"It appears your mom and dad both believed something was off about the fire to begin with, but now we have evidence. It's just a matter of time before we figure the motive and hopefully narrow down a suspect." He tipped his hat.
She shuddered. "I hope it's soon."
"All right. Well that's it for now. Don't hesitate to reach out if you sense anything off."
"Thank you."
Back outside, Matt squinted in the bright sunlight. Warmth from the late day sun hit him. "Want me to take you home?"
"Yeah. I need to figure out what my dad knows. I'll call Taryn after. When I go see her, will you come with? I'm not sure I can do it alone. If she's behind this-"
He squeezed her shoulder. "I'll go with you. Whatever helps."
"Are you going back to work after this?"
"I probably should, especially if I'm taking off early on Thursday, but I don't want to leave you." They stood in front of his car now. Matt faced her.
"I'll be okay. I won't complain if you drop by for no reason after work, though." Her grin spread.
Matt chuckled. "Your dad is going to get annoyed with me being there all the time."
"Nah. I think he likes the idea of you and I."
"So do I." He bent and kissed her. "Come on. I'll drop you off." As he led her away, Matt couldn't help but cautiously look around. This news changed things. There was a real danger here.
Chapter Eighteen
A day into the new protection plan, Amy complained. Big time. "I'm not going to stand someone following me around all day!" she yelled. "Dad, come on. This is getting ridiculous. Everyone at school is wondering what the hell is going on. I've got work, I've got senior projects. I've got a life! Just because Kyra's making the news again doesn't mean I need everyone following me around."
"I'm sorry, Amy. This is for our own good."
"No, this is because of Kyra. It's always been about her. Can't we just live normal?" she spat, shooting daggers at her.
"That is enough, young lady!" Dad shouted, startling everyone. He wasn't one to yell, especially lately. "We need to take this seriously. Your sister didn't ask for these things to happen, so don't go yelling at her because we're trying to keep everyone safe."
"Ugh. But of course she gets to go everywhere and I get to be imprisoned!"
"You can go places. Just know that someone will be keeping an eye on you," Dad pointed out.
Amy threw her hands up in the air. "No privacy. Yeah. Love it. Thanks for ruining my life once again, Kyra," she snapped, then stalked off. Seconds later, a door slammed so hard, it knocked a photo off the wall.
"Maybe I shouldn't even go to the concert tomorrow night," Kyra muttered.
"You go. Don't let this person or people ruin your life. Your sister is secretive and doesn't want us to find out whatever she's hiding. That's why she's pissed."
"Yeah, but if anyone gets hurt again because of this, I don't know what to do," she argued.
"Listen to me, daughter. You don't let anyone knock you down. This is all a precaution. Now go out and enjoy the concert with that boy of yours. I always hoped that if you and Matt met you'd get along. Nice to see I was right about that one."
Kyra laughed. "Seriously? You were trying to set us up that night then!"
He grinned. "Maybe. I just hope for the best for you. I know you have your music back, but it wouldn't hurt for a good man to be by your side."
"You sound like Mom. This isn't something a father should be saying." Kyra narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, well your mother agrees." Dad smirked.
"I love you, Dad." She hugged him.
"I love you too, kiddo. We'll get past the worst of this soon. I know it."
"I sure hope so. It sucks to think a person would go to dire moves just to keep me from making a new CD. All of this for something so trivial?" She shook her head. "I don't get it."
"Me neither, but who knows what drives people sometimes. It's a good thing you have an excellent team behind you."
She didn't know about that, but Kyra didn't say it out loud.
"I think I'm going to take a nap, if that's all right. I'm still not sleeping well." Her father closed his eyes.
"Want to stay in this chair, or should I get help to move you?" She'd have to ask Amy, and with her mood? Yikes.
"Nah, I'm good here. Is Matt coming by this evening?"
"Actually no. We're going to meet up with a friend." She hated lying, but it wasn't a lie if she didn't say who they were meeting, right? Hopefully Dad wouldn't ask. It was best not to bring up Taryn again until she could figure out what she knew and if there was any involvement. "Unless I should stay here with you."
"I've got David and Mrs. Winters, plus Amy. She won't stay mad at me long," he assured her, then yawned.
Kyra kissed his cheek. "Sleep well."
David appeared in the doorway. "Andrew said his dad is going to let him have guitar lessons from Jameson. Guess what? Jameson offered them to me, too!"
"That's awesome. Maybe one day, I'll take you two on stage with me so you can play."
"Really?" David's eyes were wide as saucers. "I'll have to really get good then. I don't wanna mess up in front of a huge crowd."
"I bet you'll be a pro in no time. You and Andrew. I've heard good things about Jameson."
"He rocks on guitar," David gushed.
"I'll be seeing him this week, along with the rest of the band." She felt bad that David couldn't go, but he seemed to be okay with it.
"Maybe you can tell Nashville to give them a deal. I love them."
"It's not that easy, but I'll give them a listen and then put in a good word," Kyra promised.
"Wanna play a racing game with me until Matt and Andrew get here?"
She was going to work on a song or talk to Amy, but playing a video game with her brother sounded better. "Yeah, let's do it."
*****
"Your sister was giving you such a pissed off look as we left," Matt commented to Kyra when they were on the way to meet Taryn.
"Oh yeah. She's not happy about the bodyguard protection. She thinks I'm the worst person ever." She sighed. "If I was her age, I'd get it. I didn't know what danger was at eighteen, even with having a lot of fame. Still, it doesn't help our already estranged relationship. She refuses to talk to me. Every single time I try, she shuts me out completely. Yells, curses, the works. I don't know if I'll ever get through to her."
"I felt that way with Andrew, and look at us now. I know it hurts. Give her time, especially when this is over."
"Thanks, Matt," she said softly.
"You're welcome. Ready to go in?" He parked in the front of the bar. An odd place to request to meet, but that's where Taryn wanted, so it's what they'd do.
"Yes and no, but we're here, so let's get it over with. I can't stop thinking about what she said the other night." Kyra pushed open the car door.
"I know. Hopefully she has answers you need."
Hand in hand, they walked inside. Kyra wasn't sure what kind of vehicle Taryn would be in, so she couldn't tell if she was here already or not.
They spotted her immediately, sitting in her wheelchair at the end of a table. She looked up and waved at them.
"Here we go." Kyra squeezed Matt's hand.
"Hi," Taryn greeted as the two settled on the bench together.
"Hey. I'm glad we could meet tonight." Kyra nodded at her.
"Me too. I was afraid you wouldn't call."
"Well I was afraid you wouldn't answer."
A painfully awkward silence fell over the table.
A perfect distraction arrived in the form of a hostess, inquiring about drinks. The distraction didn't last long. She walked away and the silence returned.
Matt cleared his throat.
Kyra shifted in her seat.
Taryn messed with something on her chair. "I couldn't talk last time because my aide was around. This time, I had someone else drive me."
"Oh? What does this have to do with anythi
ng?" Kyra inquired.
"I found out a few years ago that all my hospital expenses were covered because of blackmail. I thought it was you, trying to take the blame off yourself for the accident." Taryn's eyes welled with tears. "I don't think you were driving that night, but I don't have proof. That's why I contacted you three years ago. I got suspicions when Mark turned down the my offer to connect with you."
"Wait, what? What are you saying?" Kyra sat up straighter, trying to soak in this information. It didn't make sense. Sure, she didn't remember driving, or drinking, but the whole thing had been odd. "They pulled me from the driver's seat. I don't remember being the driver, but how else does that fit?"
"I'm saying, I think you were moved. Come on, we were in an open area. I think it took a while for anyone to find us. There were three other people in the car with us, and one died."
"No. This doesn't make sense." This was way too far fetched.
"Look into it, Kyra. You could be cleared. You and I were never drinkers. We were still underage. We should really try to figure out what happened that night. Don't we deserve the truth?"
"You think someone actually moved Kyra to the driver's seat?" Matt jumped in. He sounded just as shell shocked and disbelieving as she did.
"It's entirely possible. Someone died that night. My boyfriend lost his life. We were all underage. Yeah, I think it's possible," Taryn shot back defensively. "Then, when I find out there was blackmail involved, I knew something was up. My father recently passed away, and he was the one who took care of things for me when I was in the hospital. I came across the papers in his things. I never knew. I thought since you were fined that it came from your pockets. Sadly, I can't trace the note and papers, because the blackmailer kept their trail clean. The company who paid my bills no longer exists. It's a dead end trail."
"Well if it wasn't you or me who drove, that only leaves two people," Kyra said slowly.
"Two people in our car. There were two cars that night. What else did everyone see or do?" Taryn shook her head. "I thought nothing of it until those papers. Now I can't get a hold of anyone else. James' family won't see me either, even though before that accident they never had a problem with me."
"But to pin it on Kyra?" Matt scooted closer to her.
"Matt, there were a lot of us with promising careers. I wouldn't put it past one of them, or maybe their managers. Now that Kyra's making a comeback..."
"It may not be a pissed off ex-fan. It could be one of the people involved. Leandra Ashlyn was seen with us that night, from what I hear. I don't remember, of course." Kyra ran a hand through her hair, accidentally bumping Matt. "I don't know how many more shocks I can take. Hell, I thought it was you!"
Taryn laughed bitterly. "I hated you. I wanted to see you rot, but I'd never go that far, Kyra. If it weren't for the letter I saw, I wouldn't be talking to you like this. I'd still be blaming you."
Well, at least she was honest. What to do with this information. Chase it, or let it be? Give it to the police and have them look into the accident? There were too many strange things happening at once.
Their drinks were brought to the table. No one had looked at the menus yet, but Kyra wasn't that hungry, anyway.
"No one would tell me how bad everyone was," Kyra commented. "Is anyone still making music? Man, this whole thing has me thinking."
"That's a good thought. I haven't considered looking them up." Taryn reached for her drink. "After the accident, no one would talk to me, either. I think it was just too hard. When you tried to finish out your shows that year, I heard they were pissed, but I was still in the hospital."
"Wouldn't there have been physical evidence if Kyra was or wasn't the driver? I mean, they'd have to check everyone's injuries against where they were located in the car, right?" Matt asked.
Kyra nodded. "Yes, but if blackmail was put on the table, who knows how much was hidden from the reports? Taryn, can I get a copy of that letter? If I'm going to look into this and I do go to the police, I'll need that." Would she hand it over? How much could she trust Taryn?
She hesitated. "Do you really want to leave it in the hands of police? It might tip off that someone knows. I know you don't have much reason to believe me, but Kyra, I'm telling you, we should be careful."
"Easy for you to say. Your family and friends lives aren't at stake!" Kyra snapped.
"I don't have a family for anyone to go after!" Taryn shot back, then gasped. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You're right, but I still think keeping our thoughts under wraps is the best idea until we have more proof." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Just a thought. If someone is big enough to have money to blackmail, what else will they do?"
Chapter Nineteen
Kyra almost wasn't going to come tonight. Matt wouldn't have blamed her, but when both of her parents convinced her to get out and have a little fun, she caved and agreed.
Andrew and Daisy sat a row ahead of them, talking and laughing. And holding hands. His son was definitely growing up.
"So, are these seats taken?" Matt looked up at the sound of Blaine's voice. "I hear there's a fab concert, and I want to sit with people I know."
"I don't know..." Matt teased. "How much are you willing to pay for a spot next to us? Hey Blaine. Hey Lucas. Baby Stetson gearing up already?"
"Yep. They've been rehearsing, and now they're getting the stage set up. Hi Kyra! Glad you could make it. I'd like you to meet Avery's husband Lucas and their one year old daughter, Emily." Blaine made the introductions.
Lucas leaned over and shook Kyra's hand. "Good to meet you." Emily squealed in his arms as Kyra cooed at her.
"Melody's brother Chris is on his way, too." Blaine took a seat beside Kyra, scooting carefully around Matt. Once she sat down, she tapped Andrew's shoulder. "Hey! You have a date? What happened to me? I thought we were buddies!"
Matt chuckled when Andrew whirled around in surprise. "Hey! Blaine! We are buddies, but you're engaged to Randy. Sorry." He put an arm around Daisy and introduced her to Lucas.
"When did I have such a heartbreaker for a son?" Matt pulled Kyra close to him.
She giggled. "He takes after his dad."
"Now that one I find hard to believe."
"Why?" Blaine asked. "If I weren't head over heels for Randy..." She winked playfully.
"What?" Matt gaped at her.
She swatted at him. "But I am head over heels for Randy. I can picture you as a heartbreaker, though." Her eyes were ablaze with amusement.
"I write and sing heartbreak songs," Kyra warned. She reached up and tugged on a lock of Matt's hair.
"Hmm. I've heard some of them, and don't want to be sung about as a heartbreaker. How about I be your muse to write good, happy songs? Like the one you sang the other night?" He couldn't get those lyrics out of his head.
"We might be able to make a deal." She kissed him on the cheek.
He missed this kind of thing. It wasn't until Matt had someone to hold, tease, and do little things like kissing in public, that he realized how much he wanted it in his life. Thanks to Kyra, he had a sense of that feeling again.
Until she left for her tour. That one he'd have to deal with. Matt still struggled with the idea of them doing a long distance thing, but he knew it going in when he'd agreed to this with her.
Someone else approached them, a blond man who was looking at his phone. That was Melody's brother, wasn't it? Matt only had a few glimpses of Chris.
"Well, it looks like the band's worst fear came true. Sean finally quit," the man said as he approached. He was looking at Blaine and Lucas. Yep, had to be Chris.
"Seriously? Just like that? He's not even going to play tonight?" Blaine shot to her feet, her voice full of frustration.
"I'm going to fill in tonight, and for their next few shows, but I don't really want to be a permanent solution. I guess I won't be sitting with you guys after all." Chris nodded at Kyra and Matt. "Hey. Good seeing you. Sorry I won't get to spend much time with y'all. Kyr
a, my sister has been a fan of yours from the start. She's gonna freak knowing you're in the audience."
Matt kept his eye on her as her cheeks turned a little red. "I'm looking forward to hearing her. Melody, right?"
"Yes, Melody. She's only recently been singing publicly. She used to play your CDs on repeat all the time, though. Oh, she'd kill me for spilling her secrets." Chris smiled with a wicked amusement. "Be sure to tell her that, would ya? I'd better go prepare for the performance." He waved at everyone, then took off.
"I wish everyone was as warm and accepting about me as he was," Kyra muttered.
Matt leaned over. "I am." Brushing strands of her reddish brown hair away, he waited for her to look at him. "You're going to have a good comeback. I believe it."
"Thank God for Melody's brother. I wonder why he's so opposed to playing, though." Blaine calmed down and returned to sitting. The corners of her lips turned up as she noticed Matt and Kyra and how he was being affectionate with her. She nodded as if approving.
He approved too. Kyra was just what he needed.
*****
Surrounded by Matt, Andrew, Daisy, Blaine, and Lucas, Kyra felt as if she was right at home with friends. They'd laughed and joked for a while as they waited for the concert to start. Kyra's mind was still weighed down with the conversation from last night with Taryn.
She readjusted the hat she wore. Instead of a cap, she'd found an old cowboy hat in the room at home and put it on. Now she fit in with almost everyone. In front of her was a sea of hats. So far, no one had recognized her, or if they did, never said anything. Good. She could enjoy a nice concert on her first date with Matt. Another win for her was she hadn't been bothered by the crowd so far.
"We've got a great band ready to perform for you all. I think our locals are familiar with Baby Stetson?" The announcer stood in front of the mic, revving up the crowd. At the mention of the band name, they went wild. So Baby Stetson was popular here. "Well, in about five minutes, they'll be up on stage!" He rambled through a few announcements first.
Matt had his arm around her, and he'd randomly caress her shoulder. His touch gave her tingles. She had to laugh. Every time Andrew and Daisy showed affection, even though they weren't kissing, Matt squirmed. He was such a good father. Despite what the ex did to him, Matt and Andrew made a great father and son team. Kyra could easily get used to spending time with them. She enjoyed their company.
Fallen Idol (Love and Music in Texas Book 4) Page 16