"Thought I got it all. Andrew mentioned wanting to come over, and I was distracted."
"Really? By what?" She teased, already knowing the answer.
"Having to face your wrath."
"My wrath?"
"I don't know. I figured you would have written ten songs about me already. I didn't call, I didn't talk to you after a few days when we almost-"
She chuckled. This man! He was too much sometimes. "Maybe I have. I was thinking about a few extra tracks for the CD."
"And this is exactly why I must not have cleaned up my day's work. By the way, that includes your car. It's almost done."
"Seriously? Cool! I'll be glad to have mine back. The rental is nice, but I prefer my own."
"What are you two doing in here?" David approached, watching them curiously. "Kyra, Dad's tired and wants to sleep in his room. I don't know if I can get him up the stairs myself."
"We're coming." Kyra exchanged a glance with Matt. So much for talking to Dad tonight, but his health came first. He was probably more than ready to crash in his own bed. She studied her dad as they rounded the corner to the living room. "Hey. David says you're ready for bed?"
"Yeah. Hospitals don't leave much room for sleeping. They woke me up every few hours. Vitals checks, checking my wounds... I appreciated their help, but this old man could use some shut eye."
"You want some help up the stairs?" Matt asked.
"Sure would, if y'all wouldn't mind. Did you convince my stubborn girl to go to dinner with you?" Dad had a twinkle in his eye.
Kyra laughed as she held her hand out for him to grab. "I guess it's better than you pulling out a shotgun, huh?"
"Wouldn't dream of it. Matt's a good man."
Matt stood on the other side and together, they aided her father. David and Andrew followed close behind. It wasn't easy, but they managed to get upstairs and into her parents' room. Dad coughed slightly and sounded winded when he thanked them.
Andrew and David said goodnight, then took off for the other room. The sound of a video game followed.
"Kyra, you need to be careful." Dad blinked up at her from underneath the covers. "I haven't told the other kids this, but we've had some threats about you from an anonymous person. It's had me worried. Then that fire..."
"You don't think the fire is an accident," she stated, knowing the answer already.
"No, I don't." His voice was low and dead serious.
*****
Mr. Sanders did a lot of convincing to get Matt and Kyra out of the house for dinner. He promised he'd call if he needed anything, but he had David and Andrew, and Amy would come home soon. Matt wasn't going to argue too much with the man, considering he was tired and glad to be home. Besides, he did want to have more time with Kyra, even if his feelings about her and the status of their friendship were confusing.
"Should we really have left?" Kyra asked again. "My dad is so strange."
"Or maybe he's not. I suppose he's playing matchmaker as well." Matt ignored his inner voice telling him not to touch this woman again and rested his hand on her shoulder as he led her out of the cafe. They'd had a good dinner and conversation, even though most of the time Kyra continued to check her phone, in case her father or one of the boys called. Not that Matt blamed her. It was a little odd that Mr. Sanders pushed so much to get the two out of the house. "Want to take a walk with me?"
She hesitated. Matt felt it when she stiffened.
"Or we can go back. I know you're worried about your dad."
"I am. But if David and Andrew haven't called yet, then I know things are okay. I just keep thinking about what he's been trying to tell me. A walk would do me some good." Kyra adjusted her cap, not that the disguise she used did any good in this town. Everyone knew Kyra Sanders was here and why. Still, it seemed like her comfort zone to stay slightly hidden.
His pulse quickened when she agreed to a walk. He'd been push and shove when it came to Kyra, and she still wanted to be around him.
Were her bodyguards anywhere? So far, nothing happened to her out here, other than the concern about the fire and her fainting incident at the dance. A few people had given her scathing looks while passing by. Were her people overprotective, or was there a real concern about Kyra's life? Matt wished he knew more. "There's a park nearby." He brushed her hand with his accidentally, and a wave of sparks slammed his body.
In silence, they strolled toward the park. "Now that your dad is home and your mom will be soon, how much longer are you going to be here?" He had to know. For the sake of his heart, for the sake of his son's attachment to her, and for... For what? A decision on how to handle what he felt?
"I don't know," Kyra admitted. "I'm not ready to leave by a long shot, but I know I'll have to soon. I've got to put the finishing touches on the record. I have appearances to start and a tour to plan. I'm afraid."
"What are you afraid of?" Matt stopped her on the path, this time giving in and reaching for her hands to hold.
"The danger my family could be in. The danger I could be in. And..." She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. "I'm afraid of what will happen if I can't get past my fear of crowds. I hate that I panicked in the middle of the dance, but I guess it needed to happen somewhere, because now I'm well aware I have to fight through this anxiety. What if I can't? What if I get up on stage at a big show and totally freak? What if this comeback is a big bust? I've done music for so long, I don't know what I'd do." Her voice held so much fear. Matt wanted to hug her tight and tell her it was all right.
"Maybe you need to confront your ghosts. I bet if the danger you feel you and your family are in is eliminated, you might feel better. Is music what you really want to do?" He sounded just like a father. Which he was, of course, but Kyra didn't need that. She needed, well more than Matt felt he could give her.
"Despite how much I talk about the childhood I've missed out on, music is it for me." Kyra squared her shoulders.
"If it's it for you, then I have no doubt you'll find a way to get past it all."
"Did you ever have big dreams? Something outside of small town life?" she blurted, pulling her hands from his and continuing the walk.
"Sure I did." But things changed. Kendra wound up pregnant at eighteen, just a few months before graduation. While her dreams had been to go into a life of music, Matt's dreams were far different. For a while, he wanted to follow the lead of his parents. He thought if he went into their profession, they'd have paid more attention to him. He did have an interest in it, but he realized it was for the wrong intentions. Then he'd decided he wanted to do something in the area of counseling or teaching. Okay, so maybe those weren't big dreams, or at least, not the kind Kyra might have been referring to, but they'd been his dreams.
"So, what happened?" She settled on a bench and peered up at the sky.
Matt sat beside her and slid an arm around her shoulders. "Andrew happened. Kendra and I were high school sweethearts, but we weren't going to last. She wanted her music. I had ideas, but couldn't settle on them because I was going to do them for the wrong reasons. When Kendra got pregnant, it changed things. I wasn't going to abandon my child. So we got married just before Andrew was born. I tried to focus on college, but it got to be too much. Kendra was depressed and angry. I didn't know about the resentment at first. She secretly blamed me for years that I ruined her chances at stardom."
Those first years had been rough. Andrew had been a very sick baby, and Matt was the one who stayed up late with him while trying to study and do homework. Kendra slept and bitched.
"What was your dream? Did she ever stop to think that things changed for you, too?" Kyra stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar. "I don't know your ex, but I tell ya, I don't like her!"
Matt laughed. Just the way Kyra said it, he couldn't help himself. "I guess to her, I didn't need dreams. I was so good with Andrew, she just figured that was my dream. I dropped out of college a year later, because I was so sleep deprived from taking care of him and working to keep a ro
of over our heads. As for my dream, I wanted to do something with kids or teens. I never had a lot of parental guidance, and I wanted to be there to help others who needed it and didn't have that. I almost went into medicine, hoping my mom and dad would notice me for the first time." And there it was. Something he'd never told anyone. Not Kendra. Not Andrew. Not any of his friends. Randy knew a little of it, but even with him, Matt never said much.
But he'd just spilled his deep thoughts to a woman who was still a stranger to him. What the hell?
"How could someone not understand how important that is?" Kyra asked softly, scooting closer to him. "So she just let you drop out? And I'm sorry your parents never got to know the great man you've become. It's their loss."
"She was happier. Kendra went to work, and at night she'd sing at the honkytonks and places. Then years later, she took Andrew and left me. I was surprised that she even took him, but I think it was to hurt me. By that time, I'd opened up the shop and was doing better. She was lonely and tired of being a housewife, even though she had her freedom to chase her dream, even if it was a different version of it."
"Then she finally had her big break and left Andrew with you."
"Yep. By that time, she'd poisoned our son with thoughts about me that caused a rift. It was a rough first year. Andrew and I are barely figuring things out together. He was in a lot of trouble for a while."
"He seems good now."
Matt's fingers drifted to Kyra's hair. He didn't even realize at first that he'd done it until he pulled on a tangle, startling them both. "Sorry." He let his hand fall to the back of the bench. "Yeah, Andrew is better now, thanks to the help of Randy, Blaine, and your family. Without them, I don't know where I'd be. Andrew is finally happy, except for how angry he is at Kendra. I didn't even do that. I'd never turn him against his mother, but he finally realized what she did, and he's hurt over it."
"I guess I can see why you're so torn over your feelings when it comes to me." She peered at him. "I don't blame you. We're in this weird phase, barely knowing each other, but we can talk like we're old friends. It's not something I'm used to."
"Me either. I've never told anyone about what I've just told you, Kyra. Especially the part about my parents. It's like I can expose my core to you and I'm fine with it, but I can't let my heart get all the way in. You know?"
"Yeah." Her voice was just above a whisper. What was she thinking about right now? "I get it. That's what makes this hard. I want to be friends with you, but there's a part of me that wants to try for something more."
From the corner of his eye, Matt noticed a couple in the distance. They were arguing. The man leaned close to the woman, and he had his hands in the air. Was he going to hit her? Their loud voices sliced through the peaceful evening.
"You should just tell her, Amy! Live your dreams and stop hiding! If this is what you want, then we should do it. Who cares what your sister does!"
Amy? Kyra's sister Amy? What the hell was she doing here? Matt was about to say something to her, but Kyra's phone rang.
She pulled it from her purse, said hello, and listened to the other end. "What? Damn it, I don't have time for this! Did they take anything major? You've been there. You know what's in my apartment."
Matt focused his attention on her, for a second forgetting about the couple. Still wondering what it was all about, he glanced back in the direction he'd seen them. They were gone.
Very odd.
Kyra sighed. "I can't be in two places at once," she snapped, then hung up the phone. She dropped it in her bag and muttered a string of curses. Matt would have laughed being so caught off guard by them, but it wasn't funny.
"Kyra? What's wrong?"
"My apartment in Nashville was broken into. Stuff was taken, or so Mark thinks, and there's a lot of damage. There was also another message, this time spray painted all on my living room wall. Someone does not want me to make a comeback, and they're going to lengths to make sure I know it."
Chapter Fifteen
"I can't believe you flew me out here." Kyra met Mark at the airport in Nashville the next afternoon. "The look on my father's face..." Not to mention Matt. They'd had a great evening until that damn phone call. Of course she wanted to get to the bottom of this, but having to leave for a while when she was getting her father settled at home was rough.
"I'll have you back as soon as possible. If you end up staying an extra night, you can stay at my place. I'm sorry Kyra, but it can't be avoided. This is the first time there's been an attempt like that here. I thought we kept your identity at the complex hidden well enough. Someone knows now. I'm worried about your safety."
She whirled on him. "You think I'm not? I've got my family to think about, too! My dad keeps hinting about that fire, and my mother's first words to me were a warning. Something isn't right here, Mark!"
"I know. Trust me, I was on the ball when that letter came in with the article about the fire. People can be mean, but I don't have a clue who would go to extremes to threaten you over a comeback." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's get out of here before you get recognized and there's a mob. We're going to get to the bottom of this, somehow."
As they left the airport and approached Mark's car, she finally asked him what she needed to. "What if it's one of my old bandmates or their families?"
"You shouldn't talk about that. It was an accident, Kyra. We took care of it already, remember?" Mark's voice went cold as he took his place in the driver's seat.
"I have to talk about it. That stupid accident is the reason I'm in this position!" She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. If only Matt was with her. He had a way of keeping her calm.
Geez. There she was, thinking about that man in the midst of chaos. That was the type of hold he had on her. In her carry-on bag, she had packed the clothes that she'd worn the night they were going to go in the hot tub. It was a part of him she could take with her. What the hell was up with her?
"Things don't add up about that accident," Kyra muttered, not meaning to say it out loud.
Mark jerked the wheel, causing her to sit up and open her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I don't remember drinking. I definitely don't remember driving." There. She'd said it. Whatever was said next, she'd handle it. "Something about the whole thing never made sense."
"Of course you don't. Kyra, you can't try to change history. The accident happened. You guys were partying. You weren't paying attention. People are gonna be pissed because they felt you got away too easily. You were young-"
"Don't make excuses! Damn it, Mark. This thing changed my life! How the hell am I going to go on tour or meet with people for this comeback if I'm still afraid?"
Her manager gripped the wheel. Kyra knew he was trying to hold in his frustration. "We'll get through it, Kyra. We'll get you in there and push that fear out. You're just not used to it. We probably should have pushed a little more earlier, but you were in a fragile state."
Really? He just planned to toss her to the wolves? That's how he was going to take care of her? Kyra bit her tongue hard to keep from saying anything. She might as well start thinking of a backup career. This comeback might not be as big as they all hoped.
Kyra wasn't prepared for the sights of her apartment. How can one ever really prepare for something like that? When she hesitated at the door, Mark looked at her with compassion. "You all right?"
"Of course I'm not all right! What kind of question is that?" A burning ache formed in her chest. Kyra had to calm down. She'd seen worse. She could do this.
Damn it! This had been her home for years. The place she'd written her most emotional songs in. The place she'd stayed within the four walls as her body and heart healed. Now, that safe haven had been shattered.
"Kyra-"
"I'm sorry," she choked out, brushing past him to step inside. All around her feet lay broken glass and torn up fabric. The message on her wall was crimson red, like the bloodshed on the night of the accident. She ben
t over and dry heaved. At her feet lay some of her awards, smashed to pieces. Whoever did this really wanted her to know their feelings. Clenching her fists at her sides, Kyra forced herself to look up and figure out what the purpose of this was, other than to scare the living daylights out of her.
*****
"Is she coming back soon?" Andrew asked that evening. Matt explained to him this morning that Kyra had to go home to Nashville to take care of an important matter, leaving out the parts that his son didn't need to know.
Was she coming back? Good question. She'd told him it would only be a day or so. She just needed to check her apartment and figure out what was missing. If any of this was connected to someone trying to scare her away from making a comeback, then she needed to get to the bottom of it quick.
"She should be back tomorrow," he answered, peering back at Kyra's finished car.
He missed her. Today, Matt couldn't find an excuse to go by the Sanders house to see Kyra, because she was more than a thousand miles away in another state.
"That's good. Her parents already miss her. David says his dad is unhappy today."
"Yeah, I bet. It's hard. Kyra didn't want to leave, but what she needed to do couldn't be avoided."
"Are you done for the night? Wanna hit the arcade and get dinner before we have to go home?"
"Sounds like a plan. Let's get out of here." Matt smiled, slinging his arm around Andrew's shoulder. "So, any more dates planned with Daisy?" They left the shop and headed for the car.
"Yep. I'm hoping Baby Stetson has a concert coming up soon that we can go to, and I hope Kyra will be back in time. I bet she'd love the band. Maybe she can sing with Avery. Now that would be cool."
"Yeah, it would be." Matt loved Andrew's enthusiasm, but worried a lot about his attachment to Kyra. Would it hurt him in the end run when she had to go back to her life in Nashville? Even now it was affecting her, and she had to run out on everyone spontaneously.
An hour later, they'd eaten and played a few games. Once home, Andrew went to work on a school project, leaving Matt to his thoughts. At about eight o'clock, his phone buzzed. A text message popped up. Curious, he checked it, and a photo of Kyra wearing his shorts and shirt from the other night appeared on his screen, along with a short message.
Fallen Idol (Love and Music in Texas Book 4) Page 13