Last One to Know

by Sharon Coady

  “No, I didn’t. I just got up, and we don’t usually put the TV on in the morning. Why? What’s going on?”

  Leona heard him mumble something and knew he had held his phone away from his mouth.

  “Hark was on the news this morning talking about us.”

  “What? Wait, what did you say?”

  “Hark was on the local news channel doing an interview this morning. He was talking about the new up-and-coming duo from Texas. He was inviting everyone out to watch them.”

  “That’s cool. We should get a good attendance. Wow. Hold on a minute, Leona. Yeah Hark was on TV, did an interview about us this morning.”

  She heard a deep voice in the background, and her heart almost stopped. Johnny was back. Why was he with Alastair?

  “Hey, John wants to know if you knew anything about it?”

  “No, that’s why I was calling you. What does John think?” She held her breath.

  “He wants to get together and discuss what was said. He’s making some phone calls to try to get a copy of the interview. Can we meet later this afternoon?”

  “Sure. Is it bad he did this without telling us? Is Johnny upset?” She wished she were with them right now because she knew it would calm her just seeing their reactions. Alastair didn’t sound upset, he seemed pleased. She wished she could hear or see Johnny’s reaction. “Just let me know what time.”

  “No problem. We’ll see you in a bit.”

  ~~~

  John watched Alastair’s reaction to the interview as he made a phone call to the local station.

  “Yes sir, this is John Montgomery. Your station did an interview this morning with one of the owners of the Cove Nightclub. Yes, the one with Hark Larson. I’m McCoy and Wilson’s lawyer, and I would like a copy of the interview, please. Sure, I can pick it up in thirty minutes, if that’s okay with you. Also, I would like to speak to the reporter who did the interview. What’s her name?” John jotted down the address of the station and name of the reporter. “No sir, I don’t think we have a problem. Thank you again. I’ll see you in a half an hour.”

  Alastair’s brows were drawn. “So, is there a problem? I would think free publicity would be great.”

  “It depends. If Hark set up the interview prior to signing the contracts and setting the price with us then yes, there is a problem. If the station contacted him about the interview just as a fun story to do then no, there isn’t a problem. It will be great publicity for y’all. I’ll talk to the reporter first to see if she contacted him, or if he contacted her, then I’ll watch the interview.” He shook his head. “I sure hope he didn’t pull a fast one. He’s screwing with the wrong lawyer for that.”

  “John, let’s be positive here. You said you had him checked out and everything came back clean.” Alastair looked at John, a lopsided smile on his face. “Do you want me to come with you? Is this a legal issue?”

  “Like I said, only if he set everything up before signing y’all. You can come with me if you want, but I’ll do the talking. Deal?”

  “Deal. Let me tell Hope we’re going out.”

  John finished dressing, wondering what Leona thought of the whole interview. He really hoped he hadn’t got into a bad deal with this guy. Shit, it was only four shows, but if the guy was trying to pull something and he missed it, that made him one poor excuse for a lawyer.

  “Alastair, let’s go. I want to get there within thirty minutes.”

  “I’m ready. Can I watch the interview with you?”

  “Sure.” He glanced at Alastair and saw the excitement dancing in his eyes. “Guess it’s pretty cool to hear about your duo on a news report, huh?”

  “Hell yeah, it is.”

  When they got to the station, the receptionist called the reporter right out. She smiled when she saw them. “Hello. You must be the guitarist from McCoy and Wilson.” She walked up to Alastair, holding her hand out.

  “Yes ma’am, I am.” He glanced at John over her head, his brow raised. “This is our lawyer, John Montgomery.”

  “Mr. Montgomery, so nice to meet you. I’m Rene Hollister. Come with me gentlemen. We can go back to my office to talk. I’m so excited to meet you, Mr. Wilson. I’ve heard a lot of talk around town about you and Ms. McCoy. This is exciting. Oh, I’m repeating myself.”

  John glanced at Alastair and shrugged his shoulders. This sounded good so far, like she may have approached Hark for the interview. When they walked into her office, she motioned at two chairs sitting in front of her desk. John glanced at the walls where she had numerous, framed awards marking her career as a reporter. He relaxed, knowing instantly they were dealing with someone of character.

  “Sit down, gentlemen. I was so excited when my boss told me you were interested in talking with me. What can I help you with?” She sat down behind her desk and faced them.

  “First Ms. Hollister, why don’t you call me John. Next, thank you for agreeing to meet with us. We were a bit surprised this morning when we heard about the interview you did with Hark. Could you tell me how that came about?”

  “Sure. Like I said a few minutes ago, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk around town amongst the locals about the awesome new duo McCoy and Wilson. The buzz is they are the next up-and-coming country stars. One of my friends was there and heard the club had signed the duo for a few shows. I approached Hark to do the interview since there is so much hype, and thought I could be the first to report it. He was very excited when I called him. He believes your duo will explode into the music industry.”

  “Wow, we weren’t aware that there was so much excitement about my clients. I’m glad you got your exclusive interview.”

  “I am as well. We can show you the interview if you like. I know it was on early this morning so some people missed it. Mr.—excuse me.” Her eyes twinkled. “John, do you think McCoy and Wilson would do an exclusive interview with me Friday after the show? And please, call me Rene.”

  “We’ll have to speak to Leona before agreeing, I’m sure you understand. But first, can we see the interview you did this morning?”

  She raised a brow and surveyed John for a moment before pushing her chair back and standing. “Come on. Let’s go to the viewing room.”

  John and Alastair followed her to a larger room where two men sat in front of multiple monitors and keyboards. The room was darker than her office.

  “This is where Connor and James work their magic. Good morning, boys. Meet John and Mr. Wilson.”

  “Alastair is fine.” He shook both of their hands and started looking around the room. John could see from his face, he was excited about the setup of electronics.

  “Will you pull up my interview with the owner of the Cove from this morning for me, Connor?”

  “Sure. Give me just a moment, and I’ll put it on monitor sixteen for you.” He pointed to a screen off to the side where they would have a bit more privacy.

  “Step this way, gentlemen.” She motioned for them to follow her. They each sat and waited for the interview to come on. When it was over, she turned her chair towards them, a smile spreading over her face. “So Alastair, what do you think?”

  “Damn cool. John did you hear that?”

  “Yeah I did.” He stood. “Thank you so much, Rene. That was a great interview. I don’t see any issues with getting an exclusive, but like I said, we need to speak to her first.” He shook her hand.

  “Great! I look forward to tomorrow night. If you can let me know something by no later than tomorrow at noon, I’ll have enough time to make arrangements. Here’s my card. It was very nice meeting you both. I’ll show you out, it can be a maze in here.” She laughed as they wound through a long hallway back to the reception area. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  When they were back in the car, John glanced at Alastair. “No worries about the interview. You think we should call Leona or go over to the cottage and talk to her?”

  “I think we should go on over and talk to her. She’s worried and this isn’t somethin
g you talk about over the phone. Question is, are you up to it?’

  “I’ll be fine. I’m worried about her, not myself.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  John swung back by the hotel so they could pick up Hope and Alastair could grab his guitar.

  “Hey, John. I can’t believe it!” She rambled as she climbed into the back seat. “Alastair said they might get an exclusive interview if Leona agrees. How exciting is that? I’m thrilled for you, baby.”

  John glanced in the review and saw her bouncing in her seat. He smiled, her enthusiasm catching. However, he sure wished the damn butterflies in his stomach would stop. The thought of seeing her again made his stomach knot. Could it really have been just a little over twenty-four hours? He would be all business if he had to be. He tried to focus on Hope and Alastair’s conversation to take his mind off seeing her again but it was no use.

  “Alastair, did you tell her I’m with you?”

  “Yeah I did. We can just talk about the interview thing and see where she is with that. No one is going to bring up what’s going on with you guys when we’re all there.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” He found himself gripping the steering wheel so hard his hands were hurting. Forcing himself to ease up on his grip, he turned into her drive and parked. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Calm the hell down, you idiot.

  “Get out of the car, man.” Alastair stared at him for a minute, shook his head, and followed Hope into the house.

  He got out of the car and forced his feet to move, each step bringing him closer to her. Get a grip man. Put a smile on your face and do this for them. He made his way into the house and saw Alastair and Leo in the kitchen, chatting and smiling at each other. She threw her arms around him and laughed.

  “I’m so happy! Thank heavens he wasn’t pulling a fast one on us. I don’t think I would have had any doubts before, but with everything that has happened the last few days, I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”

  John felt like she had just stuck a knife in his heart. Was she talking about him? He hoped the remark was meant about her mother and not him. He swallowed hard and forced his feet to carry him forward.

  “Hello, Leo.”

  He saw her tense for just a moment before she turned to face him, a smile plastered on her face that did not reach her eyes. “Hello. John.”

  Fuck. Another knife to his heart. She had called him John. This was bad, worse than he had imagined. He forced a smile but made no move to get closer. “I guess Alastair filled you in already?”

  “He told me the reporter wants to do an exclusive with us tomorrow after the gig, and that she was the one who approached Hark.”

  “Yeah. If you are agreeable, I can contact Rene and set it up.”

  “That would be wonderful. Is there anything we need you to do legally before the interview?”

  John felt the heat spreading through his body. She was treating him like their lawyer, putting a wall up around her. This wasn’t his Leo anymore. She was now a client. He felt everyone’s eyes on him as he glanced over at Alastair, who was frowning. He shook his head and turned back to Leona, leaned down, and whispered something in her ear. She shook her head and moved away, turning her back on John.

  “Uh, is there anything we need to know John? Is there anything we should not discuss or try to steer clear of?” Alastair glared at Leona’s back.

  “I’ll set everything up with Rene. I’ll have her go over the questions she has for y’all, and let her know if there are any that shouldn’t be asked. Other than that, I don’t think there is anything else I’ll need to do at this time.” He paused, waiting to see what she would say, but she just continued to stand with her back to him. “Look, I’m going back to your hotel, if you don’t mind. Do you want to take me or will you be able to get a ride?”

  “No, Hope and I will go with you. Hey, Leona I’ll catch you later. Give me a call if you feel up to practicing before tomorrow. Hope, let’s go.”

  John could see the anger flash in his eyes but didn’t know if the anger was directed towards Leo or him. “You guys don’t have to leave. I can come back and get you.”

  “No, I think we have to leave.”

  ~~~

  Leona stood with her back to Johnny because it hurt too damn much to look at him. She wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and beg him to take her back. She would do anything to make him happy if he would just take her back. It killed her to call him John but she felt it was the right thing to do, a way to give him his space. Now, seeing the pain in his eyes, knowing she’d put it there… She could tell by Alastair’s voice that he was pissed at her. When she heard the door close, she started shaking. Damn it. What was she supposed to do?

  “Heather, don’t stand there looking at me. I’m trying to hold it together.”

  “How could you do that to him, Leona?”

  She slowly turned.

  “If you would have seen the look on his face… It killed me to see it.”

  “Don’t you think this is killing me? I couldn’t look at him. If I did, I would have lost it. I can’t break down now. I should have listened but he just left. If he wants me, he needs to tell me.” Her voice broke, and she felt the tears spill over and run down her face.

  “Oh sweetie!” Heather ran to Leona and gathered her in her arms. “I’m sorry. I thought you were just being a bitch. It’s what I would have done. I’m sorry.”

  It felt so good to have someone hold her and tell her they were sorry. “Alastair was pissed at me, wasn’t he?” Her voice quivered.

  “Yeah, he was. It looked like you were just being horrible. John is our friend too.”

  “I know and I hope one day we can move past this. I love him, but I need him to come back on his own.”

  “If you could quit being stubborn and just talk to him, you won’t have to lose him.”

  Leona sighed. “I won’t beg.

  “Let me get this right. You love him, he loves you.”

  Leona nodded.

  “Okay, but you won’t ask him to come back because you see that as begging? ”

  Leona nodded again.

  “So you turn your back on him and make him think you don’t care anymore? Oh, that will encourage him to tell you he loves you and wants you."

  “What?”

  “Right now, all the man sees is that the woman he loves with his entire being, has shut him out and no longer wants him.”

  Leona placed her hand over her heart, willing it to start beating again. She felt like it was going to stop, and she would just crumble right here in front of Heather. “He has to know that isn’t true.”

  “How Leona?” Heather turned to Sebastian, who had been quietly listening. “Sebastian, can you help me here?”

  Leona turned, not realizing he was even in the room. She prayed he would say he understood what she had done. Heather was wrong. She saw it wrong; it’s not how Leona meant it.

  He cleared his throat and sat for a moment, his hands pressed together in front of his mouth. He appeared to be deep in thought as if contemplating what he wanted to say. Leona got a sinking feeling deep in her gut.

  “I think Heather’s right, Leona. You pretty much nailed the coffin shut today. I’ve known him for a few years, and I’ve never seen him as happy as I have these last few weeks. I’ve also never seen him as hurt as I did just now. He was devastated. As a man, I would feel like you just told me to screw off, that it was over. When you called him John, the look on his face...” He shook his head.

  “What can I do?”

  “Stop being so stupid and acting like you’re in high school. Time to act like the adult you’re supposed to be and talk things through. That’s how relationships are supposed to work.” He stood and placed a kiss on Heather’s cheek then gave Leona’s shoulder a pat. “I’m going to go catch some waves. Alex is probably there already.”

  Leona watched him leave. I ruined everything. Turning to look back at Heather, she realized what she w
anted more than anything was to be alone. “I think I’ll go lay down for a little bit. It’s been a long couple of days.”

  “Leona, I don’t know if you need to be alone right now. I’m worried about you.”

  “I am sure. If I need something, I’ll call you.” She prayed Heather would understand and just give her some time.

  “Okay. But I’m holding you to it.” Heather took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  She watched Heather grab her beach bag and phone and hurry out the back door to join Sebastian. To think Johnny and she had worried about Heather screwing things up, and it turned out she was the one that had. What a way to ruin not only everyone’s vacation but her and Johnny’s lives as well.

  Leona did what she always did when something was troubling her. She went into her room, closed the door, took out her lyric book, and sat down to write. Writing lyrics always seemed to help her work through her feelings in the past, so maybe it would help her again this time. I’ve never had to work through anything this devastating before. She sighed and let her hands just write as the words flowed through her.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Alastair, Hope, and John rode in silence back to the hotel. When he parked the car, he waited for someone to say something. Alastair touched his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Come on in and I’ll cook us some breakfast.”

  “Sure. I can help.” John opened his door and got out of the car, not looking at either of them. He didn’t want to see the pity on their faces. “I think I’ll give Rene a call first so she knows you guys are on for the interview tomorrow night.”

  “Take your time. Hope and I will get it started. Eggs okay with you?”

  “Sure and some coffee if you guys have it. Thanks.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and moved away from the car

  “Rene Hollister,” she quipped.

  “Hello Rene, John Montgomery here. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “John, no you didn’t. Just working on a lead for tomorrow. How did it go with McCoy? Is it a yes or no?”