He was so proud of her. And to think, he’d be holding her in his arms by tomorrow night. That made him smile and the interviewer even asked why.
“I miss my wife. But she’ll be home tomorrow for a few days.”
Within an hour they were done and Warner walked down the hall toward Jeremy Smith’s office.
“Hey, you sounded good in there.”
“Thanks,” Warner said as he sat down in front of Jeremy’s desk.
“So your wife comes home tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Can’t wait.”
“Ah, newlyweds.” Jeremy laughed. “I set up a meeting for the next day, so don’t be staying up all night, if you know what I mean.”
Warner’s phone buzzed a message and he pulled it from his pocket. “I will try to get some sleep,” he said as he cleared the screen to see the message.
It was a photo, sent from the same phone number as the message about Mindy.
When the images came up they were of Clara.
Warner felt his jaw tighten and the heat of his body rose.
There was his wife in the arms of that guitar player from the other band. Her head was on his shoulder. In the next picture he was kissing her head. But the one that had his blood boiling was them hugging in the doorway of her hotel room.
Another text came through. Think she misses you? It’s hard to remain loyal when you’re on the road.
Jeremy leaned forward. “Everything okay, Warner?”
“Fine. Everything is fine.” But he knew that his voice conveyed his very thoughts. “Are we done for today? I need to get home.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go. Let me know if you need anything.”
Warner nodded, stood, and left the building. It would appear he had some packing to do.
He was grateful that the house was empty when he got there. There wasn’t much that was his and he wasn’t a thief, so nothing would go with him if he didn’t bring it.
The old mattress and bed they had stored in the garage was the hardest part to move by himself, but somehow he managed to get it in the truck.
As he filled up a box with his clothes he heard the front door open. He winced. It would have been best if it was Clara walking in, but he knew better. He’d have to deal with Christian before he could even tell Clara that he didn’t appreciate her blatant infidelity.
“Warner, are you up there?” Christian called up the stairs.
He winced. “Yes.”
Nothing more was said until Warner hurried down the steps with a box.
“Did you give that old bed away?”
“No.” He walked out the front door and carried the box to the truck. When he came back in Christian was waiting for him.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Packing.”
“Whoa!” He held his hand out to stop Warner from going up the stairs. “What’s this about?”
“It’s just best. I think we’ve made a mistake here and I’m just fixing it.”
He tried to move past Christian, but he was quick. In a split second Christian had a hold of the front of Warner’s shirt.
“Clara is kicking you out?”
“No. I’m leaving on my own.”
“She didn’t tell me this. If she’d have kicked you out we’d all be here helping you pack. What the hell is going on?”
Warner bit down on the inside of his cheek. He didn’t like to call people out, but this called for desperate measures.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and showed Christian the pictures that had been sent.
Christian took a step back. “There has to be some mistake. Clara wouldn’t…”
“Clara obviously did.” He started back up the stairs and Christian followed.
“Man, this isn’t right. We were not raised like this.”
“Ya know, I’m tired of hearing how amazing the Keller family is. It looks like at least one of you made a mistake. Is that such a shocker?”
“Don’t do that. You haven’t talked to her have you?”
“No. When I called last night she didn’t answer and now I know why.”
Christian ran his hand over the top of his head. “Dude, this isn’t how she rolls.”
“It’s not how I roll either.” Warner gathered his toiletries and threw them into a box. “In fact, I shared with her everything I had ever done. I laid my whole life on the line for judgment and this is what I get in return. I don’t know why I thought this would be any different.”
He pushed past Christian and down the stairs. This time Christian didn’t follow. He guessed he knew even his infallible sister might make a mistake too.
***
Clara couldn’t get on stage fast enough. She hadn’t talked to Warner all day and she just wanted this show over so she could get home and see her husband.
She’d slept on Patricia’s words all night and they just didn’t add up. Somewhere deep down Clara knew she was lying about the baby.
If Warner knew anything about it, or even if it wasn’t his, he was the kind of man who would have taken care of her. He wouldn’t have let her stay and die.
“Clara! Clara!” Trent was running toward her.
“What? I’m going out.”
“Don’t you leave this arena until we are done. Do you understand?”
“Yeah,” she said softly as she reached for her guitar. “Are you okay?”
“No I’m not okay. I’m so pissed right now I can’t see straight. And you’re going to get this fixed or so help me…”
They announced her. She had to go. But what was he talking about?
Clara nearly stumbled out onto the stage, looking back to see Trent there with his hands fisted on his hips and his eyes narrowed on her.
She put on her smile and looked out into the arena. The filled seats were fewer than the shows before. Was word spreading that the girl and her guitar just weren’t worth getting to the arena early enough for?
She’d done a radio interview earlier that day and warded off three different Patricia Little questions when they were asked. How did Warner manage to do that day to day?
Clara began her set and the few people in front of the stage were even singing along. Okay, the guy from the radio did say someone had posted her on YouTube.
The seating picked up as she cruised through her set, but Trent still stood on the side glaring at her. What could she have possibly done?
When her set was done she waved to the crowed, which had nearly doubled in size. There was no set to tear down for her so The Broke Tourists stood waiting for their turn. Each of them narrowed their stare on her.
“I know you want to rush home to your husband, but if you’re not standing right here when I get off stage I’ll hunt you down.”
The band was announced and they headed out to a thunderous applause. Their second single was racing up the charts and the crowd wanted to see them. But what was the mystery?
Tom Wheeler headed her way as she placed her guitar in its case.
“Sounded good.”
Clara forced a smile. “Thank you.”
“Listen, you’ve got a PR nightmare brewing. It needs to get handled quickly. You need representation and you need it quick.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“Consider working with me. I’d like to manage you, but then I could get a grip on this for you.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Tom pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “These were released to TMZ today. Wife of new reality TV show star who happens to be the stepson of Patricia Little seen in a compromising position with another married band mate.”
“Oh God!” She scrolled through the pictures on the website. “That’s not what happened at all. I didn’t do anything wrong. He was just…”
“No one wants to know just… They want to assume you ran off and married Patricia Little’s stepson, toured with her lead artist, and then cheated on him. That’s what t
hey want to think.”
“But I didn’t. I didn’t know her name would be associated with the tour and I didn’t cheat on anyone.”
Tom ran his tongue over his teeth and set a hand on her shoulder as he took the phone from her. “There’s a car waiting for you outside. Get on a plane and get home. Be back to work on Wednesday with an answer for me on my representation for you. We need to get this nipped quick.”
“This is why Trent is pissed at me?”
“He thinks you set him up. His wife is pregnant you know.”
“I know. Oh, I didn’t do this.”
He nodded. “We’ll get it handled.”
Clara knew she should have waited for Trent. She owed him that kind of consideration. But she was flying back to Nashville and if she could get out and push the plane any faster she would.
She had, however, sent him a message apologizing for any damage done. She didn’t know about the pictures and they were innocent. Nothing had happened. Of course he knew that, but now his name was tarnished.
There was another car waiting for her at the airport to take her home.
When she arrived Christian and Ed were both sitting in the living room waiting for her.
“Nice to see you’re home,” Ed said, but his voice had an angry quiver to it.
“I’m home. Now where is Warner?”
“Moved out,” Christian said from the couch, his back to her.
“Moved out?” She came around the couch and looked down at her brother. “He moved out and you didn’t stop him?”
Christian stood and looked her in the eye. “You think I’d let him just walk out on you? He has valid reason. What the hell were you doing on that tour with that man?”
Now Ed was out of his chair too and they were both towering over her and looking down on her.
“I didn’t do anything.” She skirted around them and headed to the kitchen. She’d contemplated a glass of water, then a beer, oh hell—was there whisky? Deciding against everything she turned to her brothers. “I saw the pictures. I didn’t sleep with the guy. I didn’t kiss him. I didn’t do anything. You have to believe me.”
“No one has to believe you, Clara,” Ed crossed his arms over his chest. “No one does believe you.”
“Including Warner,” her voice dropped.
She fell into a chair at the table and rested her face in her hands.
Christian sat down across from her. “What did you do?”
She looked up at him with tears now blurring her vision. “I didn’t do anything. Patricia Little came after me telling me all this stuff about Warner and I broke down. He was comforting me.”
Ed pulled out another chair, turned it backward, and sat down with his arms rested on the high back. “Someone set you up. Why tell you that and then stick around? I mean someone had to know you were going to seek comfort. They might have even known he’d give it to you.”
“That’s all it was. He was hugging me while I was sobbing, but funny you can’t see that in those damn pictures.”
There was a knock on the door and then it opened. Zach walked in with a stack of papers in his hand.
“Okay. I have my lawyers on this already.”
The tears came harder now. “What are they going to do?”
“They’re going to try and get those pictures taken down and we’re going to find out who posted them. Next they are making amends with Trent and his wife. They too will want to fight this.”
“Uncle Zach, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He nodded. “I know. You’d never do that to the man you love. Who, by the way, is sleeping on the couch in my office.” He threw her a set of keys. “Red one is parking garage. Round one is the elevator to my office. Don’t lose them and be careful down there alone.”
Clara jumped up from her seat and hugged and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
Warner was in awe of Zach’s office. He’d never even lived in a place as nice as this. The Murphy bed had been pulled down. The flat screen TV rose out of the cabinet. Before he’d headed out, Zach had Chinese food ordered up and had his assistant fill the mini-fridge with water bottles.
Through the other door there was a full bathroom where he could even shower.
Warner shook his head. Everyone’s life was so different.
He sat down on the couch and began to surf through the channels with the remote. Somewhere between an old episode of Full House and Guy Fieri he realized what the night in the office meant.
He couldn’t just walk out on Clara no matter what she had done. He was part of a family now and families worked things out together.
Hadn’t Christian tried to stop him? He’d made the call to Arianna who had called Randy who then had found him at the studio. Then it was Regan who met him there and drove him to Zach’s office where Zach set him up.
Warner rubbed his stubbled chin. That was what a family did for each other—and they’d done it for him.
No one asked why. No one needed details. They had just stepped up.
Did they think he was a victim to Clara’s infidelity? But did he really think that himself?
Warner turned when he heard the noise behind him coming from the elevator which Zach had left through. He must have come back for something.
Warner stood to greet his guest and he couldn’t have been more surprised when Clara stepped out.
His first instinct was to run to her, scoop her up in his arms, and kiss her senseless. But he stopped just steps from her, tucked his hands into his pockets, and just looked at her.
She was still dressed in the outfit she’d performed in. Her stage make up had all been cried off, obviously.
“Hello, Warner.”
“Clara.”
She bit down on her trembling lip. “I missed you.”
This was judgment time. He was going to sound like an ass, but he was still hurting so he figured it was justified. “Missed me enough to forget about me for a few hours.”
She took a step forward and then stopped. “I didn’t do anything. Warner, you gotta believe I didn’t do anything to jeopardize our marriage or Trent’s.”
“Then what was that all about?”
Clara took one final step toward him until they were toe to toe. She looked up at him with weary eyes. “Warner, was Mindy pregnant when she died?”
Warner felt his body deflate as if he wasn’t already empty enough.
She reached out and touched his chest. “Was she?”
“Patty got to you. She actually got to you.”
“She cornered me at the concert the other night. She said you killed her Mindy by getting her into drugs and dragging her out to Vegas.”
“She was already into drugs and I didn’t ask her to go to Vegas.”
“I know that. You know that. Patricia has a different story in her head.” Clara sighed. “But was there a baby?”
Warner turned from her and ran his fingers through his hair. “There was a baby. That’s what kept her in Vegas.” He turned back to his crying wife. “But the baby wasn’t mine. I may have been young and not smart about too many things, but I was smart about that. No matter what she’d ever tell me I made sure I was covered if I was sleeping with her. Not so much to keep her from getting pregnant, but I didn’t want anything she might have.” He winced. “You know what I mean?”
Clara nodded.
“Anyway, she got knocked up, kept coming back to me when he’d kick her out. She wasn’t too far along when she died. A couple months. I couldn’t convince her to clean up. I couldn’t convince her to leave with me either.”
“Why didn’t you just drag her away?”
Warner laughed. “You are a good person aren’t you? She’s been dead almost fifteen years and you worry about her.” He walked back towards Clara and rested his hands on her shoulders. “She said my arguments were invalid anyway. She told me she’d miscarried and I had no reason to not believe her. After all, she’d never stopped using or drinking.”
&
nbsp; “You thought the baby was gone.”
“I didn’t find out she was still pregnant until after they did an autopsy and Patty came after me the first time.”
Clara wiped her eyes. “Why didn’t she ever use that for fuel before?”
“Because she knows it wasn’t mine. She knows the truths. She just chooses to believe it’s all my fault. I can’t stop that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?”
“It didn’t seem relevant at the time. It wasn’t my baby.”
Clara wrapped her arms around his waist and he breathed in the scent of her as he held her tight.
“Warner, I didn’t sleep with Trent. He was just comforting me because he saw how upset I was. He got us a car and he walked me to my room. That’s all.”
“I know.” And he did.
“Come home. Zach already has lawyers all over this. Tom Wheeler wants to rep me and get his PR team on fixing this.”
He pushed her back at arm’s length. “You didn’t sign with him did you?”
“No.”
“Good. I don’t trust him.”
“Why?”
Warner shook his head. “He works with Patty. Why would I? Besides, day after tomorrow Jeremy has a meeting scheduled with whoever wants my music. He wants you to be there too. We were waiting for you.” He pulled her in close. “But you’re home early.” He brushed a curl from her eyes. “And I think we are entitled to an entire day of makeup sex.”
Clara smiled back at him then rose up on her toes. “Oh, I think we can certainly make use of that.” She kissed him feverishly as though she’d missed him for years. Once again they’d escaped from Patty’s evil talons, but when would it all hit the fan? One of them had to go down. Patty or them. With Clara by his side he was betting on Patty.
Chapter Twenty-Two
With Clara’s hand in his, Warner walked into Jeremy’s office.
“Welcome home, Clara,” Jeremy said when they walked through the door.
“Thank you.”
“I’ve seen the videos popping up of your performance. I’m impressed.”
Love Songs Page 19
