Memory of a Melody

by Charli B. Rose

  I’d promised to take care of getting the contract back to Mack, but I needed to sign it first. The numbers were staggering. Even more than what we’d discussed. It was enough to make a difference in all our lives.

  There was an envelope clipped to the packet with my name written on the outside. I had yet to open it. Finding no good reason to delay the inevitable, I broke the seal and pulled out a folded, handwritten note.

  Trystan,

  I know the numbers aren’t exactly what we agreed, but I wanted to show you I was a man of my word. I promise that you and your band will be rewarded for your silence. I realize Syd probably filled you in on all the dirty details of what had happened with Willa. I know I made a terrible mistake, and I’m sorrier than I can say. I love her, and I vow that I’ll never allow Willa to be hurt like that again. Anyway, looking forward to helping you reach superstardom.

  Cade

  I reread the note a few more times before I balled it up and shot it in the direction of the kitchen trash can. It went behind the can in the corner.

  Leaving the papers on the table, I got up and went to my makeshift music room. I picked up my guitar. Clarity usually always came with music. But as I plucked the cords, that didn’t happen. I became more torn as my fingers insisted on only finding the notes Willa had inspired.

  Sighing, I set my guitar aside and went to call my mom. Dani had a session today with the lead doctor on her team.

  “Hey, Mom,” I greeted her when she picked up.

  “Trystan, it’s so good to hear your voice. We’ve missed you the past few days,” Mom said quietly.

  “I know. I’ve missed you guys too. So, how did the meeting go with the research team?” I asked.

  “Great. The treatment plan they’ve proposed sounds so promising. The trial results from the patients on it last year were better than we could hope for. And yesterday, I found a second job to help pay for it,” Mom explained.

  “Mom, how do you have time to work a second job?” I asked, exasperated.

  “Well, Dani’s going to be tied up in treatments a lot of the time initially, and the job is next door to the hospital. I’m sure I’ll be able to juggle it just fine. I managed to work two jobs while you were growing up.” She sounded exhausted.

  “That’s great, Mom. And with the bonus from the record label, I’ll be able to help out more too.”

  “That’s so sweet of you, but don’t worry. I’ll manage. I always do. Now, there’s someone here who is dying to talk to you,” Mom said, passing the phone off.

  “Trys, how’s recording going?” Dani asked in a whisper.

  I swallowed down my worry. “It’s going great, squirt.”

  “I’m so glad. I bet once your music hits the radio, you’ll find an awesome girlfriend.” Her voice was barely audible.

  “You’re far too obsessed with my love life, Dani-girl.”

  She giggled. “One of us needs to be. How am I ever going to be an aunt if you don’t find some girl to marry?”

  “You’re too young to be thinking about being an aunt,” I scolded.

  “Yeah …”

  “Dani, you still there?” I asked after silence filled the line for several moments.

  “Yeah, I’m just really tired, big brother. Talk later?” she mumbled.

  “Sure. Love you,” I said.

  “She’s out like a light,” Mom said over the phone.

  “You should go rest too, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”

  After I hung up, I slowly walked back to the papers on the kitchen table. I knew what I had to do, even if it broke my heart.

  29

  Willa

  With the huge, zippered dress bag draped over my arms, I hurried outside and climbed into the back of the waiting limo.

  “Right on time, Ms. Larkin,” the driver said as he took the garment bag and hung it on the other side of the interior then shut the door behind me. I sank into the soft warmth of the seat. In a few moments, a gap in traffic opened enough to let the car slip out of the parking spot. He turned at the end of the block to head across town.

  Cade was probably already there. He’d spent last night in a hotel near the venue, so we wouldn’t run the risk of breaking any silly wedding superstitions. Syd had wanted me to stay with her last night, but I’d needed the time alone.

  And I’d chosen to ride to the venue on my own as well. Everyone would meet me there. My eyes drifted close as I tried to prepare for the start of a new chapter in my life.

  My phone chimed in my pocket. It was probably Syd. She’d be worried about me. And she’d vowed to answer any questions I had left about the past six months once I arrived. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know anything else.

  I removed my phone and opened the unread message.

  Trystan: Tune the radio to Z100 in two minutes. Please.

  My heart throbbed painfully at the appearance of his name. I hadn’t even realized I’d saved him to my contacts. Why hadn’t I looked before?

  I should’ve ignored the request, but I leaned forward and asked the driver to turn the station to Z100 for me. I didn’t have the patience to figure out all the controls in the panel back here.

  “We’ve got a treat for all our listeners today. We love when we get to introduce the world to not only a new song, but a brand-new group. I’m sitting here in the studio this morning with three of the hottest guys in the rock industry,” a chirpy feminine voice announced.

  A couple of seconds later, the voice which had been haunting my dreams echoed through the speakers. “Thanks, Hailee. We’re excited to be here,” Trystan said.

  “So, Trystan, how does it feel to be doing your first radio interview?” the female DJ purred.

  “It’s always been my dream to have my music heard around the world. To be able to touch people with my songs. The song we’re going to play for you is one that means the most to me. I wrote it after meeting someone very special … someone who captured my heart. The night I met her, I held a princess, and I longed for a chance to just kiss the girl,” he said, which caused the other guys to chuckle in the background.

  My heart pounded out an erratic rhythm. I forced my breathing to slow so I could hear the rest of what he had to say.

  “And though fate didn’t see fit to let me keep her, she’ll forever own a piece of my heart. I want all our loyal fans who’ve followed us since we were only doing cover songs to know that we’ll continue to perform at Mind Meld. And if you want to hear more of our new music, please check out Tryst Disrupted’s Facebook page. That’s where we’ll be hanging out until we find a record label who wants to sign us. But for now, here’s our first single. This one’s for you, Willa.”

  Guitar notes filled the back of the car, wrapping me in his song. As the melody built, something tickled in the recesses of my mind. Tears pricked my eyes and made my nose burn with the effort to hold my emotions in check.

  Images assaulted me, forcing me to lean back against the seat. I remembered going to a bar with Syd. I was upset. Very hurt. I recalled wanting to forget who I was for the night. And in my mind, I saw myself flirting with Trystan and dancing with him. He performed “Kiss the Girl” for me.

  My heart fluttered as I remembered kissing him. And laughing with him. And talking with him about everything and nothing. And feeling different than I ever had before.

  And I remembered me stripping off my dress … Him loving me in a way that should’ve been impossible for a man I’d just met.

  Wait. I’d just met him. That night. I hadn’t been cheating on Cade with Trystan.

  Hastily, I tapped out a text to Syd.

  Me: I wasn’t cheating on Cade with Trystan. Was I?

  Syd: No. Why on Earth did you think you were cheating?

  Me: Cade said that was why I called off our engagement. My guilt was too much.

  Syd: You need to check your cloud. You changed the password that night at the bar.

  Syd: Think

  So, I did as we sat stuck in traffic. I
closed my eyes and drifted back to that night. Cosmos at the bar. Griping about men. I remembered wanting to make sure Cade wouldn’t be able to delete what I had in the cloud.

  When I’d arrived at the bar that night, I was devastated. My heart was broken. I could still feel the remnants of my rage now, even without understanding the source. Why was I so distraught?

  I squeezed my eyes shut tighter and tipped my head back against the soft leather.

  When the last note faded from the song, Trystan’s voice came back over the speaker. “Please remember,” he whispered to me.

  His plea grabbed my heart.

  That day, before I went to the bar, I’d gone to Cade’s with some boxes of my stuff. Keepsakes and photo albums. I’d worn a sexy new dress because I’d missed being intimate with him. I’d walked through the apartment expecting to find Cade. He wasn’t in the living room or bedroom, even though his car was in the parking garage.

  I forced myself to inhale deeply and let my mind travel back in time.

  There had been voices in the apartment, but I couldn’t remember what they’d said.

  What had I put in my cloud? The answers had to be there.

  I opened the cloud app on my phone and tapped in my birthday.

  Incorrect password.

  It used to be mine and Cade’s anniversary. What would I have changed it to?

  Softly, I started to hum as I racked my brain. When I got to the chorus of the song, which would forever mean more to me than just the pivotal moment in The Little Mermaid, it hit me.

  Flounder. Because my best friend was there for me like Flounder was for Ariel. A ridiculous password Cade would never guess.

  I tapped it in, and the screen filled with thumbnails of photos and videos. Bravely, I touched the most recent image. As I scrolled through them, my heart cracked.

  Skin, lots of skin.

  Long hair that wasn’t mine.

  Tangled sheets.

  Discarded clothes.

  Fingers digging into flesh.

  Heads thrown back in ecstasy.

  I touched the triangle to play the video. A voice that wasn’t mine, but one I recognized. That bitch. Then the voice of someone who should’ve been mine.

  I clamped my hand over my mouth. I was going to be sick.

  The back door of the car flew open, and the driver offered me his arm.

  I’d been so lost in the heartbreaking images I hadn’t realized we’d stopped moving. Here we were. We’d arrived at my wedding.

  30

  Trystan

  Once the On-Air light switched off, I flew out of my seat and raced down the hall, yelling my thanks to the DJ. Rafe and Nix were hot on my heels. While we rode the elevator down, I looked at my best friends and bandmates.

  “I’m so sorry for not being able to sign the contract,” I said, my voice filled with remorse.

  “You said that last night. Don’t worry about it,” Rafe said, punching me lightly in the shoulder.

  The guys had come over last night, and I’d come clean with them about everything concerning Cade and Willa, and Cade’s offer. Rafe and Nix fully supported my decision to not sign with Matthews’ Melodies.

  On the street, Rafe and Nix pushed me into an empty cab. “Hurry, man. And good luck,” they shouted as the taxi sped off in the direction of the address Nix had given the driver.

  I leaned forward and said, “I’ve got to go stop my girl from marrying some other guy, so if you could please get me to the address as quickly as possible, I’d be forever in your debt.”

  The driver met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m a sucker for a good love story. I know a shortcut. Hold on.” With that, he barely slowed down to take the next right and sped down the avenue.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it initially, but when it kept going off, I finally pulled it out to look. It was Mack. I couldn’t talk to him now. I knew it was wrong to announce over the air that we weren’t going to accept the contract, but I didn’t want to tip Cade off ahead of time that I was coming for Willa.

  I prayed the whole way to the venue that she’d remembered and called the wedding off already. I stared at my phone, expecting her to call me any minute. But she didn’t, and neither did Syd.

  Maybe Willa hadn’t remembered. Maybe she hadn’t even listened to me on the radio. Or maybe she’d decided she wanted to marry Cade anyway. All I knew was she’d read my text and hadn’t answered.

  “We’re here, man,” the driver said as he screeched to a stop in front of the venue.

  “Thanks.” I threw a handful of bills into the front seat and rushed out.

  Behind me, he shouted, “Good luck.”

  I threw my hand up in acknowledgement and dashed up the stone steps. With my shoulder, I pushed open the glass door. All around me people were dressed in formal wear, and I was in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. I definitely stuck out. People tried to stop me, but I pushed past them in the direction of the signs pointing guests to the Larkin-Matthews wedding.

  I skidded to a stop outside a set of double doors. Piano music filtered out from the other side. I glanced at my phone. The wedding was supposed to start five minutes ago. The crowd was still inside. I could hear the murmurings over the piano. She’d have to come this way to enter the ceremony. I hoped.

  I sank down into a red, upholstered chair and decided to wait for her.

  31

  Willa

  I paced the floor, my gown rustling as it dragged along the carpet. Syd stood off to the side, watching me. I chewed on my thumbnail, probably ruining my polish and lipstick. But I really didn’t care. I’d been floundering with indecision ever since I’d opened the cloud on my phone. Hell, I’d been floundering ever since I’d met Trystan in the hospital.

  I stopped right in front of her. “Syd, I can’t do it. I can’t marry him.”

  A gasp sounded behind me. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Cade’s mom striding in purposefully. “You most certainly can marry him, young lady, and you will. All women get cold feet just before the ceremony.” Her lips pressed into a thin line of disapproval.

  “Willa, sweetie, what’s going on?” My mom was right behind Mrs. Matthews.

  I shook my head. “I can’t marry Cade. I’m sorry. I remember everything now. I was planning to call off the wedding and then I got attacked,” I explained, hoping my mom would understand.

  “Why would you have planned to cancel the wedding,” Mrs. Matthews asked, wringing her hands in front of her.

  I snatched my phone from the vanity on the other side of the room. I scrolled to the images on my cloud. With a steady hand, I offered it to my mom and his.

  As they watched a short bit of the video, Mrs. Matthews covered her mouth with her hand. Disgust appeared on her features momentarily before she regained her composure.

  “Loving someone means forgiving them and trying to work things out,” Mrs. Matthews tried to reason with me.

  I took her hand in mine. “I can’t marry a man I don’t trust. But more than that, I can’t marry a man I don’t love. And I don’t love Cade. I thought I did. I really did. And maybe I did when we first got together. And I think at least in the beginning, he thought he loved me … But this wedding isn’t going to happen.”

  My mom sank to the love seat positioned behind her, stunned.

  In my big, poofy dress, I dropped to my knees in front of her. “Mom, I’m sorry. I know the family farm needed the partnership with the Matthewses in order to stay open. And I did consider the consequences of not marrying him. I swear, I did. But I can’t commit myself to a loveless marriage.” Silently, I pleaded with her to understand and forgive me.

  Before she could answer me, Cade burst through the door. His hands covered his eyes so he couldn’t see me. “What’s the hold up? The guests are getting antsy down there.”

  “There’s no need to worry about bad luck, Cade. There isn’t going to be a wedding,” I said softly. “I remember everything.” Using the love
seat for leverage, I eased myself back to my feet.

  “Son, what did you do?” his mom whispered as she strode over to him, anger radiating off her.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. It didn’t mean anything,” Cade stammered.

  Mrs. Matthews planted her hands on her narrow hips, bunching her elegant navy dress. “That makes it worse. You threw away a relationship with a good woman for a fling that didn’t mean anything. I’ve never been more disappointed in you.” She gave him a scathing look. “I’ll go inform your father. He’ll want to slip out before you make the announcement to your guests.” She marched out the door.

  Mom stood and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll figure something out.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze before she followed in the wake of Mrs. Matthews.

  “Can I have a moment alone with Willa?” Cade asked Sydney, but he never took his eyes off me.

  Syd stepped in front of me, blocking Cade from view. “You want me to throw him out?”

  I gave her a wry smile. “No, you can go. I’ll be leaving in a moment myself. See you at home later.”

  Sydney grabbed her stuff and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

  When we were alone, Cade sat on the love seat and patted the cushion next to him. “Please sit.”

  Once I had, he grabbed one of my hands. “You’re stunning, Willa.”

  “Thanks.”

  He scooted closer to me, tightening his hold on my hand. “Willa, you have to marry me. If you don’t, then he’ll kill me.”

  I tried to snatch my hand away, but his grip was too tight. “What are you talking about?”

  “That loan shark the police told you about, Tony Casteel ... Well, I borrowed money from him to cover a gambling debt,” Cade admitted, hanging his head.

  “Cade.” I sighed heavily. “What does that have to do with me?”

  “I bragged to him that my family was going to partner with a racehorse breeder. He wanted in. He agreed to forgive my debt if I got him a winning horse.” Cade stared at our joined hands. Shame weighed heavily on his frame.