Swagger and Sass by Autumn Jones Lake

Author:Autumn Jones Lake [Lake, Autumn Jones]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943950409
Publisher: Ahead of the Pack, LLC

Chapter Fourteen

Shelby

Dang. Rooster has me rattled right down to my lucky boots.

Never in a million years did I expect him to remember what the cops said and come find me here tonight.

The sexy, confident way he was leaning back on the bar with both elbows, facing me, left me breathless. Then it sunk in, he came here to see me. Specifically, for me. He didn’t drop in to a random bar for a drink and run into me accidentally. He wanted to see me again.

I end up rubbing against him like a horny little kitten, wondering if it will be totally detrimental to my career if I take him in the storage room and…

“Shelby, let’s go!” Trent shouts.

“Are you staying?” I ask Rooster.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

He gives me a quick kiss for luck and a gentle shove into the crowd.

Knowing he’s out there watching—with his friends no less—leaves me jittery. Trent nudges my arm as I step on stage.

“You okay?” he mouths.

“I’m fine.”

“We still tryin’ out that new song?”

“Maybe. Let’s see how the crowd reacts.” Lord, I’m a wuss tonight.

He throws a scowl in Rooster’s direction. “That your new boyfriend?”

“Sort of.” Now I wish like hell I’d never worked on the new song with Trent this morning. He’s smart enough to add up two plus two and come up with Rooster as the inspiration for my song.

Trent grunts and turns around, giving me his back.

Forget him. Rooster’s out in the crowd. Listening to me sing. Every word. Watching me. I don’t think I can go through with playing the new song now. No way.

The lights go down, and the band kicks in. I close my eyes and absorb the thump and twang of the music. After a few beats, all my worries and insecurities float away on the warm wind blowing over the stage, courtesy of two giant metal fans.

It’s just me and the music now. Where I’m happiest. Doesn’t matter that it’s a dumpy little bar in Texas. Or a huge stage in front of a television audience. Even as a little girl, music touched me emotionally in a way simple words never could. The throb of the music lights me up inside, and I thrive on sharing beautiful words with the strangers filling the bar.

As silly as it might sound to some people, Redneck Roadhouse Star had been my dream come true. My chance to be seen as more than the poor girl in the handmade dresses who won every talent competition in Bexar county. The show also opened my eyes to what the music business was really about. I was nothing more than a minnow swimming with sharks. It left me cynical. But I poured my disappointment into my music, giving it a grown-up jaded quality it lacked before.

Every cloud has a rhinestone-studded lining, right?

Sure, online gossip sites were full of people mocking me. Everyone seemed to think my blonde curls and big boobs indicated I was dimmer than a dying light bulb. People commented and criticized my

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