by Kellen Hertz
For Mikayla, Kaiya, Owen, and Kieran
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: Hitting a High Note
Chapter 2: Super Amazing
Chapter 3: All in the Details
Chapter 4: A Time of Giving
Chapter 5: Ready to Go
Chapter 6: Setting the Tone
Chapter 7: The Sound of Silence
Chapter 8: On the Road
Chapter 9: Breaking the Ice
Chapter 10: Change of Plans
Chapter 11: Under Pressure
Chapter 12: Get It Together
Chapter 13: Homesick Hotel
Chapter 14: Falling Apart
Chapter 15: Taken by Surprise
Chapter 16: Stranded
Chapter 17: To the Rescue
Chapter 18: One Last Show
Chapter 19: A Christmas Surprise
Chapter 20: The Road Home
About the Author
Preview of Emma Moves In
Request a catalogue
Learn more about Tenney
Copyright
I closed my eyes and replayed the memory once more: bright lights, our music filling the auditorium, my foot stomping on the Ryman stage to the beat of Logan’s drums, a crowd of cheering fans. The last hour had been one of the most important times of my life, and I wanted to remember every detail forever.
A gust of air swirled around me, sending chills rippling down my spine. My eyes flashed open. Music throbbed from the stage as people hustled around in the wings, carrying instruments, coils of wire, and sound equipment. Another burst of cold air made me shiver and I hugged myself. The silver spangled concert dress that my little sister, Aubrey, had picked out for me was beautiful, but it wasn’t exactly insulated. I edged forward and peeked around the curtain. The golden sea of the Ryman Auditorium stage shimmered before me, filled with musicians playing shining instruments. From where I stood in the shadows, it was like staring into the sun. In a heartbeat, I forgot I’d ever been cold.
Had I really just been playing on that very same stage? Had we really just opened for the last show of Belle Starr’s world tour?
Just then Belle herself sashayed into view, her platinum blonde hair glowing under the stage lights. She twirled around her two backup guitarists, holding a cordless microphone covered in glittering rhinestones.
“This is the time when dreams come true …” she sang.
Fans waved their arms to the beat of the music as they sang along. It was easy to see why Belle was one of the biggest stars in music right now. It wasn’t just her clear, bright voice. It was the way people connected to her music. I couldn’t help but wonder: Would my songs ever make people feel that way?
Someone nudged my shoulder. My bandmate, Logan Everett, stepped beside me. Sometimes it’s impossible to figure out what Logan’s feeling, but as he watched the show, his eyes were round with awe.
“This is so incredible,” he whispered to me. “I still can’t believe we’re really here.”
“I know,” I whispered back.
Logan and I had been performing as a duo for less than a year. Our families and manager had always warned us how hard it would be to break out in the music industry, and so we worked extra hard to prove ourselves. It hadn’t always been easy, but eventually we became a good team.
So when Belle Starr asked us to open for her final tour show at the Ryman, it felt like we’d woken up in some kind of fairy tale. Logan and I practiced our set for months, fine-tuning every chord transition and harmony until each song felt airtight. And now we knew that our hard work had paid off—we had just performed our best show ever.
We’d started out shaky from nerves, but our mistakes were small enough that I figured nobody would really notice. Halfway through our set, I glanced offstage and saw our manager, Zane Cale, in the wings, grinning as he tapped his orange cowboy boots to the beat. I could tell he was proud of how far we had come. But the craziest moment was when I spotted Belle Starr herself watching our show from the wings and singing along to our song “Someone Who Believes”! That’s when I knew that I would remember this show forever.
Onstage, the music swelled as Belle and her band reached the final chorus of her hit song “Star Like Me.” It was Aubrey’s favorite song, and I had heard it about a million times. But right now, I felt like Belle was singing directly to me and Logan:
You can be a star like me
Know who you are and you’ll be free
Be proud of yourself and love what you see
That’s when you’ll see who you can be!
Belle bounced up to the edge of the stage. As she hit the song’s final high note, she leaped into the air. The song ended with a crash of drums, swirling rainbow lights, and an explosion of colorful glitter fluttering down to the stage. The roar of the crowd thundered through the theater, like a rolling wave.
“Wow,” Logan breathed, wide-eyed.
I nodded. When we had ended our set, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. But Belle had just taken her fans from enthusiastic to wild.
The applause continued even after Belle loped offstage, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. The moment she crossed into the shadows of the wings, she kicked off her high heels and wiped sweat from her forehead. She looked tired—until she spotted us and perked up. Before she could say anything, though, a flock of assistants crowded around her. A stagehand swapped Belle’s sparkly microphone for an open bottle of water as her hairdresser fixed some loose strands of hair and a makeup artist waited with a huge powder puff. Belle drank half the water bottle in one gulp and gave us a smile.
“Hey, what did you think of the show?” she called to us from behind a cloud of face powder.
“It was awesome!” Logan and I blurted in unison.
“Jinx,” he whispered, elbowing me.
“Glad you liked it.” Belle laughed. “That was some opening set you guys played! You really pumped up the audience!”
I blushed and was surprised to see color rise in Logan’s cheeks, too, as he self-consciously ruffled his sandy-brown hair.
“What are you doing for an encore?” he asked.
“I was thinking we could play ‘Reach the Sky,’” Belle replied.
My breath caught in my throat. “‘Reach the Sky’?” I repeated.
“Yeah,” Belle said with a wry smile. “You know that one?”
I nodded so fast I felt like a bobblehead. Of course I knew “Reach the Sky.” It was one of my songs. Belle Starr wanted to perform a song that I had written!
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to remember all of the words, though,” Belle said, her eyes twinkling. “Do you think you guys could perform the encore with me?”
My jaw dropped open, and Belle laughed.
“Don’t look so shocked,” she said, giving me an affectionate nudge with her elbow and grinning at Logan. “You guys rocked your opening set. The crowd would love to see you onstage again! What do you say? Do you want to help me out with some harmonies?”
Logan and I didn’t even have to consult.
“Yes!” we both said at once.
“Great!” Belle said with a merry laugh. She swung her acoustic guitar’s strap over her head, slipped on her high heels once again, and winked at us. “Let’s go!”
Assistants swooped in, plugging in our earpieces and handing us our guitars. When we followed Belle back onstage, the crowd screamed so loudly I could hardly think straight. We stepped up to the microphones at the front of the stage. The lights seemed hotter than they had before. I wiped a bead of sweat from my hairline and took a deep breath. I had been nervous when Logan and I had performed our set, but now we were playing with the biggest superstar
in Nashville. I knew I couldn’t mess this up.
“Please give a warm round of applause for my friends, Tenney and Logan,” Belle said into her microphone. The audience responded with whoops and whistles. Belle continued with a grin. “As a special treat tonight, we’re going to play for you a song written by our very own Miss Tenney Grant. This one’s called ‘Reach the Sky.’”
Belle’s hands danced across her guitar frets, her fingers picking out an intricate accompaniment. I tapped my hand against my leg to keep time. Then we sang, our three voices blending, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, dozens of tiny flashes of light were exploding across the wide velvety darkness before us as fans took photos. It was like looking into a sky of shooting stars. I never wanted it to end.
Once the concert was over and the audience had poured out of the building, there was an after-party set up in the Ryman’s lobby to celebrate the end of Belle’s tour. Logan and I changed out of our show outfits and met outside our dressing rooms to make our way to the lobby. As we wandered through the maze of cement hallways, I began to wonder if we were lost. Just then, I heard the click of high heels behind us.
“Hey!” Belle said, catching up to us. She wrapped her arms around Logan’s and my shoulders and squeezed us in. “Thanks for helping me end my tour the right way, you two!”
“There’s a right way?” cracked Logan, raising an eyebrow.
“Absolutely!” Belle said merrily. “Personally, I’ve always had this crazy superstition about tours that the first show and last show are the most important.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, the first show sets the tone for the rest of the tour,” she explained. “But the last show is the one you’ll remember forever. And y’all sure made it memorable!”
“Are you sad that the tour’s over?” Logan asked.
“Gosh, no!” Belle said with a little joyful skip. “I’m thrilled!”
“Really?” I said. The idea of touring the world and playing music every night seemed like the ultimate dream come true. I couldn’t imagine why anyone could want that to end.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Belle said like she’d read my mind. “I love performing. But touring’s really tough.”
How could traveling all over the world and playing shows for sold-out crowds be tough? I thought. But before I could ask, the doors to the lobby swung open and a crowd of well-wishers swept Belle off in a wave of congratulations.
Logan and I stood in the doorway scanning the crowd for people we knew. Belle’s musicians and touring crew mingled with VIPs, friends, and family in front of the ornate staircase leading to the balcony. Finally, we spotted my parents talking to Logan’s mom near the buffet.
“Such a great show, you two!” Mom said.
Dad clapped Logan on the back and pulled me in for a hug. “Your encore with Belle was fantastic!” he exulted.
“It was,” Mrs. Everett said, kissing Logan on the head. “I wish your father could have seen it. He would be so proud!”
Sadness flickered across Logan’s face, and I knew that he was missing his dad. Mr. Everett was a backup guitarist for a band that had been on tour in Asia for what seemed like forever.
“Hey,” I said to Logan, pointing to the buffet table of food and drinks behind him. “You want to go grab a snack? I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since before we got to the Ryman!”
Logan nodded gratefully and followed me over to the buffet. I grabbed a can of fizzy water and a plate, piling it high with fruit, a pair of cheesecake bites, and a trio of chocolate chip cookies. Logan loaded up on so many desserts that it looked like his plate might collapse under the weight. He stuffed an entire cookie into his mouth.
“Whoa, slow down there,” I said, laughing.
“I’m hungry!” he replied, spraying crumbs everywhere. “I feel like I just ran a marathon.”
I nodded. “Me, too. But it was a great show, wasn’t it?”
“Sure was,” Logan said. “Though we were a little off at the top of ‘Music in Me.’”
“I know,” I agreed. “I stepped on your cue, sorry. But only because you started in too fast!” I said, poking Logan’s arm playfully.
His plate wobbled, sending a brownie bite to the floor. “Man down!” he cried.
As he crouched to pick it up, I noticed that Zane had joined our parents, and was speaking to them with wild gestures.
“Wonder what that’s about,” I said, just as Zane spotted Logan and me and waved us over.
As we slipped through the crowd to them, I could see Zane was holding out his phone, showing our parents something. The moment we reached them, Zane turned to us, his eyes crackling with excitement.
“Great news!” he exclaimed, looking from me to Logan. “A bunch of audience members recorded your encore with Belle tonight. They posted it online and her fans are loving it! It’s already trending!”
“Really?” Logan said.
Before Zane could reply, his phone started buzzing and dinging as if it was having a dance party. “More new e-mails,” he said, glancing at the screen. As he read, he let out a low whistle and pushed his hat back on his head with a grin. “This one’s from a booker I know in Chattanooga. He’s got an event next month that he thinks you two would be perfect for … Which brings me to my next big idea: We need to think about going on tour.”
“R-Really?” I stammered in surprise. “Me and Logan … on tour?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Zane said with a chuckle.
My heart did a joyful flip-flop, but when I glanced over, my parents were already exchanging concerned looks with Logan’s mom.
Seeing their expressions, Zane grew serious. “We need to watch how the online enthusiasm for Tenney and Logan evolves and then sit down and talk about how to build on that,” Zane said. His phone dinged again, and he looked around at our parents. “At the rate that this video is spreading, I’m thinking we’ll want to get them on the road before the year ends.”
“But it’s already November,” Dad said.
“Which is why we need to start making decisions as soon as possible,” Zane urged. “Is there a time y’all can come down to the office to discuss it?”
The adults all started comparing schedules, but I didn’t hear any of that. I was looking at Logan. His eyes were wide with the kind of overwhelmed exhilaration I was feeling, too. A tour! It’s what every musician dreams about, and Zane was considering it as a possibility for us!
The whole drive home, my insides were fizzy with excitement.
“Do you know how incredible it would be to go on tour?!” I told my parents, bouncing nonstop in my seat. “It would be amazing! No, beyond amazing. Über amazing. SUPER amazing!”
“You seem … interested,” Dad said with a chuckle.
“You guys have to let me go,” I begged.
“Tenney, we don’t even know if it’s a real possibility yet,” Mom said gently. “A tour is a big deal. There are a lot of moving parts, especially with the holidays coming up next month. I don’t want you missing school or getting overwhelmed.”
“I promise I won’t! I’ll work so hard; I won’t miss any homework assignments,” I said, my brain racing. “If Zane can make it work so I don’t miss school, will you let me go?”
My parents exchanged a glance for what seemed like a crazy-long time.
“Probably,” Mom finally said.
I squealed again, even louder. I couldn’t help it!
Some things are worth losing control over, I thought to myself. And my first real tour was definitely one of them.
“Are you serious? An actual professional tour?” my friend Holliday asked, her eyes sparkling. “That’s amazing!”
It was the morning after Belle’s concert, and as soon as I’d arrived at school I found my best friends to share the news about Logan’s and my maybe-tour.
“Congratulations!” Jaya bubbled, giving me a squeeze.
“Well, we’re just talking about it, nothing’s official
yet,” I told them. I didn’t want to make a huge deal about it, but just the fact that Zane had brought up touring as a possibility felt like a victory, and I’d wanted to share the excitement with my close friends.
“Will you have tour posters and T-shirts?” Jaya asked as we headed to class.
“And a tour bus like Belle Starr’s?” Holliday added. “I heard she has a full kitchen and a bathtub in the bus. Imagine driving around the country in a fancy tour bus with TENNEY & LOGAN painted on the side! Staying at luxury hotels! Playing at the biggest venues!”
“Guys, nothing’s been decided yet,” I reminded them, though I had to admit it all sounded really exciting.
But Holliday and Jaya didn’t seem to hear me. As we arrived at our classroom door, they were still chattering about how glamorous the tour was going to be.
As I sat down at my desk, I pictured everything that Holliday had described. Riding around in a sparkling tour bus, playing for sold-out crowds of screaming fans, jumping around on a fancy hotel bed twice the size of my bed at home.
It all seemed too good to be true, and suddenly I was nervous. What if Zane couldn’t make our tour happen? Or what if my parents decided that I couldn’t go? And how long would I have to wait to find out whether my wildest dreams were about to come true?
As it turns out, I only had to wait a couple of days. After school on Wednesday, my parents drove me to the Mockingbird Records office on Music Row to meet with Zane.
Ellie Cale, Zane’s niece, met us in the lobby. Ellie was the talent scout for Mockingbird, and had “discovered” me while I was practicing a song at Dad’s instrument shop last year.
“Your encore with Belle sure is making a splash online,” Ellie said to me as she guided us to Zane’s office.
I smiled bashfully, but I was too nervous to think of a smart response.
Logan and his mom were already sitting on the leather couches in Zane’s office when we walked in with Ellie. Logan glanced at me, his knee bouncing a mile a minute. I could tell he was just as nervous as I was.
Once my parents and I had taken our seats, Zane cut right to the chase. “Belle’s fans posted about a dozen videos,” he started, looking down at his notes. “Each one has been viewed about twenty thousand times by now, and the number of hits you’re getting has been increasing every day, not decreasing.”