“He’s not here yet,” Yasmin said, adjusting her Santa hat, which had fallen down over one of her eyes. “But as I said, Cruz is eager to get to work. He’s in the live room, and he wants to do some intimate-sounding recording today. So it’s just him up there waiting. I’ll buzz you up.”
Sadie felt like she was walking a plank as she headed for the upstairs studio’s live room.Come on, Max, she mentally willed.I need you here.
She took a deep breath and entered the room. Cruz spun around in his chair, two large coffees in his hands. “Mornin’, sunshine! Figured we might need these. But I see you’re way ahead of me there. Thanks.” He took one of the coffees from her, the one intended for Max, and handed her one of his. “Sit. Please. His Highness’s team just called to tell me our boy Max isn’t feeling so hot today and is going to be late, if he shows at all.” Sadie’s heart sank. “But that’s okay. We need some alone time. Shall we deal with the elephant in the room? Let’s just dive right into that.”
“We really should.” She took a deep breath. “Cruz, what I told you about my gran was a secret. It’s not okay that you said anything about it to the press.”
Cruz’s expression seemed appropriately chastened as he dumped sugar packets into one of his coffees. “Sadie Hunter, I am so damn sorry. First off, I know I behaved like an idiot at Stagecoach from what I remember. Those Saddle ’em Up guys sure do like their Jäger bombs.” He rubbed his forehead as if still nursing a months-long hangover. “I was having so much fun with you that day, just hangin’ out.” He put his coffee down and put his hand on her arm. “Andyouknow it was all good fun, right? We werealldrinkin’, yourself included,alljust havin’ a good time. Whoever took that photo—” He shook his head. “Now,thatperson did not have the best of intentions. It happens, in this industry. The bigger you get, the more people want to take you down. Trust me, I know. You don’t get much bigger than Cruz McNeil.”
“It’s just I really needed that information about my personal life to stay—”
“There ain’t much we can do about it now but move on. You and me are a great team. So today, let’s just put our two heads down and do some good work.”
“Three heads. Max is going to get here eventually.”
“I kinda doubt that. Seems the boy went out and got plastered yesterday.”
This surprised Sadie. She knew Max, and he wasn’t a big drinker. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“Sure as shootin’. Took a page out of his old man’s book a little too soon, if you ask me. You have to actuallybea megastar before you can start exhibiting rock star behavior. But perhaps we both know the truth about Max Brody: that he’s no match for his old man.”
Sadie bristled at this. “I don’t agree with you, Cruz. Max is just as talented as Holden, but in a different way—”
Cruz laughed off her words and shook his head. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Sadie. Remember? I know the truth. That you two have been fakin’. Here, with me, you can be real. And I think you know that, since you do seem to make a habit of confiding in me. Maybe Max is going to show up, maybe he ain’t. But if you stay here today I’ll agree to work on a song withyou. And it could up your chances of actually getting to perform at the extravaganza. If you’ve got a song, you’ve got a shot. Who knows, maybe they’ll just decide to throw Johnny King up there with you.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, but Sadie sensed there was more afoot here than met the eye. Her throat felt dry and she tried sipping her coffee, but it didn’t help. Meanwhile, Cruz tapped hiscup against hers, as if everything was settled. “You’ve made the right decision. I admire you, Sadie. You have what everyone in the industry is starting to realize is a once-in-a-lifetime voice. So, let’s get to it.”
Everyone in the industry. Once-in-a-lifetime.Was he speaking the truth? Surely she’d be a fool to walk out now. She had to take her own shot here. She had to be strong. And time was running short. The Grand Ole Opry performance was supposed to be the next day, and the song was supposed to be pre-recorded so fans could stream it immediately. They had to get something down.
“Hey, Cruz, once we’re done here, do you think we could talk about those master tapes of mine you have?”
“Sure thing, doll, sure thing.”
Sadie didn’t entirely trust him, but he was right about one thing. They simply had to get to work.
Cruz stood, patting her arm in a patronizing manner as he picked up a guitar leaning against the wall. “I’ve got a few ideas for a song that will work for you and Max. Why don’t I play it, you see what you think, maybe we lay down a few vocal tracks and hear how it sounds? When and if Max surfaces we can edit him in, okay? We’re not cutting him out entirely. Fans are expecting Saxie to perform and we may just be able to make that happen for them. However, Max won’t get a writing credit, and that’s just how it’s gonna go.”
Sadie wanted to argue, but the reality was Max wasn’t there. She was writing the song with Cruz, not Max. She was also growing concerned about something else. If Cruz was claiming a writing credit on this, what else of hers was he going to try tohone in on? “What about my songs?” she ventured. “Do you get a writing credit on those, too?”
“We said we were going to stick with one thing at a time, right?Yoursongs we can talk about once we get this one done. Now, come on, let’s get to work, princess.”
—
Excuse me a moment, Sadie? I need to make a phone call. But why don’t you play back what we’ve got down here.”
After Cruz left, Sadie listened to the song once, then twice. The third time was not a charm. The song was lackluster. It was called “Christmas Love Train” and it followed the story of two lovers on a romantic holiday getaway together. There was nothing wrong with it, per se. Cruz insisted it had everything it needed to become a huge holiday hit. And it did, as Cruz insisted, have some shades of Kenny and Dolly to it. But Sadie knew she could do better. She knew she and Max, if they finally gave themselves a chance, could do better.
She checked her phone for the tenth time to see if Max had reached out, but there were no messages from him—just one from Tasha, asking her to call ASAP. But Tasha wasn’t picking up.
Sadie hit play on the song again. The weird thing was that try as she might, Sadie was unable to see where Max was going to fit into the song—or to picture him singing at all.
She stopped the playback and picked up her phone.
Hey. Happy Birthday, Max. Any chance you’re feeling better and can get here soon? I really need you here.
She hit send, before she could think better of extending an olive branch, just as Cruz reentered the room. “Texting your boyfriend?” he said, and she could hear the air quotes around the wordboyfriend.
She didn’t answer him.
