Page 18 of Protecting Her

I wanted to laugh at the country twang that escaped Elmira’s mouth, but didn’t. Mine wasn’t much better. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, Elmira. I just hope I don’t forget the words.”

“That’s something weird you singers have. You wrote the songs, how can you forget the words?” Her gum snapped as she gave me one last pat, and I looked up at her with amused eyes.

“I don’t know, but if I find out, I’ll tell you.”

She gripped my hands, popped her gum once more, and grinned down at me. “You got this, sugar. I’ve heard you in your rehearsals. You got this and then some.”

I took a deep breath and gnawed at my lip as I stared at the door. It was almost showtime.

Kevin

I glared at my phone as Mason’s voice droned through the speaker. Would he never shut up? I’d had it from Trent earlier, and now Mason.

“Are you sure about this woman, Kevin?” Mason asked. Trent had asked the same thing.

“I’ll video it all for you, live stream it on YouTube or something. But yes, she’s worth it.” I’d never had to defend myself like this. Why now?

A little voice deep down said it was because I’d never shown so much interest in a single woman before. I’d had a few dates with some, sex with plenty, but I’d never spent so much money, or made so much effort for one woman before.

“Well, you know Trent is going to hold you personally responsible for all of this, right? If she crashes and burns, so do you.” Mason’s voice now sounded as if he didn’t care what happened, but something drove him to act anyway.

“What’s got up your nose, Mason? Why do you care about the family business all of a sudden? Don’t you have a party to go to or something?” I thought it would shut him up, but it didn’t.

“Oh, if you hadn’t run off to Tennessee you’d know why. Trent’s basically dumped everything in my lap to teach us both a lesson. You and me. But you’re handling things there, so I guess I shouldn’t blame you.”

“We could always call in Emily, you know?” I offered, but knew it was pointless and Mason knew it too.

“She’s too busy with Dad. Whatever game he’s playing, she’s involved with it. Bless her, she only ever wants to please him. To her own detriment.” Mason sighed down the line, and I knew there was more on his mind than business.

“What’s up, brother? What’s got you twisted up?” We didn’t usually have heart to heart talks, but I could tell something was wrong.

“Nothing. Just this woman I met.”

“Ah…” I quickly interrupted. “So you know where I’m at do you?”

“Has she got your brain spinning and your guts twisted up in knots?” Mason groaned down the line.

“She has indeed, Mason. I can’t think about much else except Ember.”

“That’s where I’m at right now. A total mess trying to figure out this business shit I never wanted to be involved in anyway.” Mason sighed, and I could hear him shift on the other end of the phone. “Well, I wish you both luck. You’ll need it if she flops.”

“She won’t. I know she won’t. She’ll have them all eating out of her hand in seconds flat.” That wasn’t a lie, I knew she would, I’d seen it in England. Not everyone had stopped, but the ones who did were transfixed.

Ember was beautiful, there was no doubt of that, even if she wasn’t the model type. She was beautiful and that voice combined with her beauty would draw a person in. Her songs were good, really good, and I knew she could make this work.

I wanted to see her before the show started, but she’d said she didn’t want that. She needed to do this her way, for now. Later, when she got used to it, I was sure she’d be fine, but for now, she wanted seclusion and quiet before she started.

“I’ve got to go, Mason. She’ll be starting soon and I have to find Mark and Paula, the managers of the bar. I’ll send you a notification when I start recording.” I waited for him to say goodbye and then I went to my desk in the office. A few papers to sign, a purchase order that needed review, a few other things, but they could wait. I needed to be down there when she started. Even if she couldn’t see me in the crowd.

Mark and Paula had saved seats for us at the back of the bar so that paying customers could sit up front. I heard the hum of a crowd as I walked toward the bar and smiled. We had a good crowd then, even if none of them had ever heard of Ember. This was our first attempt at a musical event since we’d remodeled the bar. Ember would bring in thousands more over the next few months, I just knew it.

“Hey, Kevin, over here,” Paula called out, and I went to the table. Paula was a beautiful woman, with dark hair and darker eyes, but I wasn’t interested. I only had eyes for Ember, even if Paula had made it obvious more than once that she wouldn’t turn me down.

Maybe in the past I’d have taken her up on the offer, but not anymore. I didn’t want anyone else. It was that simple.

“Hey, guys. How are you?” I sat down, gave the waitress my order for a scotch, and looked around.

There was a buzz in the air from the crowd and an excitement that grew as the drinks started to flow. People ordered snacks to go with their drinks, and I could see a sea of happy faces as the time passed.