Pines in the blink of an eye when he’d discovered he had a daughter. Could he walk away for good? She doubted it. This was temporary. He was just staking his claim, trying to get her to marry him and go back to Texas with him. He’d said nothing at all about making a long-term change in his life-style. The impasse was as overwhelming as ever.
Gary Whitakker, her lead guitarist and one of the kindest, gentlest guys she’d ever known, edged down the aisle and dropped into the seat Val had vacated. There’d been a time when she’d considered the possibility of a romance with him, but memories of Harlan Patrick had intruded every time the man had tried to kiss her. Eventually they’d settled for being friends.
“You doing okay?” he asked, searching her face for signs of distress.
“I’ve had better days,” she admitted.
Gary glanced toward the row of seats in front of them. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“He is.”
“I saw the way he was looking at Amy Lynn when we found them in the hotel dining room. He already adores that baby girl. He’s not going to walk away without a fight.”
“I know.”
“He looks at you the same way.”
She gave him a rueful look. “I know that, too.”
“He’s the reason nothing ever happened between us, isn’t he?”
She nodded.
“If you’re so crazy about him, I’m not sure I see the problem.”
“He’s in Texas. I’m not.”
To her irritation, he grinned. “Did you run out of cash for plane tickets?”
Laurie scowled. “You know, Gary, these pithy little observations of yours are getting on my nerves. Do you have any solutions?”
He had the audacity to chuckle at her display of temper. “In the words of a country-music superstar I know, you might try listening to your heart.”
Good advice, Laurie conceded, but she couldn’t risk taking it. Her heart’s message was clear as a bell, but there were far-reaching implications that she simply couldn’t deal with.
“Grab your guitar,” she instructed instead, reaching for her own. “I’ve got a new song I want to play around with.”
Like all of her musicians, Gary’s eyes lit up at once at the prospect of creating another megahit. He listened as she strummed a few chords and picked up on her rhythm with the instinct of someone who’d grown accustomed to her creative process.
Laurie jotted down a few words, hummed a few bars, then tried the words aloud. It didn’t take long before a few of the others were joining in and the bus was filled with the country-pop crossover sound that had taken her to the top of the charts.
She felt Harlan Patrick’s eyes on her as her voice rang out and wondered if he guessed that he was behind the heartbreak in the lyrics. She lifted her gaze and met his. All at once she was lost in those deep blue eyes, eyes that reflected understanding and love, so much love that it was all she could do not to weep.
Why was it, she wondered as she strummed the last chord and then fell silent, that sometimes love simply wasn’t enough? Leaving Harlan Patrick not once but twice had hurt. She had anguished over it both times.
But having him back in her life again, having him so near and knowing that another parting was inevitable, was tearing her apart.
She heard Amy Lynn whimper and was half out of her seat in the blink of an eye. Harlan Patrick’s gaze remained steady on hers for another instant, and then he broke eye contact and reached for the baby—their daughter, she reminded herself as tears stung her eyes, as much his as hers, though she’d tried to deny that for months now.
Sinking back into her seat, she watched father and child, unable to tear her gaze away from the adoration in Harlan Patrick’s eyes. Already Amy Lynn seemed to recognize her daddy. She accepted his comfort, settled down at once in his arms. They were bonding, and she knew without a doubt that the ties forming now would be impossible to break.
“Mind a word of advice from a friend?” Gary inquired lightly, drawing her attention away from the scene being played out up the aisle.
“What?”
“Find a way to make it work.”
“It’s impossible,” she said, unable to hide the despairing note in her voice.
“Nothing’s impossible if you both want it badly enough.”
She seared him with a look. “Let me ask you this. Would you give up everything we’ve accomplished the past few years and go back to singing backup