Tessa's Turn

by Jill Sanders

  “Billy and Savannah are coming over tomorrow to help carry it upstairs,” she answered as they pulled in.

  “Will it be okay parked here?” He stopped just outside the parking lot.

  She laughed. “This is Fairplay, not Houston.”

  “Just the same, I’m backing in so it will be hidden better.”

  “So, can I take that to mean that you’re staying the night?” She leaned closer to him.

  “If you’ll have me.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her halfway into his lap.

  “Oh, I’ll have you. Several different ways.” He felt the words vibrate and got hard instantly.

  “If you’re not careful, one of those ways will be in a dark parking lot, on the front seat of my truck.”

  She giggled. “I’ve never done it in a car…” She didn’t get another word out because he’d crushed her lips under his.

  He didn’t remember removing her clothes, but suddenly, she was straddling him, her jeans tossed on the floor. She’d unzipped him, and had him in her hands, causing his breath to hitch.

  When he pulled the condom from his back pocket, she took it from his hands and gently pushed it on him, which almost killed him. Then she was hovering back over him and sliding slowly down on his full length.

  Her lips burned a trail down his neck and he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to stop himself from coming quickly. He forced himself to wait until he felt her tighten around him before letting himself fall.

  Chapter 14

  By that next Thursday, he had learned two more of her songs. She’d written a few more that week, but said they weren’t ready yet.

  So he found himself once more standing by the stage at the Rusty Rail, nerves picking at him, with Tessa by his side. He knew he could make it through the night because he’d done it before and he knew the rush that came after.

  The place was packed. There were three high-rollers dressed in suits whom Tessa had been talking to when he’d walked in the door. She introduced them all, but he was still unsure who was whom and what exactly they did. All he knew was that if things went well tonight, her songs would finally be making her money. Which only made him more nervous. Oh, and the fact that they wanted him to sing them all. That caused him some trouble as well.

  But he’d been doing a lot of thinking about it and he was determined to continue singing. Even if things didn’t go well with the high-rollers.

  When he walked onto the stage, the place erupted. This time, his eyes traveled around the crowd. There were twice as many people as last week. When he started strumming the guitar, his eyes moved to Tessa’s and focused.

  He played her newest songs first, then played the ones from last week. It was strange to hear the crowd sing along with the chorus, but it helped him relax and have a little more fun. He even caught himself dancing around the stage a little more.

  When he finally walked off the stage after half a dozen songs, there was a bead of sweat dripping down his back and he had to remove his hat to swipe his forehead.

  Instantly, he was engulfed by the crowd. He searched for Tessa as people walked up and slapped him on his back or asked for pictures with him.

  It was all a little crazy. When he felt Tessa’s hand take his, he relaxed and felt a little easier about the entire thing.

  “So?” he asked when, finally, they found a quiet corner. “Did they say anything?” He nodded to the three men still standing at the bar.

  “How does a trip to Houston for a week sound?” Her smile grew huge.

  “Houston?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “They want to sign a record deal with you.” It almost came out as a squeal.

  “Me?” he choked out.

  She laughed. “They want to record in two weeks.”

  “Isn’t that fast? I mean…”

  “There is one condition.” She frowned slightly. “They want me to sing two songs with you and we’ll have to come up with four more songs before then, besides the ones you sang tonight.”

  “Four… Houston?” He shook his head, trying to process everything.

  She laughed and hugged him. It felt so good that he spun her around. At that moment he knew that, no matter what it took, he’d do anything to make her smile and look at him the way she was now.

  The next two weeks flew by. Tessa had never spent so much time writing before. Her fingers were cramped, and she was sure she’d get blocked, but with Luke by her side, she pushed through it all. She’d written the four new songs they wanted plus one more, just in case they didn’t like one.

  She and Luke worked day and night to refine each one. Some nights, he would crash at her place, others she would stay at his place and help him care for the animals, including his dog Lucky, whom she had instantly fallen in love with. When they stayed at her place the little dog came along.

  She found it adorable that he brought along the dog bed for Lucky and some of her toys. She joked with him about needing a small dog carrier to tote her around in.

  She hadn’t had much time to finish decorating her apartment, nor did she have as much time to be with her father. But, according to him and everyone else in town, he was spending more and more time with Martha Cole.

  It seemed like they were quickly becoming an item. She hadn’t had a lot of time to process her feelings about it. Every time she talked to Luke about it, he would assure her that it was no big deal.

  She kept wanting to be hurt that her father had moved on so quickly after her mother’s death, but she had to admit that he looked happier. He’d gained a few pounds, which made him look younger somehow.

  Chase had stopped by and picked up Roger, who looked completely satisfied that he’d enjoyed every one of Luke’s heifers. He’d made arrangements for Chase to watch the rest of his animals while they were gone but decided to take Lucky along with them to Houston. To be honest, he was finding it harder to part with the little girl. Besides, she loved listening to the music and he figured she wouldn’t get in the way. Much.

  “In a few months, you should have more than your share of calves popping out.” Chase laughed. “Let me know if you want to sell any of them.”

  “Not this round, maybe next time,” Luke responded.

  “Trying to build up your stock?”

  “No, I’ve already got a buyer for this lot.” He didn’t elaborate anymore, and Chase didn’t ask. Still, Tessa wondered who would have made a deal for cattle before they were born.

  She was determined to ask Luke, but they got busy, and she forgot.

  They had plenty of time to talk on the two-hour drive to Houston and she brought it up.

  “So, who’s the big spender? Who’d you sell the cattle to?” She leaned on the door of his truck and watched him as she rubbed Lucky, who was curled up in her lap.

  “Hmm?” He glanced at her. “Oh, no big spender. Actually, I might even lose money on the first batch.”

  “Batch?” She chuckled. “You make them sound like cookies.” She felt her stomach growl and frowned.

  “There’s this place outside of Tyler, it’s called Wild Farms.”

  She nodded. She’d heard of the place. They were a nature reserve. People paid high dollar to fly in from the city to pretend to be cowboys for a weekend.

  “You’re selling your cattle to Wild Farms?” When he nodded, she smiled. “So, they aren’t going to a slaughterhouse?”

  “God no!” He turned to look at her. “Not my cows. I’m not sure I could do that. It’s one thing to buy a burger or a steak, but if I had a hand in their raising and birth… no.”

  She reached over and took his hand. “I’d have a hard time getting rid of them like that too. You know, when I was in college, I tried to stay away from meat.”

  He chuckled and squeezed her hand. “How’d that go?”

  She shook her head. “I like burgers too much.”

  “Me too… Speaking of which, how about we stop off at the Brick House. They have some pretty a
wesome steaks.”

  “Can’t wait…” She sighed and leaned back to enjoy the rest of the drive. “Did you ever imagine that you’d be driving into Houston to record for a major recording studio?”

  He laughed. “I never imagined any of this.” He glanced at her. “The ranch. The music. The record deal… or you.” He took her hand up to his lips and placed a soft kiss across her knuckles. “I guess I’m just lucky.”

  “Both of us are.” She sighed and wondered if her life could get any more perfect.

  By the time they made it to their hotel room, the sun had gone down. They were due at the recording studio first thing in the morning, so they locked themselves in their shared hotel room and spent the night watching old television shows and ordering dessert through room service as Lucky curled up between them on the bed.

  The next morning, she was so anxious, she threw up. She felt sure she was going to screw everything up until he took her face in his hands and smiled at her.

  “I’m nervous too, but you know what I did to overcome stage fright?”

  She shook her head, feeling tears slide down her cheeks.

  “I kept my eyes on yours. I focused on making you smile and all my worries disappeared.”

  Her eyes locked with his and she watched his irises grow. His brown eyes were darker than hers. Her brown eyes were boring. But, his… He had a ring of lighter brown near the outside, and there were so many different hues of brown, gold, and gray that she was almost mesmerized.

  “There you go.” He talked to her in a low tone, and she relaxed in his arms. “Stay focused on that, and everything else will fall into place.”

  She nodded and swallowed. “You’re right.” She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “I’m being stupid.”

  “No, trust me. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be in that bathroom, tossing my cookies too.”

  She laughed. “Is it stupid that I’m not scared to sing in front of a crowd, but recording makes me nervous?”

  “No, it makes sense,” he said taking her hand and walking out. “Singing in front of a crowd is fleeting, while a recording lasts forever.”

  He opened the truck door for her and she slid in. “You’re right.” She felt tense again, but he moved closer and kissed her until all the nerves were gone.

  “Now, relax. Worse case, it takes more than two weeks to record and we get to spend more time locked in a hotel room together.”

  He walked around the truck, and she wondered when she should tell him how she felt. If she could make it through the next two weeks, practically living with the man, she was pretty sure she was going to lose her heart and there was nothing and no one who could change that.

  When they walked into the studio, her nerves spiked again. Her agent, Charles, introduced them to the band that would be playing along. She tried to remember everyone’s names, but she was so nervous that it was hard to keep track.

  When they walked into the padded recording room, she reached for Luke’s hand and held in a squeal. She’d never imagined being here. She’d dreamed of it, ever since the first song she’d written.

  When she looked up at him, his smile soothed her nerves.

  “Before we record, Ken has allowed me to use his office, so we can sign some papers. Then, if you want, we can give you some time to warm up. But, we’d like to dive right in. I’ve got your list of songs and wanted to start with “Daylight,” if that’s okay,” he said as they walked away from the studio, down a long hallway. He opened a door with a plaque that read “Kenneth Richie, Comfort Records.”

  They sat in the office and he went over the paperwork he’d emailed them earlier that week. They’d had Grant look the contract over, and even though this wasn’t what he normally dealt with as a lawyer, he was able to explain the contract to them and assured them that it was pretty standard.

  Charles would get a ten percent cut. His agency was paying the cost of the recording, as well as any other up-front expenses. They would start earning a commission once that total was paid back in full.

  She didn’t care. All she cared about was that people would hear Luke sing her songs.

  After signing the papers, they walked back to the studio and Luke sat down with the band members and started warming up.

  Of course, they would want to start with one of the four songs she was supposed to sing with Luke, so she spent a few minutes locked in the sound booth, warming up her voice. Someone delivered a cup of hot tea, which helped.

  The red light went on, signaling that they were recording, and all of her nerves disappeared when Luke struck the first chords. Her music flowed around her, and she enjoyed every minute.

  They stopped and started almost a dozen times, then took a break for everyone to get something to drink or hit the restroom. They worked until lunch, then enjoyed sandwiches that were delivered.

  They worked for several more hours, breaking out each instrument, and having Luke and her sing together, then individually.

  After they called it quits for the day, they listened to the rough mix, and she was pleased with how it sounded.

  “Once this goes through the full editing process, it’s going to sound amazing,” Greg, the producer, said.

  “How about some dinner?” one of the guys from the band asked. “We were thinking of hitting Tommy’s. It’s a seafood place not far from here.”

  Luke looked over at her and she nodded.

  “Sounds good.” He took her hand and followed the men outside.

  Luke followed the row of cars a few blocks and pulled in beside them.

  “If you want to leave, just nudge me,” he said before jumping out of the truck to open her door.

  Just hearing those words, she felt her heart skip a little more and knew for a fact that she was in love.

  Two hours later, she was laughing so hard, she doubted anyone at the large table wanted to leave. She finally could remember everyone’s names.

  Jeff played drums, Nick was on bass, and Dusty played slide steel guitar. Keith was on the piano.

  None of them could stop talking about how much they liked her music.

  She’d been nervous when they asked her to play rhythm guitar behind Luke’s lead guitar, but she’d enjoyed playing along.

  “You know; we’ve been playing for Comfort Records for a few years now. We’ve been keeping our eyes out for something we could get behind,” Keith broke in after all their plates were removed and another round of beer was delivered. “We talked about it during break.” His eyes moved around the table. “If and when you tour, we’d like you to consider taking some of us along.”

  “Tour?” Luke said, frowning slightly. Then he glanced at her. “I… we hadn’t talked…”

  “I’m not sure if we’re there yet,” she broke in.

  The men glanced at one another and laughed. “You could easily book a show in every major city now, the way you hit the internet.” Jeff shook his head and whistled. “Over a million hits in under a week.”

  “A million?” she asked, glancing over at Luke.

  “Sure,” Nick jumped in. “Haven’t you kept track?”

  “No, we just…” Luke reached for her hand under the table. “We’ve been kind of busy.”

  Chapter 15

  The next few days flew by so quickly; it was hard to keep track of which day was which. The band had been right about the shocking YouTube numbers, and Grant moved the videos to their YouTube account instead of his and added ads, so they were slowly making money on each video. It wasn’t a lot, but seeing the dollars add up was a bonus.

  They had finished all four songs with her vocals, and she’d sung backup on a few others. But for the most part, she’d sat in the sound booth and watched Greg push buttons and listened in as everyone did their part. As she listened through the high-tech speakers, she realized how incredible Luke’s voice really was.

  Lucky had become somewhat of a mascot while they had been there. Everyone loved the dog so much, they took turns walki
ng her and taking her out for breaks. They even hung a picture of the dog in the studio and titled it Lucky Charm.

  They spent their days working and their nights curled up to one another. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect time.

  They were quickly approaching the end of their time in Houston and only had one last song to work on.

  Charles hadn’t decided yet which one he liked best, so he asked for a sample of each and was going to let them know in the morning which song he chose. For some reason, this made Tessa very nervous.

  Even Luke was wondering why it was taking so long.

  “If it was up to me, I’d add them both,” he said, running his hand lazily over her bare shoulder.

  “I can always write a—”

  “Stop,” he broke in. It had been a long-standing argument between them. She wanted to write a new, better song, thinking that Charles couldn’t decide because he didn’t like either of them. Luke believed he loved them both and just couldn’t decide. In her heart, she knew that was probably the truth. Still, that didn’t stop her from speculating or worrying.

  “I bet he picks, ‘Follow Me,’” Luke said, causing her to sit up and look down at him.

  “Why? Don’t you like ‘The Fall’?” She loved the way his tan naked body looked against the crisp white hotel sheets. She was actually thinking of replacing her teal sheets with a set of white ones.

  “I love ‘The Fall.’” I just think ‘Follow Me’ has more potential for a following. You know, it’s easier for fans to sing along with.”

  “You’re right.” She rolled onto his chest and looked down at him. “Remember the last time you played at the Rail? I was so shocked to hear that everyone knew the words.”

  He smiled. “I know. It was fun, though.”

  She nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat. “Have you thought any more about touring?”

  She’d talked to Charles about what it would take to set up a tour and he’d given them the rundown. He had been excited about the possibility, but Luke had put up his hand and told him that he didn’t know if he wanted to tour, that he was just asking.