I lifted the hand Jet wasn’t holding and glanced at it.

It was trembling.

“Look at my hand!” I demanded. “I won’t even be able to hold my guitar!”

“Stel a, stil your mind,” Vance said softly.

“You stil your mind. I’m freaking out!” I screeched.

Al of a sudden, Vance pul ed over and stopped.

The air in the cab of the Explorer went funny and Jet and Jules exchanged glances.

Vance turned to me.

“You cal ed these women two days ago. They dropped everything to be here. That says they want this to work and they’l do everything in their power to make it work. You did your job. You opened the door. Now you gotta leave it to them to get through it,” he said.

“What if he gets angry at me?” I asked and my voice was low and croaky with fear.

“He probably wil ,” Vance replied and I audibly sucked in breath.

“Crowe!” Jules protested (loudly).

“Quiet, Princess,” Vance muttered and then to me he said, “It was me, I’d be pissed as hel . Then I’d realize why you did what you did and I’d get over it. Mace’l do the same. You just gotta have the courage to ride it out.”

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“This is serious shit he’s dealing with,” I shared like he didn’t know that.

“Yeah,” Vance repeated because he knew it.

“I’m scared,” I went on sharing with Vance of al people.

But, again, I wil remind you, I was freaking out.

“Means you care. Says a lot. Mace’l know that too,” Vance said.

“You think so?” I asked.

“Don’t think it, know it,” he replied with certainty. “Now, concentrate on something else. Stil your mind. You got a big night ahead of you.”

He was not wrong about that.

Vance turned back around and moved the Explorer onto the road.

Jet gave me another reassuring hand squeeze.

I smiled at her and, as my eyes moved forward, I caught sight of Jules’s hand going in the direction of Vance’s thigh.

I watched her fingers curl around his thigh and I saw his I watched her fingers curl around his thigh and I saw his hand come to hers. Then I watched as he twisted his wrist and his fingers linked with hers. He rested the back of her hand on his thigh and kept driving.

I found I had something to concentrate on.

It was the dawning revelation that I knew what Mace was talking about when he said he figured out why the Hot Bunch put up with the Rock Chicks.

Preston Mason had said Vance was a felon. Grand theft auto. Now he was a private investigator married to a movie star beautiful social worker. They were having a baby and riding in an SUV to a rock gig, holding hands.

My mind went stil , my hands quit trembling and my heart settled.

It was the heart settle Mace was talking about.

He felt it too.

That’s what the Rock Chicks did for the Hot Bunch.

That’s why they put up with us.

I felt like crying, knowing I’d done that to Mace’s heart.

Then I wondered if they knew we felt it too.

“Oh shit, I think I’m gonna cry,” I announced.

Vance’s eyes went back to the rearview mirror and Jet did another hand squeeze.

“Why on earth are you gonna cry?” Jet asked.

I looked at her. “Because I think Vance is right. It’s gonna be fine.”

“Of course it’s going to be fine,” Jules told me.

I sucked in breath to control the tears. Luckily, since I didn’t have a makeup repair kit with me, this worked.

We fel silent. I saw Vance’s eyes come back to the mirror and I noticed he looked like he was smiling.

I smiled back.

Vance’s gaze went back to the road and he drove us to the club.

* * * * *

We were playing The Rose, a new club in Lowry that could hold two hundred and fifty people. The Gypsies liked it because it had a great dressing room backstage and the staff usual y left us a tin tub fil ed with ice and Fat Tire beer.

Tex met us at the backdoor and told me, “Fuck, I’m nervous as a f**kin’ jackrabbit.”

I looked up at him with surprise. Tex wasn’t the kind of guy who got nervous.

“Why?” I asked.

“Family reunions. They freak me out,” he answered.

I stopped dead. “You think I’m doing the wrong thing?” His hand settled on top of my head. “No f**kin’ way.” I let out the breath I was holding.

“Stil ,” he went on, “Mace is a big guy and f**kin’ moody as al hel . He loses it, be a bitch to lock him down.” Beautiful.

“Shut up, Tex,” Jet snapped.

“Be cool, Loopy Loo,” Tex shot back.

“Tequila,” I blurted.

Tex’s gaze came to me.

“Tequila. Right. I’m on it,” he said and peeled off, going toward the bar.

That afternoon, when Roam and Sniff got out of school, Pong, Leo and Hugo picked them up and came to get the equipment. The stage was set and I had one thing to thank Sidney Carter for, I didn’t have to lug amplifiers around town.

I knew (because Daisy cal ed and told me) that Lee and Tom had picked up Daisy, Al y, Indy, Lana and Chloe and they were already backstage.

We made it to the dressing room door and I stopped dead again and stared at the closed door.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Jet said.

I turned to her. “I don’t look like a rock ‘n’ rol freak, do I?” She smiled and shook her head then whispered, “No, Stel a, you look rock ‘n’ rol amazing. ” I nodded because she sounded like she meant it, took in a breath and opened the door.

Daisy, Al y and Indy had been joined by Floyd, Duke, Roxie and Ava.

Two women were with them.

One was petite, blonde and blue-eyed with a pretty face and sun-kissed skin. She was wearing a pair of designer boot-cut jeans, black strappy sandals on dainty french pedicured feet, a complicated woven black leather belt and a white tuxedo blouse. Her hair was pul ed back in a soft ponytail.

The other was older, tal , slim, had long, shining black hair left loose, fantastic skin, warm brown eyes and she was stunning. She was obviously one of those older women who never lost their cool, was sexy as hel and always would be until the day she died. She was wearing faded would be until the day she died. She was wearing faded jeans, black flip-flops and a black Stel a and The Blue Moon Gypsies tee, the “o’s” were little blue moons.