Free A Face in the Crowd by Christina Kirby

you mind running down to the cafeteria and seeing if there’s anything to eat?”
    She eyed Lexie one more time, rubbed a hand over her son’s hair, and picked up her bag before leaving.
    “Sorry about that. My mom is intense.”
    Lexie nodded. “I noticed.”
    “She was our manager when the band first took off. As you can imagine she didn’t take any crap from anyone. She makes a good manager, but sometimes she doesn’t know when to relax.”
    “Name and date of birth,” Lexie asked as she handed him his first medicine and a cup of water. He took the liberty of singing his name and date of birth back to her as though singing in honky-tonk bar somewhere.
    “Good one.” She smiled at him, finally able to relax. “It’s good to have someone on your side. I was wondering when your family might show up.”
    “Yeah, she was in Europe when I called her and then she went out to L.A. to tie up a few loose ends for me.”
    She handed him his next pills. “Sounds to me like she’s a good mom.” She thought of her own mother and their strained relationship. Would she bother to fly all over the country to help her? Maybe if she could fit it in between marriages.
    He shrugged and smiled as he swallowed. “She’s all I know. So, I heard you ran into the guys the other night.”
    Lexie collided with the chair Cathy had previously occupied. “You did? I mean, yeah we did.”
    “They said they checked out one of the bars you recommended and it was pretty cool.”
    Lexie ignored her throbbing shin and held back from asking what else Oliver had said. It wasn’t like his brother was about to tell her that Oliver had said he was in love with her and couldn’t wait to tear her clothes off.
    “It was strange seeing them out in a normal setting. We’re not used to celebrity sightings.”
    “They said they met one of your friends, Simone, I think.”
    “Yeah, that’s right. We were out celebrating.”
    “I can honestly say I don’t know anyone by that name and I know a lot of people.”
    “Her mom was a big Nina Simone fan.”
    “Apparently.”
    Lexie refilled Bailey’s pitcher of water and poured him a new cup. “The guys were a lot of fun. I’m sorry you couldn’t be there, too.”
    “Next time,” Bailey winked.
    “Definitely.” She smiled, relived he didn’t seem bummed about missing a night out. She handed him his final pain med. “Okay, I’ll be back in later. Take it easy.”
    As she turned around, big hands caught her shoulders. “Morning, Miss Lexie.”
    Her face burned at the sudden appearance of Oliver. When she finally managed a pathetic ‘Hi’, she started for the door again and ran into Cathy.
    Orange juice splashed on the coral blouse she wore and Oliver stepped around Lexie to take the tray from his mother.
    “I’m so sorry.” Mortified beyond belief, Lexie rushed to the sink to retrieve a damp paper towel.
    Cathy plucked it out of her outstretched hand and blotted the spot on her shirt. “Are you still here? Don’t you have work to do?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Again, I’m so sorry.”
    Lexie escaped without looking back at Oliver, but she could hear him before the door finished closing.
    “Come on, Mom, there was no need to be rude. I think you can afford the dry cleaning bill.”
    “Your brother is in the hospital to receive medical care, not so that another little star struck girl can stand around swooning over the two of you.”
    Face burning, Lexie took off down the hall. What had she been thinking? His mother was right. They had girls throwing themselves all over them, all the time. She was no different in their eyes and what made it worse was that she knew better. She had a job to do and she was good at it, dammit. She needed to let go of whatever silly fantasies she had cooked up about Oliver Honeycutt. He would be there for a little while and then he would be gone. Back to his life in L.A. and his many adoring fans and girlfriends.

Chapter 7
    Back in his brother’s room,