Hearts of Grey Read online

  “Never knew your sister knew this many people!” Frank yelled to his son.

  “Neither did she!” he yelled back.

  “What was that?” Frank asked.

  “Never mind, I’ll tell ya later,” he told his father.

  Rick pulled up a chair next to Katie. “Is this seat taken?” he asked.

  “Sorry, guy, that’s reserved for our friend Rick,” she told him.

  “Well, if he shows up, I’ll leave. Okay?” he said as he sat down. “This is wild, ain’t it?” he asked her.

  “A lot more than I ever dreamed it would be,” she told him.

  “What’s this I hear about you and Mike fighting?” he asked.

  “What? We’re not fighting! Who told you that?” she asked.

  “I’m talking about the banjo thing,” he told her.

  “Oh, that, yeah we’re going to do ‘Dueling Banjos.’ Have you heard it? It’s hot. Just came out a year or so ago. Everyone loves it,” she told him.

  “That’s a rad tune. Can you pull it off?” he asked.

  “You have better be more concerned about Michael. I can hold my own,” she told him.

  “Really? Did Mike tell ya that he was state champion three years running in high school?” he asked.

  “No, he seemed to have let that part out. Is he that good really?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah, he is. He would have taken it the fourth year, but he let someone else have it that year,” he told her.

  “Really? Who was that as if I didn’t know?” she asked.

  “Melissa,” he answered.

  “Gee, I would have never guessed that one,” she said with a smile.

  “You’ll never find a brother and sister any closer than those two,” he told her.

  “No kidding. It almost makes me wish that I had a brother or sister. Guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” she told him.

  “Trust me, I know the feeling,” he said.

  “So were you serious about what you said earlier?” she asked.

  “Serious? About what?” he asked back.

  “About you and Melissa getting married,” she answered.

  “Aww, hell, I don’t know. I’ve loved her ever since we were kids, and we’ve dated off and on over the years. But marriage? Not too sure about that. Melissa is a very beautiful woman, there’s no doubting that, but I’m not too sure that I’m ready to settle down and have a family. Not yet anyways. Besides, what kind of life would we have with her being off at school and all? No, I’m not too sure either of us are ready for that yet. But if I were to get married, there’s only two women in the world that I would ever consider getting hitched to, and you’re already spoken for. So that leaves Melissa in a field all of her own,” he told her.

  “Yeah. You know, I’ve thought about getting married and raisin’ a family. Hell, all women dream of that I’m sure. But I’m not ready for that yet. But I can see me living out my days with Mike. There’s something special about him. I can’t put my finger on it, or maybe it’s everything all rolled up into one nice little bundle. But if he ever asked me to marry him, ready or not, I think that I would say yes. But that’s just between you and I, right? Don’t see no reason to get Mike all worked up over it if you know what I mean. But I do love him—a lot,” she told him.

  “Relax, Katie. Your secret is safe with me,” he answered.

  “Good. Thanks, Rick,” she said as she reached out and took his hand in hers. “You’re a good friend, Rick.”

  Just then, Mike looked over at Katie and saw her holding on to Rick’s hand. “Hey, what’s going on here? Rick, you trying to steal my girl?” he asked.

  “Oh yeah, we’re going to run away and get married and have a hundred kids,” Rick responded.

  “Cool. Don’t forget to send me a Christmas card,” Mike answered back with a grin that could be described as humorous.

  “Well, maybe we will at that?” Katie snapped back.

  “State champion three years running, huh?” she asked.

  Mike was surprised that she had found out his little surprise, then he glanced over at Rick. “Rick, you talk too much,” he snapped.

  “That I do, but I mean well. Besides, it’s not like it was a secret or anything. Hell, everyone in town knows,” Rick responded.

  “Well, now everyone does for sure,” Mike responded back.

  Melissa was up on stage fighting to get everyone’s attention. Finally, after some much repeated yelling, the crowd started to quiet down.

  “Hey, ya all, having a good time?” she yelled to the crowd. They all responded with a very loud monstrous yes.

  “Are you ready for some good old foot-stomping southern music?” she yelled out. Again, she got the same reply from the crowd.

  “Good! Glad to hear it ’cause have I got a surprise for ya all. Ya all know my brother, Mike, right? Well, him and his new girlfriend, which happens to be the newest addition to our family, are about to duel it out on their banjos. So let’s give a great big southern round of welcome to Mike and Katie. Come on, everybody, make some noise!”

  The crowd was going crazy.

  Katie looked at Rick. “Guess that’s my cue,” she told him as she stood up.

  “Knock them dead, Katie!” Rick yelled to her as she headed for the stage. But he couldn’t be sure that she had heard him over the roar of the crowd.

  “Come on, Katie, your fans are waiting,” Melissa yelled to her. Katie finally got up on the stage where Melissa grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the center of the stage.

  “Everybody, I’d like to introduce to you the very sweet, loveable Katie Windslow. Ain’t she just the prettiest little thing?” Melissa yelled to the crowd.

  Katie caught the hang of it rather quickly. “How ya all doing? Glad to meet all of you!” she yelled, and the crowd yelled back.

  Mike came up on stage carrying both banjos. “Hey, everyone. I’ve just talked to the band, and they’re going to sit this one out. Until we finish the dueling part at least. So, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, kick back and enjoy or stomp your feet and clap your hands. For this is ‘Dueling Banjos’ Southern style.”

  Katie led it off with Michael repeating everything that she played. They started off slowly then got faster and faster. Finally, they broke into a very fast picking session. They played as fast as they could and as hard as they could for nearly twenty minutes before the band joined in. The crowd was going nuts. They were lovin’ it.

  When it was finally over, the crowd got even louder. Neither one of Mike and Katie had missed a single note. Their battle was surely a tie.

  Melissa yelled at the crowd. “Well? Was that great or what? I think it was pretty damn good myself!” she yelled to the crowd.

  Nobody noticed that Melissa had a banjo too.

  “Well, here’s a little bonus for ya!” she yelled as she looked over at Katie and Mike. “Everybody, this time, it’s time for some ‘Rocky Mountain Breakdown’!” she yelled to the crowd. “So all of you that know how to pick or strung or whatever you do to make music, get your butts up here. The rest of you can stomp your feet and clap your hands. Let’s wake up those sleepy people way down Texas. Can we do that?” she yelled.

  The crowd yelled, “Hell yeah!”

  “What? I can’t hear ya!” Melissa yelled back.

  Again the crowd yelled, “Hell yeah!” This time, it was much louder.

  After everyone was up on stage and ready, Melissa took control again. “Okay, Texas, it’s time to get your lazy asses out of bed!”

  Melissa signaled to those on the stage as Melissa, Katie, and Mike started it off with the rest of the instruments jumping in. There were four banjos, five guitars, four mandolins, five harmonicas, and half dozen fiddles.

  The music was loud, and it was good, the very best bluegrass picking session that the state of Georgia had heard in a long time. And as the song reached the middle, every group of instruments took center stage as the other instruments yielded to their moment in t
he spotlight.

  It soon turned into a half hour of continuous, nonstop picking. The crowd was going crazy. And as the players took the banjos to a very slow closing, slowing with each and every strum of the strings, the crowd went quiet so they could hear each and every bit of the melody. But as the last note was heard. There were a few moments of total silence. Then the crowd went wild. It was a picture-perfect ending to a great song.

  Katie, Mike, and Melissa put their instruments on their stands and left the stage. Those musicians left on the stage, including Mike’s dad, Frank, and his fiddle, continued playing.

  The three of them walked over to where Grady was busy cooking the chicken.

  “Grady, I thought you were going to join us,” Mike asked him.

  “Aww, you kids did fine without me. The fingers aren’t what they used to be, I reckon. Besides the chicken needed tending,” he replied.

  “Well, sorry you missed it,” Mike answered back.

  “Didn’t miss a thing. You kids did a great job. I heard every note. So who won?” he asked.

  “Well, I would say that it was a tie, but Katie won just because she’s cuter than my brother,” Melissa told him.

  “I would have to agree” Mike replied.

  “No really, I tried to outpick ya. I really did, but I just couldn’t. So I guess you were right. You are good. In fact, the only thing that you do better than picking a banjo is . . . well, kissing,” Katie told Mike.

  “Well so are you. Grady was right when he said that you could hold your own against the best. And as far as the kissing thing goes, practice makes perfect,” he replied.

  About that time, Rick walked up to where they were. “That, my friends, was great,” Rick told them.

  “Why weren’t you up there with your fiddle?” Mike asked.

  Rick just looked at him as if he was stupid or something. Then Mike realized that bandages still covered his jaw, which would make it nearly impossible to rest it on the instrument.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Rick, I wasn’t thinking. Maybe next time?” he told him.

  “Ain’t your fault, but, Grady, what’s in this sauce? This chicken is out of this world,” Rick told him.

  “Sorry, sonny, ain’t telling. Hell, I even had some southern gentlemen who was either thinking about or already had opened a store that sells nothing but chicken. Imagine that, a store that sells nothing but chicken. Ain’t going to work. What was his name? Sanders I think. He wanted to know what was in it too. Even offered to pay me for it. I told him that it just wasn’t for sale. Colonel . . . Colonel Sanders, that was his name. Nice guy, not too business savvy, I reckon,” Grady told Rick.

  “Really? The colonel wanted your recipe?” Rick asked.

  “Yeah, why do you know him?” Grady asked.

  “Uuhhh, yeah, I read an article about a guy call Colonel Sanders who was selling franchises selling chicken, just chicken,” he explained.

  “You’re kidding! The damn fool went and did it. Well, I’ll be. Just chicken you say?” he asked.

  “Yep, just chicken,” Rick told him.

  “Sounds like a pretty smart man. I bet he’s glad that he didn’t listen to me then, I reckon. Just chicken, never would have figured that one,” Grady said as he rubbed his chin.

  For the next ten hours, the party raged on. There was singing, dancing, and a whole lot of good ole southern music. The last person left about ten o’clock that night.

  Seated on the front porch were Grady, Katie, Mike, and Melissa. Melissa walked over and gave Grady a great big hug and a big kiss on the side of his cheek.

  “Wow, what was that for?” he asked.

  “For the greatest homecoming party a girl could ever hope for. It was fantastic, and I owe it all to you. Thank you, Grady,” she told him.

  “Well, you’re very welcome, my dear. And thank you too, I might add. I hear that you and my Katie are fast becoming very good friends,” he told her.

  “Your daughter is a very likable person. She’s kind of like a sister that I never had, so the pleasure is all mine for sure,” she told him.

  “Well, you’re fast becoming a part of this family. Both of you have brought joy and love into this house, and I know that I speak for Katie as well when I say that our lives are better because of the two of you,” Grady added.

  “Well, I know that my brother is deeply in love with Katie, so if they keep going like they have been, I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if she does become a member of our family faster than any one of us expects,” she told him as she looked at Mike and Katie.

  “All right, you two, that’s enough of that. Whatever happens between me and Katie will be decided by me and Katie. We don’t need any help from you two,” Mike told both of them.

  “Wow, a bit touchy, are we?” Melissa said with a smile.

  “Not at all. Just stopping this before it goes any further, that’s all,” Mike explained.

  “We’ve already talked about the future, more or less, with no definite plans, mind you, but we’re very happy right where we are at this present moment. Aren’t we, sweetheart?” Katie said as she looked for Michael to back her up.

  “That’s right. I hate to bring this day to a close, but I really think it’s time for Melissa and I to be going—church comes mighty early. And I hope to be wide-awake when Katie does her solo tomorrow. Are you going to be there, Grady, to hear your daughter sing?” he asked.

  “Haven’t decided yet, but I was thinking about it,” Grady told him.

  “So you’ve decided to go ahead and sing your solo then? Great, do you know what song you’re going to do then?” Melissa asked.

  “Yeah, I thought that I’d do ‘Peace in the Valley.’ I know that it’s not a church hymn per se, but its message sure is,” Katie replied.

  “Good choice, I love that song. I can’t wait to hear it. But Mike is right. We really do need to get going. Grady, thank you once again, it was a beautiful party. Hell, you had my parents out there dancing. Never thought I would see that. Anyways, good night to both of you, and I hope to see both of you tomorrow in church,” Melissa told them as she grabbed her personal stuff and waited for her brother.

  “We’ll see. Hell, a little church never hurt anyone, I reckon,” Grady answered.

  Mike and Katie said a fast good night as she walked them to their car.

  “Your dad is one in a million, Katie,” Melissa told her.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll see if I can’t get him to church tomorrow. Good night, you two,” she said as she closed the door of the car. Mike and Katie kissed each other through the open window. “I love you,” they said to each other at very same time. They both giggled as Mike slowly drove away.

  Party of Her Own

  While Mike, Melissa, and Katie were busy enjoying their party, Susie was busy planning a party of her own. Her plan was so damn simple that she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it sooner. She had decided that killing Katie was unnecessary. But instead, she would simply make it where Mike wouldn’t ever want to touch her again. It would be so damn easy. So she dressed in the most nondescript clothes that she could find. Just in case something did in fact go wrong, nobody would remember her. And she headed toward the worst part of town. Every city, every town had one, a section of town that was either discarded or undeveloped and left to fend for itself. Sure, there was a police present here on the trash-lined streets, but nothing as it should have been, or once was for that matter. The worse of the worse called this part of town their own. So she searched into the early-morning hours. From one sleazy bar and then on to the next, she looked for just the right type of guy to fill her need. It was one-thirty in the morning, and she was about to call it quits when she saw a bar that she hadn’t noticed until then.

  The place was a run-down building that more resembled a condemned building than an operating bar. The flashing neon sign outside above the door read “The Dive.” One look and Susie knew without questions why someone had decided to call it by that name. Just the sme
ll alone damn near made her throw up as she entered the front doors. She knew that she was indeed in the right place.

  She took a table over in the corner and slowly studied every guy in the place. Then this waitress came over to her table. One look at this overweight, tattoo-covered, one-toothed, whatever she wanted to be called, made Susie’s skin crawl. Her body odor told Susie that she didn’t believe in bathing. Her name tag said “Baby,” and Susie wondered what kind of sick animal it would take to give birth to someone like this baby thing that now stood before her.

  She ordered a beer in hopes that she would leave her table quicker. Thank God that it worked. Then her attention turned to the guy playing pool. She studied him. After five minutes, she knew that he was her guy. When the waitress brought her beer, she asked her to send the guy a beer and make sure he knew who sent it. She said that she would. Susie didn’t have to wait very long. She watched as the waitress brought the guy a beer and pointed a finger at Susie. The guy tossed the pool cue on the table and joined her at her table.

  His dirty, unwashed hair, his green teeth, and the same odor that the waitress had confirmed her thoughts—he was the one.

  “Well, lookie here. What do we have here?” he asked.

  “Relax, Romeo. I have a business proposition for ya,” she told him.

  “You a hooker? I ain’t got no money,” he said.

  “No, I’m not a hooker, asshole! I’ve been sent here to recruit you and three of your friends for a special job,” she told him.

  “I ain’t got but two friends. Unless you count Leroy—no, wait, he died last week. Nope just two,” he answered.

  “Fine, I’m sure that you and your two friends can find another friend, can’t ya?” she asked.

  “Well, never thought about it before. Maybe?” he replied.