by Kay Correll
Sophie walked Beth to the door of the gallery. Beth opened the door and Chase stood in the doorway. “Well, hello there. Coming to see Soph?”
“I am.” His deep voice wrapped around Sophie. She was so glad to see him again and couldn’t wait to hear what happened with his mother.
Beth gave Sophie an expectant look. She knew exactly what Beth was saying with that look. Talk to the man.
“I’m outta here.” Beth slipped through the door leaving Sophie and Chase standing looking at each other.
“Come on in. Come back to my office.” Sophie tugged Chase’s hand and led him to the back of the gallery. She perched on a chair and waited for him to talk, though she was dying to ask him about his mother.
“So, if it works with your schedule, we could head to Denver the end of the week. Have a day of practice before the concert?”
“That works for me. I already talked to Melissa about running the gallery while I’m gone. We’re calling in some other part-time workers to help her out.”
“Good. Glad that works for you. We’ll do the same numbers we did here in Sweet River Falls, plus I’d like to add a few more. Here, I brought you the music.” He handed her a folder.
She leafed through the folder and recognized most of the songs. She just needed to make sure she knew all the words.
“Here’s a flash drive with the songs on it.” He handed it to her.
“I’ll listen to them tonight. I think I know most of these.”
“If we had more time, we could learn some new songs I’ve written. But, well, time isn’t something we have. The last two songs on the drive are new ones. Don’t worry if you don’t learn those. We’ll go with the old standbys.”
She nodded. It was all starting to get real. She was going to do a concert with Chase Green. A real one. Not just happening into one like last weekend.
“You sure you’re okay with all of this?” He looked at her.
“I’m sure. I mean I think I’m sure.” She grinned at him.
“And one other thing.” Chase reached out his hands and pulled her to her feet. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you again for what seems like forever.”
“I think it’s been a very, very long time.” She tried to keep a serious expression.
“Ah, well, we should remedy that.”
“We probably should.” She nodded, deciding to just deal with whatever ended up happening later. Because kissing Chase was just so very nice…
He grinned, then leaned close and kissed her gently. She circled her arms around his neck. When he finally stopped kissing her, she stood in front of him, slightly dazed.
“We should do that more often.” He flashed a lazy grin at her.
Yes, they definitely should…
Chapter 23
Chase stood by her side backstage, waiting for the concert to begin. Her nerves were frazzled, and she kept running through the words to the songs they were going to sing.
He looked down at her. “You nervous?”
“A bit. Okay, a lot. This is all so new to me.”
“You’ll do great. You rocked the practices yesterday.”
“What if I forget the words?”
“Fake it.” He grinned.
“You might as well be doing this solo then.”
A flash of something crossed his face, but she was too nervous to figure out what the look meant.
The announcer came on and introduced them. The band started up. It was time. She pressed her palms against her legs.
“Okay, you ready?” He looked encouragingly at her.
She nodded, unable to speak. Which wasn’t a good sign since they were supposed to go out there into those bright lights and start singing.
He took her hand in his and led her out onto the stage. The lights flooded around them. The crowd soared to their feet and started clapping. The noise level rose to an unbelievable level.
Chase waved to the crowd.
She didn’t.
She smiled weakly.
The band started the intro to their first song. She heard Chase sing the first verse and got ready to join him on the chorus, just like they’d rehearsed. He started into the chorus, and to her surprise, she heard her voice joining in with him.
She could do this.
She could.
She didn’t know how long they stayed out there on stage singing, including two encores. The night blurred past her, taking her on a high she’d never experienced before. Singing for all these people. Listening to the applause.
And seeing Chase smile at her through it all. Hearing him sing in his low, throaty voice. She could almost imagine he was singing those flirty love songs to her. Really to her. But that was silly. It was all showmanship.
He finally took her hand and they walked off the stage. Once they got out of the lights, he swooped her up in the tight hug, her feet lifting off the ground as he spun in a circle. “You were fabulous, Sophie.” His eyes shone with the excitement of the night.
She wasn’t sure she ever wanted him to let her down.
Chase set her back on the ground when the charity event chairman walked up to them. The man held out his hand. “I can’t thank you two enough. A sold-out crowd. And more donations to the charity are being made as the crowd leaves the arena. You’ve done a really great thing to help so many families going through a rough time with childhood cancer.”
“We were happy to help.” Chase shook the man’s hand.
“Yes, we were glad we could do this.” She smiled at the man.
“You’re coming to the after party? We have a lot of the big donors coming there. They’d love to meet you.”
“You up for it, Sophie?” Chase looked at her.
“I think so.” She was floating so high she didn’t know if she could have a coherent conversation with anyone, but if Chase wanted to go, she wanted to go with him.
“I’ll have a car pick you up in, say, thirty minutes?” The man looked at them.
“Thirty minutes it is.” Chase took her hand and led her back toward the dressing rooms.
Real dressing rooms. Not just some storage room off the edge of the stage like when they’d sung in Sweet River Falls. This one even had her name on the door. Okay, it was only on a printed piece of paper, but it was her name on the door.
Chase made his way through the crowd with two glasses of champagne in his hands. He’d last seen Sophie talking to a couple of the guys from the band and promised he’d bring her a drink. That had been at least thirty minutes and a dozen interruptions of people stopping him to talk while he wound his way back to her.
She was nowhere to be found when he got back to where he’d last seen her. He scanned the crowd.
Then he saw her. Saw them. Sophie was standing in the far corner talking to his mother. He resolutely threaded his way through the crowd, headed in their direction, once again getting stopped every step of the way. He was careful to be gracious, but he wanted to get to Sophie.
He finally was just a few steps from her. “Sophie.”
She turned and smiled at him.
Just then Sam rushed up to them. “Chase. Sophie. That was great. Just great. Check out the social media coverage you’re already getting.” He waved his cell phone in front of them. “You two are going to be the next big thing. Trust me. I know this.”
“Hi, Sam.” Chase looked at his friend and shook his head. “I think you’re exaggerating.”
“Nope, I’m not.” Sam looked at Chase’s mom with a questioning look.
“Sam, you met Sophie yesterday, but this is my mother, Elizabeth—Liz—Green.”
He didn’t miss the surprised look in Sam’s eyes. “Ah, Mrs. Green, so nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.” His mother smiled. “They were wonderful, weren’t they? I couldn’t agree with your assessment any more.”
“Yep, next big thing.” Sam waved at someone in the distance. “Gotta go do some promo for you.” He headed off through the throng of people.
“I appreciate you getting me such a great ticket, Chase.” His mom smiled at him.
He’d been just fine with her sitting in the front row this time. Hadn’t frozen. It had almost seemed perfectly normal to have her there listening to them. Almost. “Hope you enjoyed it.”
“Very much.” She turned to Sophie. “And I’ve enjoyed chatting with Sophie. You two really are great together. Singing, I mean.”
“Thank you.” Sophie blushed.
Of course she did. She was always turning rosy when people complimented her. He looked at her and realized she looked exhausted. He recognized that look. The crash of coming down after the high of a performance.
“How about we get out of here and head back to the hotel?”
Sophie nodded gratefully. “I am getting tired.”
“I’m heading out now, too. Thank you for inviting me to come.” His mother turned and walked away before he could even ask where she was staying or if she was headed back to Sweet River Falls. For that matter, he didn’t have her address or phone number.
He whirled around and searched the crowd, but it had swallowed her, and he saw no sign of her.
“You okay?” Sophie frowned.
“Yes… I just. It’s nothing.” He just wasn’t sure he’d ever see his mother again. She hadn’t said a word about seeing him again. Maybe she’d just disappear like the last time.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed Sophie’s hand and led her through the crowd.
Chapter 24
Sophie and Chase headed back to Sweet River Falls early the next morning. Sophie barely said a word on the drive. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was still exhausted or whether it was the three calls from Sam, telling them how many media outlets had picked up a story about them singing together. Maybe she was overwhelmed. He didn’t blame her. He was a bit overwhelmed himself.
This isn’t what he’d planned. He was going out solo. His success would not depend on anyone else or their choices or decisions.
And yet, here they were, an almost overnight success.
Sam had said his phone was ringing constantly with offers to book them. As a duo. Not him as a solo.
He looked over at her as she stared out her window. He wanted to reach over and tuck a wayward lock of hair behind her ear but didn’t want to disturb her. He smiled to himself. He’d had a wonderful time singing with her. So different than when he performed with Kimberly. Sophie had obviously enjoyed herself, enjoyed the music. He’d always thought that Kimberly was more about the performance than the music. She always wanted to sparkle for the audience.
But Sophie was more like him. The music spoke to her like it did to him. He could tell that in the way she sang.
He pulled down Main Street and parked by the gallery. She finally turned to look at him.
“You okay? You were awfully quiet.”
“It was a long night. It was wonderful and different and overwhelming.”
“Come on, I’ll grab your bag and walk you upstairs.”
“I can get it. I need to check in with Melissa first anyway. See how things went at the gallery while I was gone.”
He climbed out of the car and grabbed her bag. She came around and took it from him. They stood in awkward silence.
“I… Could I come over tonight? We should talk.” Chase reached out to set his hand on her hand resting on the handle of the suitcase.
“I’m tired, Chase. Really tired.”
His heart slipped in his chest. Things were getting messed up between them. He could feel it.
“Okay. Well, maybe tomorrow, then.”
She looked at him and sighed. “No, later this evening would be fine. Just let me deal with work first.”
She turned and disappeared into the gallery. He stood on the sidewalk for a long time, just staring at the window of the gallery, not really seeing anything.
Sophie opened the door at Chase’s knock. He looked refreshed and… did he look nervous?
“Come in.”
He slipped inside.
“I thought we—”
“We should—”
They both started talking at the same time. Chase paused and gave her a rueful smile. “You first.”
“No, you go ahead.” Because she didn’t really know what she was going to say to him.
“So, as you know, Sam says he’s been flooded with offers. People wanting us to perform. Together. And not just for charity events. We’ve gotten some pretty good offers.”
“But… I’m not a real singer.” Only she’d felt like a real singer even if she had a hard time admitting that to herself.
“What do you think a real singer is? You went on stage. You sang. People loved you. You loved the music, I know you did.”
“I did… but, well, I’m a gallery owner.”
“So you didn’t enjoy singing with me?”
“Of course I did. It was wonderful.” It was more than wonderful. It had filled some special place inside of her that she’d thought would never be filled again.
“Wouldn’t you like to do it some more? Sam has offered to be your manager, too. Or we could find you someone else if you’d rather.”
“I just can’t abandon the gallery. I can’t. I won’t let my parents down.”
“How is it letting them down if you decide to go after your dreams?” He reached out to touch her.
She avoided his touch and crossed over to the window. Unable to look at him and tell him the truth.
She felt him come up and stand behind her. His arms circled around her waist. “Talk to me, Sophie.”
She didn’t want to talk to him. To explain. And yet she did want to. Her thoughts tangled. “It’s my… fault…” She tripped over her words. “It’s my fault they’re gone. So don’t you see? I have to keep their dream alive. It’s more important than my dreams.”
She pulled out of his arms. “It’s my fault they died. They were headed to Denver for the theater. I’d gotten us all tickets to go, but then I’d backed out at the last minute. So they went without me. And… there was a terrible pile-up on the highway, and they were both killed. If I hadn’t have gotten the tickets, or if I hadn’t backed out… everything would be different.” Her hearted pounded in her chest, and guilt and sorrow overwhelmed her.
“I’m sorry, Sophie.” His eyes were filled with sympathy.
Sympathy was the last thing she needed it. She’d brought this all on herself. “The least I can do is keep the gallery going in their name. The very least.”
“But, Sophie—”
“No, Chase. It’s the right thing to do. I’m sorry. I can’t go on the road with you. I can’t.”
Running the gallery was the only way she knew how to prove to her parents just how sorry she was.
Chapter 25
Hunt opened the car door and Keely slipped out. They stood in front of a quaint cabin a short distance from town.
Hunt wrapped Keely in a bear hug. “We did it.”
She grinned up at him. “I can’t believe we made this decision.”
“Here’s our home base for the next year.” He reached out a hand and led her up to the door. He put the key in the lock, opened the door, and swept her up in his arms.
A laugh escaped her lips. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying you over the threshold.”
“That’s for the first time you cross the threshold after you’re married.”
“You’re too strict with your rules.” He grinned at her, carried her inside, and set her down in the front room.
“This is really nice.” She slowly turned around, taking in the whole area.
“It’s got an updated kitchen, and a huge porch overlooking an expansive view of the mountains in the distance.” He took her hand and they walked through the cabin and out on the porch.
“This is perfect.” Though she knew she’d live anywhere with Hunt. “I love Comfort Crossing, but it just feels so… freeing… to finally live somewhere else.”
&nb
sp; “Well, now we have this cabin all to ourselves. I’m going to do that photo book I’ve planned, and we’ll travel around the Rockies some, but we’ll have this cabin to come back to.”
“Katherine was thrilled to be put in charge of running Magnolia Cafe.” Keely walked over to the railing and stared down into the water. She turned back to him “This is perfect. We’re going to have the best year.”
“Every year with you is perfect.” He leaned over and kissed her.
She had to be the luckiest woman in the world.
Chapter 26
Beth burst into Sophie’s loft the next morning. “You’re famous. I know a famous singer.” She came over and hugged Sophie then stepped back. “But why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re not as excited about your success as I am.” Beth frowned. “Did you have a good time?”
“I loved it. It was so unimaginably wonderful. The music. The people.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Sam—that’s Chase’s agent—keeps calling Chase telling him about offers that are coming in.”
“That’s good, right?”
“No, it’s not. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-time thing. I have the gallery to run. I can’t just head off all over the country anytime I want”
“Sure you can.”
“I have responsibilities.”
“You can find a way if it’s what you really want to do. You know you were born to sing.”
Sophie sank into a chair. “I can’t leave the gallery. I have to keep it going. Honor my parents’ memory.”
“You don’t think it would honor them if you were a famous singer? Or even a not famous one. You know they would only want you to be happy. That’s all they ever wanted.”
“But… I can’t let them down.”
“Sophie, you have this chance. This chance to do what you love.”
“But I owe my parents.”