Country: a novel Part 9

When Michael and Amanda got back from Nashville, things had been a little rocky between them for a few days. Michael had been withdrawn and distracted. And Amanda was stressed over a new ad campaign she'd been a.s.signed to.

And every day at lunch, Michael stared at the number his mother had texted to him at brunch on Sunday. But he couldn't think of an excuse to call Sandy. And he felt wrong even thinking about it. He had been faithful to Amanda for three years and had only cheated on her once at the beginning, and he didn't want to do anything behind her back now. But finally, on Wednesday, after a tense time with Amanda the night before, he called Sandy.

She had been rehearsing a new song with the band, and they had just taken a break. Bobby Joe had come by and told her he didn't like it. And Sandy didn't like the new drummer Chase was trying out.

"h.e.l.lo?" She was exasperated when she heard her phone, and she didn't recognize the number.

"Hi," he said, feeling thirteen years old again. It had been three years since he'd called a woman other than Amanda, and he felt rusty at it, although he'd gone out with a lot of girls in college. "It's Michael Adams. I met you at the concert last weekend, with my mother...Stephanie..." He tried to jog her memory, as though he needed to. She knew exactly who he was the moment she heard his voice.

"Hi, Michael." She seemed happy to hear him. Her voice was soft and breathless. He loved the way she sounded on the phone. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I was wondering how you were. That was a great concert. You were terrific."

"Thanks. I was trying out a new song Chase wrote for me. I still need to work on it." She was thinking of Bobby Joe's harsh criticism of the way she sang it. "What have you been up to?"

"Working. I work for the Atlanta Braves." She remembered.

"That must be cool, for a guy," she said, and giggled. "I don't know too much about baseball," she admitted this time. "I work all the time. Chase is a pretty demanding teacher, but he's the best there is. He thinks I have talent, so he's tough on me. And he works really hard himself."

"I think so too," Michael said, about her having talent. He was thrilled to be talking to her. She could have said anything-he just liked hearing her voice, young, breezy, and s.e.xy. "You sing like an angel."

"That's what my dad used to say. Not everybody thinks so." She was referring to Bobby Joe. "I love to sing, though. It's great doing something you really love. Do you like what you do?" she asked him.

"I love it. I want to manage a team one day. I need a lot more experience to do it, and I'll probably go to grad school. Would you like to come down for a game sometime?" As he said it, he was wondering how he would pull it off with Amanda. She didn't come to all his games, but she was around all weekend. And what would he do with Sandy once she got there?

"I'd really like that." She sounded as though she meant it, although she wondered how that would sit with his girlfriend, and then the band started signaling to her that they were going back to rehearsal. "That sounds terrific. I have to go back to work now. We're at rehearsal. Call me again sometime."

"I'd like that very much," he said, feeling awkward, but happy that he'd called her. He could just imagine her at rehearsal, with her long blond hair and big blue eyes, singing her heart out.

He thought about her all afternoon, and when he got home that night, Amanda was in an even worse mood. She told him why at dinner, which consisted of the takeout he'd brought home. Amanda didn't cook. Sometimes he did. Or they ate out. Amanda loved going to nice restaurants.

"I have to go to Houston for client meetings all weekend. I hate this new client. They just rejected our whole presentation, and they want to brainstorm with us."

"I have a home game this weekend anyway. I have to be here."

"I hate Houston," she said, looking glum.

"When do you leave?"

"Friday morning. They're sending a plane for us, and I won't be home till Sunday night." He nodded, but all he could think of that night, as he lay in bed next to Amanda, was Sandy. It was a rotten thing to do to Amanda, but a force greater than he was was pus.h.i.+ng him to do it. He called Sandy back the next day and tried to sound casual about it. He invited her to the game on Sat.u.r.day and suggested she come down on Friday night. He said he'd book a hotel for her. Fortunately they didn't have a performance that weekend.

And she was thinking about Bobby Joe before she answered. This would serve him right. She was tired of his criticizing her all the time. He'd been mean to her for months and was getting worse lately. And going to Atlanta for the weekend didn't mean she was going to do something wrong. Besides, Michael had a girlfriend too. Maybe they could just be friends.

"I'll come," she said, sounding breathless. "I don't like to drive alone. I think I'll fly. Chase's secretary can book it for me." All she had to do was find an excuse to give Bobby Joe, but lately he wasn't spending much time with her on weekends. It was going to be a little dicey to get away for a whole weekend, though.

She asked Wanda that day to make the reservation for her, and Wanda mentioned it to Chase after she booked the ticket. Sandy hadn't said it was a secret, so she a.s.sumed she could.

"Atlanta?" Chase looked blank when his a.s.sistant told him. "What's she doing in Atlanta?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me." But he had a sudden suspicion. He asked Sandy about it that night when he saw her, and Bobby Joe wasn't around.

"You're going to Atlanta?" He looked her straight in the eye, and she nodded. "To visit anyone I know?" He still expected her to let him know what she was doing, although allegedly she was a woman, not a child. But he kept a close eye on her.

"Maybe." Her voice was very small as she said it.

"Michael Adams?" She nodded again. "Does Bobby Joe know?"

"I didn't tell him. I'm not going to do anything, Chase. Just go to a baseball game and hang out with him. He's nice." Chase wanted to add "so is his mother," but he didn't. This was about Sandy and Michael, not about them. Chase was all in favor of it-he just didn't want her to get hurt. And Michael had a girlfriend. And she had Bobby Joe, although Chase didn't like him.

"Be careful. It sounds complicated. For both of you." And then he said something she hadn't expected. "Sometimes you just have to seize the moment, and figure it out afterward. Carpe diem. It sounds like that's what you're doing. And sometimes that's a good thing. Just take care of yourself." He grinned then. "And if you get pregnant, I'll kill you." He always said that. "And Bobby Joe won't be too pleased about it either."

"I'm staying at a hotel. And I'm not going to do anything crazy. I don't even know him."

"At your age and his, you can get to know someone mighty quick." He smiled ruefully at her.

"Yeah, like you and Stevie," she teased him right back, and he grinned. He was a good sport and never minded her teasing him, which was one of the many things Sandy loved about him. He didn't act all uptight like a father, but he still expected her to behave.

"You mind your business, girl," he said about Stevie. "And say hi to Michael for me. What are you going to tell Bobby Joe?"

"I don't know yet. I hate lying to him."

"Tell him I'm sending you as a scout, and you have to go." She nodded, grateful for the excuse. "And have some fun. You deserve it. Something tells me he's a good boy, and he looked nuts about you when he met you."

"I like him too," she admitted.

"Well, play it cool. You don't want to be his 'other woman.'"

"I won't be," she said with a look of self-a.s.surance, and with that she threw her arms around him and thanked him. She called Michael back after that and told him everything was all set for Friday. She was arriving in time for dinner.

He was beaming when he hung up the phone. It had all worked perfectly. Amanda was going to Houston. Sandy was coming to Atlanta. And whatever happened happened. He felt ready to do something new and different. Amanda didn't own him yet.

- When Sandy arrived on Friday, Michael was waiting for her at the airport. Amanda had left on the private jet that morning. And he looked nervous. Sandy had only brought carry-on with her, and he carried it for her, one small rolling bag, and a garment bag with a dress in it in case they went someplace fancy. Other than that, she had brought shorts and jeans.

He took her to the hotel he had booked for her, the Hyatt Place in the heart of Atlanta, and he had paid for it when he booked it. It seemed like the proper thing to do. And that night he took her out to dinner. He could tell she was nervous too. She talked a lot, and looked at him with wide eyes. But by the time they got to dessert, they had both started to relax, and Michael looked mesmerized by her. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She was small, but perfectly proportioned, and she was mature for her years. She said she had grown up a lot since her dad died, and she'd been working in the music business since she was fourteen. She wanted to go to college, but she hadn't had time. Chase kept her really busy.

They talked about him for a little while, and Sandy told Michael what a great guy Chase was, and how he had taken care of her for the last three years, and even built her a house of her own in his garden.

They walked back to the hotel from the restaurant where they had dinner, and she seemed very relaxed with him. She said she was looking forward to the baseball game the next day. It was a day game, and they were playing at noon. And after the game, he wanted to show her around the city and take her out to dinner at the Top Floor, which he said was a beautiful place. And after that, he thought they might go dancing. He realized that he was courting her and acting like he didn't have a girlfriend, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He was thoroughly enjoying being with her. She was such a sweet person and so much fun to be with. And she was interesting to talk to, and totally impressed by him because he was so much older.

"Do you like to dance?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"I love it." She smiled shyly at him.

He said goodnight to her in the lobby like a perfect gentleman, and didn't try to kiss her. He just wanted to get to know her, and from everything he had heard that night, he thought she was a wonderful person. And there was a childlike navete about her that he loved. She was innocent and wise at the same time, kind of like his mother. She reminded him of her in some ways, and he could see why his mom liked her.

They had a wonderful time at the game the next day, and ate hot dogs and pretzels. He bought her an ice cream, which she dribbled down her chin, and he teased her about it. They were like two peas in a pod, and agreed about a lot of things. The Braves won, which made everyone happy, and afterward they took a long walk and talked. There was something he wanted to make clear to her before they went any further. Amanda. She had texted him twice that day to tell him how much she hated their client, and never asked how he was or what he was doing, which was a relief. He didn't want to lie to her, although he knew he was committing a "sin of omission" by not telling her Sandy was there. And she wasn't in Atlanta by accident. He had invited her to come. He knew he'd have to take responsibility for it at some point. And he wanted to with Sandy now. He liked her too much to lie to her.

"There's something I have to tell you, Sandy," he said, as they sat down on a bench in Centennial Olympic Park. She looked instantly worried. He hated to say it, but he knew he had to. "I've had a girlfriend for three years. She came to the concert in Nashville with me. She doesn't live with me, but she stays with me a lot of the time. It's been pretty serious for three years. But I've been realizing that we're at different stages in our lives and want different things. She wants to move in together, buy an apartment or a house, and get married eventually. I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment to anyone. And to be honest, I don't think she's the woman for me. I haven't told her that yet, though, which makes things awkward for us. I had no right to ask you here this weekend. I thought maybe we could just be friends. But talking to you, and seeing you, I realize I want more than that. I'd like to go out with you. But I need to clear things up with Amanda first. She has no idea that I've realized recently that she's not the right girl for me. Anyway, I wanted you to know that my situation is a little bit complicated right now. And after three years with her, I owe it to her to do it right and be honest with her. I just don't know when. I want to find the right time to say it to her. And then I'll be free"-he looked nervously at Sandy-"if you even want to go out with me."

She was listening to him and watching him intently as he spoke to her, and his confession induced her to do the same.

Sandy looked momentarily embarra.s.sed. "I lied to my boyfriend too. I've been going out with him for a while. But I told Chase I was coming here. He approved. No one likes the guy I'm going out with. He's in our opening band, and he's a jerk. He was nice at first, and now he picks on me all the time. He's pretty mean. Chase says he's jealous of me. But whatever it is, he says a lot of nasty things and puts me down, which really hurts. I've been thinking of breaking up with him. And I really liked you when I met you, so I came. I thought maybe we could be friends too. And I really like your mom, she's so sweet." She didn't say a word to him about his mother and Chase. Chase hadn't told her not to, but she thought it best to be discreet. She didn't know how much Michael knew, and people were touchy about their moms, especially going out with guys. So she kept her revelations about her and Bobby Joe.

"I'm kind of in the same boat," Michael admitted. "You knocked my socks off when I met you, Sandy. And I didn't know what to do. I asked my mom for your number, and when Amanda told me she was going to Houston, I invited you for the weekend. If anything happens between us, I don't know what I'm going to do. And I need to talk to Amanda anyway. Something about that just isn't right for me." And it was very different being with Sandy. She was younger than Amanda, and her expectations of him were entirely different from Amanda's, who wanted so much more. Sandy was easier for him, more lighthearted and more fun.

"Yeah, like me and Bobby Joe." They looked at each other and grinned. "Maybe we should relax and have fun. We don't have to decide anything right now. Chase told me about something called 'Carpe diem,' enjoy the day. Why don't we just have fun together and see what happens?" she said sensibly. It sounded right to both of them. He took her hand then, and they continued walking back to her hotel. They both felt better after their conversation. They had been honest with each other, although they hadn't been with the people they were dating, and felt awkward about it. He took her to her hotel then, and he went home. And when he picked her up for dinner, she blew him away again. She was wearing a short, tight, s.e.xy red dress with her long blond hair, great figure, and high heels. She looked even better than she did on stage. She was spectacular.

"Holy s.h.i.+t, Sandy! You look incredible!" She smiled when he said it. It was a vast improvement over Bobby Joe's constant criticism and put-downs. They talked incessantly at dinner, and they danced afterward until three a.m. When he took her back to the hotel, Sandy said she'd never had so much fun in her life, and he felt the same way. He kissed her chastely on the cheek, and promised to call her in the morning for breakfast the next day before they left for the airport. He never took her to his apartment, or went to her room at the hotel, and she didn't ask. They had a totally wholesome, nonstressful weekend, talking and laughing, and teasing each other. It had exceeded their expectations, which created a whole new problem for them. They were both in committed relations.h.i.+ps that weren't working, and they had to deal with them now, if they wanted to date each other. They were honorable people and didn't want to lie.

When he said goodbye to her at the airport, he looked down at her with a gentle smile.

"Thank you for coming to Atlanta, Sandy." It had been brave of her.

"Thank you for being so nice to me." She was wearing a pink cotton dress and flat shoes. She looked like Alice in Wonderland with her long blond hair.

"You're easy to be nice to."

"Will you come to Nashville sometime?" she asked, as they waited for her plane. An announcement said it was starting to board, and she was sad to leave. They didn't know when they would see each other again or what would happen now.

"I will. I'll call you tonight." And then he remembered that Amanda would be home, probably at his apartment, and it reminded him of the difficult situation he was in. He had just spent a fantastic weekend with Sandy, he liked her even more than he had hoped, and now he had to deal with Amanda if he wanted to pursue this as more than just a friend.

"Thank you for everything," she said as she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, and before he could stop himself, he had put his arms around her and kissed her on the lips. It was a long sensual kiss, and she looked startled when they stopped. "I thought we weren't going to do that," she said softly.

"Yeah, so did I. Look, I'll come to Nashville in a couple of weeks. We've got some away games. I can come to Nashville then." But for a minute, she felt like she was dating a married man, and she didn't like how it made her feel. He could see it in her eyes. For now at least, he was in a relations.h.i.+p with someone else.

"Maybe you shouldn't come to Nashville until we both work things out," she said, and he nodded, and realized that she was right. She was young, but no fool, and she didn't want to get hurt. He didn't blame her-neither did he.

She had to go through security then, and she waved as she went through. He watched until he couldn't see the blond hair and pink dress anymore, and then he went back to his apartment and thought about her for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't know what to do about Amanda, or when. And Sandy was thinking of him as she flew home.

Chapter 15.

Michael and Sandy weren't the only ones to make confessions over the weekend. Chase didn't want to compromise the openness and honesty that he and Stephanie shared. She started her drive west the same day Sandy flew to Atlanta, and Chase called Stephanie on her cell phone in the car. She answered on speaker, and she was excited about the trip.

"How's it going?" Chase asked her. She had the radio on and a bag full of snacks and bottled water on the seat next to her.

"It's fine so far." She smiled.

"I just want to tell you something that's probably none of my business, but I want to keep the communication clean between us. I think that's important so we know we can trust each other."

"It sounds serious," she said, listening to what he said as she dealt with the traffic leaving New York.

"It probably isn't, but it could be in time, depending how things work out," he said, sounding relaxed, and he cut to the chase. "I discovered the other day that Sandy is going to Atlanta for the weekend."

"She is?" Stephanie sounded surprised. "You should tell her to call..." she started to say, and then stopped, and understood. "Is she going to see Michael?" She hadn't expected that, and neither had he.

"Yes, she is," he said simply.

"What did he do with Amanda?"

"I think she's away for the weekend."

"Wow, I don't think Michael has ever done that before. He's usually such a straight shooter. He must be crazy about Sandy, to take a risk like that. I hope n.o.body tells Amanda," Stephanie said. They both knew that she didn't like her, so she couldn't pretend to be sad about it. "Well, that certainly is an interesting turn of events. I wonder what he's going to do about it."

"She's in the same boat with Bobby Joe. And he'll have a fit if he finds out," Chase said.

"They're younger, and it's not as serious as Michael's situation with Amanda. I guess they'll just have to work it out," Stephanie replied.

"Yes, they will. And all we can do is watch from the sidelines, and see how it shakes out." She was as intrigued as he was now. "I just wanted to be sure you knew, so you won't feel I'm holding out on you, or hiding something." But she didn't think that anyway, and she was grateful he had told her. It only enhanced their trust of each other.

"Thanks for telling me," she said gratefully, and he was relieved. They both wondered how it was going to turn out. It was another one of the mysteries of life.

- On her trip home, Stephanie covered seven hundred miles across four states on the first day. She drove for eleven hours, stopped for gas twice, and bought sandwiches at truck stops and didn't stop for meals. She wanted to get off to a good start. And Chase called her all along the way. He wanted to know how she was, and warned her to pull over if she got tired, and take a nap. She could hardly move she was so stiff when she got out of the car at a clean-looking motel just off the highway in South Bend, Indiana. As he had asked her to do, she called and told Chase where she was. None of her children had said that. Michael didn't think about it, and Louise was busy with the auction, texted her thanks for dinner that morning, and didn't think of her mother again all day.

"Put the chain on the door," Chase told her, but she already had. He didn't like the idea of her staying in motels along the way, but it had been easier than looking for a decent hotel, which would probably have been worse. And she felt safe. She had noticed that there were two old ladies in the room next door, and a family with their kids in sleeping bags on the floor in the same room as their parents. She had no sense of danger when she got into bed, and Chase was satisfied. He worried about her, and had called her many times that day, even when he was busy, to check on her and give her a quick kiss. She was very touched. Bill had never been as attentive as that, even in the beginning, and in recent years not at all. He a.s.sumed she could take care of herself, and everyone else, and he wasn't wrong. But she loved the way Chase treated her, as though she were precious to him, and important in his life. She hadn't felt that from a man in years.

She fell asleep almost instantly after they hung up. And she awoke just after dawn the next morning. She showered and got back on the road and stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast. She drove through Illinois and Iowa that day and stopped at one point to walk around at a truck stop and stretch her legs. She didn't try to get as far as she had the day before and only drove for nine hours and stopped at a motel in Omaha, Nebraska, that night. The days were beginning to blur, and the only contact she had with the world was with Chase. She loved it when he called. And it gave her a thrill when she heard him on the radio when she put a country music station on. She sang along with him and could hear Sandy in the background. She missed her too, and wondered how she was.

She pushed harder again on the third day, and had a scary incident that night, when she drove on for a while after taking a nap. She stopped at a diner instead of a truck stop, and when she left, three men followed her outside. She could sense them behind her, but wasn't paying attention, until one of them grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. He literally lifted her feet off the ground while the other two laughed, and there was no one else outside to help her. All three of them were young and looked tough and were driving eighteen-wheelers.

"Come on, baby, come see my cab," the one who had pulled her said to her, and for an instant she was terrified, then realized that she was the only one she could depend on, and if she didn't defend herself, she was about to be raped, or worse, by all three as they formed a circle around her with an evil look in their eyes.

There were plenty of people in the diner, mostly other truckers, but no one outside. She hesitated for a long moment as she looked her main attacker in the eye, and then took a powerful swing at his nose. Blood gushed from it instantly as he screamed and clutched it with both hands, and she was sure she had broken it, just as one of the two others grabbed her long hair and pulled hard as he dragged her toward him, and with ingenuity and guts she didn't know she had, she elbowed him hard in the throat at the level of his Adam's apple, and he made a gurgling choking sound and let her go. She had frightened them by then, and the remaining uninjured one shouted at her, as he helped his friend with the broken nose. "What are you, a f.u.c.king cop?" She had used two maneuvers that she had learned at a self-defense cla.s.s in college and had long since forgotten, but they came back to her at the right time. All three men jumped into their trucks and started the engines, and a moment later they drove off as two other men came out of the diner, and saw her sitting on the pavement shaking from head to foot, while she wondered if she'd have to do it again. But they were older men with big paunches, and one stooped down to help her. She felt like she was going to throw up and realized she was covered with blood from the guy with the broken nose. It was all over her jeans and white T-s.h.i.+rt and even on her shoes. He had bled a lot.

"Did you fall?" the man asked her. "Do you need a doctor?" All she could do was shake her head, feeling dizzy. She couldn't talk for a minute.

"I'm okay," she managed to croak out, looking deathly pale. "Those guys came after me and grabbed me." She indicated the three big trucks lumbering back onto the highway, and the two truckers shook their heads.

"You shouldn't be driving alone at night." She nodded agreement and went back into the diner with their help to get a gla.s.s of water, and one of the waitresses helped her clean up in the bathroom while she told her what had happened.

"You could have been raped," she said solemnly, and Stephanie had been certain she would have been, and they were powerfully built guys. She had taken them by surprise, and herself. She thanked the waitress, and one of the others brought her a gla.s.s of ginger ale and some cookies, and she felt better, although her hands were still shaking. She asked where the nearest motel was, and they told her to drive another forty miles to a Best Western that was in a decent area. She didn't know if she could do it, but she got back in her car a few minutes later, and started to calm down as she drove. Chase called her then, and she wasn't going to tell him, but he could hear something wrong in her voice and was frightened.

"Did you have an accident?"

"Almost," she said cryptically, her voice still shaking.

"I told you to pull over if you got tired. What happened? And what are you doing driving at this hour?" He sounded worried sick. He wanted to be there with her, and he felt helpless.

"I thought I'd get some extra miles in tonight. I took a nap in the car this afternoon. And I stopped at a diner to get something to eat a little while ago. Three guys followed me out, and one of them grabbed me." She told him that one had yanked her arm and lifted her off the ground, and the other had pulled her hair and wanted her to come to his cab. Then she told him what she'd done. There was shocked silence at the other end.

"You did that? I'd better watch myself around you." He couldn't believe that she'd had the guts to defend herself and break one man's nose and hit the other in the throat, which was exactly what she'd been taught to do. Chase was horrified at what could have happened to her if she hadn't. She could have been kidnapped or killed and dumped by the side of the road somewhere. Then he turned serious. "Okay, the fun is over. I want you to put your GPS on and head for the nearest airport. Ditch the car. You can send someone back for it later. I want you to fly home."