The Shy Cowgirl (Bear Creek Rodeo) Page 3

  Amber nodded. “We watched Beauty and the Beast, and then we started the live-action Cinderella, but you came back too soon.”

  “Well, we’re going to have a very busy time here for the next couple of weeks. If we can call you when we’re ready, that would be awesome.”

  The girl nodded. “If you call me directly, I’ll give you a better rate. The hotel takes a cut usually, and if we can get rid of our middle man . . .”

  “Perfect! Is this your only job?”

  “Yes, it is. And I love it. I get to play with kids all the time. I worked for a little while in a daycare, but it’s so different, because we’re expected to teach the kids. This way, I can just have fun with them.”

  “Good! Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll give your card to my sister and brother-in-law. They’re the ones you’re really working for, of course.”

  Amber frowned. “It wasn’t you and your husband I talked to earlier?”

  Stephanie smiled. “My sisters and I are identical triplets. Don’t worry. You’re not losing your mind. I’m staying here with Olivia until I get married on Saturday.”

  Olivia looked up from the movie she was still watching. “I get to be the flower girl. I’m a professional.”

  “I believe you!” Amber grinned at the little girl. “Well, thanks again, and I hope to see you again this week.”

  “I’m sure you will.” After Amber left, Stephanie put her business card on the dresser. She was sure babysitters could make a killing in Vegas, and she was impressed the girl had a business card made up. Sounded like a smart move for her. She thought for a moment about knocking on the adjoining door, but she didn’t want to disturb any . . . marital activity that could be going on. Instead she sat down with her notebook and pen and started writing out the song that had been in her head earlier. Maybe she and Brittany could have it polished while they were in Vegas.

  She wrote while Olivia finished her movie, and then she gave the little girl a bath and got her ready for bed.

  “You stayed up way late tonight, because we’re on vacation. Did you like Amber?” she asked as she sat on her bedside, tucking her in.

  “I loved Amber. She was lots of fun.”

  “Good! I have her number, and I can call her for other things we do this week, if you want.”

  “I want!” Olivia looked excited at the idea. “Are you going to sing my song alone, Aunt Stephanie?”

  Stephanie smiled. She knew what the girl wanted. “Why don’t I see if Emily and Brittany can join us?”

  Olivia smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

  Stephanie couldn’t help but wonder if there was anyone else who had a three-woman music act singing them to sleep every night. She texted both sisters, and they were there minutes later.

  Brittany shook her head. “Now don’t take advantage of how nice Stephanie is. You can’t stay up this late every night.”

  “I won’t.” Olivia grinned at her aunt. “Aunt Stephanie got Amber’s number so you can call her again. We had fun.”

  “I’m so glad! I’ll make sure I get that from her, so we can have Amber every time.” Brittany looked at her sisters, who were now both standing behind her, ready to sing the little girl’s bedtime song.

  When they were finished, Olivia clapped. “Thank you.” She immediately rolled to her side, clutched her Cabbage Patch Kid, and went to sleep.

  Stephanie went to her bed and sat down, sitting cross-legged. She was surprised when both of her sisters did the same.

  Emily said, “The men are hiding something from us,” in a whisper.

  “I got that same impression,” Brittany said.

  Stephanie frowned. “Like what?”

  “No idea, but I don’t like it. Chris tells me everything.”

  “And Matt tells me everything.” Brittany shook her head. “I don’t think it’s good if they’re hiding things. What about James? Did you get a feel for him?”

  Stephanie shook her head. “No, but I was a little surprised when he kissed my cheek goodnight. I guess he’s just more affectionate than I’d had him pegged for.”

  “I guess so . . .” Brittany didn’t look convinced.

  “I wrote a song.” Stephanie took the lyrics she’d written and handed them to Brittany who read through them, a slow smile crossing her face. “Our next top ten hit. I didn’t think it was possible to describe the early feelings of falling in love so well. You’re an absolute miracle worker, Stephanie Kelly.”

  Stephanie smiled vaguely. “I like writing. You know that.”

  “I do know that, but I think you’re doing great.” Brittany got to her feet. “See you in the morning. Breakfast at seven?”

  “Sure, that works.”

  Emily smiled. “I think James will be there. Chris said they invited him.”

  “Oh, great. We’ll see how I handle myself around him, then. I felt like I was talking way too much today.”

  “Better than not talking at all!” Brittany grinned as she walked to the connecting door. “Love you, Steph. G’night.”

  “Night.”

  Emily left after saying her goodnights as well, leaving Stephanie alone with the now-sleeping child. She read over her lyrics once more and smiled. She really had gotten her feelings nailed in the song. It was going to be a huge hit. She could feel it.

  Breakfast the next morning was one of the famous Las Vegas buffets. Olivia was excited to go, and she kept eyeing James skeptically. The rest of the group had been in place since she’d met her aunt Brittany at the Bear Creek Rodeo. But James was new, and she wasn’t sure what to make of him.

  After the meal, as they were walking back to their room. Brittany said, “I’m napping after breakfast. I never sleep well in hotel rooms. And the band is coming in just before noon. We’re going to want to rehearse as much as possible today. We’re ready, but we all need to feel ready when the time comes.”

  “I agree,” Emily said with a yawn. “A nap is always in order.”

  Stephanie laughed softly, looking at James. “So, Emily is an odd bird. She can sleep anywhere at any time. If she’s sitting still, she’s most likely sleeping.”

  “Really? That’s a little strange . . .”

  Olivia broke away from Brittany and started walking between Stephanie and James. “You can’t marry Aunt Stephanie. She’s already getting married.” Olivia took Stephanie’s hand and clung to it.

  James frowned for a moment. “Well, that makes me sad.”

  It makes me sad, too, Stephanie thought. “Wedding is on Saturday if you’d like to come,” she said softly. It was weird to invite a man she was developing feelings for to her wedding, but she wasn’t sure she had the guts to call the wedding off. The whole situation was just strange.

  “Thank you. I might.” He grinned at her. “Well, if you can’t be my girlfriend or my wife, then we’ll just have to be friends.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

  “So would I.” At the top of the elevators, they all said goodbye and headed off in their own directions with the promise to meet up after rehearsal. No time was given, but they all planned to text one another.

  As soon as the band got there that afternoon, everything jumped into high gear. They’d been given a rehearsal space, and the three sisters sang their hearts out. The band had brought extra instruments with them for Brittany to play during the performance, and they all practiced the dances they would do with their songs. It took a lot of practice and athleticism to sing and dance together the way they did, but they’d gotten good at it over their years of performing.

  As soon as the rehearsal was over, the three sisters sat down together before going back to their rooms.

  “Did you have the band bring the CDs?” Stephanie asked.

  Emily nodded. “I did. And they’re all signed and ready to go.”

  “Good. I have a feeling we’re going to be selling a lot of them.”

  Emily shrugged. “I ordered ten thousand of the suckers. If we sell o
ut, then I’ll just be thrilled that we did.”

  Brittany’s jaw dropped. “Ten thousand? Are you kidding?”

  “Think about how many we went through at the Bear Creek Rodeo.”

  All three sisters nodded, thinking about what a wonderful event that had been for them. It had led to two performances at the famed Rebel’s Saloon, and it had resulted in this: The biggest performance of their career. And they’d been told there would be Nashville scouts in the audience.

  They didn’t particularly care to be scouted, but they wouldn’t say no to it. It would lead to so many more of their performances on YouTube, which always led to sales. It was a good thing.

  “Olivia told James I’m getting married on Saturday, and he acted like he was disappointed but said we would just be friends then.” Stephanie felt odd about his reaction, but at least he hadn’t been angry with her for leading him on.

  Brittany put her hand on Stephanie’s. “You can still call it off, you know.”

  Stephanie shook her head. “I couldn’t do that to anyone. Not even a random stranger. No, I’m going through with the wedding on Saturday.”

  Emily nodded. “Probably for the best. But I’m sorry he wasn’t at least jealous.”

  Stephanie grinned. “I’m not sure if I want him to be jealous. I just want him to care, if that makes sense.”

  “Of course it does.” Brittany got to her feet, and the other sisters followed suit. “Let’s go shower and figure out what’s for supper before Emily starves to death.”

  “Is the band coming to eat with us?” Stephanie asked.

  “No, they’re going to do their own thing while we’re here,” Emily said. “Just the rehearsals and then the performance, and then they get to run around town and have fun.”

  “Nice!” Brittany said. “I have Amber booked for tonight. She seemed genuinely happy to spend more time with Olivia, and she’s bringing a swimsuit. I think Olivia is going to be happy that she has a friend to play with her while we all adult for a while.”

  “Adulting is hard,” Stephanie said softly. “I want to hide in the room and watch Disney movies with Olivia, too.”

  Emily smiled at that. “Suck it up, buttercup. I have a feeling we’re all going to be busy the whole time we’re here. And we want to at least show up for the rodeo.”

  Brittany groaned. “You only say that because you can sleep through it and won’t watch a single moment.”

  “Life is good for me!” Emily said, opening her door. “See you in a bit for supper. I’m starving!”

  “You’re always starving,” Brittany and Stephanie said together, and the three of them laughed. It was good for all three of them to be together again for a while. Though they didn’t live far apart in Texas, it was far enough that they didn’t get to spend as much time together as they were used to.

  Stephanie went into her room and saw that Olivia wasn’t there. She knew the little girl and her uncle had planned an outing together. She grabbed some clothes for supper and headed into the bathroom. It would be good to wash the sweat off before supper.

  Five

  The sisters were backstage waiting for the concert to begin early the following evening. Both husbands and James were in the audience with Olivia, who wanted so badly to stay up for the concert so she could watch her aunts perform. Stephanie was pacing back and forth, as she always did before a concert, and Emily was napping. Brittany was trying to put notes to Stephanie’s lyrics.

  When the stage manager came back and told them they had fifteen minutes, Brittany poked Emily awake. “Time to warm up.”

  Emily snapped awake and got to her feet, folding her hands behind her back, ready to sing. “Start with ‘Lipstick on my Jeans.’ I’ll sing the first line.” It was the way they began warming up for every concert, and all three sisters sang together, a cappella.

  When they finished, Brittany and Emily looked at Stephanie, gauging her level of nervousness.

  “Same song? Or something else?”

  “Let’s do ‘Rodeo.’” Stephanie had written it after the Bear Creek Rodeo, and they felt like it needed to be performed there at the rodeo nationals.

  When the stage manager came back to wave them on a few minutes later, they held hands and walked onto the stage, as they always did. They had new costumes for this performance, and the band was wearing matching outfits as well. This had to go perfectly, and they all felt the nerves that were usually only attributed to Stephanie.

  Emily walked to the front of the stage. “My sisters and I are known as the Kelly Sisters. I know a great deal of you won’t have heard of us yet, but I promise, you will. We do a lot of our own music, but we’ll cover some familiar songs tonight as well. We want to start out with a song written by my sisters, simply titled ‘Rodeo.’”

  The band played the introduction, and Stephanie stood with her head down, mirroring Brittany. Emily sang the first line alone, and then all three of them melded their voices together.

  As soon as they began the chorus, the crowd was on its feet screaming, and the sisters knew they’d won. This was their biggest concert ever, and it was going to be a hit.

  After they sang their final song, the crowd was so loud that they came out again and sang a favorite by Deana Carter, “Did I Shave My Legs For This?” When that song was finished, they held hands, bowed together, and ran off the stage.

  When they got behind the curtain, Stephanie started crying. “This is it. Our lives will be changed forever.” She wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad. Well, of course she was happy, because they’d worked for this for so long . . . but gone were the long nights of planning, of struggling to get where they were going. They were about to be there, and all three of them knew it.

  Brittany nodded. “I didn’t think it would happen so suddenly, but you’re right. We just won.”

  Emily was ecstatic and twirled in circles. When the men came back stage and Olivia ran to Brittany hugging her, they all sniffled a bit.

  “You didn’t sing ‘Puff the Magic Dragon.’”

  “Oh, well, we don’t sing that one on stage, because we want to keep it special just for you,” Stephanie said, thinking quickly.

  Olivia giggled. “I like it that way.”

  Early Friday morning, Stephanie woke and sat on her bed, hugging her legs. Her life felt like too much was changing at once, and change was a little scary for someone like her. She picked up a pen and started writing new lyrics as quickly as she could.

  Her entire song was about an out of control life always changing whether the singer wanted it to or not. It wasn’t her normal humorous song, which she loved to write, but this one would be hauntingly poignant. She couldn’t wait to see Brittany, because she wanted to sing it to her exactly how she heard it in her head.

  As soon as she thought her sister’s name, the adjoining door opened, and Brittany walked in. “Can’t sleep?”

  Stephanie shook her head. “How’d you guess?”

  “I think we’re always starved for sleep on the same nights.”

  “May I sing something for you?”

  “Of course.” Brittany sat down beside her sister, giving Stephanie her full attention.

  “It’s called, ‘Changes.’” Stephanie did her best to sing what she heard in her head, knowing her sister would be able to catch the gist and make it a number one hit. This one was special. She could feel it deep inside.

  She was less than halfway through before Brittany had tears streaming down her cheeks. Stephanie kept singing. As soon as she released the last note, she felt the tears pouring. “What do you think?”

  Brittany shook her head. “I’m at a loss for words. That is by far the most beautiful song you’ve ever written. I absolutely loved it.”

  “And you think you can get it down on paper with my tune? I was worried I’d lose the tune, because I don’t get them like you do.”

  “That tune is perfect, and yes, I can do it.” Brittany got to her feet, pacing back and forth. “I wish we’d had
it for last night!”

  “We did great last night. No, this is going to be for our next CD.”

  Together, they worked to get the tune written down just right, keeping their voices soft so as not to wake Olivia. Thankfully, the girl slept as if she were deep in a coma.

  They had just finished when Matt came to the door, obviously trying to find his wife. “What are you two doing?”

  “Stephanie wrote the most beautiful song ever, and we were perfecting the tune,” Brittany said, walking over to Matt and holding him close. “We couldn’t sleep, so we wrote music.”

  He frowned. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”

  “I’m not sure about Steph, but I’m too hyped up from the concert. That kind of performance leaves me wired for a bit. Maybe we could think of a way to put me to sleep.”

  Matt laughed softly. “I do have some ideas . . .”

  Stephanie watched as they went back to their room, and she went to the bathroom to take a long hot shower. She hoped there would be time for her to nap later, but if not, she would at least be ready for her day.

  The three sisters went out without men that night, taking Olivia with them. Brittany and Emily were sure that their men would feel safer about what they did if they had Olivia, who they wouldn’t dare get into trouble with.

  They went to supper and did a little shopping at the M&M store, which they knew Olivia would love.

  “I want M&M pajamas,” Olivia said. “May I? Please?” Her eyes pled with Brittany, who she knew was a sucker for anything she wanted.

  Brittany nodded, picking up the pajamas. “I have a feeling we made at least this much last night,” she said with a wink.

  “Oh, good. Those are the cutest ones. I like the green M&M. Or is she just an M?” Stephanie asked. The whole M&M thing had always confused her.

  “Are you getting married tomorrow?” Olivia asked.

  “I am. I said I would, and I can’t back out now, can I? I even have my wedding dress in our hotel room.”