by Quinn, Cari
Logan whirled back. “No woman needs to climb into the shitstorm that is my life and you know it. So leave it.” Shoulders heaving, he stared at the toes of his boots. Clear your mind. Empty it out and focus.
“You worry me, man. I don’t like to worry. It expends energy and cuts in on my drinking time.”
Logan huffed out a laugh. “Can we just table this? For just a few hours can I pretend I’m a normal guy?”
“I don’t know any normal guys that have thirteen musicians on speed dial.”
Logan grinned. “You do, too.”
“Not famous ones.”
“That’s because you keep sleeping with their girlfriends.”
“It’s not my fault—”
“I know, I know. You’re prettier.” He shook his head, but the winched muscles between his shoulder blades finally eased. Zeke could change the mood like a summer Texas sky. “Would you concentrate? Use those muscles you like to show off all the time.”
“You mean these?” Zeke shucked his shirt and tucked it into the back of his cargo shorts.
“Jesus. You’re going to attract attention.”
“I’m only doing what you said, boss.” Zeke hiked two hard-sided guitar cases onto one shoulder and headed for the barn.
He didn’t quite have the heart to tell Zeke that it was mostly men that were inside working. Then he heard Zeke’s voice. “Ladies. How are we this gorgeous and sunny afternoon?”
Logan dropped his chin into his chest and sighed. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he unearthed it to find a few text messages and another email from Izzy.
He had her cell number in his phone so he dashed her off a text to meet him at her earliest convenience for a copy of his setlist for her precious schedule.
I’ll be there at six. Think you can take a picture of it for me for now?
He grinned down at his phone and texted back.
Can’t download my brain. Suck it up, buttercup. You’ll have to wait till six.
Zeke peeked his head around the barn door. “Are you coming? There are way too many beautiful women with hammers in here. You gotta save me.”
At least his best friend was an equal opportunity flirt. He loved women of all ages and sizes. He always made them feel like the most important person in the room. Logan wished he had that kind of easiness with fans.
For him, people invaded his space and always seemed to know way too much about him to make him feel comfortable. And now…
He forced his mind to shut down. No, he wasn’t going to think about Aimee Collen again today.
His phone buzzed in his hand. He looked down at her text and grinned. He could hear Izzy’s clipped voice in his head.
Fine. I’ll see you at six.
Logan shoved his phone back into his pocket and hauled his rolling trunk out of the flatbed. A pair of hands appeared at the end of the trunk. He looked up. “Hey, Cam.”
“I’m glad you guys came out this afternoon. Mayor Darcy said you wouldn’t be rehearsing until later tonight.”
“Thought I’d get here early and get the kinks worked out.” Lindsey York and Cole Deveraux were coming in that night and he wanted them to be able to rehearse, not wait around for technical issues.
“There are plenty to unkink. Bella was here earlier to make sure the electrician did his job.”
Logan snorted. “Why does it not surprise me that she’d micromanage?”
Cam grinned. “Just be glad you’re not the electrician.”
“I’d bet my sixty-seven Les Paul that she probably knew just as much about the wiring as the professional.”
“I don’t take sucker bets.”
“Smart man.” Logan paused. “How well do you know Izzy?”
Cam’s brow quirked. “Bella? A fair bit, I guess. She’s headstrong, smart…”
“Smokin’ hot.”
“There is that.” Cam looked down at the trunk, then back up at Logan. “Why?”
“We’ll be working pretty closely for the next few days. Am I going to have someone in my face about taking up her time?”
“Is that a roundabout way of asking me if she’s dating someone?”
Logan cleared his throat. He wanted to deny it, but that was one lie he couldn’t tell himself right now. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
Cam curled his fingers around the trunk. “Again, I’m going to ask why?”
Logan shoved the trunk back a few inches and braced his hip against it. “Is there something I should know, Cam?”
“No.” He looked away. “Bella and I are just friends.”
“But you want more? What the hell are you waiting for, man?” He asked the question even as his neck tightened and he crossed his arms, tucking his fists under his biceps. Cam was a good guy. Just the kind of guy that should be dating—hell, marrying—a woman like Izzy.
Didn’t mean he liked it.
“Things work a little slower here.”
“Be careful, man. A woman like that is going to get snapped up quick.”
Cam’s serious brown eyes pinned him in place. “By someone like you?”
“I’m no good for her.”
“That’s not an answer.”
It was on his tongue to promise that he wasn’t tempted. But his poker face was definitely cracking today. “It’s the only answer I have for you, man.” He hauled the case out and Cam caught the other end.
They cleared the flatbed and they carried it over to the mouth of the barn. When they put it down, Logan spun the trunk as he’d done a thousand times and coasted across the room with a knee on top of the trunk.
Zeke, of course, was entertaining a handful of women that were more than happy to ooh and ahh over his new guitar. Cameron’s crew was buzzing around the room, breaking down the scaffolding and pinning a new facade of bead board to the front of the stage. Just those two cosmetic things made a world of difference.
The stairs were already reinforced. New pine crossed over old with brand new nails still gleaming. Logan dragged his boot to slow his forward motion. “Working hard, I see.”
“Lo, I was just talking about you. These lovely ladies are here to help us set up.”
“Is that right?” Zeke knew he didn’t let anyone else touch his equipment except his tech. Zeke knew this because he was just as insane about people messing with his gear.
“Oh, yeah. Do one of you lovely ladies have a notebook?”
“I have my notes app on my phone,” a blond girl said.
“Perfect.” Zeke sidled up close to her. “I need you guys to get a few things for us.” He rattled off Logan’s preference for gum and the hot tea he kept on stage. And that’s when Logan tuned out. His best friend would charm them into doing all sorts of errands for them.
Logan sighed and flipped open the locks on his trunk. It was going to be a damn long rehearsal. It was already heading into the noon hour. They had tons of set up to do, and he had a lighting rig install to oversee.
He wanted the barn to be totally transformed by the time Izzy arrived. Staying one step ahead of her was the only thing he could focus on right now. There were far too many balls in the air to get this festival to work out.
And he’d make it work if it killed him.
Nine
Bella jammed her feet into a pair of sneakers. She’d gotten stuck on the phone with Bobby trying to haggle a book out of his library, as well as appease one of her oldest clients. That had started at five.
Getting out on time to meet Logan for his rehearsal had been a lesson in futility. It was twenty after six by the time she’d realized just how long she’d been talking to her client. Now she had to go to the barn, and it looked like she was handily going in very barn-like clothes.
Her stomach had been in knots all damn day. Last night had been an epic mistake. The kind that she’d end up writing about in her journal when she was old and senile. She’d tell her crazy stories to the nursing home—especially the one where she turned down one of the sexiest men on the planet because�
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The because would come sooner or later, right?
Right now all she felt was uncertain and knotted up. He’d wanted her. In the dark, with too much wine flowing between them, he’d backed her up into the doorway and she’d blown him off. Now she had to go and face him.
“Why are you still here?”
“I’m not. I’m a figment of your imagination.”
“Mr. Cogan kept you on the phone, huh?” Nic leaned on the counter, her chin in her hand. “Haggling or telling you about his granddaughter?”
“Both.” Bella dug her fingers into her palm. She really should go up and change. Dusty jeans and a ratty t-shirt wasn’t exactly the look she was going for.
“So, you’re going in that?”
“Nic, I’m late as it is. It’ll just have to do. I’m not impressing anyone tonight. This is just rehearsal. Besides, the wreck of a place calls for this kind of clothing anyway.”
“You’ve got Mr. Sex-On-Legs waiting for you.”
“He’s not waiting for me…exactly.” No, that had been last night. Waiting for her in the dark. Yeah, we aren’t going to think about that part. Nope. Negatory. “I’ve been on the phone more today than I have in a month. What I care about is a setlist and schedule for me to add to my ever growing to-do list. A pretty skirt isn’t exactly high on my list.”
“All right. I’ll remind you that you said that tomorrow. You know, when you’re crying because you realized your huge mistake.”
Bella grabbed her purse and her bulging planner off the counter. “I’ll be too busy curling into a ball and rocking from exhaustion.”
She waved at her partner and closed the door behind her. It was a short hike from her store to the barn and she needed the time to build up her poker face. Nothing was different between them. Heck, they didn’t even know each other. Just because they couldn’t seem to stay away from each other when they were in the same room didn’t mean a damn thing.
He was just new and intriguing. Half the nation thought so. More like the world. Logan was a household name, for God’s sake. She was just an oddity he had to deal with. As soon as he had his friends around him, Logan would forget all about her.
She only had two days to get the festival settled and the artists scheduled. They’d all jumped at the chance to play a second show, especially when she’d offered up some money. Now she had a dozen acts to move around from the main stage to the barn and finally to the smaller venue at the edge of town.
Bella heard the drums and guitars as she turned the corner. A crowd of people were crammed into the doorway of the barn. Acoustic guitars floated on the late day breeze, but it was the voice that made her stop dead.
A woman’s voice that dipped and soared with the familiar lyrics of one of Lady Antebellum’s biggest hits. Then the harmonies started and she knew that second voice. Logan’s voice blended in so completely that she’d have sworn they’d sung together for years.
She slipped through the side door with her key and shut it behind her before the crowd could notice. The stage was nearly finished and a lighting setup had been added to the rafters. Logan stood on the edge of the stage behind a keyboard, his eyes shut as he crowded his mic, his lips brushing the end with every word.
Then the woman’s voice pulled her attention. Angel blond hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her back as she walked to him. Graceful and curvy in all the right ways, she demanded attention. Not because she was showing off, but because she was ethereal both in voice and stature. She wore a simple white tank over ancient jeans frayed at the knees and ankles with five inch silver stilettos that should have seemed out of place and yet suited her down to the ground.
She slowly wandered to Logan, the song soaring into its climax. He opened his eyes and their gazes met. Lyrics about needing someone desperately filled the empty barn. Then a heartbeat-like guitar folded around them as Logan’s piano echoed the painful loneliness of the song.
The woman rushed around the keyboard and hugged Logan. “I didn’t think that song would work. I’ve never done a country song in my life.”
“You sure didn’t sound country with your sweet voice. But that’s the beauty of Lady Antebellum. Their style works for country, rock, pop, and you’re gorgeous enough to keep the rest of the people riveted.”
Bella’s chest ached. Was he always so quick with the compliments? Why the hell did she care?
She lifted her chin and walked out into the middle of the room.
Logan’s attention swung her way. “I thought you’d forgotten about us, Izzy.”
Ignoring the flutter and throb that warred inside her every time her nickname rolled from his deep baritone, she crossed her arms over her raggedy t-shirt. Damn Nic for being right. Next to the blond goddess on stage, she felt even grubbier.
“Since you’re holding the setlist hostage, you knew I’d show up.”
“Are you always late?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m assuming that’s one of the songs?”
The blond looked between Logan and Bella and a brilliant smile bloomed across her face. “Is this the infamous Isabella?”
Logan came out from behind the keyboard. “At least one of us has manners.”
Bella felt the flush climb her neck. She sounded like a catty bitch. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m Isabella Grace, but Bella’s fine. That’s what everyone calls me.”
“I’m Lindsey York.”
The name clicked from the original list of festival artists. “Brooklyn Dawn, right? I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you.” Bella moved closer to the stage.
“The wild hair and leather, right?” Lindsey laughed. “It’s nice to get out of the stage clothes sometimes. Logan asked me to come in and do some stripped down stuff. You have no idea how excited I am.”
Damn. She had to be nice. “You sounded beautiful.”
A dark-haired man came up beside Lindsey. “She’s got the voice of an angel.” He brushed his shoulder-length hair back. “I’m Cole Deveraux.”
Yes, you are. Bella swallowed. Winchester Falls was going to drown in delicious men for the next few days evidently.
“Wait until you hear the other song.” A rangy guy with sun streaked hair and an enviable tan entered the stage from the side. He was wearing a battered acoustic guitar around his shirtless back, with a seriously low slung pair of board shorts. Had he come straight from the beach?
Then she got a better look at his face. Zeke Stacey, Logan’s lead guitarist in All the King’s Men. She’d heard that Zeke was a walking Jimmy Buffet song, but wow.
Lindsey turned to Logan. “Do you want to do that Marc song?”
“Another Day?”
She nodded.
Zeke waved down to Bella. “Well, hello there.”
“Behave.” Logan’s voice was a low rumble.
Zeke swung his gaze to Logan, then back to Bella before hopping down to the floor. He held out his hand. “Zeke—”
“I know who you are, Mr. Stacey.”
His grin widened as they shook hands. “You know my name? Now that is interesting.”
“You do know that it screams desperate when you hit on every female in the room, right?”
“Confidence, my friend.” Zeke’s pale blue eyes never left hers as he answered Logan.
She couldn’t help but laugh before she pulled her hand away and stepped back. Bella stuffed her hands into her pockets. It was disconcerting to have that many famous people staring at her. “I’d love to hear the song.”
Zeke’s shoulders slumped for a moment before he shrugged and jogged back to the stairs to join the rest of them on stage.
Lindsey smiled brilliantly. “We can do that one next. Then I can go up to the cabin and fall on my face. I haven’t slept in three days.”
No sleep and she looked like that? Hell. Where was the justice?
Logan’s whisky voice rasped over the speakers. Just him and a piano for the first verse. Longing curled into each word as the song spoke of a couple who w
as finally coming to the realization that they weren’t meant to be.
And when Lindsey’s voice picked up the next verse it was haunting and quiet to go with the piano. Stripped of the overwhelming passion in the previous song, instead it was gut wrenching and simple. When Logan came into the song with her, they matched longing and sadness into a harmony that even the untrained ear knew was special.
The words were dripping in fear and longing, to wish for anything but the truth. As it ended Bella wanted to be anywhere but there. The song hit too close to home on a number of levels.
How many times had she stayed with the wrong man? Chosen the wrong man? Only in her case, it had been easier to walk away. She’d known it was wrong and still walked into it because she’d needed to feel good for a little while.
Logan met her gaze and she had to force herself to stay put. Shattered eyes stole her breath, then whatever had escaped was gone as if she’d never seen inside of him. A driving beat pulsed from the back. Logan laughed over his shoulder as Zeke went to town on the drums.
Cole’s super deep voice made the crowd outside lose it as he put his own twist on “Dancing in the Dark”. It broke the seriousness of the two songs before and the lights above matched the heavy drums of the song.
They went through song after song. Some pop, some that she’d never heard of, a Brooklyn Dawn radio hit that they stripped down. The crowd outside dwindled as the hour grew later.
She’d been fascinated by how they put a setlist together. How they chose a piece of music, and what happened when it didn’t work. Songs that Logan vetoed had sounded amazing to her.
Part of her wanted to quiz him as to why he tanked the well-known Journey song in favor of a less well known ballad in the same style. In the end, she stayed to the back and simply absorbed. She tried to pay attention to the other artists, but it was Logan that trapped her.
He was so sure in his decisions, so focused on an amalgam of music that only he seemed to understand. Musicians came and went. The consensus seemed to be that most people were staying with Logan that night.