REPRESENTED (31 page)

             
“That damn contract, I’ve regretted signing it from day one” Cassie said bitterly.

             
“You did sign it.  We’re halfway there now, don’t give up on it babe, you can do this and it gave you the fame that you needed, that you craved if you will admit it to yourself.”  Karin looked at her knowingly.

             
Cassie had to concede Karin was right.  The fame had its benefits.  She now played in venue’s that would have been unheard of a year or two ago.  Who would have wanted a lesbian lead singer of a Country Western band?  Karin had played to their fears but shown that Cassie’s talent warranted a second look.  She had legions of fans both in the gay and straight world from Midwestern Hicksville to straight laced upper classmen, it amazed her the variety of fans she met at meet and greets now.  Some people’s fears that it would become a lesbian love fest hadn’t come to fruition.

             
“I notice I still haven’t met your family...” Cassie changed the subject.

             
“That isn’t my fault.  They had tickets to your concert.  Alex had to go out of town for business and Caleb decided he didn’t want to go.  I can’t force them to like Country music or you.”

             
Cassie felt hurt though.  “Maybe it’s time you met my family?”

             
Karin wasn’t too thrilled with that idea either.  “Let me look in my schedule and we can meet there after your next set of concerts?”  She would try though...

              “You’re sure she’s coming today baby girl?” her dad asked her for the third time as they drove to the small airport that Karin was flying into.  It was a lot closer than the large airport in Wichita. 

             
Cassie drove over a bump in the road and cursed the old beater her father owned as the springs weren’t very efficient.  She had offered him a brand new truck but he saw no reason to throw away his old ancient Chevy while it was still running.  The rust on the body alone made large gaping holes.  She could only imagine the expression on her girlfriend’s face when she saw their transportation.  The last time she had seen her they had been in a limousine, not a stretch mind you but a classy Park Avenue.  Karin Myers wasn’t a simple gal.  She had tried to explain this to her father but had been unsuccessful.  “Yes daddy, she texted me the flight schedule so we would be there in plenty of time.”

             
“She know what she’s getting into?” he asked with a smirk.

             
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked confused and hoping she misunderstood.

             
“Well, I ain’t about to change and if she’s as high falutin’ as you say I don’t know what the sam hill we’re gonna talk about” he groused.

             
Cassie rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses.  She wasn’t so sure her father wasn’t right.  Karin was going to take one look at this one horse hick town and run.  “Just give her a chance okay daddy?  I love her and that’s all you need to know...”

             
“Yeah but does she love my baby girl?” he asked.

             
“Yes daddy, she loves me very much” she said softly.

             
“You sure she doesn’t love all that money you been makin’?”

             
“Daddy” she said exasperated “she made that money for me.  I’ve explained that to you.  She is kind of like a manager.”

             
“Kinda like that feller Travis that’s rottin in jail?” he asked.

             
She sighed, he sure was in a picking kind of mood “no, she’s much more than that.  Nowadays you have a publicist, an agent, a business manager, all of those different people to help you make records, contracts, and concerts.  Karin and her team does all of that, she’s like all of those people rolled into one, she calls herself a promoter but her firm handles it for a lot of artists.  She directs it and has teams of people who she tells what she wants done to sell my songs and my talent.  I perform at the venues she sets up.  You saw me on television last month didn’t you?” she tried to make it simple.

             
“Seems to me you don’t need all them people to sing a song honey.”

             
Cassie smiled, perhaps her simple father wouldn’t understand all the complexities involved in show business these days but Karin did and she did it well for Cassie.  Even her ‘withdrawal’ campaign was garnering results.  She effortlessly or so it seemed directed people from all over the country and as a result Cassie Summers was now a top selling Country music artist with a Southern Rock influence and a Pop crossover.  Some called her a ‘sensation’ but that implied she was new at this and since she had been doing this all for years it didn’t really make sense.  It was just that more people had discovered her brand of music and enjoyed it.

             
They arrived at the rural airport.  A simple tarmac strip practically in the middle of nowhere surrounded by hilly terrain that had been bulldozed smooth.  Cassie could already see a private jet plane had just landed and was taxiing to the small building that was located in the middle of the field next to several hangers where people kept private airplanes.  She parked in front of the building and she and her father hopped out of the king cab of her daddy’s old Chevy.  She wanted to kick it but thought perhaps that wouldn’t be a good idea as she looked at the rusty relic, it might just fall apart.

             
They were inside when the plane parked and the door lowered.  A steward popped out and went down the steps and then underneath to lower a door and pull out luggage.  Karin was the next person out and Cassie almost groaned she looked so good and so totally out of place in a gray business suit.  She had her usual briefcase hanging from its strap over her shoulder and she was followed into the building by the steward towing a bag and carrying another.

             
“Cassie” she smiled showing her beautiful smile as she walked into Cassie’s arms for a hug.  She kissed her on the cheek but as always wouldn’t allow Cassie to kiss her on the lips in public.

             
“Hey baby, you look great” Cassie said in return thrilled to see her after three weeks apart.  Karin had come to one of her concerts in Miami and they had partied until dawn but that was becoming more and more of a rarity.  She was becoming busier as was Cassie.  She now handled three other entertainment clients and their careers as well as her literary ‘stars.’  Cassie pulled back and said “let me introduce you to my father.”

             
Karin stood there expectantly looking up at the big bluff man that must be Cassie’s dad.  How a pretty little thing like Cassie had come out of him she wondered but then Cassie’s mother had been of similar physique to Cassie’s from the pictures Karin had seen of her.

             
“Daddy, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend and manager Karin Myers.”

             
“Howdy little lady, welcome to Kansas” he said putting out a big paw to shake hers.  This wasn’t the first girlfriend of his daughters he had met but he sensed this one was a lot more important than the others to his daughter.  While he had problems years ago with her sexuality he had come to realize she was still the good little girl he had raised.  She hadn’t really changed.  She had given him a book on parents of homosexuals and it had helped him understand a little better and he was relieved to find he hadn’t done anything to cause it and he wasn’t the first parent who had problems understanding it, accepting it.  She was who she was.  This little filly though who stood before him was a surprise though.  She was a thoroughbred when his daughter was a scrub mustang.  What in the world did she see in her except dollar signs?  He had his reservations when he saw her step off the plane in her designer suit and shoes.  From the top of her perfectly styled hair in its tight bun to her manicured fingertips she screamed high class.  He had doubts whether she was the right one for his daughter.  He’d hold judgment though because Cassie had sung her praises and explained what she had done for her.

             
“Hello Mr. Summers, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.  I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity for a while now.  Thank you for inviting me.”  She said formally and returned his handshake firmly knowing that he mistrusted her immediately.  She was good at reading people and could tell in his simple way that he was reserving judgment.  She loved his daughter though and was willing to try for her sake.

             
“Well what’s this Mr. Summers thing, you can call me Gus or daddy, you take your pick little lady” he said formally.

             
She smiled at him and he was surprised how pretty she really was, “well Mr. Summers, er Gus, if you don’t mind me calling you that.”

             
“Not at all girly, not at all, let’s get you set in the truck and be heading back to the ranch.  We have a few miles to go but not as far as if you’d come into Wichita.  ‘Preciate you arranging this” he said as he reached for her bag from the steward.

             
Karin grabbed her own garment bag and Cassie reached for her hand to hold it as they walked out to the truck giving it a squeeze as she smiled over at her.  Cassie watched her reaction to the truck and was pleased to note she didn’t turn a hair as she saw the condition of their transportation.  Not even an eyelash was batted as she threw her own bag in the backseat and climbed up.  Cassie climbed up next to her and squeezed her hand again delighted that she was finally there.

             
Gus drove them away from the airport and Karin was in his rear view mirror.  “How was yer flight?” he asked politely.  He had seen his daughter take her hand and it no longer bothered him as it once would have.

             
“Not too bad, Denver was a little shaky with turbulence” she answered as she looked at him through her designer sunglasses.

             
“Well, you’ll have a relaxin’ time here on the ranch; we have plenty of fresh air here not like that New York there.  How people can live penned up in so small an area I don’t understan” he emphasized his drawl.

             
Karin smiled “I enjoy New York but I just live there.  I work all over so I enjoy seeing different parts of the country.  I wouldn’t want to raise a family in New York though.”

             
“You plannin’ on raisin’ a family?” he asked wondering what his daughter’s plans were.

             
Karin exchanged a grin with Cassie.  “No, Mr. Summers, er Gus.  I’ve done my raising.  My sons are adults.  I’m done.”

             
“You have son’s?” he asked surprised.  Cassie hadn’t mentioned it.  He wondered how she had managed that with her being gay and all.

             
“Yes sir, they are fine young men” she bragged proudly.

             
“They know about you and my daughter?” he asked.

             
“Yes they do.  We tried to arrange a meeting the last time she went through Wisconsin but it didn’t work out.  The last time they were in New York she was in the southwest so that didn’t work either.”

             
Cassie squeezed her hand and frowned.  She mouthed “when were they in New York?”

             
Karin looked at her and frowned back “last month” as though she should have known.

             
“Maybe we should have them down here to the ranch.  City boys like things like that” he offered.

             
“Oh, my boys aren’t city boys.  I wouldn’t call them country boys either.  They hunt, they fish, they are all around boys” she defended them.

             
Gus thought any man who hunted or fished was all right by him.  “Your husband teach them to hunt and fish?” he asked.

             
Karin smiled into the mirror as she answered “No, I did” and nearly laughed at the expression on Gus’s face.  She saw with her peripheral vision that Cassie was gaping at her.  She squeezed Cassie’s hand to comfort her but she thought perhaps Cassie thought she was teasing her father instead.

             
“Feller over there raises elk” Gus pointed to a place with high eight to ten foot fences as he tried to change the subject.

             
“Have you ever eaten elk meat?” Karin asked politely.

             
“Yep, it’s mighty tasty.  He raises them on good Kansas prairie grass, the finest in the world.”

             
“I think you may be biased” she teased.  “I prefer buffalo myself, more flavor.  I think it’s the fat.  I’ve always wanted to try Beefalo though, do you know anyone who raises Beefalo?” she tilted her head slightly as he glanced back in the mirror in surprise.

             
“I think there is a feller over near the state line near Colorado that raises ‘em” he said.  “We could check it out while you’re here” he offered weakly.

             
“That would be great.  Cassie said you like to barbeque” she smiled.