A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher

Author:Robin Lee Hatcher [Hatcher, Robin Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Christian, General
ISBN: 9780310296829
Google: vAyep6qM8I8C
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2009-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

T

he church fellowship hall buzzed with conversation on that Saturday morning, reminding Carol of the

night of the tryouts. Only this time, there were fewer people making the same amount of noise: the two women who’d been selected to sing with Carol in the backup group, one alternate singer in case someone got sick, and three mem- bers of the Travis Thompson band, who’d arrived late last night in their bus.

Carol had tried on numerous outfits this morning before leaving the apartment. She wanted Travis to look at her and think, Country singer. Silly, she supposed, to want anyone to think that when it wasn’t true.

“Here he is now.” The drummer played a ba-bum-bum

to emphasize his announcement.

Travis grinned as he strode across the hall, looking every bit the star that he was. “Hey, fellas,” he greeted the band. “Glad to see you made it. How were the roads?”

The bass guitarist answered, “Pretty clear most of the way.”

“Good.” Travis turned toward Carol. “Howdy.” He gave the brim of his hat a tug.

“Hello.”

“Mrs. Burke’s not with us this morning?” he asked after a quick glance around the fellowship hall.

“No. She’s at home getting ready for tonight’s reception.” “I’m looking forward to that.” He turned toward the members of his band. “Let’s get started. Fellas, in case you didn’t introduce yourselves, this is Carol Burke. Carol, meet Hank, Friday, and Gart. We’ve been playing together since we were kids. Went to the same schools. If they cause you any trouble, you tell me and I’ll knock some sense into them.” He turned toward the three other women in the

room, a look of expectation on his face.

Carol made quick introductions. Maddy Gladstone was a thirty-five-year-old wife and mother of three who sang in the church choir. Catalin Ibarran was perhaps five years older than Carol, unmarried. She worked as a secretary in the state attorney general’s office. The alternate singer was Sara Chandler — thirtyish, divorced, and extraordinarily pretty.

“Glad to meet all of you,” Travis said, wearing his trade- mark grin.

Over the next fifteen minutes, while Travis explained his expectations, Carol imagined herself as a permanent part of his band. What must it be like to be on the road, driving from event to event, performing before thousands of fans? She wondered about the backup singers who regu- larly traveled with him. Were any of those women a love interest? Would any of them eventually make it in Nash- ville and record their own albums?

Carol had loved country music long before Hee Haw, Glen Campbell, and Johnny Cash made the style more popular to television viewers. She enjoyed rock ’n’ roll, but country owned her musical heart. How wonderful it would be to stand on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Wouldn’t she love to be present for live performances by Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn?

“Carol?”

She blinked, realizing how far her thoughts had wan- dered, and met Travis’s amused gaze.

“Let’s have the three of you stand over here” — Travis pointed to a spot to the left of the band — “and we’ll give a listen to how you sound as a group.

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.