by LuAnn McLane
“Tootsie’s,” Lilly says. “If it’s dead there we’ll hit The Stage or maybe Legends, but we want to try to snag a table, so let us out in front and then park this monster, okay?”
Boone hesitates. “I’d rather walk you in.”
Lilly sighs. “We’ll be fine for a few minutes.”
A muscle jumps in his jaw but he nods. “Whatever you say, Ms. Mason.” After removing his sunglasses he flicks a glance at her in the mirror. Lilly nods back and it’s as if they are trying to bait each other. Sam nudges my knee with hers so I know I’m not imagining the exchange. I’m thinking that if the two of them end up in bed—and whether they know it or not it’s inevitable—that it will be explosive.
“I’ll join you ladies shortly,” Boone promises as he drops us off at the corner light on lower Broadway. Even though it’s a weeknight the street is buzzing with activity. Laughter and music spill out onto the sidewalk from the bars. Neon signs light up the night and I have to smile when I see the flying pink pigs at Jack’s Bar-B-Que. An intense pang of longing shoots through me though since the sign makes me think of Luke and the kiss in the hallway . . . and then the next kiss in my kitchen. I remember how he made sweet and tender love to me. God I’ve relived it so many times in my head, making me wonder whether he has too.
But then it makes me think about the fact that I’m here and he’s in Hootertown. Our lives are going in different directions just when there was a chance for something more. Maybe I should swallow my pride and just call him.
“Wipe that sad puppy-dog look from your face,” Lilly orders, and hooks her arm through mine. “Tonight is all about fun and games.”
“Lilly’s right.”
“Wow, that’s a first,” Lilly comments dryly.
“That you’re right?” I ask with a chuckle.
“No, I’m always right. It’s a first that Sam’s admitted it.”
Sam pulls a face at Lilly and then hooks my other arm in hers. “Let’s go on in for a swaller and a holler.”
Lilly grins. “And tip the band a dollar.”
I laugh and my mood is immediately lightened. When we approach the entrance to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge a young cowboy greets us. “Sam! Lilly! Haven’t seen y’all in a while,” he says with a dimpled grin. It occurs to me that even though the general public might not recognize them, these two are still celebrities. “Y’all want the window seat?” I know he’s referring to the window in the front of Tootsie’s opposite where the band plays. It’s a special place of honor that tourists can pay for and reserve, and where they are sometimes joined by country stars.
Lilly waves him off. “Nah. We just want to have some fun. We’d rather keep who we are on the down low if it’s all the same to you.”
His dimples deepen. “Sure thing. I understand.” He looks at me and says, “You a singer too?”
“Only in the shower or my car.”
“She’s our hair chick,” Sam explains. “Macy McCoy, meet Tanner James.”
“Nice to meet ya, Macy,” he says, and gives me a wink. “Save me a dance for later?”
When I don’t answer Lilly nudges me. Oh . . . he was serious? “Um, sure,” I stammer.
“Sweet. I’ll collect it,” he promises with a tip of his black hat.
After we enter the bar Lilly leans over and says, “He’s a singer, you know. Pretty doggone good too.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, and he can rock the house like Jason Aldean. Country but with a rough, sexy edge,” Lilly explains.
“Cool, I can’t wait to hear him sing.” I then glance over my shoulder at Tanner to see if he’s flirting with every girl who comes into the bar. I can’t believe he singled me out.
Sam looks at Lilly and then rolls her eyes at me as if reading my thoughts. “Why are you so surprised that he’s interested in you, Macy?”
I shrug.
“Maybe it’s because you’re showing off what you got instead of worryin’ about what you’re not.”
Sam looks at Lilly and they high-five.
“Song idea?” I ask.
Lilly nods and then gives me a nudge. “You’re learnin’ fast, girlfriend. Oh and FYI, Tanner will collect the dance.”
“Wait, am I missing something?”
When Lilly and Sam exchange a look and quickly say, “No,” I realize that something is up but that they’ll never tell me, so I’ll just have to find out the hard way.
We snag one of the few tables in the rather small bar that’s already getting crowded. There’s more room and another stage upstairs but like Sam and Lilly, I prefer the honky-tonk atmosphere on the bottom floor. “Here.” I dig a pen out of my purse and hand it to Lilly. “You’d better write that song title down.”
“Right!” She sits down on a stool and grabs a napkin.
“I wonder how many hits were written on the back of napkins?” I ask while she writes.
Lilly shrugs. “I do know that many a song has been written right here in Tootsie’s. It’s rumored that Roger Miller wrote “Dang Me” sitting here at one of these tables. Willie Nelson got his first songwriting job after singing here.”
I grin and point to the wall behind. The photos and memorabilia are fondly called the Wall of Fame. “Maybe someday you’ll end up there.”
“In this business you never know,” Lilly says as she looks at the picture-filled wall. “It sure would be cool to write a classic . . .” She holds up the napkin and waves it like a flag. “Maybe this will be it.”
A waitress thinks she’s being flagged down and hurries over to our table. “What’ll it be, ladies?”
“Bud Light,” I request.
“Miller Lite,” says Lilly.
“Coors Light,” Sam responds with a grin.
The waitress nods. “There’s nothin’ wrong with bein’ particular, especially when it comes to men and beer . . .”
“Amen, sister.” Lilly gives her a knuckle bump.
“Here comes Boone.” Sam nods toward the entrance, not that she needed to announce it since a man his size can’t exactly sneak in. Female heads turn in his direction but he doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe it’s that he just doesn’t care. Without making it obvious, he takes a vacant stool at the bar directly across from our table.
“We don’t need a doggone bodyguard,” Lilly grumbles. “He should just go play pool somewhere and come back to pick us up.” She takes a long pull on her Miller Lite and directs her attention to the stage but I notice her sneaking a peek at Boone when she thinks we’re not looking.
Sam notices too because she raises her eyes to the ceiling and then leans over and says to me, “We’ve got to do something to get those two together. If you come up with a plan, let me know because I’m in.”
With a shake of her head Lilly says loudly enough for us to hear over the band, “What are y’all cookin’ up?”
“Nothin’,” Sam says with a fake scowl. “Why do you always think it’s all about you?” She circles her hand over her head and says, “Here’s the world and here’s Lilly.”
“Oh shut up.” Lilly takes another swig of her beer and thumps it down on the table. “Hey, I thought we had designated this as man-hater night. We need to find us some men and then hate ’em.”
“Now Lilly, Macy can’t be mean to Tanner, can she? He’s too damned cute and promised her a dance.”
“Macy?” Lilly asks hopefully. “You in or out?”
“Um, I don’t know if I’d be very good at the game anyway.”
Lilly rolls her eyes. “Just follow my lead. It’s fun. You bait the hook. You reel them in,” she explains, and demonstrates as though she has a fishing pole in her hands. “Then toss them back . . . after they buy you a beer.”
“It will drive Boone crazy, Lilly,” Sam accuses. “I see right through you. Why don’t you just go over there and sit on his lap like you wanna do.”
“Oh shut up, Sam! Boone’s got nothin’ to do with it. It’s two-timin’ Keith I’m pissed at, not Boone. Now
, are you playin’? I know you’ve got man issues, too.”
Sam sighs. “Well, okay I guess I . . . holy cow . . .” She breathes and stops in midsentence. “Um, I don’t think I could hate anyone who looks like . . . him. I could reel him in but I’m sure as shootin’ not tossin’ him back.”
I turn my gaze past the band to the door. “Ohmigod, I know him.”
“No way.” Sam gives me a hopeful look. “You do?”
“Yeah, that’s Brandon Sheldon, the brother of Griff, the guy who just married my best friend, Jamie Lee. I wonder what brings him to Nashville?”
“Maybe it’s business. What’s he do for a loving—um I mean living?” Sam asks without taking her eyes off Brandon.
“Wow, that sure was a slip of the tongue,” Lilly comments with a laugh.
“I’d sure like to slip him the tongue,” she says with a grin. “God, he is gorgeous.”
“And has bad boy written all over him,” Lilly observes. “Macy, am I right?”
“ ’Fraid so.” With a look in Brandon’s direction, I sigh. With long, unruly hair that reaches his shoulders, low-slung ripped jeans, and a plain white T-shirt, Brandon is the opposite of his clean-cut, country-boy brother. “You hit the nail on his handsome head. Brandon is a bit of a walk on the wild side. Sam, you’ve been warned,” I tell her, but my warning only seems to intrigue her more, so I decide to go further. “Oh and after bein’ kicked out of two or three colleges he’s been workin’ with Griff, who owns his own construction company . . . some remodeling but they specialize in building decks. I doubt he’s down here on business, but who knows?”
“Oh a man who works with his hands. I like it. Well, if he’s here for pleasure I’m all over it,” Sam announces with a dreamy grin.
“Sam!” Lilly says with a shake of her head. “Whoa there, girl.”
“What? I’m just sayin’ . . .” She taps her beer bottle to mine. “Macy, call him over here, quick, while he’s lookin’ this way.”
Brandon’s face lights up when he spots me. When I wave him over he makes his way through the growing crowd. “Hey Macy! What’s up? I saw Luke the other night at Dixie’s and he told me the scoop on your job.”
“He did?”
“With strict orders not to tell Griff and Jamie Lee.”
“Oh, good.”
“So what are you up to?”
“We’re just havin’ a girls’ night out,” I tell him, and Sam nudges me beneath the table. “Oh, let me introduce Lilly and Sam Mason.” I lean forward and say in a lower voice, “They’re backup singers for Tammy Turner.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.” He offers his hand to Lilly and then to Sam, who holds his hand long enough to give him the message that she’s interested. “Nice to meet ya.”
“So, what brings you to Nashville?” Sam asks. “Business or pleasure?”
I almost choke on my swallow of beer but Brandon doesn’t miss a beat. “Definitely pleasure,” he responds smoothly. “I’m taking a few days off. I’ve bid on a couple of projects but other than that I have idle hands.” He wiggles his fingers. “I was feelin’ a bit restless, so I hopped on my bike and hit the road.”
“You have a motorcycle?” Sam asks with a dreamy look. She jumps a bit, making me think that Lilly just gave her a warning nudge beneath the table.
“Yeah, it’s my street bike but I do some motocross as well. “Do you ride?” he questions Sam.
“Oh sure, I love to ride,” she gushes, but judging by the amused look on Lilly’s face Sam has never been on the back of a motorcycle. Sam suddenly jumps as if Lilly’s kicked her again and I have to hide my giggle with a cough.
Brandon looks from one sister to the other and then gives Sam a slow grin. “Have you ever been on the back of a motorcycle?”
“No,” she playfully admits. “I was trying to impress you. How’d ya guess?”
“From the look your sister gave you. My brother would do the same thing to me . . . ruin my game,” he says with a laugh in Lilly’s direction.
“Busted,” Sam admits. “What I should have said is that I’d like to ride but I’ll let you in on another little secret.”
“What might that be?”
Sam gives him a cute little shy smile that I actually believe is sincere. “I’d be scared to death. I’m not as adventurous as Lilly. Now I’ve really messed up impressing you, huh?”
Brandon arches one dark eyebrow. “Well, there was no need since I’m already impressed.”
Lilly snorts and shoots me a look. “Ohmigod, Macy, is it gettin’ deep in here or what?”
Instead of being embarrassed like most guys would be, Brandon tosses his head back and laughs but Sam gives her a scowl. “Watch out, Brandon, she’s in man-hater mood.”
“You were too until he walked in.” Lilly points her beer bottle at Brandon. “Watch out or she’ll write a song about ya.”
Instead of looking worried, Brandon appears intrigued. “You write songs too?”
Sam nods. “I enjoy singing but it’s the songwriting that’s in my blood.”
Brandon angles his dark head and says, “It must be amazing to be that passionate about what you do for a living.”
“It is,” Sam admits with another genuine smile at Brandon. Playful banter suddenly seems like real interest and judging by Lilly’s thoughtful expression, I’m guessing she’s thinking the same thing. I grin at Lilly when their conversation gets deeper and they seem to have forgotten we exist.
Although Brandon has given Griff and his mama fits over the years, I’ve always had a soft spot for him. I know all too well how tough it is to lose a parent at an early age. But while it was agonizing to watch my mama lose her life to cancer, at least I had the opportunity to say good-bye to her. A tragic farming accident took Brandon’s daddy and while Griff was old enough to cope, young Brandon was devastated. I do believe that his wild ways were an expression of grief and I know that such a loss makes it even harder to put your heart on the line . . .
And then it suddenly hits me that I’ve been doing the same doggone thing. Loving Luke when I knew there wasn’t a chance was an easy way to keep from getting hurt. Now that he’s showing interest, I’m shying away with excuses that could be overcome if I dare.
“I’m such a coward,” I mumble.
“What?” Lilly asks with a frown, but I can only shake my head in wonder.
“I do believe I just had a lightbulb moment,” I tell her.
“Oh wow,” Lilly says, and grabs my hand. “I’ve got to hear this.”
“Hey, where y’all goin’?” Sam asks when she’s able to pry her gaze away from Brandon.
“Outside for a breath of fresh air,” Lilly explains.
“Okay,” Sam says, and turns her attention right back to Brandon.
Lilly tugs me outside of Tootsie’s and leads me to a spot on the sidewalk away from the crowd. “Tell me what you just figured out.”
“That I’m an idiot.”
Lilly gives me a deadpan stare. “That was your lightbulb moment? Come on, Macy. I let my beer get warm for this?”
“Okay, here goes . . . ,” I begin, and then take a deep breath of city-scented air while I gather my wits about me to explain. “All these years I’ve worshipped Luke from afar, telling myself that I’m not good enough for him—”
“Which is a bunch of bull, by the way,” Lilly inserts with a little bop of her spiky head.
I nod because for the first time I’m in complete agreement . . . well almost, anyway. “I talked a big game to Jamie Lee tellin’ her that I was gonna go after Luke the way she set her sights on Griff.”
“But?”
“I was full of—”
“Crap?”
“Pretty much,” I admit with a sad shake of my head. “But Lilly, watching Brandon’s bad-boy bravado slip there for a moment with Sam made me realize that he wears his leather jacket like armor to keep from getting hurt. See, he lost his daddy just a few years before I lost my mama and . . .” I pause to
swipe at a tear.
“I get it,” Lilly says gruffly, and swallows hard. “Loving someone means opening up your heart to pain.”
I nod. “And I’ve been hiding behind my weight . . . holding back in fear, telling myself I’m not good enough when I’m really just a coward.”
Lilly puts her hands on my shoulders. “You’re not a coward and you’re certainly not an idiot.”
“Yes I am, but not anymore!”
“Well then, Macy McCoy, I do believe it’s time for less talk and more action.”
“Damned straight!” I give her a double high five. “So now just how do I get Luke here to Nashville?” I sweep my arm in an arc toward the neon lights.
Lilly taps the side of her cheek and then gives me a slow smile. “I think I might have a plan.” She pulls me closer to the orchid-colored brick building. “Now listen up.”
14
“Truth or Dare”
“You do know that Boone’s been watching us from the entrance to Tootsie’s, right?” I ask Lilly before she informs me of her plot to somehow get Luke to Nashville.
Lilly rolls her eyes. “Yes. You’d think he was the Secret Service and I was the president’s daughter or something instead of a backup singer nobody even recognizes.”
“So, does Tammy send him along or does he do it on his own?”
With a shrug Lilly says, “A little bit of both. Tammy had a stalker a few years back and she’s been skittish ever since. If she goes somewhere tonight she’ll take Casey with her. It’s not a celebrity diva thing. She really was stalked.”
“Oh, how awful. Was it a crazy fan?”
With a sad shake of her head Lilly says, “Worse. It was a guy she was dating and then dumped when she realized he was a jealous lunatic.”
“Oh...”
“Yeah, and she hasn’t dated since.”
“What about that songwriter dude . . . Colin Reed?”
“We’ll get to that after we get you hooked up.” She points a finger at me and grins. “I can only stick my nose in somebody’s business one person at a time. Tammy’s next . . . although I do admit that I’ve already tried without success.”