Page 55 of Playing With My Heart Strings

Valerie and Sage sit at a table to the right of me, and Katherine and Baylor find their place at my table. Aspen tries to squeeze her way in, too, but when she realizes there isn’t room, she rolls her eyes and surrenders to the other table.

The stage is empty for now, top country hits playing from the speakers. Before I can process the song that’s playing, Katherine nudges me with her elbow.

“Isn’t this your song?” She laughs, and I strain my ears, recognizing the familiar kick drum beat before I even hear my own voice.

I let out a slightly nervous chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so. What a coincidence.” The bar probably changed the station specifically to the one that’s always playing my music, knowing we’d be here today.

Jarrod approaches us out of nowhere. You’d think by now I would expect him to turn up out of the blue since he’s the host.

“Hello, Dusty. Ladies,” he greets all of us with a wave. “Exciting plans for this afternoon.”

Curiosity must get the better of Sage, because she raises a hand. “What are we going to be doing?”

“I thought you’d never ask, Sage. You’ll all get the chance to sing today on this very stage...”

Aspen’s eyes widen, a smile creeping onto her face.

“...as a group.” Jarrod finishes his sentence, and Aspen’s smirk vanishes. “Don’t worry, Aspen.” He chuckles. “I’m not finished. You’ll all perform a song as a group, and then the audience will get to choose one lucky woman to perform with Dusty.”

Sure enough, a crowd has gathered behind us, security and a velvet rope the only things separating us. I face forward again as a band steps onto the stage and the radio stops playing. Jarrod jumps on stage as well, heading to the microphone.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! I’m Jarrod Stone, the host of the new hit reality TV showHeart Strings. We’ve got some incredible talent with us here today, and they cannot wait to perform for you!” He looks down at the women and gestures for them to come up. “Come on up, ladies. Folks, let me introduce you to our final five women: Aspen, Katherine, Valerie, Sage, and Baylor!”

One-by-one, they all file onto the stage. Aspen immediately heads for the microphone, but Jarrod waves her away and hands the first microphone to Baylor. I stifle a laugh, becauseof course, but then the bar staff brings over four more microphones.

Jarrod quietly talks to each of the women, Katherine and Valerie nodding along with what he has to say, while Baylor has a blank expression and Aspen just glares.

Once he finishes, he exits the stage and nods to the band, who starts playing the opening notes of a popular Pistol Annies song.

Valerie, Aspen, and Baylor start the song off with a harmony, and I can’t lie, they soundgreattogether. Their voices mesh effortlessly. Baylor sings the line about breaking a million hearts, which is fitting, because with the way she looks on stage, she could give a man a heart attack.

Katherine takes over the first verse, singing a solo, and when Miranda Lambert’s verse approaches, I fully expect Sage to startsinging. I assume she expected to start singing, too, but instead Aspen cuts in, her more powerful vocals drowning out Sage’s softer voice.

Murmurs from the crowd rise behind me, but the girls recover quickly and Sage picks up the next verse. I make a mental note about their ability to adapt. It’s an important trait to have, especially on tour.

I also take into account Aspen’s selfishness, but I already knew she possesses that trait.

Valerie and Baylor split the next chorus, then all five women harmonize the final one, and the song ends with a roar of applause from the crowd.

Jarrod claps as he enters the stage again. “Well done, ladies. How about that, folks?” He pauses as the crowd cheers again. “What you in the audience don’t know, is that Dusty Wilder is also going to perform a song for you all. And he’s going to perform with one of these lucky women.”

A hush falls over the bar as the audience listens intently.

“You all have the chance to vote and pick the special girl who gets to perform. I’ll have each of the women say their name once, and then voting will be determined by the loudest cheers and applause. Are you ready, Nashville?”

Hoots and hollers rise from the bar patrons as Jarrod gestures for Valerie to start. They go down the line until Aspen and Baylor are the only two left.

“My name is Aspen,” she says confidently, arrogance radiating off her as though she’s the obvious choice for the crowd.

“Hi, I’m Baylor,” Baylor introduces herself then gives the crowd a closed-lip smile. She does that often in public, like she wants to save her true smile, the radiant one. The one she’s given me during our secret, off-camera dates.

“As I raise my hand above each contestant, cheer loudly for the one you think should get to sing with Dusty!” Jarrod instructs.

He starts with Valerie, and the crowd gives an uproar of applause. Sage gets a similar response. Katherine gets a few more cheers, but it’s nothing compared to the response the audience gives Aspen. For a moment, I think the roof might blow with how loud it gets.

“Finally, Baylor.” Jarrod hovers his hand over her head, and the crowd goes into an absolute frenzy. “Well, folks, I think we have a clear winner here. Congratulations, Baylor.”

Aspen looks like she’s going to explode as her jaw ticks and she stomps off the stage. Valerie, Katherine, and Sage look disappointed, but still happy for their friend.

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