Jace nodded.
The bus parked and he and Travis climbed down. Other than a few big rig trucks and one church youth bus, there were only a handful of cars.
“Guess the girls are sleeping.” Travis nodded. Their bus was here, their driver was pumping gas, but no sign of Emmy Lou or Krystal.
Inside, Jace hunted down some Red Vines, sour gummy bears, a box of chocolate-caramel chews, and two cherry colas. And a bag of dog treats. If she was asleep, he’d leave it for her to find in the morning.
The checkout lady gave him his total, then looked back and forth between them. “Ohmygawd. Ohmygawd. You’re that guy—the one that won that show. I voted for you every week. You can sing, you deserved to win. And, now, I saw you and Krystal King together. Saw you two this morning, all sweet together. And you’re…” She clapped her hands. “You’re Travis. Ohmygawd. The Travis King.”
“That I am,” Travis offered. “He’s Jace.”
“Right, Jace.” The woman was all smiles, eyeing the stash Jace had deposited on the checkout counter. “You sure got a sweet tooth.”
“It’s not all for me.” He held up the dog treats.
“Those are for Clementine, aren’t they?” The woman nodded. “And everyone knows Krystal’s favorite candy are Red Vines.” She held up the bag. “Smart fella, to keep his woman happy.”
Travis eyed his stash. “Guess you’re not riding with me?”
Jace smiled. Hopefully not. But there was no predicting how Krystal would respond to his shameless bribe. He might end up walking the rest of the way to Austin.
The woman grinned. “You be safe on the roads.”
Jace paid and nodded his thanks. “Not getting anything?”
“Still looking.” Travis shook his head, searching the end rack of artificially sweetened cakes and donuts. He picked up a pack of chocolate-covered cupcakes. “I told her.”
“What?” Jace asked.
“Krystal. About you two. The whole friends crap.” He grabbed a pink cupcake pack, too. “And now this pretend relationship. There’s nothing pretend about it and you know it.” He sighed. “Why are women so damn stubborn?”
“You’re asking me?” Jace laughed. “See you in Austin.”
Travis nodded. “Beef jerky.” He headed to the massive rack of dried jerky as Jace slipped out and crossed the parking lot.
“Hey, George.” He nodded at the driver. “Anyone awake in there?”
“Check for yourself.” He smiled.
It was dark inside the bus, the red glow of the emergency lights doing only so much. Once his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he walked to the end of the hall—Krystal’s room. Light spilled out from under the door. He knocked and Clementine barked.
“Just me,” he whispered.
She shushed Clem, her words and footsteps muffled until she opened the door. “I’m pretty sure you’re on the wrong bus.” But she didn’t look or sound irritated—just curious.
“Maybe.” He held out the bag. “I brought you something. Both of you. Thought you might want a snack.”
She stepped back, waving him in, then closed the door. “You bought dog biscuits?” That had her smiling. “Look at that, Clementine. He knows the way to a gal’s heart. Dog treats and chocolate caramels. Oh, wait, Red Vines and sour gummy bears?” Her smile grew. “You must want something.”
“Nope.” He held his hands up. “I come in peace. No ulterior motives.”
“Hmm. We’ll see.” She gave him a full toes-to-head assessment.
Her long hair was down, no makeup, rainbow-striped fuzzy socks, and a massive T-shirt with a unicorn on it. She looked adorable. Until he read her shirt. “I’m a unicorn. I will cut you.” He frowned. “That’s…cute.”
“Travis. He thought it was hysterical.” She shrugged and flopped down on her bed. “You can stay, but I’m sort of in the middle of something.” Papers covered her bed—scraps of paper, note cards, a napkin, some sheet music highlighted and scribbled notations in a variety of vibrant colors.
“World domination?” The sheet music caught his attention.