Will hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Morning."
"You're hungry."
"Yep."
Laura pushed the blanket aside and swung her legs around. She grabbed a couple of cookies off the coffee table, handed one to him, and took a bite out of hers.
He jammed the whole cookie in his mouth. “Seeb ‘el?” he managed around a full mouth.
She glanced down at him, smiled sleepily, and took another bite. “That was the best sleep I've had in a long time."
"Well, of course. You were snuggled in the arms of a big time rock star."
Laura shook her head as if she didn't have a clue what to do with him. Then her gaze fell on the notepad. “What's that?"
He snatched it away. “Lyrics."
She reached for it. “Let me see."
Will put the pad against his chest. “No peeking."
She slanted him a challenging look and made another grab for it.
He slapped her hand away. “No."
Laura poked him in the ribs, and Will jackknifed to a sitting position. She tugged on the pad. He tugged back. She tugged again, harder, and Will let go, sending her flying to the carpeted floor. She looked up at him in surprised shock. He bit back a smile. She lifted the pad to chance another peek, and with a growl, Will propelled off the couch on top of her.
Sandwiched between the couch and the coffee table, he planted his knees at her sides and pinned her arms to the floor. She let out a soft laugh. He pried the pad from her grip and flung it across the room. She got an arm free and jabbed him in the ribs again. He jumped and flattened his body along the top of hers.
"Okay, smarty-pants, you want to play rough?” Will wrestled her arms above her head, clamped her wrists together, and with his free hand tickled her ribs. “Uncle, say uncle."
Laura squirmed and scrunched her face into a determined line. “Not on your life."
"Better yet, say Will is the most wonderful man in the whole-wide world."
She laughed and shook her head. “You're a big bully."
Will leaned down close to her ear. “Oh, my heart's breaking you poor little defenseless woman."
"That's it!” She gave a hard twist right, then left.
He gave in and rolled off, and the two lay facing each other, legs intertwined, laughing, breathing heavy. Will smoothed her tousled hair from her cheeks. He wished he had a picture of her flushed face and smiling eyes, it wasn't often that he saw her so carefree.
Disentangling their legs, she pulled herself up and sat on the edge of the couch. He continued to grin like a fool while she straightened her twisted clothes.
"Scooby-Doo?” she asked.
"Hmmm?"
Laura pointed to his feet. “Your socks have Scooby on them."
He pulled his foot up and looked at the bottom. “Ed gave them to me for my last birthday."
"Ed. That's a name I haven't heard in awhile."
Will owed Ed every thanks in the world. Because of him, Laura worked for Tourist. “I love cartoons. I think I've got on Miss Piggy undies. Wanna see?” He looped his thumbs in the band of his sweatpants and pretended to push them down.
She shot off the couch. “No!"
He chuckled. She gave him an exasperated look and walked into the kitchen. Will switched the television to the news, and together they cleaned up their mess from the previous night. Neither said a word as they worked companionably, listening to world events in the background. After things had been put back in order, they agreed to meet for a morning run before Laura reported into work.
* * * *
Jay had worked under Laura for four months now. When Ed left, Jay assumed he'd be given the Head Sound Engineer job. After all, he'd been next in line. And still was ... next in line to Laura, though.
Playing second wheel was not his life's ambition. His little sabotage games had filled everyone's mind with doubts concerning Laura's competency. The stage workers were either for her or against her, but management was definitely disgruntled.
Jay smiled, confident that one last huge mishap would get her fired. Of course, that would make him the new Head Sound Engineer.
Jay saw Laura disappear under the elevated stage carrying her toolbox. He knew what he needed to do. He'd been thinking about it for weeks. Making his way backstage, he jumped a pile of cables and came to a stop in front of the main power supply. Imagine, all the power blowing during a show. The crowd would go insane, the performers would be pissed, and the band's manager would be forced to act to insure nothing that drastic ever happened again.
Bye, Bye, Laura.
Brilliant idea if he had to say so himself. The generator would kick on, but that'd be easy enough to hinder. No one ever checked it because total power failure was unheard of, until now.
* * * *
"Tourist! Tourist! Tourist!” the crowd chanted.
Laura scanned the sold out, Seattle stadium. Even the seats behind the stage were packed. Who in the world would pay to watch the back of someone's head for three hours?
The usual backstage chatter rattled in her headset.
"Cue the guys in ten minutes."
"There's a riser missing stage right. Where the hell is it?"
"Damn! Someone tape down these cables before I bust my head open."
"Close the loading dock doors! Some fanatic creep'll wander in."
"Hey, man, those are my cigs. Where'd ya find em?"
Someone was always looking for a cigarette right before a show.
"We want Will! We want Will! We want Will!"
Laura swiveled on her stool and looked behind her. A few rows back bounced four, big-busted, braless women, all in tight, white T-shirts each with a letter of Will's name printed on the front. They jumped up and down and waved their arms, their boobs bouncing with each exuberant hop.
The lights dimmed, and the crowd screamed their heads off. Laura slid the house channels up. Will and Eric stood with feet braced apart, one on each side of the stage, elevated on platforms, playing in unison with the drummer. Smoke and white lights shot up from the floor illuminating each member of Tourist in their spot.
The lead singer stepped up to his mike. Laura opened his channel on the board. He sang one line of lyrics, and the entire stage ground to a sounding halt. Lights and smoke still worked, but speakers and mikes went out. At first the band members didn't realize what happened and continued to play, which, in such a huge place, sounded like little toy acoustical instruments. The crowd booed, hissed, and yelled profanities. Laura blocked out the confusion as she checked every connection within her reach.
The voices in her headset yelled and shouted her name. The band members put down their instruments and walked off. The crowd became even more disgruntled and began pushing and shoving toward the stage.
Laura grabbed her toolbox, jumped over the barrier to her area, and ran along side of the crowd toward the backstage entrance. The security officer saw her coming and opened the gate. She dashed through it. The tech workers rushed at her, wanting an explanation.
She held up her hands for quiet. But with the crowd's noise out front, she had to yell anyway. “Listen up. Everyone calm down. Go to your assigned area and check all the connections. Don't just look at them either, put your fingers on them and assure yourself that they are firmly in place. No one speaks into this headset unless you're telling me that you've completely finished checking your area."
The workers charged off in different directions. She darted down the back hall toward the sound generator. Why hadn't it kicked in? With complete power failure the lights should've gone out, too, but they still worked. Only the sound was gone. She pushed a box out of the way, flicked the button on her flashlight, and squatted down in front of the generator. A severed wire dangled from the back. Exactly what she'd suspected. Laura pulled the strippers and electrical tape from her toolbox and spliced the cut wire.
"Laura,” Jay's voice came through her headset. “You're not going to believe this. It loo
ks like someone unplugged the main power source to the sound equipment."
"I believe it. I'm at the generator. Someone cut the wires. Let's not waste any more time. Plug in and I'll get back out to my station."
* * * *
"Good show tonight, guys,” the band's manager congratulated them.
"Yeah, once we got sound,” the drummer sneered.
Will ground his teeth together.
The manager scanned the five Tourist members sprawled out in his hotel suite. “First, I want to thank you for meeting with me at such a late hour. I wouldn't do this if I didn't feel it necessary. As you know, we have another show tomorrow night, and I want to get this problem taken care of before then. We had a huge mishap tonight and can't afford to have it again.
He lit a cigarette and took a drag. “Laura's a fantastic sound engineer but someone's sabotaging her work. At first I thought the screw-ups were intended to hurt the reputation of Tourist, but now I'm confident they're directed toward her. These things weren't happening before she got here. I recommend we replace her. We don't need the bad publicity or the loss of ticket sales over the rumors of a bad show. I can't make this decision without you. What do you guys think?"
Will straightened in his chair. They couldn't dismiss Laura. What would he do without her? “The only other person who knows how to mix our show is Ed, and there's no way we can get him here by tomorrow night."
The manager flicked his ash into a nearby tray. “I called Ed a few hours ago. He's agreed to help out until we get things figured out."
Will stood, shoved his hands in his back pockets, and walked to the window. “But what if the mishaps continue to occur even after Ed takes over?"
"I don't know,” the manager answered. “I guess we try and figure it out from there. All I know is we didn't have these problems until Laura arrived. Maybe if we get rid of her, whoever's doing this will stop."
"Well maybe we should beef up security and install cameras to catch the person who deserves to be fired, not Laura.” Will knew his voice sounded desperate.
"Okay, that's an option,” the manager agreed. “But don't you think rumors will spread and everyone will know about the cameras?"
Will threw up his hands. “But that's a good thing because everyone will be on their best behavior."
The drummer twirled his drumstick in the air. “You're only fighting for her because you're in her pants."
Will jerked around. “Shut up, you son of a bitch. You have no idea what you're talking about."
The drummer smirked. “What? Are you gonna tell us you're in looovvve with her?"
Will charged across the room.
Eric stood up between the two of them. “Cool it you two.” He looked Will in the eyes. “I have an idea. I say we give Laura time off, bring Ed in to cover, and hire an investigator to find the guilty person. We'll be the only ones who know about the investigator, and we can bring him on as an assistant or something as cover."
"That's not a bad idea,” the manager added.
The other band members nodded and mumbled their approval.
Will crossed the room to the door. “I'm going to be the one to tell her."
* * * *
Standing in Laura's room, Will stared at her and waited for her response. He'd told her everything in one long rush of breath.
She moved to her duffel bag, unzipped it, and began placing clothes in it at a methodical, steady pace.
Will followed her movements with his eyes, then unable to control his patience, snapped, “Well?"
"It's a smart move on management's part. Tourist can't afford to have the kind of problems that you've been having since I arrived."
She sounded too logical. “But aren't you pissed?"
"No."
Irritated with her rational demeanor, Will paced the room, searching his brain for a solution. She zipped her duffel and tossed it onto the floor.
He spun on her. “I don't understand you."
"I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry about? You're the one who's getting screwed out of all this."
She leveled a tolerant look on him. “Don't you think I realize that? I learned a long time ago that you can't get upset over what life deals you. It's a waste of energy. The way I see it, I'm going on a little vacation, the investigator will nail the guilty party, and when I come back to work, my job will be even better. Now, you need to step back, take ten deep breaths, and lose the impatient tone in your voice.” She pushed past him and walked into the bathroom.
Will jammed his fingers through his hair and plopped down in one of the room's two chairs. Maybe he'd feel better if she'd rant and rave and shout or something. Not Laura, though, count on her to be unemotional and removed from the situation. Didn't she realize it might be months before they saw each other again? Clearly, it either hadn't occurred to her or didn't faze her. Okay, fine. If she could adopt such a mature attitude, then so would he.
Who was he kidding? He'd miss her terribly. Their morning runs, seeing each other at the venue, dinners together. Will sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. “Where are you going to go?"
"I think I'll rent a camper and do some sightseeing,” she called from the bathroom.
Great. Then she'd be stranded, God knows where, with a flat tire or maybe a busted radiator. The person who stopped to help her would be on the ten most wanted—
Will jerked his head up. “I have an idea.” He pushed out of the chair and rushed to the bathroom door. “I've got a log cabin in Tennessee. It's secluded on a hundred and forty acres. There're lots of valleys and hills and green pastures. There're a couple of creeks, and I've got great toys like a dune buggy, four-wheeler, motorcycle, and some bicycles. What do you think?"
Laura's eyes twinkled. “I think that sounds like fun."
He danced in place. “Great!” If he couldn't have her with him, at least he'd have peace of mind she was safe at his cabin.
Eleven
~
Laura stood atop the tallest mountain on Will's Tennessee property, looking out over rolling, tree-laden hills burnished red and yellow from the last remnants of fall. She had no idea where his land stopped and somebody else's began, but with one-hundred-and-forty acres, she suspected it encompassed a lot.
A small town sat wedged into the hills in the distance. She'd gone down to it a few times since her arrival one week ago. It contained a grocery, a post office, two restaurants, and a small school. Laura hadn't realized such quaint little towns still existed in the States.
How did Will find this place?
A dog barked. The sound echoed along the ridge. Laura turned, hoping to see Jake, the black lab that had befriended her the first day she arrived. Shielding her eyes from the early morning sun, she glanced down at Will's cabin nestled in the valley below. A thin line of smoke snaked from the chimney. The log cabin wasn't at all what she'd imagined. Small, with one open area for living and a loft bedroom, half of it was built into the slope of the ridge, while the other half extended out with stilts.
Rubbing her hands together, she breathed into her cupped palms. Warm, moist air flowed across her chilled nose and cheeks. The weatherman said it was colder than usual for November, and flurries might appear in the next day or so.
She stamped her boots to get the circulation back into her cold toes, then climbed into the dune buggy she used when exploring his property. As she descended the ridge, she thought of Will and how much she wished he could share this beauty with her.
It had only been six days, but it felt like six weeks. Laura missed him terribly. More than she thought possible. His cabin didn't have a phone. He'd told her as much before she left Tourist, but the reality of not being able to hear his voice hit her around the second day. Which is why she found herself constantly scanning the radio for any of their songs.
A small creek ran across the driveway leading to his house. Laura slowed, having learned that the frigid water would splash her from beneath the buggy's sparse steal fra
me. She spotted Jake when she pulled under the stilted house.
He nudged her hand as she climbed from the buggy. “You're a good boy,” she cooed, rubbing his ears. “What do you feel like for breakfast? How about left over burger from last night?"
Aunt Jane never allowed animals in their home. Laura put all those childhood years of wanting a pet into spoiling Jake.
She walked up the stone steps leading to the front door and grabbed a towel that she'd left there for him. She wiped down his legs and feet and let him in the house.
"Will probably doesn't want you in his house, but I won't say anything if you don't."
Jake's nails clicked on the hardwood floors as he pranced over to the fireplace and plopped down. Laura smiled at his arrogance and pried off her boots. After fixing Jake a bowl of food, she wandered over to the bank of windows that overlooked the rolling valley. As she stood there, thoughts of Will occupied her mind again.
Is he as lonely without me as I am without him?
* * * *
Life sucks.
Will blew out a frustrated breath and dropped his chin into the palm of his hand. He stared at the white fuzz outside his window as Tourist's jet flew through a cloud on the way to Phoenix.
Laura had been excited about seeing Arizona. Now she wouldn't get the chance. He'd bring her back someday. Anything to see her eyes light up, the way they did every time she saw a new city. She loved to travel.
Two weeks. It'd been two long weeks since he'd seen her.
Tourist's schedule had been non-stop, but that hadn't made time go by any quicker. His cabin didn't have a phone, so he hadn't talked to her either. He'd sent her four letters, two a week, and hoped that was the right amount. Not too many to smother her, not too little to make her think he'd forgotten her.
He hadn't received a letter from her, which didn't mean she hadn't sent one. It took a while for mail to catch up with the group. She'd left a message, though, a few days after she settled into his cabin. She'd called his hotel, but the front desk clerk hadn't put her through because she thought Laura was a crazed fan. Luckily, the clerk took a message, which he got later that day, saying that Laura found the place as described and thanking him.
Laura's Secrets Page 12
