CHAPTER 24
CLAYTON
Clayton sat on a chair in his dressing room, his boots still on, his hat hanging low over his eyes. The roar of the crowd still echoed in his ears but tonight, for the first time in his whole damn career, he wasn’t sure they’d been cheering for him, especially during his encore.
He let out a long breath and pulled out his phone, thumbing through his contacts until he landed on his brother. The line barely rang twice before Nolan’s voice came through, groggy and annoyed.
“Clay? It’s past midnight, man. This better be good.”
“Oh, it’s something, all right.” Clayton tugged his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. “Figured you’d want to hear it from me before you saw it all over the dang internet in the morning.”
Nolan made a low noise. “Oh no, what did you do?”
Clayton let out a dry laugh. “Not me, jackass. Jamie.”
There was a pause then a sigh. “What happened? Did she quit already? Burn the venue down?”
“Worse.”
“Worse than burning down the venue? ”
“She stole the damn show.”
The silence stretched for a beat before Nolan whistled. “Well I’ll be. That girl really is as good as they say, huh?”
Clayton scowled. “Better.”
Nolan chuckled. “Is that why you sound like you just lost a bar fight?”
“Didn’t lose a damn thing.” His voice was sharp, but hell, even he didn’t believe that. “I just wasn’t expecting it. Thought she’d take a few shows to get her sea legs. But she got up there, opened her mouth, and the whole damn crowd forgot I even existed.”
Nolan let out a low laugh. “Bet that stung a little.”
Clayton grumbled. “Didn’t sting. Just caught me off guard.”
“Uh-huh.” Nolan sounded amused. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Ruth said Jamie thinks you look better with a beard.”
“Is that so?” Clayton rubbed his face.
“So what are you going to do about it? Let her outshine you on your own tour?”
Clayton sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know, man. Can’t tell her to tone it down. It ain’t her fault she’s got pipes like that. Folks love her.”
“I’m sure they do.” Nolan’s voice softened. “And I get it, Clay. But maybe instead of seeing her as a problem, you should start seeing her as an opportunity.”
Clayton rolled his eyes. “You sound like Shorty.”
“Well, maybe your manager’s got a point. You’ve got two choices here. You can get pissed about it or you can step up your game. Because one way or another, Jamie Keaton isn’t about to let up any.”
Clayton let his head fall back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
Damn it.
Nolan was right.