Love Song

by Sharon Gillenwater

  Laughter bubbled up from deep within her soul. “Cheeseburger, a large order of fries, and a Cherry-Coke.”

  He took off his blue cap with Jackson’s Feed Store printed on the front and tossed it on the dusty dash. Smoothing back his light brown hair, he said, “I don’t know. Now you’re running into real money. Adding cherry flavoring to the Coke gets expensive.”

  “Only if they have to go to Washington and pick the cherries.”

  He chuckled and placed their order through the intercom next to the truck. Turning back to Andi, he smiled. “If you’re good and eat all your dinner, I’ll buy you a hot fudge brownie sundae for dessert.”

  She groaned. “If I ate that much, I’d never make it up the porch steps. You’d have to carry me.”

  “I think that could be arranged,” he said softly.

  Andi met his gaze and caught her breath. Mischief, warmth and something intangible yet intriguing glowed in those hazel eyes. I’ll bet it could. And if she read the signs right, he wouldn’t mind it a bit.

  Neither would she.

  CHAPTER 2

  “You did what?” Dawn Carson set an iridescent blue and purple Carnival Glass bowl on the kitchen table, admiring it for a second before pinning her cousin with her gaze. “How did you run into Wade Jamison when you were under doctor’s orders not to set foot outside this house? Did he sneak in the back door and crash into you when you came down the hall?” The petite blond carefully inspected Andi and shook her head. “Nope, that can’t be it. You’d be covered with bruises if you collided with that big galoot.”

  Andi laughed. “He’s not a big galoot.”

  “Hmmm. Do I detect a bit of interest?” Dawn pulled another item from the box sitting on the ladder-back kitchen chair and carefully removed several layers of white tissue paper from around a matching Carnival Glass water pitcher.

  “How many pieces of this did you find?” Andi leaned closer, admiring the slightly raised image of a peacock curving around the pitcher, the shimmering blue, purple, and green tail feathers spread in the shape of a regal fan.

  “Just these two. Quit changing the subject.”

  “I’m not. I’ll buy them from you.”

  “Nope.”

  “But they match the vase Grandma Henderson gave me.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m giving them to you for your birthday. No, you don’t have to wait ten months and don’t get all weepy on me.”

  Andi’s eyes grew misty anyway. They’d been doing that a lot lately. “Thanks, cuz.” She ran her finger lightly over the bowl, remembering how much her grandmother had prized the vase her grandfather had won at the fair.

  “I’m just glad I rescued them. I found them at a garage sale last week, and the little gal had no idea of their value. They were way under priced. She had inherited them from a great-aunt and thought they were pretty, but she needed money a lot more than fancy glassware. She was such a sweet little thing, very pregnant, and so excited about the baby.” Dawn shook her head. “She was hardly more than a child herself. Couldn’t have been a day over eighteen, and her husband might have been nineteen.”

  “Two bits you paid her what you could sell them for.” Andi took a bite of apple and watched a faint blush spread across Dawn’s face.

  “Well, I didn’t go quite that far, but I couldn’t rob her.”

  Andi laughed. “Some antiques dealer you are. I thought that was the whole idea—find a good deal, buy low and sell high.”

  “It is, and that’s what I try to do most every chance I get. But this time was different.” Dawn sat down at the table and picked up a snickerdoodle cookie, nibbling on it.

  “You just have a soft heart.”

  Dawn’s expression grew thoughtful. “It was more than sympathy. God wanted me to help those kids, to share his love with them. He wanted them to know he had his hand on them, and that they, and their baby, were special to him.”

  Andi had the apple halfway to her mouth, but instead of taking another bite, she set it down on the table. “So now God talks to you? Out loud?” She cringed at the cynicism in her voice, but she couldn’t buy what her cousin was saying.

  Dawn smiled. “No. It’s more like whispers in my heart.”

  “Word for word?”

  “That time it basically was. Usually it’s just a feeling, like letting my conscience be my guide or maybe intuition. Sometimes it’s something more.”

  Andi grabbed the apple and chomped into it. She knew all about conscience. Hers had been working overtime for months. She shuddered inwardly to think what “something more” would be like—not that she was a particularly bad person, but she wasn’t a saint, either.

  She’d tried to keep going to church after she moved away from home, but eventually gave up. Working at a variety of jobs during the week and singing on Friday and Saturday nights had taken their toll. Sometimes she had worked on Sundays, too, and when she hadn’t, it had been the only day to catch up on her sleep. She knew God couldn’t have been pleased with some of the honky-tonks where she had worked during those desperate early years in the business. Later, when she began touring as the opening act for various big name performers and then became a headliner, she was almost always on the road.

  God had seemed far away for a long time. She was sure that if he ever glanced her way, he had a frown on his face. Yet, she was curious to hear the rest of Dawn’s story. “So how did you explain why you were giving her more money?”

  “I said exactly what God told me to say.” Dawn dunked another cookie in a small glass of milk and caught the bite in her mouth before it crumbled into the liquid.

  “Just like that? No reservations or fear and trembling?”

  “It wasn’t easy, and I wasn’t exactly eloquent, but I knew if I didn’t do as God asked, I’d regret it, and we’d all miss out on a blessing. After I shared with her, she hugged me with tears running down her cheeks. Her husband blinked back some tears, too. She told me that every time they get low on money, God sends someone to help them.”

  Andi tossed the apple core toward a wastebasket sitting beside the back door, grimacing when it splattered on the floor a few feet short of the goal. Before she was half-way out of the chair, Dawn had retrieved it and dropped it into the wastebasket.

  “That was the most pathetic throw I’ve ever seen, especially for somebody who used to be star of the girls’ basketball team.” Using a paper towel, Dawn quickly wiped up the apple juice and pulp left on the floor. Then she was at Andi’s side, taking hold of her arm. “Come on, sickie, time for you to stretch out on the couch.”

  Andi obeyed gratefully. She stretched out on the pale green sofa, resting her head on a plump pillow embroidered with multicolored tulips, and let Dawn spread an bright yellow afghan over her.

  “After your nap, you can tell me about meeting up with Wade.”

  “Sure.” Andi smiled and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of tender, hazel eyes, and strong arms holding her tight. The dream changed, and she was dressed in a flowing, yellow, silk gown. Her hair was covered by a matching gauze veil that sparkled with diamonds. Leaning out a window in an ancient castle tower, she threw red roses down to Wade who stood below. Dressed as a knight, with the sunlight glinting off the helmet he held in one gloved hand, he laughed as he caught each flower.

  Behind him was a lush green meadow filled with people milling about. Suddenly legions of faceless, screaming fans stormed toward the castle. Still clutching the bouquet, Wade dropped his helmet and turned to defend her.

  The crowd melted into a huge fire-breathing dragon. As Wade reached for the sword at his side, his armor disappeared. He stood weaponless against the onslaught, with nothing more than his cowboy shirt, jeans, boots, and a bouquet of wilted roses to protect him. The dragon issued a challenge, scorching the grass at her hero’s feet. Wade took a step forward to meet his foe, and Buckley’s antique fire engine roared across the meadow, siren blaring.

  Andi sat up with strangled cry. Disoriented, her heart p
ounding, and skin damp, it took her several seconds to realize the phone was ringing. Hearing the shower running and Dawn singing away, she untangled herself from the afghan and hurried to the telephone. Answering, she sank down in a nearby kitchen chair and tried to clear the fog from her brain.

  “Hi, Andi. This is Wade.” There was a tiny pause. “Did I wake you?”

  “Yes.” She shoved her hair back out of her eyes.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He sounded so contrite that she smiled. “It’s okay. I was having a nightmare anyway.”

  “Did you go out on stage and forget the lines to a new song?” he teased.

  “Worse. Godzilla was after me. He was trying to flame broil everything in his path.”

  “That is bad. Did you get away?”

  The warmth in his rich bass voice sent goose bumps skipping over her skin. There was no way she was going to tell him about his starring role in her dream. “I guess so. Old Number Two was rolling up to put out the fire when I woke up. I thought the ringing of the phone was the siren.”

  He laughed softly, and Andi closed her eyes, picturing his smiling face. She was surprised by how much she wanted to see him again. Since the phone was cordless, she walked to the living room and sat down in a yellow, rose print, overstuffed chair. Turning sideways, she laid her head against one fat chair arm and draped her legs over the other, feeling like a school girl with a new beau.

  Wade asked about her day, if Dawn had gotten home, and if the antiques show had gone well. They chatted several minutes longer about nothing important, and she wondered silently if he found the conversation as pleasant as she did.

  “I have a meeting at church tomorrow evening at six,” he said. “It shouldn’t last too long, so I thought maybe I could pick up some barbecue and potato salad from the deli at Greene’s and treat you gals to supper.”

  “That’s nice of you, but you bought me supper last night.”

  “Well, I have to eat anyway, and I’d much rather share a meal with two pretty ladies than eat by myself.” He was quiet for a moment. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t come by.”

  “I’d like to see you,” Andi said softly. “I really enjoyed being with you yesterday.”

  “I enjoyed it, too.” A trace of huskiness had crept into his voice. “So what do you want for dessert?”

  “We’ll provide salad and dessert.”

  “No, ma’am. You’re not strong enough to cook, and Dawn is too busy.”

  “I’m strong enough to open some cans of fruit and slop whipped topping on it. And Dawn brought back some out-of-this-world brownies from Dallas. She’s rationing them out very carefully, so there should be some left.”

  “Sounds delicious. Especially the fruit slop. If we don’t eat all of it, the hogs will love it.” He laughed. “I’ll see you around seven.”

  Andi said good-bye, hung up the phone, and laid it on her stomach.

  Dawn walked in, fluffing her short blond curls with a towel. Grinning, she picked up the phone and set it on the table next to the chair. “Don’t even try to tell me you’re not interested in Wade Jamison.”

  “I shouldn’t be.”

  “Why not?” Dawn plopped down on the couch.

  “Well, for one thing, I’m on the road about two hundred days a year.”

  Dawn shook her head and waved her hand, dismissing the problem. “You could work something out. He’s as good as they come. Besides, the man is gorgeous.”

  Andi frowned, carefully studying her cousin’s expression. “Am I stepping into the middle of something? Are you interested in him?”

  “No, but like every other female in this town, married or single, I happen to like looking at him. Wade and I are often involved on the same projects at church. We’re good friends, but nothing more. He’s a fine man, but he’s not my Mr. Right. Actually, I’ve sworn off men. I think all the good ones are taken.” She tossed her towel at Andi. “Now, ‘fess up. How did you run into him yesterday, and what did you do? I want all the juicy details.”

  Andi laughed and told her about her excursion downtown and about having supper at the Lazy Day with Wade. She told how he had gone through the house when he brought her home, checking every nook and cranny to make sure she was alone, and waited on the front porch until he heard her lock the door before he left. When she had protested that no one locked their doors in Buckley, he had patiently pointed out something she knew very well but wanted to forget—she was no longer a typical citizen in a small, sleepy town; fame and fortune brought new concerns.

  Some details she kept to herself—the comfort and security she had felt when she was with him, the pleasant warmth that rushed through her at the sound of his voice, and how eager she was to see him again. Those thoughts were too private, too unexpected and new to share with anyone—even Dawn.

  CHAPTER 3

  Wade checked his watch for the third time in five minutes and turned in the direction of Dawn’s street, meeting a deputy sheriff coming from the opposite direction.

  His friend, Deputy Logan Slade, stopped the car and rolled down his window. He glanced at Wade’s dark blue Chevy Blazer and scratched behind his ear, his expression puzzled. “Wade, have you been driving around the elementary school for the last ten minutes or so? We got a call that some character in a dark van was casin’ the joint.”

  Wade laughed ruefully. “I’m your character. I’m early for an appointment, so I was killin’ time.” He’d been in such a hurry to finish the committee meeting at church that he’d volunteered to handle three jobs for the summer picnic. Afterward, he had rushed over to the grocery store and bought supper, then realized he was running a good fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. There was one thing he had learned about women—they were usually understanding if a man arrived a few minutes late, but they hated it if he showed up too soon.

  Logan laughed. “More likely early for a date, and you don’t want to seem too anxious.”

  After taking Andi home on Sunday, Wade had checked with the police chief to make certain he knew she was in town. The officer assured him that both he and the county sheriff had been notified before her arrival, and that they were patrolling the neighborhood. “Somethin’ like that, only it’s not really a date. I’m just visiting an old friend.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Logan didn’t appear the least bit convinced. “Seeing Andi again?”

  “Having dinner with her and Dawn.”

  “She feeling any better?”

  “She said she was when I talked to her last night.”

  “Good. I haven’t stopped by; didn’t want to bother her. We’ve been keepin’ a pretty close eye on the house. Her manager said she refused to let her bodyguard come with her.”

  Wade frowned. “Bodyguard?”

  The deputy nodded. “Guess she can’t go out in public without being mobbed, and he was concerned about her. I told him not to worry. The local folks will treat her kindly, and we don’t get many people from out of town. We’ve been watchin’ for strangers, especially ones with cameras. We’re not about to let any of those tabloid people get close to her—or anybody else for that matter, unless she wants them to. Since you’ve got an appointment, I’d say she wants to see you.” He winked. “Reckon it’s up to you how close you get. Tell her I sure enjoy her singin’. Yes, sir. Mighty proud of her.”

  Wade watched the other man drive away and took a deep breath to calm down. He knew Andi’s fame made people want to see her and talk to her, but it hadn’t occurred to him that she might need a bodyguard every time she went out. He drove down the street, pulling up in front of Dawn’s house a few minutes later. Sitting in the darkness, he studied the house. Although the living room was well lighted, the heavy lace curtains and bright porch light made it impossible to distinguish who was inside. He gathered up the bag of food and a bouquet of carnations and climbed out of the Blazer, noting how well the street light illuminated the front and side yards. His concern for her safety eased somewhat.

  He glanced at
the teddy bear lying on the seat. Although he had bought it for Andi, he had decided she might think he was silly to get her something so childish. He had gone back into Greene’s and bought the flowers instead. He left the bear in the Blazer and strolled sedately up the walk, resisting the urge to bolt up the porch steps by reminding himself this was only a friendly visit.

  When Andi answered the door and smiled up at him, he almost lost his voice. Those cute dimples and the warm, happy sparkle in her dark brown eyes sent his intentions of only being a friend into the stratosphere. He let his gaze skim over her, noting how the soft pink cotton sweater and denim jeans complimented her slim figure and brought delicate color to her face. Her hair was parted on the side and swept across her forehead in a gentle wave that ended in a soft swirl above her ear. The tips of the dark, silky strands brushed her jaw line, exposing her slender neck. Suddenly, he longed to bury his hands in her hair and kiss her.

  Clamping down on his wayward thoughts, he returned her smile. “You’re lookin’ mighty fine tonight, ma’am,” he said in an exaggerated Texas drawl.

  “Why, thank you, kind sir.” Andi stepped back, opening the door wider, and said in her best sugary, Southern-bell voice, “Please do come in. We’ve been anxiously awaiting your arrival.”

  Wade laughed. “Starving, huh?”

  “Yep.” She laughed and shut the door. As he handed her a bouquet of variegated pink and rose carnations, Andi noted a hint of shyness in his smile and a touch of color on his face.

  “I thought these might cheer you up,” he said. “Since nobody knows where you are, I didn’t figure you were getting too many get-well wishes. I debated between these and a box of chicken livers, but decided the flowers smelled better.”

  “Much better. And they’re a lot prettier.” She grinned, meeting his laughing gaze.

  He followed her into the kitchen, greeted Dawn, and set the grocery sack down on the counter.

  Once again Andi was struck by his rugged good looks and confidence as he leaned casually against the kitchen cabinet. He wore cowboy garb—blue striped Western shirt, faded blue Wrangler jeans, a hand tooled leather belt with a silver buckle, and black boots—but she suspected he would be as self-assured dressed in an expensive suit.