“Can you give me Chloe’s number?” I asked into the silence.
There was a pause, I heard a deep breath and then, hesitantly, “I’l phone her.”
My eyes came up and I smiled at Hector. “That’d be good,” I said into the phone.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” I heard Lana say.
“I don’t,” I admitted then, since I was admitting things, I went for the gusto. “But I love him and I have to try.” Another pause then with warmth, “I’m looking forward to meeting you, Stel a Gunn.”
I smiled again. “Me too.”
I asked Hector for the cel number, gave it to Lana, we said our good-byes and then we disconnected.
My eyes found Hector’s were stil on me.
“Am I doing the right thing?” I asked him.
“Absolutely,” he replied immediately, sounding certain.
“You’re sure?” I wasn’t so certain.
He got up and walked to me. I sat in silent surprise as he bent down, wrapped his hand around the back of my head, kissed the top of it and when I tilted my face to look at him, his gaze locked on mine.
“I’m sure,” he whispered.
“I hope you’re right,” I whispered back.
He let me go and straightened. “Mace is a lucky guy.” I felt a weird, happy warmth flow through me at his approval.
I smiled up at Hector. “Thanks.”
Hector smiled back and my breath took a hike through the trails of the Rocky Mountain National Forest.
Hector Chavez had a f**king great smile.
Shortly after, Hector took off, leaving me the cel . I used it to phone Floyd and make sure he and Buzz were okay.
Linnie’s funeral was the next morning (and I was cheesed off I couldn’t go but, for obvious reasons, I couldn’t) then they were coming back so they could make the gig on Thursday.
I shared a few things with Floyd while we talked. He strangely sounded both worried and relieved.
Then he passed the phone to Buzz and I shared a few things with him.
“Linnie would be so happy,” Buzz told me.
I knew she would and that made me happy but it also made me sad. I wished that she could be around to see it al unfold and believe in it and maybe believe in herself again.
But my luck hadn’t changed that much.
Once I hung up, I made the set list for Thursday’s gig and it was going to be a humdinger, designed both for Dixon Jones and Kai Mason and then I played guitar. Then Juno and I went to bed and I planned.
The bathroom door opened and I heard Mace moving through the room. I saw his shadow at the side of the bed, the covers went back and then he was in, stretching out beside me and pul ing the covers up to his waist.
For some reason, I stayed where I was, waiting for him to reach out to me.
He didn’t. He was on his back, he put his hands behind his head and I saw his profile facing the ceiling. I was on my side, facing him.
“Lee told me about the fight in the head shop,” he said.