Doctor's Miracle by Anna Schmidt

Author:Anna Schmidt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2001-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Paul arrived at the theater just as Rachel was taking the stage. Pearl had left him a backstage pass and assured him that she would keep his arrival a surprise. He could not help but notice the difference between Rachel’s appearance here and the one he had witnessed that first night in Nashville.

The stage was absolutely dark as an announcer’s voice boomed her name. A band struck up a rocking introduction that he finally recognized as one of her songs. Colored lights played over the vast stage and settled on the woman who stood at center stage, a headset microphone hooked over her riotous red hair, which fanned out behind her as she moved from one side of the stage to the other.

She was dressed in jeans that fit her perfectly and a peasant-style blouse that shimmered with some kind of beading that caught the light. She was wearing boots with three-inch heels and she was belting out the song in rhythm with the band that backed her. He had to listen intently to the words to realize she was singing about God and His love and not some sexy rock song.

But she was good, playing the audience, flirting with them, going to the very edge of the stage and then backing up. At the end of the song she pumped one fist high in the air and brought it down for a final thundering chord on her guitar, then took deep bows and smiled broadly as the crowd shouted its approval.

“The changes are a start,” he heard Todd Mayfield say to Pearl. “Good work, Pearl. We’ll turn her into a hot property yet.”

“I’m just trying to help her, Todd. She’s got a big talent, and you know it. If I were you, I’d trust that and stop trying to make her into something she’s not. Let her be the original she is, not some carbon copy of the latest teen queen.”

Paul turned his attention to the performance. Rachel was talking, taking the time to catch her breath from that last energetic number. She perched on the edge of a high stool. The lights narrowed to a single spotlight on her. The band was silent. She strummed the guitar, tossed her hair and gave the introduction.

When she started to sing, there were a few rude calls from the audience, quickly shushed by others. By the time she hit the second verse, a pin dropping would have shattered the rapt silence. Paul peered at the audience and saw their faces focused on Rachel, listening to her, nodding in time to the music. A few were even crying. He looked at Rachel and wondered if she could see beyond the lights. He wanted her to know the effect she was having. He wanted her to understand that her ability to write and sing her songs was enough—more than enough. She didn’t need any of the trappings Todd Mayfield was trying to lay on her.

The ballad was followed by two more heart-pumping, stage-strutting numbers, a guitar solo and a song designed to involve the audience.

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