Love Songs (18 page)

She kept checking her phone hoping Warner had responded to at least one of her text messages, but to no avail.

Tom's phone rang and he took the call. When he hung up he signaled for the check. "Our star is done with her rehearsal. She wants to meet you."

"Today? I really would like to talk to my husband about this."

"Sometimes you have to make your own call," he said as he stood.

"When will I have to make my decision?" She gathered her purse and followed him out of the restaurant.

"Oh you're in or you're out. She needs to fill this spot on these tours. She likes you."

He was heading up the street. She assumed toward his office or to the studio where Savannah had rehearsed.

"I don't really understand this. I mean I was singing background to Warner. I didn't carry any of the songs."

"It seemed to do the job."

She checked her phone and sent Warner another text. This simply wasn't happening. How did her life get so complicated and full of amazing things in less than a month? But she'd considered doing this, hadn't she? There had been that spark when she performed Warner's song with Randy and she knew she'd wanted to do this. This was her opportunity.

Warner had his own opportunities brewing. The TV show was going to launch his career, so he would want her to be successful, right? This is what he would want for his wife.

Warner was a quick study—no one on this show liked him.

He’d already seen the attitude before him when the one guy, and he didn’t remember his name because he just didn’t care to, thought Warner would get more air time because of Patricia. The girl, who looked like she’d be better off singing in a tribute band to Metallica, had already been interviewed and he caught the part where she thought Warner’s music was for sissies.

But what the hell did it really matter? Warner was looking to sell his songs and to get a contract. Heck, not everyone thought the world of Tim McGraw, George Strait, or even the OX. There were always going to be critics and this show was all about putting them together in a battle.

When Warner took his opportunity to be interviewed, the first question was about Patricia Little.

“Let’s set the record straight,” he said. “Patricia Little was unfortunately my stepmother from the time I was ten until I was twelve. I am in my thirties and she’s still a thorn in my side. So as far as I’m concerned, that can be your last question about Patricia Little. She is nothing in my life and has nothing to do with my life.”

“How about your new wife? That was sudden wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. When you fall in love with the right girl you marry her as fast as you can,” Warner said with a smile.

“What about her career? She’s going on tour, singing your songs. Does that make you feel like you’ve been left behind already?”

Warner narrowed his stare on the man behind the camera asking the questions. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s meeting with Savannah’s people right now. I’m sure you knew that.”

Warner could feel the heat rise in his face and damn he was sure that showed on camera. He needed to control himself quickly or he was going to fall right into the trap of making himself look like an idiot on TV.

“My wife is a very talented woman. If Savannah liked her style then the woman has taste. As for her singing my songs, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have sing them.”

The man nodded. Warner hadn’t gotten all worked up. Their plan had failed—on camera at least. What the hell was Clara doing signing contracts to sing his songs?

He stood from the stool when the interview was over and headed right to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Well, he hadn’t really expected his new wife to sell him out in only two days but why would that differ from anyone else in his life?

Oh, she was going to get an earful when he got home. Maybe he had made a mistake running off and marrying her. After all, hadn’t he assumed she was going to steal his songs anyway?

He reached into his pocket and turned on his phone to give her a call. He was curious as to what she would say to him.

Before he could dial the number the screen lit up with no less than ten text messages, notice of six missed calls, and a voice message.

He scanned through the texts.

Warner call me.

OMG Savannah wants me to sing with her. Call me.

Where are you?

I’m heading to her mgrs. office. They want me to contract.

Warner I need you.

Call me.

He let out a breath. She wasn’t hiding from him. That stupid man who had interviewed him had inside knowledge of something and he was trying to use it against Warner. Well he was glad he’d played that off and they didn’t get the fight they thought they would. Warner wasn’t going to let this get to him. This was going to work for him, dammit!

Warner listened to the voice mail. The last one had only been sent fifteen minutes earlier.

“Warner, please call me as soon as you can.” Clara sighed into the phone. “Savannah wants me to tour with her for ten cities. I’d be that act that goes out before anyone even gets into the arenas, but they want me to sing your songs. I need to know what you think. They want me to sign today or I’m out. I want to do this, but not without your consent. I’m in the bathroom now hoping you get this. Please call me or text me. I’m in Tom Wheeler’s office down on Broadway. Please call me.”

Warner felt his heart race. His Clara was going to sign a contract to perform his music. That stupid man had thought he’d get mad about that, but he wasn’t. This was big for both of them.

He dialed Clara’s number, but there was no answer. So he sent her a text.

You sign that contract and you make that woman proud. I’d be honored if you’d sing my songs.

He pushed send and waited a moment for her reply as he walked out to the hallway.

“Hey, Warner. I was looking for you,” Jeremy said as he walked down the hall. “We’re going to do some more camera shots of you all to get the opening shot.”

“You guys are really pushing to do this fast, aren’t you?”

“Keeps costs down.”

“I see.” Warner looked down at his phone as it buzzed in his hand.

Signed! I love you and we’re going to be big!

He smiled as Jeremy looked over at him.

“Text from the wife?”

Warner nodded. “Yep, seems as though she just signed to tour with Savannah.”

“Ya don’t say?” Jeremy smiled.

“You might have given me some warning so I wouldn’t look like an ass in that interview,” Warner said.

“C’mon. It’s all about reaction.”

At that moment, Warner’s reaction was to punch this guy in the gut. But that’s what they wanted. They wanted to see how far this guy would go before he’d break like his father did. Well he had news for Nashville and the world—he wasn’t going down like that. And they weren’t going to pull his wife down either.

He thought about the tattoo on her wrist. The word “family” in the infinity symbol. They were family now and a family stood together and fought together. Well, he’d be damned if the need for good TV was based on him falling to pieces. Patricia Little could have all the bad press she wanted. He wasn’t interested. What he was interested in was getting his music out there and it seemed as though Clara was doing just that.

They wanted good TV? They would get it. Only not once was he going to say the woman’s name aloud. He was going to write and perform and let Clara carry his music to the masses. She had ten show dates, he had ten episodes. In the end they’d still have each other. After all he was a Keller now, as she’d told him, and Kellers stuck together.

Oh, Jeremy Smith thought he’d get some dirt because he too despised Patricia Little. Patty was going to work any angle she could to show the world Warner now could fail on TV and in anything he did. But they were going to be disappointed. Mr. and Mrs. Wright were going to ride this to the top.

Warner walked into the studio where the others from the show had been waiting.
Kill ‘em with kindness,
he thought and gave everyone a big smile. “Let’s get this show on the road. I got a wife with a touring contract to get home to.”

It was nearly seven o’clock before Warner made it home. The only person there was Christian. He’d really hoped to have a few moments to talk to his wife, but she hadn’t answered his call on the drive home or any of his texts in the past hour.

So much had happened in one day and it wasn’t until he was alone in his truck, with the radio off, and nothing but the sound of traffic on the street that he realized all of this was too coincidental.

Three weeks ago he was being told he had no talent. Jordan Farr had given him a little hope and then Warner found him at Patty’s house. Now Patty owned part of the record label most likely to ever sign him. He gets a gig to play in front of someone, whom he now knew was Savannah. Suddenly he’s signed to do ten episodes of some TV reality show and his wife, who only sang backup to him and Randy, except for once when she sang his song, now was going to tour with Savannah. None of this made sense and at the same time, wasn’t it what they wanted?

Warner pushed open the back door and Christian was at the kitchen table. He looked up at him.

“Hey.”

Warner shut the door. “Hey.”

“Clara’s not with you?”

He set his keys on the counter. “No. She’s got something going on.”

Christian nodded his head. “Was just hoping to talk to her. I need her opinion.”

“Anything I can help with?”

Christian winced, thought Warner wasn’t sure he knew he had, but then he nodded. “Maybe. You’ve been through this already.” Christian pushed a small box to the middle of the table. “What do you think?”

Warner walked over to the box. It was a ring box. He opened it slowly revealing the biggest solitaire he’d ever seen, and he knew Patricia Little’s taste in fine jewelry.

“Please don’t let my wife see this. I can’t afford one of these.”

Christian laughed a nervous laugh. “It’s nice, huh?”

“Gorgeous.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping it’ll do the trick. I’m going to ask Tori to marry me.”

Warner smiled. “Trust me. If she loves you the ring will be only the icing on the cake, not the reason.”

“I know. I know. It’s just,” he let out a breath, “I’m nervous.”

Warner knew what he meant. He’d been nervous too, but it worked out to his benefit. He was married to Clara and even though they were still learning about each other, he couldn’t imagine that years of waiting would have made it any better.

“When are you going to ask her?”

Christian bit down on his lip. “I don’t know exactly. I keep thinking I want to plan it all out, every moment of the night. But then I keep thinking spontaneous is better, right?”

“It worked for me.”

“Yeah.” Christian picked up the ring and looked it over. “Maybe that’ll be best. Spontaneous.”

“You’ll know when it’s right.”

Christian looked up at him. “What made you do it? I mean why marry someone when you’ve only met them? Aren’t you worried the Kellers are crazy and now you’re caught up in it?”

That made Warner laugh hard. “Are you kidding me? My mother left when I was ten because she was tired of being a mom. My dad committed suicide after his wife ran off on him and she went on to ruin the career of the OX and has spent the rest of the time trying to ruin me, although I don’t know why. My grandmother disliked me as much as my mother did and she shipped me off to Vegas to live with some aunt for a while. I’m thinking any crazy in this family is welcomed.”

“Damn. I thought getting injured and losing my career was bad.”

“Don’t think I’m looking for sympathy. Not everyone has a family like yours. Even though your parents had a hard time you were still taken care of.”

Christian nodded. “Yeah, even when Mom was married to Matt things were good.”

“Not many kids get their wish that their parents get back together.”

“True. I know this sounds bad, but sometimes I think the best thing to happen to us all was Mom’s cancer.”

“It brought you all together.”

Christian looked at the ring again and began to laugh. “I remember coming home from school and you could hear laughing from the bathroom. And there was Mom with her head shaved and she was shaving Dad’s head.”

Warner smiled. “That’s commitment.”

“Oh, his fiancée was mad. But he did it to comfort Mom. Then Ed sat down and shaved his head too.”

“What about you?”

The smile left Christian’s face. “Nah, I was too scared back then. I was afraid of everything, especially losing Mom. Clara and I ran the opposite direction when he offered to shave our heads.”

That made Warner laugh again. Just the image in his head of the two of them turning tail.

Christian took the ring out of the box and rolled it between his fingers. “There are nights I lie awake wishing I’d joined them. I was selfish not to.”

“You can’t regret it.”

“I know. But think about it, if it happened now, both Clara and I would be first in line.”

Warner widened his stare at his brother-in-law. “Damn, she totally would too.”

Christian laughed. “I know, right?”

The back door opened and Clara walked in looking more than a little frazzled.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Warner said as he walked to her and pulled her into him tightly.

“Hey.” She set her keys next to his on the counter and dropped her purse on the floor. “What are you boys doing?”

“Christian was asking for fashion advice,” Warner grinned.

“Fashion advice? Are you over the basketball shorts and T-shirt stage?”

“Ha, ha very funny,” Christian stood and walked toward her. “This guy’s opinion on this was exactly what I needed. But I’ll show you too.”

He opened the box in his hand and showed her the ring.

Clara cupped her hands over her mouth. “Oh, Chris, it’s beautiful.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“You’re going to ask her? You’re really going to do this?”