by Kristi Gold
Brett pulled up a stool for Lacey and after she was seated, he started to strum his guitar. “Now I’m going to sing a song that used to put my little girl to sleep at night. It’s not exactly your typical bedtime song, but for some reason it worked.”
Then he went into his rendition of the classic country tune that garnered more than a few whoops and hollers from the crowd.
“What the hell?” Pat shouted above the din. “Who sings a lullaby that involves cheatin’ and drinking?”
Cammie could only laugh, and so did the fans when the song took a rowdy turn. Lacey didn’t seem to be the least bit self-conscious, yet she did seem totally enthralled with her father. And when the number had ended, she slid off the stool and slipped her arms around his waist. He leaned down, kissed the top of her head and sent her on her way. But before the girl left the stage, she stopped and waved, earning loud approval from the crowd. Definitely a performer in the making—Cammie’s first thought. And she wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she could sing—her second.
Brett and the band moved smoothly into a round of boisterous country hits without taking a break. He did take the time to lean over and shake a few hands, creating havoc for the guards attempting to hold the masses at bay. Cammie looked on as women—young and old—fanned their faces and some even screamed his name. He was a wanted man, and no one wanted him more than she did at that moment.
When the set appeared to be winding down, Cammie realized in a matter of minutes it would be her turn to take the stage with him. But she found out she was mistaken when he traded his electric guitar for the acoustic and took a seat on the stool. “I’m going to do a song that I cowrote with a very special lady. Hopefully I’ll be recording it soon.”
Cammie stood in stunned silence as Brett began to sing the song she’d all but given up on. He’d kept the melody as is, and the lyrics stayed the same until he reached the final refrain. A refrain that spoke of changes and second chances and the road back to love.
By the time he’d finished to a resounding show of approval from the audience, Cammie’s emotions were so on edge she wasn’t certain she could perform. She just needed to pull herself together and get with the program.
“We’ll be back in a few minutes, folks,” Brett said into the microphone. “In the meantime, enjoy the food and drink and don’t forget to bid on the silent auction items.”
After Brett exited the stage, he walked down the stairs with Lacey along with a fifty-something woman. “Who is that with Brett?” she asked Pat as the group headed toward the bus.
“That would be his mom, Linda. Guess she came with Lacey.”
Cammie wondered if the ex-wife was squirreled away in the bus, waiting for their return. For some reason that bothered her, even when it shouldn’t. But she didn’t have time to ponder it when Rusty spotted her and came rushing over.
“Now, here’s a pretty lady,” he said as he gave her a voracious hug. By that time Jeremy and Bull had made it to her side.
“Hey, you guys, did you miss me?” she asked.
“We all missed you,” Bull said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Pat cleared his throat to garner their attention. “Did any of you no-accounts miss me?”
Cammie thoroughly enjoyed the shock in their faces followed by grins and macho hugs.
“We didn’t know you were going to be here,” Bull said. “Does Brett know?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Cammie blurted a little too loudly. “It’s a surprise. He’s taking Bob’s place during the second set.”
Pat chuckled. “We’ll see how long it takes him to figure it out.”
“Are you ready, Cammie?” Bull asked with concern.
That remained to be seen. “Sure. I’ll be fine after the first few missed notes. It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”
“You’ll be great as usual,” Rusty said before he turned to Pat. “As much as we missed you, she had a way of calming Brett down.”
“He’s gone back to being his usual pain-in-the-ass self,” Bull said. “The way he’s been acting, all of us are about to jump ship.”
Cammie tugged on Bull’s beard. “He depends on you guys. Just hang in there. He’ll be fine.”
“But will you?” Rusty asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m doing great.” A necessary lie.
“Ten minutes, folks,” someone called from the bottom of the stairs.
“You all go ahead,” Cammie said as she picked up the discarded bag. “I need a few minutes to change.” And to deep breathe.
Rusty pointed to his left. “The yellow tent’s for the crew. It’s set up with a dressing room and private bathrooms.”
That sounded preferable to changing in a Porta Potty, although she really wasn’t a member of the crew any longer. “Thanks. Guess I’ll see you all onstage.”
After the trio delivered well-wishes and walked away, Pat remained by her side. “Just so you know, I’ve got pretty good instincts, and my gut says Brett might not be done with the surprises tonight. Be prepared because my guess is they’ll have something to do with you.”
Cammie would be extremely surprised if that turned out to be true. “I haven’t even heard from him since the day I left.”
Pat winked. “You know what they say about absence and the heart growing fonder. I figured that one out firsthand.”
Well, if that wasn’t true for Brett, then tonight she’d say goodbye to her friends, to this way of life and the man she’d never forget.
And it would be the most painful experience of her life.
* * *
BRETT HADN’T SEEN HER yet, but thanks to Rusty’s recent announcement, he knew she was there. That gave him some measure of relief, and a whole lot of cause to be as nervous as a cat in a pen full of pit bulls.
After leaving Lacey and his mom back in the bus to cool off, he’d claimed a folding chair not far from the stage, drank half a beer and waited for the second part of a performance he wasn’t at all sure he could get through.
“How’s it going, Brett?” one of the road crew asked in passing.
“Hanging in there.” Barely.
When the prerecorded version of one of his infamous love songs started playing over the speakers, he immediately thought about Cammie. Always Cammie. Since that day she’d said goodbye, she’d never been more than a thought away. He’d picked up the phone to call her probably a thousand times, only to hang up knowing he wasn’t quite ready yet. On the nights when he hadn’t been able to sleep—and there had been plenty—he’d rehearsed what he would say when he saw her. He’d planned this whole evening down to the last detail so it would come off without a hitch. That didn’t mean it might not go to hell in a handbasket if Cammie didn’t cooperate. Regardless, he couldn’t turn back now. He didn’t want to.
While he stared at a bolt in the metal scaffolding that comprised the assembled stage, Bull invaded his field of vision. Then Rusty and Jeremy gathered around him and stared like he’d grown a third eye. He supposed he should get up and get on with it, but concerns kept him cemented to his seat.
“You ready?” Bull asked.
“Yeah. Where is she?”
“She’ll be here in a minute,” Rusty said. “She’s changing clothes.”
“Guess this is it.” Brett downed the rest of the beer, then tossed the bottle into a nearby bin. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a drink before he went on. Alcohol tended to take away his energy. But tonight he was strung as ti
ght as the strings on his guitar, so a case of whiskey probably wouldn’t affect him.
He did feel a little better. Yeah, he was going to be fine, after all. The routine was rote. He’d have no trouble singing the songs. Except for one. He just hoped he could pull that one off. Sure he could. It was all going to be okay.
Then he heard her voice and he was anything but okay. When she said something to one of the roadies and laughed, his chest felt like he’d taken a blow to his ribs and one of them had impaled his lungs. And that was after hearing her. How the hell was he going to feel when he saw her?
He decided to take his first look at her onstage. Might be nice if he could actually move.
“Are you coming or are we going to have to carry you?” Bull asked when he didn’t immediately stand.
“I’ll be there in a minute. I need to tell Mom and Lacey we’re about to start the show.” And that was a lie. One of the security guards was already heading to the bus to summon them, per his earlier instructions.
“Try to make it before tomorrow morning,” Rusty said as they headed away.
Brett waited a few seconds, and when he thought it was safe to look, he ventured a glance. Big mistake.
Cammie stood at the bottom of the steps, chatting with the guys like this little reunion was no big deal. She wore tight black jeans and a silky white top that tied at the neck and showed a whole lot of bare shoulder. And damn if she wasn’t wearing a sexy pair of black platform heels, something he noticed as she climbed the stairs before she moved out of sight.
At least he was prepared now. Not that it would matter. He’d be lucky if he remembered how to play his guitar or if he could even get one word out of his dry mouth....
When the announcer called ten minutes until showtime, Brett was jolted back into reality. He needed to get a move on, then remembered he’d left his hat in the hospitality tent where he’d gone to get the beer. He sprinted to the tent, grabbed the hat from the table and then ran smack-dab into a groupie with something other than his stage performance on her mind.
“Hi, Brett.” She gave him a painted-on smile that didn’t conceal the fact she was way too young. “You about to go on?”
“That’s right, and I’m late.” He positioned his hat in place and tried to move around her but she blocked his path.
She inclined her head to one side and grinned. “After it’s over, why don’t you and I have a beer together?”
Her kind would be a thing of the past after tonight, if all went well. He tried not to look too put out, although he was. “Don’t think so, sweetheart. Look, I’ve got to go—”
She adjusted his collar where it was riding up at the fold. “There.” She patted his chest and wet her lips. “I’m good at helping men get dressed. And undressed.”
He thought about the likes of Mark Jensen and decided she needed a quick lecture. “What’s your name and how old are you?”
She looked highly insulted. “My name’s Kinsey and I’m eighteen.”
And he was twenty-one. “Honestly.”
“Seventeen, but I’ll be eighteen next January.”
Brett didn’t have time to set her straight, but he was going to take the time, anyway. “Let me give you a few words of advice. Finish school and learn some self-respect. What you’re doing is all kinds of dangerous.”
She stuck out her lip in a pout. “But I want to be a singer like you.”
“Sleeping your way to the top might take you places you don’t want to go.” Man, he sounded like a dad, and that was a good thing. “If you’ve got talent, learn how to go through the proper channels.”
When the intro music began, Brett pushed past her and headed to the stage. He hoped the girl took his advice, and that made him smile. Maybe he was getting this dad thing down, after all.
He climbed to the top of the stairs and stopped off where his daughter and mom were seated. Lacey looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Daddy, she’s beautiful.”
“I agree,” his mom said. “She looks like an angel.”
Probably too much of an angel for a devil like him—except in his bed. “Yeah, she’s pretty inside and out.” He regarded Lacey again. “Do you have it?”
She patted her jeans pocket. “Right here.”
“Good. Remember what I told you?”
She gave him a good eye-rolling. “Yes, Dad. I’m not a baby.”
No, she wasn’t, but she’d always be his baby girl. He leaned down to dole out hugs, straightened and exhaled. “Wish me luck.”
He signaled the announcer he was ready and took his guitar from the roadie.
“Once again, put your hands together for Brett Taylor!”
As soon as he stepped onto the stage and moved in front of the microphone, his attention immediately went to Cammie standing to his right. And dammit, she smiled at him. He would’ve been better off with a go-to-hell look. He would’ve been better off if she wore a bag over her head.
When he turned to Bull to count down the beat, he did a double take. Standing in Walker’s stead was the best man Brett had ever known. The man he’d always wanted to be. The man he still wanted to be.
The band began to play but he didn’t care. He couldn’t jump into a song without a greeting for Pat. He walked over to him, shook his hand and gave him a brief guy hug. “How? Why?”
“You can thank the little gal over there.” He pointed toward Cammie and grinned. “She thought you could use a little pick-me-up.”
Brett turned around and saw she was smiling again, soft and so damn sweet, looking like the angel his mother thought her to be. In that moment, he couldn’t have loved her more.
As the band continued to play, he claimed his spot behind the microphone and gave her a thank-you smile. He wanted to do more than that. He wanted to hold her and say what he’d needed to say to her a long time ago. But there would be time for that later, and the damn show must go on.
He picked up the song from the beginning without missing a beat, like his heart wasn’t about to pound out of chest and he wasn’t sweating bullets. Big ones. Somehow, someway, he managed to get through the eight-song set without stumbling over the lyrics, or himself when he shook a few hands. Yet in the back of his mind, he couldn’t forget what was about to happen. If all went as planned, he’d be changing his life forever. If it didn’t... Nope, he wasn’t going to borrow trouble.
When it came time for the final song, he stepped up to the microphone and gathered every ounce of strength he owned. “I know most of you saw the debut video for ‘When You Know It’s Real’ earlier this evening. Well, we’re going to show it again, only this time I’m going to sing it live the way it’s supposed to be sung.” He stepped back and gestured toward Cammie. “I’m going to sing it with the star of the video and the best backup singer in the country, Camille Carson.”
As the audience applauded like mad, Cammie took a little bow but remained planted in place. Brett set his guitar against a speaker, then came back and crooked a finger at her, indicating he wanted her to share his microphone. She dragged her feet getting there, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to be that close to him. But he wasn’t going to let that discourage him. He planned to get real close to her in a matter of minutes.
After the lights dimmed, the crowd quieted and the video began to play, Brett slid one arm around Cammie’s waist, and she didn’t make the slightest indication she didn’t want the contact. One victory down, one to go. As always, they sang perfect two-part harmony, looking into
each other’s eyes. And when they came to the final refrain, Brett didn’t care if the whole world was watching, he was going to kiss her. And he did. And she kissed him back like they’d never been apart.
He wasn’t sure if the roar from the crowd resulted from the kiss, or the other part of his master plan. Maybe both. Now that the song was over, the fun had just begun.
When he pushed the microphone aside with the hand that wasn’t balanced on Cammie’s waist, the audience went silent as a tomb.
She looked to be in that state known as confusion. “What are you doing?”
He slid his other arm around her and pulled her close. “I have something to say, and I’m going to say it.”
“Now? What about the audience?”
“Believe me, they’ll wait.” He sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly. “Cammie, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, and letting you go was one of the biggest ones to date. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching while you’ve been gone, and I figured out I’m not scared anymore. In fact, I’m ready to go all in.”
She frowned. “Meaning?”
“First, I have a question for you. Do you still love me?”
“Of course I do. A couple of weeks didn’t cure me of that. I’m not sure a couple of decades will change that.”
He gave her a soft kiss, took her by the shoulders and turned. “Now look up.”
Cammie, Will You Marry Me...?
She blinked twice before the words registered. She blinked again, then stared at Brett. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m serious. I don’t think I’d plaster a proposal across a giant video screen if I wasn’t. And to show you how serious I am—” he waved a hand over his shoulder “—I have something else to prove it.”
Lacey came bouncing out holding a royal-blue velvet box in her hand. She gave it to her dad, stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, then bounced away again.
