The flight attendants walked up and down the aisles collecting cups and napkins, and the pilot turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Katie put her tray table up and returned her seat to the upright position. Now she was minutes away from seeing Blake again, from being reunited with the one who made her heart sing. Her knuckles were white from gripping the armrests and her heart was racing. She forced herself to let go of the armrests, slow her breathing and relax.
Katie gripped her carry-on bag and forced one foot in front of the other as she made her way along the jet way with the other passengers and through the airport to baggage claim. She composed her features into what she thought was a neutral expression, squared her shoulders, and looked around for Blake.
Hundreds of travelers bustled around Indianapolis International Airport, families reuniting, soldiers returning from duty, businessmen carrying briefcases, but Blake Jackson was nowhere to be seen.
Katie stood with her luggage in the crowded baggage claim area and scanned the faces in the crowd, searching for Blake. Eventually she noticed a distinguished-looking man in a tailored suit holding a small placard that read “Katie McCoy”. They had sent a driver for her. Of course. Why had she assumed that Blake would meet her?
Sure, Katie, the country’s biggest star is just going to take a little break from his busy day and come pick you up at the airport. Idiot!
She made her way towards the chauffeur and introduced herself. He helped her with her bags and they made their way out into the parking lot. Katie looked at her driver and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, what a gorgeous day!” He looked at her with amusement. “Well, it was a hundred degrees at home yesterday, so this is practically sweater weather. Y’all don’t know how good you have it here,” she explained.
“Oh yes, you came in from Texas. Well then, I hope you’ll enjoy Indianapolis. Here’s your car, Miss McCoy.” He led her to a spotless black Lincoln Town Car and loaded her bags into the trunk after she slid into the backseat. Katie settled in for the ride as her driver merged into the traffic on I-70, and lay her head back on the seat and watched the scenery in silence as they sped towards Lucas Oil Stadium, relieved that her reunion with Blake had been postponed for the time being.
Chapter Fourteen
About half an hour later, Katie arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium and gawked at the huge venue in disbelief. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever played anywhere even half this size! Of all the stops for her to join the tour, this was by far the most intimidating. She spotted Blake’s tour bus in the lot and wondered if he was on board. Her legs went a little wobbly in her boots at the thought of being so close to him.
She forced herself to gather her bags and look ahead when the memories of her time with Blake inside that bus crept into her mind, causing her body to tingle all over. Katie sternly reminded herself that it was time to rehearse like the professional she was if she was going to make it on this tour. She let assistants handle her luggage while she strode across the lot to meet Caroline Mathers.
“Katie, hello. Welcome! We are so pleased that you could join us. How was your flight?” Caroline gave Katie a firm handshake.
“Great, thank you. I’m glad to be here.”
“Wonderful, well, I am sorry that you don’t have more time to get settled before you get started, but the schedule is very tight. I’m afraid you’ll just be thrown right in to the thick of it this afternoon. I’ll get someone to take your things to the bus and you can get settled in later. You’ll have enough time to get what you need before the show. The band has already set up for a rehearsal inside, and they are ready for you.” Caroline led Katie into the venue and on to the stage, where Blake’s band was set up and waiting.
Katie gripped the handle of her fiddle case and swallowed her fear with an audible gulp as she made her way up the steps to the stage.
You can do this. You’ve played these songs for years and you are a professional.
She pasted a friendly smile on her face, hoping to hide her nervousness, and joined the band on the stage. “Hi everyone, I’m Katie McCoy.”
Blake’s band greeted her with friendly reserve and she wondered if they had been told that Chet was not coming back or if they thought she was a temporary replacement. Were they unhappy to have her on tour? Did they resent that Blake was playing favorites? As if it wasn’t stressful enough to join such a huge act right in the middle of the tour, now there might be tension between her and the band?
A door opened and Blake strode in, heading straight for the stage. Seeing him again brought a rush of emotion so powerful that Katie swayed on her feet for a second. He bounded up the steps and cleared his throat. “I see y’all have met Katie McCoy, our new fiddler.” He gave Katie a brief glance that set her heart racing before addressing the band. “Before any rumors get started, let me just tell you guys that Chet has gone back home to be with his family indefinitely. His mother is very ill, and he didn’t want to be on the road when he should be with her. He wanted to take a leave, he wasn’t fired, but I have chosen to terminate his contract altogether. He will not be returning, and you can consider Miss McCoy our permanent fiddler.” Blake gave the band a level stare as they grumbled, then continued on as though he hadn’t heard them. “Y’all might remember her from other shows. She used to be with one of the openers, Sterling. They were with us in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. We’re all going to miss Chet, he was a great fiddler, but Katie is an excellent musician and will be a great addition to the group. I expect that you’ll help her get up to speed. Everybody got that?” He challenged them to object with a direct look to each man in the group.
The men nodded and mumbled their welcomes to Katie. She smiled as enthusiastically as she could and said, “Thanks y’all. I’m really happy to be here and I’m looking forward to working hard.” She tried to catch Blake’s eye, but he was deliberately ignoring her.
“All right, let’s get started.” Blake took his place at center stage and the band ran through the set list. Katie organized her sheet music and equipment around her and got to work with the rest of the band.
The rehearsal was exhausting. Between the flight, Katie’s nerves over seeing Blake again, and working so hard to play as well as the rest of the band, she was ready for a nap by the time Blake dismissed everyone to get ready for the show later that night. Katie was thankful that she already knew most of the songs, but playing along with the radio and playing in the band were two different things. She’d also never played in a stadium before. This was probably the biggest show on the tour, and Katie berated herself for not delaying her arrival one or two more days so she could start somewhere smaller. She was packing up her gear when Blake approached her.
“I’m so glad that you’re here, and it feels so good to see you again. I don’t have much time to talk right now, but I really want to meet with you later. Please be patient with me for a while. The guys are kind of upset about me letting Chet go, so I think it’s probably best that we lay low when we’re in front of everyone for now.” He looked around and, seeing nobody, dropped a tentative kiss on her cheek. “I missed you so much.”
The kiss went straight through Katie, sending a zing of attraction right to her toes. “Me too.”
He checked his watch and groaned. “Our schedule is tight today, so I gotta get moving. You sounded great in rehearsals, but just in case, I ordered a screen prompter for you. It’s like a teleprompter but it displays music. You’ll be able to see the screen but to the audience it looks like the rest of the stage gear. That way you don’t have to worry about messing up while you’re still learning the songs.”
“That will be really helpful, thank you. I have never played anywhere near this size, so to be honest I was kind of wishing that I hadn’t come for this show. My nerves have been fried. This will make things a lot easier.”
“I’m glad, sweetheart. I also just want to assure you that I’ll never let our personal situation affect your job with this band or on this tour. I know how important your career is to you, and I want you to know that whatever happens between us won’t affect your job here.” He shifted nervously and looked at her hopefully.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me, and I’m really looking forward to working with you.” The tension, the strange situation, the unknown future — it was so stressful. Katie wanted to grab onto Blake and never let him go, but it was almost a relief when he left and she was free to prepare for the show on her own.
• • •
Blake slumped on the couch in his dressing room and stared at the ceiling, motionless. He didn’t know how he would react to seeing Katie again, but he never imagined that he’d be so stiff and ridiculous. He could just hear himself telling her that their relationship wouldn’t interfere with her job, and he felt like an idiot. He should forget about the other guys, pull her into his arms, and beg her for forgiveness.
She was so beautiful on stage during rehearsal, so clearly in her element. He would have to pull himself together if he was going to work alongside her for six months. Would she take him back? Would it be better to wait until the tour ended? Seeing her this afternoon assured Blake that his feelings for her had not changed except to grow stronger. He felt the same magnetic pull towards Katie, the same undeniable attraction to her. One look at her affirmed that he had made the right decision in asking her to join him on tour. Fortunately for him, she was as talented as she was beautiful. Unfortunately for him, the hurt lingering in her eyes was caused by him and his stupid inability to commit.
He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he did know that he couldn’t mess things up with Katie this time. He thought calling her to hire her was hard. Now he had his work cut out for him.
• • •
A knock on her door woke Katie from a nap on the little couch in her dressing room, and she stretched, feeling like she had been asleep for days instead of an hour. Her body ached and her mouth felt like she had been chewing on a sweater, but it was time to get ready for the show. Tiffany and Cara stepped into the doorway, matching expectant smiles on their faces.
“You guys! What are you doing here?” Katie hopped up, forgetting how sore her muscles were and how foggy her head had felt. “I can’t believe it! You’re really here! How can it be?” She squealed as she rushed over to the hairstylist and makeup artist and pulled them into a big hug.
Tiffany laughed, “Girl, when Blake Jackson called, I came running.”
“You know it. Well, actually his assistant called, but I think it was his idea. He thought you might like a couple of familiar faces when you got here,” Cara added.
Katie’s eyes shone with tears. “I’m so glad that y’all came. I’m excited to be here, but I have to admit, it has been so hard. I don’t really know anybody and I can’t tell if they want me here or not. Blake kind of let the other fiddler go to bring me here, and it’s not going over with the rest of the band very well.”
Cara sucked in a breath. “Ooh, awkward.”
Katie laughed without humor. “Tell me about it. So there’s that, and it’s weird to be back with Blake. We hadn’t spoken once since I left.”
“Wow, really? Last time we saw you two together, you guys were like two peas in a pod. Did you break up or something?” Tiffany asked.
“Yeah, I guess we did. We couldn’t really agree about what we would do when my band was finished with the tour and things just kind of went downhill from there. I’m sure you know that I had a bad fall and ended up in the hospital, right? Well, that’s why I had to go home early. I ended up with a concussion and had to take it easy for a couple of weeks. Blake’s fiddler replaced me for the last couple of Sterling’s shows so they finished up without me. One thing led to another and now here I am, working for Blake.”
“So now what? Think you two will get back together?” Cara finished setting up her products on the vanity and started working on Katie’s hair.
“I don’t know,” Katie said. She looked down at her hands in her lap and sighed. “To be honest, when he called to hire me, I really thought we would. I tried not to let myself get carried away, but of course I thought we would. I think I really want to, but I’m not sure.”
Tiffany’s brow furrowed as she applied Katie’s makeup. “You think you might not get back together?”
“I really don’t know. I have to be really careful this time, really consider everything before I decide what to do. It’s hard, because I love him, he’s my heart. It’s like when he’s gone I can’t breathe. I left my band to be here though, and I had been with them for six years. That was a lot to give up, and there’s no going back for me now. I have to be really careful with Blake, because now he’s my boss. If things don’t go well this time, he could fire me, or at least make things really uncomfortable for me. I didn’t really think it through before I made my decision. I was just hoping that he felt the same way that I do and that maybe he would have missed me so much that he would have changed.”
“Hmm, well I don’t know what’s going to happen, but one thing I can tell you for sure, you made the right choice. The last time I saw you two together, Blake Jackson looked like a man in love, and I’ve only seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you in movies. You can’t fake that in real life,” said Tiffany.
“Well I guess we’ll see. I have to figure out how to work with him no matter what happens.”
Tiffany and Cara finished Katie’s hair and makeup and said their goodbyes. They stepped aside, giggling, as Blake came in as they were leaving.
“Perfect timing. We just finished hair and makeup.” Katie turned to Blake and smiled shyly.
“I see that.” He eyed her appreciatively. “You look gorgeous.”
“Aw, thank you. Well, come on in. What’s up?” Katie was being artificially casual, but she wasn’t going to throw herself at Blake.
“I just wanted to see you before the show. I still can’t believe you’re here.” They sat on her little couch together and he took a strand of her hair between his thumb and finger, rubbing it absentmindedly as he looked into her eyes. “I never got a chance to see how it went with the Sterling guys.”