Page 24 of Catching Coy
“This is so small town, right?” Willa said, gripping Coy’s hand and leaning into him. “Eating dinner at a bar and listening to the music.” She nodded toward the speaker where a slow country tune was playing. Coy almost laughed when he realized it was one of Taggart Dubois’ songs. “Do you think he played here?” Her voice took on that same worshipful quality that had him laughing most of the afternoon as she poured over the little museum’s documenting of Taggart’s early career.
“Probably,” he said, letting that smile come back.
Tag Turner. He letthatname roll through his thoughts along with a flash of Bellamy in the kitchen with her mom and Roxy. Would there come a time when that’s how he would know the country star? Tag was married to Bellamy’s best friend. Coy wanted to laugh every time Bellamy would scrunch up her nose at saying “Taggart Dubois.” To her, that wasn’t his name.
Thinking of Bellamy also had him thinking of the way she chewed on her lip when he talked about the first part of his date with Willa. What wasn’t she saying about Willa? He got why she wouldn’t tell him. Coy had seen the show too. Maybe he hadn’t analyzed it the way she had, but he recognized that she worried about talking about the other women and how gossiping would reflect on her.
“Coy?” Willa tugged on his hand and looked up at him.
He shook Bellamy out of his head. “Yeah? You wanna dance?” he asked. This was part of the plan to surprise Willa with her personal concert.
“I do love this song.” She grinned up at him, sliding her arms around his neck as he moved to sway with her to a song about the perfect life as viewed from a front porch swing. Coy had an idea of exactly what porch swing Taggart Dubois was singing about and he couldn’t help grinning at the idea that he had nearly kissed a woman—a dang near perfect woman—on the very front porch swing the country singer crooned about.
“It’s a good one,” he agreed, resting his hands on Willa’s hips. She leaned in closer, laying her head against his chest.
“He wrote it about his wife. I can’t believe that front porch he’s singing about is just down the road from me.” She tipped her head back. “Can we go look at it tonight?”
“Uh, sure.” But he didn’t know if he wanted to sit in it with her, in a place where he’d held Bellamy, someone he was falling more and more for, even when he wasn’t with her. Gunner had told him in some of their early talks that he had known Mae was the one almost from the beginning. He’d kept his mind open to the other women being possibilities, but every week had proved she was the one with his heart. Coy couldn’t help wondering the same about Bellamy.
The music got louder, and Willa turned toward the stage the same time the curtain opened to reveal Taggart standing on stage, finishing up the song and grinning at his crowd of two.
“OH MY GOSH,” Willa squealed and leapt away from Coy, running to the foot of the stage and doing a frantic dance as she stared up at her idol. Coy strode forward, catching the gaze of Taggart as he sang. He arched a brow and glanced down at Willa. Coy’s shoulders shook with contained laughter as he shrugged.
“Oh my gosh,” Willa repeated, still shouting to be heard over the music. She turned to Coy. “I can’t believe this! This is so cool. This show—this show is the best.”
Coy had to force his smile to stay in place. The show. Not Coy. Not the date he had helped plan. The reason she had gotten to meet Taggart Dubois was this show.
That’s what Bellamy wasn’t saying. Coy would bet money on it.
Willa didn’t notice that Coy stood several inches away and back from the stage. Her gaze was focused on Taggart with the same reverent gaze she’d given his guitar when she played it earlier that afternoon. She screamed again as Taggart switched songs into something upbeat, waving her arms. Coy could walk out right now and Willa wouldn’t care. Maybe not even when she noticed him gone. He shared another look with Taggart, and he could swear the man held back a laugh.
* * *
Willa, 28
Waitress/Singer
Nashville, Tennessee
“Tonight was the best night of my life. Nothing will ever be able to compare to watching Taggart Dubois play in his hometown, in one of the first spots he ever played publicly. This is my dream come true.”
* * *
Roxy had gone backto her mother-in-law’s and Kendra was up in Bellamy’s apartment. Agnes had decreed that Bellamy must spend time in the living room of the Ranch House and talk with the other women.
“What do you think Willa did when she saw Taggart Dubois?” Lucy asked. Agnes had filled them in on the surprise part of the date and then left to let the magic happen.
“She probably ran on stage and made out with him instead,” Gillian said with a chuckle. She turned to Bellamy. “Hope your friend doesn’t get mad about that.”
Bellamy had to laugh with her. She could picture that happening. Was Morgan around to stop it? Tag’s bodyguard usually kept him safe from the especially amorous fans. “Willa better be scared of Roxy if that happens. Most of the fans in love with him are more worried about her than his bodyguard.”
“I bet it opened Coy’s eyes,” Gillian went on, her tone serious. “We all get it, right? We hate seeing him put his heart with someone we all know is here to soak in Taggart Dubois’ hometown and to promote herself.”
Bellamy stared down at her hands. This was the reason she wished she could avoid the “girl talk” Agnes insisted she participate in. She didn’t want to get caught up in this kind of drama or get caught saying something about Willa she didn’t have proof of. She felt the same way as Gillian, but she’d seen enough episodes ofThe Catchto know the many ways talk like this could create whole storylines of their own.
“She’s not here for the right reasons,” Lucy said.
Bellamy darted a glance at Charlotte, wondering what the Sweet One would say. She grimaced as Bellamy caught her gaze and then looked down too, keeping her mouth shut. Yeah, Bellamy liked her, which made jealousy roil in her stomach. If Coy ever asked Bellamy about Charlotte, she wouldn’t mind telling him how she didn’t get caught up in all this and how she looked just as uncomfortable as Bellamy felt.
