Chapter 28: Chapter 28

The bus had barely stopped when Cat got up from her seat, stalked to the door, and got out, walking several steps away and pulling her phone out of her pocket. Bree assumed she was calling a ride back to the hotel, or maybe she’d take a rideshare all the way back to Nashville. Bree didn’t care. She’d even pay for it, as long as she was able to get the negative influence out of her band, and out of her life. Cat’s erratic behavior made sense now. She’d been doing drugs this whole time! Bree felt dumb for not realizing it, but she didn’t know anyone else who did drugs and didn’t know the signs.

Following Cat out the door, Bree noted the confused expression on Shawna’s face. “Is everything okay?” the girl asked.

“No, not even a little bit,” Bree replied with a sigh. The rest of the band got off of the bus, all of them looking morose. “Shawna, how would you like to play with us tonight?”

Shawna’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?” she asked, looking over Bree’s shoulder to Zach, who was standing a few steps behind Bree.

“Yes, I’m serious,” Bree assured her. “It’s come to my attention that Cat has been partaking in some illegal activities I don’t want my band members participating in, so she’s been asked to leave the band.”

The woman stared at her for a long time, her mouth agape. “Oh, uh… well, I’d love to play with you. I’m just not sure if….”

“If what?” Zach asked, stepping forward with an encouraging smile. “You know all of the songs don’t you?”

“Well, yeah….” Shawna shrugged, a glimpse of a smile starting to appear on her pretty face. “But… are you sure?”

“Positive,” Bree said with a sharp nod. “We would love for you to play with us.”

Before Shawna had a chance to answer, a car came speeding into the parking lot and pulled up next to Cat. She flipped them all the bird and then got in the vehicle, which Bree assumed was a rideshare car she’d paid to drive extra fast, and then they sped away.

Shawna watched the car leave the parking lot and then said, “I don’t want to leave y’all hangin’. I’ll have to ask my boss.”

“Yes, of course, but Shawna, if this works out, we’d love to have you full-time.” Bree heard some of her bandmates’ shocked gasps at that comment, but she had a feeling none of them would object once she talked it over with them.

Again, the girl was at a loss for words. She stared at Bree for a moment and then said, “That would be amazing. I can’t even…. I’ll ask.”

A grin spread across Bree’s face at her reaction, and as Shawna came back down to earth and started to lead them across the parking lot, back to the green room, she had to hope this meant all of her recent problems would be solved.

Once Shawna had deposited them into the green room and left to go speak to whomever she needed to in order to get permission to play with them, Chase came over and said, “Hey, Bree… what are you doing?”

“It’s perfect, isn’t it? We need a keyboard player. Shawna plays keyboard. It’s a godsend.”

“It seems like maybe you knew that already, though,” Griffin noted.

Bree shrugged. “Maybe. But what difference does it make? Cat is the one who has been stirring up trouble for the last few weeks, and now she’s gone, and Shawna is so nice.”

“Didn’t you think Cat was nice when you first hired her?” Dominic asked.

“Yes, but I know Shawna is nice. I’ve spent some time with her. She’s great, isn’t she Zach?”

Zach looked up as if he was surprised to hear his name. “Oh, uh, yeah. She’s awesome. She’ll be great to have in the band.”

“Are you doing all of this just because Zach went out with her today?” Chase asked, folding his arms.

Bree let her mouth fall open. “What? No! Why would that matter?”

“Because you want him to stay in the band,” Griffin said with a grin on his face.

“Don’t you want him to stay in the band?” she countered, placing her hands on her hips.

“Of course I do,” Griffin said.

“Then… I don’t see the problem.” Bree had a twinkle in her eye as she smiled at the boys. What could they say to argue with her?

A few seconds later, the door opened, and Shawna popped in. Bree couldn’t read her expression, but she prayed it was good news, and the girl would be playing with them that night.

***

Holding her breath, Bree waited for Shawna to tell them what her boss had said. Would she be able to play keyboards with them in the band that night?

“He said… I could,” she said with a big smile.

“That’s great news!” Bree exclaimed, hugging the woman, even though she really didn’t know her that well. “Let’s get you up to speed. Is there a keyboard somewhere we can use to practice?”

“Yeah, there’s one in the closet. Can some of you guys help me?”

“Sure.” Zach was the first one to jump in to help, and Griffin volunteered, too. A few minutes later, they had a keyboard set up in the green room, and Bree and Zach were going over chord progressions with Shawna. She caught on very quickly to the newer songs, and she did already know all of the older ones. By the time another stagehand came to tell them it was time to take the stage, Shawna was ready to go. She wouldn’t be able to play any of the solos Cat usually added in, but she knew enough to get by.

But she was nervous. Her hands were shaking as she headed toward the door. She wiped them on her skirt. “You’ll be fine,” Bree assured her. “Just stick to the chords, and don’t worry about anything else. You’ve got this.”

“I sure hope so,” Shawna said, under her breath.

“I know so,” Bree assured her, putting her arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

Trent gave Bree a hug and kissed her quickly. “Have fun,” he said. “I’ll be on the front row--as usual.”

“Thanks,” she said, crossing her fingers and holding them up to show him she was hoping all went well. She had a feeling that it would.

Shawna walked on stage just ahead of Bree, who was always the last one on, and the band started playing. When Bree took the microphone in her hand and broke into the first song, the crowd roared. She turned to look over her shoulder at Shawna and saw that the nerves she’d been showing earlier seemed to have melted away.

Bree’s smile was genuine as she got into the beat of each song. Gone were the worries of the last few weeks--that Zach might leave, that Cat might start trouble--and she was certain the band sounded better than it ever had before.

Halfway through the show, Bree went over to Shawna and said, “You’re doing great!”

“Yeah?” she asked, giving Bree a broad smile. “Are you sure?”

“Yes! Keep it up. You’re amazing!”

That made Shawna smile even more, and when they started the next song, she went from just playing the chords to really getting into it and playing more riffs and melodies. Bree loved it and encouraged her with a smile from the microphone. Shawna grinned back at her, and Bree truly felt like they’d just found the perfect addition to their band.

At the end of the show, before they went out for the encore, everyone gathered around Shawna and congratulated her, hugging her and telling her how awesome she was. Bree was thrilled that the rest of the band seemed to like her as much as Bree did. Zach was beaming, and when Shawna looked at him, it was clear she liked him as much as he liked her.

“All right, let’s send this show into history with the best encore performance ever!” Bree said, leading them back onto stage.

Just as the guitarists picked up their instruments, Dominic grabbed his sticks, and Shawna poised her fingers above the keys, there was a weird draining sound as all the lights went off, and the entire arena was left in black.

“What the hell?” Griffin said somewhere behind her.

“I don’t know, but we need to assume the worst, that this is some sort of attack, and be cautious,” Zach said, coming over to Bree and herding her toward Shawna as if he intended to shield the women with his body.

Phones turned into flashlights, and Bree saw Trent standing right in front of the stage, along with security. She had no idea what to think, but the fact that she could see him made her feel more at ease.

A few moments later, a stagehand came out. “Someone cut all the electricity to the entire building! It’s crazy! The electric company said it’ll take a few hours to get things back up and running. It looks like y’all have been sabotaged.”

One name came to mind. Bree shook her head. “Cat!” she murmured. At least she’d been late to launch her attack, and only one song had been affected.

“What are we going to do? Just walk off without giving them an encore?” Chase asked.

“No, we can ‘t do that. Grab your acoustic guitar. Dom, can you play a soft beat without drowning us out?”

“Sure, Bree,” the drummer replied.

“Got a fiddle?” she asked Shawna.

“Yeah, and an upright bass.” She signaled for the stagehand to come back, and he did. A few seconds later, he exited quickly, and then came back with the two instruments Shawna had requested, someone else helping him carry them. Zach had an acoustic guitar as well.

As soon as everyone was ready, Bree gave the signal, and they broke into an acoustic version of “Meant to Marry Me.” The crowd, which had started to whisper, wondering what was going on, quieted at the sound of the familiar song, and many of them started to sing along with Bree.

By the time they played the last chord of the song, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a beautiful rendition of her most famous song, and she was so glad her band was able to put it together at the last second. It really spoke to their talent as musicians.

“Thank you, St. Louis!” Bree shouted. “Have a good night! Be careful going home!” At least there were emergency lights along the aisles so that people could see to get out. She wondered if anyone even knew what the problem had been or if they thought it was all part of the show.

As they walked out, Bree kept a smile on her face, but inside, she was already thinking she needed to have a little chat--with a Cat.