Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“And you believe him?”
“I don’t want to believe him, Rory, but something inside me is telling me that he’s not lying.”
“I trust you, Brock, but really?”
“I know. It’s hard for me to believe too. But he was different today.”
“You actually saw him in person?”
“Yeah. And I gave him some news that I don’t think he was aware of.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to mess you up before your concert tonight.”
“I’ll be fine. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just be wondering, and that will mess me up.”
Brock sighs. “I shouldn’t have said anything. But I found out that Pat Lamone isn’t even his real name.”
I nearly drop the phone. “What?”
“Yeah. First of all, he was adopted, and his claim to the Steel fortune seems to be through his birth parents, not his adoptive ones.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Yeah. And he was aware that he was adopted, but what he wasn’t aware of is that his adoptive parents changed both his and their names. Their real last name is Clark, and Pat’s is Daniel Clark.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know,” he says, “and they’re both dead now, so we can’t ask them.”
“Wow.”
“You’re telling me. I don’t want to lay anymore of this on you. I want you ready for your performance tonight. You never know who might be in the audience.”
“Nobody at this place,” I say. “Besides, it’s masquerade night, so no one will recognize us anyway.”
“What?”
“Yes. We all have to wear these ridiculous Mardi Gras masks. Fun stuff.”
He laughs. “Well, you’ll still rock the place. And you’ll still be the most beautiful woman out there, even if half of your face is covered.”
“I love you, Brock.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Ditto.”
“I have to go. Rock the town tonight.”
“I’ll give it a try.”
A couple of men in the back catch my eye when the stage lights go down after our first set. They’re wearing masks, of course, so it’s impossible to tell who they might be, but they look slightly familiar. One is very blond, and the other is dark-haired.
They watch me intently. And then they seem to move their focus back and forth from Jesse to me.
Probably nothing.
I take my mind off them and concentrate on the second half of our show, going through it in my mind as I douse myself with water.
“You two sounded great,” Cage says to Jesse and me. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you so on fire.”
I take another drink of water. “Thank you.”
Jesse nods. “Yeah, we seem to be really in sync, sis. I’m not sure we sounded this good since… Have we ever?”
We really do sound good together. That Christmas concert will be a smash with him next to me.
“I don’t know,” I reply. “But you’re right. Something is different up there. I wonder if it’s this whole thing with Dad. We’re both trying to focus so hard on the music so we don’t think about him.”
“God, I’d hate to think that was it,” Cage says. “Uncle Frank needed to have a heart attack to get you two in sync like this?”
“I’m not doing anything different,” Jesse says. “It’s all Rory. You’ve been amazing during this entire tour. You’re rocking like you’ve never rocked before.”
Is it? I doubt it, because Jesse is rocking the house. But if I’m the one who’s different… What has changed since the last time we sang together before this mini tour?
One word.
Brock.
I’m in love, and Brock helps me to see myself as I truly am. I’m no longer an operatic mezzo, and that’s okay. Maybe I’m a rocker at heart.
But honestly? Why label myself? It’s okay to love both rock and opera. But in truth? The reason I’m looking forward to the holiday concert isn’t to sing opera. It’s to sing musical theater with my brother, and maybe we’ll add some rock as well.
“Who are those guys in the back?” I ask my brother and my cousin. “They look familiar to me, but I can’t place them.”
“Which guys?” Cage asks.
“All the way in the back. They look kind of unassuming, wearing baseball caps, but one has long dark hair and the other long blond hair. Why do they look so familiar to me?”
Cage squints. “For God’s sake…”
“What is it, cuz?” Jesse asks.
“I’m not sure. But we’d better make this next set count.”
I swallow. “Cage…”
“Are they agents?” Jesse asks.
“Just make it fucking count.”
Nothing like putting some pressure on us. I wish I hadn’t asked.
“Five minutes!” the stage manager yells.
Five minutes until we’re back onstage, making music. Trying to impress those two guys in the back whose faces I partially recognize.
“Damn,” I say to Jesse. “Now I’m nervous as hell.”
“Channel it. You can do it. You’ve been performing your whole life.”
“Right.”
He’s not wrong. I have been performing my whole life, and I performed to many accolades back in Snow Creek. But the last time I performed live specifically to impress someone was for an audition in New York. I had killed it…or so I thought.