Tate Read Free

someone besides Audra - to help keep my sanity. I interviewed several people, but when Deidre Pierson talked to me I liked her immediately. She was the one who would help tend to my personal life while I was on the road. She’d take care of correspondence, keep my calendar, book my travel, and make sure I had groceries when I came home, but most importantly, she would look after Sadie.
    Sadie and I had been together since I was twenty. She was a dark-haired beauty and I knew instantly that she and Deidre would get along fine.
    “How old is she?” Deidre asked, as she loved on her.
    “She’s almost eleven. She likes a good belly rub and a bath,” I said, as Deidre obliged, rubbing the belly of the chocolate lab that reciprocated by nudging her hand and slobbering her with wet kisses.
    “Oh, we’ll be best buddies,” she laughed as Sadie rolled on her back for more
    ***
     
    I was getting ready for a mall concert and a couple of Nashville morning news programs that streamed live on the Internet. There had already been a Tate Morrow Fan Page established on Facebook with over 50,000 followers to date. It was beginning. I felt both anxious and excited.
    Audra barked orders to Deidre and me all morning - a whole lot of  ‘we have to do this,’ and ‘you need to do that’. Women have never bossed me around. Even my mama and two sisters suggested things. I’m not sure I like it, but they say Audra’s the best, so I’ll deal with it – for a while.
    She had Deidre almost in tears twice this morning. I flashed her a wink to let her know it’d be all right. Deidre and I had already developed a silent language when Audra was around. That woman pushes buttons connected to a ‘you’re pissing me off’ mechanism I didn’t know I had.
    Audra and I had spent the day before shopping for jeans and shirts for some of the upcoming appearances on my schedule.
    “We have to take these to get them fitted,” Audra said.
    “Fitted?” I asked. “We spent all day yesterday trying shit on and now it has to be fitted?”
    “Trust me on this, Tate. I know what I’m doing,” she snarled.
    “Whatever,” I mumbled.
    “Look, you’re already well on your way. I’m the one who can get you to the level of the big guns. They’re comparing you to Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley, two of the highest grossing entertainers of all time. We’re just getting started. Trust me.”
     
    I followed Audra to an appointment across town with a seamstress. Finally, we pulled up in front of a little shop. It looked like a house, but judging by the stores on either side – a coffee shop to one side and a print shop on the other - I knew this was a business. I stepped out of my truck to follow Audra inside. When we entered, I saw her.
    “Maisie.” Audra addressed her in a snippy, rude voice.
    I turned to look at her. “That sounded like a bark. Really, Audra?” I said in a soft voice.
    “It’s quite alright, I’m used to it,” the woman said sweetly, but I noticed that the smile she directed to Audra was the biggest, phoniest smile I’d ever seen. She glanced my way and quickly looked back to Audra. “What are we doing today?”
    As she spoke, I looked at her, and I swear I saw sugar rolling off her tongue. I wanted to laugh.
    “He needs these shirts taken in, and if there’s a way to tighten those jeans up, do it. Got it, Maisie?” Audra continued to order.
    “Don’t I always?”
    She smiled again, and I believed that the sparkle in her eyes was so bright, the stars must be jealous. She was sitting down. Everything about her said she was small, but I figured by her remarks that she could handle her own. She had curly, long dark hair. As she moved, there was a reddish brightness to it when the light hit it. Her eyes were the brightest blue I’d ever seen. I just wanted to keep staring at her – she was stunning.
    Audra was still barking orders to her. “We’ll need a tux and a couple of suits taken in as well, but these jeans