"Hal, how can someone with as big a brain as yours be such an idiot? She was here because she's so in love with you that she can't see straight, and probably wanted to see for herself that you were really okay."
"What exactly do you mean, she's in love with me?" he bellowed.
"She is full on, one hundred percent, head over heels in love with you. Everyone knows it. You'd have to be blind not to see it."
He looked down and began to pick at the blanket. "Did you bring me any clothes?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Morgan said she'd take care of that," she said, giving up.
"She went to call Kurt and update him on me." He looked at the doorway to his room, where Jen stood. "I see you had to get protection, since I don't seem to be capable."
Melody leaned over until her head was pillowed on his arm. "You're capable enough to be lying here instead of me."
The doctor arrived shortly after her, checked Hal's stitches, handed over some antibiotics and pain pills, then declared him free to go. They had to wait for a nurse to come in and remove the IV's, then Jen, Melody and Morgan stepped out into the hall to wait for a nurse to help Hal get dressed.
The doctor returned and stopped to speak to Melody. "Miss Mason, Mr. Coleman needs to have his stitches removed in two weeks. He told me you would be in Houston then. Here is a number for a colleague of mine there. I've already called him, and Mr. Coleman has an appointment for the tenth at nine o'clock local time that morning."
"Thank you so much. I confess that I hadn't thought about it."
"Here is my card with my cell number on it as well. If Mr. Coleman needs to seek medical attention between now and then, any doctor can contact me and I'll be happy to give whatever information I need to about his wound or treatment." He handed over his card, then added, "My wife and I are looking forward to the show Friday."
"I hope you enjoy it. If you'd like, I'll have someone send you some backstage passes. I'd love to meet your wife."
He smiled. "That would be wonderful. She's a big fan. She really likes that new one you do. The one you sang at the awards."
Melody held out her hand and took his between both of hers. "Thank you for your help."
As the doctor left, one of Melody's security guards approached. "We're ready for him, Melody." She had everyone on her crew call her Melody, especially in public. It was part of her brand image. "Hospital security is lending a hand. We shouldn't have any problems."
"Good. They're about out now. This is Jen Thorne. Start coordinating everything through her if it has anything to do with me." As she said that, the door opened and Hal slowly made his way to the hall. "Let's go."
¯¯¯¯
KURT and James sat in James' office after the men from Japan left. Kurt had his feet propped up on James' desk, his hands laced behind his head. "Can you believe we just did that?" Kurt asked.
"Especially after running out on them yesterday," James said, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I think the CDs tipped the scales. They don't call you a genius for nothing."
James laughed. "Some people call me a moron."
"Only those who love you." Kurt quipped.
James sat back, contemplating the magnitude of human effort represented by the thin stack of signed documents atop his desk. "Montgomery-Lawson just became one of the biggest privately owned electronics firms in the world." He looked at the clock on his desk. "It's already three. What do you say the owners take the rest of the day off and go kiss our wives?"
"What good is being at the top if you never take advantage of it?"
James reached over and hit the button for the intercom for Rebecca's office. "Hey, Rebecca, come in here, please."
She opened the door almost immediately, pad and pencil in hand, and came up short when she saw James and Kurt, happily lounging back. "Yes, sir?"
"Am I done for the day?" he asked.
"According to my schedule, you are. Do you want your messages?"
"Not particularly. Is there anything urgent in them?"
"The only one I can think of came from Mrs. Montgomery. She said that she needs you or Mr. Lawson to come hold Mr. Coleman down. Apparently, they need to get him to take his medication." She referred to her book, trying to hold back the smile.
James laughed so hard he had to sit his chair back up. "Well, Kurt, I believe we just received our excuse to go home. Rebecca, if anyone calls, we had an urgent family matter to see to."
"Yes, sir." She smiled as she went back to her office.
¯¯¯¯
CHAPTER 25
THE next few days passed by in a flurry of activity. Melody worked with the crew during the day, and helped James entertain the three men from Japan in the evenings.
Wednesday, James and Melody attended a special prayer meeting at their church, praying for the coming year. Melody held onto James' hand as she sat next to him on the pew, then knelt with him during prayer, enjoying ending the year worshiping with him in their church, knowing that the coming year would have them going in so many different directions.
Thursday morning, they had breakfast with Mark Knight, who had returned from Savannah. He entertained them with stories of his nieces' and nephews' antics at Christmas, and they brought him up to date on the investigation. He spent some time in prayer with them, praying for Melody's safety during her tour and for the police investigation.
After an amazing meal in the hotel restaurant, they took Mark to the airport. He held Melody's hands in both of his. "God bless you, sister. I pray that you and James have a beautiful future. Keep God first with you two, and you'll not do wrong."
"Thank you, Mark. I can't wait to see you again." She kissed both his cheeks and hugged him.
He turned to James and held out his hand. "Brother, I'll keep the chair in the pub warm for you."
James smiled, pulling Mark to him for a hug. "I'll be there in a few weeks."
They left him at the security gate and walked hand in hand back to the waiting car.
Hal was up and out of bed by Thursday and watched the full rehearsal from a seat in the front row of the arena, throwing out insults and criticisms every other breath. Melody was surprised that half of the crew didn't quit by the time he finished with them, because she almost quit by the time that he was done with her.
At one point she left him in the middle of a tirade, stormed to her bag backstage, and came back with his bottle of prescription pain pills which she threw at him with all her strength from the stage. Her aim was his forehead, but he caught them with his good hand just before it hit its target. He didn't take any pills, but decided it'd probably be best if he kept his opinions to himself for a while.
Knowing that the next day would be the beginning of an exhausting marathon of tour dates and concerts, James and Melody brought in the New Year quietly at the apartment. Jen stayed in James' office, not interested in watching the ball drop. At midnight, James took Melody's face gently between his hands.
"I love you, Mrs. Montgomery," he said softly.
"I love you, Mr. Montgomery," she said. His kiss was warm, sweet, and full of the promise of their future.
¯¯¯¯
FRIDAY morning, Melody opened her eyes slowly. She lay there for a moment, listening to James breathing beside her, and thought about what she had to do that day. There was so much preparation involved in putting on a show, and it all came to a head on the day of the performance. All of a sudden, the nausea hit her full force and she barely made it to the bathroom. She vomited until her stomach muscles hurt, then leaned back and rested against the wall. Eventually, she stood on shaky legs to splash her face with water and brush her teeth. She turned to go back to the bedroom and nearly ran into James, who quietly watched her.
"I'm sorry I woke you," she grumbled, as she brushed by him to bury herself under the covers, suddenly very cold.
"What's wrong? Today's not a good day to have the flu," he said, concerned.
"It's not the flu." She buried her h
ead under her pillow, wishing he would shut up.
"Are you pregnant?" Despite the intellectual knowledge that she couldn't possibly have pregnancy symptoms this early, a little spark of hope bloomed and carried in his voice.
"No, I'm not pregnant." That little spark sputtered out and died.
"Then, what's wrong?"
"It's just nerves. I haven't been on tour in a long time." She lifted her head and glared at him. "Leave me alone."
Not understanding the display of temper, but deciding to leave it alone for now, he thought he'd just go take a shower and give her some alone time. "What time will you be at the arena?"
"Probably about two." She heard the shower start, and groaned as another wave of sickness washed over her. Clutching her stomach, she bent nearly double and willed herself back to sleep.
¯¯¯¯
"MELODY sent these to you. She said she's sorry she couldn't get them to you sooner, but things have been a little crazy," James said, standing on Rebecca's front porch and handing her two backstage passes. "She said you might enjoy seeing the show from the wings rather than down on the floor, but if you want to, you can access the crowd from the stage without needing to use any tickets."
Rebecca was surprised. She didn't think Melody had remembered their conversation at the wedding. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Thank you." He started to walk away but turned around. "God has blessed me with you, Rebecca. I don't think I say it often enough."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, knowing he'd never said it. Ever. "I could say the same, sir," she said.
"See you tonight."
¯¯¯¯
JAMES sat in Melody's dressing room watching her go through some deep breathing exercises. She was a mess. He didn't see how she was going to be able to perform tonight in this shape. She was shaky, nauseated, irritable, and so very pale.
After a few attempts at conversation, he'd finally given up, not willing to lose his head. He tried to mention it to Hal, but the giant completely brushed off his worry with the wave of his hand before he turned his back on him and yelled into a radio that seemed glued to his palm since that morning. James finally decided to just sit back and see what happened, and worked on trying not to worry too much.
When it was nearly time, Lisa came in and, under Jen's watchful eye, began to tease Melody's hair. She had on purple jeans that looked like they'd been spray painted onto her legs, a sleeveless black leather shirt covered with silver zippers, and her dreadlocks were tied back with a leather band. A silver band worn just above her elbow highlighted the tattoo that wrapped around her shoulder, and a naval ring glistened in the light from where her shirt ended just before her pants began. She had powdered her face to pale, lined her eyes with black, and smeared her lips with a color that impossibly matched her pants. Occasionally, she blew a pink bubble from the gum that she slowly chewed.
She never spoke a word.
James could hear the crowd, faintly, and heard the muffled tones of the opening act. When someone knocked on the door and announced ten minutes, Melody began to shake so badly her teeth actually rattled. Lisa just ignored it and continued with what she was doing. She spun Melody's chair and grabbed her chin, turning her face all around to catch the light. She added a little more makeup here and there, then stepped back and looked pleased with the result. Well, he assumed the frown instead of the scowl meant she felt pleased.
She snatched up Melody's hand, filed a nail here, added a touch of polish there, and then did the same to the other hand. She popped her piece of gum and put her stuff back in its case, silently.
Jen opened the door at a knock and Hal walked in. "Come on Melody. Opening act is just about done. You need to get in place." He looked over at James. "I may need your help," he said, gesturing at his sling, "I'm afraid it's not a hundred percent yet."
"Did you really expect to be?" James asked him.
"Well, I'd at least like to be able to move the thing." He put his hand on the doorknob, "Come on, Melody. Time to go."
She stood and put her hands on her stomach. Her ears roared and her vision started to gray. She stopped to look at the full-length mirror, removing the smock that covered her shirt. She looked at her reflection, but never saw the purple shirt lined with rhinestones or the black spandex pants. What she saw was the panic in her eyes and the sweat that began to bead her brow. Deep breaths weren't working and she feared she was going to pass out. Her vision grayed and her peripheral vision blackened.
Praying a whispered prayer and using all of the inner strength she had inside of her, she went to her closet and pulled out her purple and rhinestone boots. She slid them on.
She shambled like a zombie past Suarez who stood outside her door, through the chaos of backstage, shuffled down some steps to the area below the stage, and stopped at the platform where her piano sat. It gleamed white in the dim light, and at the sight of it her knees started to buckle.
Hal and Lisa stood right behind her, ready to catch her should she fall. Lisa slipped a microphone headset combination over Melody's head, fluffed her hair around it, popped her gum again, then grabbed the powder puff out of her makeup kit and stepped to the side, knowing what would come next.
Melody could hear the crowd chanting her name as they watched the opening act leave the stage and her band set up. She could feel the vibration of the noise in her chest and began to panic, losing the numbness that had gripped her the last hour. She turned to Hal, "I can't do it."
"Melody, I'm not in the mood to play this game tonight. Get up on that platform and get ready to play."
"No. I can't. I can't do it. I can't go out there," she said, hysteria bubbling in her chest. Her thoughts scattered, and all she could imagine was performing in front of those thousands of people. What if he was in the audience?
Hal heard the cue in his headset, and knew he had about thirty seconds. "Melody Mason Montgomery, get your fanny on that platform and start playing that piano, or else I'll have them turn your mike on so that the entire audience can hear this conversation."
James was lost somewhere between the laughing woman who went to bed last night and the pale, hysterical woman clutching Hal's shirt, begging him not to make her do what he thought she loved to do. "What in the world is wrong with her?" he asked Hal.
"Topophobia." At the blank look on James' face, Hal impatiently clarified. "Clinical stage fright. She's afraid of performing in front of a crowd. It goes away as soon as she starts to sing." He grabbed Melody around the waist with one arm and started to haul her onto the platform. "If I bust my stitches, I'm going to give you stitches when this is over," he threatened.
She began to struggle so James intervened. He framed her face with his hands and forced her to look up at him. "Listen to me," he said. She struggled against him. "Look at me." Finally, she stilled and stared up at him. Her breaths came in and out rapidly, and her eyes darted here and there before looking into his again. He could see the signs of absolute panic. He put his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "Father, calm Melody. Relax her nerves, help her let go of her fear." As he spoke, she relaxed slightly, but tremors still shook her body as she took a seat on the piano bench.
Lisa jumped up onto the platform and put fresh powder on her face to counteract the cold sweat that broke out there. Melody started to stand again, but James put a hand on her shoulder.
"Start playing, Melody. No one in the crowd can see you right now," Hal said in a gentle tone. He heard the band start the song, and watched as Melody automatically came in on cue, playing with stiff fingers at first, then starting to warm up. James stepped off the platform when he felt it begin to rise, and Melody began to sing. The crowd went nuts when they heard her voice, and when James didn't think it was possible, got louder as the platform crested the stage. Melody Mason took over now, and she began to play for real, keeping up with the fast-paced song, her voice rising above all of the sounds in the building.
James and Hal went back to wait in the wings by Jen a
nd to watch Melody do her thing. James was completely blown away by her stage presence. She worked the crowd like the pro she was, and never let the nerves that had attacked her all day surface. He was absolutely mesmerized.
After a few songs, one of the male dancers spun her off the stage into the wings. Before she even quit spinning, she kicked her boots off and tossed them behind her. She tugged on a yellow pair as her people went to work. Two pair of hands grabbed the sides of her pants and ripped. There was hidden Velcro flawlessly sewn into the seam, and the pants came off in one second, while she whipped her shirt over her head. Underneath she wore a pair of flesh colored spandex shorts and a flesh colored sports tank that barely covered her breasts. A yellow dress that ended at mid thigh went over her head, then she ripped the headset off, bent at the waist and Lisa pulled her hair together, twisted it, turned it, and one clip later, her hair was stylishly put up in a fancy twist. Lisa took the last second to quickly dab her face with a powder puff, and Melody grabbed the cordless microphone from a tech and strutted back onto the stage amid the screams of the crowd. The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds.
Melody smiled a flirty smile at the audience. "A little slow on the change this time, but this is the first concert in a while, so we're not quite warmed up yet." The crowd cheered. "I want to take this opportunity to thank y'all for allowing me the opportunity to kick off my tour in my home town." How the crowd kept getting louder was a wonder to James. His body vibrated with their cheers.
A few songs later, he heard Hal slam his phone down on the floor. James turned and kicked it out of his way before Hal could stomp on it. "What's up?"
A Melody for James (Christian Suspense) Page 23
