by Brenda Novak
When she rocked back, he cursed under his breath as if he hadn’t meant to be quite that cruel. No doubt those words had come from the depth of his frustration—and been helped along by all the other extreme emotions he’d felt in the past twenty-four hours. “Look, I have no desire to be as hateful as I’m being right now. I’m sorry. I just... I need you to leave me alone, okay? The police will investigate. If your fingerprints match the ones that were left at the scene, they’ll arrest you. If they don’t...then maybe it was someone else.”
“But I’ve been to the plant. I’ve touched things. Remember when A.J. and I came to get the water heater? Even if my fingerprints are there, that doesn’t mean I set the fire,” she insisted, her voice much smaller than before.
“No one else has anything against me, Noelle,” he said. “Only you have ever made my life miserable.”
Lourdes guessed that Noelle was about to cry, although she couldn’t tell for sure. “It...it had to be Genevieve,” she said. “She did it knowing you’d think it was me and I’d get the blame. That’s her way of taking revenge for when...for when I gave her that bloody nose at the bar.”
“Now it’s Genevieve who’s to blame?” Kyle scoffed. “Will you just stop? No more lies! No more anything. And God help you if you ever do anything to Lourdes. If you so much as breathe a word about what you witnessed here tonight, I’ll tell everyone what you did to our baby—while accepting all their sympathy for your supposed ‘miscarriage.’”
If she’d been about to say anything else, that shut her up. It was tough to tell in the meager light, but Lourdes was pretty sure she’d gone pale.
Putting his arm around Lourdes, he led her through the crowds. She’d expected him to use more caution when they walked back onto the main drag. But he was beyond caution. He marched her to his truck. Then he drove them both home.
* * *
When they reached the house, Kyle poured himself a drink. He offered Lourdes one, too, which she refused.
“You don’t think Noelle could’ve been telling the truth about that Genevieve person, do you?” she asked. She hadn’t said anything on the way home, hadn’t even mentioned what they’d done in the alley, and of that, he was glad.
Kyle pulled his gaze away from the whiskey in his glass. “No, but I’m sure the police will check into the possibility.”
“It’ll be interesting to see whose prints, if any, show up on that broken bottle.”
“Didn’t you hear Noelle?” he said. “She’s trying to cover for that by saying she’s been at the plant quite a few times.”
“So she could’ve dropped that bottle before?”
“I believe that’s what she’s trying to suggest.”
“You really don’t think it could be Genevieve?”
“Genevieve’s not nearly as likely as Noelle.”
“Do you know Genevieve well enough to call and ask what she was doing that night?”
“No. I’ve only met her once or twice. She hasn’t been living here that long.” He might call her anyway, though. Noelle had acted more vulnerable tonight than ever before. But she was such a great actress. She could’ve been faking it all.
Lourdes moved her purse over to the counter. “You said something to Noelle...about the miscarriage.”
He took the final swallow of his drink. As he put down his empty glass, he was tempted to pour himself another but decided against it. “You mean the abortion?”
“Yes. Why do you think she did it? She didn’t want the baby?”
“I guess not. It was just another thing to be used for whatever she could get out of it. The pregnancy had already got her what she’d initially wanted. She proved that she could ‘steal’ her sister’s boyfriend. That Olivia had nothing on her.” He shrugged in a sad way. “The baby had served its purpose.”
She sat down next to him at the table. “But she didn’t tell you? Didn’t include you in the decision?”
“No. She claimed it was a miscarriage and did everything she could to make me feel sorry for her. She even hinted that it was my fault, because we’d argued beforehand.”
“Did you ever check her story? Try to find proof?”
“I made some calls, but all that stuff is private. No one at any of the clinics I tried would divulge whether she’d been in, despite the fact that we were married and I was the father.” He rubbed his face as he remembered. “And I didn’t search too hard. Part of me wanted to believe her, even if it meant being deceived. If she’d done what I suspected, I knew I’d only hate her more.”
“So you were still trying to make your marriage work.”
“For a while. As far as I’m concerned, marriage is about commitment as much as love. We didn’t have love, so I was trying to make up for it with determination. I knew she was her own worst enemy, and I thought I could help her. That she’d somehow be better or different if I could make her happy and secure. With time, I hoped I could learn to love her.”
Lourdes crossed her legs. “Even though you suspected her of ending the pregnancy that was the reason for your marriage? That’s not much to build on.”
“Turns out, it was impossible. I could hardly stand to touch her after that. Bottom line, my intentions were good, but—” he poured himself that second drink, after all “—I just ended up causing us both more pain.”
“And you feel guilty about it.”
“That’s why I’ve put up with her for so long. I tried to make her happy, but I couldn’t force my heart.” And now he wanted Lourdes, as if life with a country music star was any more realistic for him.
Kyle cursed to himself. He’d even seen it coming and couldn’t sidestep it.
“You told me you don’t have anything you could say about marriage at Riley and Phoenix’s wedding. But with the way you feel about commitment, it sounds to me as if you do.”
“They’re in a completely different situation.”
“They are. They have the benefit of love. But marriage still takes commitment.”
He eyed her. “What are you doing? Trying to get out of writing my speech for the wedding?”
“Just trying to guide your thoughts.” She pulled her laptop over. “Why don’t we open a document and get that started?”
“Not tonight.” Kyle was exhausted. He had no energy for writing speeches—and yet he could easily have taken Lourdes into his room and spent hours with her. They’d only had a couple of hit-and-runs, nothing like the kind of night he would love to spend with her.
He was trying to convince himself to go to bed alone when her phone buzzed.
“Is that Derrick?” he asked.
She checked. “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “He’s been calling more than ever lately.”
This was a text. “What’s he saying?”
“‘I have something I need to tell you. Please call me,’” she read aloud.
Kyle finished his second drink. “Are you going to?”
“No.” She put her phone down.
“But you are going back. To Nashville. You’d never consider staying...” He held his breath as he waited for her answer. He had no right to ask so much of her, but he couldn’t let her leave without telling her that he was over Olivia. That he loved her and that he could offer her everything he had and could ever be.
She looked troubled when she faced him, and he knew, even before she answered, that it wouldn’t be enough. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Kyle. I could... I could fall in love with you. Maybe I already have. From the beginning, there was...something about you. But we want different things out of life. You’ve made it clear that you’d never want to leave Whiskey Creek. And I can’t stay.”
“You could travel for work. When you needed to.” Kyle had never dreamed he’d make that concession so quickly. But other couples conquered various challeng
es. It might not be his ideal future, wasn’t what he’d sought or planned, but he hadn’t expected to fall in love with a professional singer.
Another text came in before she could answer.
Since he could see the words, Kyle read it at the same time Lourdes did. “Come on, Lourdes,” Derrick had written. “This is a hit song. You can’t miss it.”
“Looks like it’s work-related,” Kyle said.
When she glanced up, he could tell she was excited by the message and tempted to respond. He couldn’t blame her. She wanted to rebuild her career, and Derrick could offer her the help he couldn’t. “Go ahead and call him,” he said and went to bed to give her the privacy to do so.
25
Derrick had found the perfect song. He could’ve given it to Crystal, but he was reserving it for her. He’d even played it for her. He’d had to call in a lot of favors, and pay a pretty penny to the songwriter, who owed him a favor, or he probably would’ve lost it to Miranda Lambert, since she’d also shown interest. But he was confident it was right for her, and Lourdes had to agree.
She’d never been able to fault his taste in songs, or his business acumen. He’d helped her build what she’d created so far, and it would be so much easier to continue with his support. Although she’d planned to find a new manager in January, she was now thinking about hiring Derrick again. He was a known entity, someone with plenty of experience and knowledge about the biz.
There was no telling if she’d get someone half as good if she switched...
Giving her this song was his way of keeping her in the fold, she realized. But she wasn’t entirely opposed to staying, despite what he’d done.
When her phone rang again, she looked at it in surprise. She’d just finished talking to Derrick—she was still holding her phone—so what was he calling about now? He needed to give her time to think...
But this call wasn’t from Derrick; it was from Crystal.
Lourdes curled the fingers of her free hand into her palm. Did she care to talk to “the other woman”? What on earth could Crystal have to say to her?
In the end, curiosity overcame her reluctance. Hoping she wouldn’t live to regret it, she slid the answer button to the right. “Hello?”
“Lourdes? Thanks for taking my call. I...I wasn’t sure if it would only make matters worse, but I felt like I needed to say something.”
Lourdes sank onto the edge of her bed. “I can’t imagine what we’d have to discuss.”
“Well, I bet we can both agree that I owe you an apology. I’m really, really sorry. And I just have to say it’s been awful watching Derrick go through this, when I know I’m partially to blame. I can’t explain exactly what happened that night, but—”
“You’re saying it was just one night?” Had Derrick been telling her the truth about that?
“Yes, it was. I swear. We’d had a bit too much to drink. We were excited about the sales of my latest album. We were making plans, and then it got late and...and before we knew it...things went too far. I wanted Derrick to tell you right away, but he was so afraid of losing you that he made me swear I’d keep my mouth shut.”
“I saw the picture that was posted on the internet where you two were making out over lunch, Crystal.”
“We weren’t making out! We were talking—about you and what we were going to do to right our wrong and how terrible we both felt.”
“So you’re not seeing him now.”
“No. Absolutely not. Our relationship is strictly professional. I asked him not to drop me. I’m just getting started in my career, and I really need his guidance. But I’m not after him in any other way, and...I felt...if there’s anything I can do to make things right between you two, I needed to do it.”
Lourdes rubbed her right temple. She told herself she shouldn’t buy into this, that it was another of Derrick’s attempts to convince her to overlook his latest indiscretion, and he’d only cheat on her again. But Crystal sounded so sincere. “I’ve hardly heard from him since he confessed the truth.”
“Because he’s been searching, night and day, to find you the perfect song. He told me it might be the one thing that’ll bring you back to Nashville long enough to give him a chance to prove himself.”
“He could’ve come here.”
“He said that wouldn’t help your career.”
But it might’ve helped her. Didn’t he care about that? How could he miss the fact that love and security were more important than anything to her?
Actually, somehow that didn’t surprise Lourdes. He’d done that kind of thing a lot, which was why so much of their relationship revolved around her career.
“Anyway, in case you still won’t answer his calls, I think he’s found that special song. It’s called ‘Crossroads,’ and he had me listen to it this morning. I loved it so much, I’m green with envy that he’s reserving it for you. But I understand why.” She paused, then added, “You need to call him. Trust me. It’ll be your next big hit.”
Lourdes thought of the night Kyle had phoned Derrick, pretending to be someone from Country Weekly magazine, and Crystal had obviously been with him. “I don’t know if I can believe you,” she said.
“Why not?” she asked. “I have no reason to lie. How would it help me if you came back? Or if you reunited with Derrick? The gossip rags will make me look like someone who couldn’t hang on to the man she tried to steal. That won’t be flattering, but even though I wasn’t actually trying to steal him, I deserve that for what I did, so I’m willing to take the bad press. The only reason I’m doing this is to try to make things right.”
Suddenly, everything seemed to be turning around. Keeping Derrick as her manager and recording a song as great as “Crossroads” could put her back on top. She also liked what she’d written so far and had begun to feel she’d have some great material of her own to follow up the new song.
“Thank you,” she told Crystal. “I appreciate that you’ve made what had to be a difficult call.” She took a deep breath. “I also respect it,” she admitted. “It’s not often you run into that kind of thing these days.” Especially in the entertainment industry...
“Thank you for allowing me to apologize. I don’t want to destroy anyone’s life or career or anything else. My motto is ‘Do no harm.’”
After she disconnected, Lourdes sprang to her feet and began to pace. Her hopes and dreams had been revived! She’d been offered a second chance!
Then why did she feel so depressed at the thought of leaving Whiskey Creek? Sure, she cared about Kyle, but he was really in love with Olivia. He’d made no secret of that. He’d let her know, from the very beginning, that he’d never get over his stepbrother’s wife.
She should buy a ticket and head home as soon as possible. And she shouldn’t worry about anything else.
Except she knew in her heart that Kyle’s feelings for Olivia had changed—and so had her feelings for Derrick.
* * *
Kyle took a shower, then dropped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He could no longer hear the hum of Lourdes’s voice, so she was off the phone. He thought she might come to him. Lord knew he wanted her to. But as the minutes ticked away, he guessed she wouldn’t. She was going back to Nashville. Whatever song Derrick had sent her had tempted her beyond her ability to refuse.
It was almost one when his phone indicated a text message. He was half-asleep by then and didn’t want to wake up enough to check it. But after the fire and what had happened with Noelle tonight, he didn’t dare ignore it.
“What have you done now?” he grumbled, but the text wasn’t from her. It was from Brandon.
Tell me you did not have sex with Lourdes in the alley behind Callie’s studio tonight.
“Damn Noelle,” he muttered and wrote his brother back.
No.
&nb
sp; Liar. Noelle’s over here sobbing to Olivia about it. I can hear her.
Noelle needs to keep her mouth shut.
She says you hate her and want to see her go to prison.
As harsh as that accusation was, Kyle didn’t have it in him to deny it.
Does that surprise you?
Not especially. But I’m almost convinced she didn’t set the fire.
Don’t listen to her. No one’s a better liar.
Agreed. Still. She’s sounding sort of believable.
She had both motive and opportunity. And she has no alibi.
You don’t think it could’ve been Genevieve, like she claims?
Genevieve wasn’t the one whose car pulled in and then took off like a bat out of hell.
Good point. So let’s talk about Lourdes. Things are heating up with her, huh?
As Kyle stared at those words, it felt as if he had a thousand pounds of sand crushing his chest.
No. Not really. She’s had something come up—an opportunity of some kind. I’m pretty sure she’ll be going back to Nashville early.
When? Not before the wedding, I hope. Riley and Phoenix were hoping she’d sing one song—the one for the first dance.
I doubt she’ll be here to do that.
Too bad. Are you at least bringing her to the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night?
If she wants to come, he wrote back. He was just leaning over to set his phone on the nightstand when he heard a soft knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Lourdes stepped inside. “I...um...I hate to have to tell you this, but...I’ll be leaving on Tuesday,” she said.
It didn’t matter that he’d expected as much—Kyle’s stomach muscles tensed. “You’re going back to Derrick.”
“I’m going back to Nashville, not Derrick,” she clarified.
At least the fact that she wouldn’t be around long hadn’t come out of nowhere. He’d known it from the start, even if this was a lot sooner than they’d planned. “That’s what I figured. Derrick can give you what you want.”