Not wanting to interrupt the audition, Judd leaned against the wall, waited. And watched. Not the cowboys but Cleo. She was typing something on a tablet and didn’t look especially into the entertainment. Unlike the blonde. She was doing some whooping and yee-hawing of her own. Despite Cleo’s indifference, though, she lasted through the entire song before she stood.

And Judd felt it when he got a look at more than just the side of her face.

That punch of heat below the belt, and he didn’t have any cotton padding to stave it off. However, he did have common sense—some days, anyway…and this was one of those days. Just in case that common sense was about to lapse, he slipped his hand in his pocket and slid his fingers over the bronze sobriety coin.

One year.

Not nearly enough time to forget that whole pit-of-despair shit. Nowhere near enough to risk dragging someone into that pit with him.

The blonde noticed Judd first, and she gave Cleo an elbow nudge that sent Cleo turning to look at him. The smile was instant. Ditto for her starting toward him.

He’d always thought she looked a little like a fairy. Delicate and petite with her curly brunette hair tumbling around her face and onto her shoulders. But looks could be deceiving. Cleo was tough, strong.

And happy.

Somehow, the shit upbringing they’d had in foster care hadn’t rid her of those rose-colored glasses.

The years had settled nicely on her, giving her a few more curves that he had no trouble seeing because of the slim dress she was wearing. What was missing was the riot of bright clothes she usually wore. Today, it was just the sedate blue dress with a thin silver chain around her neck.

“You came,” Cleo said, and she drew him into her arms for a hug. A friendly one that didn’t have a trace of heat on her part.

When she pulled back, she was still smiling, and that smile made it all the way into her sweet-tea-colored eyes. Eyes that looked a little tired. Still, Judd didn’t have to wonder if she was happy to see him.

She was.

However, the nervous way she clamped onto her bottom lip confirmed that something was up. Maybe something wrong with the bar. Or, hell, maybe she wanted him to beat up some guy who was bugging her, as he’d done when Cleo and he were fifteen.

Their gazes held for a moment until the blonde cleared her throat. “I’m guessing he’s not here for the audition?” she asked. “Because if he is, he’s hired.”

Cleo blinked in surprise and then laughed. “No. He’s a friend. This is Judd Laramie.”