My Wildest Dream by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fog City Publishing, LLC

Chapter Sixteen

After Brodie left, Chelsea sat on the stairs for a good five minutes. Her stomach churned at the thought of Austin knowing about the suicide note. The possibility that he might use that information for his own self-interests made her sick. That young man's family had suffered enough. She couldn't let Austin hurt them. But if she gave in to his demands, she'd have to sing again, and it wouldn't just be in a studio. He'd force her to get up on stage. All those people would be looking at her with expectations in their eyes. Her heart raced, and her breath came too fast just at the thought of it. She couldn't do it.

She also couldn't imagine even writing and singing with Austin in a studio. Her emotions had always been part of her music. He'd want to do a love song, and she couldn't sing about love with someone she hated.

She'd never thought she could hate him. But this man was not the man she'd been with. That guy was gone. Or maybe it was just her illusions that were gone. The last year and a half had opened her eyes to so many things she hadn't seen in her quest for stardom.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as the sound of music came from outside. It wasn't just music; it was her voice. It was one of her earliest songs, one she'd written when she'd first gotten together with Austin, and her young voice still held the innocence of that time.

Austin had to be playing her music over a speaker. He must have guessed she was here with Brodie. Or he thought she was hiding in her house. Either way, he wanted her to hear herself, to remember…

She stood up, thinking she'd go into the family room and turn on the television as loud as it would go. She would drown herself out. Force the memories away.

But as the notes and melody washed through her, she found herself lingering by the stairs. She'd been running from her music for a long time, but now she couldn't seem to move.

She heard the back door open and close. Brodie came down the hall a moment later.

"You okay?" he asked, an irritated look in his eyes. "I can't believe he's standing in the middle of the street, playing your music."

"He always knew what buttons to push." She felt a rush of emotions that were more sad than angry. "He wasn't like this before he got famous, before the money and celebrity went to his head. He used to be funny and kind."

"Why don't we go to the back of the house? We can turn on the TV, maybe watch a movie…"

"I was going to do that, but I started listening."

His expression grew thoughtful. "Is this the first time you've heard your music since you quit?"

"Yes."

"It's a beautiful song. It makes me think of summer."

"It was summer when I wrote it. I was living in a two-bedroom apartment with three other female singers.

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