When Bobbie Sang the Blues Read Online Free Page B
Author: Peggy Darty
better word. My editor is calling in eight minutes.” She hoped only a couple of minutes had passed. “I hear you met my aunt Bobbie at the Blues Club last night.”
He removed his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. “Yeah, your aunt’s got a terrific voice. You should have been there.” He watched her face.
She hesitated, trying to gather her thoughts.
Why didn’t you invite me?
she wanted to ask. But she forced herself to remain cool. “I’m going tonight,” she said.
“Good. It’s a pretty neat club. No smoking, nice crowd. People should support the place. The new owner just moved here from New Orleans. You should say hello tonight. Her name’s Donna.”
“Donna?” She hated the jealousy that flared inside her.
“Right. She’s modeling this club after the one she and her father owned in New Orleans before Katrina hit.”
“I see,” Christy said, struggling to keep her voice even. Dan seemed to know a lot about Donna. He must have been making her feel welcome in Summer Breeze.
An awkward silence followed. Christy tried to force herself to leave, but her feet felt rooted to the spot.
“Well,” Dan said, glancing toward the restaurant door, “guess I’d better grab a booth. Good luck on meeting that deadline.”
“Thanks,” she replied, trying to sound cheerful and lighthearted. By the time she reached her white convertible, her flip-flops hammered the pavement. Why did her heart jump every time she saw him? She knew Dan concealed his emotions well, but she had the feeling their meeting had rocked him too. Why couldn’t she get it through her head that they needed to be “just friends”—how she hated those words—for a while to see if what they felt warranted making a long-term commitment? It felt that way for her, but Dan had begun to back up, shying away from taking the next step.
She hit the button on her car keys to unlock the door.
Well, good luck, Miz Donna
, she thought as she plopped into the front seat.
He’s not an easy catch
.
As she turned the key in the ignition, she glanced at a couple sitting in a white truck two rows over. Then the sound of a child’s laughter drew her attention. She waited to back out, watching a man gather up stray children and herd them into a car in front of her.
After she spoke with her editor, maybe she’d grab her tennis shoes and jog off her anger, now that her ankle had healed. Jogging had been her means of blowing off steam until she broke her right ankle on a ski trip with the church youth. She took a deep breath, feeling better. A jog would be the best way to put her encounter with Dan behind her.
Once the family was safely in their car, she let the top down on her convertible, relishing the cool breeze rippling her ponytail. She drove out of the parking lot, music floating from a CD, her determined face warmed in a splash of sunlight.
As the couple in the white truck watched Christy hurrying to her car, Roseann asked, “Which one do we follow?” She studied the pretty woman in the convertible.
“We stay with Bobbie,” Eddie said. “Quick! Write down the number of that plate.”
Roseann grabbed her pen and copied down the number on a notepad. She looked across the parking lot at the red truck they’d been following all morning. “I’m gonna help you get that money back, Eddie,” she said. “Maybe I can make friends with Bobbie, and you could stay in the background.”
“Roseann, where that woman’s concerned, it’s hard for me to stay in the background.”
Roseann chewed on the end of her pen, deep in thought. She looked across at Eddie. “The sign on that Blues Club we passed said, ‘Bobbie Bodine, 9:00 Tonight.’”
Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, she can sing, but she’ll be singing the blues when I get through with her.”
A s Christy drove home, her frustrations began to melt into discouragement. She knew she must have been pushing Dan for a commitment. In retrospect, she had just wanted
He removed his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. “Yeah, your aunt’s got a terrific voice. You should have been there.” He watched her face.
She hesitated, trying to gather her thoughts.
Why didn’t you invite me?
she wanted to ask. But she forced herself to remain cool. “I’m going tonight,” she said.
“Good. It’s a pretty neat club. No smoking, nice crowd. People should support the place. The new owner just moved here from New Orleans. You should say hello tonight. Her name’s Donna.”
“Donna?” She hated the jealousy that flared inside her.
“Right. She’s modeling this club after the one she and her father owned in New Orleans before Katrina hit.”
“I see,” Christy said, struggling to keep her voice even. Dan seemed to know a lot about Donna. He must have been making her feel welcome in Summer Breeze.
An awkward silence followed. Christy tried to force herself to leave, but her feet felt rooted to the spot.
“Well,” Dan said, glancing toward the restaurant door, “guess I’d better grab a booth. Good luck on meeting that deadline.”
“Thanks,” she replied, trying to sound cheerful and lighthearted. By the time she reached her white convertible, her flip-flops hammered the pavement. Why did her heart jump every time she saw him? She knew Dan concealed his emotions well, but she had the feeling their meeting had rocked him too. Why couldn’t she get it through her head that they needed to be “just friends”—how she hated those words—for a while to see if what they felt warranted making a long-term commitment? It felt that way for her, but Dan had begun to back up, shying away from taking the next step.
She hit the button on her car keys to unlock the door.
Well, good luck, Miz Donna
, she thought as she plopped into the front seat.
He’s not an easy catch
.
As she turned the key in the ignition, she glanced at a couple sitting in a white truck two rows over. Then the sound of a child’s laughter drew her attention. She waited to back out, watching a man gather up stray children and herd them into a car in front of her.
After she spoke with her editor, maybe she’d grab her tennis shoes and jog off her anger, now that her ankle had healed. Jogging had been her means of blowing off steam until she broke her right ankle on a ski trip with the church youth. She took a deep breath, feeling better. A jog would be the best way to put her encounter with Dan behind her.
Once the family was safely in their car, she let the top down on her convertible, relishing the cool breeze rippling her ponytail. She drove out of the parking lot, music floating from a CD, her determined face warmed in a splash of sunlight.
As the couple in the white truck watched Christy hurrying to her car, Roseann asked, “Which one do we follow?” She studied the pretty woman in the convertible.
“We stay with Bobbie,” Eddie said. “Quick! Write down the number of that plate.”
Roseann grabbed her pen and copied down the number on a notepad. She looked across the parking lot at the red truck they’d been following all morning. “I’m gonna help you get that money back, Eddie,” she said. “Maybe I can make friends with Bobbie, and you could stay in the background.”
“Roseann, where that woman’s concerned, it’s hard for me to stay in the background.”
Roseann chewed on the end of her pen, deep in thought. She looked across at Eddie. “The sign on that Blues Club we passed said, ‘Bobbie Bodine, 9:00 Tonight.’”
Eddie threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, she can sing, but she’ll be singing the blues when I get through with her.”
A s Christy drove home, her frustrations began to melt into discouragement. She knew she must have been pushing Dan for a commitment. In retrospect, she had just wanted