“Anyway,” he continued, “back to that phone call. Christine didn’t say much. Then she suddenly rushed out, back to Room 2, and I barely had time to hide. I went in to check the phone number and even dialed it several times, that night and the next day. No one ever answered—so I deleted the number. I just thought having it on our phone might lead to…some kind of problem. And I was pretty sure my parents wouldn’t want to know about it.”

SHE WAS ABOUT to thank him and hang up when he suggested they get together sometime soon. His stammer and the invitation itself told her how lonely he was. How uncertain that she’d agree. She said yes, they’d arrange something soon, she’d be in touch. Shallie felt grateful to him for the information—and appreciated that he was making an effort to be friendly, to be useful, to create a bond. Their unpleasant past no longer worried her; they’d both changed, were still changing. She knew she was. And this new openness on his part clearly indicated that he was, too.

SHE ADDED THE new information to her list, then hurried downstairs and asked Cord if he’d mind printing off her notes. She also told him about Russ and his interest in seeing her. “Good plan,” he said. “There’s a lot more you could end up learning. Plus, the guy could use a friend.”

Then they went out for the next phase of that day’s work. He planned to teach her how to teach, considering that she’d be dealing with his new clients.

CHAPTER NINE

LATE THAT AFTERNOON, back in her suite, half reading, half dozing, Shallie was startled by a knock on her door. Carly opened it an inch or two and peered in. “Sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to you?”

“Of course!”

As Carly entered, Shallie moved to the edge of the bed, where they sat side by side. Carly’s voice was shaky. “You’ve probably guessed that I haven’t been telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but…”

Shallie wanted to tread carefully through this uncertain territory. “Go on.”

“You might’ve noticed that those people at the country music night—the ones in that booth near the back—knew something about me.”

“I wondered.” Shallie purposely didn’t make any comment or ask any leading questions.

Carly then launched into what turned out to be a lengthy and fairly complicated story. About her YouTube channel, My 3 Dads, and how it included performances and updates, the money she’d earned, the fact that her YouTube name was, in fact, her real one, Charlotte. She described the ongoing announcements she made in her videos—and Shallie immediately clued in.