Gypsy Hearts (21 page)

She extended her hand. "Josie Tibbs. I spoke with
Ron Albani last week backstage at the Wild Horse
Saloon." Awareness dawned on his face and Josie felt
her spirits rise for the first time since she'd said goodbye to Brock.

"You were touring with that new fella Ron went on
about. I've been waiting for you to stop by. Ron said
you were looking for a job in a studio."

He shook her hand and introduced himself as Pete
Harrington, the owner of the studio. His smile
remained.

Now that it was certain she wouldn't be going back on
the road with Brock, she needed something permanent.

"Yes. I've just relocated to Nashville and am looking
for steady studio work."

"What experience do you have?"

Josie was prepared for this question. She'd rehearsed
it a thousand times in her head. There was a time she
would have bitten off her tongue rather than mention
her association with Grant Davies. But it was part of
her resume. His name opened doors. What she did
when she walked through that door was up to her.

"I've done some studio work lately with Brock
Gentry and I worked with Grant Davies on his early
work. I've brought some CD's, both live performances
and studio work."

"We'll have a listen to those in a minute. But I must
tell you, I trust Ron's judgment. It's not often he talks my
ear off about a new talent. You really impressed him."

She couldn't keep the smile from her face.

Pete sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't have the need
for another full-time sound engineer. I can give you a
job, but it'll be ground floor, basically whatever sessions aren't spoken for by my longtime engineers, possibly as an assistant if they like what you can do. It'll
be mostly grunt work. Does that sound like something
you can handle?"

She nodded. "I'm willing to start at the bottom, if
that's what it takes." She'd do boring dog food commercials again if she had to. She was willing to pay her
dues if it meant she'd be able to eventually work in
music again.

He chuckled. "I have a feeling you won't stay there
very long. We have a lot of influential music industry
folks pass through these doors. You might pick up some
time working with them on the side. If you're as good
as Ron said, word will get around and you'll be taking
your pick of sessions."

Josie left the studio with a smile and a dull ache in
her heart. This is what she'd wanted. She'd come back
to Nashville and landed a job in a good studio that
would give her a chance to advance in her career.

But as the door closed behind her and she felt the
cool air hit her face and the smell of fried food assault
her nose, she couldn't help but think of Brock.

She could go about her day. Lord knew there was a
long list of things she had to get done before she
started working. She needed to have her things trucked
over from Texas. She needed to pick up the keys to her
new apartment and then get Dexter out of the kennel.
She'd sleep on the floor for a few days until her furni ture arrived. There was so much to keep her occupied.
But she had a feeling that no matter how she filled her
day, her mind and her heart would be seeking out Brock.

She was in Nashville because of him and because of
the confidence he'd had in her ability. His friendship
had helped her break out of the chains holding her back.
She wanted to call him and share the news with him, but
it would have to wait until late tonight. He'd call if he
was free. He'd left this morning and was probably doing
a sound check in whatever city Will had scheduled him
in tonight. She'd check her messages when she got back
to the hotel just in case there was a change of plans.

Josie crossed the street and started walking the eight
blocks to the hotel, all the while fighting with herself
about whether or not she should call. His cell number
was burning a hole in her pocket. In the end, she decided against it. They'd said their good-byes this
morning as if it wasn't the last time, but Josie knew it
was only a matter of time. They both had to move on.
Both of them had new beginnings. Alone.

"Are you out of your mind?" Will boomed as they
left the conference room. Pointing to the room where
their private talk had taken place, he continued in a quieter tone. "This is what we've been working for. You
don't just walk into a major record label office and start
making demands until after we've agreed on a deal.
They're ready to hand you everything you want on a
silver platter."

"No, Will. I never agreed to this, which is why I
insisted on another meeting before we signed. What
they're offering is everything you want. Not me. I have to admit I'm to blame in part for some of this. We
haven't been communicating too well, you and I."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's taken me far too long to figure it out, but you
and I don't see me the same way."

"For instance?"

"You were the one to broach the subject of changing
the band around."

"I thought we settled that. You wanted the band back
and they agreed."

"All except for Josie."

Will's eyes narrowed. "Josie put you up to this," he
accused.

"Actually, I can come to conclusions pretty well on
my own." Brock tried to keep his irritation from getting
the better of him. He hadn't been quick to see the rift
between Will and Josie and for that he was sorry.

"What does that woman want? I set her up with a
sweet deal. Her own career is going to explode!"

Brock laughed. "You think that was all your doing?
Don't pretend that she didn't have anything to do with
where she is right now. She's good at what she does,
which is why I wanted to work with her in the first
place."

"And that's all?"

"That's all you need to know. The rest of it is none of
your business."

Will shook his head and laughed hard. "Everything
about making you a star is my business, kid. You
haven't been around this town long enough to know
how it works. You don't see things like I do."

"You're right. Because you're taking me somewhere I don't want to go. This is bad timing, I know, but there
need to be some changes with us."

Brock stood a few inches taller than Will, but as
Brock straightened his back, it wasn't the extra height
that gave him the advantage. It was his resolve to make
some changes.

"For starters, I'm not 'the kid.' You can make my
image into anything you want as long as you see me as
a partner and the image is something we both agree on.
That's number one if we're going to be working
together."

Will seemed momentarily affronted by the notion,
staring at Brock with wide-eyed disbelief.

"I'm not wearing flashy clothes, or allowing you or
anyone else to mold me into what they want as if I'm
some Gumby doll. You can get anyone to be that for
you, Will. But that's not what I am and not the way I
want people to see me. I don't want to be hiding behind
all that glitz."

"This is Nashville, Brock. This town loves all that
glamour."

"Then I guess they don't want me."

Will actually swayed. "You're talking about throwing
away a record contract? Listen to what you're saying."

"I'm hearing myself just fine, Will. And if all this
record company wants is a fake face and a puppet, they
can find it in someone else. You know what I want. If
they want me, they're taking me on my terms.
Otherwise 'the kid' is walking."

The day had started out sunny with a promise to stay
that way. Not that Josie had enjoyed any of it, however. Dexter would be flaming mad at her when she got
home.

She'd wrapped up her first solo session, another
radio spot. It had gone off without a hitch and her client
seemed happy. It didn't sting as much as she'd thought
it would, and Pete seemed impressed that she'd done
well. Josie only hoped her work had impressed him
enough to want to move her into some real studio work
soon. Everything in its time, she thought.

Josie had foolishly thought that a change of scene
wouldn't bring on memories of Brock. There were new
people to meet, fresh faces, and different procedures.
She had plenty to keep her mind occupied on anything
other than missing Brock.

She'd been wrong. They'd spent time in the studio
and had shared moments on the road. Though miles
away from where it all started, this studio still brought
back memories of those late night sessions with Brock.

Lost in her own thoughts as she straightened out the
equipment in the sound room, Josie didn't hear the door
open and then shut.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps
in the hallway.

"Is that you, Pete?" she called, walking out front.
She was eager to talk to him about her next session. But
it wasn't Pete.

"I can't believe I almost forgot how beautiful you
are," Brock said, his smile slightly askew and that dimple she'd seen the first day teasing her.

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt the
pounding of her heart against her ribs. "You can do better than that, cowboy," she said. "You look good."

He ran a hand down the front of his dark tweed
jacket and unfastened the button to reveal a black buttondown shirt tucked into black jeans. The black cowboy
boots he wore were brand new.

"Yeah? Will and I made a compromise. I'll dress up
nice as long as I don't look like a clown."

"This suits you much better."

"I think so."

Laughing, she launched herself into his arms. It felt
good to have him holding her again. She'd missed his
face and the deep timbre of his voice that had comforted her on their journey from Texas to Nashville on
more nights than she could count.

"Please say you're staying in town for a few days,"
she said, almost afraid the answer would be no. After
all the publicity generated by the show in Nashville,
Josie was sure Will had lined up a string of gigs at
much larger venues than they'd had in the past month.
For days after the Wild Horse Saloon gig, Brock had
been the talk of Nashville musicians.

His arms were still wrapped around her as he bent
his head lower to give her a kiss. "I'll be in town for a
little while. I'm going back into the studio to do some
additional tracks. I've got some new songs that I think
are a better fit for an album."

Her heart pierced. She wouldn't be there this time to
share that experience with Brock.

Rallying some enthusiasm she didn't feel, she said,
"Oh. That's great."

Smiling, Brock glanced around the studio. He pulled
away from her and walked into the sound room before
turning back again.

In her wildest dreams, Josie never imagined it would
be so hard to be this close to Brock and not touch him.
Just those few moments in his arms had her longing for
more. Memories of his gentle hand on her back flooded
her mind. The way his lips touched hers with a heated
passion so strong she thought she'd burn to ash.

She wanted to follow Brock, hang on his heels. No,
she wanted him to hold her again. Instead, she tied her
hands in a knot around herself.

"How do you like this place?"

"The studio is state of the art, like no place I've ever
worked."

"Good, then I'll have to make sure we book some
time here if they have the space available."

"You'll have to talk to Pete about that. He does all
the scheduling."

Maybe he'd put her on as a second to assist
whomever the record company brought in to work with
Brock. It wouldn't be the same as how it had been in
Texas. She wouldn't be the one to produce or run the
show, but it would give her a chance to be with Brock
again and have him close by for a while.

His dark eyes swept over her, penetrating her to the
very core as if he could read her mind.

"How long are we going to dance around this, Josie?
I'm dying here."

He opened his arms wide and as she laughed, she flew
into his embrace again. He felt so good and suddenly all
the uncertainty of leaving him seemed to melt away.

"I'm dying here too, Brock. But if working in this
studio is a way to keep you in town for a while, then I'm
all for it. I've missed you."

"Me too. But we won't have to be apart anymore."

Startled by his words, her eyes flew open wide.
"What?"

"I couldn't do it, Josie. I couldn't sign that contract
if it meant losing you."

She stared up into his face and sighed. "You didn't
take the contract? Brock, I don't want to be the reason
you have regrets."

"Yeah, you said that. But no matter what you thought
I was leaving behind, lady," he said, tipping her chin up
with his fingers, "I would have regretted losing you
more." And then his mouth came over hers and he
crushed her against his chest in a warm embrace she
never wanted to end. Breathing him in, she realized
she'd missed him more than she'd allowed herself to
acknowledge these last few days. But now he was here,
he was real, and she couldn't imagine the thought that
he'd go away again.

Still, this wasn't just about her. It was about what
Brock had given up to be with her. A tear slid down her
cheek. "This is something that's going to follow you. I
can't believe you turned down that record deal."

He lips tilted into a grin. "Oh, I didn't turn down the
deal completely, I just kept holding out until they
agreed to my terms."

Her mouth flew open in shock. "Really?"

He laughed. "You should have seen Will's face when
I told the boys to go back to the drawing board and write
up a new contract because I wasn't giving up my gypsy."

Josie's hands flew to her face. "Oh, please tell me
you didn't say it like that, did you?"

Laughing, Brock said, "No. I just told it like it was. You and I have something special here, Josie. Not just
in the studio, but like this, when I'm holding you in my
arms. No matter what deal they put on the table, I
would have regretted not fighting for what was right.
And that means keeping you by my side in every way.
We'll never have to be apart again."