Muse: ( Groupie Volume 2 of 2)

by Susan Daugherty

  He lifted me in a bear hug and shook me playfully. “All in a day’s work, eh, sis? This is awesome!” We grinned at each other, his hazel eyes reflected in mine.

  Charlie yelled, “Well, damn, can I get an intro or what?”

  I laughed and pointed to band members, reciting their names, and finally came to Jackson. “And, of course, this is Jackso—I mean, Jack Morgan. Everyone, this is my baby brother, Will, and his friends.”

  “Great to finally meet you, Will. Heard a lot about you,” Jackson offered while the foursome gaped at seeing a superstar up close.

  Will took a turn to introduce his roommate, Kevin, with his girlfriend of three years, Emma, and then his own girlfriend, Marybeth. She was much more demure than anyone from his past, which caught me off guard. She wore a simple, long brown ponytail with a cream sweater set and jeans. She had on minimal makeup, but was very cute just the same.

  “Welcome to set up and sound check, guys. We just finished the safety check and stage navigation, so the crew will try out the amps and mics now,” I explained as the four of them watched in awe from the side of the stage with me.

  When they had their fill, we headed to the lounge and went through the buffet of craft service and, of course, started on a keg.

  “This just gets better and better!” Will and Kevin gushed.

  I observed throughout the next hour how Marybeth always stayed calm and even, often touching Will’s hand to settle him. She was very quiet, but they balanced each other well. He helped to bring her out of her shell, while she eased him. I smiled to myself, thinking of how sometimes opposites work.

  The show was amazing as always, and the changes to the stage didn’t cause any problems, other than keeping Jack on his feet longer than normal. I loved watching from the new viewpoint of second row seats, with the real audience, and people who knew the words to every song. I bonded with Marybeth as we managed to talk over some of the music and giggled together as we danced in our row. The lights lowered and a spotlight came to center on Jackson, and I abruptly realized it was already time for the second-to-last song.

  He greeted the crowd and bantered for a few minutes. Then, he explained, “So, I always change this song for each show and try to make it fit my current situation. Tonight, I’m so damn lost; I don’t even know where to begin. So, instead, I think I’ll ask some special guests to come up here and choose for me.”

  The crowd absolutely went crazy. My mouth fell open at the unexpected change. Jack perused the crowd and scanned several rows, causing cheers to erupt. He finally settled eyes on Will and said, “Hmm, how about this fine group of four right here, looks like a date night we could make go down in history.”

  Joe appeared to escort Will, Marybeth, Emma, and Kevin onto the stage, where they showed the proper amount of stunned wonder and happy excitement. I continued to gawk as my heart rate climbed.

  Jack had each of them say their name into the mic, while the crowd cheered in support. “Well, guys, can you think of a good karaoke song we can all sing together up here for a spur of the moment decision? Just pick one the band and I know.”

  The four of them tilted their heads and talked excitedly for a minute, and then Will leaned to the mic and said, “‘How about Friends in Low Places?’” The arena yelled its support for the Garth Brooks classic.

  “Ah, a great choice,” Jack boomed into the mic, and the band started up. Will and his friends shared a mic to sing with Jackson and the entire audience.

  Once they rejoined the audience, the last song was a blur, because I spent the whole time hugging the foursome as they thanked me repeatedly for an amazing night. They were on cloud nine, which put me up there with them. It was all thanks to one person.

  In the lounge, we had time to hang out until Joe came in to announce a twenty-minute warning for the buses to depart the garage and back to our lodging. Will appeared at my side, scooping his floppy blond hair out of his eyes and hooking an arm over my shoulder.

  “So, sis, this is a much better graduation present than I could have ever asked for in a million years. I will miss you there, but I’m glad we had this night. Thanks for taking care of the plans with our crazy parents, too.”

  “I almost forgot your real present! Anyway, Jack was the amazing one—he thought of so many extra things to make it special that I didn’t even know were possible.”

  “What’s with you two, anyway? The royal treatment for your brother, that birthday surprise, the way he looks at you …” His Cheshire grin was telling.

  The familiar blush returned to my face, and I mumbled, “Oh, Will, stop—”

  “Oh, and what did he say to me a minute ago? I said something witty about ‘Thanks for putting up with my sister,’ and his response was, ‘Your sister changed my world, Will, she really did. She just refuses to see it,’” Will said in his best deep, smooth Jack impression.

  I was speechless for a long moment, staring at his serious eyes to be sure he wasn’t joking with me. He wasn’t.

  Kate appeared and reminded me, “Don’t forget Will’s gift is stashed away in the dressing room.”

  I nodded in gratitude and tugged him across the hallway, where his gift was waiting. He opened the card, choking up at my sappy words. When he opened the gift, he nearly dropped it and then proceeded to sound like me when he said, “I can’t accept this, it’s too much.”

  I grinned at the irony. “Yes, you can and you will. I hope it gets lots of good use and you think of your awesome sister every time.”

  He hugged me until Joe came back to clear everyone out. He also hailed a cab for the foursome, who clearly did not need to drive. We said our goodbyes before they headed out to the main entrance. Will looked back to wave one last time, and I felt my eyes brimming. Then, Jackson was at my side, with a comforting hand on my back.

  “He’s a good kid, Lex. I can see how close you two are. He’s going to be just fine.”

  I looked into his concerned eyes and felt assured. “You’re right. I just can’t believe he’s all grown up. Thank you ag—” He put a finger to my lips.

  “C’mon, let’s go, Doc. My ankle hurts like hell, and I need some magic hands.”

  We turned to exit and I immediately felt ready to leave Lexington once again. Life on the road was starting to agree with me.

  Chapter 7

  The hour-long drive to Louisville the next morning provided time for another therapy session. After the show the previous night, his swelling and tenderness caused me worry. I scolded him for being on his foot too much, as he started decreasing his time on the stool. It was better this morning, but still regressed from the week before. He, at least, had the decency to act chastened and promise he would tone it down.

  “You know, yesterday was the six week mark, Jackson. I hoped to let you try out fifty percent weight bearing on your foot, but now we’ll have to wait a few days,” I huffed while completing the swelling massage and passive stretching. I checked for any severe sore spots along the repair area and was pleased he wasn’t point tender over any of the screws, so they were likely unaffected. I looked up to see his sullen expression with downcast eyes and melted a little.

  “I’m sure you’ll bounce back. You always want to put on the best show, I know. However, my job is to get the best outcome possible. This leg needs to last you a lot of years.” I encouraged him with a smile and felt those stupid butterflies when he returned The Grin.

  Louisville’s downtown was beautiful with a sprawling park along the riverbank of the Ohio and tall buildings mixed with small, quaint ones. The Yum Center was still new and impressive as it sat next to the water with a perfect area to park our buses in a lower level, out in the fresh air. The show would be the next night, and Andy briefed us over lunch.

  “Remember, Travis McCoy joins us tomorrow for the next six shows as the opening act. He has one bus to park next to ours. He asked for a few items—”

  “No,” Jack barked, making those of us eating nearby look up at him. “If he ha
s some diva shit he wants on tour, tell him to ask his own management. I’m not a babysitter, and he’s lucky even to be here. I’m just stuck with him because we share a label and I couldn’t get out of it.”

  I raised my brows at Kate, and she immediately pulled out her phone to Google Travis McCoy.

  Andy smothered a grin at Jack’s response. “I’m glad you said that. McCoy is a prick.” My eyes popped open at the harshest language I ever heard out of Andy.

  Jack nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we met him at the record label party before the tour and he acted like such a big shot. I mean, this is his first album, and he’s really only got two hits so far. What he’s so high and mighty about, I’ll never know. I’m just glad it’s only six shows.”

  Kate piped up, reading from her phone, “Well, according to the media, he’s already been linked to several popular female country artists and seems rather in demand for interviews and invitations at the moment.”

  The crew guys groaned in unison, while I took the phone and studied the picture of him. His image and the name of his first hit song were familiar. He wore a big black cowboy hat and belt buckle as his trademark and claimed to be very old school. His hat obstructed the details of the face underneath, but it was clear that he was handsome. I hit the link to his song, and it gave a preview long enough that we all nodded, remembering the cowboy tribute “Spurs.”

  The band went to jam, Jackson clutching his green notebook as they headed into the gray bus. Kate and I decided to walk the path along the waterfront for exercise and the great views. We enjoyed a low-key night, eating yet another of Gloria’s fantastic Chinese meals at our outdoor tables.

  I reminded Jackson he needed an extra session of therapy since he was still not up to par. We worked on the necessities for an hour until Ric and Lee came knocking. Several guys had started a poker game they wanted him to join, so Kate and I watched for a while, hoping to learn since we were terrible players. Well before the others, I gave up and headed off to a sound sleep, thankful my constant second-guessing had hushed for the night.

  Just like that, it was show day again. We meandered in and out of the arena after our morning therapy session. The set up was easy, and the dressing rooms and lounge were nearby, making our safety check pass by quickly. I watched the dancers rehearse, which I rarely did, but found myself enthralled as they made a few choreography changes. I tapped along and found myself mimicking their movements from my front row seat. Trina, Kate, Jessica, and Jody looked great. You could tell they had danced together a long time by how easily they adjusted and took cues from each other as they moved around the stage. Jessica and Jody were petite, brunette sisters from Memphis, who had been on various tours together since graduating high school. I hadn’t talked to them often, because they kept to themselves and loved to go out and explore at each city, staying gone most of the time.

  The foursome experimented with splitting in twos on each side of the stage for part of one song while they performed their dance. I spoke up to help. “I love the dance, but if I’m sitting over here,” I moved to the left-sided seats, “I can really only see one set of you.” I walked across to the far right side and said, “Same over here. I wonder if all four of you went right together for four to eight counts and then went to the other side for the next set, it may be more visible.”

  “Let’s try it,” Jessica said. “Lexie, let us know how it looks.” I was relieved that my suggestion didn’t bother them. The group of them together looked fabulous, and I gave them two thumbs up from both sides of the arena.

  “Thanks, Lexie. It helps so much to have eyes out there,” Trina said.

  “Hey, while we have you here, what do you think about the ending?” Jody asked me.

  I couldn’t help but jump in full force to helping them make a few changes and gave every bit of my two cents. Dance was what I loved for so long, and it felt great to be working on it again.

  The five of us were all smiles as we headed out of the stadium for lunch at the buses. When I sat at the table with my full plate, Jackson looked up from what he was reading and said, “What’s all the grinning about, Doc?”

  I paused with a mouth full of tuna salad and mumbled, “What? Is my smile really that rare?” He gave me a dubious look, so I shrugged and said, “I’ve been helping the girls with some moves. It’s been fun.”

  He nodded in approval and then went back to reading. I noticed Andy and Charlie also had their noses buried in newspapers and asked what story was so interesting.

  “Here, you can read mine. Big spread on The Man here.” Charlie tossed me the paper, and I saw the Louisville Courier Journal had a front-page story about Jack coming to town.

  The title of the article was “Country’s Bad Boy Makes a Visit.” There was a nice shot of Jack playing on stage during tour. He looked dangerously hot, of course. There were two smaller pictures on the side of the article. One showed the beam fallen across the stage in Knoxville with a panicked crowd, and the other was Jack standing with boot and crutches from some photo op.

  The article went on to give a brief background about his quick shot to stardom with his second album. I smirked to myself as the writer agreed with me about the content, as she called his album chauvinistic, shallow, dance party music. She admitted its popularity in sales with both genders and the sold out shows—a telling story that the masses loved him. She wrote of his frankness about never wanting to settle down and his string of broken hearts that made him such a sought-after bachelor. In the end, she mentioned changes in him since his accident, with the new songs, the mellowing of show antics, and the dancers’ change in attire. She left it to ponder whether these changes came about from a brush with death, or perhaps meeting a special person in his life, after all.

  I swallowed hard, passed the paper to an anxiously waiting Kate, and dared to look at Jack. He seemed unfazed, so I didn’t make any comments. Andy expressed how it was a great thing to be on the front page of a big paper, and everyone seemed to agree.

  I cleaned my plate and stood to collect a few more to take to the garbage when I heard the roar of a large motor. Another bus approached and pulled into the last space. I heard groans from some of the crew guys, and Andy muttered, “Here he comes. It’s about time. They need to set up in a hurry.”

  Travis McCoy had arrived, and his presence was going to shake things up, one way or another. Slowly, people began to scatter, several staying to toss the football or continue reading the papers, while the crew went back to work on the stage. I decided to try a yoga video before my shower and headed toward the bus when I heard my name.

  “Hey, Lexie, go long,” Lee yelled from thirty yards back and pointed out to my right, away from the bus.

  I raised my hands up and jogged out as he reared back to throw. It sailed over my head, so I back peddled quickly, reaching up for the ball when I suddenly hit something solid. The wind knocked out of me as I tumbled to the ground. I groaned and rolled over, trying to suck in air and locate the offending object. When I glanced up, I saw cowboys boots, which I followed with my gaze upon blue jean clad legs, a plaid button-down shirt, and a finally, an attractive, startled face.

  Chapter 8

  “Oh!” I exclaimed, eloquently as ever. “Um, sorry about that.”

  He was sprawled on his butt and a bit dazed, much like me. Slowly, he focused honey-colored eyes on me and shook his head as if to clear it.

  “I should probably be the one to apologize, ma’am. I wasn’t looking. I do believe it was my fault.” His deep baritone voice and good manners threw me off. I stared.

  He slowly ambled to his feet and held a hand out, which I accepted, noting how easily he pulled me up. Once we stood, I found him towering several inches over me, a bit taller than Jackson, but leaner in build.

  I found my voice and stuttered, “Oh, no, it was me … I was running backward for the football. Uh, Lee threw it long and …” He had very nice features, from those eyes to a straight nose and a square jaw with short-cropp
ed dark brown hair. He glanced down, found the offending football, and handed it to me.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Travis McCoy.” He shook my hand delicately.

  “Oh, hi. I’m Lexie Travis.” Our shared name hit me, and I chuckled, ridiculously. “We have the same name—I mean, your first and my last, of course.” I needed to stop talking.

  He seemed amused and hip lips curled upward. “It’s a great name. Are you with the tour, Lexie Travis?”

  Before I could answer, Lee appeared at my side. “She’s here with Jack,” he said pointedly and then brushed some stray gravel off my back. “You okay? Sorry it went a little too long.”

  I shrugged, handing him the ball to shoo him away, which he reluctantly did. Heat crept into my cheeks from Lee’s assertion that I was Jack’s property. “I’m actually Jackson’s physical therapist. I’m finishing this tour with him so he wouldn’t have to cancel it. Home health therapy on the road.”

  “Ah, now I see. You didn’t appear like most girls I meet on these tours. I guess I better get moving so we can set up, but I’m really glad we ran into each other.”

  I snorted out a laugh at his pun and bit my lip to try to recover a little bit of dignity. “I’m sure I’ll see you around. Sorry for the collision.”

  He picked up his trademark black cowboy hat off the ground a few feet away and settled it into place, then turned back to me. “It was my pleasure, ma’am.”

  As he strode away toward the dock, I realized the hat changed his appearance. I hadn’t recognized him at all when it wasn’t on, but he looked like his photos and video when it was shadowing most of his face.

  Just before I opened the door to the black coach, I sensed someone watching me. I looked across the lot to meet Jackson’s gaze. Had he seen the encounter or even registered it? It seemed he was thinking deeply about something, so I finally broke my eyes away and headed inside.