She rolled her eyes and set the dead bolt. Running upstairs to her living room, she grabbed the portable phone and dialed his cell number.

“Didn’t I just leave you?” he asked when he answered.

She could hear the smile in his voice. “I was very concerned about you getting mugged on the way to your car.”

“Yet you have no fear of walking home alone on this same street late at night. Ironic, no?”

“You sound so prissy when you use that tone.”

“What tone?”

“That tone. Was that a yawn?”

“You’re hearing things.”

“I told you not to wait for me. Now you’ll have to talk to me all the way home so I won’t worry about you falling asleep on the road.” She heard the double beep of him unlocking his car.

“I’m not going to fall asleep. I’m in the car, so you can go to bed now.”

“Talk to me some more, will you?” she asked softly.

“What’s the matter, darlin’?”

“Nothing. Just kind of homesick today.”

“Did you call home?”

“Yeah, but the babies were crazy so my dad and Andi couldn’t talk. Maggie was at her friend’s house. I couldn’t reach my mom, and Jill was in class.”

“I’m sorry. You’ll be going home for a couple of days at Christmas, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s almost a month away.”

“Well, think of it this way—at least you’re making some progress here. You’ve gotten to sing a few times in public, and now there’s this possibility with the band.”

“That’s true.”

“I haven’t said too much about this, but I know people who could help you get where you want to be—”

“No! I don’t want that, Reid. Do you hear me? Don’t pull any strings for me.”

“Hey, hey. Settle down. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

“Do you promise? You have to promise me. I don’t want it that way.”

“I promise. But if I didn’t think you had the talent, I wouldn’t have offered. You’re head and shoulders above the rest. You deserve a break.”

“If that’s true, then I’ll get one. Please, Reid. Don’t do it.”

“I said I wouldn’t.”

“Okay.”

“Since you’re determined to keep me company, will you sing for me?”

“What do you want to hear?”

“Surprise me.”

She sang “Time to Fly,” one of the songs she had written since she arrived in Nashville. When she was done he didn’t say anything. “Uh-oh. I put you to sleep, didn’t I?”

“No,” he said gruffly. “Definitely not. That was beautiful, Kate. You really have no idea how very talented you are, do you?”

“I don’t think about it all that much. It’s just something I do. It’s so much a part of me.”