Love Song (23 page)

They talked a while longer, plugging the tour and the upcoming dates. Wade was both relieved and disappointed that neither his name nor any hint about him ever came up. She sang another song. Then she was gone.

He shut off the television and DVR. Walking into the bedroom, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved since Friday and couldn’t remember when he showered last. His shirt and jeans looked as if he had worn them for days. Maybe he had. His eyes had dark circles beneath them, and he looked as haggard and miserable as he felt.

Andi had been beautiful. She had been at ease, performed well, and seemed bright and cheerful. She was surviving, even happy, without him.

“Just listen to that crowd! She’s a hit! Didn’t I tell you she was fantastic?”

The image of Wade’s smiling face faded from her mind, and Andi looked at Kyle, wondering why he was practically jumping up and down. She slowly came out of the sweet, hazy daydream to reality.

“Four minutes till you’re on, Andi,” called her road manager. She walked over to Andi’s side. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Just drifting a little.”

“Well, get back on course, will ya? You go on stage in three and a half minutes.”

“I’m with you.”
Lord, please help me not to think of Wade. I don’t want to let these folks down.
To her dismay, she realized she had missed more than half of Nicki’s debut performance. She had to start functioning better, or she would ruin the whole tour. She’d been inattentive during rehearsals, making them run longer than they should have. When she and Nicki had gone shopping the previous week, Nicki wound up picking out all Andi’s new clothes because all she could think about was the day Wade had taken her shopping. She’d sat in the dressing room of one of Nashville’s most expensive shops, crying her eyes out.

She took a couple of deep breaths and walked over to a microphone behind the side curtain. Nicki had finished her last solo to tremendous applause. Kyle had been right. The crowd loved her.

It was time for their duet, and Andi’s grand entrance, although the audience had no idea she was about to sing. No announcement was made, so everyone assumed Nicki was going to do another number by herself. Wade had suggested this duet, but she had never told him how she was going to use it.
I wish you were here, my love. I need you.
Heart pounding, she took the cordless microphone from the stand and focused all her attention on the others on stage.

The keyboard player led off, then Nicki came in:

Grandpa’s watch lies on the mantle

Its hands forever still.

Off stage, Andi sang the next few lines, an octave higher:

But his love shines in my grandma’s eyes

And it always will.

A murmur went through the crowd as people recognized Andi’s pure, distinctive voice. They stretched their necks and wiggled in their seats, trying to see where she was.

Nicki sang again:

Looking back across the past

The years all fade away

Andi came in where Nicki left off:

For in her heart, she holds him still,

Just like yesterday.

Their voices blended in perfect harmony on the chorus as Andi slowly walked out on stage:

Love is like a river

Ever flowing to the sea.

A never-ending promise

Living through eternity.

Everyone in the Tulsa Convention Center rose to their feet, clapping and cheering. The band played for a minute or two while Andi acknowledged their warm welcome. The audience quieted, but few sat down as Andi and Nicki continued the song. They finished to thunderous applause.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my friend Nicki Alexander.” Andi stepped back to allow Nicki another moment in the limelight. When the young woman ran off stage, Andi caught a glimpse of Kyle giving her a big bear hug. “Thank you so much for that wonderful welcome. I’m so glad we were able to reschedule the concert and really appreciate you all coming out to see us. I think we have a good show, so sit back and enjoy.”

The show went off without a hitch, and the audience loved the new songs Andi sang. They spent over an hour afterward talking with the fans and signing autographs.

Kyle had flown Nicki’s family out for the concert and arranged for everyone, including Andi, to spend the night at a nearby hotel. They were so excited that the adults and older Alexander children stayed up late into the night, while the little ones fell asleep in an adjoining room.

At nine the next morning, they hit the road, happy with the success of the first concert. Andi traveled with two buses, one for her and the road manager, and the other for her band and part of the crew. The rest of the crew rode on the trucks.

Kyle had added another bus for Nicki’s band though she didn’t ride with them. There was a small, but unused bedroom on Andi’s bus, and she insisted that Nicki stay with her and the road manager.

Andi was happy things had gone well, but she was tired. And lonely. The ache in her heart never went away completely and much of the time it was almost too painful to endure. Twenty miles out of Tucson on the road to Phoenix, she retreated to her bedroom and laid down, holding the cuddly teddy bear Wade had given her. “I don’t believe he doesn’t love me. He’s just afraid I’ll do the same thing his mother did. But dog-gone-it, doesn’t he realize I’m not like her?”

***

Andi had talked to Dawn briefly on Thursday to give her a report on the first show. She called her again Sunday afternoon as the bus sped down the highway.

“Where are you?” asked Dawn.

“On the way to Denver.”

“How are you feeling? Are you taking your vitamins?”

“Faithfully. I’m also being careful to eat right and trying to get plenty of sleep. I’m not doing so well in that department.”

“Missing Wade?”

“Do cowboys ride horses?”

“Yes, and if it’s any consolation, I think your cowboy has lost about ten pounds since you left. He doesn’t look like he’s been sleeping all that well, either. Ray said he’s been kicked by a cow and had his foot stepped on twice, and that he’s been so grouchy one of the hired hands almost quit on Friday. I talked to Wade for a few minutes after church. He asked if I’d heard from you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That the Tucson concert went well, and Nicki was a sensation. I also told him you were miserable, but he didn’t believe me. He said, ‘Yeah, sure. She looked real miserable on Country Music Scene a couple of weeks ago.’“

“Well, what did he expect me to do? Go on national television and let the whole world see that I’m dying of a broken heart?”

“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

“Dawn, I’m not going to spill my guts over the air waves.”

“You don’t have to, but you could drop some subtle hints. Things that only Wade would understand. I know he records every show in case they say something about you. Is CMN going to do another interview soon?”

“They’re going to tape one tomorrow, along with part of the concert. They plan to air it Friday night. Maybe I can think of a hint or two and slip them in.

“Will you talk to him and try to find out the real reason he walked away? I know he loves me. I’ve thought about calling him and telling him how I feel. I’m to the point where I’d gladly give up my career to be with him if that’s the problem, but I’m not sure he would believe it.”

“Probably not, but I’ll see what I can find out. He’s going to be out of town for a couple of days, so I’ll corner him when he gets back.”

“Have you heard from Grant?”

“No. It might have been interesting, but I’m not holding my breath until he calls. I haven’t had much time to think about him. Been too busy moving stock into my store and trying to organize the stuff in the old museum, so we can catalogue it.”

“And you’re loving every minute. I talked to my folks earlier. They should be back home in time for the Fort Worth show. That’s going to be my last one, so plan on coming. I’ll have them reserve you a front row seat, right next to Mom and Dad.”

“Save one for Wade, too. I’ll see if I can get him to go.”

“I’d like that. Gotta run. Let me know what he says.”

“Will do.”

***

Four days later, Andi was sitting beneath a shady elm tree in a Boise, Idaho park when her cousin called.

“I went out to see Wade last night,” said Dawn. “I tried to be subtle, but the man was as elusive as a roadrunner, so I finally just asked him outright if he wanted to marry you.”

Andi groaned. “You didn’t.”

“I did, but don’t send a hit squad after me yet. He’s a good friend of mine, you know, and we talk about serious things sometimes. He meandered around a while, but this is what it comes down to—he loves you and wants to marry you more than anything in the world. Unfortunately, he has a couple of hang-ups. He couldn’t stand for you to be on the road while he stayed home, but he knows he’d go crazy traveling like you do. He doesn’t think he has the right to ask you to cancel or curtail your career, but I think I convinced him that you two could probably work out some kind of compromise.”

“Of course we could.” Andi’s heart pounded with excitement and hope.

“Hold on; there’s more. He believes that God will use your music and testimony to reach people who wouldn’t listen to anybody else if they talked about Jesus. He’s afraid that if you get married and settle down on the Smoking Pipe and raise cows and kids, he will be thwarting God’s greater plan.”

“He’s got it all figured out, without even talking to me to see how I feel? I never figured him for the martyr type.”

“He’s not. Personally, I still think it goes back to his mother, but he doesn’t realize it or can’t admit it. I think, even more than the fact that he wants to free you to do God’s will, he’s afraid you’ll get tired of being married and leave. I pumped Della a little this morning about his mom. Evidently, she had a promising career as a trial lawyer when his folks first married, but when she got pregnant with Wade, his dad insisted she quit and stay home to raise him. She greatly resented being taken out of the courtroom spotlight. She agreed because at that time, getting a divorce would have been more damaging to her career than putting it on hold.

“She started back to work on a part-time basis against her husband’s wishes when Wade was in the seventh grade. By the time he reached high school, she was in the district attorney’s office and moving up rapidly. Her job took more and more of her time, until it became her whole life. She had always blamed Wade for what she had missed by staying at home, but, ironically, that anger and blame only intensified as she became more successful. The ‘if it hadn’t been for you, I’d be such and such by now,’ type of thing.”

“Somehow, I don’t think he will believe me if I call him up and tell him I’m quitting the music business because I love him and that God says it’s okay.” Dejected, Andi stared across the park, absently watching some kids on the swings.

“He might, but I doubt it. It’s much better to show him with a bit of flare and switch gears with style.”

“You obviously have something in mind.”

“Obviously.” Dawn laughed. “Don’t I usually come up with some of your best ideas?”

“And a few of my biggest bombs,” Andi said dryly.

***

On Friday night, Wade stretched out in his recliner with a groan, then took a bite of the huge piece of chocolate cake Della had sent home with him. Two bulls had fought that morning, and though neither animal had been badly hurt, they had knocked down ten sections of fence. He had spent all afternoon digging post holes, setting posts, and stringing new barbed wire. Now he was bone tired and debating about whether to watch Country Music Scene or just tape it. Dawn had called and left a message on his answering machine. He thought she said something about an interview with Andi, but the machine had garbled her message.

He wasn’t sure he was up to seeing anything about her. Sighing, he flipped on the television anyway, automatically turning on the recorder at the same time.
Might as well watch it and get it over with.
Andi’s story was the first on the program.

“Singer Andrea Carson continues to delight audiences as she finishes out the tour that had to be cancelled a few months ago because of illness. Andi has taken an up-and-coming star under her wing, a young lady she discovered while she was recuperating in Texas. Powerhouse singer Nicki Alexander has been opening up the show and earning rave reviews and tremendous audience support. As wonderful as these two singers are individually, when they team up, they are nothing short of stupendous. And the fact that Andi shares her first moments on stage with the young singer speaks volumes about this woman’s heart.”

The scene changed to Nicki on stage with the band. As she sang the first few words, Wade recognized the song as the one Andi had written, although she had only told him about it. Hearing Andi’s beautiful voice, he sat up straight and slowly set his cake on the table beside him, anticipating her entrance. Nicki sang again, then Andi, and when their voices blended in exquisite harmony, and Andi walked out on stage, Wade’s throat constricted.

“Andi has always been energetic on stage, but these days her performances seem to be filled with a new vitality,” continued the reporter. “Even when she slows the pace to do a love song or a ballad, she is vibrant. This seems especially true when she sings gospel, a new addition to her show.”

When they showed a short clip of Andi singing an old hymn, she seemed to glow with an inner light, reaffirming his belief that God would use her and her music. It occurred to him that the only times he had seen her look more beautiful was right after he had kissed her—a pleasing but confusing thought.

“We talked with Andi and Nicki at their hotel this week before the show. We’ll share some of what they had to say right after this break.” A list of their upcoming performances flashed on the screen: Tacoma, Portland, San Diego, El Paso, Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth.