“Like maybe your hired hand filling in…just this once.”
“Jake, no!” Shelby swung on him. “That’s crazy! Someone’s bound to recognize you.”
“I don’t think so.” Jordan winked up at her. “Right now, according to publicity, I’m resting up at a very private, very posh resort in the Bahamas. With this new hairdo and stubble, no one will recognize me. What do you say, Travis? Are you willing to take a chance on Jake Banks?”
Travis turned slowly back to face his sister and Jordan, his expression one of disbelief.
“You mean it, Jake?” he said. “You’d do that for the band?”
“Sure.” He stood and stretched his tall frame. “It’ll keep me in practice.”
“Yeah!” Travis leaped to his feet and bolted around the table to punch Jordan in the shoulder. “Thanks, man, thanks! Wait until I tell the guys!”
“Now hold on.” Jordan stopped him. “Remember—all you’re going to tell them is that Jake Banks, your wrangler, is willing to help out and he’s an okay guitar picker, right? Not a single mention of Jordan Brooks. I want your word on that.” He held out his hand.
“You have it for sure, for sure, Jake!” Travis pumped it vigorously. “Word of honor, swear on the Bible.” He turned and headed for the door. “Put my supper in the fridge, Shel. I’ll nuke it up when I get back. Right now I have to tell the guys.” He bolted out, letting the screen door slam behind him.
“Well, say it.” Jordan leaned against the counter and crossed his arms on his chest.
“Say what?” Shelby put on a pair of oven mitts and bent to take a shepherd’s pie out of the oven.
“That it’s a damn fool thing to do.”
“Okay.” She placed the casserole on a pad on the table and turned to him, mitted hands on her hips. “That was a damn fool thing to do. If you’re discovered, it will ruin me, since, as you well know, the terms of our contract state we keep you strictly incognito.”
“Yeah, well, let me say this about that.” He pushed himself upright to confront her. “Annie may be my business agent, but I’m still the guy who signs the checks. If anything goes wrong—and I’m telling you I won’t let it—I’ll see to it you get paid in full. Taking this calculated risk is my idea. I’ll be responsible for its consequences. Travis deserves a chance to show his stuff. He does the work of two men most days around this place and never complains, when what he really wants is a career in country music.”
“Travis is a dreamer.” She pulled off the oven mitts and brought a garden salad from the sideboard. “He may as well wish for the stars. You, above all people, should know the odds of his ever making it in that industry are slim to none. Not everyone is blessed with a hard-hitting, never-take-no-for-an-answer agent.”
“You’re right.” He sat down at the table. “Luck was in my corner when my band and I got ‘discovered’ by Annie. Talent scouts and music agents are rare as hens’ teeth on Prince Edward Island.”
“You’re from Prince Edward Island?” She paused to stare at him.
“Yes. Anything wrong with that? It is billed as The Gentle Island, you know.”
“I know, but I assumed you were American…from the United States…lobsters, potatoes, Maine?”
“Why? Do I sound American?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Sound American? As if! I just assumed you’d been ‘discovered’ south of the border. Like you said, talent scouts are rare in Atlantic Canada. How did one magically appear for you?”
“As you no doubt know, P.E.I. is the world-famous home of Anne of Green Gables and the Charlottetown festival that abounds with plays, musicals, et cetera, on the subject. Annie Wise decided to take her vacation on the Island, first to relax and second to scout any burgeoning talent. We played as a warm-up band for one evening’s entertainment. I thought it would give my guys a chance at a real audience. They’d been playing for dances at the high school for months and deserved a wider venue. Annie happened to be in the audience.”
“High school? Are you telling me you’re a teacher?” Her eyes widened.
“Is it all that bad? Yes, I taught music and physical education at a rural high school near my home on P.E.I.”
“So that’s why the boys in your band are…” She stopped.
“So much younger than me?” He slanted her a crooked grin that caught at her heart. “Right. They were all students who needed an outlet, a chance to feel they were worth something.”
“And you’ve succeeded in giving it to them.” Her opinion of him went into an upward tailspin. She’d never suspected…
“
They’ve
succeeded. I’m proud of them. That’s why I hang in there, why I can’t quit even though my gut and my inclination is telling me to do just that. They’re like my own kids. That’s why I couldn’t opt out on that movie deal Annie tied me into. It’s all mixed in with our music deal and could make everything go belly-up if I fail.”
“But since you’re telling me your being discovered was a fluke, a one-in-a-million chance, why encourage Travis?” She sat down opposite him and handed him the salad.
“You can’t be certain someone like Annie won’t be in that audience on Saturday night. Who’s to say he and his band don’t have a fighting chance?”
“Okay, I’ll go along with it this once. But I won’t have you putting dreams of stardom in that boy’s head. I won’t have him hurt and disappointed when he discovers he’s not about to become the next Jordan Brooks…for what that’s worth.”
“Fine. Enough said on the subject. We agreed to an impersonal relationship with no back stories, right? I’ll perform with Travis and his friends one night only, and that will be it. Now will you pass the shepherd’s pie? This hired hand has a mighty appetite.”
****
Shelby was putting Fancy through her paces in the paddock on Sunday morning when Jordan’s old pickup rattled up the drive and down to the barn. They’d called shortly after midnight to tell her they were staying in the city. The audience had demanded so many encores they were both too tired to drive. She rode the mare to the fence and waited as Jordan braked to a stop and Travis leaped out.
“Hey, Shel!” She hadn’t seen him so excited since one Christmas morning when he was twelve and got his first guitar. “We were great! Better than great! Terrific! The crowd called us back for more tunes than I could count and gave us a stand-up ovation!”
“I’m glad.” Shelby smiled down at his glowing enthusiasm. “And no one recognized your lead guitar/backup singer as anyone other than Jake Banks, stable hand?”
“One girl kind of yelled out something, but no one paid any attention.”
“Just exactly what did this perceptive young lady have to say?” Shelby asked as Jordan got out of the truck and came to join them at the fence.
“Nothing much.” He leaned over the top rail and rubbed the mare’s nose. “Hello, girl. You’re looking mighty pretty today.”
“Hey, Jake, I thought it was kind of funny.” Travis was grinning from ear to ear. “She said, and I quote, ‘That lead guitar has the sweetest body since Jordan Brooks.’ ”
“Oh, my.” It was Shelby’s turn to grin as Jordan pretended to concentrate his attention on a small tangle in Fancy’s mane. “Apparently it’s not just your face that’s popular with the ladies.”
“Can we change the subject?” Jordan headed into the barn. “I’ve got to get to work. Any chance of breakfast? We left in a hurry. Travis was anxious to tell you about our success.”
“Sure.” Shelby swung to the ground and held out the reins to him. “Come back here, Banks, and take my mare, like a good hired hand. I can’t stable horses and cook eggs at the same time.”
“No problem, boss.” Jordan adjusted his baseball cap and took the reins from her.
“I’ll check on Black.” Travis turned and jogged into the stable.
“Shelby.” Jordan stopped her as she turned toward the house. “Have you seen Travis perform?”
“I’ve heard him practicing here at the farm.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you saw him in action with a band. The kid’s good, very good. He’s got a lot of talent, the kind that can take him places. I’m telling you, he impressed me…big time.”
“And I’ve already told you where I stand on his making a stab at fame.” She shrugged free. “I’m not in the mood to discuss it again.”
“Then you’re making a mistake.” His tone stopped her. He’d never spoken to her like that before. “He’s got talent, and if you don’t give him a chance to give it a go, you’ll be making him miss out on what might be a great future.”
“And I said no way. Now put the mare away. I’ve heard enough about country music and crazy dreams for one morning.” She turned and strode up to the house, her heart pounding. Was she making a mistake? Was she taking away Travis’s dream? Could she be so cruel?
****
“Like this. Hold the guitar up more, so that when you swing around you don’t knock me or one of the guys in your band off the stage.” Jordan’s voice drew her attention as she passed the open doors of the arena. She whirled to see Jordan and her brother, both wearing guitars, practicing moves in its center.
“What
are
you doing?”
Both rounded to face her, Travis’s expression one of guilt, Jordan’s one of surprise.
“Just giving Travis a few pointers. After I saw what he could do, the other night, I thought he could profit from a bit of my experience.” Jordan slid the guitar around to the back of his body and faced her.
“Well, I’ll thank you to keep your thoughts to yourself, Mr. Counterfeit Cowboy! Travis and I don’t need your expertise, you need ours, and if you want to go on profiting from it, you’ll stop what you’re doing and get back to work—
now
.”
Anger raising her blood pressure, she headed back toward the house.
How dare he foster Travis along a road to hurt and disappointment—How dare he! After she’d warned him not to.
She slammed into the kitchen and began to bang frying pans and dishes out of the cupboard. She feigned complete absorption in getting lunch when Jordan stepped into the kitchen.
“What do you want?” she snapped when he moved to block her way to the stove. “Haven’t you done enough already, going against my instructions, encouraging Travis…”
“And haven’t you done enough to keep him from doing what he really wants to do? You may be his sister, but you have no right to foil his dreams, especially when I can help, when I can give him a head start. Don’t you think my coming here may have been just a bit serendipitous?”
“I don’t believe in luck, good or bad. I believe in hard work and doing the best you can with what you have.” Anger like a hot wave was coursing up her body.
“Aha! But you’re not giving Travis a chance to make the most of what he has, and that’s not fair.”
“Fine, you can keep that thought, but while I’m the boss of this place, things will be done my way.” She slammed a frying pan down on the stove. “And right now my way is to leave and go to town for lunch. You, Mr. Superstar, have just become cook for the day.”
She whirled to leave, but he caught her in his arms and pulled her to him. In an instant his mouth covered hers and he was kissing her, and her white-hot anger turned to white-hot desire. The fire of their fight whirled and metamorphosed into passion. This was what she’d been longing for, needing like life itself. Here was the man who could make her float earth-free, could make all her fantasies come true.
“Jake…” Travis’s voice broke them apart as he stepped into the kitchen. “What the heck…?”
“I’m going into town.” Shelby, her face hot, her lips burning, grabbed her purse from the peg by the door. “You guys are on your own.”
She strode out, letting the screen door bang behind her.
What had she done? As she drove out of the lane to the highway she couldn’t believe she’d let emotion get the better of her. One minute she was fighting with the man, the next she was kissing him, desiring him like she’d never desired any other man.
I’ve always believed I was a rational human being. What happened just now belies all my self-perceptions. Back there, while he was kissing me, all I could think about was making love to him—mad, passionate, all-night love. With Jordan Brooks, counterfeit cowboy. I need to do some serious self-assessment, and no doubt about it.
She parked the truck in a car park beside the fast-food restaurant and was heading inside when the voice stopped her.
“Well, hello there, neighbor.” Michelle Latton stepped out of a doorway to block her way. “Driving yourself? Not using that beautiful hunk of male flesh you call a hired hand as chauffeur? My, my, you are missing out on a great fantasy.”
“Good morning, Michelle. You’ll have to excuse me. I don’t have time to trade words with you.” She tried to step around her, but the woman stopped her again.
“Have you heard? Your hired hand’s agent is on the brink of getting me an audition with a movie producer. I plan on coming over to your place and taking him out, just to thank him. I’m good at thanking men.”
“There’s a name for women like you,” Shelby snapped, something inside her coming to a fast, vicious boil. “And there’s no need to thank a person for responding to a blackmail threat.”
“Ah, so, you’ve got something going with Mr. JB yourself.” She cocked her head to one side, letting her long black hair fall over one shoulder. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Doctor. Of course, you realize a little farm girl like you can’t possibly satisfy a man like him, at least not for long, a man who’s had girls and women falling at his feet for the past three years, probably longer, who knows.”
“Get out of my way, Michelle.” The words hissed from her lips. Shelby felt every muscle in her body tense.
“Of course, sweetie.” The woman moved aside, smirking. “Can’t get into a cat fight on the main street of this little hamlet, now can we? But rest assured,” she called after Shelby as the doctor strode past her into the restaurant, “I will thank Mr. JB, and a whole lot more fittingly than you ever can.”
Inside the restaurant Shelby found a booth and slid into it. Her breath came in short, hard bursts and the perspiration of outrage trickled down between her breasts.
Damn, what a day
.
First that hot encounter with the counterfeit cowboy, and now this. So you think you can seduce Jordan Brooks, do you, Miss Fake and Phony? You think a little farm girl like me doesn’t know how to keep a man like him interested, do you? Well, you’re in for a surprise, lady, because it’s on. Believe me, it’s on.