A Winter Wedding(13)

The sudden silence led Kyle to believe she’d hung up. He also guessed she was crying. It sounded like it.

Should he knock on the door and attempt to console her? He’d always been someone who tried to fix whatever was broken, and that included the people in his life. But he couldn’t imagine something that intrusive going over very well for either one of them. They’d barely met.

Assuming she’d prefer her privacy, he put on Thursday night football. Hopefully, that would distract him and give her enough background noise to hide her sniffles.

But it was only fifteen minutes later that the door slammed against the inside wall and she charged out of the bedroom. “Kyle?”

He lowered the volume and looked over at her. Her red, swollen eyes left little doubt that there’d been tears. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She wiped her cheeks. “Not really, but I haven’t been okay in a while.”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s my problem, and I’ll take care of it, but I was wondering if you’d do me a favor.”

He took his feet off the coffee table and sat up. “What kind of favor?”

“It’s sort of an odd request.”

This made him leery. Noelle always approached him with one odd request or another. “I’m listening.”

“I was hoping you’d call my manager and ask for Crystal Holtree.”

“Who’s Crystal Holtree?”

“If you don’t know yet, you will within the next year. She’s another singer—Nashville’s new darling. Derrick manages her career, too.”

“And you want to see if he’s managing a bit more than that.”

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Are you sure you should check up on him like this?”

“My heart is telling me he’d never be unfaithful, but my head is telling me something else. I’m going crazy, becoming so insecure. I have to know if it’s him—or me.”

He rubbed his chin as he thought about her request.

“It’s just one phone call,” she said.

“But he knows who I am.”

“Okay, it’s one phone call and you’ll have to claim to be someone else.”

“Like...”

She spread out her hands. “Robin Graham.”

“Who’s Robin Graham?”

“No one. I made up the name. You could say you’re Robin Graham with Country Weekly or CMT and you’d like to interview Crystal. That’s all you’d have to do. He wouldn’t want her to miss that call. If she’s with him, he’ll hand over the phone, and if he hands over the phone, he’s been lying to me.”

“But he has my cell number in his contacts. I put it in the rental ad.”

“You don’t have another phone?”

“Not here at home. I guess I could block my number...”

She nibbled uncertainly on her lower lip. “No, a blocked number wouldn’t be believable.”

“Then we’d have to go over to the office. I have an extra line that wouldn’t give the name of my company on caller ID.”

She appeared more hopeful. “Would you mind?”

It wasn’t really his place to get involved. Also, it was snowing pretty hard. He could hear the wind railing against the house. But he had a four-wheel drive, they wouldn’t have far to go and the storm didn’t seem to be nearly as bad as forecasted, certainly no worse than several they’d had in recent years.

Besides, he could feel her uncertainty. Maybe Derrick Meade wasn’t cheating. Maybe they could relieve her anxiety so she could focus on writing those songs she’d mentioned. She seemed to be down on her luck, but not in the same way Noelle always was. Lourdes had seen a lot of success. She might be someone for whom a little help would make a big difference. “I wouldn’t mind, but—” he checked his watch “—it’s nearly nine in Nashville. Won’t it seem strange to get a business call that late?”

“Not from a harried reporter trying to hit a deadline.”

“Okay,” he said. “Come on.”





4

After Kyle waved her into the seat across from his desk and picked up the phone, Lourdes could only wring her hands. Was she about to find out if all the anxiety and concern she’d been feeling had a basis in reality?

“What’s his number?” he asked.

He could look it up on his cell, but there was no need when she knew it by heart.

She rattled off the digits as she shook snow off her coat. Then she held her breath as he dialed. On the drive over, she’d educated him so he’d sound like a believable country magazine reporter, but she had no idea how he’d handle himself once he had Derrick on the phone.

“Hello?”

Derrick must’ve answered! Lourdes felt her stomach twist into knots.

Clearing his throat, Kyle stood. “Mr. Meade? This is Graham...Gibb with Country Weekly.” He threw her a quizzical look that told her he’d gapped on the name she’d given him and had to improvise. Fortunately, he’d remembered the magazine correctly. That would’ve been a lot tougher to fake, since Derrick knew all the magazines that mattered in their industry. “I understand you manage Crystal Holtree...Yes, I’ve heard that song. It’s amazing. I apologize for calling so late, but I’m up against a deadline and was wondering if she might be available for a quick interview...Mmm-hmm...Right. What I’d originally planned for this issue fell apart, so I thought I’d change it up and write a piece on an emerging artist...Okay...Sure.”