Tate (25 page)

I still can’t believe it’s me

That your blue eyes I see

Never, ever thought I’d be

So deep in love like this

Can it really be?

I’m glad I call you mine

Not today, for all time

It’s like the stars aligned

To bring you into my life

I’m goin’ outta my mind

Later, Garth returned to the stage and we sang
Shameless.
He was backstage after my encore.

“Miss Yearwood and I would like you and your family to join us for dinner.”

“I’ll call Maisie.”

***

Maisie

An hour after Tate took his final bow; Fay was talking recipes with Trisha Yearwood. Garth kept us all laughing, telling us stories from the road. They talked to us like people they’d known for a long time, down to earth and warm.

“So,” Trisha said, “I have to know. Did you design that gorgeous wedding dress?”

“I drew what I saw in my mind and Dion put it together,” I replied, and felt a smile of pride spread across my face. I looked to find Dion with the same expression.

“Stunning. I’ve seen your work, and every dress is amazing. Will you still be working at that?”

“I think that I’ll still be designing, but I believe that I’ve climbed from behind the sewing machine.” I looked at Tate. He smiled at the reference to Ami’s comment from when we started dating. “Dion has a seamstress that he’s been working with and I think we can continue that way.”

“I have a Christmas event for television that we’ll be taping soon. I would love to see some of your designs.”

“I’d love to work with you,” I told her and felt like I needed someone to pinch me back to reality.

“Y’all are handling this media stuff well,” Garth said in a caring way. I’d heard of his kindness and generosity. Tonight I experienced the kind heart.

“You mean all the nonsense,” I replied. “I’m trying. I wish we’d find an end to it.”

“I can promise that your skin will grow tougher if you don’t allow your heart to get caught up in it. That’s what they want. I saw the guy holding the sign - stand tall. If your guy is worth it, you’ll be glad you did,” Trisha told me.

***

Later, Tate was sound asleep. I was wide-awake. I couldn’t seem to turn my brain off. I thought about what Trisha told me, but I couldn’t push the wonder away. Tate
was
worth it. I wondered about his former loves. Even though he’d said he had never really been in love, there had been women in his life. Was it an old flame? Jealousy? But none of them would have had access to that beautiful picture of us. And then the thought of jealousy brought me back to a bigger question -
could
it be Ami? I couldn’t push that thought out of my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to believe that she was capable of any part of the absurdity I’d been experiencing, but I did wonder.

I rose quietly from the bed and walked to the window. We had a room with a balcony that overlooked the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas that never seemed to end. I pushed the curtain aside and observed.
Even at this hour
, I thought. I stood there for a little while, just watching.

We’d be getting up soon to see our family off, and then head for L.A. Tate had rented a convertible and we’d be driving across the desert for him to share another new experience with me. I turned toward the bed and stood there, looking at him. I couldn’t imagine loving anyone like I loved him.

He rolled over, noticed I wasn’t in the bed, and sat up. “Everything OK?”

“Mmm hmm,” I replied. “Just admiring perfection.”

He smiled and pulled the covers back for me to join him. I returned to the bed and he wrapped me in his arms. “What’s on your mind?” he asked, kissing my temple.

“People. I’m nervous about the interview. And Ami. I can’t stop wondering if she’s had any part in all this. And you. I was counting my blessings. I learned recently that soul mates really do exist. I learned that your lover can be your best friend, but mostly I learned that I am capable.”

He pulled me closer. “Capable?” he whispered in my ear, nuzzling my neck.

“Of loving, and being loved. I love you, persistent cowboy. We should get up and get going,” I said, and started to roll away.

“In a little while. I need this,” he said. The kiss was passionate. He hugged me tighter and whispered in my ear. “This is what I learned, Maisie. This face and this heart are what’s been missing from my life, and now, you’re the one I will wake up to every morning. I’m blessed by that knowledge. Go back to sleep for a little while.”

“No, we have to get moving. We need to see everyone off, and I’ve been thinking about something. I need to go shopping,” I told him.

“What do you need?”

“It dawned on me that I’m the wife of a country star. I need a pair of boots, sassy jeans, and a pearl snap shirt to wear to the show tomorrow night. If I’m going to show up holding my head high, I’m damn sure going to look good doing it.”

“Maisie Morrow, I love you. We aren’t seeing anyone off. I told them that we’d see them soon. We can shop here before we leave. There’s a shop for anything you can imagine in Vegas.”

***

After scooping up a pair of brown cowgirl boots with teal butterflies cut into the leather, a couple of pairs of jeans with sparkles, and some tops that Tate found to be a bit ‘sassier’ than the pearl snap shirts, we began our journey west. I think I liked him choosing my clothes. He did a great job, and I knew that if he picked it, he’d appreciate it.

“Supposed to be hot later, we’ll drive with the top down to start. GPS says about four hours. The hotel packed a cooler with water and snacks. Did you pee?” he asked with a big laugh as we were loading the car. “There aren’t many places to stop on the way. The car is gassed up and ready to hit the highway.”

“I peed and I’m ready for four hours of nothing but the two of us!”

As Tate drove through town, traffic was slow. I took this opportunity to take pictures of the Vegas strip. Once we were out of town, I settled back in the seat and slipped on huge, dark sunglasses and wrapped a bright floral scarf around my head to contain my hair. Tate had a ball cap on backward and we hit the open road.

“So?” he asked.

“So what?”

“You look like the wife of a country star trying to be incognito.”

“Oh my goodness! Cover blown. That’s exactly who I am!” I laughed.

“You said you were nervous about People. Wanna talk about it?”

“No, Deidre said I could handle it, so I will.” I tried to convince myself that my words were true.

“OK then. Let’s talk about something fun,” Tate suggested.

“Like?”

“Blowing Rock.”

“The cabin?” I asked, and he nodded.

“The area is beautiful. I’m thinking about a refuge. I loved fishing with you,” he said, and smiled. “How much land is there?”

“4.87 acres. Not five, not four and three-quarters,” I laughed. “I know the exact acreage because I have to pay taxes on it every year. But the thing is, the house is on the only flat part.”

“What do you think about a revamp to make it comfortable for a refuge?” he asked.

I sat, quietly processing, for a moment. “I never dreamed of doing anything with it. Actually, I never thought I’d go there until I ran. Uncle Gus didn’t have children so he left it to me. I thought about selling it a while back, but it’s the only family thing I have, so I kept it.”

“What do you think?”

“I’d love that idea.”

“Me too,” Tate replied.

My phone rang and I saw that it was Dion. “Hey! How were things when you got back?”

“Ami’s raising hell because you aren’t here for her fitting.”

“She’ll get over it. I’m on my honeymoon!”

“She’s just a bitch,” he announced.

“I thought she didn’t even need the dress for two more weeks. That’s what I put on the calendar.”

“Correct. She’s just bitchy because you aren’t here to kiss her ass,” Dion replied.

“There will be no more ass-kissing! I’m tired of her. She can take her business elsewhere,” I said.

“But she won’t,” he laughed.

“She gets more and more demanding, and I have new priorities now,” I said, and reached over to toy with the curls that lay on Tate’s shirt collar. He leaned to kiss my cheek. It just fueled my feisty demeanor.

“I’ll call and tell her to find another designer, my time is now taken by a good-looking man…”

“Whoa up there, little tiger,” Dion laughed. “I got this. I just wanted your permission get bitchy back to her. Get back to your honeymooning!”

“I’ll check in later,” I said, and hung up.

“Those boots made you all bad ass,” Tate laughed out loud.

“I’m just getting tired of her.”

***

Tate

About an hour into our drive, I noticed that our conversation had ebbed. I looked and found Maisie asleep. Her restless worry in the night had caught up to her. She looked classic, like the movie stars from the fifties, with her scarf and sunglasses, but mostly, she looked peaceful. I hadn’t seen that peaceful, contented face since the night of the wedding. The bullshit that continued to surround us was taking a toll on her. I spent this quiet time praying that Daniel would find an end to it so that she could truly soar.

I noticed the way the sun hit the mountains in the distance.

“Wake up,” I said softly. “Ya gotta see this.”

“It’s beautiful,” she sighed. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I wanted to see it all.”

“You’ve only been out for fifteen minutes or so. There’s a stop ahead for a bathroom break and something cold to drink. We have that picnic lunch; the concierge said there’s a place inside to eat. We’re about halfway, and I think we probably need to put the top up. The sun is starting to get hot, and I only want to a see a red blush on your face because I put it there.”

“I love you, Tate Morrow,” she smiled. “Oh, my. Can you pull off to the side? I want to take a picture of that mountain. The way the sun is hitting it, and the cactus, make it look like a post card.”

“If you let me take a picture first.”

“Of the mountain?”

“No, you. You look like old Hollywood. The scarf, the sunglasses, and your beautiful face remind me of Audrey Hepburn.”

“Such a compliment,” she laughed, and struck a pose.

An hour later, we were back on the road headed for Los Angeles. I had two shows in L.A. The first, on Tuesday night at the Troubadour, was a smaller venue and a different crowd than the larger shows. Andy wanted to meet us there and frankly, it gave me great relief. I think I was more nervous for this show than the one at the sold out Staples Center. The Troubadour show was for country radio hosts, music critics, and media. Audra set this up to get me in front of ‘important people’ and release some of my new music. Daniel was coming as well. He’d called earlier and said he needed to talk to Maisie. He wanted to take her to the People interview.

***

Maisie

As we got closer to L.A., the beauty of the desert started to reveal the hustle and bustle of the California west coast. We arrived at the hotel and settled into our room. Tate had a meeting to attend with Audra and after he left me, the call I’d been waiting for came.

“Ready?” Daniel Costas asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I’m on my way down to the lobby.”

As he drove, he made small talk about the tour, about the wedding, and the interview. And then suddenly, he hit me with a bombshell.

“I was looking at the sketch you worked on with the sketch artist of the man you thought was watching you. I’ve got an associate, Rico Scoleri, who’s been helping with that. I didn’t get an opportunity to really look at it before I handed it over to him. Did you give it a good look?” he asked.

“Yes. I didn’t want to look at it, but I looked to see that the sketch was as accurate as I could recall,” I responded, but it felt like he was looking for something more from me.

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Look at it closely.”

I unfolded it. The first glance gave me the heebie-jeebies. I knew he’d been watching me and I didn’t want to look at the picture. As I focused on the man’s image, I noticed Daniel watching me. I studied the picture more closely, and suddenly I noticed what he wanted me to see.

“Huh.” I drew in a breath. “It’s the eyes.”

“Your eyes, right?”

“Is this? Could it be? I can’t think…” I couldn’t form a complete sentence.

“Your father?” Daniel asked.