by Nikki Wilson
He opened his mouth to say more, but Kyle was at his side.
“Hey, Chase. What’s up?”
“I was just having a conversation with Duchess.” He turned back to ask her another question, but only saw a hoop cage on wheels draped with material. She had escaped from her dress and disappeared into the crowd.
“I think Katie went to the ladies’ room, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon if you want to say goodbye.”
Chase stared at the crowd, unsettled at the encounter. Nothing about that woman had explained why Katie would be so devoted to her.
“Did you meet her?” Amber’s squealing voice next to his ear jolted him out of his thoughts.
“Who?”
“Duchess, of course.” Amber paused as she noticed the half dress that had been left on the floor. “Is that hers? That’s so cool!”
Chase wondered what had frightened Duchess enough to make her walk right out of her skirt. What was it about this mysterious pop star that had everyone excited? He still had so many unanswered questions, and an unsettled feeling inside.
Chapter Thirteen
Katie sat in the foyer of Duchess’s mansion. Funny how it didn't feel like her mansion. Marble covered the floors and stairs, broken up only by mahogany baseboards. The spiral staircase and copper balustrade wound up toward the high, stained-glass ceiling above. Marble columns stood guard at the end of the staircase, also stretching up toward the ceiling. The walls were painted in a soft earth tone lightly covered with a coppery paint technique, giving the foyer an elegant atmosphere. The faint scent of lavender hung in the air from the aroma therapy diffuser in her mother’s room.
Katie looked up to the second floor and could see the closed door to her mother’s empty room. Her throat grew tight, and she hugged her arms together. Chase had been right at the charity ball. She was trapped in a cage of her own lies and deception, but her mother was trapped in a body riddled with cancer. As long as Katie had any hope that her own cage could free her mother, it was a cage she couldn’t leave.
A loud knock brought Katie out of her thoughts. When she opened the door, Chase stood there in his usual jeans and a T-shirt. She suddenly felt overdressed in her dark red blouse and gray slacks. As their eyes met, her pulse began to race. She remembered the feel of his arms around her as they danced at the charity ball. His nearness had made it difficult to think. She’d allowed herself to imagine for one moment what it would be like to belong in his arms. To have someone who loved her enough never to leave her. To have someone to share her secrets with. But Duchess ruined all that. There was a moment when she thought he’d figured out her secret. She couldn’t let her defenses down again. A business relationship was the only relationship she could have with Chase.
“You’re late,” Katie said as she strode past him toward the driveway without looking back.
“Nice car.” Chase had followed her.
“Yes, you said that last time you rode in it,” she answered curtly.
“Is it yours or Duchess’s?” Again, the sound of his voice triggered the traitorous reaction of her stomach flip-flopping inside.
“It’s mine." She knew the words came out harsher than she'd meant them to.
“It’s a ’65 Mustang, right?”
“A ’64 and a half,” she corrected him. She realized that the only way to stop his voice from wreaking havoc on her senses was to keep talking. “My father used to talk about his dream car being a ’64 and a half cherry-red Mustang convertible.” Katie unlocked his door first. “We’d play a game driving down the road. Anytime we saw a Mustang, we had to see who could name the year first. I always won.”
“So you bought this car in his memory?” Chase asked.
“More to spite him.” She sent him a mischievous smile. “He left me and my mother after my brother died. Everything we have right now is despite of anything he’s ever done.”
“So you don’t even like this car?”
“Oh, I love this car. It’s strange how when you’re a child, your parents’ dreams can become yours.”
“I wouldn’t know about that. My parents’ dreams were to get high as often as possible,” Chase said with a grimace.
“Oh.” She fell silent, and tension hung in the air. “That must have been a difficult childhood.”
“It’s no big deal.” He shrugged. “I joined the Army as soon as I could and never looked back.”
Katie felt her defenses start to crumble and quickly reminded herself it could never work.
“So, how is Shirley doing this morning?” he asked, and she was grateful for the change of subject.
“She’s fine,” she answered as she buckled her seatbelt and decided it was time to talk about the concert. “Here is a list of places in the Los Angeles area we could check. The number of people they hold is listed as well.” She handed over a paper with pictures of concert venues and their descriptions before starting the car.
“They all look pretty easy to secure. Can’t we just do eeny meeny miny moe?”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Sure, if you’re twelve!” She snatched the paper out of his hand and put it in the backseat before pulling out of the driveway. “Our biggest problem right now is finding a venue that isn’t already booked. Duchess usually plays at the Staples Center, but they don’t have any available nights for the next year. That’s why it’s usually best to plan things like benefit concerts ahead of time. But since Amber is in a crunch, we’ll have to see what we can get.”
“What’s our first choice?” he asked.
“The Hollywood Bowl, if we could get it. I have a call in to the County of Los Angeles, but that might take forever, so we’ll go look at some other venues. Some are pretty small, but if we charge enough for the tickets, you could still get the profit you need for the charity to get the new building.”
He nodded while turning to look out the window, and she wasn’t sure he was even paying attention. She sighed as she pulled into the gas station near her house. His indifference bothered her, but she didn’t know why. She wanted it this way. She wanted to keep everything strictly professional.
The gas station was busy, with lines at the pumps. Pulling up behind a truck, Katie cast about in her mind for something to say.
“So … you don’t speak to your parents?” Katie could tell by the look on his face that she’d said the wrong thing, though he was quick to wipe his features of any emotion.
“No,” was his clipped answer. “Do you speak to your father?”
Katie knew he only asked because she’d asked her intrusive question. “No.”
Silence reigned while Katie wondered where the man who owned the pickup truck had gone. It was like he’d just parked at the pump. Didn’t he know other people needed gas? Looking around, she saw there were cars behind her now. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. There weren’t any free pumps, and she couldn’t back up—she was trapped. She was sick and tired of feeling like she had no choice. Like her mother had no choice, like cancer was going to take away the one person she had left. Tears pricked her eyes, and she cleared her throat as she blinked them back.
“Are you all right?” Chase’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m just wondering what kind of jerk parks in front of a pump and makes everyone else wait, like they’re the only people who matter.”
Before Chase could respond, a man made his way to the truck.
“Finally!” Katie got ready to pull forward, but instead of climbing into his truck, the man took a big bite out of his newly purchased candy bar and set his coffee on the hood before reaching for the nozzle.
“Seriously?” Katie hit the steering wheel with the palm of her hand.
“Hey, the pump ahead of him is open.” Chase pointed.
Katie flattened her lips into a thin line as an idea popped into her head. She began to pull around the truck and head toward the free pump, but instead of just backing into position, she parked right in front of the pickup
, making it impossible for him to pull forward.
“What are you doing?” Chase asked, looking confused.
“Let’s see how he likes being trapped,” Katie answered, feeling vindicated somehow.
“Um, until the person behind him gives him enough room to pull around you,” he answered.
Katie realized he was right. Was there no justice in this world? How could she teach this man a lesson if the person behind him would just let him go when he was ready? Another idea formed in her mind, and she couldn’t keep the mischievous smile off her face while she dug in her purse. After finding what she was looking for, she opened the door.
“Where are you going?” Chase asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.” For some reason, he looked doubtful despite her reassurance. But she ignored him as she got out and headed to the car behind the truck.
She made sure to skirt around the truck so she didn’t have to cross paths with the man. When she reached the car behind the truck, she found a middle-aged woman behind the wheel. The woman looked up, startled, as Katie gently knocked and motioned for her to roll down her window. “Yes?”
“Hi! I really hate to bother you, but I wonder if you could do me a favor. Will you could pull forward a bit so the truck in front of you can’t leave?”
“Huh? Why?” The woman looked skeptical. “I don’t want any trouble. I just want to get my gas and go to work.”
“I know, and there won’t be any trouble. I’ll even give you these tickets to the Duchess concert in December. They could be a Christmas present for someone, if you don’t want them.” Katie held out the tickets so the woman could see all the details. “They’re for the front row.”
The woman’s face went from indecision to acceptance. “Well, all right.” She snatched the tickets out of Katie’s hand before she could change her mind.
Smiling, Katie stepped away as the woman pulled forward. The owner of the truck noticed the movement and came toward Katie.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Katie swallowed. The man looked annoyed. She hated confrontation and wondered what made her think this was a good idea, but she couldn’t back down now. She asked herself, What would Duchess do?
“You, sir, are rude! Don’t you see how many people are waiting to pump gas? And you decide to take your time buying a candy bar and coffee while your truck blocks others from going on with their lives. What makes you more important than everyone else here?” Katie stood tall and made a sweeping gesture with her hand, realizing that she was mimicking Duchess. It made her feel more powerful.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad.”
Now that he was up close, she could see he was young, probably barely twenty years old. His manners needed some refining, and for some crazy reason, she thought she was the person to do it.
“Have you no respect for other people at all? Were you raised by wolves? This is a great big world, and I have news for you—you aren’t the only person in it!”
“Who do you think you are?” The young man stepped closer, and Katie had to look up to glare at him.
“Yo, Katie!” Chase stepped next to her, and suddenly, she felt safe. “I hate to break this up, honey, but my parole officer gets cranky if I don’t show up on time.”
Katie stopped glaring at the young punk in front of her to goggle at Chase. What was he doing?
“Oh, hi. I’m … Bob.” Chase stuck his hand out to the man, who looked at him strangely. He glanced at the upper part of Chase’s left arm. Katie couldn’t help but look over too, and her eyes bugged out when she saw a partial tattoo showing from under his sleeve. Why had she never noticed that before? “Is anything wrong?” His T-shirt suddenly seemed tighter, like he was flexing his muscles. Whatever he was doing seemed to have the desired effect.
“No, nothing’s wrong.” The young man stepped back toward his truck. “I’m just trying to pump my gas and get out of here.”
“Good idea.” Chase looked at Katie before continuing, “What do you say we do the same thing? I don’t want to have to go back to the slammer over gas.”
Katie narrowed her eyes at him, but could see what he was doing. She was torn between just going with it or making her point with this young jerk. Just as she was going to tell Chase to back off, she felt his arm snake around her shoulders as he pulled her close to him, causing all her thoughts to flee.
“Besides,” he continued, “I’d rather spend my time with you, babe.” He winked at her, and Katie realized she should say something.
“Of course, honey bunches!” She put emphasis on the last part. “We wouldn’t want you to be late. Besides, this guy doesn’t deserve a bloody nose.”
Katie let Chase guide her over to the car, and he opened the door. “Wait. I didn’t pump the gas yet.”
“I did it while you were busy causing problems,” he answered as he gently shoved her toward the car.
Sitting down, she waited for Chase to get in before starting the engine. “Well, Bob, that was quite the performance.”
“My performance?” he shot back. “What about you? Were you trying to get yourself killed? You must not have lived in L.A. very long. That was something Duchess would do, not you. I thought you were smarter than that.”
The heat in his voice took her by surprise, though not as much as the words themselves. He was right. She was acting like Duchess. What if he guessed the truth? The record label wouldn’t hesitate to throw her mother out of the state-of-the-art hospital she was in. What was she thinking?
“You’re right,” Katie admitted, though not for the reasons Chase thought. “That was dumb. Let’s get out of here.” Pulling away from the gas station, Katie wondered what had caused that outburst. She knew better than to let a little annoyance bother her. Her mother would be so disappointed right now.
Her blood grew cold as she thought about her mother still lying in the hospital. The doctors continued to tell Katie how grave the situation was, but she refused to give up. Pushing those thoughts aside, she made a vow for the third time that day to close off all emotion.
Chapter Fourteen
“Where are we going?” Chase decided to change the subject. He didn’t think he could talk about what just happened without getting irritated. At first, it had been humorous to watch Katie lose her temper, but when the young driver had stepped toward her like he was going to hit her …well, Chase was just glad he’d kept his wits enough to talk them out of the situation, though all he really wanted to do was punch the guy.
“I thought we would check out the Wiltern first. It’s not huge, but it’s a pretty nice venue,” Katie answered, subdued.
“Fine,” he said curtly as he scrubbed at the tattoo he’d drawn on with a Sharpie. Katie started to smile at his actions until his glare wiped it off her face.
They sat in silence for the rest of the drive.
They got out at the Wiltern. It looked big enough. When they went inside and he saw the chandeliers, ornamental columns, and paintings, he couldn’t help but ask, “This is the cheap one?”
“Not really,” she answered, “but this one was close. I figured we should give it a chance.”
Chase shook his head. “Nope.”
“Why not? You didn’t even look at the stage yet.”
“I don’t have to. It’s too fancy.” Chase turned to leave.
“What do you mean, it’s too fancy? Duchess has played here before. It’s fine.”
“The charity is for veterans, right?” Chase stopped and faced her. She nodded. “Well, veterans are simple people. Give us our freedom and the right to bear arms, and we’re happy. We aren’t really the chandelier type. We don’t need fancy stages—just give us good, meaningful music that reminds us what we fought for.”
“But the concert will be attended by people who do want those things. If you want to make money, you need to cater to the type of people who will drop a wad for a ticket. That’s how it works.” Katie put her hands on her hips.
“So we aren’t even thinking about the people the concert is for? Shouldn’t we make sure the event represents the people it will benefit? I don’t want to turn it into something like that charity event the other night. Half the people were just there to be seen. Did anyone really care what it was for?”
“I cared!” Katie’s passionate reply reminded him that the black-tie affair had been to raise money for cancer research for people like her mother.
“I’m sorry, Katie. That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you want them to do? Have people walking around in hospital gowns, pushing IV poles? Their hair could fall out as they went, and then everyone would know what they were paying for. Is that what you wanted?” He shook his head, and Katie continued. “Forgive me if I think it’s all right to cater to the people who donate money to things like cancer research. And if I have to turn the concert into a black-tie affair to get money for veterans who barely escaped, I will, because this concert will give them the building they need to move on with their lives. Lives that people like my brother will never have.” She choked on a sob and turned her head to the side.
“Katie.” He stopped. What could he say? He was one of those people who had survived while her brother had lost his life, though how many times had he counted those who died the lucky ones? He had only to look at the tear-streaked face in front of him to know who the real victims were.
He put his finger under her chin and turned her face back to him. She looked at him, defiant. He stared into her watery eyes, searching for the right thing to say.
“Let’s get out of here.” He smiled and watched her lips twitch upwards.
She stepped back and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Fine. There are a couple more places close by.”
Neither one brought up the Wiltern again as they drove to the next venue. Chase was careful this time not to be as vocal about his opinions. He only shook his head, and she agreed. The next two venues went much the same way. Chase wondered if they would ever find the right place as a gnawing feeling in his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten in a while.