Ashton and Reid called to check on her with such religious regularity that Kate suspected they had a written schedule. She spent Thanksgiving with them at Reid’s house. It had been a relaxing day with great food, board games, and movies. She’d enjoyed their company, even though she missed her own family terribly. Reid had invited her to come out to the house to go riding on Sunday, and she was looking forward to it.

On the days she worked, she left early so she could visit with Butch, the bartender at Mabel’s, before her shift. He’d become her only friend there, since most of the women she worked with ignored her.

“I don’t know what I ever did to them,” Kate lamented to Butch one day before work. She nursed a Diet Coke while he set up the bar.

Butch gave her a sympathetic smile. “You didn’t do anything to them, sweetheart. They’re threatened by you.”

“By me? How can they be threatened by me?”

“Because they want what you want, and now that they’ve heard you sing, they know you’re better than them.”

Charlie, the manager, finally let her on stage the day after she got her first chance to play at the Bluebird. That had been a good couple of days. After her performance, Charlie had gone on and on about how good she was, which Kate could now see led to the sudden increase in her coworkers’ hostility. She chewed nervously on her thumbnail. Some of those women were scary. “That’s not fair.”

“No, it isn’t, but that’s the way people are in this town.” With a glance around to make sure no one was watching, Butch pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I grabbed this off the wall for you. One of the city’s better house bands is looking for a new female lead singer. I thought you might be interested.”

She took the paper from him. “Thanks. What’s a house band?”

“They play at house parties around town. Up-and-comers love to perform with them because you never know who’ll be at the parties. A lot of people have been discovered that way. The Rafters are really popular, so it could be a good break for you.”

She glanced up at him with appreciation. “Thanks, Butch.”

He shrugged. “None of the others deserved it. Not after the way they’ve been treating you.”

“You’re a good friend.” She studied the flyer and learned the band was holding tryouts the next day.

“Have you talked to Ashton?” Butch asked as he unloaded glasses from the dishwasher behind the bar.

“Not in the last few days.”

“I think he’s got a bad case for you.”

Her head whipped up. “What? Ashton?”

Butch grinned at her shock. “Open your eyes.”

“But we’re just friends. I didn’t even think he liked me all that much.”