Chapter 27
27
Emma
T he lights surrounding Emma’s mirror blurred when she stared off in thought. Tonight was the night. Up until thirty minutes ago, the VIP passes hadn’t been picked up. She wanted to hate Jessica for convincing her to make the request, but she couldn’t.
Instead, she hated herself for getting her hopes up. She’d wanted so badly for Caleb to show up and give her another chance.
Boy, her wishes reeked of desperation. At least now she had her answer. All Caleb had wanted was for her to be honest with him, but she’d been too much of a coward to give him that. It was her own fault, really.
She sighed as she placed her head in her hands.
A knock on her dressing room door was quickly followed by it creaking open. “Em?” Jessica’s voice broke the strained silence in the dressing room.
Emma sat up and turned to face her sister. They’d decided to come to the venue together so Jessica wouldn’t have as much trouble getting backstage. She wore her own VIP pass around her neck, though she didn’t need it this time, as Emma had made sure the security guards knew who she was.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
Emma shook her head, fighting the emotion that burned like flowing lava—threatening to escape out any way it could. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Jess.”
Jessica closed the door behind her and moved into the room. “Are you getting stage fright?”
Emma snorted. “I don’t think I’m capable of getting that anymore.”
“Then… is it… Caleb?”
Emma waved her fingers at her face in a last-ditch attempt to keep the tears from ruining her makeup. “Yeah.”
“He didn’t get the tickets.” Her expression said it all. She was just as disappointed as Emma had been. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “That’s a bummer.”
“Yeah,” Emma’s voice choked in the back of her throat. “It’s a huge bummer. How am I supposed to go out there on stage and sing his song? How am I supposed to tell everyone about him when I know I won’t ever see him again?”
This time a tear did get through. It dragged down her cheek and jumped off the edge of her chin. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling and focused on her breathing. “I don’t know that my heart will be able to take it. I think there was a very small part of me that had held out hope that he was going to come.”
Jessica launched across the room and wrapped her arms around Emma. “Me too,” she whispered. “I should have never told you to?—”
“It’s not your fault,” Emma insisted. “I could have?—”
“Don’t do that.”
Emma gave her sister a sharp look.
“You can’t blame yourself, either.” Jessica’s sad smile did little to make Emma feel better about any of this. “Not every love can be like a sunset.”
Emma let out a devastatingly sad laugh. “It was with him.”
“I know,” she whispered. “And you’ll always remember it.” She hugged Emma tighter. “You’ll get through this.”
Another knock on the door drew their attention. It opened and a gal wearing a headset leaned inside. “Thirty minutes to curtain, Miss Hart.” She withdrew, then leaned in once more. “Oh. You said you wanted an update on those VIP tickets you requested at the box office?”
Emma froze, then her eyes darted to Jessica and back to the woman at the door. “Yes,” she rasped.
“I believe they were picked up five minutes ago.”
Jessica spun around with bright eyes and a sharp laugh. “You hear that? He got them.”
Emma’s whole body shook. Her heart pounded erratically. “It doesn’t mean anything,” she whispered. “It could be anyone.”
“Anyone named Caleb Keagan.” Jessica grabbed Emma’s hands and jumped up and down. “He’s here, Em! He came. That has to mean something.”
Emma pulled her hands from her sister’s grasp. They were still trembling, and she couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Maybe she was dreaming. Still, she couldn’t allow herself to believe what she’d been told. The woman was long gone, so she couldn’t get any additional details. Emma shook her head again. “Don’t you think there could be another Caleb Keagan in a hundred-mile radius? Maybe it’s a more common name than I thought.”
“But you gave them his phone number to have them verify.”
She was right.
Emma’s legs tingled with a more intense numbness. She was quickly losing control of her faculties. This was her chance—the one she’d been praying for.
Caleb was here.
She closed her eyes and took in a shuddering breath. As much as she wanted to believe he was here to see her, she had to be realistic. There was still a very good chance that Caleb had only come because his sister wanted him to. He might have come to get additional closure.
Would she be able to handle it if he bought tickets only to tell her that he didn’t want her using the song he wrote?
Her stomach lurched with a new kind of anxiety. She shot out of her seat and shook her hands as she paced. “What if he doesn’t care for me anymore?”
“What are you talking about? He came to see you.”
She spun to face her sister. “But what if he only came to tell me he doesn’t want anything to do with me or the song? What if he wants to claim copyright for the music? I already have it in the album that’s releasing tonight.”
“Would he do that?”
Emma didn’t think so, but anything was possible. She couldn’t predict anything at this moment. She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Then don’t worry about it,” Jessica insisted. She stepped toward Emma and took her hands to stop Emma’s pacing. “All you can do is go out there and sing. That’s what everyone is here to see anyway, right? You can do this.”
Emma nodded. Her sister was right. Whatever was going to happen would happen. She had a team of lawyers at the ready if there was a problem. She closed her eyes briefly, took in a deep breath, then nodded as she opened her eyes. “Okay.”
Bright lights flooded the stage. Fans screamed. Everyone backstage hustled and spoke through their headsets. Beneath the floor of the platform, Emma sat on a simple stool, her acoustic guitar in hand.
Caleb’s Song was originally planned for the second half of the concert, but Emma made the change at the last minute. If Caleb was here, she wanted him to know how she felt. It took everything inside her to push aside all the feelings of self-doubt and get on that stool.
Any second now she’d be lifted onto the stage and the lights would go down with only one shining on her. She wouldn’t be able to see him, she knew that. All she could do was hope that he was paying attention—and that he was there for her.
Emma wouldn’t have been surprised if her mic picked up her pounding heart. For the first time in a long while, she was nervous. So many scenarios played in her head, but there was only one that could bring her peace, and that was the one she latched onto.
“Okay, Miss Hart,” a voice said in her earpiece. “You’re on in five… four… three…” The floor beneath her lurched upward. Screaming voices and cheers reached her as the ceiling overhead split open and she was bathed in light.
She stared out into the dark expanse of the audience. For a brief moment, she had to focus on taking a deep breath. Then she shoved aside all the thoughts that threatened to drag her down and she put on her smile. “Hello, Colorado Springs!”
The crowd went wild. Phone camera lights flickered through the waves of people. Shouts and screams filled the air. Emma waved a hand, and they quieted down.
“The last couple of months has been quite a wild ride, hasn’t it?”
More cheers.
“I know!” She laughed, but on the inside she wished she could see him, know where he was. “There was some craziness a few months back. I don’t know if you heard about it.” She glanced around at the silhouettes of those in attendance. “Let me tell you, those few months I was MIA were some of the best I’ve had in my entire life.” Her voice grew solemn. “I met some of the very best people I could have ever hoped to meet. One in particular…” Her voice broke. “He stole my heart.”
Emma had never heard the audience go quiet so fast. She could have heard a pin land on shag carpet for how silent it was.
A tear formed at the edge of her eye and she wiped at it with the crook of her finger. “But that’s how you Colorado men are, isn’t it? You’re a different breed. And let me tell you. I was the luckiest woman alive when I was with him.” She let out a sad laugh. “Enough about that. I came here to debut my new album, and the first song I’m going to sing… well, he put the words to some music that I’ve been composing for quite some time.” She scanned the crowd, then adjusted her hold on the guitar.
Fingers in place, she took a deep breath and plucked out the intro. Here went nothing. “This is called ‘Caleb’s Song.’”
I was driftin’ like a tumbleweed, through a world I never seemed to need. Then you turned my world upside down, and I’m walking on clouds since you’ve been around.
Now every sunset’s a painting in the sky, and every moment with you feels like the first time, Darlin’, you’re the reason I believe in love again. In this dance we’re in, I can’t help wishing it never ends.
It’s a new love, like a wildflower in bloom, You’re the sunshine breakin’ through the cloudy afternoon. In your arms, I found a place I can belong. With this love, we’ll write our own song.
From the moment our eyes first met, I knew there was somethin’ I couldn’t forget. With your laughter like a melody, You’re the rhythm to this heart of mine, set free.
Now every sunrise is a promise so true, with every kiss, darlin’, I fall deeper for you. In your love, I’ve found my home sweet home. In this journey together, we’ll never be alone.
It’s a new love, like a wildflower in bloom, You’re the sunshine breakin’ through the cloudy afternoon. In your arms, I found a place I can belong. With this love, we’ll write our own song.
Let’s take this road, hand in hand, Through the valleys and across the golden sands. With you by my side, the future’s bright and clear. In this brand-new love, I’ll hold you near.
It’s a new love, like a wildflower in bloom, You’re the sunshine breakin’ through the cloudy afternoon. In your arms, I found a place I can belong. With this love, we’ll write our own song.
So take my hand and hold on tight, Through the stars and the fireflies, we’ll ride. In this country love song, you’re my melody, Forever and always, you’re the one for me.
Emma let the last note echo into nothingness, nearly forgetting that she was performing live. But then the audience roared with applause. She opened her eyes and let out a little laugh. She got to her feet, and a stagehand retrieved her stool. The rest of the performance went as planned. She peppered some of her classic songs with those in her new album. With each new song, her anticipation of seeing Caleb grew.
When the show had ended and she’d left the stage after her encore performance, she returned to her dressing room. Jessica threw herself into Emma’s exhausted arms. “That was so good! You did it! You made it through.”
Emma laughed to keep herself from crying. “I did, didn’t I?” She glanced toward the door, her nerves getting the better of her.
“Don’t worry, he’ll come,” Jessica assured her. “Just be patient.”