Place Your Betts (The Marilyns) (35 page)

And some of the blame for his situation fell squarely on her shoulders. If she hadn’t given up her baby, Gabe wouldn’t have had to bankrupt himself to get Tom back.

Why hadn’t he come to her? Money wasn’t a problem, and she’d have gladly covered Tom’s expenses and had offered to more than once.

Pride.

He needed to keep his, and she wanted him to have it. When he was ready, he’d confide in her. It was a matter of trust. She nodded. She would trust that he’d confide in her one day.

Since honor and pride went hand in hand, she’d have to find a way to funnel money to Gabe without hurting either. A man deserved the right to hold his head up, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t prop it on her shoulder from time to time.

***

Thirty minutes later, her life went from downright depressing to just plain shitty.

News vans from every major network, several entertainment news programs, CMT, and private cars lined the road in front of Gabe’s driveway.

Fame had found her.

Her eyes were swollen, her heart was broken, and she hadn’t brushed her teeth this morning. She was in no mood to play nice with the press. Betts turned the Mustang around and headed back to town.

Tom’s and Gabe’s lives were about to change. Betts had never shied away from the media, but her family life was private. Tom and Gabe hadn’t chosen to be famous, so they shouldn’t have to deal with the intrusion with which she’d learned to live.

Betts picked up her iPhone, scrolled for Tom’s number, and hit talk.

“This is Tom. I can’t answer the phone right now so please leave me a message. Have a great day.” The smile in his voice made her smile.

His phone had to be off during school hours. She’d forgotten.

“Hey, Tom, it’s Betts. The media have found me and are camped outside the gate to the ranch. If you go home, don’t talk to them, keep your head down, and let me handle this. Sorry.” She pressed end.

There was no way to warn Gabe. She shook her head. He could be anywhere. A helplessness rocketed through her. The paparazzi were the least of his worries because he was out doing God knows what, God knows where. What if something happened to him? He could get hurt or worse. Working day labor wasn’t safe.

Betts drove around for an hour and ended up in Gigi’s driveway.

A man in a purple Hollisville Bobcat tee shirt and a John Deere gimme cap sat on a green-and-white-striped lawn chair with a hunting rifle across his lap. True to his word, Bump Bledsoe was guarding her grandmother’s house.

A slow smile worked across her face. And maybe Tom and Gabe wouldn’t have to suffer the media. With a flick of the handle, she opened the car door.

Bump rose slowly out of his chair and came toward her, his eyes as round as saucers. “I’m so sorry. We haven’t found who ratted you out. Pastor Mike and Reverend Lark are running down suspects right now. Just like I promised, someone’s been guarding this place twenty-four seven.”

Betts waved it off. “No worries. Y’all did your best. Tell them that I’ll still donate the money and do the concert. It would be my pleasure.”

He shuffled from foot to foot and grinned, his chubby face flushing a deep red all the way to the roots of his blond comb-over. “You’re a good person…kinda like a saint.”

St. Betts, that was a first.

“It’s a huge honor that you think so much of me you’d spend all your free time here.” Betts gestured toward the house. “Why don’t we go inside? I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Really? I’d be honored.” He followed two steps behind her until she reached the front door, and then Bump jumped in front of her, grabbed the keys right out of her hand, and opened the door. “After you.”

Betts smiled graciously as she stepped inside.

“Um…” Bump rocked back and forth and studied the pink carpet. “Would it be okay if I used the restroom? That last large coke from the DQ went right through me.”

“Help yourself. It’s down the hall, middle door on the left.” Betts sat down in a rocking chair and waited. Maybe Bump and his buddies would like to earn a little cash? The media wouldn’t go away, but perhaps she could manage a bit of a reprieve.

The toilet flushed, and then the water for the sink turned on. The door opened, Bump clomped down the hallway, and he walked into the living room.

“Have a seat.” Betts motioned to the sofa. “I don’t mean to pry into your business, but are you currently working?”

“No, ma’am. I worked twenty years at Eastman Kodak, but they closed my division last year. Been laid off ever since.” Bump sat on the edge of the sofa with his knees together and his back ramrod straight like a second grader waiting outside the principal’s office.

“How would you like to come work for me?”

Large tears came to his eyes. “Ma’am, that’d be a dream come true.” He looked around. “But I can’t sing worth a damn…um…begging your pardon, ma’am, darn.”

“I was thinking of security. I have a company that does it while I’m on tour, but I was hoping to hire someone local too.” Betts smiled and nodded. “You’ve proven yourself to be loyal, and I need someone to help with the paparazzi and media while I’m in town.”

“Really?” He nodded vigorously. “I could do that. I’d be good at it.”

“I had a feeling you would. All I need you to do is make sure the media doesn’t step foot on my property or any other private property. From time to time, I might have you run a few errands for me or come with me on errands. Occasionally, I might have you scout a location for me or do crowd control at a concert. My company has full medical, dental, vision, and a 401K plan—”

“Ma’am, that sure would help. I got me four kids at home I’m raising on my own. My wife died three years ago, and I got me a heap of medical bills left over from her cancer treatments.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “Your music was the only comfort my Lesa had in the end. All I could think of to pay you back was to watch over your granny’s house.”

Betts stared at the gratitude on his face.

Shame welled up and spilled over. For her, music was a way of connecting with other people. In front of a crowd, the shy girl in hand-me-down clothes became confident and purposeful and loved. The last few years, she’d gotten too caught up in the business end to remember that her fans were real people who felt confident and purposeful and loved through her music. All the promotional tours, personal appearances, album launch parties, and videos didn’t make a damn bit of difference—it was the music that touched lives.

“I’m honored… and…” She cleared her throat. “And humbled.”

Never again would Betts let herself become so far removed that she lost sight of the people who needed her music.

“Bump, do you have plans this evening?”

He shook his head.

“Why don’t you and your family come for dinner? Six o’clock at the Swanson ranch?”

“I’d like that more than anything, ma’am. Could I get started in my new job, first?” He stood.

“Sure.” Betts nodded as she stood. “The media are camped outside the gates to my ranch—”

“Excuse me for interrupting you.” He grabbed a small walky-talky off of his belt. “Code red. Code red. We have a level-five breach. Repeat. We have a level five breach. This is not a drill.”

Betts took a step back in case he was talking about a nuclear reactor meltdown.

“The media has breached the town perimeter and are knocking on Ms. Monroe’s…um, Nightingale’s front door. All units check in?” He let go of the side button.

Wait, he was talking about her?

“This is Two-Stepping Tammy. I’ve got my ears on…come back.”

Bump’s face flushed, and he turned around for privacy. “Tammy, we’re not using our CB handles. Use the call sign I gave you.”

“Oh, sorry.” There was some loud paper shuffling. “This is Alpha Niner checking in.”

“This is Delta Six—I’m here at ground zero, and it’s a zoo. There’s more people here than opening night at the Gregg County Fair. I don’t see any sign of Nightingale. Repeat, Nightingale is in the wind. Oh…but wait…the Girl Scouts are setting up a cookie booth.”

“Nightingale is with me. Repeat, Nightingale is secure at the secondary location.” Bump held the walky to his mouth. “Stay put, Delta Six, I’m headed your way.” He dropped his eyes to the floor. “And get me a couple boxes of Caramel Delights.”

Betts licked her lips. “I want some Thin Mints.”

“And a couple of boxes of Thin Mints for Nightingale,” he whispered into the walky.

“I take it you’ve got some ideas on how to make the media move so the Swansons and I can slip in undetected?”

Mischievous wasn’t a strong enough word for the grin that crossed his face. “You leave them to me.”

The best things in life were free. Dinner had been perfect. The old wood of the picnic table creaked as Betts shifted and looked around her at her family and friends. Some were new and some were old. Everyone talked at once. It was loud and rowdy and just about perfect.

Not only was Bump gifted when it came to subterfuge, but he was well connected in town. In the time it had taken Betts to drive from Gigi’s to the ranch, Bump had managed to remove all traces of the media. Something about a natural gas leak, and somehow, he’d gotten Lone Star Gas to send out a truck that was now stationed at the entrance to the ranch. Tomorrow, Bump’s brother-in-law was installing a fancy new fence that included a video monitor and a key card. Poor Bump had practically fallen asleep at the table. Betts had sent him home ten minutes ago after making sure he was awake enough to drive.

And she’d come up with a way for Gabe to earn some real money and stop taking day labor jobs. The afternoon had been pretty damn productive. Now all she had to do was convince Gabe to take the bait.

Across from her, Kaitlin whispered something close to Tom’s ear. He grinned and patted her hand.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Gabe sat down beside her.

“Oh, really?”

He squeezed her thigh and leaned into her. “The same thing I’m thinking. I wish they’d all go away so we could be alone.”

She’d been thinking the exact opposite. “You’re right.” Betts unfolded herself from the bench under the table and gathered up the dirty dishes. “I need to start the dishes.”

“Tom volunteered to do them.” Gabe traced a finger down her forearm.

“And I’m drying.” Kaitlin jumped up. “If he doesn’t do a great job, he’ll have to answer to me.”

Kaitlin giggled.

“Sounds like a plan.” Gabe slid off the bench and offered Betts his arm. “Care to take a walk down by the creek? I’ll build a fire, and the kids can join us when they’re done.”

There was something intimate in the way he asked, not physical but emotional.

Everyone looked at Betts.

“Sure.” She would like nothing more than to spend time alone with Gabe.

“I’ll get your coat.” Gabe didn’t even ask where it was; he just walked into her trailer and came out with her brown leather jacket.

“I think he loves you. He watches you when you aren’t looking,” Kaitlin whispered close to Betts’s ear.

She felt her face flush. The door to her trailer banged open.

Gabe’s eyebrows shot up suggestively as he walked toward Betts. He held the jacket open for her. Once she’d slid her arms into the sleeves, he wrapped it around her and zipped it up. His hand rested at the small of her back, and he leaned down and kissed her. He was kissing her right there in front of the kids.

Clapping and whistles started up.

Betts ended the kiss and stepped back. “We’re embarrassing them.”

“So?” Gabe kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m kissing my girlfriend. Son, I expect you to take your time on those dishes.” Gabe’s eyes stayed on Betts. “Ready?”

Betts nodded because she didn’t trust her voice. Girlfriend. Did fiancée follow?

When they were out of earshot, Betts glanced up at Gabe. “I need to ask you a favor, and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”

This was the best idea she’d come up with to help out with the money situation without looking like she was helping out.

“Is that why you’re nervous?” He pulled a small flashlight out of his coat pocket and pressed the button. A beam of light fanned out in front of them.

“I’m not nervous.” Her voice was higher than normal.

“Liar.” He leaned down and smelled her hair. “You smell so good. I like having your shampoo in my shower. It makes it easy to smell you anytime I want.”

“I have a proposition for you—”

“Yes, you can have my body, but I think we should wait until Tom takes Kaitlin home.”

“What would I want with your body?” Betts pretended to stumble, made sure her breast brushed his arm before she grabbed his elbow.

“Well-executed accidental boob graze.” His hand found hers.

It was nice holding hands. Safe. Comfortable.

“Are you gonna spill it, or do I have to guess what you want?” Gabe shined the light on the edge of the creek. The light cadence of water gurgling over rocks added ambience.

“I was wondering if I could rent your ranch to shoot my next video.” Betts looked up at him. It was just for YouTube, but he didn’t need to know that. “Before you say no, the label pays a location fee. My agent thinks she can get you fifty thousand dollars. And it would really help me out.”

She hopped he didn’t notice that the amount was the same as he’d borrowed to get Tom back.

Gabe stopped walking and stared down at her.

Usually the location fee was smaller, but Betts had padded it quite a bit to funnel cash to him in a hurry.

“Fifty grand? Jeez, that’s a lot of money. How long does it take?”

“A couple of weeks at the most. It would bring in lots of money for the local economy, and it would really help me out. I don’t want to leave…Tom and you.”

“I won’t lie. I sure could use the money.” He scratched the back of his neck, thinking. “Deal.” Gabe offered his hand to seal the bargain.

He wasn’t ready to tell her. She could be patient. It was enough for now that she could help him. Asking him about his money troubles would only hurt him, and they’d already had enough hurt.