Restless Heart (34 page)

Back then, he hadn’t believed that.

Maybe he did now.

 

 

 

S
itting in the studio at WKCX, Destiny adjusted her headphones and wondered why the heck she was so nervous. She’d done countless interviews in the three months since her album had been released, and this one wasn’t even live. They were taping it to air later this afternoon, when the drive-time audience was listening.

Besides, Grace was sitting here with her, also wearing headphones and prepared to talk, and the interviewer was Rex Miller, whom she’d known forever. Well, since the beginning of her career, anyway.

Still . . .

“Okay, ladies, are you ready?” From the other side of the glass booth, Rex Miller’s voice boomed through the speaker.

Glancing at Grace, and noting that for once she looked a little shell-shocked, Destiny answered for both of them.

“Okay,” a sound technician said, and began the now-familiar act of counting down. “Three, two . . .”

He pointed a finger at Rex.

“Today, we have a little surprise for all of you listeners. Right here in the studio with me is Wilmot’s very own Destiny Hart! Destiny and her sister, Grace—who also happens to be her personal assistant—are here to give hometown listeners the inside scoop, and I’m told they’ve got some exciting news to share for the first time ever here on WKCX, your one and only Kicks Country! Ladies, welcome.”

“Thanks, Rex—it’s great to be back here,” Destiny said easily, her nerves slipping away.

“It sure is,” Grace chimed in. “I mean, I’ve never been here before—well, I’ve
been
here, but—”

She broke off, catching a warning look from Rex.

“Destiny, your sensational single, ‘Restless Heart,’ rode to the top of the charts, and your new CD is a smash hit with great reviews. You must feel like all your dreams are coming true.”

“Well, maybe not
all
of them,” she quipped, “but, yes, it feels pretty good.”

She glanced at Grace, sitting beside her. She could tell Grace was just itching to say something.

“As the story goes,” Rex went on, “you were discovered almost a year ago by the legendary Nick Novell of Sundial Records while you were waitressing at Back in the Saddle Bar and Grille in Nashville, Tennessee. Is that right?”

“Sure is.” Funny—now that her struggling days were behind her, she didn’t mind announcing to her entire hometown that she’d been waiting tables for years.

“And now you certainly are a rising star . . . or maybe I should say shooting star! Are you ready to give your hometown the big news?”

“Well, actually, I’ll let my sister, Grace, who just happens to be my amazing personal assistant, make the announcement.”

“Fill us in, Grace,” Rex requested.

“Well,” Grace began in a much more flamboyant tone than Destiny’s, “first I’d like to say that it’s an honor to have a front row seat to my sister’s success. As young girls moving from base to base, we were always close—weren’t we, Destiny?”

“Definitely,” she agreed, aware that Rex was growing impatient. “Go ahead, Grace—don’t tease.”

Grace’s laughter tinkled through the studio. “Okay then, I’m just over the moon to announce that my sister, Destiny, is going to be launching a national concert tour this summer!”

“Get outta town!” Rex shouted, and Destiny winced at the volume in her ears.

“Actually, Rex, we’re doing just the opposite,” Grace cleverly improvised, “because Destiny is launching her tour with a special concert right here in Wilmot!”

“Well, speaking for the whole town of Wilmot, I can tell you that we’re pleased and honored! We’ll make it a day of celebration in your honor, Destiny.”

“Thanks, Rex. We might have grown up all over the country, but Grace and I consider Wilmot our hometown. The honor is all mine.”

S
itting on the porch of his fishing cabin in the late-afternoon sunlight, John sipped sweet tea and thought about his wife.

Lord, he missed her. He’d spent the better part of the past few months up here, ever since they’d had a big blowup over his not going to see Destiny at the Grand Ole Opry.

Unable to stand the silence, he leaned over and turned on the ancient portable radio sitting on the small table wedged between the rocking chairs.

Toby Keith’s song “She Never Cried in Front of Me” was playing on the local station.

“I sure don’t need to hear that right now,” John grumbled under his breath and reached over to turn the dial.

Channel surfing, he found a whole lot of static—but not as much as usual. Reception was never great out here in the woods, but on a clear day like today, he could sometimes bring in WKCX from back home.

Sure enough, there was disc jockey Rex Miller saying, “And that was a little bit of ‘Big Dog Daddy’ for ya on this gorgeous summer afternoon! Now I hope y’all can stick around after the commercial for an interview with Wilmot’s very own Destiny Hart! Her sensational single, ‘Restless Heart,’ climbed the charts, and in just a few minutes Destiny’s going to give us the inside scoop about her new CD. I’m told she’s got some exciting news to share for the first time ever here on WKCX, your one and only Kicks Country!”

“What?” John jumped to his feet so fast that sweet tea sloshed over the rim of his glass.

He felt a hot flash of anger that he had to find out from the radio DJ that Destiny was in town.

She could have told me,
he thought grouchily. But then, his daughter—no, both his daughters, now—had distanced themselves from him as deliberately as Sara had.

He wanted to think it was Sara’s, but for some reason, that wasn’t as easy as it might once have been.

Could it possibly be his own damned fault that no one was speaking to him?

It could . . . and it was.

John reached over and cranked up the radio so he wouldn’t miss a word. He was going to listen to his daughter’s interview, and then he was going to hop into his truck and hightail it home to see his family before it was too late.

 

 

 

“I
’d like to thank you lovely ladies for dropping by,” Rex Miller was saying. “And now, Destiny, let’s cap off the interview by playing your smash hit single, ‘Restless Heart!’ ”

Stung, Seth put the truck into park on his driveway and rested his head against the steering wheel as the opening notes of Destiny’s song filled the speakers. A soft summer breeze blew in through the open window and afternoon sunlight settled over him like a blanket, yet brought little comfort.

That Destiny was right here in town—but hadn’t even bothered to contact him—probably shouldn’t have been so shocking, but it was.

She had promised she’d let him know when she was coming to Wilmot.

But he could still hear her voice echoing in his head, with a note of sincerity he couldn’t possibly have imagined . . . could he?

“Seth . . .”

Her voice sounded so real that it was as if she were almost here, Seth thought with a sigh.

“Hey . . . Seth?”

When a hand touched his shoulder Seth opened his eyes and sat up so swiftly that he bumped his knees on the steering wheel, blew the horn, and almost knocked his Mountain Dew out of the cup holder.

“Destiny!”

There she was, standing beside the car, looking as real as could be . . . and yet he couldn’t quite grasp it. She had just been talking to Rex Miller over the radio.

He blinked, and she was still there. “Is that really you?”

“Last time I checked.” She backed up so he could see her, tipped her cowboy hat up, and grinned. Then, in true Destiny form, she lifted her palms in the air and turned in a circle.

She was wearing worn, boot-cut jeans and a light blue V-neck sweater. Her hair fell in soft waves to her shoulders from beneath her hat. It was her smile that really got to him. For a long moment he simply stared.

“But you were just . . .” He pointed at the radio speakers. “Restless Heart” was still playing.

“Either I can be in two places at once, or we taped the interview this morning,” she told him, and grinned, fisting her hands on her hips and angling her head. “Get yourself out of that truck, Seth Caldwell, and give a girl a hug!”

Seth scrambled for the door so quickly that he fumbled with the handle before figuring out that it was locked and the truck was still running. Attempting to open up and turn off everything all at once, he somehow managed to get out of the SUV in one piece.

“That was smooth,” Destiny said with a grin, and he folded her into a fierce embrace.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to be in town?” Seth pulled back to ask casually, though he watched her closely.

“I didn’t know myself. They told me last night. That’s pretty much how things work in this business, Seth.”

He nodded, remembering the Tammy Turner announcement that had caught even Destiny off guard.

“Anyway, I heard it was graduation today, and I knew you’d probably be busy with that. How’d it go?”

“It was perfect. Chase made it.” He quickly told her about the baseball scholarship.

“That’s great. It sounds like everything is going to work out okay, then.”

“Yeah.”
For Chase, anyway.

When he’d left the graduation luncheon a little while ago, he’d been filled with determination to do something about his situation with Destiny.

Hearing her on the radio—and realizing she hadn’t told him she was in town—deflated his plans.

Now, however, he had hope again.

Fools rush in,
he thought wryly, asking aloud, “Where’s Grace?”

“She’s at my parents’ house. We drove separately since I wanted a little extra time to visit before going back out on the radio promo tour. I’ve been busy with the reps all day, doing press and scouting out locations for a video we’re going to be shooting here. I was just finally on my way home to see my mother, but I wanted to drive by your new house and when I spotted your truck in the driveway, I just couldn’t resist surprising you. I hope that’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. It’s more than okay.” He hesitated before asking, “What about . . . your father?”

She lifted her chin. “What about him?”

“You said you were just going to see your mother. Did he . . . move out?”

“Not officially. He’s away fishing. What else is new?” A cloud passed over her face and she played with the rim of her hat. “I’m kind of glad about that. I’m not sure if I want to face him.”

“I’m sorry about that, Destiny. I thought your success might change his way of thinking.”

She pressed her lips together for a moment and then said, “You know, I’ve thought about that and it really shouldn’t be about success or failure. Maybe I’m being just as stubborn as him, but I just can’t help it.”

Seth nodded. “You’re absolutely right. And no matter what, he should have shown up to see you at the Grand Ole Opry.”

She started to open her mouth as if to agree, then went absolutely still, staring at him. “How do you know he wasn’t there?” she asked in a near whisper.

“Because . . . I
was
.”

“You were . . . what?”

“There. I was there, Destiny. And you were incredible.”

She shook her head in wonder, tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“Because we hadn’t spoken in so long, and—”

“And whose fault was that?” She was laughing and crying at the same time as she gave him a poke in the chest, and he could feel tears welling up in his own eyes.

She shook her head at him. “I was waiting for you to call back after Valentine’s Day . . . but you never did.”

“You knew I called?”

“Of course I knew.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t even sure you checked your own phone anymore, now that . . . I mean, Destiny, your life is so different now.”

“But I’m the same person.”

Looking into her eyes, he somehow found that incredibly easy to believe.

“But what about . . .” He had to ask. “Brody Ballard? Are you and he . . . ?”

“Are you kidding? No. He’s just a friend, Seth. And you have to believe that, because—”

“I do believe it, because I know you wouldn’t lie to me,” he said simply.

“No. Never.”

A moment of silence passed and suddenly Seth just couldn’t help himself. With a little groan he took a step closer and pulled Destiny into his embrace, kissing her hard. To his delight she melted against him, and her breathy sigh made his heart pound harder.

She tasted warm and sweet and when she wrapped her arms around his neck, Seth threaded his fingers through her thick hair and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers and chuckled weakly.