Love Song

by Sharon Gillenwater

  “That’s an oxymoron. Besides, you’re a lot intense. She’s sweet and innocent, Kyle. Help her stay that way.”

  “Not street-wise like you were when I met you, huh?”

  “Nope. She’s nineteen but she still lives at home with her big, loving family. Take care of her, okay?”

  “Anything for you. I’ll treat her like my sister.”

  Andi laughed. “You may change your mind when you see her.”

  “Oh? What does she look like?”

  “About five seven, slender but not skinny, long blond hair and beautiful green eyes. She’s very pretty. And sweet and innocent.”

  “You said that already. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior—no lechery and no yelling.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that. And Kyle...”

  “What?” His slightly-raised voice held more than a hint of impatience.

  She pictured him shoving a note or a file at his secretary and probably nodding or shaking his head at something the woman asked him. The man was destined for a heart attack before he reached forty. “Thanks. You’re being a real doll about this.”

  “That’s me. A big soft teddy bear.”

  Andi glanced at the bear Wade had given her and smiled. There was absolutely no comparison between the two men, although they were both dear to her in different ways. “Not even close. Now, slow down and take care of yourself, or you’ll wind up sick, too. Did you eat lunch?”

  “Don’t remember,” he replied absently.

  She’d lost him. He probably had another phone pressed to his other ear. “Bye, super manager.”

  “Bye, hon.”

  She called Nicki, laughing as the girl screamed and the phone crashed to the floor. When Nicki picked it up, Andi quickly relayed what Kyle had said and told Nicki to call her if she had any questions.

  Half an hour later, Nicki called back. “Andi, he was so nice. He doesn’t sound at all like you’ve described him. He was very patient and encouraging. He said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and asked politely instead of issuing orders like you said he usually does.”

  “Amazing. Don’t expect it to last. The man only has one speed—fast forward. He wants everything done immediately, if not sooner.”

  “But you like him don’t you?”

  “I adore Kyle.” Andi looked up to see Wade scowling at her through the screen door. She smiled and motioned for him to come inside. “He’s a good friend and one of the best managers in the business, but he goes through life like a runaway freight train. You may have to put on the brakes, or he’ll have you working twenty-four hours a day. I keep telling him not everyone can function on three or four hours sleep like he does.”

  Nicki groaned. “I need at least six or I’m incoherent.”

  “Then insist on it right from the start.” Andi patted the couch beside her. Wade hooked his hat on the coat rack and ran his fingers through his hair. When he sat down, he was still wearing a frown. “Kyle respects people who stand up for themselves. But don’t throw a fit, or he’ll send you home. I’ve seen him do it more than once. Came close myself a couple of times at the beginning. Hold your ground, firmly but quietly.”

  “I don’t yell much. Except when I’m excited.”

  “That’s allowed. Oh, I forgot to tell you that Kyle is an extremely good-looking man, so don’t be bowled over when you meet him.”

  “How handsome?”

  “As good as any movie star you ever saw.”

  Nicki took a deep breath and released it slowly. “All right. Andi, what should I wear? I’ve never been on a plane before.”

  Andi slid her hand around Wade’s arm, then stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. She grinned at his surprised expression and the slow smile that followed. “Wear jeans or something comfortable and take a sweater. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. The Dallas airport is gigantic, and, as Wade’s uncle Ray put it, it’s a real wasp nest, zillions of people going every which way. Don’t be afraid to ask someone from the airlines to help you find your way around. Kyle will have someone pick you up in Nashville.”

  “He said the driver would hold up a sign with my name on it.”

  “That’s the way it works. He may take you to a hotel when he picks you up from the airport, or he may take you directly to see Kyle. It won’t matter if you go directly and are still dressed casually. He flies a lot so he will understand. Take some nice dresses and slacks, like you would wear to work or to church, and plenty of comfortable, casual things. The rehearsals are laid back. Nobody dresses up. If you have a question about what to wear, ask Kyle or his secretary, Lisa. She’s a sweetie and will be a big help. Anything else?”

  “Not right now. I’ll probably think of something later. I can’t believe I’m flying to Nashville! Andi, I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “You’re doing a good job of it. Just hang on tight, kid. It’s going to be quite a ride. Now, go pack. The handsomest man in Texas just came through the door, and I haven’t given him a proper welcome.”

  Nicki laughed softly. “Tell Wade hi for me, too.”

  Andi hung up the phone and smiled. “Nicki said hello.”

  He made an incoherent sound in this throat.

  “What’s the matter?”

  He frowned and looked away, glaring out at the yard through the screen door. “I never asked if Kyle is married.”

  “No, he’s not. The man doesn’t have time for a wife. He’s married to his job.”

  “But you still adore him. Easy to do, I guess, since he looks like a movie star.”

  Her heart soared. He was jealous! She turned slightly, resting her hand on his chest. “He is handsome, but men in five-hundred-dollar-suits don’t do much for me.”

  “Oh, really?” He didn’t sound the least bit convinced.

  Andi glanced at his clothes and nodded. “It takes a man in boots and jeans and a sky blue western shirt to set my heart a-flutter.”

  A light flared in Wade’s eyes as he looked down at her. “A-flutter, huh?”

  “Flittin’ all over the place.”

  “So, will any old cowboy in a blue shirt do?”

  “Nope. He has to have light brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. And he has to be sitting next to me right this second.”

  “So what was this about a proper welcome?” he murmured, lowering his head toward hers, kissing her deeply.

  When she could speak, she rested her head on his chest. “That was good enough to make me send you outside, so you can come back in again.”

  He put his arm around her. “Let’s don’t and say we did.” He cradled her chin in his other hand, urging her to lift her head. When she did, he kissed her again and again...each time more passionately than the last until he slowly straightened and drew in a shaky breath. “You’d better open all the doors and windows and turn on the fan, darlin’. I think we’re about to go up in smoke.”

  She smiled dreamily up at him. “What a way to go.”

  He chuckled softly. “I dropped by to ask—”

  “You mean you had another reason?” She grinned impishly, enjoying the way his gaze focused briefly on her dimples.

  “Right now, I’m not sure if I did or not.” He paused, slanting his eyes upward as if concentrating took great effort. “Now, I remember. I wanted to see if you would like to come out to the ranch on Thursday afternoon. Grant is going to be working some of the horses, and I thought you might enjoy watching him.”

  “I’d rather watch you.”

  A broad smile spread across his face. “Well, that can be arranged, but I might be cleaning out the stalls.”

  “On second thought, I’ve always wanted to see cutting horses at work. What time?”

  “He’s supposed to come out around one-thirty.” Mischief glinted in his eyes. “You might want to arrive a few minutes early. I’ll be busy once he gets there.” He glanced at his watch. “I hate to, but I’ve got to run.”

  She made a point of looking at his cowboy boots. “Tha
t I gotta see.”

  “Figure of speech, sugar. I’m due at Clint’s in five minutes.” At her questioning look, he said, “Pastor Marshall to strangers in town.”

  “I’m not a stranger. I just forgot his first name.”

  “He’s cookin’ dinner. Deli chicken from Greene’s Grocery.”

  She walked to the door with him. “Call me later?”

  “I will if I get home before ten-thirty. After that, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep.”

  “It must be working.”

  He smiled and kissed her slowly and thoroughly. “This keeps gettin’ better and better.”

  “You thought it might get dull and boring?”

  He grinned. “No, but I did think things might settle down once the new wore off.”

  “Not a chance.” Andi put her arms around his neck and stretched up on tiptoe, kissing him with all the love in her heart. When she finally broke away and lowered her heels to the floor, she smiled at his stunned expression. “What we have isn’t ever going to settle down,” she said softly.

  “Andi...” He looked completely dumbfounded.

  She put her fingers to his lips. “Shhh. You don’t want to be late. Go on to Clint’s. Give him my best.”

  In a daze, he picked up his hat and put it on backwards.

  “Uh, Wade, honey, I think you need to turn your hat around.”

  He obeyed without a word, moving toward the door.

  “Can you drive?”

  “Been drivin’ since I was eleven,” he said absently, opening the screen door with a mighty shove. He walked down the porch steps, but when he reached the sidewalk, he turned around, staring at her.

  She put on her most innocent expression. “Bye, sugar.”

  “Bye.” He spun on his heel and walked swiftly to his pickup without another word.

  When the telephone rang about nine-thirty, Dawn answered. A minute later, she hung up, shaking her head. “That was weird.”

  “Was it Wade?” asked Andi, racing in from the back porch steps where she had been star gazing and praying.

  Dawn nodded. “He said to tell you he made it home safely. I asked if he wanted to talk to you, but he said, ‘Not tonight.’ Did you two have a fight?”

  A chill spread through her, and Andi shook her head. “No, but I think I made a big mistake.”

  CHAPTER 13

  On Thursday afternoon, Wade sat on the top rail of the corral fence. He usually enjoyed watching Grant Adams work cattle with a cutting horse, but this time his heart wasn’t in it.

  Grant moved as one with the animal, guiding with a gentle nudge of a spur or the pressure of his knee now and then as the horse shifted back and forth, blocking the cow’s desperate maneuvers to get back to the herd. The horse did most of the work, using her own natural instincts, but something about Grant seemed to bring out the best in her. She worked well for Wade, but he had found that most of his cutting horses did better after a few hours training with his friend.

  Grant leaned forward and patted the horse on the neck, then guided her toward Wade, letting the cow run back to the herd. “Sadie’s doin’ better every time I come by. She must be getting plenty of practice.”

  “I try to work with her and Joe a couple of times a week. She still gets excited occasionally and messes up.”

  Grant smiled and patted the horse again. “She’s young and spirited. She’ll learn.” He straightened and took off his hat, wiping his sweaty forehead on his light-weight denim shirt sleeve. “Too bad your lady friend couldn’t make it. I was lookin’ forward to the surprise. You gonna tell me who she is, or do I have to keep waitin’?”

  Wade jumped down off the fence, guilt weighing heavily on his mind. He hadn’t talked to Andi since Tuesday evening, since she hog-tied his brain and branded his heart and soul. She had left a message on his answering machine shortly before noon saying she couldn’t make it because her doctor’s appointment had been changed, and she had to go to Sidell today. That may have been true, but he figured she would have rescheduled it if he’d had the gumption to talk to her. Trouble was, he didn’t know what to say.

  Grant dismounted and led the horse, following Wade to the horse corral. “You look like you’re up to your armpits in alligators and can’t find the drain to the swamp.”

  “Andi Carson.”

  “Ride over that trail again,” said Grant with a perplexed frown.

  “My lady friend is Andi Carson, the country singer.”

  Grant whistled softly. “How did an ugly cuss like you meet up with a woman like her?”

  Wade managed a halfhearted smile. “We were friends in high school. She’s been sick and is staying with her cousin while she recovers.” He unfastened the saddle, tugging it and the saddle blanket from the horse.

  Grant led Sadie over to the water trough and slipped off the bridle. He followed Wade to the tack room, waiting outside as he put away the saddle and blanket, then handed him the bridle and reins to hang up. “Looks to me like what you’re feelin’ is a heap more than friendship.”

  Wade sighed and shut the door to the tack room, watching the horse roll in the dirt for a minute before heading for the corral gate. He noticed that Grant was limping. “Your knee botherin’ you?”

  “Yeah. Must be a cool front coming in.” They stopped at Grant’s pickup, where he unfastened his spurs and tossed them into a box in the back. “Now what’s the story?” he asked as they walked slowly toward the house.

  “I’ve never told another soul this, Grant, so I’d appreciate it if you keep it under your hat.” When his friend gave him a curt nod, Wade continued. “I met Andi when I moved here my senior year. I fell for her the first time I saw her.”

  “She’s a pretty lady, that’s a fact.”

  “I never let on to anybody how I felt. Especially Andi. I knew she wouldn’t stay around Buckley. I thought I’d gotten over her, but as soon as I saw her again, I realized I hadn’t. We’ve spent a lot of time together since she’s been back, and now I know I’ll never love anybody else.” They stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a couple of soft drinks, then went into the living room.

  When Wade motioned for Grant to take the recliner, he sat down, leaned back, and put his feet up with a heartfelt sigh. “You may never get me out of this thing. If I start snoring, let me be. So what about Andi? Are you more than just a passin’ fancy?”

  Wade sprawled on the couch, resting his feet on the rugged coffee table. “I think maybe I am.”

  About to take a drink of grape soda, Grant paused and pierced Wade with his gaze. “You mean the lady is in love with you?”

  “I think so.” He leaned his head against the back of the couch with a groan. “I don’t know if she really is or just thinks she is.”

  “Either way, it’s a problem.”

  “She’ll be leaving before long. The doctor is probably going to give her the go-ahead today. Andi and I live in two different worlds. I can’t live in hers, and I can’t ask her to give it all up and live in mine. She’s worked too hard and loves it too much.”

  Grant was silent for a few minutes, regret mirrored in his eyes. “I can’t see you wandering around the country in a bus, playin’ Mr. Andi Carson.”

  “I couldn’t do it. Maybe now and then, but not all the time.”

  “And being apart so much can ruin a marriage,” Grant said bitterly.

  Wade knew his friend spoke from first hand experience. Grant had paid a high price to follow the rodeo. “I couldn’t stand being here and having her on the road, either. I’d go out of my mind worrying about her, worrying about what might happen—knowing all the things that could happen.”

  “Loneliness and temptation. One way or the other, the trap usually gets sprung.” They sat quietly for a while, each lost in his own thoughts. Finally, Grant looked at Wade. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve prayed and prayed and still don’t have an answer.”

  “You really ex
pected one? Haven’t you figured out that the Man Upstairs—if there really is one—doesn’t answer prayers?”

  Wade’s heart went out to his friend. Grant had made his mistakes, but he had been deeply hurt, too. “He’s there, and he answers prayer. Sometimes, he just doesn’t answer the way we want him to.”

  “Then why bother to pray at all?”

  “Because in the end, his way is the right way.”

  Grant flipped the lever to lower the footrest on the recliner. He slowly pushed himself up out of the chair, grimacing in pain. “I’d better go. Got chores to do before dark.”

  Wade didn’t argue or try to talk any more about spiritual matters. Until his friend was ready to hear more, all Wade could do was pray and sow a few seeds. “Don’t wait so long to come back. We don’t always have to work.”

  Grant snorted. “Ain’t got time to play. Don’t remember how, anyway.” He grabbed his hat and limped out the door, heading toward the corrals and his pickup.

  Wade stretched out in the recliner, thinking seriously about a nap. He hadn’t slept worth a hoot for a couple of nights. About the time he got comfortable, the doorbell rang. The door was open, so he wasn’t surprised to hear the screen door creak.

  “Anybody home? Wade? Andi? Anybody here?”

  “Come on in, Dawn.” Wade got up, only taking two steps before Dawn bustled into the room. “Andi’s not here.”

  “I thought she was coming out to spend the afternoon. That was the plan when I left this morning.”

  “She left a message on my machine that she was going to see the doctor today instead of tomorrow.”

  “Well, if you’d called her, she wouldn’t have gone off in a huff.”

  “I had some things to work out.”

  “Did you get them resolved?”

  “No. How is she?”

  “Wondering what’s going on in that pea-sized brain of yours, so get with the program and call her.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Wade let his gaze slowly drift over her. He’d seen Dawn in all kinds of outfits, from her Sunday best to her garden clothes, but he’d never seen her looking such a mess. She wore a bright orange T-shirt tucked into old, frayed jeans. Both were badly splattered with deep rose paint. He stepped closer. She had paint specks on her arms and face and a swipe of dark pink on the end of her nose. Rose splotches and streaks highlighted her blond curls, but she still looked cute. “Glad you got dressed up to come see me.”