Crimson and Clover (24 page)

“It’s in Birmingham, Alabama.”

An ugly suspicion began to grow in Jay’s mind and was confirmed as Walter continued, his chin lifted with defiance.

“Katie was thrilled you want her to come see you play in her hometown when I called and told her. I got her a flight into Atlanta and from there into Birmingham. We’ll swing by and pick her up on the way to the motel.”

Jay barely heard the details of the flight plans through the roaring in his mind. He glared at Walter with real hatred, not trusting himself to speak.

“Look, Jay, we need this.” Walter appeared oblivious to the fact that Jay wanted to kill him on the spot. “Zeppelin’s tour kicks off in fuckin’ Carnegie Hall on Friday and we can’t afford to let any publicity before then go to waste. Any buzz we can generate can’t help but be good. Right? And when I heard it was in Birmingham, I thought it would be nice for Katie to join us like she did the first time we played Hamburg.”

Jay made the proper synapses fire in his brain so he could stand. How he wanted to fire Walter on the spot! But he couldn’t, not without the approval of the others. And they wouldn’t understand Jay’s anger at what just happened. “You thought no such thing,” he snarled. “You only knew I’d have to stay if you dragged Katie into it, you little bastard.” He pointed a shaking finger at his manager. “Stay the fuck away from me.” He left the room, venting his anger on the door he slammed so hard the windows rattled in their aluminum frames.

The narrow concrete balcony that stretched outside their rooms was deserted. Jay stalked past the closed doors until he was a good distance from Walter’s room and gripped the rusted iron railing with such force his fingers should have left imprints. Sorry as he was about it, he knew the people in Tallahassee would be getting a bum show that night. He was so angry at Walter’s actions he couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for the upcoming concert. Perhaps he would mention to Adam he wasn’t feeling well. If his poor performance became noticeable, Adam could make excuse during the banter he riffed between songs.

Releasing the railing, he straightened and put his hands in his pockets. He hated to be controlled by others; he’d fought against it since he was a child trying to escape his father’s rigid ideals. Walter’s ignoring Jay’s edicts was bad enough, but using Katie as a pawn in his schemes had crossed a line. Just thinking about Katie being employed as a device to control him made him clench his fists with renewed anger. She was the most precious thing in his life and he’d protect her from Walter’s machinations, no matter the cost to himself.

With a sigh he turned and started toward his room. The whirlwind of emotions had left him drained and all he wanted was a nap. Perhaps he’d dream about Katie again. A smile touched his lips. Even though he hated the circumstances, he couldn’t wait to see her again.

Ignoring the stares of people in the luggage retrieval area, Katie watched the revolving carousel, eyes peeled for her serviceable green suitcase. She knew the way she was dressed made her look like a fool, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Let them stare.

She’d had only a short time to pack and make it to Heathrow and she’d put all the clothes she wanted to take with her in the suitcase. By the time she realized everything else decent she owned was either dirty or at the dry cleaner, it was time to leave. As a consequence, her triumphant return to Birmingham found her clothed in her surpassingly romantic white linen poets blouse tucked into a faded pair of cut-off denim short-shorts, a turquoise belt and a beat-up pair of cowboy boots. Yee-haw.

Spotting her suitcase half-buried under a large, black garment bag, Katie dived forward and grabbed the handle before it could make another round. She hauled it off the carousel and wondered what to do next. Walter had only said they’d pick her up at the airport; he hadn’t said where. As she looked down the concourse, her eye was caught by a man wearing a shirt with such a bright floral pattern it appeared to precede him by several feet. Curious, she raised her eyes to the man’s face, wondering who the hell would wear something like that in public, quite forgetting her own attire. With a start, she recognized Rick Parker, Shadowed Knight’s American road manager. He caught sight of her at the same time she recognized him and waved enthusiastically. Katie hoisted her suitcase and marched toward him, her cowboy boots clacking against the tile floor. Aware again of what she was wearing, she hoped she and Rick’s shirt wouldn’t make the six o’clock news.

“Hey, pretty girl.” Rick gave her a quick hug before taking her suitcase. “Good flight?” He took her arm and steered her up the concourse without waiting for an answer. “We’re parked in a red area, so we better boogie before everything’s impounded. Our hair is already generating some really negative vibes.”

“Tell me about it,” Katie responded, remembering the attitudes of Birmingham residents toward long-haired men. She trotted to keep up with Rick’s long strides and they reached the door in record time. Her eyebrows shot up in amazement at the assortment of vehicles that awaited them, including a battered looking panel truck, a VW van with George’s drum cases showing through the windows, and two innocuous Ford station wagons that might have gone undetected save they contained so much hair they looked like a Breck commercial. The first was filled with the road crew. At the head of the line, Walter stood at the front passenger door of the other wagon, tapping his foot with impatience.

“Let’s go,” he snapped at Rick as they reached the car. “Some fucking bloke just told me he was going inside to call the police.”

“The suitcase … ” Rick began, holding up Katie’s Samsonite.

“Give it to me.” Walter snatched it from Rick’s hands. “Katie, luv, brilliant to see you,” he said in a perfunctory tone before diving into the car.

Rick sped around to the driver’s side, leaving Katie on the sidewalk. The back door of the station wagon opened and a pair of long arms hauled her inside just as Rick put the car in gear. They pulled away from the curb with a squeal of tires, the other vehicles following suit. Not just the six o’clock news, then, but probably a repeat on the ten o’clock broadcast.

Katie looked at Adam from her perch on his lap. “Nice to see you, too.” Grateful as she was for his assistance, it still surprised her. After all, Adam had treated her like a pariah since the day she’d thrown him out of her flat.

Surprising her further, Adam grinned. “Since we were bringing your suitcase, I thought perhaps you’d better come along with it.”

“Thanks for thinking of me,” she told him with a hesitant grin of her own.

George, Stuart and Nicky greeted her from the rear of the car as Adam deposited her on the seat between him and Jay. Katie returned their hellos as Jay’s arm came tight around her shoulders and she felt his lips brush through her hair. She sighed and melted against him, relaxing for the first time since boarding the BritAir jet at Heathrow.

Stuart leaned over the seat back, his voice full of suppressed laughter. “Gotta tell you, Kate, I love your outfit.”

“Really? I’m amazed you can see me past the glare of Rick’s shirt.”

“Ha ha.” Rick’s voice overrode the laughter occasioned by Katie’s comment. “I’ll have you know that this shirt … Shit!” The occupants of the car were thrown forward as Rick slammed on the brakes. “Is that where we turn? Oh. No, it’s up there.”

Exclamations of alarm from the back of the car made Katie turn her head to find the front bumper of the following station wagon mere millimeters from the back window.

“When I die,” George heatedly informed Rick, “it’s going to be in a blaze of glory. Not being crushed by the road crew because you fucking don’t know how to drive!” Next to him, Nicky groaned and closed his eyes, wiping sweat from his brow.

“He was blinded by his shirt.” Stuart’s face was pale, but he managed to crack a joke.

Rick didn’t find it funny. “Eat me,” he muttered, negotiating the turn without further mishap.

Shaking in delayed reaction to the near miss, Katie turned and caught Jay’s eye. His tender smile made her heart flip-flop and she drank in her first sight of him in almost three months.

“At least I’ll die happy, blaze of glory or no,” he told her.

“Me, too.” She leaned her forehead against his. “Missed you.”

“I love you,” Jay whispered.

In the front seat, Walter fiddled with the radio and in no time Marvin Gaye was testifying that he was too busy thinkin’ about his baby to have time for nothin’ else. Before the song ended, Rick pulled the car into the parking lot of the motel. Clutching a sheaf of papers, Walter dived out almost before they came to a halt and dashed through the lobby doors. Moving much slower, Shadowed Knight tumbled out of the car with groans, stretching like cats in the sunshine.

Katie observed Jay as his long arms reached skyward, his head thrown back, a moan of pleasure escaping his lips. “You guys getting old, or what?”

Jay lowered his arms and squinted at her in the early afternoon light. “Walter allowed us to stop in Montgomery to pee. Other than that we’ve been crammed in that car since dawn.”

“Geez, you bigga-time rock and roll bands sure do lead the glamorous life, don’t you?”

“Nothing but champagne and roses, that’s us,” Jay joked. “Next time we’re hiring a plane, even if I have to pay for it myself.” He touched Rick’s shoulder to get his attention. “Make sure Katie’s suitcase gets to my room.”

“On it, Jay,” Rick assured him.

“Good.” Jay turned back to Katie and put his arm around her shoulders. “The little weasel should have us checked in by now. I’m ready to greet you properly.”

“Mm, me, too.” Just inside the motel door, she caught sight of a small group of a dozen people dressed in an assortment of outfits that made Rick’s shirt look tame. “Oh, look, honey. Your fans.” She glanced up at Jay with a grin.

“Oh, goody,” he said without enthusiasm. “I’ll wager none of them has a ticket to the show.”

“You know, if I hadn’t moved to California I’d probably be standing there with them right now,” Katie mused.

“You wouldn’t be standing there long, I can assure you of that.” Jay squeezed her shoulder as he led her toward the elevator where Walter was waiting with an assortment of room keys.

Nudging Jay’s waist to get his attention, Katie nodded toward Adam who was sauntering along in front of them, his chest thrown out and the barest movement of his head making his shimmering hair swing against his shoulder blades. “Look at him.” She lowered her voice. “The male peacock, upon spotting females of the species, fans his glorious tail feathers, an enticement to mating.”

Jay snorted in amusement. “You have no idea. It isn’t peacock feathers that get him off.”

Katie turned to him, curious. “Oh, really? And what does?”

“You don’t want to know.” His voice contained a note of finality that made her choke back any more questions.

She hadn’t been lying to Maureen when she told her the Jay she spoke to on the telephone was different from the Jay she knew at home, but seeing him up close brought it home to her with clarity. The thrill of seeing him again was starting to wear off, replaced by another kind of thrill. There was a leashed-in ferocity about Jay that set her nerves tingling, a hint of danger lurking just below the surface that stirred something deep within her. She licked her lips as they crowded into the elevator and wondered just how dangerous he could be. It came as a shock that she wanted very much to push him to the limit and find out.

The elevator came to a stop with an unnerving thump and Walter positioned himself against the door, preventing it from closing. As they exited, he handed room keys to each of them with a sharp reminder they would leave at five o’clock.

Jay’s eyes scanned the room numbers as they made their way along the hall. He glanced at the key in his hand and stopped in front of one of the doors. He tried to insert the key in the lock and frowned as it met resistance. Pulling it out, he turned it upside down and tried again. This time, the key slid home and turned with ease.

The room was furnished in Early American Ugly; brown sculptured carpet, a dresser with a plastic veneer top, a double bed with a floral bedspread, and a generic painting of sunflowers on the wall. Floral curtains, matching the bedspread, were opened over the window, the heat and air unit under it silent. The room was musty and smelled of stale cigarette smoke.

“Why the hell are we staying here?” Katie asked in astonishment.

“Not enough rooms anywhere else.” The room key hit the dresser with a clatter as Jay tossed it aside and pulled Katie into his arms. His lips on hers were crushing and Katie responded with a hunger that surprised her. It must have surprised Jay, too, because he pulled back and looked at her with one eyebrow cocked.

“You did miss me, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I missed you,” she whispered. “But there’s something else.”

“Really?” He nipped her jaw. “What’s that?”

“You’re … different. It kind of turns me on.”

He grew still for a moment, his arms locked around her. After a moment, his muscles relaxed and he drew back. “Different? How?”

Katie shook her head. “I don’t know. Quieter. More intense. Almost … dangerous.”

His chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath and released her. Leaving her gaping in confusion he went to look out the window. “What would you think about staying here for a bit?”

Taken by surprise at the abrupt change of subject, Katie looked around the room. “What’s caught your fancy, the floral curtains or the tiny bathroom?”

“Not
here
. In Birmingham.” He tossed a quick grin at her over his shoulder. “I’ve been thinking; you haven’t been here in a while and we could stay a couple of days if you’d like. And then … How far is it to Mississippi?”

Katie shrugged, still trying to process what he was saying. “Depends on where you want to go. The state line’s a couple of hours away. Why?”

Eyes lowered, Jay sat on the edge of the bed and bounced as if checking the quality of the mattress. “I was thinking if we were close we might visit Rosedale. You know, the Crossroads?”