Diamonds and Dreams (6 page)

Her soft mouth tightened, and then she spoke firmly.
 
“I’m not a child.
 
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m capable of
conducting my personal life without your intervention.”

“I didn’t mean to interfere.
 
Honestly, I thought you’d be glad to have an excuse to escape from that
wolf, Tony.”

She was, but Brant’s abrupt apology when he kissed her still
remained fresh in her mind.
 
While she
hadn’t been disappointed that Brant thwarted Tony’s plans to ask her for a
date, she was glad that Brant saw there were other men who sought her
company.
 
Yet she was confused by his
attempt to meddle in her affairs.
 
Was
Brant genuinely interested in protecting her?
 
Or did he act like he cared about her because he planned to try to
manipulate her later into doing things his way when they worked together?

The heavy rains quit by late afternoon, but the overcast sky
offered no encouragement that the sun would shine again soon when Lindsay
finally returned from a late lunch.
 
She
parked her car,
a silver
BMW, in a lot behind the
station and then started walking toward the front of the building.
 
As she dodged sloppy mud puddles, she didn’t
see the crowd milling around outside the front entrance until she was too close
to avoid them.
 
Was it her imagination or
did the people actually raise their voices and become rowdier when they spotted
her?

I’m probably being
silly,
she tried convincing herself.
 
Surely I couldn’t have done
anything to upset them…could I?

“There’s one of the deejays now!”

“Boycott WBKB!” another voice shouted.

Judging by their angry comments, it appeared that she did
something to provoke them.
 
But what?
 
Now there
could be no mistaking their ire for she easily read wrath in their faces while
she heard their chants.

“We don’t want our kids listening to WBKB!”

“Harmful to children—that’s what it is!”

Perplexed, she addressed them by asking, “What’s the
problem?”

Either they didn’t hear her or her apparent ignorance upset
them further because they ignored her and grew louder.
 
Determined to find
Desi
and demand to know what was going on, Lindsay attempted to make her way through
the angry crowd.
 
There was so much
pushing and shoving that she spun around on her high heels, twisting her ankle
and fell to the ground.

Two strong arms grasped her, lifting her up.
 
“Brant!” she cried, looking up at him.
 
“Am I glad to see
you!
”

“I’ll bet.
 
You and I
are both without friends among this mob,” he whispered loud enough so she’d
hear him.
 
“You’re limping.
 
Think you sprained your ankle?”

A sharp pain shot down the calf of her leg to the length of
her foot and she clenched her teeth.
 
“I’m afraid so.
 
Would you mind
helping me walk the rest of the way?”

“I’ll do better than that.”
 
Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her inside where he put her
down in a soft chair in the lobby.
 
“Good
thing I saw the protesters outside or you might have been stuck out there if
you can’t walk.
 
I stood near the door
waiting for you to return so I could warn you, but I missed seeing you get out
of your car.
 
By the time I caught sight
of you, it was too late to spare you of the crowd’s animosity.”

“Why are they out there?”

“They hope they can convince us to ban one of the songs we
played on the air last week.
 
The
protesters insist that the album in question contains a song on it that
promotes cult worship.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Come with me.
 
I’ll
show you what I mean.
 
Still need
me
to carry you?”

“Just let me lean on you.”
 
The closeness of him, the fresh scent of his musky men’s cologne, his
warm hands on her waist, was so disturbing that her heart started pounding out
of control.

Soon he played the song in question as Lindsay listened
attentively to what had quickly become one of her favorite songs.
 
“I don’t understand why the protesters are
trying to ban a song that’s about springtime weather and happy times.”

“Listen carefully when I play this same song backwards.”

She concentrated on the lyrics.
 
What she heard now shocked her as much as if
someone slapped her.

“Lovely demon lady, daughter of Satan, you’re the goddess of
life.
 
You’re here—I feel your presence
in my heart like the turning of a knife.”

“You see, Lindsay?
 
Sometimes musicians conceal hidden messages in strange ways through
songs.
 
Some folks, like the ones
outside, discover the deceitful ways a song can influence others, especially
children, in forming their beliefs.
 
When
they find this out, they don’t usually like it!”

She was appalled.
 
“I
understand!
 
Those people are right—this
song should be banned!”

He arched his brows in surprise.
 
“Whatever for?
 
It’ll probably make the top ten before long.”

“Surely you don’t want to be responsible for promoting
something as underhanded as this song?”

“There’s publicity to be gained by playing it.
 
The song will undoubtedly become popular
since it’s already controversial.
 
Scandal usually breeds curiosity and that’s what attracts new
listeners.”

“But I’m not interested in obtaining a new audience that
way, Brant!”

“Okay then.
 
How about if we meet each other halfway?”

“What do you mean?”

He gestured with his hands as he explained.
 
“We don’t agree on this subject, so why don’t
we disagree on the air as well?
 
There
are bound to be listeners who are against this sort of thing while others will
try to promote the record.
 
You could
represent the protesters’ side and I’ll defend those who favor playing the
song.”

Lindsay didn’t like the idea, but she had to admit that his
suggestion sounded fair.
 
“So you want to
debate the pros and cons of the issue?”

“Exactly.”

She frowned.
 
“Okay,
if
Desi
agrees, we’ll do things your way this time.”

“I’ll gather the rest of the facts so we’ll be more familiar
with the situation.
 
You talk with
Desi
about it.”

“Thanks.
 
You left the
hard part to me.”

“Can you get around on that ankle?”

“It doesn’t hurt badly now.
 
I’ll be all right.
 
You go
on.
 
I can’t thank you enough for
rescuing me.”

“Why don’t you try?
 
Have dinner with me later.
 
Will
you meet me at The Buxton Inn at seven?
 
Know where it is?”

“In Granville…25 miles east of Columbus.
 
Yes.
 
See you at seven.”

Leaving her alone, he departed by using
the rear exit while she stared after him.
 
Even the way he walked by standing tall and
taking long, even strides exuded confidence and his carefree attitude.

After a quick shower at home, Lindsay chose to wear a
camel-colored dress from Nordstrom’s and matching high-heeled pumps.
 
Traffic was heavy, but she still made it to
the quieter,
carefully
and lovingly restored complex of four buildings surrounded by many beautiful
New England style gardens and tinkling water fountains.
 
The restaurant was in the oldest,
coral-colored, two storied building with white balconies.
 
Relaxing on a black wrought iron patio chair
in the outdoor courtyard, she inhaled the sweet scent of summer bouquets on
every table.
 
When half an hour passed
and there was still no sign of Brant, she looked down at the ground, so no one
would see the embarrassment from possibly being stood up glowering on her
face.
 
Her stomach emitted a loud rumble,
so she ordered her meal—seared sea scallops, finished with red pepper coulis
and served with rice.

When
she arrived home, she still felt angry at Brant for being inconsiderate, so she
called to tell him so.
 
“I don’t mind
eating alone, but you said you’d be at The Buxton Inn at seven.
 
Like a fool, I waited for you until
eight-thirty.”

“Sorry.
 
At the last minute,
Desi
insisted I join him and one of WBKB’s sponsors for dinner.
 
I didn’t think it would have been wise to
turn them down.”

“You
could have called.”

“You
sound like a nagging wife, Lindsay.”

“I’m
not your wife!
 
What upsets me is the casual
way you disregarded my feelings.
 
It was
uncomfortable waiting for you all that time.
 
I felt like a wallflower at a school dance!”

“I
did call.
 
Your voice mail box is full.”

“Oh!”
 
She remembered that she forgot to check it
all day.

“Don’t
waste time holding a grudge, Lindsay.
 
Life is too short.
 
Give me a rain
check.
 
I promise I’ll make everything up
to you during another dinner soon.”

He
sounds sincere,
she decided.
 
“All right.”
 
Surely they wouldn’t have any more misunderstandings on their next date,
would they?

Brant
kept his word and took Lindsay out for dinner the following night.
 
A few tables away from theirs a voluptuous
woman with medium-length ash blonde hair sat alone and gazed at Brant.
 
She didn’t bother to hide her obvious
attraction to him.
 
Flattered that such a
stunningly beautiful woman admired
him,
Brant casually
returned the compliment by grinning back at her.

Lindsay
didn’t miss the friendly exchange and asked harshly, “If you wanted to flirt
with other women, Brant, why did you ask me to come here with you?”

Her
direct question surprised him.
 
“For the pleasure of your company, of course.”

“Judging
by the way that pretty blonde is staring openly at
you,
I’d guess that, if you weren’t already with me, you could have persuaded her to
join you.”

“I
prefer being with you.”

“Then
why don’t you act like it?”

“Lindsay,
I do believe you’re jealous.”
 
He
smirked.

“No,
I’m not!”

“If
you’re not jealous, why are you getting your blood pressure up?”

“Because I’m angry!”

“At me?
 
Simply because I admire beauty in others?
 
I’ve always appreciated looking at beautiful
women, but casting them an innocent glance or smile doesn’t mean that I plan on
becoming involved with them.”

“Did
you ever think how you make the person you’re with—me, in this case—look like a
fool when your attention strays to another woman?”

“No.
 
You proved your point.
 
I apologize—again.”

Until
next time,
she thought dejectedly, wondering if Brant would ever be able to direct his
mind on only one woman instead of many.

“Living
alone for many years and always doing whatever I pleased may have resulted in
me sometimes not taking the time to analyze others’ feelings.
 
All I can do is try now to overcome my
faults.
 
I hope you’ll bear with me.”

Was
he asking her to stand by him in a romance?
 
Or did he only need a friend?
 
Time would tell.

The
day after they presented both sides of the controversial song on the air, the
weekend team’s pictures appeared in the local newspaper.
 
That same night, Lindsay received a phone call
around two a.m.

Feeling
for the phone in the dark, she found it and rose from her bed.
 
“Hello?” she answered groggily.

First
came
heavy silence.
 
“Hello?” she repeated.
 
“Is anyone
there?”

Over
the phone she heard the haunting words that made her catch her breath in
fear.
 
“Lovely demon lady, daughter of
Satan, you’re the goddess of life.
 
You’re here—I feel your presence in my heart like the turning of a
knife.”