Liz couldn’t help it. She laughed. “I’d hate to have you suffer at home with, what? A Marie Callender’s lasagna?”
Michelle feigned surprise with her hand clasped to her chest. “How did you know? Do I look like a Marie Callender kind of girl to you?”
At least Michelle had a sense of humor. She was also easy on the eyes. Oh, what the hell, Liz thought. It’s not going to hurt to at least talk to her.
Which is what they did for the next half hour until the burgers and hotdogs were ready. As Lacey, Laurie, and their husbands settled at the other picnic table, her parents, Ginny and Bruce, sat down with Liz and Michelle. The kids had their own card table set up close to their parents’ picnic table. Liz let her mother draw out more information about Michelle, a pediatrician at the local hospital. Liz kept mostly quiet and allowed her mother to dominate the conversation. After eating, Michelle stood up to help clear the table.
Ginny stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “Oh, no. You and Liz visit. I’ve got this.”
Ginny and Bruce left, and Michelle waggled her eyebrows at Liz. “Not real subtle, huh?”
“Not too much, no.”
Michelle glanced at her watch. “Damn. I hate to have to eat and run, but I need to take care of Brutus.”
“Brutus?”
“My Great Dane.”
Okay. A dog person. That’s another plus, Liz thought.
“Listen,” Michelle said, “I was thinking, well, if you want, I mean—”
“It’s okay. You can ask.”
“There’s a singer at Carl’s. Her last night is tonight before she heads out of town. I’ve heard good things about her and wondered if you’d like to go.” Michelle stopped. “Or maybe not.”
Liz tried to wipe away what she was sure was a discouraging look from her face. “I’m sorry. You’re right. She’s quite good.”
“But...”
Liz made a quick decision to shove aside her discomfort at seeing C.J., and more than likely Dani, tonight at Carl’s. “I’d love to go.” Liz couldn’t believe she was able to utter those words with any conviction, but Michelle seemed to believe her.
“Great. I don’t know where you live, but I’d be happy to pick you up if you want to give me your address.”
“Why don’t we just meet up there? It’d be easier that way. I live within walking distance of the club.”
“All right. Six okay? I think she starts at seven-thirty. We might at least beat some of the crowd.”
Liz swallowed the last of her doubt and said, “See you there at six.”
* * *
Dani pulled a short-sleeved, Cincinnati Reds T-shirt over her head and yanked on a pair of jeans. She sat down and slipped on her old sneakers. After she tied the last knot, she stood and checked herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her hair. The little bit of gray that showed through blended in nicely with the darker brown.
At the door with Frodo hot on her heals, she bent down and stroked behind his ears. “Mommy will be home in a few hours.” His ears flattened to his head and his tail drooped. “Please don’t give me that, ‘how could you be so horrible?’ look. I won’t be out all night. Take a long nap, and I’ll be home.”
Dani stood at her car and debated about driving. She craned her neck to look up at the night sky, and the view took her breath away. “Okay, that makes up my mind for me.”
As she walked, she gazed skyward as much as possible, picking out the constellations her dad had taught her as a kid back home in Peabody. They always had a spectacular view of the starlit sky. For hours one night, they sat in their backyard on a blanket with Dani’s brother, counting falling stars. Dani smiled at the memory. Sometimes, small towns really beat the big city life.
As expected, the place was packed when she entered Carl’s Cavern—so much so that Dani didn’t think she’d find a table. Barb motioned her over to the bar.
“Hey, Dani. C.J. said to let you know she reserved a table for you up front.”
“Cool. I thought I was going to be stuck standing in the back.” There was a line of women against the back wall. Dani knew the place had to be at capacity or close to it.
Barb plopped a Heineken in front of her without asking. “Here. On me as always.”
“Thanks, Barb.”
Dani made her way around the tables and spotted the empty one next to the stage. It had a card on it that said “Reserved.” One chair remained. Dani took her seat and ignored the stares of the women around her.
She sipped her beer slowly as always but found she was scanning the room. Suddenly, it hit her—she was searching for Liz. Dani tried to stop herself, but still managed to peek behind the pole where Liz sat with her colleagues that one night. The table was full of other women who appeared to be “two sheets to the wind,” as her father would say.
Carl breezed by Dani and jumped up on the stage.
“Ladies! Tonight Ms. C.J. James is giving her last performance in Francis before heading to Music City.”
The whole room groaned. A few lusty “boos” rang out, then laughter.
“I know, I know. I’m disappointed, too, but this is a fantastic opportunity for C.J. She signed with Different Drummer Records and will cut her debut album with them later this year.”
The place erupted in cheers.
“So now, without further ado.” He smiled. “I’ve always wanted to say that, by the way.” Everyone laughed. He motioned dramatically to the side of the stage. “I give you Cincinnati’s own and now Francis, Georgia’s, adopted daughter, C.J. James.”
C.J. entered to a standing ovation. Dani rose to her feet with everyone in the bar. C.J. looked genuinely touched. She bowed low and raised her hands to quiet the place, but the ovation continued. She walked to the mic.
“Please, please. You’re too kind. Thank you so much.” She again motioned for everyone to sit down. “Thank you.” Everyone settled into their seats. C.J. reached for her twelve-string acoustic and placed the pill bottle on her finger. She plugged in the guitar. When she turned around, she paused and looked pointedly at Dani. She nodded ever-so-slightly and gave Dani a smile.
Dani returned the smile with a nod and a tip of her bottle of beer. If women hadn’t been staring at her before, they sure as hell were now.
“How ’bout some blues?” C.J. shouted.
Applause and whistles rang out in the room.
C.J. played with a gusto Dani hadn’t seen before now. She ripped through some other fast tunes then settled down to slower acoustic playing. One song was entirely musical. It was beautiful.
Eventually it was time for a break. The houselights went up, and C.J. left the stage. Dani decided to get another beer and made it back to the bar.
“She sounds fantastic tonight, doesn’t she?” Barb asked as she set another Heineken in front of Dani.
“She sure does.”
Barb leaned over. “So how are you two?”
“I think we’re okay. C.J. asked me to join her in Nashville. I told her I’d try to come up and visit on a weekend later this summer.”
“What’s wrong? You don’t seem too excited about the prospect. She invited you, Dani. That says something.” Someone shouted for Barb from the other end of the bar. As Barb walked away, she motioned toward Dani’s table. “I think you can go back there now.”
Dani turned and saw C.J. had pulled up a chair. Women held out CDs for autographs. Dani grabbed her beer and maneuvered her way through the crowd. She got stuck behind a group of women who didn’t seem in a hurry to break up their conversation. Dani was about to ask them to let her through when she spotted Liz seated at a table with a tall blonde. Liz laughed at something the blonde said, but then she locked eyes with Dani. The blonde must have noticed because she turned around.
Fuck.
Liz gave Dani a small wave and a smile. “Hi, Dani.”
Dani’s feet felt like lead as she stepped up to their table. “Hi, Liz.”
The other woman stuck out her ha
nd. “Michelle Richards.”
Dani took it and tried not to wince at the bone-crunching grip. “Dani Roberts.”
“Oh, hey. You own that bookstore, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Love that place. It reminds me of Charis in Atlanta.”
“Thank you. That’s quite a compliment.” Dani felt Liz’s gaze and glanced over. “Enjoying the show?”
“I don’t know about Liz, but I think she’s freaking awesome. I can see why she got signed to a Nashville contract.”
Dani waited for Liz’s response.
“She’s a great musician and singer. I’m sure she’ll be a big success.”
Dani noticed the women had scattered so she could get to her seat. “I’d better go.” She motioned toward the table.
Liz focused on C.J. who was still signing autographs. “Yeah, you’d better.”
Michelle looked back and forth between them and raised her eyebrows at Liz.
“Nice meeting you, Michelle. Liz, great seeing you as always.”
Liz gave her a tight smile. Dani made an abrupt getaway, trying to shake off the image of Liz with another woman. Which she realized was a totally immature reaction considering she was about to sit down with C.J.
“I need to take a break, if you don’t mind,” C.J. said to the women as Dani got within earshot. “I’ll be available after the show.” She handed a signed copy of the CD that Dani first stocked at her shop to the last woman. The woman stared at C.J. with huge puppy dog eyes. She lingered for a few seconds more before walking away with her friends.
“I see you still have it,” Dani said, taking her seat.
“Stop it.” C.J. chuckled.
“How are you feeling? Excited about leaving for Nashville?”
“Excited and scared at the same time.” C.J. took a drink of her bottled water. “It’s a big step for me.”
“It is, but you’re ready whether you realize it or not. You sound fucking awesome tonight, C.J.”
“Thanks.”
They talked about C.J.’s plans when she got to Nashville, about her good relationship with David Morgenson. “He’s really a great guy. He’s been very fair about the contract thing, too.”
Before they knew it, the houselights blinked on and off.
“That’s my cue.” C.J. stood, but before she walked away, she leaned over and brushed Dani’s lips with hers. “It really meant a lot to me to have you here tonight,” she whispered. She kissed Dani again and hopped back on stage.
Dani felt her face redden with the hundreds of eyes focused on her. She kept her head down, staring at her beer. Carl’s voice brought Dani out of her reverie.
“All right. One last time, ladies. Give it up for C.J. James!”
Again, the place erupted with thunderous applause.
“Thanks, everybody. It’s been such a privilege to play here the past seven weeks. And I want to especially thank Mr. Carl Griffith for everything he’s done for me here. I wouldn’t be heading to Nashville if it weren’t for his generosity in allowing me to extend my stay. Another artist had to cancel, but I know there were plenty of other capable artists that he could’ve called to fill the weeks. The fact that he wanted me to stay longer will never, ever be forgotten.” She held up her bottled water. “Carl, I know this isn’t a shot of whiskey, but it means just as much to me as an alcohol salute. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She bowed to Carl who stood in the back of the bar. He returned the gesture.
C.J. sat down on her stool and began her second set. Dani let the music flow over her. She breathed in the sound like it was one of the aromatic lilac bushes along her walks with Frodo. It was soothing. It was liquid.
Eventually, C.J. wound down to her last song of the night. She paused before looking directly at Dani. “I want to share with you a special song for a very special lady. It’s called ‘Dani’s Eyes.’”
She wrote her a frigging song, Liz thought. A song. How the hell can you compete with that? Liz took a long drink from her vodka tonic.
Michelle, who had moved her chair to sit next to Liz, leaned in to her ear. “You feeling all right? You’re a little pale.”
“Fine. I’m fine.” Liz finished off her drink in one big gulp. Just peachy.
She finished the song, Dani thought as her face instantly flushed. Like the first time Dani had heard it, she didn’t know quite how to react. Maybe some of it was because she didn’t think she was worthy of a song. Or maybe some of it was because she didn’t think her relationship with C.J. was worthy of a song. She tried to shake off those thoughts.
The first chords gently wafted over the hushed room as C.J. sang the lyrics, almost like a whisper. She closed her eyes when she began, and when she opened them, she only looked down at her guitar as her fingers caressed the strings like a lover. She sang the last lines:
We touched and I felt something deep inside.
What I’d lost had been found in Dani’s eyes.
Yes, what I’d lost had been found in Dani’s eyes.
When she finished, at first no one clapped. Dani ventured a glance at the women around her. Some were wiping away tears. Others simply sat there with awestruck expressions. Then, the first person began applauding in the back of the room. One by one, everyone joined in and rose to their feet. The sound was deafening.
C.J. smiled and stood. She stepped away from her stool and bowed. The applause continued and a chant began, “C.J.! C.J.! C.J.!”
C.J. leaned into the microphone. “Thank you, everyone. Thank you so, so much. God bless you.” She waved to the crowd, brought her hand to her lips, and blew Dani a kiss before walking off the stage.
Everyone continued to clap. C.J. stepped out on the stage again, gave a big wave, and walked backstage. The houselights came up. Some shuffled toward the door, others seemed like they were hanging around until later.
Dani took her last sip of beer as she tried to recover from hearing that song. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Carl.
“C.J. asked you to come backstage.”
She tapped on the door and entered the backstage room. “Hey, C.J., it’s me.”
“Come on in, Dani.”
Dani walked in as C.J. pulled on a fresh T-shirt. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair. Dani still didn’t know why she made the effort. Her hair was never out of place.
“Great show.”
C.J. gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it tonight. You’ll never know how much this means to me.” She pulled back. “I wanted you to hear your song again, finished. I wanted everyone to hear your song.”
“I didn’t know what to do. I felt like everyone had shifted their attention over to my table.”
“As they should.” C.J. brushed back Dani’s hair. “I’d love to have spent another night with you before I leave, but I have to pack up all my gear since I’m driving up tonight.”
“Please tell me you’re stopping along the way. It’s ten now, and that’s over a four-hour drive.”
“Don’t worry. I plan to crash in Chattanooga and head up early tomorrow. They want me there in the early afternoon. I figured it’d be better from Chattanooga. I’ll at least be a little fresher.” C.J. stepped forward and brushed her lips against Dani’s. “I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with you here. I’m sorry again about fucking up these past couple of weeks.”
“You didn’t—”
C.J. stopped her with a touch of her finger to Dani’s lips. “We both know I did. I’d like to make it up to you in Nashville. You’ll still come up, yes?”
“I’m not sure what weekend yet, but I’ll definitely make it up to see you.”
C.J. gave Dani another kiss. This one was much longer and a lot more passionate. She pulled out of the kiss and nipped at Dani’s lower lip. “Take care. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon.” Dani paused at the door and turned back one last time before taking her leave.
On her way out of the bar, Dani used every ounce of
her willpower not to check out Liz and Michelle’s table. She instead tried to focus on the fact she’d be visiting C.J. soon in Nashville.
“And that’s a good thing,” she said under her breath as she waved at Barb.
Chapter 15
“Yo! Darrryl! You’re killin’ my fantasy team, dude!” Barb bellowed from the stands at Turner Field. She was harassing Bip Monroe, the star third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, who swung a bat in the on-deck circle. Dani scrunched down into her seat a little more as Monroe looked their way. What was truly amazing was that a half smile crossed his lips. Bip Monroe never smiled.
“Darling, don’t you think you need to let up a little?” Tina said. They were seated in the fourth row up from the Braves dugout. Barb wasn’t hard to miss, either, in her red Braves T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up high on her arms and a blue Braves hat perched on her head. The T-shirt had Bip’s name and number on the back.
“Oh, please. Daryl’s cool with it. Aren’t you Darryl?”
Dani moved down even more in her seat. If she crouched any farther, she’d end up on the hard concrete in front of her. When she attended her first game with Barb and Tina, she couldn’t figure out who Barb was screaming at when she yelled out “Darryl!” Then she realized Bip Monroe’s full name was Darryl Duane Monroe, Jr. After finding that out, Dani could understand why he went by the nickname.
Bip glanced their way. He returned to his task of applying more pine tar to his bat handle.
“Barb, you’re too much,” Tina muttered and took a drink of her beer.
Barb and Tina had decided that Dani needed to get “out.” Barb purchased the tickets from a friend who couldn’t make the game. The Braves were playing the Reds that night. Barb prodded Dani even more and told her at least the Braves were playing Dani’s favorite team. Dani wore her Reds hat to give Barb a hard time.
“Tina, he’s been on the disabled list twice already this season. I mean the man can hit, but only when he actually plays.” Barb took a sip of her Coke.
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