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IN THE MORNING, EARLIER than she would’ve cared to awaken, a knock sounded on the door. Haley ran her hands through her hair, grabbed a robe from the empty bed where she’d left it last night, and flung it on. She stalked to the door and pulled it open.
It was Blake. And all the rest. Robbie, Helen, Jake and Lindsay.
“Hi, babe,” said Blake and for a moment, her heart rested at the words he chose and the resulting peace that flowed through her veins.
Then they all crowded to the door, trying to get in. She stepped back and let them. There’s no way she could’ve stopped them at this point.
A few of them were talking at once, creating a crescendo of indecipherable sound. Blake, God bless him, made a T with his hands, a “Timeout” to his friends. “Hey y’all. Let’s keep this civil.”
So. Lindsay had told them that she’d kept the tally tent from them, and they had all gone to Blake to pound on him for a while. Well, they’d only just begun, and she had enough.
“Listen to me. I think I know what this is about, and I just want to give you my side of this.” She looked over at Lindsay and fought the temptation to give her the stink-eye. She looked back at Jake and Robbie. “When we first got here I found out about the Tally Tent. It gave a running tally of the fans’ popular votes and the judges’ ratings, and the total. At any given time, I could see where we were in the rankings of the battle. You guys have been frontrunners all weekend.” She took a step closer to Robbie and Jake, who stood with arms clenched over their chests, chins tucked down, eyes glued to the floor. “The fans love you. You know that. You can feel that each time you step up onto that stage. But, just as importantly, the judges love you too. They’ve consistently scored you the highest scores of any band in the competition.”
Jake looked up. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I made a judgement call. And maybe it was wrong. But I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want that pressure hanging on your back. I wanted you to go into each performance, focused on performing the best set you could. I didn’t want all this other stuff worrying you, stressing you out or bringing you down.” She shrugged and with a half-smile said, “It seems to have worked, right?”
Robbie said, “You could’ve been honest with us.”
His words plunged a knife into her chest. She recovered enough to have the thought, were those his words, or had Lindsay planted them there? “If you see this as me being dishonest with you, then I apologize. But I didn’t see it that way. As band manager, it’s my job to enable you to play your very best. That’s all I was doing. If you don’t approve of my methods, then, like I said, I apologize. But you have to know that I did it with the very best intentions. I did it so you guys could concentrate on playing music, and I could worry about the background stuff.” She glanced over at Blake and his face said that he agreed with her. He gave her a pointed wink.
“So, what do you say, guys? Haley has been an awesome band manager. She’s gotten us some great new gigs, and it looks like we’re winning the Battle of the Bands today. She’s earned our respect. Can we get past this and move forward? She didn’t do anything behind our backs.” He pulled her into a hug and she came, awkwardly. “We owe a lot to Haley.”
As Blake hugged her, the other guys took a few steps towards them. Haley wondered if they were in for a group hug and her heart lightened.
Then Lindsay’s voice rose above the crowd, “What else has she hidden from us?”
Haley’s gaze frantically sought out Blake’s. Had he told them about the Frontier Fire opportunity? If they knew about that, this would become a completely different conversation. And it wouldn’t be an easy one.
Blake caught her look and understood it. He shook his head tightly, his eyebrows creased.
Okay. They didn’t know about the big news that would tear the band apart, at least temporarily. But she’d need to be careful with how she responded now, because chances are, they would need to know about it before too long. Maybe it was time for a little tough love.
“Do you guys want me to manage you or not? To do my job, I need to have information that you don’t have. I need to use my judgement to make decisions on my own, or know when to come to you for input. This isn’t hiding stuff from you. This is managing the band. But if you don’t want me to work with you, for you, then just tell me.”
She waited for a response. She knew what Blake’s response would be, but she wanted to hear from Jake and Robbie. Not Lindsay. She wanted them to think for themselves and give her an honest answer.
Robbie put an arm on her shoulder. “You’re the best manager we’ve ever had. All this is because of you. I trust you.”
Haley smiled at him. “Thank you, Robbie,” she whispered and put her head on his shoulder.
Jake needed to be heard from. But he was standing over in the corner with Lindsay. If he took her side, it would be an affront to Lindsay. And who knew what punishment he would pay in their relationship if he took Haley’s side over his girlfriend’s?
Still, he needed to say something.
“You’re a good manager, Haley. I’m sure you had your reasons for not telling us. I can’t argue with your results.” He left Lindsay’s side and joined the rest of them in the center of the room. He didn’t join the group hug because Lindsay’s leash probably didn’t allow him to go that far. But he came close, reached his hand out and she took it. “Let’s go win this thing.”
She was so happy that she avoided meeting eyes with Lindsay, who probably had steam coming out her ears. “Great, guys. I appreciate your support. The winners are announced at noon. Let’s gather down at the bandstand at 11:30, okay?”
The guys mumbled their good-byes, met up with their girlfriends, then left the room. Blake pulled her into his arms.
“I don’t even want to know about the lynching that preceded that,” Haley said.
“Lindsay was worked up to a lather and wanted everyone else to be furious too. The guys were pretty neutral about it until Lindsay insisted that we come and confront you.” He pulled back to look in her eyes. “I’m sorry about that. You shouldn’t have to deal with a jealous wench like Lindsay.”
“I’ve dealt with jealous wenches my whole life. I can handle her.”
A curious smile formed on Blake’s face. “Oh really? Were you the girl in high school to steal other girls’ boyfriends?”
Haley chuckled. “No.” She allowed her mind to wander back to those odd and traumatic days of high school. “At least, not on purpose.”
Blake fist-pumped the air. “I got the vixen. I got the girl every guy wanted.”
“Not exactly. But I know a thing or two about girls who love to make problems for other girls. And I’m unhappy to say after being around Lindsay, that kind of behavior didn’t stop after high school.”
“Let’s grab some breakfast before the awards ceremony,” Blake suggested.
“Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you down at the restaurant.”
BLAKE AND HALEY MADE their way to the bandstand, ready for the awards ceremony. All the bands grouped together in the seats that were filled all weekend with appreciative fans. He let his eyes run over all the bands who had played their hearts out. The music community was a close-knit group. Although he didn’t know these individual musicians very well, he knew what they wanted, what they strived for. Because it was the same thing he strove for. They all wanted to improve their craft. They all wanted to reach more listeners. They all wanted to gain more fans.
And yes, they all probably wanted to make more money, if they were being completely honest.
How did a band from a small town do all that? How did his band compete with all the rest of them in the race to the top?
A realization crashed into his brain. The opportunity with Frontier Fire would give him all of that. It would help him reach all his goals. It would give him temporary fans and fame and money while on tour, and if he utilized that exposure properly, it could lead him on a road to permanence.
It all seemed so clear to him as he sat here now. Was this a message from God in his brain, encouraging him to take the gig? Or was it his ego telling him to snatch the gig for himself and leave his bandmates behind?
He turned to Haley, sitting beside him. “I think I got to take it.”
She knew exactly what he was talking about, and a happy smile covered her face. “Really?”
He wanted to say more, but the Battle of the Bands organizer had taken on the stage, shouting into the microphone, “It’s time to announce the winners of Battle of the Bands!”
He shook his head, content to wait to discuss it with her after the awards ceremony.
“We want to thank you all for coming here, competing, sharing your talent, and making this the best Battle of the Bands in our history! And now in third place ...”
The third-place band was announced and they all climbed on stage to receive applause and their trophy, and an envelope containing their winnings. They raised all their winnings above their heads and soaked in the excitement from the crowd.
The second-place band was announced, and it wasn’t Ace in the Hole, so that clenched it for Blake. They’d won. He looked around and made eye contact with his bandmates. This was huge, and they all knew it.
“And now, I’m pleased to announce, the winners of Battle of the Bands, from Myrtle Beach, Ace in the Hole!”
Blake jumped to his feet, and so did Jake and Robbie, and they rushed to the base of the stage. In their excitement they practically tripped over each other’s feet. But then he turned back and reached a hand out to Haley. Surprise was evident on her face, but he gestured to her and said, “Come on. You’re coming with us.”
She laughed and got to her feet, joining him as they climbed up on the stage.
“Ace in the Hole, you are awarded the winner of this year’s Hilton Head Battle of the Bands.” A huge trophy was hoisted over to Blake, who grabbed it, sharing it with Jake and Robbie, lifting it high above their heads. A check was handed over. “And the monetary award for coming in first.”
Blake pointed a thumb at Haley. “Give it to her. She’s the reason we’re here.”
The man with the microphone laughed and handed the check to Haley. She gripped it in her hands and leaned into a microphone. “We thank you very much for this honor.” As Blake did a quick scan of the crowd, he caught the angry scowl of one particular bandmate’s girlfriend. Lindsay would never be happy about Haley taking over as manager, even with all the success they’d had as a result. You can’t fix stupid.
The award ceremony ended with all the contestants applauding them. Blake and Haley shook hands with the organizers and thanked them again for running such a great event. On their way off the stage, Blake made a decision.
He’d never been one to take a ton of time to make decisions. Once he’d made up his mind, he usually went with it. Obviously Haley thought it was a good idea to take the Frontier Fire gig. Whatever the fall-out with Ace in the Hole, they’d figure it out. He was ready to make an announcement.
As the other bands cleared out of the bandstand, he gave Haley a look that he hoped forewarned her what he was about to do. “Hey guys, could we gather around here? I have some news.”
Robbie chuckled. “More news besides winning the contest?”
Blake took a deep breath. This was going to be harder than he’d thought. Maybe he should wait and give them all a chance to enjoy their win before announcing his decision. But no. The Frontier Fire manager had set 5 PM today as his deadline, and now that the festival was over, they would all head off in different directions.
He had to tell them now.
He gathered them in a circle. Even though Lindsay and Helen were there, he tried to focus on Robbie and Jake. “Guys, remember yesterday when we sang the Frontier Fire set?”
They nodded.
“Well, none of us knew it, but the manager of Frontier Fire was in the audience. He was listening. Did you hear in the news that Josh Lakely was in a car accident and can’t go on their reunion tour that’s kicking off soon?”
The small circle went motionless. He supposed they’d already guessed, but he continued. “Their manager was looking for a lead singer to take over for Josh on the Frontier Fire tour. He, uh ...” Blake paused and looked at his friends, “he offered me the job.”