EPILOGUE
TWO YEARS LATER
Lilly flashed me a smile and then, behind her drum kit, she clicked her sticks together for a count of four, and then we launched into Only For You. As we did, the crowd — all fifty thousand of them — roared out a cheer and started singing along. It was pure magic, and I felt like I was floating on a cloud. This was a dream come true. This was everything I could have ever wished for when it came to my music. This song had been my big hit, and I was reminded by Judd before we walked on stage, that it had been released a year ago today. Since then, my life had been a whirlwind of tours and shows. This one, back in Nashville, was the final one before I took a much-needed break to get back into the studio and write another album.
The crowd sang along with me as I went into the final chorus, and goosebumps rose on my skin with the intense rush. My home crowd, singing along to my song, knowing every word, every syllable, every note by heart. It was wonderful.
The song finally faded out, and the crowd roared with enthusiastic excitement.
“Thank you! I'm Mackenzie Shea, and this is Lilly Wright on the drums! And don’t forget my band, give them a round of appreciation! We love ya’ll! Have a wonderful night, and we'll see ya soon!” I shouted into the microphone after the applause had finally died down a little.
Of course, it only prompted another thunderous bout of applause, and Lilly and I stood up and took a bow before we exited the stage.
Waiting to the side of the stage were Judd and Chance. Judd had a huge smile on his face, and he gave me a big hug.
“That was just fantastic, Mackenzie!” he exclaimed. “You're a natural! You're gonna be a country legend, I just know it. Signing you to Regent Records was one of the biggest wins of my career!”
I laughed and gave him another hug.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with Regent, Judd. It means a lot to me. I don't know where I'd be without your guidance.”
“Well, you can look forward to a lot more of it in the years to come,” he said with a smile. “I have a feeling that Only For You is just the first of many hits that you're gonna have in what I imagine is gonna be a long and prosperous career. All right, anyway, I need to go talk to this new kid I'm hoping to sign.”
“The one who played on the B stage about an hour ago?” I asked.
“That's the one! I see you have as good an eye for talent as I do.”
“He's great. Good luck, Judd; I hope he signs up.”
“I do too.”
After Judd left, Chance pulled me to him and placed a long and passionate kiss on my lips.
“How is my wife feeling after that stellar performance?” he asked.
“Just great!”
“Well, do you think this here fan could get a lil' something special from his favorite singer?” he asked with a flirty glint in his eyes.
“I think that'd be just perfect about now,” I replied. “C'mon, let's go to my personal dressing room.”
“Don’t you mean undressing room?” he teased. I rolled my eyes at his cheesy comment.
Hand in hand, we exited the backstage area and headed through the campground of luxury buses, which were all for the musicians and management, and separated from the campground of the festival goers, until we reached mine. I unlocked it, stepped inside, and then locked the door behind Chance as he stepped in.
“We wouldn't want anyone walking in now, would we?” I asked, the tone of my voice smooth and seductive.
“Not with what I'm about to do to you,” he replied with a grin.
***
Behind the stage in the park, the sun had just dipped below the distant hills. The first few stars of the evening were starting to twinkle in the sky above as James Masters played the last note of his first song. We all applauded loudly and whistled and cheered enthusiastically. It had been an incredible performance. It was great simply watching a show instead of playing one for a change. As much as I loved performing, I did need a break from it once in a while, and a nice outdoor gig with James Masters was just the way to kick back and relax with all my friends and family around us.
“He's a legend, he really is,” my dad said. “As good as he ever was.”
“Like a fine wine, he just gets better with age,” my mother commented.
“I like how he sings! He's a cool grandpa!” exclaimed Cassie, and we all laughed at her childlike innocence.
“What did you think of the band before James?” Lilly asked me. “They're really talented in my opinion.”
“I thought so too,” Jason added. “Great vibe, great chemistry on stage, and excellent energy.”
“They're local boys, ain't they?” Chance asked.
“That's right,” I said. “Born and raised right here in Nashville.”
“They kick some serious ass,” Will agreed. “And if I was a music journalist, you bet they'd be my first choice to write a review on.”
“Why don't you do that anyway?” I asked. “Who says you gotta restrict yourself to investigative journalism?”
“I would, but I've got so much on my plate now. Being sober, I have so much more time available, it seems – but I'm still too busy to do much else besides write! And I've got to cover the latest fracking controversy in Dakota. That could make international headlines, depending on what I uncover.”
“Well, I hope someone writes a good review on this band,” Chance said. “Those boys sure do deserve it. I enjoyed the hell outta their set!”
“Maybe you could ask James to call one of them up on stage for a duet,” I suggested with a wink and a playful elbow. “I heard there's a singer whose career just took off like a rocket after you did that for her.”
We all laughed, and Chance pulled me to him and kissed me.
“And I'd do it again, a thousand times over,” he said. “It got you to talk to me, didn’t it?”
We sat and listened to James playing, and I wrapped my arms around Chance's big, powerful frame while Cassie curled up between us, warming herself against the light chill of the early evening.
“How's Andy doing?” my dad asked Chance as the current song ended.
Andy had recently had a fall off one of the horses on the ranch. I'd been the one who had found him down by the creek when I'd gone on a ride. He'd had to be taken to the hospital, and Chance had just stopped before this show by to visit him after his surgery.
“His leg was broken in three places, but they've put him all back together with steel bolts and plates and stuff. It'll take a while to heal, on account of his age, but the doctor said that he'll be right as rain when he is eventually healed up.”
“He's not gonna be happy about having to rest for so long. You know how seriously he takes his work, and how much he needs to move around and be active,” I said.
“I know, I know. We'll have to find something for him to do on the ranch that won't strain him too much,” Chance added.
“I'm sure we'll figure out something for him to do. I just wish he could have been here tonight. He would have loved to see James play.”
“I know. I wish he was here too,” Chance added.
James started another song, and we watched, nodding our heads and tapping our feet to the beat. The sky was getting darker now, and it really was turning out to be a gorgeous evening, with a moonless sky that was filled edge to edge with bright, shining stars. Up on the stage, James finished another song, and we all applauded and cheered. He then spoke into the microphone.
“Thank you, Nashville! I always do love playing here.”
“We love you too!” someone shouted from the crowd, prompting a chuckle from James.
“And I love all 'yall too!” he shouted, and a cheer echoed through the crowd. “Right now, I'm gonna play a lil' song of mine called Thunder and Rain.”
Everyone cheered as he announced it.
“But I ain't gonna do the song alone,” he continued. “You see, a few years ago, I did this song with a lovely little lady who sang it so beautifully that I do believe that it was one of the best renditions of the song I ever did do. And now that lovely lady has gone on to become quite the star in her own right too.”
My heart started to beat a little faster – it was pretty obvious who James was talking about: me!
“And what's more, I think that beautiful and talented young lady is here tonight! Where are you, Mackenzie Shea?”
Everyone cheered as James said my name, and I couldn't help but blush.
“Come on up to the stage, Miss Shea!” he said. “If you please, that is. I'd love to do Thunder and Rain with you one more time... and I'm sure everyone else would like to see that too, wouldn't ya’ll?”
Everyone roared out their approval, and I knew I had to do it. Smiling and glowing with pride and excitement, I stood from our picnic blanket. This was going to be great. Chance got up and hugged me.
“You're gonna kill it, angel. Get up there and bring it home! You always do. You always do.”
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Naomi Niles