They flew in a chartered jet, en-route from Nassau, where Bobby had interrupted Gary’s first vacation in eight years. He had hugged Bobby when he saw him and told him he was glad for the diversion. Lying on a beach watching the tanned or sunburned bikini clad bodies had lost its appeal after the first day, and he told Bobby he had begun to wonder how he was going to make it through the rest of the week.
Bobby took a sip of his tea and crossed his long legs in front of him. “I need to get with Jerry and Harry first,” he said, referring to Jarrod Marcum his accountant, and Harrison Dunbar his attorney. “Jerry’s meeting me tomorrow morning at the office, but Harry isn’t going to be back from wherever he is until tomorrow or the next day. This happening during our first mass vacation wasn’t the best timing. I’ll come back to Nashville on Monday.”
“Does the kid know?”
Bobby felt a quick tug in his chest, then relaxed again. “Not yet. Her mom wants to give it a little time. She probably wants to make sure I’m not about to bail.”
Gary was the only manager Bobby ever had. As Bobby’s star status grew, Gary’s personal clientele list shrank, until he worked exclusively for Bobby and had a staff of agents for other rising stars. Because of him, Gary could take boring vacations in Nassau, or travel by chartered jet, or host parties for sixty intimate friends and their plus ones. His one and only goal when he moved to Nashville and set up shop a decade ago had been to make a lot of money. Without Bobby, he’d still be peddling demo tapes on Music Row, and he knew where his loyalties should lie.
Bobby watched swift dislike and anger cross his manager’s face. It was a look directed at a faceless woman who claimed she didn’t know how to get a hold of Bobby Kent when all she had to do was pick up a tabloid to find out. Bobby knew in a few moments he’d be defending the honor of a woman even he barely knew.
“That’s the biggest bunch of baloney I’ve ever heard. She doesn’t have the right to keep that kind of news from your kid,” he said, emphasizing the word “your.”
Bobby shrugged. “She doesn’t have any malicious intent. I think she’s just letting it all sink in for a while. I threw her for a pretty big loop on Saturday.”
“So she says.” He sat back down on the couch. “Are you going to request a paternity test?”
Bobby grinned, remembering how much his daughter resembled him. “Don’t need to. I have no doubts.”
“Look, man. Do you have any idea about the deluge of phone calls we get weeks after you do a show in a town from the groupies there who claim to be carrying your child? You’re hot, man, and any woman would give her right arm to have you as the father of her child.”
Bobby put his head back and laughed. “Gary, you know as well as I do that all of those phone calls are bogus because I don’t sleep with my fans and I never have. Not once. This is an entirely different situation. I know this girl. I know how innocent we both were when we were together. Plus, when you look at Lisa, if there was even the smallest doubt, it’s gone in a second. She’s mine, all right, and I don’t need to do anything else to further prove that very obvious fact.”
Gary shrugged. “Your call, man.” He rubbed his face. “So, what time is it?”
“Where?”
Gary laughed. “Nashville, baby. The only place that matters.”
Bobby smiled, glancing at his watch. “Six-thirty. You should be there in the next hour. We’re dropping me off in Virginia first. Listen, keep this from the press as long as you can. I don’t want them descending on Carol until we just can’t help it anymore.”
“I’ll do what I can, but as soon as you buy that house you’re talking about, some of the more slimy ones are going to do their homework.”
“I know, but nothing’s going into effect for that until Saturday. Besides, my parents live like fifteen miles from that house. Maybe throw them off the scent that way?”
“Maybe. Doubtful. Where are you staying in the meantime? Nashville?”
He shook his head. “Shelly’s working on securing me a hotel in Richmond. I’ll stay there until the weekend when I can move into my new place.” Shelly was Bobby’s secretary.
Rebecca, the flight attendant who always worked on this particular charter, came from the galley into the main room. “Mr. Kent, we’re just about to start our descent into Richmond. If you two would just hand me your glasses and get yourselves buckled in, please?”
Bobby winked at her as he handed her the glass and watched pink tinge her cheeks. She was fifty years old and the mother of two grown children, and he liked the way she could still blush like a schoolgirl. “Have you started divorce proceedings yet, Rebecca?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Not yet, Mr. Kent. But you’ll be the first one I tell when I do.” Gary rolled his eyes, never understanding Bobby’s need to flirt with the nearest woman.
“You better,” he said, then reached behind him for the seat belts. “Don’t forget me, now. But let’s not tell your husband until after he lands this bird.”
Wednesday, April 25th
Carol stood outside the choir room door at her church and listened absently while three of her closest friends made plans to go to the latest Julianne McNeill movie. She wanted to partake in the jovial fun, and on any other week, she would have, but instead, her mind kept drifting off to the 6’3” singing cowboy with the deep blue eyes.
“Earth to Carol,” Georgia Lambert teased, snapping a finger in front of her eyes.
Carol shook her head as if to clear it. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I said,” Georgia conspired, looking around as if to ensure they were alone in the hallway, “what’s with you sitting next to Bobby Kent on Sunday? You’re killing us here.”
Carol felt her cheeks fuse with color. “What do you want to know? We went to college together.”
“Hmm,” April Harris sagely observed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder and grinning a wide grin, “remarkable how many years that’s been. Would you say eight? Nine?”
Carol put a hand over her eyes. “Oh heavens,” she whispered, “how obvious is it?”
“Without a DNA test, we can only be about 99 percent certain.” Sherry Young laughed. She put her arm over Carol’s shoulder. “Why in the world would you keep something like that from us?”
“Because I thought he didn’t want anything to do with us.” The emotions from the last several days caught up with her and swamped her. Suddenly, she could barely breathe and hot tears stung her eyes. “We were both lied to for years. He’s missed half of her childhood on the basis of lies.”
“Whose lies?” Sherry asked.
Carol shook her head. “It’s not important. I used to hate him. Now I’m so sad for him.”
“Honey,” Georgia said, “you can’t undo what was. You can only fix what is and what will be.”
April’s eyes widened as she looked over Carol’s shoulder. “Might want to dry those tears, girlfriend.” Carol watched her friend’s face flood with color before she smiled.
Carol knew who was approaching before she even turned around. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, smiled slightly, and turned her body. When she saw Bobby walking toward her, she felt a nervous leap of her heart.
“Hi, Bobby,” she said as he drew closer.
“Evening, Carol.” He smiled at her friends and spoke in a soft, flirtatious tone. “Ladies.”
She couldn’t decide if their nervous giggles annoyed her more than they amused her or not. “What are you doing here?”
“Why, I’ve come to worship,” he drawled. “You?”
“Choir slash band practice,” Carol replied.
Bobby smiled a slow, heart-stopping grin. “That so? You know I always did enjoy the choir.”
Sherry slipped her arm off Carol’s shoulder. “Well, let’s get in there, then, and get you a song book.”
“Really, we probably shouldn’t –” Carol said, but Bobby cut her off.
“That would be really great. Thank
you so much.”
Thursday, April 26th
“LISTEN, Bobby, the old man isn’t going to sign anything until he’s spoken with her, and I can’t force him to go over there and do it. Everything’s ready down to that son who is a contractor meeting you at the house on Tuesday, but until we have a signed contract, nothing can happen,” Harrison said through the phone.
“Don’t worry about it, Harry. I’m not. He said he’d do it and I don’t think she’ll have a problem with it,” Bobby opined, hoping he was right.
“I don’t like things being done at the last minute. Leaves too much room for mistakes,” Harrison hedged.
“You don’t have a choice,” Bobby announced, impatient with the conversation. “If it doesn’t work, then I’ll get the other place. It won’t be as ideal, but it’ll work.”
“You’d save about three million dollars if you went with the other place.”
“So?”
He heard Harrison give a big sigh. “Okay, Bobby. I’ll have the contract ready to sign for the other place, too. There’s a title company that will work late Friday, whichever place it ends up being, and my assistant will be there with both sets of contracts whatever time the pilot delivers her.”
“Good. I’ll be back in Nashville on Monday.”
“Do you want me to have any documents drawn up for child support and visitation?”
Bobby rubbed his eyes. “I’ll let you know. I’ll call you from the plane on Monday.” He hung up the phone before Harrison could complain about having to do that paperwork at the last minute too, then went into the bedroom of his hotel suite and stretched out on the bed.
He lay there, with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, thinking about all the outstanding details still up in the air. He had renovations in mind for the house he was going to buy. With the walk-through he’d had on Monday, he could see all the work he wanted to do to it, and was anxious to get started. He’d been majoring in architecture when he left college, and had designed his house in Tennessee. He had specific things he wanted in his house, and while the one he was buying would take some minor renovations, it had the basics, and he could work with the rooms’ sizes.
He wanted to call Lisa and explain things to her, get her excited about it, ask her what color paint he needed for her room, but he held himself in check. That would come soon enough. He trusted Carol. He knew a good portion of that trust came from her obvious faith and the faith centered home in which she was raising their daughter.
He thought of watching her practice with the orchestra last night at church while he sang tenor in the choir. He pondered why his thoughts turned to Carol as often as Lisa. He was here to establish a relationship with Lisa, not Carol, but he was having a hard time figuring out why he thought of his daughter’s mother as often as he thought of his little girl.
He had found Carol strikingly attractive in college. In fact, once he met her it was difficult not to let thoughts of her distract him throughout the day. He admired her lovely looks, of course; the way she moved with such grace for someone of her height and the way she tossed her hair or smiled. But her talent and her drive coupled with her faith impressed him even more. They had started somewhat of a courtship in college, but it had been very brief and very informal. He had certainly hoped for more back then. Who knew what could have happened between them if Bobby hadn’t received the call of a lifetime.
When he’d gotten the call he felt as if he’d been drawn to her door, looking for someone with whom to share the amazing news. The excitement she had shown was sincere and he dragged her out of the dorm to celebrate with him, buying two bottles of champagne and heading for a spot he knew about along the banks of the Oconee River.
He dropped her off at her room as the sun started to rise, and when he came out of the building carrying the box of stuff he’d quickly packed, she stood at his truck, holding a bouquet of flowers she picked from the flower bed in front of the school sign. She handed them to him with a laugh, wished him luck, and had given him the most memorable goodbye-and-good-luck kiss he’d ever experienced before or since. He remembered looking in the rear view mirror as he drove away, wanting to turn around and convince her to get in the truck with him.
She’d slowly become a shadow of a memory, just someone he thought of in conjunction with his college days, or of his impulsive life before fully committing his life to Christ. He had always regretfully assumed he had missed an opportunity. He just knew someone as special as Carol had certainly married and gone on with her life, perhaps thinking of him as fondly as the years passed.
He suddenly felt very lonely, so he picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory, wanting to talk with someone who didn’t work for him about what was currently going on in his life.
The second he heard Melody’s voice, he smiled. “Hello, Darlin’,” he greeted with a drawl, and as soon as he heard her answering laugh, he felt himself relax. “Is James free? I don’t want to bother him if he’s busy.”
HEIDI Conried sat in the corner of the piano bar and nursed her white wine. She was bored out of her mind. She leaned toward her friend Wanda and said, “Let’s get out of here. This place is just not happening.”
Wanda brushed her red hair off her forehead and rolled her eyes. “I know. How did I let Howie talk us into this dump?”
“Howie could talk you into anything,” Heidi said with a snicker. She watched as an attractive man with a black goatee and black framed glasses walked up to their table. She put on her best winning smile and twirled a blonde curl around her finger. “Well, hello there, handsome,” she purred.
He glanced her way and nodded, but spoke directly to Wanda. “Excuse me. May I buy you a drink?”
“Wanda!” Howie yelled from at the bar.
Heidi watched Wanda look from the stranger to her latest crush before she slid out of her chair and stood. At five-one, she barely came up to this guy’s shoulder. “Excuse me,” she said before looking at Heidi. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Annoyed at the stranger for ignoring her, Heidi stood, teetering a bit on her high heels. Why she wore them, when they put her over six feet tall, she could never remember. But high heels always called her name.
The stranger looked her up and down and stepped between her and Wanda. “You are very beautiful,” he said, his bright blue eyes almost glowing from behind the glasses.
Not ready to forgive him – yet – for ignoring her in favor of Wanda, she countered with, “And you’re very short.”
He winked. “Only when I’m standing.”
She felt her cheeks fuse with heat, then laughed and held out her hand. “I’m Heidi.”
When he took her hand, she felt like the breath was knocked out of her body. He kept her eyes locked with his gaze and squeezed her hand gently. “It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Heidi. I am Rob.”
CHAPTER 10
Friday, April 27th
THE sweet sounds of the Irish tune, Danny Boy, flowed through the spring night. Carol inhaled the scent of her tree’s cherry blossoms while she sat in a chair on her front porch and mindlessly played her violin, watching Lisa ride her bicycle up and down the driveway. The instrument had always been a way for her to wind down and relax and, while she knew she’d never have been good enough to take it anywhere professionally, she played well. Lately, Lisa would ask her to play if it had been a few weeks since she pulled it out at home instead of just at church, and Carol was happy that she’d been able to give her daughter a memory she would always carry with her from childhood: a memory of her mother sitting on the front porch playing her violin in the springtime evening.
She watched her neighbor, Ed Westbury, walk across the lawn separating the two houses. He was a sweet old man, retired from his own construction business for about ten years, with a wife who made the best oatmeal cookies Carol had ever eaten. Over the last few years, the families had grown very close. Carol knew their relationship with Lisa was almost a grandparent to gr
anddaughter relationship, and she loved that she’d found that in neighbors.
She made as if to stop playing, but Ed waved his hand at her and sat in the chair next to her, pulling out his pipe and watching Lisa. Ed quit lighting the tobacco years ago, but he still enjoyed the feel of his old pipe and relished the fragrance of his chocolate or cherry pipe tobacco. Carol finished the song, then set the instrument and the bow in their case on the ground next to her. “Hi, Ed. How are you?” she asked.
“Doing better than ever, Carol.” He puffed for a moment on his unlit pipe, then set it down. “You know how the wife and I have been thinking about getting a pool put in?” Carol nodded and waited. He always took a while to get around to his actual point. “Well, the house about three doors down from us that’s for sale already has a pool. It also has two more bedrooms, which is a big thing to consider when you have twelve grandchildren.”
Carol raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “I thought you were going to have one of your sons build an addition to this house.”
“That’s a lot of racket to put up with if we could just scoot down about three doors.” He put the pipe back into his mouth and chewed on the stem.
“You’re going to sell your house and move down three doors?” she asked. “You built that house yourself twenty years ago.”
“I already sold it,” he told her with a wink.
Carol shook her head, trying to glean some sense from the conversation. “What?”
“Yep. This guy came over couple a days ago and offered us more than the market value, and even offered to buy the other house for us. Nice young man. Gloria just preened over him. A moving company is coming tomorrow morning, and me and the wife just have to sit back and let them just shift us over.”
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