The Opry was filling with both tourists and locals alike who were there for the variety of acts the place delivered for every show, and backstage, the stagehands were working hard to get everything together. Victoria loved the history and tradition of it, and the way people still embraced it. Some of it was corny, but in the end it was all about the music.
“Where’s Sophie?” Bryce asked when he joined her right offstage.
“She should be here by now. Weston texted they were on their way. Traffic, maybe?” She went from enjoying the atmosphere to full-blown anxiety.
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
“Let me go find out.” The entrance for the performers was behind her, and as she headed for it, the show started. There was a new band opening, but they were only doing two numbers before Sophie would be introduced for her first set. Once the show got started she’d come out again a few times before they wrapped up. Sophie should have been there way before now.
“Did Sophie Roddy arrive?” Victoria asked the doorman. “I’m her manager.”
“She hasn’t checked in yet.”
Shit, she should’ve stayed with her. She headed back to her purse for her phone. Maybe Weston or her mom had called and she’d missed it. “She’s not here,” she said to Bryce as the opening band finished their first song. Weston’s phone went to voice mail, as had Sophie’s. Why the hell did her mother do this? She had everything, and she was throwing it all away.
The band was done, and the night’s emcee asked them a few questions before introducing Sophie. Bryce and the guys had gotten into place and started playing, and he shrugged when he glanced her way, then winced when he looked over Victoria’s shoulder.
Her mother swayed past her as she stepped out to a sea of cheering people. She saw the impending disaster when her mother couldn’t make it to the microphone in a straight line. Bryce didn’t stop playing, but Victoria could see his worried expression when Sophie finally made it, though she almost fell backward when she ripped the microphone off the stand.
“Hey, everybody.” Sophie was slurring her words and teetering like she wasn’t on steady ground. Her speech and her movements seemed to chill the crowd, and silence descended. “Let’s get—” Sophie turned quickly and lost her balance, sending her stumbling backward.
There was a collective gasp when Sophie flew off the stage, landing on the floor right in front of the first row. Victoria ran to the edge of the stage and blew out a breath when she saw Sophie was breathing. But her eyes were closed and she wasn’t responding, no matter how much Bryce yelled at her from where he knelt beside Victoria.
The stage manager called for help and brought out a blanket to hold in front of Sophie to protect her from the people taking pictures and video. Victoria was lowered down with Bryce to where Sophie still lay, and she couldn’t stop the tears of disbelief. There would be no glossing this over. Her mother’s career was over.
“Vic, we need to move her,” Bryce said.
Her gaze stayed on her mom’s chest as she knelt next to her, holding her hand. Losing a career would be a small price to pay if her mom lived, and that’s what she was praying for. “Help is on its way, and I don’t want to hurt her more.”
She heard running along the wood floor of the stage, and an EMT was next to her a second later. They worked to stabilize Sophie and were able to leave by the side of the stage. Victoria heard the emcee ask everyone to pray for her mother and that the evening’s show would continue. Who gave a crap about that?
Bryce gave her a ride to the hospital, since she was shaking so badly after watching the EMTs speed away with their lights and sirens on, as if time wasn’t on their side. They followed when they rushed Sophie into the ER, where a doctor administered medication to counteract the effects of whatever Sophie had taken. It took a few minutes before Sophie started to show signs of life, and Victoria had to sit, her knees were so weak.
She couldn’t quite pinpoint what to feel, considering both relief and terror were at war in her chest. Her mother didn’t seem to care anymore, but Victoria couldn’t get to that place. Sophie was her mother and she loved her, but watching this decline was making her ache, and there was no cure for it. Her desire to be enough for her mother flitted through her head again, but nothing in the world would grant her that, so she concentrated on Sophie’s face.
“What happened?” Sophie opened her eyes and the nurse stopped her from ripping out her IVs.
“You overdosed. That’s what happened.” She didn’t want to yell, but the stress of the day was almost too much to handle. Anger won out over fear. “And you picked the perfect place to do it. Well done.”
“I wasn’t feeling well.” Sophie spoke softly with her hand over her eyes.
“Stop it,” Victoria yelled louder. “Stop fucking lying to me, to the people who love you, and, more importantly, to yourself.”
“None of you understand shit.” When guilt and sympathy didn’t work, Sophie always went straight to hostility.
“Give it a rest, Mom. No one’s falling for this—”
“Am I interrupting something?” A tall woman who didn’t look like a doctor simply walked in, and she didn’t seem apologetic about doing so. “Haven’t you made enough headlines for one day? You should know the drill by now about keeping a low profile until all this blows over. You’ve been in the business long enough to know that little tidbit.”
“Who the hell do you think you are? Get out—this is none of your business.” Victoria stood and pointed to the door. “Get out,” she said, when all the woman did was give her a condescending smile.
“Sit down and take a breath before you hit shrill, babe. Believe me, it’s not a flattering look.”
“Fuck you.” If what had happened was the crappy ice cream sundae, this asshole was the cherry on top. “Get out or I’ll get security.”
“You want to break it to her, Sophie, or shall I?”
“Sugar, sit, and let’s see what our future’s going to be,” Sophie said, holding her hand out. “I must be in big trouble if they sent the right hand of the music god. How are you, Mason, and how the hell did you get here so fast?”
“Slightly better than you, Sophie, and I was rerouted here on my way to the Opry to watch your set tonight. What the hell happened?”
“I wasn’t feeling well.”
The woman smiled, making Victoria think she was an idiot as well as an asshole if she was falling for this. Victoria managed Sophie’s schedule and events, but when it came to the business side of things, her mom had insisted on handling everything. It meant Victoria didn’t know many of the business contacts her mother made. Clearly, this was an important one she’d missed. She knew Sonny and some of the other execs, but she hadn’t heard of anyone below him.
“You barely made it through a show in Biloxi because you were flying higher than Elon Musk’s Dragon, and you completely missed the one in Baton Rouge. Sonny covered all of it up because he loves you. That love, though, had some stipulations that you agreed to, and tonight you screwed the poodle on your promise.”
“Come on, Mason. People are probably praying for me, and they’ll forget about it when I sing again. Everyone loves a comeback story.”
Mason took her phone out and start tapping something out as if she was bored. The video she pulled up showed Sophie staggering, then taking a header off the stage. “You’re trending on three different social media sites, and the comments have not been kind.”
“Do you and Sonny have any idea who the hell I am?” Sophie practically spat the question, and the damn smug smile was back.
“We thought we did, but let’s see,” Mason said, glancing down at her phone. “Turns out you’re a big-haired, tacky, has-been drunk,” Mason read. “Here’s a good one—Sophie, get your head out of your ass and head back to the farm. Put us out of our misery.” Mason looked up. “Those don’t sound like prayers or pity.”
“There’s no reason to pile on,” Victoria said, having an urge to defend her mother even though it was all true.
“If you’re here to dump me, Mason, get on with it.” Sophie acted like she didn’t need defending, and Victoria blamed it on the residual impairment of whatever the hell she’d taken. “I’ll be signed by someone else tomorrow morning.”
“Good luck, then, but let’s all agree you were in breach of your contract and save us all the time and aggravation of any kind of legal action.” Mason stepped closer to the bed. “I was here to offer you another chance, but it sounds like you’re not interested in that.”
“All you give a shit about is the money, so save the act.” Sophie was getting more venomous by the minute. “You’re going to be sorry when I get the new album out and start giving interviews. I’m not holding back on your father, or you.”
“Banu owns the rights on three-fourths of the songs, so there’ll be no new album until you come up with new material.” Mason held her hand up when Sophie appeared ready to rev up again. “I’m not your enemy, Sophie, and you have a short window of time here.”
The statement seemed so final, and it was probably true, but Victoria wasn’t a fan of the messenger Banu had sent. Mason, whoever the hell she was, was a good example of what was wrong with the music industry. They acted like music gods who cared way more about the profit and nothing about the music.
She followed Mason out and stopped her in the hallway. “In the future, come to me first. I’m her manager, and I’m responsible for her.” Mason didn’t face her until she stopped talking, but then she turned around, as if waiting for her to keep going. One look at her, and Victoria wished she’d kept walking. The messenger might’ve been an asshole, but she was extremely attractive, making her level of anger hard to maintain. “That wasn’t professional, and Sonny Liner is going to hear about this.”
“Why do you think I’m here, sunshine? Sonny Liner already heard about it, and he’s pissed. If you are responsible for her, you need to up your game.” Mason turned and started walking but stopped again when Victoria grabbed her sleeve. “If you don’t start making the tough calls, then you won’t have to worry about them any longer. Are you blind as to what kind of trouble she’s in?”
“Mason, isn’t it? You don’t know shit about me or Sophie Roddy, and if I can talk her into it, I’ll definitely have her sign with someone else once this blows over. If you’re running your business by what people say on social media, Sonny Liner will fire your ass by morning.”
Mason actually chuckled, making the skin around her eyes crinkle as if she really did find her humorous. “Do you really think so? Maybe the social media stuff and your scathing review of my professionalism will convince him I’m not cut out for this, and I can finally sleep in whenever I want to.” Mason stared down at her hand, still gripping Mason’s sleeve, and her fingers automatically opened. “Until then, keep Sophie away from the media, and refrain from giving any statements. But I’m not responsible for you or Sophie, and I can’t keep you from committing career suicide. Well, more than you have already.”
“She’s Sophie Roddy, and she built the Banu label.”
“Just because Sophie keeps telling you that, over and over, doesn’t make it true.”
The way Mason exhaled made Victoria think she was about to lose patience.
“Actually, she is a big-haired, tacky, has-been drunk. Hashtag #bighair will be trending by tomorrow and will be forever synonymous with Sophie Roddy. Call me crazy, but I’m not thinking that’s a good thing.”
“Fuck you and Twitter.”
“That’s the best insult ever—I’ll have to remember it.” Mason sighed. “There’s a very small window of opportunity here to get her healthy. Forget about the music for now and concentrate on her. Your assignment is to remember everything I said.”
“Believe me, asshole, I’m not forgetting a word.”
* * *
Mason waited until morning before thinking about her father and his reaction to what had happened. After leaving the hospital it was a tie as to what had her most on edge. She was horny after having to leave Belle before she’d wanted to, and she was aggravated at the insulting little bitch who obviously had no clue who she was. But then, Sophie wasn’t on her list of responsibilities, so she didn’t really know that much about her or anyone in her orbit. At her father’s urging, she’d spent a few years in LA expanding their talent pool outside country music. Her three years in California had kept her out of the country music scene in Nashville until only very recently, and after meeting Sophie and her representative, she was happy to have been out of that loop. She wasn’t wasting time finding out if Sophie was serious about leaving their label.
She drove into Nashville to get her dad a variety of choices from Fox’s Donut Den before turning around and heading back to Hendersonville. Her parents had decided to go north of the city instead of south like most of the big names who’d settled in places like Brentwood and Franklin.
Mason’s horse ranch was ten miles from her parents’ place, and they were her closest neighbors. The Blue Heaven Ranch already had that name when she bought it four years before, but the heaven part fit, and she’d kept it. It was still an adjustment living out there with all the rolling hills and quiet, but after the first month it was hard to think of anyplace else as home.
She’d learned the ins and outs of the business from her dad, who she talked to daily, along with a few of his friends. It was an education that had started early and wouldn’t end until Sonny took his last breath. That anyone would think he didn’t care about the music infuriated her.
They worked together, and she was happy Sonny still loved being the Sonny Liner. That was why yesterday was so refreshing. Once people heard the name Mason Liner, ninety-nine percent of the time their attitude changed from ambivalence to kiss ass. Sophie’s manager was the one percent odd man out.
“Yo, Mason,” Wilbur Corsot, the young guy behind the counter, called out when he saw her toward the back of the line. “You want the usual?”
“Double it, my man, we’re having guests.” She was going to have to start mixing it up if practically everyone in town knew her usual. “Don’t forget my mama’s box.”
“And have Miss Amelia call my daddy?” Wilbur laughed as he worked. “No way, I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”
“How are the guitar lessons going?” She got her wallet out as he bagged her order. The kid played some good blues, but he needed to perfect some stuff before she’d agree to place him somewhere he’d have a career doing something he loved. Her deal had been lessons until he reached the level she wanted. “You skipped last week.”
“I skipped you last week, Mason, not the lessons. It was Granny’s birthday, and I figured you’d be cool with me not meeting up with you.”
“I’d have been cooler if you’d called.” She handed over three hundred for the fifty dollar order. “No artist is ever going to be cool with no call because they’re not as wonderful as me. Shit like that will get you fired.” Her joke made him release the breath he’d been holding, and he fist-bumped her for the tip that would pay for next week’s lesson.
“Sorry, man, and it won’t happen again. Like, ever, you know?”
“I know, and come by next week if you have time. There might be some people you want to meet.” He carried half her order to the new Sierra she was driving.
“Tell me it’s not all twangers.” That was Wilbur’s name for the straight crying-in-your-beer country guys.
“With a name like Wilbur, don’t throw stones, son.” She hugged him. She waved to his father, who’d just arrived. “Go take care of the old man, and call me.”
“You got it, and nice ride.”
“I’m trying to butch up my image since a girl told me and Twitter to fuck off. I must look like a cream puff for that kind of insult.”
“Any more butch, bro, and you’ll need to shave. Hey, is Sophie Roddy one of yours?”
“Momentarily, why?”
“That was some messed up shit last night, and she’s blowing up Instagram and everything with that dive. Good luck with that and drive safe.”
She headed to her parents’ place figuring her father had gotten Woody, the company’s fixer, back in town for this. The music and finding talent were her strong suits, but pure PR and how to weather a shit storm weren’t her things. She punched the code to the gate and headed down the long drive to the six car garage.
Her parents’ original house was still on the property, but her father had given in to her mother’s wish for a new one, and her mom had created a beautiful new place that had great views of the Cumberland River. The great thing about the land right outside Hendersonville was that the river widened, giving it an almost lakelike feeling, that gave you a sense of peace hard to find anywhere else.
Mason’s place was situated the same way. Her bedroom had a deck that overlooked the river and was one of her favorite places in the world. Every so often she visited her parents by way of the water, coming by boat. She stared out at the river, thinking the reflection of the sun made it shimmer.
“It’s mesmerizing, isn’t it?” Amelia Liner came out and put her arms around Mason’s waist. Her mother was a petite woman who loved the outdoors and had retained the beauty that drew people to her, just as it drew in her dad. Their marriage was one of those rare relationships that made most people envious.
“You know it.” She kissed the top of her mom’s head and smiled when Amelia squeezed harder. “How is he?”
“He’s calmer, which might save someone from a punch in the nose, but I can’t make any promises. He got a call from Justin Sullivan at Brookline about thirty minutes ago, and it didn’t go well.”
“Sophie shopping a new label already? It wasn’t my unprofessional behavior last night that sent her running into Justin’s arms, was it?” They walked down to the swing by the water. The rest of the day would come soon enough to trigger a major case of indigestion, so a moment of alone time was in order. “Sophie’s new manager chewed me out and threatened to report me to my boss. She had that beautiful-when-angry thing going, but she really didn’t like me very much.”
“My kid unprofessional? No way, that I won’t believe,” Amelia said, taking her hand. “Though your father did get a call about that and screamed at whoever it was so loud I might have to replace the windows in the sunroom.”
Mason laughed and bumped shoulders with her mom. “Ah, you know I can be an ass if I put my mind to it, but Sophie and her people are in some major denial. That’s what I was trying to get across, but it was like talking to a really dense brick wall.”
“You realize we can’t cut her loose without looking heartless, right?”
She nodded, having come to the same conclusion that morning in the quiet of her deck. Sophie Roddy was a mess, but she was Sophie Roddy. “Does Dad know that?”
“That’s where you come in, Buckaroo. You came out screaming your ass off, with your coal-black hair and sky-blue eyes, and my first thought was uh-oh. You’re a carbon copy of the love of my life, and that’s exactly the title you share with your father, but you have loads more patience than he does. You’ll have to do some convincing, I think.”
“You know this isn’t going to be easy. The videos out there will make people think twice about investing in Sophie. Who wants to buy concert tickets to watch someone forget the lines of the song they’ve been performing since the womb?” She rocked them on the double swing and tried to put off what had to be done.
“I have faith in you, honey, and this is about more than how we’ll look in all this. These days it’s easy to toss people away like an old newspaper because that’s what society does, but I’m positive there’s a lot of people like me out there.” Her mother straightened and kissed her cheek.
“What do you mean?” They walked back to her truck for the treats she’d brought.
“I fell in love with your father while we danced to Sophie’s beautiful voice, and I have plenty more dancing to do. She’s an icon, and people will remember all she gave them.” Amelia kissed her cheek again and smiled. “All you need to do is convince your father of that.”
“Sure. I’m sure that’ll be as easy as downing some of these doughnuts, especially if Sophie or her manager told him to fuck off.”