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The warmth and intensity brought tears to her eyes.
“Dolley, don’t make her cry,” Bess chided from across the table. “Is she hounding you to pose for her? She’s obsessed with taking pictures. Dolley, behave.”
Carolina choked out a watery laugh. Now Bess was protecting her. And Abby was so flexible about her work schedule.
She’d always longed for siblings. The Fitzgeralds had each other’s backs. What would growing up with that kind of love have been like?
Sage’s hand settled on her shoulder. Had she ever had this kind of comfort and concern from anyone but her grandparents?
“Let’s bring our dessert to the music room.” Abby gathered dishes and everyone followed suit. “I’m hoping Carolina will test out the baby grand and tell me if it’s worth moving to the restaurant.”
“I’ll tell you what I can.” Carolina removed her dishes and followed everyone else’s actions. She’d expected a flock of servants to be handling cleanup. But the family, including the two kids, pitched in.
“What’s wrong?” Sage asked as they headed down the hall.
She lied again. “Dolley asked about Mamá. And I… I guess I’m tired. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about her cancer.”
Sage tightened his arm around her shoulder. “Try not to borrow trouble.”
Hadn’t Ella always said that to her? “Did I tell you my friend is coming from Nashville?”
“No.” His arm stiffened on her shoulder.
“Ella. My accompanist. An old roommate,” she blurted out. “She’s heading to Hilton Head, but will stay for a few weeks.”
“Oh.” He brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “I was worried it was an old boyfriend.”
“I don’t have any of those.” She snuggled into his warmth.
The second-floor parlor was a music room. A baby grand anchored a corner of the room, but old instruments filled glass cases along one wall. Carolina spun, trying to take in everything. “It’s wonderful.”
Abby smiled. “We almost pulled everything out and turned it into another bedroom. None of us played an instrument. But I thought guests might like to play sometime.”
Carolina left Sage’s side and headed to the piano, flipping open the keyboard. She searched through the music in the bench. “What a shame no one played.”
“Well, Papa did,” Bess said. “I remember him playing piano.”
“And guitar, too,” Carolina murmured. He would play while Mamá sang. Carolina would sit on the stairs and listen when she was supposed to be asleep.
“You’re right.” Abby stared at her. “How did you know that?”
Oh, God. Her heart pounded. She’d screwed up. But on top of the pile of sheet music was a score for guitar. “There’s guitar music here. I guess I meant it as a question.”
“He didn’t play much.” Abby frowned. “I wonder what happened to his guitar.”
It was at her mother’s house. The dinner she’d managed to swallow threatened to come up.
Abby set out a plate of bars. Bess put down a silver tray with a coffee carafe and a cream and sugar set that matched the cups and saucers.
Thanks goodness her mother didn’t want her to take things like that.
“What do you think?” Abby asked. “I know that you don’t do piano bar, but can you play something?”
“I’m not a virtuoso.” Carolina sorted through the sheet music and found a song she knew. She played the opening, wincing a little. “When did you last have this tuned?”
Abby looked at her sisters. “Never.”
“Yikes.” Carolina winced again.
“Will you still sing for us?” Liam asked.
Sage sat at the bench with her. “I’d like a preview.”
“Sure.” She couldn’t stop her blush at the attention focused on her.
She played the opening again. She’d been practicing on Mamá’s keyboard, but the action on this keyboard was so much harder. “This is a classic.”
She took a deep breath. Keeping her voice low, she sang.
“‘Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling,
From glen to glen and down the mountain side,
The summer’s gone and all the roses falling,
It’s you, it’s you, must go and I must bide.’”
The room grew quiet. Too quiet. She kept singing, blocking out her uncertainty on what they thought. Was tonight another audition?
Tossing back her hair, she drew out the last note, not holding back. She wouldn’t let doubt in. She was good enough to sing in Abby’s restaurant.
Sage moved first. Kissing her cheek, he clapped. “Incredible.”
