Reforming the Cowboy

by Marisa Cleveland

  “And why the hell did he fly me there in the first place? To hear his dumb song about how dumb I was to fall in love with him? He told me a song had to be honest to be good. And maybe it was good. And maybe it will be his next chart topper. But it hurts that he’s right. Maybe he didn’t mean it that way, but it was a warning to me, and I decided to take it.”

  She crossed her arms on the table and slammed her head down. She might even have cried if she didn’t hear her friends snort.

  Lacey looked up and sniffled. “That wasn’t exactly the support I was expecting.”

  Kira touched her arm. “Lace, hon, I love you like a sister, but you need to get some perspective.”

  “Perspective.” Her voice cracked. “He flew me there to hear him sing about how I’m naive and fell for him.”

  Kira clucked her tongue. “You’re worse than my kindergarteners. He probably didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Even if he didn’t, the lyrics were pretty clear.”

  Vivien slapped her hand on the table. “Think of the publicity for the café!”

  Lacey scoffed. “There’s no bright side to this.”

  Kira frowned. “You’re doing it.”

  “Doing what?”

  “What you warned me never to let you do.”

  “Mope?” She’d just had her heart ripped from her chest. If she wanted a moment to be sad, she should be allowed to wallow in her sadness.

  “Putting your own feelings ahead of the best interests of the business.”

  She heard what Kira said, but she didn’t have to like it. Damn Billy for changing her whole outlook on life. She closed her eyes and wrapped her head around the real world.

  Kira tapped her arm. “Go shower and get down to the bank, so you can get that loan payoff paperwork from Frank.”

  Frank, the bank manager with faith in Lacey’s Concert Café. He’d conditionally approved the loan for her, and she owed him more than her gratitude. “Would it be inappropriate to get him a small gift?”

  “He won’t be able to accept it.”

  “Lunch?”

  “If it’s at your café.”

  “Oh, good idea.”

  They heard the sounds of the other staff arriving. Lacey found her cell phone dead in her purse.

  “You don’t need me right now?”

  Kira steered her by the shoulders toward the stairs. “Go clean up.”

  “Thanks for the coffee, Lace!” Vivien called after her. “And don’t think we’re done with this conversation!”

  Her apartment still held lingering traces of Billy’s scent. She had yet to find time to change the guest-room sheets, and she entered the room now with plans to rid herself of him. She couldn’t harbor a crush on a celebrity. He’d break her heart. He’d try to make it work, but it wouldn’t. He’d resent her eventually, for holding him back, and she couldn’t just give up on her café and follow him around like a groupie.

  After yanking the sheets from the bed, she crumpled them and threw them on the floor. She stomped on them and then collapsed on top of them. Everything inside of her hurt, and she choked on her own sobs because she’d fallen in love with him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Billy spent the entire night mulling over Lacey’s rushed departure. He went from furious to worried to angry to wanting to be indifferent. And if Shawna hadn’t cornered him and told him about what she’d said to Lacey, he might have waited a couple days before confronting Lacey.

  But it was Monday, and he’d called Chip to discuss his future. Lacey had bolted, and one phone call to her café—after she ignored one million calls to her cell—let him know she was back in South Beach. If she had wanted to embarrass him with a public display of rejection, she had chosen the perfect venue. That stung, but it didn’t stall his plans. He’d learned his lesson with Shawna, and rather than learning that women were nothing but trouble, he learned to recognize when that trouble was worth it.

  “Why bother?” Chip wanted to know, collapsing on the hotel lobby’s soft leather chair.

  Billy balanced his elbows on his thighs and pinned his manager with a sharp stare. “You said she left in the middle of the song.”

  Chip shrugged. “Yeah.”

  Billy stared at the tip of one calloused finger. “That means she didn’t hear the full version. She missed the whole ending.”

  “So?”

  He bit the inside of his cheek. He would not hit his manager. Instinct had his fingers flexing, but there was no benefit to violence, and he hadn’t had an issue with his temper in years. Ten years to be exact. “So she didn’t hear me declare my love. She wasn’t there for that part. I have to know why she left. It can’t have been all because of Shawna.”

  The way Chip frowned made Billy wonder if his manager had ever been in love. “You dedicated the song to her. She knew it was for her.”

  “Then why did she leave, Chip?”

  Chip seemed to consider this, but from the passive expression on his face, Billy wondered if his manager wasn’t just contemplating the weather. Finally, on a sigh making it sound like a fate worse than death, Chip said, “Fine. What do you need me to do?”

  “I have to get down there. Today.” He had to get there, get to South Beach as soon as possible. He had damage control to do. He had a life he needed to start living.

  “For how long?”

  “As long as it takes.”

  Chip shook his head. “Ever the dramatist.”

  Billy couldn’t feel sorry for wanting to give up fame. “We’ve had a good run.”

  “It’s not over.”

  “You knew my dad.” It wasn’t a question. Chip had held Billy’s dad’s dream over his head on more than one occasion. “Your dad would be so proud. Your dad wanted you to succeed in this biz. Your dad…”

  “He’d hate to see you quit.”

  Billy frowned. “I’m not quitting.”

  “Then what do you call it?”

  “Chip, for so long, I tried to live my dad’s dream, but I just realized his dream wasn’t for fortune and fame. He gave that up for a family. My dad wanted a wife, kids. That was his dream. And that’s mine, too.”

  “No more chasing the spotlight? You look good in bright lights.”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you firing me?”

  Interesting concept. Firing a manager. He really didn’t need Chip if she took him back. But he didn’t want to go so far as to say fire. More like drift apart. If she took him back. If she didn’t, he still planned to settle in South Beach, close to her, but he had other options. “No, but I want other options.”

  Chip waved a hand like he was swatting the bad news like a pesky fly. “I found the Global Heart Foundation. Mercy General Medical Center is one of the hospitals they contribute to.”

  He’d asked Chip to find him a cause to champion. Part of his plan to convince Lacey to take him back included getting involved in a charity. “That’s perfect. Donate all proceeds from the sale of ‘Temporary Guest’ to that foundation.”

  “And ‘On the Ledge’?”

  The song he’d dedicated to Lacey. “You think we’ll make money on that one?”

  “If we get you into a studio and record the song on the proper equipment. YouTube is not your friend in this instance. Unless you want to make a video.”

  He shook his head. “No video. How about we leave that one off the table until she actually hears the whole thing.”

  “I don’t like it.” Chip’s whole body language screamed defiance to the idea of giving up on the cash cow that Billy Hardy could become. Hell, Billy could practically see dollar signs cha-chinging in Chip’s eyes.

  Hating to let down the one guy who didn’t laugh at him when the chips were down, Billy lost the flippant attitude and gave a serious, “I know.”

  “What else do we have?”

  “I think that covers everything.”

  “Okay.” Chip stood and stretched. “I’ll contact the foundation, let them know you’re plan
ning a visit. It’s a nonprofit, but they have offices. They help several hospitals, not just one. And don’t forget about Sunday.”

  No more bright lights blinding him. Besides the bar, he had other investments. Thanks to Chip, Billy had a healthy savings. He might have been washed up, but he had a solid foundation financially, and he could—would—build on it.

  After Chip left, Billy packed his and Lacey’s stuff from the hotel room, and he couldn’t help the wicked grin when he thought about how’d she react when he showed up at her place. If she thought she could run out on him without an explanation, then she clearly didn’t know him at all. But if she wanted him to chase her, then he’d prove to her that she was worth the effort. He didn’t think she was that scheming, but for her, he was willing to play the game.

  …

  Billy landed at MIA and decided against confronting Lacey right away. It was early afternoon, her café was probably busy, and he needed a shower.

  On the way to his hotel in Davie, he called the program director for the Global Heart Foundation. “Hello, I’m calling for Marie Lovely. This is Billy Hardy.”

  “One moment.”

  “Billy! Chip said you’d call when you arrived.”

  “I’m here. On my way to the hotel.”

  “Well, we’re certainly excited for your visit.”

  “I should be there by four.”

  He cleaned up and flipped through the brochure from Chip, including the short bio on Marie and a list of recommended items the foundation regularly needed besides monetary donations. Mostly the area hospitals and the foundation worked together to fund research, but the foundation kept their headquarters in Mercy General.

  When his cab arrived, he climbed in, confident in his decision to relocate. The floor plan of the facilities impressed him, as did their commitment to cardiac care and keeping the treatment center child-friendly. Several glossy pages displayed the doctors featured in various magazines, and Billy’s certainty grew when he came to the cost analysis of heart transplants, research, and care.

  This time, he didn’t hesitate as he walked through the doors. This time, he had a purpose. He wasn’t fifteen. He wasn’t helpless. And he wasn’t there to wonder if today would be the day his dad would die.

  Marie greeted him with a firm handshake. “Billy, I’m so pleased you’ve chosen to work with the Global Heart Foundation.”

  “I’m here to help in any way I can.”

  She led him down a colorful hallway to her office. “The board is very interested in music integration in our program.”

  After a detailed discussion about lesson plans and schedules, Marie offered him a tour of the treatment center.

  “Thank you. I missed a visit yesterday and had to send a substitute.”

  “Then we’ll start with the head nurse of Cardiology, Emma Henderson.”

  Billy remembered Emma from his previous visit, which made entering the playroom easier. As soon as they entered, the children ran up to him and thanked him for the guitars. Apparently the Nova Southeastern guy was a success, but they were glad he was back.

  He looked at Emma. “I’ll have to organize more guest teachers.”

  The nurse smiled. “They’d enjoy that. We have a new patient you didn’t meet last time. Erin, come meet Billy Hardy. He plays the guitar.”

  “Hi. I’m twelve.” Without waiting for him to ask, she said, “I had a heart transplant when I was a baby, but I’m scheduled for a second one soon. My coronary artery is dangerously narrow.” She relayed the information to Billy with solemn brown eyes. “I like to read, and Nurse Emma doesn’t treat me like them.” She jerked her head in the direction of four-year-old Ivy and six-year-old Scott.

  “What instrument would you like to play?”

  She chewed on her lower lip. “What do you play?”

  “The guitar.”

  “We played that yesterday.”

  Erin’s open admiration tightened Billy’s chest, and he recalled how music could change a mood, fix a problem, better a life.

  Ruffling Erin’s thin blonde head, he asked, “Did you like it?”

  “Yes!” One of the other children called to her, and she marched back into the playroom. He and Marie followed Emma to her office, where the wide window afforded a view of the children playing. They discussed a schedule, expectations, and the few rules about being around the children.

  He left with a heavy heart, already crafting a song about childhood worries and wondering how his small contribution would help. He felt so helpless, and yet, even as he left, he thought about what he could do to make his next visit a success. He didn’t dread returning to the hospital because now he could make a difference.

  Life was definitely better since he met Lacey, and he even adopted her mental checklist for getting things done. Next on his list? Find Lacey. Kiss her senseless. And then find out why she left in the middle of his love song.

  …

  “You left.”

  Lacey whipped around to face Billy. “What are you doing here?” She considered her options. Slap him? Ask him to leave? She could leave. A sticky feeling of weakness crept over her skin. She didn’t want to like that he’d returned. Didn’t want to dream what it could mean.

  Carly pranced by her. Thank goodness she’d been able to offer the girl a more stable schedule. Lacey leaned into the bar for balance. On stage, Trixie giggled into her light song about having a crush on the boy next door. Life seemed so simple when Billy was a frozen poster taped to her dorm room. But the living, breathing man, staring at her with an unasked question… She didn’t know what to say.

  “You just left,” he repeated.

  Her pride prickled. “I got an important phone call.” No lie there.

  His hand stretched to touch her arm. “You should have stayed.”

  She spun on the ball of her foot and walked into the kitchen. He followed so closely the heat from his body tingled down her back. She ignored the curious looks from her staff, but waited until they were in her office to face off. “I didn’t need to stay. I got your message loud and clear.”

  He hitched his thumbs in his front pockets, and she hated how damn good he looked. How at ease he was in her tiny space. He pressed, “You left. You missed the best part of the song.”

  Resorting to sarcasm felt comfortable. A flood of accusations dripped from her mouth. She forgot to breathe. She forgot to think. She just ranted the unfairness of the situation. “The best part? What’s that supposed to mean? The part where everyone laughs at me for thinking I could ever have you? That song mocked my feelings. It made me sound like a groupie. Like a fangirl. Like I fell in love with you, and you were breaking up with me.”

  He moved closer to her and cupped his palms over her upper arms, bending his head close to her face. “The part where I say I love you.”

  Her brain stalled. The air clogged in her throat, and she gaped at him. She stepped back, out of his reach. He wasn’t serious. Surely he hadn’t… She swallowed. “Normal people just don’t blurt something like that.” No way did he mean it. It was another trick. Of course he would say that. They had great sex.

  “I’m not normal, Lacey. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t really do things like normal people.”

  He was right about that. In the short time that she’d known him, he’d never behaved exactly as expected. But what did he mean, he loved her? How did that solve their problems? Long-distance wasn’t going to work. She wouldn’t settle for anything less than what her parents had, and he said it in his song. He was on the edge of fame. He wouldn’t give that up. Not for her.

  He raised a brow. “You still haven’t responded to my declaration.”

  Her thoughts raced in a million different directions, but they all ended up back to Billy. She didn’t want to believe him. And she certainly didn’t want to confess her own love for him. She needed time. To think. To adjust. To… “I don’t know what to say.”

  He studied her for a long moment, and then he said
, “I’d like you to hear the entire song.”

  It wouldn’t change anything. It couldn’t. But when she did nothing more than nod, he took her wrist and pulled her out of the office, through the kitchen, and into the café. She stopped at the bar, but he continued walking.

  He unstrapped his guitar from his back. She hadn’t noticed he wore it until then, but cold panic set in when he reached the stairs to the stage. Dear Lord, he was planning to play right now. In front of her customers. In her coffeehouse. The air clogged in her throat as it hit her. He wasn’t in Nashville reaping the benefits of a concert well played. He was in South Beach. For her.

  The very idea rocked her soul.

  She should stop him. Protest. Tell him he could play it later for her.

  But she wanted to hear it. She knew how her body reacted to his voice. How his tone could weave a spell over her. And she wanted to be wrong about leaving. She wanted to believe him. But she was scared.

  She looked away and caught sight of Trixie at the far end of the bar. On break. Timmy noticed Billy on the stage and lowered the volume on the prerecorded music. The lights dimmed, and Lacey realized she needed to hear it. She’d either pass out or move forward. But whatever happened, she needed to put the past behind her. One week or one decade. She was a new person now. Stronger. Like the song said.

  Standing behind the safety of her bar, she tapped the button to release a double espresso into her favorite ceramic cup. Timmy flicked the final switch, and the stage lights rose, but he stopped midway and a soft glow haloed over Billy.

  The room fell silent as Billy scraped a stool stage right, directly over the spot where they first had such incredible sex. He grinned and without the spotlight, she knew he could see her perfectly from across the room. Her face flamed when eyeballs turned on her and then back to the stage. Did they know what they were about to witness? She didn’t even know, but the room vibrated with something.

  And when he sang about a girl capable of great happiness, she wondered if she’d ever be happy again.

  And when he touched on her vulnerability and being taken advantage of, she heard sorrow in his voice for the pain she’d endured.