CHAPTER 16

C HAPTER 16

T he next morning, Mia poured more coffee into Christina's cup. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like an idiot." Christina looked up from where she'd laid her head on the table. "After you went to bed, Abigail and I stayed up talking. The wine is all gone."

"You had some things on your mind." Mia started to stand. "I can make a hash-brown skillet if you need some food to settle your stomach. You don't usually drink much, so you're probably feeling it."

"Like I said, I feel like an idiot. Three glasses, and I'm hurting. In Vegas, my roommate would drink a bottle of wine all by herself." Christina sipped her coffee. "Another reason I never fit in with that group. Anyway, if you want breakfast, I'd eat, but don't do it just for me."

"You know I love to cook." Mia stood and pulled out potatoes from the basket on the baker's rack. "Besides, Trent mentioned coming by this morning. I'm sure he'd appreciate some breakfast."

Abigail came into the room, took one look at Christina, and went to the freezer to get out some bacon. "Girl, you still look like you're in pain."

"Not because you and Mia talked me through some difficult decisions, but because of my own actions. I'm instituting a two-glass maximum for me." Christina lifted her head and fixed her ponytail. "Or do you think I'm scared of having this conversation with Levi?"

"Until you decide what you're going to do, there is no need for a conversation." Mia started peeling potatoes. "I think you're scared of interviewing for one of these jobs."

Christina let the idea hang for a minute, then took a deep breath. "I hate it that you know me so well."

"Almost-sisters, remember?" Mia peeled a second potato. "Go take a shower. You'll feel better. Then bring your laptop out here and tell me about the offers you're getting. I can help you sort them out."

Christina stood and took her coffee with her as she walked into the hallway. "Fine. Force me into the adult pool. I liked being the little sister."

"Sorry about that. You're the one who did so well in your classes that you've got hiring teams taking notice." Mia watched as Abigail took the potatoes she'd peeled and started chopping. "You don't have to help."

"I know. I just think better when I'm cooking. If you want to sit, I'll take over. You're doing a scramble, right?"

Mia took a cup out of the cabinet and filled it with coffee. "Christina likes a southwestern flare. I think I have avocados." Mia looked around the small kitchen. "Somewhere."

"They're over here." Abigail held one up. "Grab me an onion from the basket, please."

"How did the conversation with Thomas go?" Mia handed her the last onion, then went over and put the item on her shopping list that hung on the fridge.

"It didn't. Zeus wanted to buy all the judges dinner to talk about the rest of the week. Thomas said he'd try to carve out some time today to talk. I guess with the talent practice tonight, the judge group is meeting for a round of golf, and then dinner. And he's heading to Twin to pick up something for his business. Hunting season is on us. I probably won't see him after the contest ends on Friday for a few months." Abigail glanced over at the calendar. "I probably can move home anytime and not run into him until Thanksgiving."

"That sounds lonely. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want. I think Christina is probably moving soon." Mia sat down and studied her coffee. "I know I told her to go spread her wings, but I'm going to miss the little twerp."

Abigail started laughing. "It's empty nest syndrome. I got it as soon as Levi moved into his apartment. Especially since his dad is gone so much. I guess getting time alone to think shouldn't be a problem for me, most of the time."

"You were worried about him," Mia reminded her.

Abigail nodded. "And I still am, except now if something happens, he'll be alone in that big house all by himself. I should have trusted that he understood what he was getting into. I just hate it when he goes into the protect-at-all-cost mode."

"It's sweet that he loves you so much." Mia watched as Trent pulled his truck into the parking lot. "Your troublemaker son just pulled into the lot."

Abigail looked up and laughed. "Oh, dear, you're mistaken. That's not Levi—he's my troublemaker. Trent's a mama's boy. Go let him in so you two can have a moment alone."

"Yes, ma'am." Mia threw Abigail a soldier's salute and stood. "Tell Christina I'll be right back."

"None of you kids give me any respect," Abigail called after her, and Mia just laughed. Everyone loved Abigail. So she got teased all the time. They all knew they were safe with her.

Mia hurried down the stairs with Cerby on her heels and threw open the door for Trent. She leaned up to kiss him. "Good morning, stranger."

"Good morning." He kissed her back. Then he looked down at Cerby. "Hey, little man, have you been out?"

"No, this is his first time. I should have taken him earlier, but I was chatting with Christina. She's having some life-planning issues." Mia waved him out to the yard.

Trent followed Cerby out to the yard, where he stood and watched as the hellhound made his rounds. "What did my brother say now?"

"Nothing. It's about her career. I think she's been avoiding taking a new job because of me. I kicked her out of the nest, so now she's going to start applying. I predict she'll be moving by the end of October." Mia leaned against the school, feeling the bricks warmed by the morning sun on her back. "If your brother doesn't want a long-distance relationship, he needs to step up here."

"We've had that talk." Trent leaned down and praised Cerby as he picked him up and carried him to the doorway. "I'm out of it. Whatever he does, it's on him. You're not looking for a new job in a different state, are you?"

Mia laughed as they entered the foyer, and she shut and locked the door. "I have enough jobs right here to keep me busy. Did you hear anything about Marnie? How's she doing?"

"According to Levi, she's fine. They're keeping her in the hospital for a day or so. Something about her blood sugar is what caused the seizure." He followed her up the stairs. "All I can say is I'll be glad when you all are done with this contest. It doesn't seem to be the safest place for anyone right now. And I've got too many people I care about involved in the thing. You, my parents, Christina . . ."

"And Jeani, your ex," Mia teased, but she examined his face as he answered.

"She's not much of an ex anything. We went out a couple of times, but there just wasn't any spark. No chemistry. Or to put it in a food person's vocabulary, we were missing a leavening agent, like baking powder." Trent grinned at her.

Mia paused by the door as he put Cerby down. "I'm impressed by the comparison."

"I was stocking shelves in the flour aisle yesterday and thought about it. I just wasn't expecting to be able to use it so quickly. Now I have to think up another food-related analogy so I look witty and smart in your eyes."

She stroked his face. "You are perfect in my eyes, Trent Majors, just the way you are."

She turned to open the door, and he spun her back around to him, encasing her in his arms. "As compliments go, that one was top tier. You're not so bad yourself."

Then he kissed her.

* * *

The contestants, their parents or family members, and Bambi Perry all showed up within ten minutes of each other. Bambi called the girls and their one parent or chaperone up to the prep room. Mia followed her upstairs to listen to the plan for the evening. It was five o'clock, and all the contestants had two practice runs on the stage for their talent presentation. A presentation that could go no less than eight minutes and no more than eleven. A delivery van had set up a piano in the middle of the stage that morning, but it was on wheels so they could roll it back under the roof if it rained. Tatiana had rented it for Crissy's talent. As far as Mia knew, Crissy was the only one to be playing the piano.

Bambi turned to her as they waited for the girls to settle. "Can you do me a favor? I need a timekeeper. I'll do it for the real contest, but for now, I need to play Zeus's part of host to keep the show going."

"Zeus is the host of the show and the senior judge?" Mia didn't know if it was a conflict of interest, but it felt like one.

"Yes, Zeus is wearing two hats. All very legal." Bambi shoved some cards and a stopwatch into Mia's hands. "All you do is clock them from the time they step on the dais to when they stop and say their name a second time. And put up cards when they're a minute out and then again at thirty seconds. Can you do that?"

Am I an idiot? Mia didn't say that. Instead, she nodded. "I understand my assignment." She'd been hoping to sit in the back and go over next month's class schedule. She mostly had it all set up, but she needed one more class. She'd taken the class part back from Abigail since she could teach the classes at night when she wasn't doing an event. Besides, doing the classes helped her stay involved, like working on this event. Of course, she'd rather not even have taken the contract, but now that they had, she had responsibilities to her client and the customer. Like timing talent presentations for the six contestants.

She studied the six girls. No one had dropped out yet. Not Kristin, who'd lost her mom, or Rachel, whose mom was in the hospital today. Nope, all of them were still here. She made a mental note to find out when the funeral for Carla was going to be held. She probably needed to attend. Maybe she could carpool with Abigail.

Finally, Melody walked into the room with an older woman and headed to her table. This must be her grandmother.

Bambi let out a sigh of relief. "Great, we're all here. Now, get ready, the order sheet is right here on the door. Crissy, you're up first, then we'll move the piano back out of the way unless someone else needs it."

"I'm doing a piece too." Melody held up her hand. "I need a piano."

"We're the ones who ordered the piano. I'm not sure how I feel about it being used for other contestants." Tatiana stepped into the middle of the room.

"Mrs. Evans, I told you we'd provide a piano. Since you decided to provide your own, you have to let all contestants use it. Or we can use it for practice tonight, and I'll have another one ordered and replace this one for the actual event on Friday." Bambi's eyes were dark. "What do you want to do?"

"Of course, she can use the piano. I just didn't realize anyone else played." Tatiana backed down and smiled over at Melody and her grandmother. "No worries."

Something passed between the older two women that Mia didn't understand. A threat? An apology? Whatever it was, the air was thick with the emotion of the moment. And then it was gone.

Bambi studied the order of talents. "Okay, this will still work. Crissy can go first, we'll move the piano and set up a microphone for Kristin, then at the end, before Melody's up, we'll move the piano back to the middle."

Murmurs went through the room.

"This is all very exciting, I understand. But we need to stay on track. We'll start the first round of practice in ten minutes. Crissy, please be by the stage and ready then. And once we go through it, we'll take a short break, then start again. Everyone stay within earshot, okay?" Bambi glanced around the room and then motioned to Mia to follow her. "Okay, see you all in ten."

As they headed downstairs, Mia glanced over at her. "You seem calm. Do you think we'll actually be done by eight?"

Bambi barked out a laugh. "I don't think we'll actually get started in ten minutes. Wrangling girls and stage moms is a little more complicated than nuclear fission. And more dangerous."

To Mia's surprise, they started exactly fifteen minutes later. Apparently, Crissy had thought she was supposed to be in the gym, although there was no piano there. Tatiana had to go look for her. Mia was shocked by the level of talent each of the young women had prepared. Crissy did a song from a Broadway musical, Kristin recited a poem she'd written, Amie sang a popular country-and-western ballad, Rachel did a flute solo, Anne read her essay about the role of women in the development of the country, and finally, Melody sat down behind the piano and played a classical piece. Mia didn't know the song, but it brought tears to her eyes.

Melody was a prodigy. It was obvious to anyone in that practice. The group was silent right after she stopped, then Mia heard clapping from behind her. She turned and saw Trent and Levi watching. She joined in and stood for Melody. Then everyone else joined in.

Melody looked shocked, and she ran down to her grandmother. "Was it okay?"

"Melody, my love, it was perfect. You are such an amazing pianist." The woman patted her on the back. "Just like your mother."

Mia came over and congratulated her. "That was breathtaking. How long have you been playing?"

"She's been climbing on the bench next to me since she could walk." The woman turned to Mia, blocking Melody from answering. "I'm Melody's grandmother, Elly Sellers. And you're Mia Malone, correct? I knew your mother. The girls used to hang out together after school."

Another story Mia didn't have about her mother. "She was friends with Sherry?"

Elly blinked, confused. "Oh, no, she used to babysit Sherry for me. I guess I said that wrong. I did hair in my garage for years, then after Sherry got older, she didn't want to hang around with a bunch of old ladies, so your mom would come and take her to the park."

"Oh, that's sweet." Mia stepped toward Melody. "You are truly gifted."

Again, Elly blocked her. "I'm afraid I need to be going. Sherry should be home by now from school. I hate having her at the house alone."

Mia stepped back. "Sherry?"

"Yes, Sherry. My daughter?" She grabbed her purse and started digging. "Where are the keys to the Buick?"

Melody met Mia's gaze. "Don't worry about it. I'll handle getting her home. Can you tell Bambi I'll try to be back for my second practice?"

"I don't think you need one, but yes, I'll tell her." Mia reached out and squeezed Elly's arm. "It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Sellers."

The woman blinked, then reached for Mia's hair, tucking a curl behind Mia's ear. "Theresa, you really don't need to do anything to that hair of yours. It's perfect just the way it is. Come by Saturday, and I'll style it into an updo for your dance."

"Thank you, Mrs. Sellers." Mia saw Melody's stricken look and played along with the fantasy. She stepped back to let Melody walk her grandmother out of the yard. She saw Trent ask Melody something, but the girl shook her head.

When they'd left, and Mia had given Bambi her message, Trent came up and sat next to her as they waited for the second round of practice to start. "She's not okay, is she? Elly Sellers," Mia asked.

Trent shook his head. "I've had to drive her home several times from the store because she got confused. I think Melody's trying to keep her at home at least a little longer. It's just the two of them now."

"Melody shouldn't have to be taking care of her like this. She's just a kid."

Trent shook his head. "She's eighteen as of last month. I think everyone in town was just holding their breath hoping that Mrs. Sellers would stay lucid until Melody left for college, but this last month has been hard."

"She thought I was my mom." Mia watched as Bambi climbed the stairs to make another announcement. "Melody needs help."

"You can't step in where you're not invited. Melody's an adult now. She's able to make her own decisions, and I heard she was going to court soon to become her grandmother's guardian." Trent pointed to Bambi. "Deal with what you can control right now, which is this pageant. Then you can think about saving Melody. But talk to Mom and your grandmother first. You need to know the whole story before you step in."