The Hottest Ticket in Town

by Kimberly Van Meter

  She frowned in confusion. “I’m in Oklahoma, I think. Why? What’s going on?” A cold chill chased her spine. “Please tell me Cora is okay. Why are you there? Is it Kane? Is Kane okay?”

  “Did you get Kane’s message?”

  “What message? No, I didn’t get a message or a missed call from Kane. Are you saying that he tried to call me?” Laci couldn’t stop the hope in her voice even though she was scared at what her intuition was telling her was coming. “I swear to you I didn’t get any message. What’s going on?” The heaviness in Rian’s voice confirmed her fear that Cora was gone. “No...please tell me that Cora’s okay,” she pleaded, tears springing to her eyes.

  “She died last week. Her poor old body couldn’t handle those treatments any longer. Warren had her brought back so that she could be buried in her hometown. The funeral is today,” he said mournfully. “I was hoping that you were gonna tell me you were on your way and almost here. But if you’re in Oklahoma...there’s no way you’re going to make it in time.”

  Her heart broke into a million tiny pieces, shattering and splintering as the reality that Cora was gone hit her with a force of a collapsing building. “She’s really gone? Oh God, please tell me that’s not true. I never got to say goodbye. I never got to tell her how much I love her.”

  “Kane tried to call you. Twice. He’s a real mess—he thinks you don’t care.”

  “But I do care, I care a lot. I just didn’t know. Damn you, Trent!” She knew it was Trent who’d waylaid those messages. She knew in her heart as well as she knew anything to be true. “If I’d known, nothing would’ve stopped me from being there. What time is the funeral? Maybe I can hop a plane and get there on time.”

  “You can try, but I’m not holding out hope. The funeral’s at four o’clock today.”

  “I’m going to try. You tell Kane I’m coming.” She scrubbed the tears from her eyes, too angry to cry right now. She would have to mourn Cora later. Right now she had to find a way to get to Kentucky before that funeral. Rian gave her the details and then she hung up and started yelling for Trent. First things first, Trent had to go.

  “What’s all the racket?” Trent asked as Laci came screaming out of her bedroom. “Have you lost your mind? What are you hollering about?”

  “You slimy bastard. You kept my phone so that I wouldn’t see that Kane was calling me. Why would you do that?”

  Trent’s expression hardened and he didn’t appear the least bit remorseful; if anything, he seemed flippant, as if he’d do it again if he could and that just boiled her blood. “And what if I did? I only did it to keep you focused. You’ve been a loose cannon lately. Running off, hiding in the country, playing house with some hillbilly while the rest of us think you’re off dead somewhere. Stop acting so selfish and think of how your actions are affecting others.”

  “Oh no you don’t,” she said, so angry her voice shook. “Don’t you dare throw my responsibilities in my face ever again. I never would’ve run if you hadn’t tried to work me into the grave with that insane schedule you booked. I told you over and over I needed a break but you didn’t listen. What else was I supposed to do? And this isn’t about me. This is about you, hijacking my personal property when you had no right to do so.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, stabbing a finger her way. “You represent an investment of time and money on my part and I wasn’t about to let some guy come in and ruin what I built over the last eight years. If you like your life, you have me to thank, you ungrateful bitch.”

  A month ago, Laci would’ve crumpled at Trent’s hot words but not today. Today was about making things right when they’d gone terribly wrong. “If you like your life, you can thank me, you overbearing asshole. If it weren’t for me, you, you wouldn’t have the lifestyle you hold so dear.”

  “Women like you are a dime a dozen. I could walk down the streets of Nashville and pick up the first cute blonde with a semidecent voice singing on the street for quarters and dimes and probably get a more well-mannered client than you.”

  “You don’t have the right to police my phone calls,” she shouted. “You’re my manager, not my lord and master. You kept a very important phone call from me and because of you I’m going to miss the funeral of someone I love very much. And for that, I can’t forgive you.”

  Trent narrowed his stare. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He looked incredulous. “You trying to fire me, girl?”

  “There’s no trying about it—we’re through. You stepped over the line and this is me putting my foot in your ass. Get off my bus.”

  Trent laughed. “I ain’t going nowhere. This is my bus. If you want off, you can get off right now.”

  She stared hard. “If that’s what it takes, that’s what’ll happen. I’m not spending another ten seconds in the same space as you.”

  “Careful, some words you can’t take back. Think about what you’re saying.”

  “Oh, I know exactly what I’m saying. And I stand by every word. I used to think that I had to do and say everything you told me to because you were the smart one in this relationship, you were the one who knew the business. But I don’t need you anymore. You abused the power that I gave you and frankly, I don’t even like you. I never have. And no one else likes you, either, so get the hell out of my life.”

  “Oh, you’re going to regret this. And when you come crawling back on your hands and knees, I’m going to have to think long and hard before taking you back.”

  It was Laci’s turn to laugh. “As if that’s ever going to happen. I’d rather go back to playing in small honky-tonks with twenty people in the audience than spend another minute under your thumb just to sell out venues. I’m done.”

  She grabbed her purse and walked up to the driver. “You need to stop this bus. I’m getting off.”

  The driver, paid to do as he was told, pulled off the road and into the dirt, the tires kicking up dust as the bus slowed to a stop. As a final gesture, Laci gave Trent the middle finger and walked off the bus. Maybe Trent hadn’t believed her, maybe he thought she was just blowing off steam, because when she actually stepped off the bus, the expression on his face was priceless. And very satisfying. But soon the bus left her behind and she was standing on the side of the road with nothing but her purse and her cell phone and no idea how to get to Woodsville, Kentucky, by four o’clock.

  Well, time to put one foot in front of the other and her thumb in the air.

  It had been a long time since she’d hitchhiked, but some things were like riding a bike.

  She didn’t care if she had to walk the entire way. She was getting to that funeral.

  * * *

  CORA ADELLE BRADFORD, born Cora Adelle Johnson, was laid to rest on an unbearably hot fall day surrounded by countless friends and community members she’d touched along her life. In seventy-five years, Cora Bradford had fed whole families, taught Sunday school and shared recipes with more people than any television-chef personality had ever dreamed possible simply by being, at her core, a generous person.

  And Kane wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Not yet. But even as he struggled with his own grief, it was nothing compared to the heartrending, soul-wrenching grief of the man who’d fallen in love with his country girl at the ripe age of seventeen and she was only fourteen, back when getting married at sixteen wasn’t unheard of, if the young man had a good job and solid prospects.

  The one saving grace was that Cora wasn’t suffering anymore and that’
s what Kane tried to console himself with, but the small consolation felt hollow against the solid weight of his grief. Rian, wiping his eyes, kept looking toward the back of the chapel, as if waiting for someone to arrive and he couldn’t help growling because he knew who his brother was hoping would show up. “She ain’t coming,” he said. “So stop looking.”

  “She’ll be here. Cora meant the world to her.”

  “Sure she did.”

  “Stop it,” he whispered tersely. “Don’t try measuring the depth of someone else’s grief just because you’re mad at them.”

  Great, his little brother, the counselor. “Stop craning your neck to see if Laci is going to show up. We’re here for Cora and to say our goodbyes. Besides, Warren needs us right now. I’m worried about the old guy. He’s not looking so good.”

  Rian nodded in agreement. “Is Doc Robbins here? Maybe he could take a look at him, just check him out.”

  “I don’t even know if that old coot is still alive, much less practicing,” Kane returned drily. “And besides, there’s no way Warren’s going to let someone give him a once-over right now. I can barely get him to eat anything since he’s returned. I think he’s already lost five pounds. His skin is just hanging off him.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Hell if he knew. The answers weren’t falling from the sky and smacking him in the face. “Let’s just try and get through this ceremony. One step at a time.”

  A handful of people said really nice things about Cora and for a woman who’d never had children, she sure touched a lot of lives. It was finally time for Warren to speak and when he shuffled up to the podium he looked a lot older than his seventy-nine years.

  His voice, soft and grief-worn, trembled as he slipped his reading glasses over his nose to read what he’d prepared to say.

  “Cora said the first time she laid eyes on me, she knew she was going to marry me. I was just a dumb kid, but I was smart enough to know a good thing when I saw it.” He paused a beat to collect himself. “She also used to say there’s a lid for every pot and we fit together just fine. When I got up the nerve to ask her to marry me, I told her, 'Miss Cora, I ain’t a rich man but I’ll work hard all of my days to give you a good life if you’ll just take a chance on me,' and you know what, she just looked me in the eye and said, 'You hush your mouth. I ain’t looking for a soft life or a soft man. I want a man who doesn’t lie, works hard and believes in goodness. Are you that man, Warren Bradford?’ And I said, 'I hope to be.'” Tears filled Warren’s eyes and suddenly the entire church was sniffling, Kane and Rian included. “Cora made me a better man every day. She worked right alongside me to build the ranch, and missing her will be a full-time job. I know you understand what that means because she had this special effect on the people who came into her life. She’s leaving behind a giant hole, that’s for sure.” Warren’s gaze drifted to the closed casket and he choked up. “I love you, girl. I love ya.”

  Warren folded up his paper and tucked it back into his pocket before taking his seat, his eyes glazed with loss. The ceremony concluded and people made the slow exit to the wake, which was held in the adjoining worship hall, and the smell of a dozen different potluck offerings filled the air, but Kane had no appetite. He stayed behind while Rian helped Warren get something to eat, though Kane knew Rian had his work cut out for him. The hard wood beneath his ass began to make his bones ache and he wondered how he was ever going to get back to his life. His business needed him, but Warren needed him, too.

  “Did she suffer?”

  Kane stiffened at the soft voice at the back of the empty chapel and he didn’t need to turn to know that Laci had come, after all. He turned slowly to see Laci standing in the entryway, looking ragged, and nothing like the glamorous country princess that everyone thought they knew.

  “No. She passed in her sleep,” he answered gruffly, hating how his heart tripled in beat just seeing her there. “You missed the ceremony.”

  “I caught the important stuff. I heard what Warren said. That was enough for me,” she said quietly. “Where is he?”

  “With Rian in the worship hall. There’s a potluck.”

  “I’ll never understand the custom of feeding people after a death. Seems so morbidly misplaced.”

  He shrugged without an answer, but he knew she hadn’t come to discuss funeral customs. “Why’d you come?”

  “What do you mean? That’s a hurtful question.”

  “I tried to call twice. You never called back.”

  Her face flushed as she explained. “My manager erased the calls. I never got them.”

  What did it matter? They’d been kidding themselves anyway. It wasn’t as if they could build a future together. But there was something about her appearance that made him realize the sincerity in her claim. “How’d you get here?” he asked, noting the slight frazzle in her hair and the fatigue ringing her eyes.

  “I got off the tour bus somewhere in Oklahoma, hitchhiked about eight miles to the nearest town, found a small airport and convinced the owner of a private plane to fly me to Kentucky. Then I rented a car from the airport to Woodsville but barely made it in time. All I have are the clothes on my back and whatever is in my purse. Knowing Trent, he probably burned all the stuff I left behind, but I don’t care.”

  “You left your manager?”

  “Hell yes, I left him. I realized...” She hesitated a beat, as if she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to say what she needed to say. “I realized everything that’d ever mattered was right here...not on a bus. I was trying to get a hold of you, but each time I thought to call, Trent kept me moving at the speed of light and I got sidetracked. I swear to you, I never got your messages. If I had...I would’ve been here.”

  He wasn’t going to hold a grudge, not now. Seeing her again, he just wanted to hold on to her. It took everything in him to keep his distance. “Warren will be happy to see you here,” he said finally. “You ought to go find him.”

  She took a bold step toward him, although her gaze was uncertain. “Are you happy to see me?”

  That was a loaded question. “It’s complicated, Laci, and this isn’t the time to figure it out.”

  Laci nodded. “We’ll talk later?”

  “Sure,” he said, but a part of him didn’t know what needed to be said. Their lives weren’t compatible. Yet, watching her leave, a hunger that defied reason dogged him and he wanted nothing more than to feel Laci pressed up against him again. Even if it was just to say goodbye for good this time.

  But she wanted to talk.

  Heart heavy and mind confused, he walked out of the chapel and bypassed the potluck situation. Food wasn’t what he wanted.

  If he couldn’t have Laci in his life, nothing would ever satisfy that particular hunger ever again.

  Hell, he had an inkling of the pain Warren was feeling because the idea of accepting that Laci was never going to be his...was like someone slicing his innards with a white-hot knife.

  And that sure as hell didn’t feel too good.

  21

  LACI FOUND WARREN with Rian, tucked off in a corner. She approached and Rian met her gaze with a worried one of his own. “Warren?” she ventured, taking a seat beside him. “I’m so sorry... I wanted to be here. I tried so hard to get here. I wish things had ended differently.” Warren looked up and smiled with pure love at seeing Laci. She blinked back her own tears as she took in his appearance and asked, “Have you eaten? Looks like plenty of good food out there. I think there was even sweet-potato
pie, your favorite.”

  “No offense to Caroline, but no one makes sweet-potato pie like my Cora. She knew how to put something extra special in the mix,” Warren said softly, wiping at his dripping nose with a handkerchief. “She was special, my Cora. So special.”

  Laci nodded, sharing a worried look with Rian. “That’s true. Ain’t no one that can make pie like Miss Cora...except maybe me. She taught me how to make a few things. Want me to mix something up for you? You look like you haven’t had a good meal in days. You’re plumb wasting away.”

  His bottom lip trembled, and after a short beat, he nodded reluctantly. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble. I miss Cora’s cooking something fierce. I never realized just how hard it was going to be without her.”

  “Of course you do,” Laci said, nodding as she and Rian helped him to his feet. “You go and let Rian take you home and I’ll get what I need to make you something good. I’ll only use Miss Cora’s recipes, I swear it.”

  “You’re a good girl,” he said, lifting a worn, callused hand to caress her jaw. “She loved you, Chickpea. She really did.”

  Laci covered his hand with hers and blinked back tears. “Thank you, Warren. I loved her, too. Now, you go with Rian and I’ll meet you back at the house.”

  Warren and Rian made their way out of the chapel before too many people swarmed them with condolences and Laci went to find Kane. She found him leaning against his truck, staring up at the dark clouds beginning to crowd the blue skies. He heard her coming and turned to say, “Cora loved these kinds of storms. She said they kept her on her toes, made her feel alive.”

  Laci chuckled, remembering. “Yeah, because she said she had to run out and get the clothes off the line before they got drenched.”

  “She was a good woman,” he said, choking up. “She took one look at me and made it her mission to fatten me up. I think I put on twenty pounds that first summer.”