You didn’t tell me you were gonna have me sing.” Dalton muttered as Janie thrust him a guitar.

She smiled, but her eyes flashed with anger. “I had to do something to get you away from Sierra,” she hissed. “You’re like a moth to the flame.”

He’d intended to wait until after Boyd’s birthday party to drop the bomb on Janie, but he knew it couldn’t wait. “I’m sorry, Ivie,” he said quietly, his eyes conveying all that his lips didn’t have time to say right now.

Her face crumbled slightly. “So now I’m Ivie instead of Janie? Figures!” She plastered on a hard smile. “Break a leg,” she barked.

He put the guitar strap over his shoulder and faced the crowd, his trademark smile slipping over his lips. “Howdy, folks,” he boomed. “How y’all doing tonight?”

Thunderous applause sounded through the crowd.

The familiar comfort of the stage settled over Dalton like a favorite pair of faded jeans. He’d caught the stricken look on Sierra’s face when Ivie Jane announced that he was her boyfriend. That hadn’t scored him any brownie points with Sierra, that was for sure. He looked over to where she’d been standing, but with the lights, he couldn’t see anything. His heart dropped. Hopefully, she hadn’t left. For a second there, when they’d looked at each other, he got the distinct impression that she’d come back to him. And then Ivie Jane pulled this stunt and quite possibly ruined everything.

What was he going to sing? His mind ran through his list of usual songs. A smile slid over his lips. He knew exactly what he needed to do to get Sierra back. He stepped up to the microphone. “I wrote this one for my best friend. It’s called The One I’ll Never Forget.”

* * *

Sierra had just reached Bennie’s table and was about to demand that they leave this instant when she heard the title of the song. She stopped in her tracks, turning toward the stage. Dalton’s tenor voice rang out clear, jolting her to the core. She knew the lyrics to this song as well as she knew her own heartbeat. It was the song he wrote for her.

As the last note of the song faded away, Sierra let the tears fall unabashedly down her cheeks. A sigh escaped her mouth, her hand going over her heart. She looked at Bennie who also had tears streaming down her face.

The next second, pandemonium broke out when Ivie Jane stomped onto the stage and slapped Dalton across the jaw, the microphone amplifying the loud whack. Murmurs rippled through the crowd. “I hate you,” Ivie Jane cried. “Curse you and curse Sierra for coming back here!” She erupted into tears and ran off the stage.

Sierra went stone cold as all eyes turned to her. Then came the sting of embarrassment. She just stood there, frozen. She felt someone touch her arm and realized Bennie was beside her.

“Let’s get out of here before they tar and feather us,” Bennie said, hobbling forward on her crutches, Sierra hurrying behind.

* * *

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to sing that song, but Dalton was so desperate to get Sierra back. And Ivie had goaded him into it. But she’d gotten her revenge, humiliated him and Sierra in front of the town. A hysterical laugh escaped his throat. He didn’t care about the embarrassment. His only thought was to find Sierra.

He removed the guitar strap and hurried down the steps. He rushed back to where Phyllis and Eddie were standing. “Where is she?”

Eddie scratched his head. “She left, man, with her aunt. Right after your song.”

His heart dropped. Was Sierra okay that he sang that song? He had to get to her. He was almost to the double French doors when someone stopped him.

“Dalton?”

He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, but decorum demanded that he pause and at least be polite. “Huh?” Then he realized it was Leo Farnsworth, the president of the bank that was about to foreclose on Bennie’s mansion.

Leo cleared his throat. “That was an interesting song. And then afterwards …” He chugged out a few laughs. “Well, I thought I had problems with my wife, but well, yours take the cake.”

“O-kay.” He rubbed his jaw, not sure how else to respond.

Leo’s thin mustache twitched as he cleared his throat. “Anyway, the reason I stopped you is because my assistant Nadine said you called to make an appointment and that it was extremely urgent.” He searched Dalton’s face. “I’m headed to Orlando next week on vacation, so I thought I’d better catch you tonight. Is everything okay?”

Dalton ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I do want to talk to you.” He motioned. “Could you step inside for a minute, so we can speak in private?”

“Certainly.” Leo straightened his jacket as he followed Dalton into the home.

“I wanted to talk to you about Bennie McCain’s loan. I’d like to cover the balance.”

He hesitated. “I don’t understand. Does Bennie want to take out a loan? Are you planning on co-signing with her?”

“No, I want to talk to you about the loan she already has … the one she’s behind on.”

“Um … there must be some mistake.”

“The loan against the mansion,” Dalton said, feeling like he was stating the obvious.

Leo’s forehead wrinkled. “Bennie doesn’t have a loan through my bank.”

Dalton frowned. “Are you sure?” He could’ve sworn that Sierra told him it was Leo’s bank. Yes, she’d said it was the bank where Nadine worked. “So you’re telling me that Bennie McCain doesn’t owe your bank twenty-two thousand dollars and that you’re not about to foreclose on her mansion?”

Leo gurgled out a nervous laugh. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Bennie McCain doesn’t have a loan with my bank.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” He lifted his chin. “I know all the ins and outs of my bank. I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but I can assure you it’s false.”

“Okay, thanks. If you’ll excuse me.” He hurried to his car.

Something was fishy about this whole thing. And he was going to find out what, as soon as he could get to Bennie’s mansion.