Love Songs
Page 7

Clara’s family was there to support her. They talked and drank until their glasses had run dry. Then they all kissed her and left in small groups until she was there with only her brothers, Darcy, and Warner.
“Your family didn’t want to stay for the other sets?”
Darcy shrugged. “They come for me. They always have.”
Warner nodded slowly, picked up his Pepsi and sucked what was left of the cola and melted ice.
“I suppose you need to be going too,” he said. “Thanks for singing the song. It certainly gave me some hope that maybe with your voice it would sell.”
Clara reached her hand out and covered his. “I was kinda hoping that you and I could spend some time getting to know each other.”
Warner felt his heart racing, in his throat.
This woman knew exactly who he was and wanted to still spend time with him? Dear Lord, she must be out of her mind.
At some point she would figure out that spending time with him was only going to ruin the career that she was building—which had immense potential.
He cleared his throat, hoping to shove his heart back in his chest. “What did you have in mind?”
“Dinner. I don’t eat before I perform and I’m starving.”
Her easiness was quickly wearing off on him. “I could certainly go for a bite to eat,” he said as she took his hand and stood.
“I know the perfect place.”
Clara’s Jeep was a much nicer ride than Warner’s beat up pickup. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she had installed an XM radio and was listening to the Highway. They had some great things in common.
Great music was one of those things.
He watched the sights of Nashville from his window and then turned his head toward her. “So how come your entire family comes to hear you perform even when you’re not the lead performer.”
“We’re family. We support each other.”
She could be talking Chinese. He didn’t understand family support at all.
She gave him a glance before focusing on the road. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
He let out a breath and shifted his eyes back out the window. “Thanks.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I looked you up on the Internet.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect you to not want to know about the guy who stalked you from the street.”
She laughed easily. He envied that about her.
“Patricia Little is a thorn in your side, isn’t she?”
“She does her best to tear me down.”
Clara’s lips pursed and she gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I don’t understand that. I mean even when my parents were divorced they were civil to each other. In fact, I think they were better friends.”
“Your parents aren’t divorced now?”
“No” Her lip curled up in a look of confusion and then settled into a smile. “Oh, I sometimes forget that the whole world does not know about the Keller family.”
“What does that mean?”
Clara guided the Jeep into the parking lot, parked, and killed the engine. She grinned wide.
“Ever eat here?”
“Steve’s B-B-Q Pit and Beer?”
“Another Keller staple.”
He let the tension slide off his shoulders and now he was smiling. “You introduce me to your entire family and now bring me to a Keller hang out? And here I thought you were just going to steal my song.”
The smile on her lips disappeared. “You thought I was going to steal your song?”
“Hey, my track record with beautiful women isn’t very good. Most women in my life either abandoned me, tried to ruin me, or have used me to meet someone in Nashville to kick start their career.”
“First of all, thank you for thinking I’m beautiful.” She smiled. “But I don’t work that way—I don’t use people.”
“I see that.” There was a gnawing sense of guilt rising in his chest. “Before we go inside and you somehow convince me to spill to you, I just want to thank you for taking the time. I’ve spent the past few years with people already having formulated opinions on me because of some…well some…”
“She doesn’t influence my decisions.”
Warner swallowed hard. “That means a lot.”
Clara reached across the Jeep and rested her hand on his thigh. “You’re good people, Warner Wright. I’ve been surrounded by good people my whole life and I know one when I see one.” She patted his leg and then retracted her hand. “C’mon. I’m starving and you’re right,” she said as she opened the door. “I’m going to make you spill your story.”
As Clara climbed out of the truck Warner took in a deep breath. Fate must have stepped in and given him a shove. How else could he explain the fact that he’d met the only person in Nashville without an agenda of their own?
The restaurant was packed with patrons. The fragrant smell of barbeque and stale beer permeated Warner’s senses. The hostess guided them to a table for two in the corner. Clara took her seat before he could even attempt the gentlemanly maneuver of pulling her chair out for her.
Warner sat across from her and looked over the extensive menu.
“I’ll order if it’s okay,” she offered.
He closed the menu and nodded.
Clara ordered their meal and then leaned forward on her arms when the waitress left and looked Warner in the eyes.
“Okay, so I know your dad was once married to Patricia Little. Tell me who you really are.”
There shouldn’t be any reason to be nervous. Clara didn’t make him nervous. He just hated talking about his life. Really, who wanted a thirty-year-old sob story?
“Born and raised in Memphis. In fact, I could see the back yard of Graceland from my bedroom window.” He started to bounce his leg under the table, which he did when he was nervous so he willed himself to stop. “I suppose that was where I got the bug. How can you not live that close to Graceland and feel the spirit of rock and roll, gospel, and the true roots of music as we know it?”
There was an enormous smile on her lips. “That has got to be the most awesome thing I’ve ever heard.”
This girl didn’t get out too much. “I lived there until I was ten.” His heart rate kicked up a notch and his knee was bouncing again. “That was a year after my mom took off and my dad met Patty.”