leaning on the counter. She glances at my shirt. “Cute.” She narrows her eyes and gives me a playful smile. “You have a thing for flamingos, Shelby?” She touches her chest. “You were wearing flamingos last night, weren’t you?”
“Sure was.” Rooster hadn’t made fun of my idea and the girls have been nothing but nice so far. Maybe it’s safe to share my kooky idea with them. “I don’t know if you saw those god-awful shirts they sell at my merch booth last night?”
Trinity’s lips twitch. “I noticed them.” Clearly, she doesn’t want to insult me.
“They’re cute,” Heidi insists.
“Well, no one consulted me about them. The whole me-sitting-in-a-patch-of-wildflowers concept is so not my style. Plus, I’m not all that fond of pink.”
“Amen.” Trinity raises her hands.
Heidi snickers. “I tried giving Alexa all gender-neutral stuff from the day she was born. So of course, now all she likes is pink.”
“Well, choosing it is different than having it forced on you,” I point out.
“True. And boy did she choose it.” Trinity laughs and gently shoves Heidi.
Mild jealously bubbles up inside me at how close they seem to be. Singing and working didn’t leave me a lot of time for making friends growing up.
Don’t get too attached. Who knows when I’ll be back to visit?
“You okay, Shelby?” Trinity asks, concern darkening her amber eyes.
“I’m peachy.” I force a sunny smile.
“Your shirts?” Heidi prompts.
“Oh. Right.” I flap my hands in the air, losing my nerve. “It’s a dumb idea.”
“There are no dumb ideas,” Heidi says.
Trinity side-eyes her. “There are plenty of dumb ideas in the world.” She winks at me. “I doubt yours is one of them. Spill.”
“I want to have shirts made up with a flamingo in cowgirl boots,” I blurt out.
“Oh. My. God,” Heidi squeals. “I love that!”
Spurred by her positive reaction, I continue, “I want to call my next album ‘Flocking Fabulous’ and have the flamingo with boots on the cover.”
“That’s freakin’ adorable,” Trinity says.
“Greg doesn’t think the label will let me do it.” I wobble my hand in the air. “Country leans a little conservative.”
Both of them roll their eyes, much like I’ve done many times myself.
“I kind of had a whole bunch of shirts in mind with flamingo puns. Flocking fabulous. For flock’s sake. What the flock? Silly stuff like that.”
“Who gives a flying flock?” Trinity picks up where I left off.
Heidi snaps her fingers. “No flocks given!”
“Party like a flock star,” Trinity shoots back.
“Sassy as flock,” I add.
The three of us burst into giggles.
“Girls,” Swan interrupts in her soft voice. “Calm the flock down.”
“Yes!” Heidi shouts, jumping around in a circle.
“Now I wish I had my notebook,” I mutter, patting my pockets.
Trinity taps the side of her head. “We got you. Don’t worry.”
“Hey.” Heidi settles down and touches my shoulder. “Maybe if the record company won’t let you use that title, you can like, start your own label and call it Flocking Fabulous?”
“Or have a side hustle selling your Fancy as Flock T-shirts,” Trinity adds. “A lot of musicians do stuff on the side, right?”
“Oh yeah. They have to since they’re not making money off their music.”
Heidi’s mouth twists down. “That sucks.”
I shrug.
“Well, Hope helped me set up the legal end of my photography and graphic design business, so if you ever want help with it, let her know.” Trinity slaps her hand over her mouth. “Shoot. She’s only licensed in New York. You probably want to set up in Texas. But I’m sure she could still give you some pointers or whatever.”
After having so much fun laughing and goofing around with the girls, the reminder that I don’t belong here stings.
Maybe the disappointment shows on my face. Trinity’s quick to reach out and touch my arm. “You think you’d move to New York?”
Somehow, I don’t think we’re talking about a T-shirt business anymore. Feels like they want to assess my relationship with Rooster. I shrug. “Maybe. My mom’s in Texas, though.” I hate to admit to them that except for a trip to Disneyland when I was a kid, I’d never traveled outside of Texas until I was picked for Redneck Roadhouse and now this tour.
The two girls share a sneaky look. “So, are you planning to keep things long distance with Rooster?” Heidi asks.
“Wow, y’all going right for it, huh?” I smile to cover the annoyance that crept into my tone.
“Just curious.”
“I like him.” I swallow hard. “A lot. We’re going to…I think he might visit me on the road.”
Heidi squeals and bounces on her toes