Unlikely Praise (21 page)

The fact he didn’t know
anything
was killing him.

He dried his hands and tried to appear unmoved by the conversation. “What do you mean up to his old tricks? I would think he’s on parole, or something, and someone is keeping tabs on him. You know, like if an accountant embezzles a million dollars from a corporation, I don’t think he’s allowed to be an accountant anymore and have a chance to do it again.”

“Sounds logical,” Tom offered. “But I don’t know what the regulation and licensing is for music promoters. I don’t know if there is any.”

“I don’t get it,” Shade continued. “Why would he try that scam again? No one in Texas is going to give that guy the time of day. Why would he bother?”

“Because there’s a lot of gullible musicians out there with stars in their eyes, and they’ve never heard the name Don Canaberry.”

“All I know,” Spider Monkey said, “is that he approached a friend of mine who was performing at a carnival in San Antonio. He gave him a handful of business cards and said to call him. He’s working for some company called Southwest Promotions, or something like that. I told him to forget it.”

Shade considered the positive. “He might have gone legit. He had a lot of connections. He could have turned it around and found an agency that would take a chance on him.”

Neither man looked hopeful.

“I have one of the cards,” Spider Monkey added as if he were talking about the weather. “I think I have two. My friend gave them to me.”

Shade and Tom exchanged glances. Some things never changed.

“Here ya go.”

Shade turned the card in his hands. This would be so much easier if Candi would just talk to him.

Spider Monkey pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of his denim jacket. “Can I smoke in here?”

“No, but other than that, make yourselves at home. I gotta jump in the shower and get to my meeting. I’ll stop at the burger place on my way back. Stay as long as you like, but if you’re here tomorrow I have worship team practice and if you’re still here on Wednesday, we’re going to Bible study.”

Spider Monkey snickered as he headed outside to smoke.

“About our proposition,” Tom began, “I know you don’t have time now, but I do want to give you something to think about.”

Shade paused on the way to his bedroom and met his friend’s gaze. He would be polite, he would be hospitable, and he would listen to their spiel. But nothing they could say would make him consider returning to a secular band.

“Remy Charbonnet split with Red Rock Fever.”

Except, maybe that.

“When did this happen?”

“Last month. He’s working on a new project. He’s got the backing and I don’t have to tell you how well connected he is. Joining forces with Remy could put us back on top.”

Shade felt a swell in his chest. The only drummer as talented and well respected as Pete was Remy Charbonnet.

“What does this have to do with me? What does Remy want?”

“Only one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Shade Blackledge on guitar.”

****

Candi rushed from class and headed for her car. The only good thing about the busy, mixed-up schedule for final exam week was that it left her little time to think of Shade and the horrible scene in the church’s kitchen.

Except it was all she thought about, anyway.

And boy, was she angry. Angry she didn’t see it coming, angry it all played out in front of the band, angry she’d let her guard down, angry there was an innocent baby involved somehow, and really,
really
, angry she did the one thing she regularly avoided at all costs—trusting a man who had issues with the truth. A man like her father.

Practice was going to be a nightmare. She’d told him he was an asset to the team and that was true, but if God was still in this whole mess somewhere, she was hard pressed to see Him.

She found her regular secret spot behind the church and rested her head on the steering wheel.

Focus, focus, focus... Business as usual...

“I’m sorry I messed up, Lord. Please help us to worship You and not get bogged down in the gossip and speculation of mine and Shade’s short-lived joke of a romance. It won’t happen again...” Her words trailed off into a steady babbling request for help. Amidst her haze of anger and the simple truth that her heart was seriously bruised, if not outright broken, she had no idea what she truly needed. So the prayer ended as desperate pleas often do. “Lord, please fix it. Thank you. Amen.”

Mercifully, the sanctuary was dark and quiet when she went inside. She brought up the lights, turned on the sound board, and headed straight for her storage closet. It was the perfect place to look busy as she waited for the others to arrive, and oh, how she hoped anyone but Shade would get there first.

Then she heard his voice—and he wasn’t alone.

She stepped out of the closet. He approached the front flanked by two men she’d never seen. The skinny guy to his left was dressed all in black, with short spiky hair. The one on his right was a slightly older, bald guy in brown leather. More disturbing details became evident as they got closer. Skinny-gothic-guy’s fingernails were painted deep purple, while bald-leather-guy seemed to be in the process of gauging his earlobes. She’d seen the technique on students at school. Why anyone would want to stretch their tender skin to hold an earring the size of a tire rim was
waaaay
beyond her realm of comprehension.

“Lord, c’mon,” she whispered to herself. “I ask You for help and You send me two more rejects from the circus?

Shade set down his case and met her on the platform. She steeled herself against his warm smile, sparkling eyes, and caring demeanor. She couldn’t trust any of those things.

“Hey,” he said and took a nervous step closer. “I had some unexpected visitors. Hope you don’t mind.”

Mind? Of course, she minded. Their appearance alone would set Kevin bouncing off the walls so fast she’d have to nail his feet to the floor to keep him on the ground. Since they were most likely musicians, Max would be so busy trying to prove he was an accomplished percussionist, there would be no slowing his tempo to any rational speed.

A nick of conviction pierced deep in her heart.
This is church,
it reminded her
. Everyone is welcome at church.

“I don’t mind,” she said and forced a smile. “Introduce us.”

“Guys, I’d like you to meet Candi. She’s in charge of the worship team here. Candi, this is Spider Monkey and Tom.”

More Dead Lizards.
She remembered the names from their conversation in the car.

“Hello,” she said and shook each outstretched hand. “What brings you to Spring?”

Tom hooked his thumbs in his the belt loops of his jeans. “Business, mostly.”

“Are you playing around here?”

“Nah,” Spider Monkey said, “just checking up on Shade and exploring some opportunities in this area.”

“It’s good to have you. I need to finish setting up, but everyone else should be here shortly.”

“I’ll be right back,” Shade said to his friends and then turned his attention toward Candi. He lowered his voice. “I need to talk to you about Kelly.”

She hadn’t expected that. “Kelly? What is it? Is something wrong?” Panic took her breath and she didn’t know why.

“Relax,” he said and followed her to the closet door. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“You should ask her to sing tonight. She has a song ready. It’s not for congregational singing so you’ll have to slot her in to the offertory spot, or just let her sing it as a special song.”

“But Kelly doesn’t like to sing by herself. She’s shy.”

“Shy, yes, but no shrinking violet. Just ask her tonight and see how it goes.”

He picked up two music stands and turned to walk away.

She grabbed his sleeve. “Hold on a minute. How do you know this? I’ve been trying for a year to get her to sing by herself, and she doesn’t seem interested. I know she has the talent, but she shuts down every time I try to give her a lead on something.”

“It’s not that she doesn’t want to sing, she just doesn’t want to sing what
you
want her to sing. You want her to do what the rest of the band is doing but, the truth is, she’s much more comfortable singing her own stuff.”

“How did you find that out?”

He put the stands back down. “I overheard her singing one night before practice. She’d written this great song called
Tell Jesus
. I helped her tighten it up a bit and make a chord chart so the band could play along if she wanted us to. I’m telling you she’s ready.”

She pushed a piece of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “All right. I’ll ask her.”

He lifted the stands again. “Anything else?”

She nodded toward Spider Monkey and Tom who had discovered a pew Bible and a tithing envelope and seemed to be discussing the two items. “So, uh, when did your colorful visitors arrive?”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. She suspected he knew she was fishing for information. Probably didn’t appreciate the word “colorful” either.

“They were at my house when I got home from work yesterday.”

They both glanced at the two men who had opened the Bible and were now taking turns sniffing the inside.

Shade leaned in. “You and Pastor Charles keep telling me I’m an evangelist. Well, I’m evangelizing. This is as close to church as those two have been since Vacation Bible School when they were kids. Consider this my first attempt at soul-winning. And you can either
help
me, or you can continue to be hung up on their colorful appearance.”

The sight of him turning away after his scathing remark was the worst thing she’d ever seen.

She limped to the closet and steadied herself against the file cabinet. More anger crept into her already saturated brain. Inside she roared like a captured lion. How dare he read Kelly better in a few short weeks that she had in two years? How dare he slice her to ribbons and then walk away? How dare he be so
right
about her once again? Especially after he’d caused her such hurt and confusion with the whole secret baby fiasco.

“Are you all right, hon?” Carol Ann’s fragrant cloud of Youth Dew made it into the room before she did.

Candi tugged at the waistband of her charcoal gray pencil skirt. “I’m fine.”

The older woman narrowed her gaze. “You don’t look fine. Did you get everything worked out with Shade and that sweet little baby?”

Candi slumped to a folding chair that was wedged between the cabinet and the wall. “There’s nothing to work out. It’s over.”

Carol Ann pulled the closet door closed and rushed toward her in the tiny space. “What happened, darlin’? I thought you were going to settle all this yesterday.”

“I can’t trust him. I thought I could, but when I heard about that baby and realized how many times he could have told me...that’s not the kind of information you withhold from someone.”

“I don’t think he was trying to deceive you. I don’t know the whole story but, according to Rocky, everything happened pretty fast. It was no secret. Perhaps he was waiting until he had more information—”

“But it’s a
baby
.” Candi left the chair and snatched the list for the music festival off the top of the cabinet. “That changes everything. He’s a father. He has responsibilities.”

“Well, sure, but it’s not as if that changes how you feel about each other. Are you afraid he doesn’t have room in his heart for a daughter
and
a love life?”

“No, of course not. I know it’s not a competition.” She flung open the second drawer and started digging through the music. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. We’ve decided not to pursue a personal relationship. He needs to focus on his daughter, and I need to focus on my work. We both have a lot going on.”

Carol Ann’s glance was skeptical. “You know,” she began as she stacked binders in the crook of her arm. “I’ve been married for a very long time to a man some would say is hard to live with. We had some pretty rough years in the beginning, but that man loves me. And we both had a lot to learn.”

Candi closed the drawer.

“My point is,” Carol Ann continued without slowing down. “There are a lot of bumps in the road in any relationship. Some big, some not so big. The one thing they have in common is most of them can be smoothed out with an honest conversation. It’s amazing how fast real communication can work out the kinks.”

“I hear you Carol Ann and I appreciate it. I do. But I don’t think it’ll make any difference this time. It’s just not meant to be.”

Carol Ann wrapped her arm around Candi’s shoulders. “You know who always says that?”

“Who?”

“The person who’s not willing to have the conversation.” Carol Ann sashayed toward the door. “I’ll keep praying about this. Now let’s get out there before someone comes looking for us.”

As they left the closet, Rocky landed at the top of the ramp and wheeled by.

His grin was laced with curiosity. “What’s going on? Are we holding auditions or something? I saw Shade and Max out in the lobby with a couple of guys who look familiar. Musicians?”

“Yes, but they’re not here to join us. They’re Dead Lizards who dropped in on Shade.”

Rocky spun around and headed back down the ramp. “That’s why they look familiar.”

Carol Ann rolled her eyes. “We’ll never get them back in here.”

As Candi approached her keyboard, Kelly and Kevin came in the side door.

Kelly dropped her things on the floor and tightened her ponytail. “What’s all the excitement out there?”

“Dead Lizards,” Candi answered.

Kevin took off like a shot.

She trained her gaze toward Kelly. “Do you want to go, too? The skinny one in black is kinda cute.”

“I’ll pass,” she said and pulled her guitar out of its case. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I’ll share the latest on Bill. All good news, by the way, and we need to discuss the music festival which is just week after next. Then we’ll talk about our new practice schedule for the youth service.”

Kelly made a face.