He smiled and handed me Kyle.
“That’s the plan.”
I RODE MY BIKE TO THE gym. I was happy to see Eve on the treadmill. It was good to see my country-western singer working out. My personal trainer today told me they still wanted me to do Pilates until my soreness was gone. I thought they were nuts because Pilates caused pain. I convinced Eve that she should try it. Okay, I’m evil, but misery loves company.
When our hour of hell was over, it was apparent I had company in my misery.
“I may never speak to you again. You owe me, big-time,” Eve informed me.
I was just lying on a mat, trying to get enough energy to crawl over to take a shower.
“Anything you want. Just name it.”
“You mean that?”
“I said it, so yes, I mean it.”
“Go horseback riding with me today.”
“I suppose, but I need to go home and change.”
“Yep, and by the way, Kendal talked Range Sports into supplying me with a similar getup. That way we’ll match,” she said as I moaned.
I knew then that I’d been set up.
AN HOUR LATER, I FOUND myself at Eve’s farm. Sure enough, we looked like twins. Eve’s mom took our picture so I could send it to Tami, Kendal and Sandy. They’d get a kick out of it.
We went out to the barn. The horses were in the paddock, so she sent me out to catch two of them. She helped me cheat by giving me apple slices. Two came right up and I was feeding them and rubbing their noses. I felt a strong nudge and my hat was knocked off by a big brute that wanted some apples. I gave him one and then turned and walked to the barn. By the time I got there, I had four horses following me. Eve came out of the barn and shook her head.
“They must like you. Even with apples, they don’t always go to strangers. You’re the pied piper of horses,” Eve teased me.
“Yeah, right. I just did what my uncle taught me. If you ignore them, they’re like big Labs. They can’t stand it when you do that. They’ll just follow you,” I said with confidence.
She laughed at me.
We saddled two of them and rode for about an hour. Eve clearly needed someone to spend time with. She was still smarting from her time in Nashville, where she’d tried to make it in country music. Eve was in a talkative mood, so I asked her what happened.
“When I got to Nashville, I was full of hope. Mom and I found a manager who helped us put together a demo, which wasn’t cheap when you figure in studio time and musicians. He sent it out to record companies. While we waited, he put together shows at the local clubs and bars.”
“That sounds about right. What went wrong?” I asked.
“In hindsight, it was a combination of things. Of course I want to blame my manager. He seemed more interested in booking me shows and making a steady income than he did in working to get me a record deal. Nevertheless, Mom and I were naïve as well. We didn’t have a plan.”
“Now that you know what the issues were, what are you going to do?”
“Tom Dole has been in touch with some of the record labels. They all tell him that I have talent, but I need more material that’s original. They say that I could buy songs, but they want me to figure out who I am as an artist. Even if they never record one of my original songs, they say it’ll help define me. There are a lot of people trying to break into music, and they want to figure out what makes me unique.”
“Any ideas?”
She gave me a look.
“If I knew that, I’d have a record deal,” she said with a snort. “That’s what I want to work on, and you’re going to help.”
“I am?”
“Yeah, you get to be my guinea pig. You have to listen to my songs and tell me if they suck. Mom and Dad are useless. They think everything I do is great. I need someone to be honest with me. I know you can do it and not hurt my feelings.”
“I’d love to help you,” I said, which caused her to grin. “Now, can we go back? I forgot how sore I am.”
She gave me a look that said she was up to no good.
“If your butt hurts, I could rub it and make it all better.”
I shook my head and sighed.
“All right, but I warn you that butt-rubbing can lead to other things.”
We rode back to the barn, and Eve took me home. Unfortunately, she didn’t rub my butt.
WHEN I GOT HOME, I called April.
“Hey, do you have any plans for tonight?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she answered me.
Great, I get a new girlfriend and she’s already dumping me for something better. I have to admit that I didn’t plan anything with her, and it was last minute. However, shouldn’t she be at my beck and call? No?
“You’re going to come over to my house and walk me over to Cassidy’s. She’s having a little get-together. She said to bring you so I can show you off to our friends. Before we go, you’re having dinner with my family. Mom and Dad want to meet the guy who would date their daughter. I can’t wait to see the look on Dad’s face when he sees it’s you. He’s your biggest fan.”
I’ll give her this: she did have a plan for the evening. I learned a long time ago that if women make plans, you just go along with them. Surprisingly, you’ll have a good time—mostly.
We arranged for me to be at her house at five o’clock. I walked up in my Range western wear minus the cowboy hat. I knocked on the door, and a boy a couple of years younger than me answered the door. His eyes got big and he froze. After a moment, I heard a male voice.
“Lance, who’s at the door? It’s freezing out. Either let them in or close it. I’m not paying to heat the outdoors.”
Lance stepped back and I walked inside.
“Hi, Lance. I’m David.”
He just nodded. His dad came out from the back of the house. When he saw me, he did a double take.
“Hi, I’m David Dawson, Mr. Lacier. I’m taking April out tonight.”
He came up and shook my hand.
“Call me Bill,” he said, and then smiled. “No wonder she’s been vague about who her date was.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, confused as to what he meant.
“Oh, sorry. April has never had a date she’d bring home before. Then you show up. I guess I didn’t realize that April was that popular.”
“Can I get your autograph?”
Lance had gotten his voice back. I just laughed at him and his dad told him to go find something to do. He wanted to have the father/new boyfriend talk. He gave me a stern look that caused me to laugh at him. He wasn’t very good at this.
“Let me save you the trouble,” I told him. “I don’t drink or do drugs. I rarely go to parties, so this is out of character tonight. This is a small enough town that if I were a bad guy, you’d have heard about it. April and I are just getting to know each other, so the most you have to worry about tonight is I might give her a goodnight kiss at the door.”
He seemed relieved and gave me a half smirk.
“Can I tell my wife that I grilled you?”
“Yes, you may. Can I suggest that you talk to my mom when she gets home? She can give you some pointers on being the scary dad.”
“Where’s your mom at?”
I guess my face gave me away because I could see he realized where Mom was. It’s a small town, after all.
“She’s in California for her cancer treatment.”
I was saved by what sounded like a thundering herd coming down the stairs. Lance must have informed the rest of the family that I was there. April gave her dad a look that only a teenage girl can. I smirked at him and he tried not to laugh. April was accompanied by a younger sister and her mom.
Her mom stepped forward and hooked her arm under my arm. She led me to the back of the house, through the kitchen, and into a large family room.
“We were all worried when we heard you were missing. How are you doing?” April’s mom asked.
“I’m still feeling the effects. I ache all over and easily tire. The doctors tell me that I’ll get better over time.”