Part 291
As Sarah and AJ entered the venue, it was deathly quiet. Making their way to the stage, Sarah grabbed AJ’s hand.
"What’s wrong, ‘Tigger’?" laughed AJ.
"I HATE being alone in an empty venue."
"But ‘Tigger’…you aren’t alone. I’m with you and I’ll protect you."
As AJ put his arm around her, she cracked, "Who’s gonna protect me from YOU?"
"ME," boomed Billy from behind them scaring the life out of Sarah.
"Jesus, Billy! Why don’t you warn someone?" said Sarah.
"What are you two up to?"
"Working on material," answered AJ unaffected by Billy’s presence.
Sarah knew she had to tell Billy the truth so she said, "Billy, sweetie…you HAVE to promise not to say a word to Howie."
"About what?" questioned Billy suspiciously.
"I’m singing tonight but…."
"NO! You’re NOT!" responded Billy in an almost fatherly tone. "You collapsed less than forty-eight hours ago!"
"Please?" begged Sarah giving him her best pout, the one that ALWAYS worked on Howie.
"Don’t EVEN try that on me! It may work on your husband, but NOT me."
Sarah decided the direct approach was her only option now. "Okay, fine! You’re paid to PROTECT me. You tell Howie I’m singing and it’s gonna cause a HUGE argument and THAT is NOT protecting me. Not to mention, it’s NOT good for my blood pressure and we ALL know high blood pressure isn’t good for a pregnant woman."
Billy eyed Sarah realizing she had a point. Conceding, he grumbled, "FINE…but if anything happens to you…"
"You can get in line to yell at her," said AJ. "Right behind Nick, Kevin, Brian, Howie, and me."
Sarah watched Billy sulk away to the front seats to watch as the two headed to the stage.
AJ looked at Sarah as she let out the breath she’d been holding. "Dayum, Tigger! You ARE better…I mean, going head to head with Billy like that takes nerve."
"Yeah…I’m fine. Now, let’s go over the play list I came up with."
The two had beaten the band and the sound crew to the venue after lunch in an attempt to make it look like they were really working on new material. Now, as they waited, they sat on the edge of the stage and looked over the play list.
"The songs are all by Shania Twain except for this one, ‘This Kiss’…it’s by Faith Hill."
"It’s all country music, Sarah. It’s NOT gonna go over with our audience."
"In the States, probably not and I wouldn’t even try but Shania is from Canada. I think it will be fine. Most of the songs are upbeat and fun and after the duet with Howie, he’ll give me the perfect lead in to ‘This Kiss’."
AJ shook his head, "You’ve learned a lot, Sarah….about music, performing…your husband. Now, mind telling me why you’re breaking your promise to Howie? Nick and I have no problem helping you but it would be nice to know why when Kevin and Howie explode."
Sarah laughed, "Okay…first off, most of these songs express my feelings for Howie perfectly and I’m doing them for him. The biggest reason is for me though. I did the last three shows because I couldn’t let whoever did this win…I couldn’t change MY life because of what they did. I couldn’t get to LA to record but I could go ahead and sing. I’m doing tonight and stopping on MY terms…not because of what happened or because I’m tired or scared but because I want to take some time off to rest and focus on my family."
"Logical. That’s cool, Tigger. Here comes the band. We need to get this done before the others get here. Nick’s gonna call when they are on the way."
Sarah spent the next two hours going through her set song by song. AJ worked with her giving her pointers but it wasn’t necessary. She had everything under control and he was impressed. Sarah was taking charge of her career and her life again. The scare in Ottawa had definitely brought her around and before him was the Sarah he had fallen in love with…strong, confident, and very in love with her husband….his best friend.
Sarah finished the last song and said, "Guys, thanks for your help."
"We’re glad to do it," said Mook giving her a hug. "I’m just glad to see you smiling again."
"She won’t be smiling when Howie gets through with her," cracked Chris from the soundboard. "I heard Howie at lunch. He’s DEAD SET against you performing tonight."
"Don’t worry about Howie," smiled Sarah. "He’ll be ticked to start out but he’ll listen to reason. On the other hand though, Kevin will be a different story."
"Don’t worry about Kevin. Howie will NEVER let him go after you," said AJ.
From the wings, Howie asked, "Why would Kevin go after her?"
Startled, Sarah turned to see Howie making his way to her and she asked, "Where the hell did you come from?"
Laughing, Howie gave her a kiss and said, "Nice to see you too, Angel."
Embarrassed, Sarah hugged him, "That’s NOT what I meant. You just surprised me. I thought you and Jesse were at the hospital. Where is she anyway?"
Disgusted, Howie said, "Nick was playing with Jesse at the hotel before we came over here and the two of them fell in the water fountain in the lobby. Jess is soaked and Nick lost his cell phone in the water so they’re back at the hotel getting changed and trying to find the phone."
Sarah and AJ exchanged looks of frustration. They were BOTH worried that Nick was going to completely screw all this up.
"So, Angel, why would Kevin come after you?"
Sarah looked to AJ for help as she stammered, "Uh, we were just talking…"
"About what Kevin would do if Sarah went against his wishes and sang," finished AJ coolly.
"It’s not Kevin’s problem," said Howie. "She’s MY wife and if anyone is gonna chew her out, it’ll be me, but she’s gonna be a good girl and NOT do anything against MY wishes. Right, Sarah?"
"Sure, baby," answered Sarah sweetly as the guys in the band rolled their eyes. "Let’s go to your dressing room, D."
"I’ll keep an eye on Jesse when she gets here for you if you two want some time alone," offered AJ.
"Thanks, ‘J’," called Howie as he led Sarah off-stage.
With the couple gone, Mook said, "Think he suspects anything?"
"Probably, but Sarah will handle him. I’ll talk to you later, guys."