Whisper's Edge (21 page)

Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, the karaoke started, and after a really horrible but funny version of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” the cowboy who seemed to be on a date with Savannah walked up and stood behind the mic. Tristan couldn’t help hoping he sucked.

“Turn on the music and let the lights down low…” the cowboy crooned in a deep Josh Turner voice.

He didn’t suck. People actually stopped eating and conversation ceased. Tristan saw Kate nudge Savannah with her elbow, and Savannah nodded and smiled before turning her attention back to the cowboy just as he sang, “I wanna be your man.…” Tristan swore he looked directly at Savannah.

“Hit a sour note,” Tristan said beneath his breath and then felt like a jackass for hoping something so petty. Plus,
his wish wasn’t granted. Oh no, when the cowboy finished the song the crowd roared for more.

“Let’s hear it for Jeff Greenfield,” the disc jockey needlessly shouted. “Fresh from the recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee!”

Oh great. Of course…

“Will we hear you on the radio soon, Jeff?”

Jeff tipped his cowboy hat and looked humble. “I’ve got some demo tapes out there so keep your fingers crossed for me,” he said in a deep voice that sounded like honey-laced Southern Comfort.

“Mind if I ask for requests before we open the floor back up?” the disc jockey asked.

“‘Firecracker’!” a woman shouted, and Jeff looked at the disc jockey.

“I’ve got that one,” he said, referring to another Josh Turner song that really got the crowd going. People actually got up and started dancing. When they wouldn’t allow Jeff to sit down, he went into the old-school Randy Travis classic “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

If Tristan hadn’t been so damned jealous he would have enjoyed the performance. Although he preferred classic rock he had a deep appreciation for country music. He glanced over at Savannah. Apparently so did she…well at least a deep appreciation for the singer.

Tristan sat there for a long moment, wondering if he should stay and be tortured or leave and be tortured. Should he go over there and say hello and hope for an invitation to sit down? Or maybe ask a girl to dance and try to make Savannah jealous? He didn’t even bother reminding himself that he was supposed to keep his distance. That plan just wasn’t going to work.

Leave it to him to fall for a girl who was probably going to end up despising him.

Jeff the cowboy started singing again and Tristan swore that the women in the audience collectively sighed. Okay,
scratch the last make-her-jealous plan of attack. Tristan drained his beer and decided to just pay his tab and leave.

Tristan was halfway out of the booth when the cowboy walked back to his table and put his hand on Savannah’s back while he leaned in and said something to her. She tipped her head sideways and laughed. The cowboy’s hand remained there and when he rubbed her back and then squeezed her shoulder Tristan scooted back into the booth. Enough was enough.

Game on.

“Y
OU HAVE AN AMAZING VOICE,” SAVANNAH SAID AFTER THE
applause finally died down.

“Thanks.” Jeff tipped his hat and flashed a humble grin. “I’m glad you liked it.” He gave her shoulder a final squeeze and then sat.

“You’ve surely got a bright future ahead of you,” Kate said, and Ben nodded his agreement.

“I wish. But it’s a tough, competitive industry. There’s a lot of talent out there. I’m just one of thousands.” He glanced over at Kate and a look passed between them.

“I, for one, hope you don’t give up,” Kate said firmly.

“I don’t think you’re the only one who hopes that,” Ben chimed in with a grin. “I swear, the ladies in the crowd were swooning.” He fanned his face, getting a chuckle from Jeff. “What’s your secret, you know, other than youth and talent?”

“It’s the hat.” Jeff touched the brim of his black Stetson.

“I think I might have to get me one.” Ben wiggled his eyebrows at Kate. “What do you think?”

“You could definitely rock the hat.” Kate gave his shoulder a playful shove.

“Why, thank you.” When Ben reached down and put his hand over Kate’s, Savannah felt a flash of surprise at the open show of affection and had to hide her reaction by taking a drink of her beer. They both seemed so happy and Savannah hoped with all her heart that whatever was developing between them grew stronger and deeper.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Kate announced over someone singing a loud but very bad cover of “Friends in Low Places.” Luckily the crowd didn’t seem to care and joined in. “Jeff, would you mind coming over to Whisper’s Edge sometime soon to perform at the community center? Savannah, we could plan a country music night. Have a barbecue? Do some two-steppin’?”

“That’s a great idea!” Savannah agreed. “Jeff?”

“Sure, I’d love to.” Jeff smiled at Savannah. “Just give me a date and I’ll keep it open.”

“I’ll do that,” Savannah answered and noticed that he had a very cute dimple when he smiled. “We’ll charge a cover that will go directly to you.”

“Ah, not necessary.” Jeff was positively gorgeous in a sexy, country-boy way and she couldn’t help but be flattered that he was giving her all of his attention when he could have any girl in the room.

“That’s very generous of you, Jeff,” Savannah said. “I’m sure the event will be a big hit.”

“I’ll do my best.” Jeff’s laid-back but playful demeanor made him very likeable, and the man had a mouth made for kissing. His aftershave wafted her way, woodsy and clean, and she waited for the tug of desire to hit her that she always felt when around Tristan. So far, it was a no-show. Still, she was having a good time. Perhaps the attraction was simmering beneath the surface. She just needed to give it a little bit more time.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,” Kate added.

A moment later Pete Sully walked over to their table with a bucketful of Bud Light dangling from his beefy hand.
“I come bearing gifts,” he announced in his big booming voice that matched his imposing body. He was, however, a gentle giant and well liked throughout the town. After plunking the bucket down in the center of the table he said, “Jeff, how would you like to have a singing gig here on the weekends?” Sully tugged on his beard and waited for Jeff’s answer. “You’d get a generous portion of the cover charge and drink for free,” he added.

“He’s concentrating on Nashville, Pete,” Kate interrupted and got a nudge from Ben.

“Are you his road manager, Miss Kate?” Pete asked.

“No, just an interfering aunt,” Ben answered for her.

“Hey, I’m just sayin’,” Kate said.

“That so?” Sully handed Jeff a cold beer. “You headin’ back to Nashville?”

“I’m not really sure. I’ve been singing in Nashville at the honky-tonks for tips for a while now.” Jeff twisted off the cap and shrugged. “And I’ve got some demos out there making the rounds but I thought I might stay here in Cricket Creek for a few weeks and sort things out. So, yeah, at least for the time being I would be happy to sing on weekends.”

“Sweet,” Pete said and gave Jeff a slap on the back. “You’ll pack the place, son!”

“I hope so.” Jeff raised his bottle. “Thanks for the beer.”

“My pleasure. Come on over tomorrow for lunch and we’ll talk details. I’m making a pot of my soon-to-be-famous chili.”

“When are you gonna give me that recipe?” Kate wanted to know.

“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you,” Pete said with a low chuckle. He gave them all a salute before turning on his cowboy boots and heading back to the bar.

Kate narrowed her eyes. “I’ve tried to duplicate that danged chili for years now but there is some elusive ingredient that I know I’m missing. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Savannah nodded but she was only half listening. Instead, she was pondering why she kept thinking about
Tristan McMillan when she had Jeff Greenfield sitting right next to her. Although Jeff was a little bit younger, he was much more suited to her than high-powered lawyer Tristan. Jeff was a homegrown Cricket Creek son of a farmer. He drove a pickup truck and wore Wrangler jeans. He was sweet and handsome and seemed totally into her and not to mention that he could sing his face off.

What was her problem?

Savannah sighed inwardly. If Jeff couldn’t take her mind off Tristan, then nobody probably could. Perhaps she should redouble her efforts at flirting with cutie-pie Jeff and see where the night took her? Jeff could be just the antidote for her unrequited feelings for Tristan. Maybe a kiss would do the trick. It was worth a shot.

Then again, perhaps she should just throw caution to the wind and follow her heart? Even though Tristan was everything she wasn’t…perhaps in the end it really didn’t matter. Ugh! Her head was spinning. She just wasn’t used to all of this man trouble.

“Are you okay?” Jeff asked.

Savannah looked up into his frowning face. “Sure, why?”

“You just groaned.”

“I did?” How embarrassing.

He looked at her oddly and nodded. “As if you were in distress.”

“Oh.” Savannah felt heat creep up her neck. “I…um, think I might be a little bit hungry.”

“Well, now.” Jeff smiled. “We can fix that easy enough. What would you like to eat?”

“How about we share some hot wings?” She wasn’t sure she wanted wings but it was the first thing that popped into her mind. Damn. Wings were messy. What was she thinking?

Jeff nodded his agreement. “I love wings. The hotter the better. How about you?”

“Oh, yes,” she agreed and was rewarded with one of his dimpled grins. Surely if he kissed her…

“Sounds like a winner.” He looked over at Kate and Ben. “Y’all want to order us up a mess of wings?”

Kate raised her eyebrows at Ben, and Savannah had to hide her smile. In all the years that Savannah had known Kate she always just answered for herself without hesitation. The mere fact that she looked to Ben for approval spoke volumes.

“I think wings would hit the spot,” Ben said. “And maybe some potato skins too.”

“All right, then,” Jeff said. “I’ll flag down the server.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go to the ladies room before the food arrives.” Savannah looked across the table. “Kate, do you have to go?”

“Sure,” Kate answered, drawing a chuckle from Ben.

“Why do y’all have to go together?” Ben shook his head at Jeff, who raised his hands in question.

“I’ve always wondered the same thing.”

“So we can talk about you,” Kate answered with a wink.

“Ah, the answer to the age-old question,” Ben said. “Hurry back or I’ll eat all your wings.”

“Don’t you even dare,” Kate warned him.

After they reached the ladies room Kate pushed open the door. After bending over to peer beneath the stalls to see if they were alone she eagerly pounced on Savannah. “So, what do you think about Jeff?”

“He’s cute.”

“That’s all?” Kate turned to the mirror. She fluffed her hair and primped, which was something she probably wouldn’t have done if not with Ben.

“He’s really nice.”

“
Nice
?” Kate looked at Savannah in the mirror.

“And talented.” Savannah tried harder. “Really talented.”

“Oh, girlie…” Kate applied some coral lipstick and then turned to Savannah and sighed. “Fess up. It’s Tristan, isn’t it?”

“No!” Savannah protested with so much conviction that
it sounded phony even to her own ears. “Of course not,” she added adamantly, and started applying her own lipstick.

“Then it won’t bother you that he’s here.”

What?
Savannah felt her heart rate rise, and her tube of lipstick dropped in the sink with a
clank
. “No, why should it?”

“You tell me.”

“Are you messing with me, Kate?”

Kate blotted her lips and then shook her head slowly. “No, sugar, I’m surely not. I spotted him earlier in a booth behind us in the far corner. You had your back to him. I think he is still there.”

“Oh, Kate, I’m with the cutest boy in town and all I can do is think about someone totally,
totally
wrong for me.”

“Don’t start that he’s-out-of-my-league bullshit. I’m not havin’ it.”

“Okay, but still, you can’t deny that we are worlds apart in so many ways.”

“I’ll give you that.”

“What in the world should I do? He uses words that I have no clue as to what they even mean.”

“Follow your heart.”

“My heart is being stupid. Leading me in the wrong doggone direction.”

Kate gave her a tender smile. “I hear ya. Now, why don’t you give Jeff a shot, anyway? Give your stupid heart someone else to think about?”

“I’m trying really hard.”

Kate put her lipstick away and then placed her hands on Savannah’s shoulders. “I know I should keep my nose out of this but I care about you.” She swallowed and then shook her head. “You’re my daughter now, remember? Butting my nose in is my job.”

Savannah felt a hot lump form in her throat. “I’ve waited a long time for someone to say that to me.”

“Ahhh, sweetie.” Kate hugged her hard and then pulled back and tugged a couple of tissues from a box on the
vanity. For a moment they both dabbed at their eyes. She chuckled. “Here come the waterworks again.”

“I know.” She blew her nose and sniffed. “We’re quite a pair.”

“Look, as much as I would love to see you and Jeff get together, I don’t want to push you in the wrong direction.”

“I hear a
but
.”

Kate gave her a level look. “But tread carefully with Tristan.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you trust him?”

Kate pressed her lips together and then said, “My instincts tell me that he’s a good person even though his grandfather is a class-A jerk. But that being said, I just have this feeling that there’s more going on than what he’s sayin’. I can see it in the boy’s eyes.”

“Like what?”

Kate shrugged. “I don’t
know
and it might just be crazy ole me being overly protective of you. Just be careful, okay?”

Savannah nodded. “I will.”

“Good, now we’d better tinkle and get back out there before they think we fell in,” Kate said with a laugh.