placed the basket of popcorn on the table, and downed
half of his beer in one gulp.
“Wow, I’m impressed,” Ian said as he watched
the beer slide down Bily’s throat.
“Don’t be,” Bily said anxiously. “I needed
something to take the edge off. I hate to admit it, but
I’m a little nervous.”
“That’s one way to do it,” Ian said with some
sympathy in his voice. “Don’t worry, you’l be great.”
The lights dimmed as Bily and Ian saw Jean walk
onstage, folowed by the spotlight, and stop before the
microphone stand.
“Good evening, al. I’d like to welcome you to
Jean’s Magnolia Saloon. For al you first timers, I’m
Jean and I own this joint, so if you need anything, I’m
always around. We have a great lineup for you tonight,
starting with our headliners, Capitol Records recording
artists Jed Strong and the Renegades.” Loud applause
and whistling filed the saloon. “And opening for Jed is
newcomer Bily Eagan.” Before Jean could say another
word, the place went wild.
Bily looked at Ian and smiled. “You think that’s
for me?”
“Oh yeah, it’s for you, al right,” Ian said.
It finaly quieted down enough for Jean to say,
“Wel, since you’re already up on your feet and making
a lot of noise, stay that way and welcome to the boards
Mr. Bily Eagan.”
Ian said, “Go get ’em, cowboy,” placed his hand
on Bily’s shoulder, and squeezed three times.
Bily made his way through the crowd to the front
of the waist-high stage, turned around and with his arms
bent at the elbows, used the palms of his hands to boost
himself up and land on his butt on the edge of the stage.
He puled the mic stand down, removed his mic from
the holder, and tipped his hat as the band started the
intro to his opening number. During the first week of
rehearsal, not knowing why, he‘d picked a cover by
Rascal Flats caled “Bless the Broken Road” as his
opening number. He’d never sung it before and had
never been particularly drawn to it, but at that moment
in time, he’d felt some type of connection to it, so he
went with the feeling. When he started to sing the lyrics,
seeing Ian in the audience, he knew why he’d chosen it.
Ian watched with respect and admiration as the
crowd responded to Bily, perched on the edge of the
stage, singing his heart out. So much so that he felt a
quick bout of jealousy at the thought of having to share
him. As if hearing the song for the first time, Ian intently
listened to the lyrics as he watched Bily sing. Within
seconds, everyone disappeared and it was just the two
of them, and Bily was singing the song directly to him.
This much I know is true,
That God blessed the broken road
that led me straight to you.
He imagined he must have looked like a puppy
dog waiting for a pat on the head when Jean whispered
into his ear, “Snap out of it, honey.”
Startled, Ian said, “Was it that obvious?”
“Yes, honey, it is that obvious.”
“I can’t help it, baby cakes. That’s some guy up
there.”
“I’m so glad you think so, because I happen to
agree.”
“Jean, I’m almost ashamed to say, but I’m
mesmerized by him. Not only is he the most genuine
man I’ve ever met, but as an entertainer he has this rare
ability to take hold of his audience and never let them
go. Me included, and I’ve been doing this for how long
now? I thought I was immune to such things.”
“He does have that special something that
resonates with the audience,” Jean said.
“It’s realy magical, the way he connects with
them on every level.”
“Oh, Ian, you’ve got it bad,” Jean said with a
smile.
“Help me,” Ian said, laughing as he shifted his
position.
“How’s the ankle, honey?”
“It’s fine. I just need to stay off of it for another
day or two. Then it wil be al better.”
“That’s good. How about another beer? Oh, and
by the way, I saw Josh and Suzie at the bar earlier. Did
you have anything to do with that?”
“Maybe a little,” Ian said with a sheepish grin.
“I thought so. I’l be right back,” Jean said.
In just under an hour, Bily was singing his last
song and the crowd was going wild. Whistles and
cheers and stomping told the band he was up for one
more. He once again sat center stage with his guitar and
a single spot and closed his set with “The Love of a
Man.” He hit every note and sang every word with the
sincerity in which he had written them. Bily was a star,
Ian recognized; he might not be famous yet, but he was,
without a doubt, a star. Bily introduced Jed and
hopped off the stage at the same spot he had taken it
and headed for Ian.
Jean came back to the table with a couple of
beers for Ian and Bily and a Jack Daniels and 7UP for
herself as Bily made his way through the crowd. When
he finaly made it to the table, he hugged Jean, placed
his hand on Ian’s shoulder, and gently squeezed three
times. This ritual was quickly becoming a habit between
them to signify an expression of caring that they couldn’t
physicaly express in public. In response, Ian gave Bily
a tender look that assured him that he understood.
Bily puled out a stool for Jean, and they both sat.
As the three of them chatted about the show, people
occasionaly interrupted to congratulate Bily, and Ian
became a little concerned that Josh and Suzie hadn’t
made an appearance at the table. He looked around,
casualy so Bily wouldn’t pick up on it, but they were
nowhere to be seen.
Jean excused herself from the table, and Bily
leaned over to Ian and said, with a melancholy tone in
his voice, “It’s okay, handsome. Don’t worry about it.”
“What do you mean?” Ian said.
“I’ve noticed you looking around, and I assume
it’s for Josh and Suzie. Maybe something came up and
they’l show up another night.”
Before Ian could catch himself, the words flew
out of his mouth. “No, they were here.”
“Oh,” Bily said. “I guess I’m not what he’s
looking for. Listen, handsome, you said you couldn’t
guarantee anything, and I totaly understood that. What
means the most to me is that you went out on a limb for
me.”
Ian said with some apprehension in his voice,
“Bily, just because he didn’t come to the table doesn’t
mean he didn’t like you.”
“Time wil tel. For now, let’s get you home.”
They said their goodbyes to Jean and left the
saloon. They drove home hand in hand, mostly in
silence. When Bily did speak, Ian could hear the
disappointment in his voice. He wanted to kick himself
for teling Bily that Josh was even coming. How could
he have been so stupid?
And the more he thought about it, the angrier he
got at Josh. It was just plain rude not to make an
appearance at the table, whether he liked Bily or not.
When they got home, Bily went around to the
passenger side to help Ian out of the car. Bily took
Ian’s crutches from the backseat and threw them in the
corner of the garage. Before Ian could slide down from
the seat of the SUV, Bily picked him up and started for
the stairs. Sensing that Bily needed this, Ian didn’t
protest but held Bily close as the two men made their
way up the stairs.
When they reached the living room, Bily put Ian
down on the couch and asked, “Would you like a glass
of wine?”
“That would be great, cowboy.”
Bily went to the kitchen, poured two glasses of
wine, and sat down next to Ian. Ian placed his glass of
wine on the table and told Bily to lie back and put his
feet up. He did as he was told, and Ian removed both
of Bily’s boots and began to rub his feet. One foot at a
time, Ian kneaded the bottom of Bily’s foot with his
thumbs, trying for al the right pressure points, hoping
that some pleasure might replace a little of the
disappointment he was experiencing.
When Ian finished, Bily said, “Thank you, Ian.”
“No thanks needed, cowboy, it was my
pleasure.”
“And I apologize for being such a baby. Even I
can’t believe how ungrateful I’m acting,” Bily said. “I
have this incredible opportunity at Jean’s and the crowd
seems to like what I do and, most importantly, I have
you in my life. I don’t need any more than that.”
Ian felt a lump in his throat. He bent down and
kissed Bily on the top of his foot and said, “You’re not
being a baby, and thanks.”
They were about to go upstairs to bed when Ian
noticed the light blinking on his answering machine. He
pressed the “message” button and heard Josh’s voice.
Ian froze. Bily was sitting right there, and he had
no idea what Josh was going to say. He was sure Bily
saw the fear on his face, but there was nothing he could
do now but listen to the message.
“Ian, hey, I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to
come to the table or meet Bily tonight, but we got a cal
from our babysitter that the baby was running a fever,
so we wanted to get home as soon as we could.
Anyway, Bily is fantastic; I can’t believe no label has
signed him yet. Of course we need to folow proper
channels, but I think he would be an asset to Capitol.
I’l cal you tomorrow. Good job.”
Bily’s eyes were wide as saucers, and Ian was
sure he was white as a ghost, but he didn’t care. Bily
was a hit. Bily took both of Ian’s hands and puled Ian
up to him, smothering him with slow and passionate
kisses.
AFTER a night of celebration, the alarm clock sounded
very early. Bily kissed Ian on the neck, climbed out of
bed, and headed for the shower. While he washed, he
mentaly ran through the events of last night. Could this
be the big break he needed? Could Ian and Josh pul
this off? Was he good enough? He hated to go to the
ranch with his career hanging in the balance, but he’d
made a commitment to the Lazy H and wouldn’t go
back on his word.
When Bily stepped out of the shower, Ian was
there with a fresh cup of coffee. “Morning, cowboy.”
“Hey, handsome, what are you doing out of
bed?”
“I couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m too excited. At
one minute past nine o’clock, I’l be on the phone with
Josh to see how we’re gonna handle my new
discovery.”
“Your new discovery, huh? I like the sound of
that, even though you make it sound like you found
Noah’s Ark or something.”
“Ha ha,” Ian said. “There’s a hel of a lot to do.
We’ve got to pick your first single. We’ve got to decide
which markets to go after first. We’ve got to find a
Capitol artist who’s scheduled to go on tour about the
time we release your first single to make you an opening
act. In addition, we’ve got to listen to hundreds of
demos to choose songs for your first album. Like I said,
so much to do.”
“Hold on a minute, handsome. This is not a done
deal yet, remember?” Bily protested.
“Technicalities,” Ian said. “It’s al just formalities,
so you better get used to the idea that you’re going to
be a superstar.”
Bily stood there dripping wet and lunged for Ian.
Ian stepped back just in time to avoid Bily’s advances,
but he reached for a towel and threw it in his direction.
“You escaped this time,” Bily said, “but don’t
expect to escape next time.”
“I don’t know, I’m pretty fast when I need to
be,” Ian responded.
“Yeah, but I’m a superstar and I’m supposed to
get everything I want… and right now, I want you, so
get over here.”
Twenty minutes later, Bily was puling out of the
driveway and Ian was in his office writing down ideas
and making notes for his cal to Josh. Within minutes the
phone was ringing. Ian glanced at the caler ID and saw
that it was Bily’s cel phone.
“Yes, cowboy?”
“Is this al real, Ian?”
“It’s real, Bily.”
“Okay, just checking. I’l cal you at the lunch
break, but if you hear anything I need to know, you’l
cal me, right?”
“Wil do, cowboy. Have a great day.”
Ten minutes after nine, Ian was on the phone with
Josh. He sang Bily’s praises for nearly an hour, until
Josh said, “Okay, stop seling. I’m already hooked.”
“Sorry,” Ian said. “I just haven’t seen this kind of
talent in years.”
Josh agreed, and they got down to business,
talking strategies, markets, and contracts, making a to-