Final Encore (20 page)

placed the basket of popcorn on the table, and downed

half of his beer in one gulp.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Ian said as he watched

the beer slide down Bily’s throat.

“Don’t be,” Bily said anxiously. “I needed

something to take the edge off. I hate to admit it, but

I’m a little nervous.”

“That’s one way to do it,” Ian said with some

sympathy in his voice. “Don’t worry, you’l be great.”

The lights dimmed as Bily and Ian saw Jean walk

onstage, folowed by the spotlight, and stop before the

microphone stand.

“Good evening, al. I’d like to welcome you to

Jean’s Magnolia Saloon. For al you first timers, I’m

Jean and I own this joint, so if you need anything, I’m

always around. We have a great lineup for you tonight,

starting with our headliners, Capitol Records recording

artists Jed Strong and the Renegades.” Loud applause

and whistling filed the saloon. “And opening for Jed is

newcomer Bily Eagan.” Before Jean could say another

word, the place went wild.

Bily looked at Ian and smiled. “You think that’s

for me?”

“Oh yeah, it’s for you, al right,” Ian said.

It finaly quieted down enough for Jean to say,

“Wel, since you’re already up on your feet and making

a lot of noise, stay that way and welcome to the boards

Mr. Bily Eagan.”

Ian said, “Go get ’em, cowboy,” placed his hand

on Bily’s shoulder, and squeezed three times.

Bily made his way through the crowd to the front

of the waist-high stage, turned around and with his arms

bent at the elbows, used the palms of his hands to boost

himself up and land on his butt on the edge of the stage.

He puled the mic stand down, removed his mic from

the holder, and tipped his hat as the band started the

intro to his opening number. During the first week of

rehearsal, not knowing why, he‘d picked a cover by

Rascal Flats caled “Bless the Broken Road” as his

opening number. He’d never sung it before and had

never been particularly drawn to it, but at that moment

in time, he’d felt some type of connection to it, so he

went with the feeling. When he started to sing the lyrics,

seeing Ian in the audience, he knew why he’d chosen it.

Ian watched with respect and admiration as the

crowd responded to Bily, perched on the edge of the

stage, singing his heart out. So much so that he felt a

quick bout of jealousy at the thought of having to share

him. As if hearing the song for the first time, Ian intently

listened to the lyrics as he watched Bily sing. Within

seconds, everyone disappeared and it was just the two

of them, and Bily was singing the song directly to him.

This much I know is true,

That God blessed the broken road

that led me straight to you.

He imagined he must have looked like a puppy

dog waiting for a pat on the head when Jean whispered

into his ear, “Snap out of it, honey.”

Startled, Ian said, “Was it that obvious?”

“Yes, honey, it is that obvious.”

“I can’t help it, baby cakes. That’s some guy up

there.”

“I’m so glad you think so, because I happen to

agree.”

“Jean, I’m almost ashamed to say, but I’m

mesmerized by him. Not only is he the most genuine

man I’ve ever met, but as an entertainer he has this rare

ability to take hold of his audience and never let them

go. Me included, and I’ve been doing this for how long

now? I thought I was immune to such things.”

“He does have that special something that

resonates with the audience,” Jean said.

“It’s realy magical, the way he connects with

them on every level.”

“Oh, Ian, you’ve got it bad,” Jean said with a

smile.

“Help me,” Ian said, laughing as he shifted his

position.

“How’s the ankle, honey?”

“It’s fine. I just need to stay off of it for another

day or two. Then it wil be al better.”

“That’s good. How about another beer? Oh, and

by the way, I saw Josh and Suzie at the bar earlier. Did

you have anything to do with that?”

“Maybe a little,” Ian said with a sheepish grin.

“I thought so. I’l be right back,” Jean said.

In just under an hour, Bily was singing his last

song and the crowd was going wild. Whistles and

cheers and stomping told the band he was up for one

more. He once again sat center stage with his guitar and

a single spot and closed his set with “The Love of a

Man.” He hit every note and sang every word with the

sincerity in which he had written them. Bily was a star,

Ian recognized; he might not be famous yet, but he was,

without a doubt, a star. Bily introduced Jed and

hopped off the stage at the same spot he had taken it

and headed for Ian.

Jean came back to the table with a couple of

beers for Ian and Bily and a Jack Daniels and 7UP for

herself as Bily made his way through the crowd. When

he finaly made it to the table, he hugged Jean, placed

his hand on Ian’s shoulder, and gently squeezed three

times. This ritual was quickly becoming a habit between

them to signify an expression of caring that they couldn’t

physicaly express in public. In response, Ian gave Bily

a tender look that assured him that he understood.

Bily puled out a stool for Jean, and they both sat.

As the three of them chatted about the show, people

occasionaly interrupted to congratulate Bily, and Ian

became a little concerned that Josh and Suzie hadn’t

made an appearance at the table. He looked around,

casualy so Bily wouldn’t pick up on it, but they were

nowhere to be seen.

Jean excused herself from the table, and Bily

leaned over to Ian and said, with a melancholy tone in

his voice, “It’s okay, handsome. Don’t worry about it.”

“What do you mean?” Ian said.

“I’ve noticed you looking around, and I assume

it’s for Josh and Suzie. Maybe something came up and

they’l show up another night.”

Before Ian could catch himself, the words flew

out of his mouth. “No, they were here.”

“Oh,” Bily said. “I guess I’m not what he’s

looking for. Listen, handsome, you said you couldn’t

guarantee anything, and I totaly understood that. What

means the most to me is that you went out on a limb for

me.”

Ian said with some apprehension in his voice,

“Bily, just because he didn’t come to the table doesn’t

mean he didn’t like you.”

“Time wil tel. For now, let’s get you home.”

They said their goodbyes to Jean and left the

saloon. They drove home hand in hand, mostly in

silence. When Bily did speak, Ian could hear the

disappointment in his voice. He wanted to kick himself

for teling Bily that Josh was even coming. How could

he have been so stupid?

And the more he thought about it, the angrier he

got at Josh. It was just plain rude not to make an

appearance at the table, whether he liked Bily or not.

When they got home, Bily went around to the

passenger side to help Ian out of the car. Bily took

Ian’s crutches from the backseat and threw them in the

corner of the garage. Before Ian could slide down from

the seat of the SUV, Bily picked him up and started for

the stairs. Sensing that Bily needed this, Ian didn’t

protest but held Bily close as the two men made their

way up the stairs.

When they reached the living room, Bily put Ian

down on the couch and asked, “Would you like a glass

of wine?”

“That would be great, cowboy.”

Bily went to the kitchen, poured two glasses of

wine, and sat down next to Ian. Ian placed his glass of

wine on the table and told Bily to lie back and put his

feet up. He did as he was told, and Ian removed both

of Bily’s boots and began to rub his feet. One foot at a

time, Ian kneaded the bottom of Bily’s foot with his

thumbs, trying for al the right pressure points, hoping

that some pleasure might replace a little of the

disappointment he was experiencing.

When Ian finished, Bily said, “Thank you, Ian.”

“No thanks needed, cowboy, it was my

pleasure.”

“And I apologize for being such a baby. Even I

can’t believe how ungrateful I’m acting,” Bily said. “I

have this incredible opportunity at Jean’s and the crowd

seems to like what I do and, most importantly, I have

you in my life. I don’t need any more than that.”

Ian felt a lump in his throat. He bent down and

kissed Bily on the top of his foot and said, “You’re not

being a baby, and thanks.”

They were about to go upstairs to bed when Ian

noticed the light blinking on his answering machine. He

pressed the “message” button and heard Josh’s voice.

Ian froze. Bily was sitting right there, and he had

no idea what Josh was going to say. He was sure Bily

saw the fear on his face, but there was nothing he could

do now but listen to the message.

“Ian, hey, I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to

come to the table or meet Bily tonight, but we got a cal

from our babysitter that the baby was running a fever,

so we wanted to get home as soon as we could.

Anyway, Bily is fantastic; I can’t believe no label has

signed him yet. Of course we need to folow proper

channels, but I think he would be an asset to Capitol.

I’l cal you tomorrow. Good job.”

Bily’s eyes were wide as saucers, and Ian was

sure he was white as a ghost, but he didn’t care. Bily

was a hit. Bily took both of Ian’s hands and puled Ian

up to him, smothering him with slow and passionate

kisses.

AFTER a night of celebration, the alarm clock sounded

very early. Bily kissed Ian on the neck, climbed out of

bed, and headed for the shower. While he washed, he

mentaly ran through the events of last night. Could this

be the big break he needed? Could Ian and Josh pul

this off? Was he good enough? He hated to go to the

ranch with his career hanging in the balance, but he’d

made a commitment to the Lazy H and wouldn’t go

back on his word.

When Bily stepped out of the shower, Ian was

there with a fresh cup of coffee. “Morning, cowboy.”

“Hey, handsome, what are you doing out of

bed?”

“I couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m too excited. At

one minute past nine o’clock, I’l be on the phone with

Josh to see how we’re gonna handle my new

discovery.”

“Your new discovery, huh? I like the sound of

that, even though you make it sound like you found

Noah’s Ark or something.”

“Ha ha,” Ian said. “There’s a hel of a lot to do.

We’ve got to pick your first single. We’ve got to decide

which markets to go after first. We’ve got to find a

Capitol artist who’s scheduled to go on tour about the

time we release your first single to make you an opening

act. In addition, we’ve got to listen to hundreds of

demos to choose songs for your first album. Like I said,

so much to do.”

“Hold on a minute, handsome. This is not a done

deal yet, remember?” Bily protested.

“Technicalities,” Ian said. “It’s al just formalities,

so you better get used to the idea that you’re going to

be a superstar.”

Bily stood there dripping wet and lunged for Ian.

Ian stepped back just in time to avoid Bily’s advances,

but he reached for a towel and threw it in his direction.

“You escaped this time,” Bily said, “but don’t

expect to escape next time.”

“I don’t know, I’m pretty fast when I need to

be,” Ian responded.

“Yeah, but I’m a superstar and I’m supposed to

get everything I want… and right now, I want you, so

get over here.”

Twenty minutes later, Bily was puling out of the

driveway and Ian was in his office writing down ideas

and making notes for his cal to Josh. Within minutes the

phone was ringing. Ian glanced at the caler ID and saw

that it was Bily’s cel phone.

“Yes, cowboy?”

“Is this al real, Ian?”

“It’s real, Bily.”

“Okay, just checking. I’l cal you at the lunch

break, but if you hear anything I need to know, you’l

cal me, right?”

“Wil do, cowboy. Have a great day.”

Ten minutes after nine, Ian was on the phone with

Josh. He sang Bily’s praises for nearly an hour, until

Josh said, “Okay, stop seling. I’m already hooked.”

“Sorry,” Ian said. “I just haven’t seen this kind of

talent in years.”

Josh agreed, and they got down to business,

talking strategies, markets, and contracts, making a to-