Trouble in Texas by Katie Lane

Author:Katie Lane
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Western
ISBN: 9781455515714
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2012-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Henhouse Rule #36: Every hen has a talent… some are just more entertaining than others.

THE YOUNG WOMAN THAT GREETED Elizabeth as she stepped off the henhouse elevator could only be described as cherubic. Dark curly hair surrounded a round, chubby face with a button nose and big brown eyes. At least, they were as big as saucers now.

“You’re related to Miss Hattie?” Starlet said in disbelief. “But you look just like my old Sunday school teacher. She liked to wear them old maid suits too.”

Elizabeth could’ve easily ignored the comment if she hadn’t started having her own doubts about her wardrobe. Suits that had once seemed professional and modest now seemed hot, uncomfortable, and… frumpy. Just that morning at breakfast, she caught herself envying a woman for her comfortable-looking jeans, western shirt, and cowboy boots. Or maybe she envied the fact that the woman had caught Brant’s eye. The thought of envying women Brant merely glanced at had her straightening her frumpy suit jacket with a jerk.

“I’m Elizabeth Murphy,” she said as she held out a hand, “and you must be Starlet Brubaker.”

The girl grabbed her hand and gave it an exuberant shake. “Yes, ma’am, I sure am. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve been working all morning on my audition. Minnie already told me that I’d have to get past the head hen before I could stay.”

“About that, Starlet…” Elizabeth’s words were left hanging as Starlet charged across The Jungle Room, her bright fuchsia prom dress slapping around her legs. She slipped behind the baby grand piano, and the sound system clicked on. There was a squeal before Starlet’s voice came through the speakers.

“Testing. Testing.”

The background track for “Someone to Watch Over Me” started, and Starlet moved around the piano. She tried to sit up on it like Baby had, but ended up tearing a bigger slit in her dress. While she examined the tear, she missed her cue and had to run back over and restart the song. This time she skipped sitting on the piano and leaned against it seductively instead. Her elbow slipped on the slick wood, and she almost took a nosedive to the floor. She caught herself and was able to start the song in the nick of time.

After only two notes, Elizabeth realized that Starlet didn’t need a microphone. Her voice resounded off the low ceiling like a fog horn at high tide, and it took a strong will for Elizabeth not to cover her ears. Starlet, on the other hand, didn’t have a clue how she sounded. Her face was scrunched up in concentration as she belted out the words.

Her performance was a complete antithesis of Baby’s. While Baby had the husky jazz style down cold, Starlet just sounded like what she was—an awkward young woman with no musicality whatsoever.

Still, Elizabeth smiled brightly and applauded when she was finished.

After returning the microphone to the stand and turning off the sound system, Starlet walked back with an apprehensive look on her face.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.