by Wendy Vella
“Okay, fun it is.”
Maggs found parking, and they got out and headed up the street. The weather was cooling in Ryker, summer drawing to a close and fall approaching. She followed Maggie into a bar that she’d told Bailey was the place to go in Ryker.
“A.S. is owned and run by Joe Trainer—you met him this morning, Bailey. We’ll go find him later, because he may need an entertainer, although I’m not sure someone of your caliber wants to play here.”
“Don’t be a snob, Maggs,” Bailey said as her heart sank to her toes at the thought that she was entering Joe’s bar and would see him again soon. “There are some amazing piano players who aren’t on the stage.”
“I stand corrected.”
Joe owned this. Looking around, Bailey was impressed. The space was big, but tastefully decorated, and already full of people. He’d changed a lot since she’d last seen him, and not just in appearance, it seemed.
“As you should. Bad girl,” Bailey said, looking for Joe. She had to get this under control if she was to stay in Ryker for a while. She couldn’t stiffen up whenever he was near, and her heart had to learn to keep a steady rhythm. Exposure to him should sort that out. She hoped it did, anyway.
“I missed you, Bays.”
Maggs’s words gave her a sharp stab of pain. Bailey had missed her friend too, but after a while she’d learned how to shut those feelings away.
“Missed you too, and you look amazing by the way.” Sh e looked Maggs over.
Dressed in a pair of tight jeans, pink top, and another pair of sky-high heels, her friend exuded confidence and style, unlike Bailey, whose clothes hung on her because she hadn’t been able to put on the weight she’d lost after the accident.
“A.S. has great food and entertainment.”
“Hey there, Maggie, how you doing?” one of the staff greeted them.
“Good, thanks, Em. This is Bailey, and we’re going to find a seat near the piano and order some snacks.”
“Sure, no worries, I’ll bring you some menus.”
Joe had put a great deal of thought into making the people who walked in here feel comfortable, Bailey thought. The lighting was soft, the colors neutral until you reached the one wall that was a vivid jade. Black-and-white prints of actors hung in different sizes and shapes on it.
“Is the boss in, Em?”
“Sure, he’s in his office,” the woman said, handing them menus.
Relieved that she didn’t have to see Joe right off, Bailey relaxed enough to look at the bar menu. The hum of voices told her people were enjoying a drink and conversation. Through a set of doors, she saw more seats.
“That’s a restaurant, if you want to have a quiet meal,” Maggie said.
They found a high table with several stools. Once they’d ordered, Bailey let her eyes settle on the pianist. He was good, a natural, Bailey thought. There were two types of pianists to her mind. Those who didn’t have the raw talent, but practiced hard to become competent, and those who were born with the need to play. She was one of the latter.
“So, Bailey, I see you haven’t lost your bad food addiction.”
“Loaded fries and a glass of red wine are not bad, Maggie. If I ordered a sundae after, now that would be bad.”
“But of course we’re having a sundae.” Maggie looked shocked Bailey would think otherwise.
With her fries and red wine, and excellent music in the background, Bailey felt comfortable, and was suddenly glad she’d come with Maggie. Her reaction to Joe didn’t mean he felt the same way. Sure they’d had an awkward moment today, but it didn’t have to happen again.
“Mary Howard is still a bitch, Maggs.”
“She is, and not sure why you said that now, but let me tell you, the woman’s one to stay clear of.”
“I overheard her speaking to someone today. It was ugly.”
“Woman’s a born bitch, nothing else to say on that matter.”
They chatted, but didn’t touch on anything personal, and for that Bailey was relieved. Plenty of people stopped to say hi and were introduced to Bailey.
“Hey, Buzz.”
Bailey looked down at the large dog that appeared at their table.
“He’s kind of like the town’s unofficial mascot. Joe’s convinced if there was a vote between him and Buzz, Buzz would win any popularity contest,” Maggie said. He’s usually in Joe’s office sleeping, but someone has obviously coaxed him downstairs.
“He’s a sweetie,” Bailey said, getting off the stool to crouch down and give him a pat. She hadn’t had much exposure to dogs, but she liked them, and this one was a big, gentle giant, everyone had told her so.
The pianist stopped playing suddenly, and then ran from the room.
“What the hell’s that about?” Maggie frowned.
The woman who had served them moved to the microphone.
“Apologies, we just have a technical hitch to work through.”
The hum of voices started as she walked away.
“That’ll annoy the customers,” Maggie said.
“Why? Can’t they just put some music on?”
“Sure, but everyone loves to hear Vinnie play his honky-tonk, and come here especially for that. This place will soon be full of people who have driven from far and wide to hear him.”
“That’s a shame then.”
“Because I’m nosy, I’m going to see what’s happened.”
Bailey sat again, and ate her fries. Buzz wandered away to greet someone else. Nothing was pressing in on her here. She didn’t have her grandfather or agent in contact, demanding she return to New York, and for the first time in months, she could actually breathe. Maybe being in Ryker wasn’t so bad. She’d seen Joe twice, and if she saw him again they could be polite, and she wouldn’t feel like the rug had been pulled out from under her feet.
“So Vinnie has a stomach upset and he’s been sent home. Joe could play, but they’re short-staffed so he’s working,” Maggie said, returning.
“Joe plays?”
“Sure. He’s not a natural, but good enough. Em’s calling around trying to find a replacement, or they’ll just have to run the music through the system. However, I did tell Joe you were here, and he said to beg if I have to.”
“I could play.” Bailey said the words slowly, testing them to see how she felt about them. Okay . For the first time in many months, just like her appetite, Bailey felt her fingers itch. She wanted to play. It was Joe’s bar, but what did that matter? She wanted to play, so why not?
“Are you sure?” Maggie looked shocked and a little excited. “Can you play honky-tonk?”
“Please.” Bailey gave her friend a pitying look. “I cut my eye teeth on honky-tonk, much to my parents’ and grandfather’s horror.”
Getting to her feet, Bailey didn’t look at the faces of the people around her. Nerves had always been a problem, but she’d countered them by not making eye contact. Not that she’d have been able to do that when the audience was in the hundreds, but still, it was Bailey’s ritual to go into herself before she played. She did that now.
Seating herself at the piano, Bailey took a couple of deep breaths. Turning her hand over, she looked at the scar running up her palm and wrist. She hadn’t played a lot since the accident, but she was ready, she could feel it. The man, Vinnie, had left his music, so she went through it, selected a piece to start with, then placed her hands on the keys and began to play.
CHAPTER SIX
Joe walked behind the bar as Bailey started playing. When Maggs had said she’d offered, he hadn’t been about to refuse. A. He was in a bind, and B. Well hell, she was Bailey Jones. So he watched and listened as he served. She was playing honky-tonk, as Vinnie had been, but there was little doubting her class. Looking around the room, he realized she had the customers fixated, and she was only on the first song.
“That’s the woman who arrived with Maggie. How come she’s playing?” Em asked as she lowered empties onto the bar.
“She’s
a famous pianist, actually. Used to live here, and then went away and made it big.”
“Really?” Em looked impressed. “Fancy that.”
Joe knew how good Bailey was because he’d followed her career, and once he’d been in the audience, but he’d never expected to see her play in his bar.
“She’s good, and when you add hot to that,” Mike, his barman, said, “they’re eating out of her hands.”
Ignoring the need to glare at his staff for calling Bailey hot, Joe thought about what Maggie had told him. Bailey wanted work. What he wanted to know was why. She had to have money after the performances she’d done, so where was it?
“Hey, Joe.”
“Maggie, what can I get you? In fact, it’s on the house seeing as you brought your friend with you, and saved my ass.”
“And what a fine ass it is.”
Maggie was one of those people who were confident in their own skin. She always dressed slightly different and classy. She also liked to embarrass Joe and his brothers at any opportunity that arose.
“We’ve discussed this, Maggs. You need to get up way earlier to embarrass me. Now Luke, on the other hand, he would be beet red by now.”
“Hard-ass.” Maggie turned to look at Bailey. “So, you like your new pianist, Joe?”
“She’s a bit raw, but I think the crowd are starting to warm to her.”
“Ha ha, she’s bloody brilliant.”
He knew that, and a lot about the woman they discussed, but Maggie didn’t know that.
“So you and she stayed friends after she left Ryker?”
Maggie’s pink lips lifted. “We started out friends in school, then when she left we exchanged letters. We never moved to emails, just kept writing, although not so much in the last few years on her part.”
Joe already knew they were friends.
“When I saw her in the grocery store, I didn’t recognize her, but then it’s been years, like you said. Still... she looked like a gust of wind would knock her down.” Joe didn’t feel guilty pumping Maggie for information on Bailey, because he didn’t think he had a shot at the woman herself sharing anything with him. “Pale and drawn, was what I thought.”
“That’s what I think too, but I don’t like to talk about her behind her back. She was always sensitive about that kind of thing.”
“She may have changed some in the last, what is it? Fifteen or so years.”
“Sure, but I think if anything she’s more private.”
Joe had been a barman for a while now, and he was good at getting people to talk. He knew the art of silence. It didn’t take long. Maggie was a nurturer, it was in her DNA. If she was worried about Bailey she’d want to discuss it with someone, and he was showing interest.
“It’s just... well, the thing is, Joe, I’m worried about her.”
Why had that made his stomach clench? All those years, it seemed, hadn’t eradicated his protective streak where Bailey Jones was concerned.
“Not sure why you would be, considering the life she’s led and money she must have.” He got the glasses out of the washer and started drying them. “Plus, like you said, you’ve not seen each other in years.”
Maggie looked at Bailey again, which meant Joe could. Her hands flew over the keys and her entire body seemed to move with the music. She’d come alive seated at his piano playing honky-tonk.
“Seems happy to me.”
“Because she’s doing what she loves. She’s brilliant, isn’t she?” The words weren’t loud, but Joe heard them. “You see where Buzz is. That dog is a great judge of character.”
His dog was leaning on the seat Bailey sat on, which was kind of odd, because he didn’t usually take to people he didn’t know well. He was polite, but didn’t stray far from Joe.
“Yes, she’s brilliant.”
“Why are you worried about her, Maggs?”
“I don’t know, just a hunch.”
Which frustratingly told Joe nothing.
“Well, you go on back to your table, and annoy my brothers who’ve just arrived, and I’ll take Bailey a drink.”
“How could I resist that offer?” Maggie laughed, and took the drink he’d just poured her and headed back to her seat.
Joe got down a tall glass, added ice, then poured in soda. He then walked to the piano as Bailey finished another song.
“Thanks for saving my hide and filling in, Bailey.” He placed the soda he knew she’d liked as a twelve-year-old on the small table beside her.
She turned her body on the seat to look up at him “A.S., Joe?”
“Apple Sours.”
“You named your bar after those sweets?”
“I did, it seemed to fit.” He’d also named it Apple Sours because he felt he owed Bailey something for the support she’d given him all those years ago.
“You called your bar Apple Sours.” She was smiling now. Not the wide, flash-all-your-teeth kind, but it was another genuine one.
“I think we’ve just established that.”
“I-I just thought to fill in for a few songs, as your man was sick.”
“And because you love playing honky-tonk?”
“There is that, too. I guess I should leave now?”
She was beautiful under the soft lighting. Her face still looked tired, and her eyes smudged, but her lips were glossy, and her hair was still in a messy thing on her head. She wore a long-sleeved, loose peach shift-type dress. It hit midthigh, and on her feet were tan wedges. Her scent was subtle and now familiar, and damned if he didn’t feel a flare of intense pleasure at knowing she was here in his bar. His Bailey, as he’d once thought of her. His friend, he reminded himself. He eyed the delicate heart-shaped locket around her neck and wondered who’d given it to her.
“Why would you leave?”
“B-because of.... Just because….” Her words fell away.
“I have no idea what that meant.”
“Me either.” She looked confused. “I heard your pianist was sick, like I said, and found myself seated here the next minute.”
She was flustered now, her eyes going to him, then away again.
“Maggs told me, and we were once friends, Bailey, so I’m sure I don’t have a problem with a world-famous concert pianist playing in my bar, if you don’t have a problem with it.”
She didn’t smile; in fact, she frowned.
“However, I’m not sure I can afford you,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t expect you to p-pay me more than any of your other staff.”
“That’s a relief, because I don’t think I could afford your appearance fee.”
“I’m enjoying this more.”
The minute she said the words, Joe knew she wished she’d kept them in her head.
“I mean... I-I like playing honky-tonk, b-but don’t often get a chance to.”
Her words were flat and cold. Once, with him, she’d been full of emotion. Full of fun and sunlight. She’d filled the dark places inside him for a few hours every week for two years.
“Do you want work, Bailey?”
She didn’t meet his eye as she nodded. “Sure, I get bored easily, so work would be good.”
She was lying, he knew that, just not why.
“Okay, I can slot you in. How about for now you play two nights a week while you’re here?”
“I can do that, thank you.”
“Bailey, are you in some kind of trouble?”
Her eyes flared briefly with panic. “No, why would you think that? My life is great... wonderful. I’m taking a holiday, and I-I want to practice while I’m h-here.”
Joe didn’t buy it.
“You said you haven’t played a concert for a year; what have you been doing?”
She shrugged. “This and that.”
He rested a hand on her shoulder as she prepared to rise. Her skin was warm beneath his fingers.
“I’m pleased you’re happy, Bailey. Really,” he added. “But if you want anything, you need on
ly ask.”
She shook her head and turned back to the piano. “I don’t need anything. But thank you for offering.”
Unlike him, Bailey had always had impeccable manners.
“You’d be saving me, working here. Vinnie, my regular guy who was playing before you, has a stomach upset, and the other performer we had has a sick family member and left town for a while.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, Joe. But while I am I can come in when you need me.”
“Give me your phone number, and I’ll confirm what days when I speak with Vinnie.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t have a phone.”
Joe looked at her to see if she was serious. “You’re messing with me?” He could honesty say he didn’t know anyone who didn’t have a cell phone.
“I don’t want one.” Her face was now closed completely, no emotion on show.
“But what about when you’re driving and get a flat? What about contacting people?”
“I use a pay phone.” She said the words slowly.
“I didn’t realize they were on every road these days.”
She didn’t smile.
“Fine, I’ll get hold of Maggie.” He didn’t push it anymore. Who doesn’t have a cell phone?
“No, I’ll come in and see you tomorrow. You can let me know then when you need me.”
He couldn’t stop his hand lifting, or the finger he ran down her cheek. She pulled back, and looked down at Buzz, who in turn was gazing at her as if she was the last piece of steak in Ryker Falls.
“I-I saw Luke. He’s a firefighter, which must please you.”
“Yes, he’s happy.” Joe rolled with the change of subject. “And Jack is doing well also.”
“Maggie told me you own some land. I’m so pleased you’re all settled here.”
This was genuine, Joe thought. She really was happy that he and his siblings hadn’t ended up on the wrong side of the law, or worse.
What was clear to him, however, was that Maggie hadn’t told her which piece of land he’d purchased, because her reaction would be way different. Joe should tell her, she’d given him the perfect opening, but something held the words in his head. Instead he said, “And you, Bailey. Have you been happy?”
