cold. We should probably eat.”
“Yeah, you only have fifteen minutes before we have to clear away these tables and get ready for the concert,” Dean told them, his face still holding an amused grin at his friend’s uneasiness.
Kaylee lifted the lid of the container Luke passed her way and inhaled the scent of French fries and pulled pork. “No problem,” she said. “This smells so delicious, I’m planning to inhale it in five.” She managed to get the sandwich into her mouth without dripping barbeque sauce onto her new shirt, a feat she was pretty proud of, and she focused on eating while Dean shared a funny story about something that happened on his ranch that afternoon.
She was glad to listen and tried to keep the goofy grin off her face while she was eating. She was just so darn happy. It was so fun to be part of a group, sharing stories and inside jokes. She’d spent so much of her time alone at her desk and had been content to be there, filling pages with adventures of her fictional characters. But now she was out in the world, taking part in her own adventures, laughing and swapping tales with real people instead of fictional ones.
It’s not like she never saw people, but this felt different. Being with these people made her feel like she actually belonged. Having the people of Bartlett wave and call ‘hello’s’ to her gave her a sense of fitting in, like she was part of the community too. Accepted.
Too bad she was only going to be here a few more days and the person they were all ‘accepting’ was not her, but an imitation of Sassy.
Kaylee’s voice was hoarse from screaming and singing along with Emma, Marnie, and Chase Dalton for the last hour and a half. The country singer had finally wound down and after two encores, had sung his last song and headed off the stage.
“That was amazing,” she told Luke as he passed them each a bottle of water. Screwing off the lid, she took a long drink and the cool liquid felt awesome on her parched throat. How did Luke always seem to know just what she needed? “Thanks. This is perfect.” She tipped the bottle at him before taking another swig.
“I figured you three would need something after screaming your heads off for so long,” he teased.
“That wasn’t screaming,” Marnie corrected him with a grin. “That was singing.”
“They might have been singing,” Kaylee said, jerking a thumb toward Emma and Marnie. “But yeah, I was mostly screaming. Although I was surprised at how many of the songs I knew. Or mostly knew.” She laughed as she pushed her bangs off her forehead. “That was so much fun.”
“I’ll bet you go to a lot of concerts in Chicago,” Marnie said. “I’m so jealous. There must be something fun to do every night in the city.”
Kaylee shook her head. “I’m sure there is. But I never do any of it. Most of my nights are spent at home watching television with my dog. This is the first concert I’ve been to in years.”
She ducked her head in embarrassment, but Marnie nudged her arm and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Don’t be embarrassed. I do the same thing. Except I have a cat.” She winced then admitted, “Okay, I havetwocats.”
They laughed together, and Kaylee felt like she’d found a friend in Marnie. “I’ll keep that to myself if you don’t tell anyone my dog gets her own bowl of popcorn on movie night.”
A mix of roadies and volunteers switched out the instruments on the stage and a local band took over, filling the air with an assortment of new and classic country songs. Kaylee, Dean, and Marnie stood on the side of the dance floor listening to the music while Emma and Luke disappeared into the crowd. They came back ten minutes later, carrying individual bags of Bartlett’s Blend, a combination of delicious caramel and kettle corn.
“You have to try this,” Emma said, doling out bags to Dean and Marnie then passing one to Kaylee. “It’s sooo good.”
Kaylee popped a few pieces into her mouth and let out a groan. “That is good.”
“It’s the best when it’s fresh and still warm from the kettle,” Luke said, leaning against the table behind them. “It’s a local family that makes it. Just another one of the many things Bartlett has to offer.”
