When Bobbie Sang the Blues Read Online Free PDF Page B

searched her face. “Don’t tell me you—”
    “Dan has made it quite clear how important his freedom is to him, so why should I care who he’s with?”
    “That’s a silly question. Of course you care who he’s with, and he’s just as worried about you.”
    Christy lifted the corner of her shirt to wipe her face. “How do you know?”
    “I ran into him late the other night. We had a drink and hung out for a while. All he talked about was you.” She lifted her head. “What’d he say?”
    Seth shrugged. “That he’d called you several times, and you never called him back. He thinks you’re upset because after a year and a half, he hasn’t made a commitment.”
    “Well, he’s right.”
    “He said for eight years he was tied down with the military, and before that his old man pushed him to get through college. He wants some free time before being responsible for someone else, to be sure of what he’s doing.”
    Seth watched a sea gull cross the sky; then his brown eyes drifted back to Christy. He draped a long arm around her shoulder. “Then he admitted he missed you like crazy.”
    Her breath caught and she stiffened, instantly on the defensive. If she believed that, she would start to hurt again. “He’s working on the missing me part in the company of other women, apparently,” she said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.
    “You know this for a fact?”
    She sighed. “Seth, why do I have such bad luck with guys?”
    Seth thought for a minute, never one to give quick, easy answers like some people. “I don’t know how to answer that. Chad checked out competing in car races. You couldn’t stop him from doing what he loved. I think Dan just needs a little time and space. If he really loves you, it’ll work out.” He looked out at the water. “I keep thinking about Ingrid, the girl I met in Sydney. When she drove me to the airport, I felt like I was leaving something important behind. Wewere supposed to be free spirits, she and I, and yet…being free didn’t feel so cool anymore.”
    “Maybe that’s why you’re wearing yourself out on the party circuit,” Christy said. “You’re trying to prove you’ve forgotten her.”
    He raked his hair back from his face, reached into his jeans for a rubber band, and secured the long ends in a ponytail.
    “Do you love her?” she asked softly.
    He frowned. “Nah, I just liked her a lot. I do know one thing.” His brown eyes held an intensity Christy hadn’t seen in months. “I want to finish college and do something useful with my life.”
    She reached for his hand. “You said you went to Australia to find yourself. I think you did.”

    The sun was slipping behind the horizon when Eddie pulled into the parking lot of the Blues Club. Roseann turned in the seat and looked at him. “What’s your plan? I know you have one.”
    He angled his truck next to Bobbie’s red one, and they got out. “We’ll go inside, pretend to be friendly. I’ll say I have to go to the rest room, so when I leave the table, she’ll probably drop her guard. You watch her purse. Grab it if you get a chance.”
    “Eddie, I doubt I’ll get a chance to steal her purse. Besides, I don’t think she’s packing ten grand in her billfold.”
    He swung his leg back and planted his black boot squarely on the door of Bobbie’s red truck, the heel leaving its mark. “That helps,” he said. “Now I won’t feel like kicking her when I see her.”
    “I think she’s put the money in that storage unit,” Roseann said, trying to offer some encouragement and settle him down. “Somehow we just missed it.”
    He put an arm around her waist and grinned up at her. “That’s what I like about you. You use your head. If you can make friends with her, do it.”
    Roseann reached up to fluff her curls. “Yeah, I can see how it would be to our advantage. But Eddie,” she warned, “you behave yourself tonight.”
    He squared his shoulders and thrust his chest out