Love's Road Home Read Free

and looked at him with a small, hopeful smile on her face. "Please, can we start over again? Like you said, it’ll be a long five weeks if we can’t act civil to each other."
    Studying Bethany ’s face, Tom tried once again to not think about being more than civil to each other. A slightly upturned nose. High cheekbones and expressive silvery-blue eyes. Full lips and smooth, sun-kissed skin. Nice features individually, but together they formed a picture of true beauty. He really wanted to get to know this woman better.
    "All right. But this is your last chance. You can only push my restart button a couple of times before I completely shut down." Tom gave her a quick smile to soften his words, letting her know he was kidding. After taking another sip of whiskey, he asked, "But really, how was your first day as a roadie? Things go okay?"
    Beth nodded. "Yeah. We loaded up as much as we could on the truck today, and we’re going to finish up tomorrow after the band’s final rehearsal. Cole, Mike, and the other guys were really helpful. They showed me what to do and didn’t yell too much if I messed up."
    "You’ll get the hang of it. The crew seems like a good group, and we really are glad your father took the job as road manager. I think Freestone Records did the right thing in asking him to work with us. With his help, and the way the tour schedule has been planned out, we’re thinking things will run pretty smooth."
    "I haven’t had time to check out the exact tour itinerary." Beth leaned an elbow on the bar and propped her cheek against her curled hand. "We’re hitting some major cities on the East Coast, right?"
    "Major cities, minor cities, and everywhere in between. Basically, this is Roadhouse’s trial run in the limelight. If we can’t fill the seats, there’s no sense in planning any more tour dates after this trip. And Marty, our manager, arranged a very specific route, too."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Marty is big with building anticipation. He wants to draw in as many fans and ticket buyers as he can along the way. What better way to do that than through local media coverage and word of mouth?"
    Bethany still looked puzzled so Tom continued on. "It’s like this. Our first show is in Jacksonville —only a hundred and fifty miles away yet it’s far enough to be a pain when getting the equipment moved. But when the reviews of our performance hit the TV and newspapers, Jacksonville is close enough so people here in the Savannah area might catch some of them. Assuming we do a good job and the talk is good, our next show in Macon will have gained some additional concertgoers."
    "But you guys have been playing around here for years. Wouldn’t anybody who’d wanted to see you perform done so by now? And all it would have cost them would’ve been a cover charge for the bar entry. Why would anybody be foolish enough to shell out an indecent amount of money to see a less intimate show in a big auditorium?" A stricken look came across Beth’s face, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Please don’t be offended. That really was just an innocent question, not a personal attack."
    Tom let a soft laugh escape. "Don’t worry. I’m beginning to see how you are. Speak first, think later. But in answer to your question, everyone who might’ve wanted to see Roadhouse perform wasn’t able to before. Not all country music fans are gray-haired old ladies, you know. We’re attracting listeners of all ages, some who’ve even crossed over from the rock or pop scene. Actually, the first time that ‘Dandelions’ was played on the radio it was on a Top 40 station, not a country one."
    "So this tour really is an opportunity for all your fans to see you."
    "Definitely. And since these shows will be a lot more extravagant than anything we’ve done in the local clubs, even the fans who’ve seen us before won’t get the same old thing. The sound, the lighting, the whole atmosphere will be different in these larger