She gratefully accepted his intrusion into her thinking space. “Nothing and everything. Tonight I need to decompress. The contest is taking its toll.”
“Delilah’s Daughters is going to win,” he said, rubbing her shoulders. “I don’t know why you’re worried.”
She pressed a kiss against his neck. She could always count on Gavin for support. He believed in her and her talent. “And you’re biased.”
He pulled her closer. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I’ve watched the show since you first made the cut, and I know what I see and hear. You and your sisters get better with each round.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” she said. “I want this so badly,” she admitted. “I don’t know when it went from being a tribute to my father and a way to make my mother happy to being something that means so much to me, even more than it means to my sisters. Alisha’s real interest is in songwriting, while Veronica just wants to be in the spotlight. For me, it’s all about performing the music. It’s in my blood the way it was in my dad’s blood.”
He tipped her face up to his. “Then I’m not sure it’s ever been a lark to you,” he said. “Maybe it just took you a while to admit how much you wanted to win.”
She nodded into his chest. “Or how disappointed I’ll be if we don’t. How can I go back to my life as it is when I’ve spent the last couple of months hoping for a major change?”
“I hope you don’t want to change everything,” he said.
She turned her head up so she could see his face. “No, not everything,” she said, but she knew deep in her heart that Dreamland and Gavin would both become part of her past if Delilah’s Daughters won the contest.
Chapter 7
Three weeks later, Veronica Monroe Timmons stood with her two sisters on the stage in the NBS television studio in Atlanta waiting for the winner of Sing for America to be announced.
“And the moment we’ve all been waiting for is now upon us,” Morris Williams, the show’s announcer, said.
Veronica’s stomach roiled with anxiety. She wanted so badly to win, for herself, her sisters, her mom, and her husband. Even though he’d never admit it, Dexter needed this win as much as she did. Every day he grew more and more discouraged by his inability to find a suitable faculty position. If Delilah’s Daughters won the contest, he could focus his energies on writing the commercial best-seller she knew was in him. This win would be the fresh start they both needed for their careers and their marriage.
“The second runner-up in Sing for America is Blue Heart.”
Veronica breathed a sigh of relief when Delilah’s Daughters wasn’t called. Roxanne, who stood next to her, squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. She and her sisters thought Blue Heart was much stronger competition than Annie Jones, who was left standing with them. Their odds of winning had improved considerably.
The second runner-up group left the stage to loud applause.
“The first runner-up is—”
Veronica hated this part. The good news was that, when announced, the winner would step forward and the curtain would go down to hide the first runners-up from the audience. That way, the losers could mourn in private. She felt a bit sorry for Annie. The woman had been nothing but kind to them.
“Delilah’s Daughters,” the announcer said. “That means the winner of Sing for America is Annie Jones!”
Veronica’s emotions exploded in a loud “What?” as the curtain came down and shuttered them from the audience. She couldn’t believe that Annie Jones had won over them. There had to be some mistake.
Roxanne covered her sister’s mouth with her hand to prevent another outburst. “Calm down, Veronica,” she said, “before you make a fool of yourself and us in front of a nationwide television audience.”
Veronica kept her mouth closed as she stomped back to their dressing room. “We were robbed,” she said, pacing around the dressing room after they had closed the door. “I can’t believe that no-talent Annie Jones won. How in God’s name could they pick her over us?”
“It’s not the end of the world, Veronica,” Alisha said. “Being in the contest did us a lot of good.”
“Don’t start with me, Alisha,” Veronica warned, her ire ignited more by Alisha’s nonreaction to their loss. “You know as well as I do that we should have won this contest. How can you be so calm about it? This was our chance. We should have won.”
“ ‘Should have’ doesn’t really mean much right now,” Roxanne said. “What are you going to do? Write a letter of protest to the fans and judges? I doubt it. Alisha’s right. This contest has been a big boost for us. We can build on it.”
Veronica stomped around the room. “I don’t want to build on it. I want that guaranteed recording contract. We worked hard. We deserve it.”
“Look,” Alisha said, again speaking too calmly given the injustice the group had been handed. “This contest opened my eyes. I don’t want to be a jingle-writer. I want to write songs and have them performed, so I’ve decided that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m giving notice at my job next week. I’m going to devote myself full-time to my music.”
Veronica folded her arms across her chest. “You can’t be serious. You’re not going to quit your job after we lost the contest. You quit when you win.”
Alisha shook her head. “You quit when the time is right for you to move in a new direction. The time is right for me. I’m going to make a move of faith. I’ve saved a bit of money, so I haven’t totally lost my mind.”
Veronica looked at Roxanne. “You’d better speak some sense to your sister. I think losing the contest has made her delirious. I initially mistook her reaction for disinterest, but I see now it’s not.”
Roxanne shrugged. “If anyone’s delirious, it’s you. It sounds like Alisha’s thought this through. If it’s what she wants, I want it for her.”
Veronica’s eyes widened. “Are you quitting your job too?”
Roxanne shook her head. “No, but I’m going to figure out how to leverage the exposure we’ve gotten by being on this show to elevate my career. I don’t want to be a shipboard entertainer for the rest of my life. That’s for sure.”
Veronica dropped down in a chair. “You two have certainly surprised me. You’re taking our loss well. Much better than I am.”
“Well, you’ve behaved true to form,” Roxanne said. “If we all went off the way you do, we’d never get far in this business.”
Alisha laughed. “Tell it, sister.”
“We’re down, but we’re not out,” Roxanne said to Veronica. “And you’d better pep up before Momma gets here. She’s going to be disappointed enough as it is, and I don’t want you adding to it. Be mature for once.”
Veronica opened her mouth to take exception to that when the door opened and their mother entered.
“Well, girls,” Delilah said, taking a moment to meet each of their eyes. “We didn’t get the big prize tonight, but we did get a prize.”
Veronica stood, wondering what Kool-Aid her mother and sisters had been drinking. How could there be this much cheer after such a wretched loss? “What are you talking about, Momma? I didn’t hear about any prize going to the first runner-up.”
Delilah sat on the couch next to Alisha. “There are a lot of benefits to being on a show like this, Veronica. And at the top of the list is the exposure. A lot of folks got to see you and hear you over the last ten weeks, and you made a strong impression.”
Veronica knew good news was coming, but she might be dead before her mother got around to it. “Come on, Momma, tell us the news already.”
“All right,” Delilah said, grinning from ear to ear. “Delilah’s Daughters has been offered a contract by Magic City Records here in Birmingham.”
“That’s it?” Veronica said, her hopes dashed. Tommy Johns, the owner and founder of Magic City, was a family friend. “That’s your good news? No offense to Mr. Tommy, but Magic City isn’t even close to being a major player. Signing with them would be starting at
the bottom. It’ll take us forever to attain any kind of success if we go with them.”
“Veronica—” Roxanne warned.
“It’s all right, Roxanne,” Delilah said. “Your sister has a right to her opinions. She just happens to be wrong in this instance.”
“How am I wrong, Momma? Did Magic City become a player overnight?”
Delilah smiled at her the way she had smiled at her when she was a kid asking a silly question. “You underestimate what Tommy has done at Magic City, Veronica. If you hadn’t, you’d be more than pleased with this offer. Delilah’s Daughters is going to be Magic City’s main priority. Tommy thinks you are the perfect act to broaden Magic City’s reach into the growing gospel-pop arena. He has that kind of faith in you, and he’s willing to put his money on the line to show it. He wants to build a new label around you and your brand of gospel-pop. The upfront money is only half of what you would have gotten had you won, but the contract terms are much better. Delilah’s Daughters actually gets a percentage of the new label’s profits for the next ten years. That’s how much Tommy believes in you.”
“That’s unheard of,” Roxanne said.
“What about my songs?” Alisha said. “What will happen with them?”
What a dumb question, Veronica thought. A dog could get a contract writing music for Magic City. Sure, several artists had gotten their start with them, but they had wisely moved on to bigger, more influential labels as soon as they could.
Delilah smiled at Alisha when she answered her question. “Not only will you have the opportunity to write for Delilah’s Daughters, but your songs will also be considered for other artists at the new label. Tommy wants to leverage all your talents.” She scanned her daughters’ faces. “Girls, this is a great deal. It’s a blessing from God. I don’t see how we can turn it down.”
Alisha’s nod said she agreed. Well, she would agree, Veronica thought. She got what she wanted, an opportunity to write songs. That’s all she cares about.
“I can think of a reason to turn it down,” Veronica said, hoping to bring some reason into the conversation. “The deal looks good, but 10 percent of nothing is still nothing. Magic City is not a major player in this business. We’ll probably do more for them than they’ll do for us.”
“I like the deal,” Roxanne said. “What are we going to do if we don’t take it? It’s not like we have other offers raining down on us. Besides, we know Mr. Tommy, and I believe he’d do right by us.”
“Of course, he would—” Delilah began.
“There’s at least one other offer.”
Veronica turned at the sound of her husband’s voice. She hadn’t heard him enter the dressing room. “What are you talking about, Dexter?” she asked.
Her husband turned to her mother. “Why don’t you tell them about the other offer, Mom?”
Chapter 8
Delilah met Dexter’s gaze. The smug look on his face reminded her why she didn’t like him. It also told her he knew about the second offer. No doubt Charles Washington had tracked him down and given him the contract pitch for Veronica.
“What are you talking about, Dexter?” Veronica again asked her husband.
He inclined his head toward Delilah. “Ask your mother.”
Delilah’s dislike of Dexter grew. She’d always known that one day he’d sow discord in her family. Today was that day, it seemed. She took a deep breath. “Dexter is talking about an offer from Legends Productions in Atlanta.”
“Legends Productions!” Veronica exclaimed. “Momma, they’re one of the top recording studios in the country. They offered us a contract?”
Delilah glared at Dexter. “Not exactly.”
“And you turned it down?” Veronica completed.
“Did I get to write?” Alisha asked.
“Okay, let’s all calm down,” Delilah said to her daughters, ignoring Dexter. “The offer was not as good as you might think. This offer wasn’t for Delilah’s Daughters. It was for one of you as a solo act.”
“Which one?” Alisha asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Roxanne said, glancing from Dexter to Veronica.
“Me?” Veronica said, pointing to herself. “Legends Productions offered me a contract?”
Delilah nodded.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t see any need,” Delilah explained. “You’re a group, not three solo acts. That deal is not for us.”
“It may not be for Delilah’s Daughters,” Dexter interjected, “but it might be the very opportunity Veronica needs. I’ve always thought she’d be stronger as a solo act. It seems I’m not the only one thinking along those lines.”
His selfishness gave Delilah heartburn, while the expressions on her daughters’ faces broke her heart. “This doesn’t concern you, Dexter,” she said. “This is about my daughters, the group.”
“It does concern him, Momma,” Veronica said. “It concerns him because it concerns me. It concerns our future. You should have told me. You should have let me decide what I want to do.”
“You’d leave the group?” Roxanne asked.
“Admit it, Roxanne,” Dexter said, before Veronica could speak. “You’d leave too if you had an offer from Legends. You’re lying if you say you wouldn’t.”
“That’s enough, Dexter,” Veronica said. “Why don’t you leave us alone for a few minutes? We need to talk.”
“But—”
She shook her head. “No buts. I can take care of this.”
Dexter scowled, making it clear he didn’t like being told to leave. “Okay, but don’t make any decisions before we talk. This is our future.”
Veronica nodded.
When he was out of the room, Delilah said, “You can’t be thinking about leaving the group. I told you about the offer from Magic City. It’s a better offer.”
“Better for whom?” Veronica asked.
“Better for the group,” Roxanne said. “We’re a group, remember?”
“What I remember is that we’re a group who just lost a contest,” Veronica said. “What I remember is that we’re a group that’s been offered a contract by a third-tier recording studio. That’s what I remember.”
“You three girls have always been Delilah’s Daughters,” Delilah said, hoping a history lesson would help clarify their present situation. “That’s who you are. That’s who your father made you.”
“It’s not fair to bring Daddy into this, Momma,” Veronica said.
“Can’t help it,” Delilah shot back. “Your father is right here in the midst of us. Are you telling him you don’t want the dream he had for you?”
“I don’t know what I want,” Veronica said, “but I know I should have been given a choice. You shouldn’t have turned down the deal without talking to me.”
“I did what was best for the group, and I don’t apologize for it. I won’t.”
Roxanne went and sat next to her mother. “I know you had the best of intentions, Momma, but you should have told us about the second offer, all of us. It’s in my best interest for us to stay together as a group, but Veronica should have the opportunity to think about what’s best for her.”
Delilah looked at her youngest daughter. “Do you agree, Alisha?”
“I agree that you should have told us and let us figure out the right answer together.”
Times like this Delilah wished Rocky were still alive. She was sure he could make the girls understand her decision and be thankful for it. “Well, I’m sorry if I let you all down. I didn’t want to make you decide, so I took on that burden myself. How can one sister leave the others high and dry? How can two sisters hold back a third? I didn’t want you to have to make those choices. I did what was best for the family, not for any one of you.” She turned to Veronica. “And that’s what you should do, Veronica. Think about the family, not just yourself.”
“I hear you, Momma, but my family is bigger than you three. It also includes Dexter, and he has a say.”
Deli
lah brushed off those words. “Dexter doesn’t have the family history that you do. He doesn’t appreciate what we have, what we’ve built together. You girls are your father’s legacy. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
“I’m not trying to put a price tag on it, Momma,” Veronica said. “I only want my shot. Let’s be honest. I don’t sing as well as Roxanne, and I can’t write music like Alisha. If Legends thinks they can make me a star despite that, I have to think about it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“The easy way is not always the best way, Veronica,” Delilah warned, not liking the direction of her middle daughter’s thoughts.
“I know that, but neither should I walk past an open door without at least looking in.”
“You’ve decided then?” Roxanne asked, her question tinged with a disappointment that Delilah shared. “You’re going to go with Legends?”
Veronica shook her head. “The only thing I’ve decided is that I want to talk to them, see what they have to offer. I owe it to myself to do that.” She looked at her sisters. “You understand, don’t you? You have to understand.”
“You have to investigate it, Veronica,” Alisha said.
“Alisha’s right,” Roxanne added, with a little enthusiasm in her voice this time. “You have to.”
Delilah didn’t agree, and she couldn’t pretend she did. The stakes were too high. Veronica didn’t know it, but her decision could cause a fracture in their family that might never heal. “And after you do all your investigation,” she told Veronica, “you’re going to have to make the biggest decision of your life. I hope you’re up for it.”
Veronica met her mother’s eyes. “I hope I am too.”
Chapter 9
Your mother was so wrong for what she did,” Dexter said for the tenth time. He’d been yapping nonstop about how her mother had betrayed her since they left the studio.
“Stop talking, Dexter,” Veronica said. “My mother loves me. She did what she thought was best for the family. I’ll never believe anything else.” Of course, she’d been angered by her mom’s secrecy, and she still was, but she didn’t believe her mom was trying to cheat her out of anything. She’d never believe that. She could see how Dexter believed it, though, since he hadn’t had the stable family life she’d had. After his mother’s death from drug abuse when he was twelve, he’d been shuffled around to live with various family members. Because of his discipline problems, he’d never stayed with any relative for an extended period of time.
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