by Eve Fisher
“Thanks.”
Paul sat back with relief and happiness as the community band played. The setting sun threw longer and longer shadows onto the grass. At one point Kate glanced behind her and saw Joe sitting beside Amanda.
The community band finished, and Skip Spencer came up next, banjo in hand. He put it over his shoulder, shook a lock of red hair back from his forehead, and began playing a fast, furious version of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” When he was done, everybody roared and clapped. Then he began singing “Wildwood Flower.”
Livvy leaned over and said quietly in Kate’s ear, “That boy can sing.”
Kate nodded. Skip’s tenor voice was beautiful. When he finished, and everyone applauded, Kate saw a red-haired girl standing, clapping wildly. Skip had scored a hit.
“Who knew he could sing?” Danny asked as Skip left the stage. “Now, folks, it’s my pleasure to announce what I think, no, I know, is everyone’s favorite group. Copper Mill’s one and only Beauty Shop Quartet!”
Everyone cheered as Renee, LuAnne, Betty, and Emma stepped up onstage. Tears came to Kate’s eyes as she saw Renee take LuAnne’s hand as the four began singing “Keep on the Sunny Side.”
“It’s good to see them back together,” Livvy said.
“Amen,” Kate replied. It was all she could say.
The women’s voices harmonized beautifully. After two more old country favorites, Betty took the microphone and said, “Thank you, all of you. We appreciate it so much. Now we’re going to do one final number. And anyone who feels like joining in, please do, as we sing ‘I’ll Fly Away.’”
Kate was too happy to sing. She sat there smiling, breathing in the soft night air as the sun set, the fireflies darted around the Town Green and the voices of her friends and neighbors rose into the night.
About the Author
EVE FISHER began writing while in elementary school, and her mystery stories have appeared regularly in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine for the last ten years. Although she currently lives in a small town in South Dakota, in a house that she shares with her husband, cat and five thousand books, she spent seven years in the mountains of Tennessee in a town remarkably like Copper Mill. She hopes the readers will feel at home in Copper Mill as she has. Besides writing mysteries, Eve teaches history at a local university, reads voraciously and bakes constantly.
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