Red Lines by T.A. Foster

her eyes, anxious for the coolness of Evan’s bed.
     
    T HE DAMN crickets wouldn’t stop chirping. She slammed the phone with her palm, not caring if the impact cracked the screen or not.
    When she heard the ringing a few seconds later, she jerked the phone off the charger.
    “Hello?”
    “Darlin’, I tried calling you all night. You ok?” Evan sounded panicked. There wasn’t a trace of his easygoing drawl.
    “Yeah, Yeah. What time is it?” Haven rubbed her head where a piercing sensation had taken over.
    “Early. I’m getting ready to start read throughs for the day, but you had me worried. Where were you? I was going to call out the Texas Rangers to look for you.”
    She sat upright, squinting at the sun filtering through the windows. “I went out with Carly and I didn’t hear my phone ring. It was so late when I got home, I didn’t think I should call. Sorry.”
    “Carly, huh?”
    She could hear background noise on the call, but wasn’t sure what the sounds were.
    “Yeah, we had a good time.”
    “I bet. She can party. Hold on.” He covered the phone and mumbled something. “Ok, I’m back, but I won’t be able to talk the rest of the day. The schedule they have us on is crazy. They want to start shooting by the end of the week and that only gives us a few days to get the script down. I was the last one to show up on the set, so I’m behind.”
    “Oh.” She wasn’t alert enough to say anything encouraging.
    “You sure you’re ok?”
    “Yes, I’m fine. I’m going to take a shower and see if Lenny has any coffee for me.”
    “All right. All right. Gotta go, baby. I’ll call you tonight.”
    “Good luck or break a leg, or what am I supposed to say?” She didn’t know if the stage was the same as the screen.
    “You’ve got it. Bye.”
    Evan hung up, and she wished she had been more awake to talk to him. She looked at the empty covers beside her and lay back on the bed.

E VAN SHOVED the phone in his back pocket. He didn’t want to walk into rehearsals. Haven didn’t sound like herself. However, he didn’t have a choice. They had called him in three times already. A night out with Carly was probably something she needed. He had left her alone on the ranch, and she hadn’t been in town long enough to make friends. He tried to forget what Carly’s nights out were like. More than one morning he had awakened on her couch with a vicious hangover and a handful of crazy stories.
    The first time he met the singer, she was performing at an open mic night at one of Austin’s dive bars. She was cute, spunky, and damn the girl could sing. After he bought her a beer, it didn’t take long to realize she was more like the little sister he never had. Although, he didn’t know many little sisters who could party like Carly. It was rare to meet a girl who was happy with buddy status. Evan’s celebrity didn’t seem to matter. She had her sights set on singing, not relationships.
    The bar was getting ready to close and Carly slammed her beer on the table. “Come on. I know a place that stays open all night.” She winked at Evan.
    “Hold on, darlin’. Don’t you think it’s past your bedtime?” He glanced at his watch.
    “Bed? You are old!” She giggled and hopped off her barstool.
    “I am not old. Just lookin’ out for you.” She was already headed for the door.
    “Then prove it,” she taunted.
    Evan hesitated. It was 2 a.m. “One more drink?”
    “Whatever.” Carly grabbed him by the hand and led him from the bar. “You can always crash at my place. No big deal.”
    He shook his head. This girl was crazy, but he let her lead him from one hole-in-the-wall bar to another. This was another side of Austin’s nightlife he had never experienced. By six, he was sprawled across Carly’s couch, facedown on a pillow with his boots kicked under the coffee table.
    He vowed one night on the town with her would be the last, but it never seemed to work out that way.
    Evan laughed, hoping