Stuck On You (22 page)

Gram whistled. “Wow. When you go for it, you really go for it.”

KT laughed. “Crazy, right? The girl I think I could fall in love with has a daughter. We both know I don’t need to get tangled up with a kid.”

Gram huffed. “Kevin, you’re the only one that thinks that, and I’ll tell you something. It’s impossible to know. You haven’t spent any time around kids and you’ve told yourself you don’t want to be a father. I look at you and see a lot of potential.”

He shook his head. “How many times have you said that to me? And about how many different things? Always with the potential.”

Gram puffed her cigarette and then shook her finger at him. “That’s because you can do anything you want, Kevin. You’ve got more charm than any one person ought but you can work hard too. Maybe you don’t want to. That’s a different question. But if we’re here before you even unpack your bags talking about a girl, it’s because she’s got something and it’s something that’s going to be hard to forget.”

He thought about her in her turquoise hat, satiny tux, and fishnets. And then he thought about the graph that she’d been so proud of and how Holly had looked and acted so much like her. “Damn.” He laughed. “I’ve got a big problem.”

Gram held out her hand. “Show me.”

When he frowned down at her, she pointed to the phone he’d clutched in his hand. “Show me her picture. You know you want to.”

He tried to keep the stupid grin under control and off his face but it slipped when he pulled up the photo album on his phone. “Here she is with her daughter. ”

Gram squinted down at the photo for a minute. “I thought you said she was normal. Looks like a dancer here. But sorta plain too. If that makes any sense.” Normal to his grandmother meant anyone outside show business.

He took the phone back and looked down at the photo. “She is normal. She was an assistant of some kind but she lost her job so she started working as a waitress to pay the bills. She helped me out with the planning and stage set. She’s a whiz with a spreadsheet and you should see how cute her lists are.”

Gram raised both eyebrows. “Cute lists? You have a bad problem.”

“She’s just really logical. Normal. But not plain.” He thought about pointing out the tiny hat but didn’t figure his Gram would get it. Considering it was approaching some kind of weird compulsion with him, he really hoped she wouldn’t. “Did you see Holly, too?”

Gram took the phone back. “Pretty girl. Gonna be a real knockout someday.” She handed the phone back. “Hope she’s got a daddy to look out for her.” She raised an eyebrow.

KT sighed. “No, Gram, she doesn’t. Laura got pregnant when she was eighteen and the father took off. She’s raised Holly on her own. And Holly’s great, got a real thing for Elvis, but she’s smart and helpful and . . .” He looked at his grandmother. “God, what the hell do I do?”

Gram dropped her cigarette back in her purse. “Here’s the thing, Kevin. They’re okay without you. I know you want what you want and right now that’s Laura. And maybe even Holly if I’m hearing you correctly, although I can’t even imagine how that could be right. I think you need to ask yourself if you’d make their lives any better. If not, then maybe just go inside and call up one of your old girlfriends.” She patted him on the knee. “If yes, if you can see yourself making their lives better, maybe you need to think about how to do that.”

KT didn’t say anything then. He couldn’t.

“Who’s the old lady?” Gram had her hands crossed over her stomach again and her eyes were closed.

KT swiveled his head to stare down at her incredulously for a minute. “Uh, Willodean. She’s the hotel owner.” He muttered, “But I would not call her an old lady.”

“Pretty spry, huh? And rich too, I guess, if she owns a hotel.”

KT rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, I guess. She takes on lots of causes like Laura.”

“A do-gooder.” Gram nodded. “She looks like my kind of people.”

KT had no idea what to say to that so he looked down at the photo again.

“When’s the next trip?”

He tried to do the math in his head. “Three or four weeks. We’re headed down to Louisiana for a pirate festival.”

Gram pursed her lips. “Well, I’ve been thinking about taking a little trip. How about we meet in Memphis after you finish the pirate thingy? I could go down there, straighten everything out for you, see what’s what. That is, if you still got this fire in your belly in four weeks.”

KT wanted to tell her he was a grown man and he could straighten out his own problems. He wanted to. He couldn’t see how at this point so he didn’t have much firm ground to stand on.

His shoulders slumped. “That’s a pretty good idea, Gram. I won’t have much time between Louisiana and the last stop in Colorado, but I’d like for you to meet her.”

She patted his shoulder. “Luckily it won’t take me long. I’m that good.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you are.”

“So, an Elvis fan? I thought all the girls were crazy for the Beaver guy. Girl’s got good taste.”

KT closed his eyes. “I think you mean Bieber. Yeah, I’m pretty sure Willodean converted her. She’s got it bad for Elvis now.”

Gram nodded. “Excellent judgment there.” She sighed happily. “You know, I could totally get used to this. I mean, I won’t push or anything, but to go from the prospect of never, ever having a great-grandkid to having one who loves Elvis and another on the way . . . that’s a good day.”

KT wheezed. “Another on the way? Who said anything about another on the way?” He hoped her mind-reading skills didn’t extend to seeing the memory of a forgotten condom.

She shrugged a shoulder. “I figure that’s one of the hang-ups here. The girl in that photo’s pretty damn proud of her daughter. And she’s so young. She’s going to want babies. And you haven’t.”

He shook his head. “It’s just too easy to screw them up forever. And I didn’t even have a good dad to learn from.”

“That’s my point, Kevin. I’m his mother. I knew him very well, raised him right, and there was no way to know that money would go to his head that way. He wanted to be a star, left home, worked hard, and did all the things that people do. But money and success, they can change people. I wonder if there was anything I could do to prevent the meltdown. I tried to get him to take you all home to Mississippi, but the show and the contracts and the money . . . it was just too much.

“I’ve already told you this a few times. I think you’re just going to have to toughen up, take a chance.” Gram shrugged a shoulder. “You learned a whole lot of what not to do and that’s something. We both did. Besides, that’s the price of my help. I go there, we get you straightened out and on the path to true love, you promise me you’ll do your damnedest to make a little Kevin.”

Her eyes were warm as she added, “I remember you as a little boy. You were damned cute. It would be impossible for you to not fall in love with your own son.” She clapped her hands. “And I can’t wait to meet him.”

KT rolled his shoulders to ease the tension building there. “Gram, there’s no rush.”

She snorted. “Hell, yes, there is. I’ve waited long enough. That’s the rush. You know I hate waiting.”

He laughed.

“Now, tell me about this show. Did you have any Liberaces?”

Gram had no idea who Justin Bieber was but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate a good show. He told her about all the acts that made it into the show and how Bob Night had made sure his direction was clear by repeating everything he said twice. She laughed and he thanked God again she’d come for him all those years ago and that she’d never left. She was the one who had made the difference in how his life turned out.

“Gram, do you ever regret leaving home to come take care of me?”

Gram took his hand in hers. “Never. In the beginning, it was hard. Everything was so different here and I just never was too sure that the show and those people were good for you, but you enjoyed it so much. I couldn’t pull you out and if I’d forced you to come home with me to Jackson, I know you’d have been miserable. Knowing you, you’d have done your best to make me miserable too.”

She frowned at him but he could see the twinkle in her eyes.

“And southern California is not without its compensation. Mississippi gets downright swampy in the summer, but . . . it’s still home, I guess.”

She tilted her head. “What if moving to Memphis is the only answer?”

She’d snuck the question in just as she’d always done with the medicine he didn’t want to take. “She won’t leave. And now that I’m away and missing the hotel, I can understand why. But my job’s here. My work and my friends and the stuff I enjoy, it all happens here.”

She nodded. “Can’t be easy to think about leaving that.” She slid off the lounge and headed for her cottage. When she made it to the door and had it unlocked, she held up a finger. “Thing is, the KT Masters I read about in the magazines is notorious for seeking out new adventures. Maybe this is the next one.” She smiled as she watched him. “I’ll get started on dinner. Glad you’re home, Kevin. I miss you when you’re gone.”

As KT headed into the house to unload his bags, he thought about what she’d said. Living in Memphis might not be too hard, but no job . . . that was a problem. He’d worked in television and movies since he was nine years old. Memphis wasn’t exactly known for being a hotbed for actors and actresses. There was theater. He might still be able to do movies, travel back and forth but he’d have to be away a lot. Television was his home. He loved the pace, the story, the people. If he didn’t work in television, who would he be?

When his phone dinged, he pulled it out of his pocket to see a text. From Laura.

I miss you.

He started to answer but had no idea what to say. He missed her too. But that didn’t really capture his feelings. With nothing better to say, he answered.
Me too
. He dropped the phone on the bed, suddenly worn out.

He rubbed the slight ache in his chest. He needed to explore some options because he was getting the idea that he might survive a career change. Other people did it all the time. Sometimes office managers became showgirl waitresses. He wasn’t sure he’d survive with this crazy pain where his heart should be. Maybe now was the time to figure out who the new KT wanted to be.

Chapter Twelve

L
AURA GRUMBLED UNDER
her breath as she hung up the phone. She flipped through the stack of papers covering her desk and then looked around her small, cluttered office. Normally, the idea of being able to look around the tiny space that was all hers for a spreadsheet she’d built to track inventory at Viva Las Vegas thrilled her deep down inside. Today, she was short tempered.

For nearly a month, she’d worked with Tony, learning the ropes of the Rock’n’Rolla. Some things made a lot of sense. Others had to be unique to fit Willodean Jackson’s style. Laura had taken over managing the restaurant and, with Sal, they’d worked up a few new dishes for the summer. Pretty soon, families would be traveling to Memphis and they needed to make sure they were ready to appeal to kids and parents alike. Part of that had to do with the menu. Sal had given her a list of suggestions and they’d immediately implemented most of them. Marcy had the new waitress trained already and things were running smoothly. And she’d find the damned spreadsheet. There was only one reason she could think of to be in such a rotten mood.

She and Holly had gotten into a huge fight in the world’s tiniest kitchen as they’d worked to prepare dinner together. Since she’d switched to days with normal hours, she and Holly had gotten into the routine of preparing dinner together. Last night that had been a mistake.

When she’d picked up the phone KT had given her to check for a message from Rich, the liquor distributor who’d asked her out the week before, Holly had sniped, “Real nice, Mom. Making plans with one guy using the phone another really nice guy gave you.”

Since she’d been filled with dread, not anticipation, before she picked up the phone, she’d felt it was a little unfair. “Holly, don’t use that tone.” She flipped through the photos KT had included on her phone and smiled when she made it to his. His best Elvis wasn’t all that good.

Holly had slammed a cabinet door. “You get that goofy grin every time you look at his picture, Mom. You may not think I notice but I do.”

That explained a lot. Laura had been considering the notion that Holly and Willodean were working together to sell KT as a love match. She’d asked Willodean not to share anything she might know that Holly didn’t but that didn’t mean that her smart girl hadn’t picked up a few things all on her own. Maybe Holly had put together her not-so-stealthy campaign—which included an
On Deck
marathon interspersed with the KT Masters movie collection—all on her own. Laura had been happy to get a break from all-Elvis-all-the-time at first. Then she’d figured out that it was going to be a thing. And then she wanted to demand to know where Holly had found the
On Deck
DVD collection in the first place. Laura would bet every extra dollar she had that Willodean had been involved in that part of the campaign. Forgetting KT was next to impossible when he was on her television every night, emoting and charming and generally winning her over again and again. The fact was, no matter what character KT Masters played, his KT-ness shined through.

Laura did her best to ignore the flush that was slowly spreading up her neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I like KT but he’s in Hollywood. I mean, so what if I like him? I have to be realistic and realistic is Rich the liquor distributor. It’s only dinner.” And if she could figure out a way to get out of only dinner too, she would. But if she weaseled out at this point, Willodean would be impossible to live with. Laura had made her a promise to try. At the time, she’d felt pretty safe. She worked at the Rock’n’Rolla. She hung on the couch with Holly. They occasionally went to see a movie. Her world wasn’t exactly crawling with eligible bachelors. Then Rich had popped up and she’d had to make good on her promise to get out. Damn it.

Holly had muttered, “You should have tried harder with KT.” Then she’d dumped half a pot of pasta on her plate and stormed into the living room to collapse on the couch, where she chewed sullenly and finally disappeared into her room.