“Are you kidding me?” They could not be serious. Krystal glared at her daddy, country music legend Hank King, in pure disbelief. “Why would this be great news? For me, anyway.” Blood roared in her ears and a throb took up residence at the base of her neck. She slipped the leather strap of her favorite Taylor spruce acoustic guitar from around her neck and placed the instrument tenderly on its stand. “It’s great news for what’s his name—”
“Jace Black,” her manager, Steve Zamora, said.
“Whatever,” she snapped, shooting a lethal gaze at the balding little man. “I’m sure he’s ecstatic. He gets to sing my song, my best song. With the one and only Emmy Lou King.” She downed a water bottle, parched from singing for almost two hours straight.
“Come on now, Krystal. They’re singing one of your songs,” her father soothed. But she wasn’t ready to forgive him. Or see any good in this. And when he added “You know Emmy will do it up right. She always does,” it stung.
Unlike me. Her spine stiffened and her fists tightened. She and her twin, Emmy, were different as night and day. A point her momma was all too happy to point out at every opportunity.
“Don’t get your feathers ruffled, now. You know I didn’t mean anything by that.” Her daddy tipped his favorite tan cowboy hat back on his forehead, crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned.
Poor Daddy. He said the women in his life were the reason he was getting so grey. It wasn’t intentional. She didn’t like disappointing him—he was her hero. But, dammit, he couldn’t pull the rug out from under her and expect her to smile and thank him. She wasn’t a saint. She wasn’t Emmy.
Steve tried again. “This is a win all around, Krystal.”
“No, it’s not. Not for me,” she argued. Blowing up wasn’t going to change their minds, but maybe reminding her daddy how special this song was. “Daddy, you know this song means something to me, that it’s…important. I’m connected to it, deep down in my bones. I can sing it and do it justice.” She hated that her voice wavered, that sentiment seeped in. This was business. And while the business loved raw emotion and drama in its music and lyrics, they weren’t fans of it from their performers.
“Now, darlin’, you know how it works. It’s all about timing.” Steve used his soft voice, the please-don’t-let-her-start-screaming-and-throwing-things voice. Like lemon juice in a paper cut.
“Timing?” she asked. The only thing Steve Zamora cared about was kissing her legendary father’s ass and managing Emmy Lou’s career. “It’s been my sister’s time for ten years now.”
Not that she begrudged her sister an iota of her fame. It wasn’t Emmy Lou’s fault that she was the favorite. She had that thing, a megastar quality—that universally appealing sweetness that the world adored. Krystal had a real hard time with sweetness.
Why the media, fans, even the record company labeled Krystal the rebel, a black sheep, the wild child of the King family was a mystery. Marketing, maybe? The good twin, bad twin thing? Whatever. She had her days. And her very public breakup with Mickey Graham hadn’t helped. To hear him tell it, she was a selfish prima donna who’d broken his heart. It’d hurt like hell that everyone was so willing to believe the worst of her. But her pride had stopped her from telling the truth—the real truth, not Mickey’s version of it. His tall tales cemented her bad-girl image, so she’d embraced some of the freedom it gave her.
“I get you’re disappointed, Krystal, but there will be other songs.” Daddy’s hand cupped her cheek, his smile genuine and sympathetic.
He did not just say that. His easy dismissal cut deep. Yes, there would be other songs, but this one mattered. People might chalk it up to her breakup with Mickey. She knew better. The song had come from a wound that wouldn’t heal. A wound that haunted her dreams and reminded her to guard her heart, to never let anyone in. Every scribbled note, tweaked word, chord change, or key finagle had led her to both love and hate the finished product. But it made her proud.
Her daddy had said he was proud, too. Just not enough. While she’d never asked her father to plead her case at their label, Wheelhouse Records, she realized, deep down, she’d hoped he would—for this song—without her having to ask. But if he had championed her, she’d be cutting