“Plus the fiddlers are very cute,” Con put in.

She smiled at him. “Thank you for that. But you heard the doctor. I can’t play for weeks and we have a ton of gigs lined up, starting with the two shows we still have to play tomorrow. None of the people who’ve booked us are going to be very happy when we show up with only one fiddler and a new full-time merch table worker—” She glanced at Con. “—cute though they both may be.”

“So we’ll get someone to fill in till you’re able to play,” Andy said. “I’ll take a cut in my share of the pay so that we can afford it.”

Lizzie and Con both nodded in agreement.

That was the problem with the career that they’d chosen, Lizzie realized. In the best of circumstances, they made do and covered their expenses, and some months they even had a little left over to put in the bank. But they didn’t make enough that they could afford medical insurance or any kind of compensation coverage for a situation such as this.

“Who would we get?” Lizzie asked.

Because she knew just how hard it would be to replace her cousin. They’d played together for so long that there was an intuitive bond between them, almost as though one musician was playing on two instruments. They traded harmonies at the drop of the hat, jumped tunes, or even keys, without having to warn the other.

Siobhan turned to Liam’s friend Neil. “You play the fiddle, don’t you?”

“Don’t look at me,” he said, holding up his hands. “There’s no way I could keep up with you guys.”

“So, who do we know that could keep up?” Andy asked.

“Who doesn’t already have a gig,” Siobhan put in.

They all fell silent.

“What about Geordie?” Con said finally.

Andy gave him a surprised look. “Geordie Riddell?”

“Unless there’s another local fiddler named Geordie.”

“No, it’s just . . . he’d be booked for months, wouldn’t he?”

Con shook his head. “I guess you don’t know him that well. He’s got this weird thing about commitment, so he really only does pickup gigs.”

Siobhan gave him a surprised look. “But he’s been in lots of bands. I can’t count the times I’ve seen him around town.”

“But they’re never bands that tour,” Con said. “Or at least, he doesn’t tour with them.”

“Then why would he play with us?” Lizzie asked.

“I don’t know that he will, or can. But since it’s just a fill-in gig, there’s a good chance he’ll do it. We could get him to play with us tomorrow, without mentioning the rest of our gigs. If it goes well, we can ask him then. If not, well, we’ve got five days to find another replacement before our next gig.”