by Anne Logan
“Watch your mouth, Carla, and show some respect,” Alex had warned. “Your grandparents love you and only want the best for you.”
“Dad, love’s got nothing to do with it. Grandma and Grandpa’s ideas about life and women are as dated as the Model T and just as dull.”
It hadn’t been the first time that she’d heard Carla or Alex mention his parents during the trip. More than once, Alex had made a remark that led Maddie to believe that his father had a very strong influence over his son. Now she wondered if there was more to it than she’d first thought.
“Alex…” Wishing she could offer him the sanctuary of her arms to soften the blow of what she was about to say, but knowing he would interpret her gesture as pity instead of compassion, she reached out and squeezed his hand instead. “Parents don’t always know best,” she said.
Maddie felt Alex’s arm tense beneath her fingers. Then he stepped back, severing the contact altogether. The scorching look he gave her burned clear to her heart, and in that instant, she knew she had guessed right.
“Granted, no one in my family is a hotshot superstar,” he retorted, his voice edged with sarcasm, “but my father’s old-fashioned work ethic that you and Carla are so quick to dismiss is the only reason I didn’t end up in a gutter somewhere as just another drunken statistic after my ex-wife took me to the cleaners then fixed it so I couldn’t see my little girl.
“It was my dad who finally got hold of me and hammered it into my head that without work, a man is nothing, that if I flushed my career down the booze bottle, then I had truly lost everything. And it was Jack who covered for me until I could sober up enough to work again. He saved me from getting fired.”
Maddie was stunned. She had expected him to be defensive, maybe even angry, but what he’d just revealed left her speechless.
Long minutes ticked by, and she was still trying to decide the best way to respond or even if she should respond when a door opened, and Tara emerged from the soundproof, glassed-in area where she’d been monitoring the recording of a band.
The sight of her friend was the jolt Maddie needed to make her realize what had been happening. She was getting in over her head. The more she learned about Alex, the deeper her feelings grew, and since there was no future in it, it was best to back off now…while she still could.
Purposely ignoring the glowering look that he was giving her, Maddie turned away and waved at her friend.
The moment Tara spied Maddie, she grinned and gave out a squeal of delight. “Hey, Maddie, when did you get back and why didn’t you call me?”
Maddie jumped at the opportunity to wriggle out of the uncomfortable situation with Alex as she eagerly returned Tara’s hug. Seconds later, she pulled away from her friend’s embrace and forced her lips into a smile. “We got in late last night, and all I wanted to do was sleep.”
Tara’s eyebrows shot up. “We?”
Maddie nodded. “Just a sec. There’s someone I want you to meet.” Still ignoring Alex, she stepped over to where a group of young men had gathered around Carla. Tapping Carla on the shoulder to get her attention, she smiled at the group. “Sorry to interrupt, boys,” she said, “but this young lady is unavailable.”
Turning a blind eye to Carla’s indignant glare and a deaf ear to the disappointed groans from the musicians, she pulled the teenager back to where Tara and Alex were standing. “Carla Batiste, meet Tara Jones, my friend who is one of the engineers for this studio.” The girl’s scowl disappeared instantly. “Carla is one of the most talented songwriters I’ve come across,” Maddie told her friend.
Tara smiled warmly at the blushing teenager as they shook hands.
“And this—” Maddie motioned for Alex to step closer “—is Carla’s dad.”
Tara’s eyebrows shot up even farther, and a gleam of speculation sparkled in her eyes.
Even though Alex obediently moved closer, Maddie could tell that he was still angry. “Alex, meet Tara, a good, good friend.”
With the grin of a Cheshire cat and her gaze blatantly raking him from head to toe, Tara shook Alex’s hand. “Hmm, any friend of Maddie’s is certainly a friend of mine.”
Tara’s teasing followed by a flirtatious wink earned her a disapproving frown from Maddie, but Alex’s expression never changed.
“Behave yourself, friend,” Maddie said. “Alex is a detective with the New Orleans Police Department, the one who told me about Michael in the first place. He and Carla were nice enough to offer to drive me back so I could pack a few things I need and pick up my car. In return, I promised Carla a tour of the studio.”
Tara rounded on Maddie, her hands planted aggressively on her hips. “Pack? What do you mean, pack?”
Maddie slid her arm through the crook of Tara’s elbow and propelled her down the hallway toward the snack lounge. “I’ll explain if you’ll cool it and buy us a cup of coffee.” Maddie glanced over her shoulder. “Alex? Carla?”
Carla held back. “Would it be okay if I stayed here and watched some more?”
Maddie started to nod her approval, when Alex interrupted. “No, it would not be okay. You can come with us.”
Looking self-conscious, Carla glanced at the group of male musicians then glared at her father. “Daddy, I’m not a child,” she whispered fiercely.
“You’re coming with us,” he insisted.
Sensing that there was about to be a fight between father and daughter, Maddie cleared her throat. “Alex, we’re just going down the hall.”
Alex began shaking his head.
“Aw, come on, Alex,” Tara piped in. “Let the girl have some fun.”
“We won’t be long, and she’ll be fine,” Maddie insisted as she disentangled her arm from Tara’s and retraced her steps.
“Daddy, please don’t embarrass me.”
Firmly taking hold of the sleeve of Alex’s sports coat, Maddie tugged. “I’ve already warned the wolves away.” Then, lowering her voice almost to a whisper, she said, “And you’re outnumbered.”
With one final, pointed look at the group of young men, Alex sighed and nodded his consent.
“Believe it or not, they’re just a bunch of nice, ordinary guys,” Maddie assured him.
“Yeah, right,” he muttered.
With a frustrated shake of her head, Maddie turned and trudged down the hallway. Besides having no sense of humor and being an overprotective father, the man is a snob, she thought, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he was following her.
Once they each had a cup of coffee and were seated around a small table in the lounge, Tara again demanded an explanation.
The room was crowded with other people, mostly musicians waiting for studio time. Maddie was acutely aware of Alex glowering at her. Their last confrontation hadn’t earned her any Brownie points with him, and she hadn’t truly expected to win his approval. The exchange had simply proved once more how different they were. But for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand, the thought of him being angry with her hurt.
Trying her best to ignore him and her own confusing feelings, she gave her friend a pared-down version of everything that had happened since she had left Nashville to go to New Orleans.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Tara exclaimed. “That’s awful, but are you sure that going back there is such a good idea? I mean, what with someone threatening you and all, won’t it be dangerous?”
For the first time since they’d sat down, Alex suddenly came to life. “That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell her,” he said. “She’d be a lot better off here where it’s safe than in New Orleans playing amateur investigator.”
Alex’s stinging remark struck a raw nerve. She glared at him. “Okay, just hold it right there. Both of you,” she said, turning the look on Tara, as well. “Granted, I’m not sure about much of anything that’s happened lately and I may be an amateur, but my mind is made up. This is something I have to do and no one is going to talk me out of it. Besides,” she added with quiet determination, “I pr
omised Michael.”
“Well, the timing stinks,” Tara said bluntly.
“Timing? What—”
“Especially now.”
Maddie shook her head. “You’re not making a whole lot of sense here. Want to clue me in?”
A gleam of pure mischief danced in her friend’s eyes. “Guess you haven’t heard the latest, then, huh? Of course you haven’t,” she answered her own question. “Guess what male superstar finally got caught with his pants down and is getting sued for divorce because of adultery and sued in general for sexual harassment?”
Maddie’s stomach did a flip-flop and her pulse jumped as her heart picked up speed, sending anticipation racing through her veins. “You are kidding, aren’t you?”
Tara shook her head, her smug look confirming Maddie’s suspicions. “The rat finally got caught in his own trap, and I predict that it won’t take the powersthat-be long to put two and two together and come up with all kinds of job offers for you. Your phone is going to be ringing off the hook.”
Maddie grabbed Tara’s arm. “What exactly happened? And don’t you dare leave out one juicy detail.”
It was as if Maddie had forgotten that anyone or anything else in the room existed, Alex thought as he watched her while Tara related a sordid story about Maddie’s former boss that sounded as if it had come straight off the cover page of some sleazy publicity rag. But what he’d yet to figure out was what the whole affair had to do with Maddie, and why she was so excited about it.
“Yes, oh, yes!” Maddie pounded the table with her fist. Totally unaware of the turning heads and curious looks she was receiving, her flushed face was tilted upward toward the ceiling and her eyes were squeezed shut. “There is justice in the world, after all,” she cried gleefully. “I just wish I could be in the courtroom when that creep finally gets what’s coming to him.”
Again, Alex wondered why Maddie was getting so worked up about some trashy gossip. It wasn’t at all like her to be so vindictive, unless…Alex felt his blood begin to boil at the implication. Judd Cameron…sexual harassment…Maddie’s former boss. Had Maddie been one of the bastard’s victims? Just the thought was like a red-hot poker plunging into his heart.
“Maddie…” Tara stilled her friend’s fist with her hand. “I know you feel strongly about what happened to your brother, but do you really think now is the time to be off tilting at windmills?”
Maddie quickly sobered, and with a wounded expression, she stared at Tara. “Is that what you truly think, that I’m tilting at windmills?”
“What I think is that life is for the living,” Tara said softly, “and right now, timing is important if you’re going to salvage the career you’ve struggled and worked for. Make hay while the sun shines, strike while the iron is hot—all those pithy sayings you’re so fond of handing out to everyone else.” Tara paused as if hesitant to say more. Finally, she lifted her chin. “I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t remind you of these things. You’re far too talented to let it all go down the drain. And,” she added quietly, “Michael, of all people, would understand.”
Even though the reason wasn’t one he especially cared for, Alex held his breath and said a silent prayer that Maddie’s friend could make her see reason and persuade her to stay in Nashville. If he could get all worked up over just imagining someone hurting her, he was in bigger trouble than he thought. Now, more than before, he needed to put some distance between them. And what better way than for her to stay here.
Maddie stiffly withdrew her hand. “I appreciate the advice, Tara, and I know that you mean well, but—” The sudden, fierce light of determination flickered in her eyes, and Alex had a sinking feeling that both he and Tara were fighting a losing battle. “Until I get to the bottom of what really happened to my brother and Caroline, I can’t think about anything else, including my career. My heart just wouldn’t be in it right now.”
“Oh, Maddie…” Tara shook her head. “What if it’s too late by then, or what if—?”
“Hey,” Maddie interrupted, “whatever happens, I’ll deal with it. And believe me, just as soon as I get things settled—one way or the other—I’ll be back to Nashville like a shot. You’re right about one thing. I didn’t work and sacrifice for years just to give it all up. With Michael gone, now more than ever before, my work is my life. But not before I find out the truth,” she added.
“MY WORK IS MYLIFE.” Maddie’s words haunted Alex throughout the long afternoon as he and Carla helped her pack her belongings. But the argument they’d had about Carla, along with Maddie’s reaction to her friend’s news about Judd Cameron bothered him, as well. Hell, everything about the confounding woman bothered him, he thought.
When Maddie and Carla started preparing a late dinner, Alex offered to help. But he was more than happy to retreat to the patio for some time alone when they declined his offer. Being in such proximity to Maddie over the past three days was playing havoc with his libido, and the unapproachable attitude she’d taken since they’d left the studio was driving him up the wall.
Maddie had successfully evaded every attempt on his part to talk during the long afternoon, and communication between them had been stilted and limited to the task at hand. One minute he’d felt like shaking her, and the next minute, he’d wanted to kiss her senseless.
Alex leaned back in the wicker rocking chair and closed his eyes. A warm breeze stirred the air, and except for the occasional sound of a passing vehicle, the small enclosed area was blessedly peaceful.
For the moment, all Alex wanted was to clear his mind and relax, to not think about anything, but it was no use. Thoughts of Maddie kept swirling in his mind.
Maddie’s dedication to her career was something he could certainly understand and even admire, something he normally considered commendable, since he felt the same sense of loyalty to his own work. But why did she have to be so damn dedicated to the very thing that he was fighting to prevent his daughter from becoming involved with? And why did he want her so much that it was fast bordering on a physical ache?
No matter how many times he’d tried to come up with a plausible reason, he couldn’t. All he knew was that his feelings for Maddie ran deep, even deeper than the obsession he’d had with Joan when he’d been in his early twenties.
But unlike Joan, Maddie was honest, intelligent, without a self-serving bone in her body, and she had a way about her that people seemed to gravitate toward; yet even those qualities didn’t explain what he was feeling or why he’d reacted so explosively when he thought of her having to fend off unwanted advances from Judd Cameron.
“Dad, Maddie said to tell you that supper is ready.”
Carla’s voice was, for once, a welcome reprieve, but the thought of having to face Maddie across the dinner table, of trying to act normal and carry on a conversation was almost enough to make him say he wasn’t hungry.
Instead he sighed and pushed himself out of the chair. “I’ll be there as soon as I wash up,” he said.
Dinner was a strained affair. Conversation was almost nonexistent. Carla and Maddie had just begun scraping and stacking plates, when they dropped their bombshell.
“Tara wants to take Carla to the studio tonight,” Maddie said quietly. “There’s a special recording session for a group that she thinks does the type of music Carla is interested in.”
“Can I go, Dad…please? It’s the last chance I’ll have since we’re leaving tomorrow.”
Alex’s immediate reaction was to refuse, but looking at his daughter’s eager face and knowing that simply saying no without giving Carla a logical reason would never satisfy her, he gave in. Besides, he was tired of fighting with her, and hell, what could it hurt? he thought. Tomorrow, they would be headed back to New Orleans. Once they were home, he was sure he could persuade Carla to see reason. Reluctantly, he nodded his consent.
“Oh, wow! Terrific!” She jumped up and rushed around the table to give him a quick hug. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welc
ome,” he answered. But when she turned away, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he snagged her arm. “Just a minute, sweetheart. Have a seat.” Ignoring her puzzled look, he pinpointed Maddie with his gaze. “Speaking of your friend Tara. What was that stuff with Judd Cameron all about?”
Alex could tell from Maddie’s expression that she was going to clam up on him again. Not this time, he decided, determined to satisfy his curiosity one way or another, and, at the same time, to possibly make a point with his daughter. “Were you one of his victims?”
Maddie directed a pointed look at Carla then fixed her gaze on Alex again. “I’d really rather not talk about it.”
Tough, he thought. “Is that why you don’t work for him anymore? Did he fire you?”
“What is this, Alex? Do you miss work so much that you feel the need to interrogate someone?”
Carla jerked her head around to stare at Maddie, a look of shock on her face.
“Did he sexually harass you?” Alex demanded.
“Judd Cameron’!” Carlacried. “The Judd Cameron sexually harassed you?”
Maddie’s cheeks flushed dark pink. “Nice going, Alex. Just the kind of stuff your daughter needs to hear. And for your information, no, he didn’t fire me. I quit.”
“Since that’s the kind of person she’ll have to deal with, maybe it is something Carla needs to hear. We can call this a learning experience.”
“Oh, so now you’re saying that sexual harassment only happens in the entertainment industry? Come on, Alex. You know better.”
“Yeah, Dad, get real. That kind of stuff happens everywhere.”
The peal of the doorbell sounded, saving Alex from having to backpedal. Dumb move, Batiste, he said silently. You really screwed that one up.
“That must be Tara,” Maddie said, and with a final glare directed at Alex, she stalked out of the room to answer the door.
Carla stood when she heard Tara’s voice. “Guess I’ll be leaving now,” she said, favoring him with one of her long-suffering parents-are-really-dumb looks. “We won’t be late. I promise.” She hesitated, then said, “And Dad, give it a rest, why don’t you?”