“Bar. I’ll sit at the bar.” I walked over to a stool at the very end of the row and sat down. I ordered a drink from the bartender and while he went to get it for me I turned back to the woman who was wiping down a table near me. “Is there a show on tonight?”
She stood up and placed her hands on her slim hips. “Show? No, why’d you think that?”
“The stage.” I nodded toward the area at the back.
“Oh that. No, haven’t had anyone perform here for, like, longer than I can remember.”
“Would you like there to be? I’m not bad.”
She walked over to me and sat down at the bar stool next to mine. “You play something?”
I brightened. “Yes. Guitar. I play guitar.”
“Do you sing, too?”
“I’m okay. Is there a manager that I need to speak to?”
She grinned and held out her hand for me to shake. “I’m Annie. I run this place.”
“Oh, I thought someone called Ned owned it.”
She laughed. “If you want to perform, you can. We can’t pay you mind, but you’re welcome to belt out a tune or two.”
“Fantastic. How about tomorrow night? I’m a little tired from travelling today but I’d love the opportunity.”
“Sure. Tomorrow night. Might be nice to get some live music in here for a change.”
Excellent. Perhaps getting all my vacation wishes wouldn’t be so hard after all.
Chapter 4
The night was warm and the smell of gardenia wafted through the light breeze. I strolled back to the guesthouse with a full belly and excitement buzzing through me about tomorrow night. The manager, Annie, was giving me time to play my music. She didn’t even know me, yet she was willing to let me perform in front of her patrons. I felt giddy as playlists rushed through my head.
Would I play something new that I’d written myself, or stick with well-known songs? I had far too many combinations of tunes running through my head that I couldn’t possibly fit them all in. Maybe I wouldn’t have to. If it went well, perhaps she’d let me play the following night as well. And the next. And, dammit, I was getting ahead of myself before I’d even played the first song.
This town might be exactly the right place I needed to be right now to find myself. I was already feeling freer and happier than I had in a long time and I wanted to embrace it for as long as I could.
My phone rang. Still smiling I looked down and saw it was my father.
“Are you checking up on me already? It’s only been twelve hours.” I said with a grin.
“I need to know you are fine.”
“I am. I’m fine. Really great, actually.”
“You sound happy.” I noted the hesitation in his voice and knew the conflict he was feeling about wanting me to be happy but also needing me by his side. But I was ready to grow and he had to know that.
I gave him all the information he needed to allay his anxiety. “I’m at a small town named Parton’s Creek. Local bar is letting me strum a few songs tomorrow. Probably stay a few more days.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I know.”
“Cara. I want you to be happy.” That was big of him. I knew it was hard to admit when he liked to be in control of everything, including me. I smiled and embraced his words warmly.
“I love you, Dad. See you soon. I promise.”
I hung up with even more resolve to make the most of every second I was here. If my father could let go of me and let me live my life, even if it was for only a few weeks, then I’d make sure that I’d get everything I wanted to do out of my system, so I could return to him and be the daughter he’s always wanted. I only hoped that at the end of my vacation I’d be able to do that. Perhaps this taste of freedom would be too delicious to give up?
I entered the guesthouse with the key I’d been given and made my way to the attic room. I managed to wriggle out of my jeans before collapsing into the soft feather bed. I’d have good dreams tonight, I was sure of it.
Chapter 5
I woke up early with nervous energy. I was still excited that my first gig was tonight. I didn’t care that it was in a town smaller than most shopping malls; people were actually going to listen to my music. But before then I had a whole day to kill. I got directions into the center of town, which was only a few streets away. It took no longer than one hour to visit every store in Parton’s Creek. I tried on shoes at the grocery store and sampled perfume at the newsstand.
I now understood why this place wasn’t on the list of must see destinations. There was nothing to do here.
It was perfect.
Back at the guesthouse I practiced different songs that I might perform before narrowing down my selection to the six best.
After a quick lunch I began to doubt my choices. I had no idea about the type of music that small towns embraced. Was it the same as a big city? I could woo the commuter traffic but that wasn’t the same as sitting on stage where everyone could see you. The crowd expectations would be different, but I needed to think positively. If I visualized getting an encore or everyone applauding, offering to buy me drinks, or even asking for my autograph then it had to go well. Didn’t it?
Six o’clock finally arrived and I checked the strings of my guitar to make sure it was in tune and placed it in its case. Since Ned’s was only two blocks away, I decided to walk there to get ride of any lingering nerves. It was the first time I’d felt this excited in a while and I smiled at the thought.
The bar was crowded. A group of men in matching leather vests with an emblem on the back were circled around the pool table. Bikers. They were talking in hushed tones and kept looking nervously around. Half the tables were full of people talking loudly, mostly in groups but a few by themselves watching sport on a small television screen with a bottle of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The no smoking message wasn’t enforced around here like it was in the city.
The owner, Annie, came over to me. “Hi, again.” She looked down at the guitar case in my hands and I saw the expression in her face drop. “Shit. You were going to play tonight, weren’t you? Completely slipped my mind.”
Not a good start. “It’s still okay, isn’t it?” I swallowed away any doubts that this was the universe’s way of telling me to give up now.
“Yeah, of course.” She looked around the room as if trying to work out what to do with me. “Can you hang at the bar while I get the mike and speakers set up. Should only take me twenty minutes or so.”
“Of course. Sounds good.”
My stomach was twisting. I knew I had to keep myself together and that this was only a momentary setback. It was nothing. She was simply busy and it slipped her mind, just like she said. Not a big deal at all. I sat down at the bar and placed my guitar case at my feet. It might actually be a blessing to have a few minutes to calm my nerves before I got up there.
The bar tender on the other side of the counter came over. “Want a drink?”
“Sure. Glass of red. No wait, make that a shot of scotch.” Time to live a little.
He placed a shot glass in front of me and poured the small glass to the rim. I downed it quickly.
“Another?”
“No, that’s enough for now, thank you.” I placed my money on the table at the same time as a man from the group of bikers came up and stood next to me and ordered a beer. He was a bit older than I was. Dark stubble brushed his cheeks and chin. His short dark hair was tousled, and he had pale blue eyes that looked like they could cut right through you with one glance. If he lived in the city, he could easily get work as a model. If I was going to have a one-night stand, this was definitely the type to do it with.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Cara. Pleased to…”
“Fuck off,” he said, grabbed his beer and walked away.
The words hit me right in the face and I had to take a moment to regain my composure as I watched him walk back to his friends. No one had ever been that rude to me befo
re, not like that anyway. All I said was hello. I could feel the heat in my cheeks rising and I turned around quickly trying to act as if it didn’t bother me.
Annie tapped on the microphone three times. “Is this working?” she asked, as the audio feedback screeched loudly. She turned down the volume and looked in my direction shrugging.
I was still reeling from being shut down. No wonder bikers had a bad reputation; it was because it was goddamn deserved. Telling me to fuck off, just who did he think he was anyway? No one had ever told me to fuck off before. But that was because no one dared. Here, I was a nobody. A smile played across my lips. Of course! Of course, no one had told me to fuck off before, but here nobody had to treat me any differently than anyone else.
“Show us your tits,” yelled a man at a nearby table toward Annie. He wore a unbuttoned plaid flannel shirt and his stomach was visible as the undershirt rode up. He laughed to himself.
“In your dreams, Len.” She cleared her throat. “We have a special guest tonight. Um ... What was your name again, love?”
A few people in the room looked in my direction. “Cara,” I managed to squeak out. “Cara W… Cara Jones.”
“Put your hands together for Cara Jones. She’s going to perform for you all.” Annie walked off the stage. Len clapped slowly. He was the only one that did. Everyone else paid no attention at all to me.
I steeled myself and smiled as I walked toward the stage. So what if this wasn’t what I expected, it was a damn better opportunity than I’d ever been given before. If this was what I wanted to do with my life, even if that life only lasted another few weeks, then I’d make the most of every opportunity.
It was obvious now that I didn’t belong here, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t belong in my rich corporate world either. But in this world I could play without expectations and that was exactly what I was going to do.
I sat down on the stool that Annie had placed behind the microphone and shut my eyes to calm my nerves. After a deep breath, I pushed every other thought out of my head and concentrated on the music.
I started the first song with vigor. The man named Len in the front row who had heckled Annie earlier nodded his head as he drank his beer. He was the only one that seemed interested in the performance so I played to him. Everyone else went on with whatever they were doing before I got up on stage; eating dinner, talking with friends, being an asshole near the pool table.
The second song began and a few more people turned my way. It was short lived, before they went back to their conversations, but they were listening, I could tell.
When I started the third song a few people had swiveled their chairs around so they could concentrate on me better. This gave me a sorely needed confidence boost and I made sure that I performed the last two songs to the best of my ability.
As I finished the last lyric and strummed the last note, even the asshole biker was looking in my direction.
“Thank you for your time,” I said, being deliberately polite hoping that the jerk got the hint about manners and how you talked to people.
Len clapped and a few other people joined in and while it wasn’t the fanfare I’d hoped for, they’d listened and I could tell they’d liked it. It was a good start for an unknown girl in an out of town bar in the middle of nowhere.
I took the guitar strap off my shoulder and walked back over to the bar where Annie was wiping glasses with a white rag.
“Thank you again for the opportunity,” I said. “I had fun.”
She looked up from what she was doing. “Sure, anytime. You can do it again tomorrow night if you like. It’s not as if I have a line of people wanting to get up there.” She laughed as if it was a big joke. “Still can’t pay you though,” she added quickly.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’ll be staying in town much longer. We’ll see.” I quickly glanced behind me.
“Suit yourself.” She eyed me carefully and then placed her hand over mine. “It’s a tough crowd here, everyone is caught up in their own worlds. They’re suspicious of something new. I wouldn’t worry.”
“Oh no, it’s not that. I really enjoyed performing.” I smiled. “You just never know what else is out there, you know? I still have so much to explore and experience.”
She crinkled her nose and shrugged. “No idea what you’re talking about, but good luck to you.”
I smiled. “It was nice to meet you, Annie.” I shook her hand like I was closing a business deal. Then I packed up my guitar and walked outside.
Chapter 6
It was a nice clear night for my last in Parton’s Creek. The sky was filled with tiny stars and the moon was bright and full. I wondered what the next town would have in store for me, and if it had people that weren’t so arrogant and full of themselves.
“You sing good.”
I turned around to see who was talking. The asshole from earlier was standing in front of me. He was leaning to one side, his hands in his pockets, and looking at me so intensely it sent a chill through me.
“Fuck off,” I said. I grinned as I turned around and began to walk away from him. Now he could see how it felt like to be talked to so rudely when it wasn’t warranted. I expected him to leave it at that and I’d never see him again, but I could still hear his footsteps behind me.
“Okay, I deserved that. It was Cara, wasn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“Can you stop walking?”
“Nope.”
He jogged ahead and stood in front of me, blocking the path. “I’m sorry. Okay? I’ve had a shit week, that’s all.”
I tried to maneuver around him. “So you thought cursing at someone you’ve never met would make your week better? Interesting logic.”
“Fuck. No.”
He wasn’t getting the hint so I stopped walking and spun back around. “What do you want?”
“I told you. To apologize.” I watched as the tip of his tongue ran over the bottom of his lip. Why on earth was I looking at his mouth? I ripped my gaze away from him.
“Well, you’ve said sorry, so now you’ve got no regrets in life and we can both get on with our lives.”
He laughed. “I don’t regret anything I’ve done.”
“Good for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home.”
“To your husband? Boyfriend?”
Was this guy trying to pick me up? After everything that’s happened so far? “That’s really none of your business.”
“You don’t have a ring so I doubt you’re married, and if you had a boyfriend he’d be with you now, so I say you’re single.”
“Perhaps my boyfriend is a marine, fighting overseas. A big marine, that could whip your ass for speaking to me like you did.”
“Whip my ass?” He laughed as if I’d said the funniest joke in the world. “You read that expression in a book? Yeah, you look the bookish type.” Now he was getting annoying.
“Can you just get out of my way.” I tried to push past him but he moved closer, his strong chest blocking my movement. I immediately backed away. “You want to hurt me.” I said it as a statement rather than a question.
“Hell, shit, no.” He jerked backwards and lifted his hands up in surrender. “You got that wrong. You got me wrong.”
My head was spinning. Just what did this guy want? One minute he’s being rude and the next it looked like he was trying to flirt. Was he serious?
“Look,” he said in a softer voice. “I really did want to say sorry. I wanted you to understand that I’m not usually such an asshole.”
I scoffed.
“Well, okay, I am,” he continued. “But I did want to tell you that you have a beautiful voice. I enjoyed your performance.”
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say.” See asshole, that’s how to be polite.
“I want you to change your opinion of me.”
“I don’t have an opinion of you. We just met.”
“Sure you do. First opi
nions are usually the strongest. It’s hard to change them. Doesn’t mean I can’t try.” He smiled, and a small dimple formed in his chin. Dammit.
“I appreciate and accept your apology. Now can I get going?”
“Excellent.” He cocked his head back toward the bar. “How about I buy you a drink so I can make a new first impression.”
I nearly burst out laughing; he was trying so hard to hit on me. I needed to set him straight. “Look, I appreciate the apology, I really do. But I’m not going to sleep with you. If that’s what this is all about, that you can say a few nice words and then I’ll fall into your arms, then you’ve misjudged me completely. I’m not that sort of girl.”
He smirked. “Women don’t fall into my arms. They throw themselves at me.”
Oh good grief, could this guy be any more full of himself? “Aren’t you the lucky one?”
He missed the sarcasm and rubbed his hand over that gorgeous stubbled chin. “Not always lucky. Got a bad habit of picking the wrong girl.”
“What do you mean the wrong girl?”
“Come back to the bar, I’ll buy you a drink and tell you the latest story. My way of apologizing for being a dick.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Colt. Colt Gaston. Please?” He clasped his hands together and pretended to beg.
I looked him up and down; he was really working for it. I hadn’t had anyone try this hard to get me before and it was oddly flattering. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, it’s early. Just one drink and that’s it. I won’t try anything. One drink and I’ll leave you alone.”
“Well, I suppose I could have one drink.” I’ve decided I’m leaving tomorrow anyway and if I wanted to have a one night stand, why couldn’t it be with the asshole? He’s so gorgeously hot and it’s not like we actually have to talk if we are sweating it up as he’s delivering the most delicious orgasms I’ve had in ages. I wanted to experience everything, why not with him? But only if he was going to be with me, and only me. “Aren’t you supposed to be hanging out with your friends?”
The Biker Page 2