Free A Lie for a Lie by Emilie Richards

next to him. Then he held her there and invited all who were present to join him in the chorus.
     
     
    They say a brand-new world awaits
A promise has been made
But who’ll be here to greet us
When the rainbow starts to fade?
     
    He continued alone, while Veronica blushed prettily beside him, and Lisa Lee swayed back and forth over the keys.
    I’ll confess, right after I was conned into becoming Fred’s assistant, I borrowed the DVD of Wayfarers of the Ark from the library and corralled the girls to watch it with me. Until then I had forgotten how lovely this theme song was when sung by the teenaged Grady. Now I was happy to find that his voice was still sweet, clear, and effective, and the song that much more moving because of it.
    Grady might be twenty-five years older than the teenaged Idan pining for the world before the flood, but his boyish good looks had held. He was a man now, with broader shoulders and a more substantial build. Silver threaded through the golden hair, artfully, of course, almost as if Mother Nature had gotten help scattering it in the right places. But the changes only added a hint of power to his stage presence. He looked warm, approachable, more Bing Crosby in The Bells of St. Mary than Anthony Hop-kins in Silence of the Lambs . If I hadn’t spent three weeks poring over a list of ridiculous demands, I might have fallen under his spell. At least I could still admire his acting ability.
    He finished, and the crowd went wild again. He released Veronica, gave a short, humble bow, and held his hand out to Lisa Lee. “Where did you find such an extraordinary pianist?” he asked.
    I happened to be looking at Lisa and wishing, not for the first time, that Junie hadn’t dumped her pianist lover until I’d had a few more lessons. Lisa was smiling, but I thought her eyes weren’t quite as friendly.
    “Oh, I’ve just been hanging around Emerald Springs hoping you would come back so I could play for you,” she said sweetly.
    Everybody applauded again, then people began to move forward to crowd around Grady for a chance to speak to him.
    “Well, that went well,” a familiar voice said.
    I turned and saw that Fred had come up behind me. I introduced him to Ed, who managed to be polite. “Glad our superstar made it,” I said. “And he really does have a wonderful voice.”
    “He must have come in through the back. I’ll introduce you when the crowd thins.”
    Since I’d have to meet Grady sooner or later, I nodded. By the time we finally got our wine, Fred came back to take us over to his boss. Ed, who by that point was deeply involved in a conversation with a councilman about parking near the church, declined. I figured that meeting Grady couldn’t be worse than broken meters and restricted zones.
    We waited at the edge of the crowd for our turn, and finally Fred drew me forward. “Grady, I want you to meet Aggie Sloan-Wilcox, who’s taken care of so many of the arrangements to make you comfortable while you’re here.”
    Grady turned a warm smile in my direction, and I held out my hand. “We’re honored to have you working with us,” I said.
    “The pleasure is mine. And I realize how much you’re doing to make this easier. All my traveling is a real drain, so I appreciate every extra comfort.”
    He had a lot to appreciate, then, but I didn’t say so. He turned to Fred, and the smile died. “Where in the hell were you, Fred? I got here and you weren’t anywhere to be found.”
    Fred shot me a quick glance and gave a slight shake of his head, but Grady didn’t pay attention. The tone of his voice dropped fifteen degrees. “You know I want you within reach at all times.”
    “Something came up, and I had to take care of it.”
    “Take care of things on your own time, not when you’re supposed to be watching out for me.”
    Fred touched his head, his glasses, and he swallowed hard. I bristled self-righteously for the pathetic wuss, but what could I say? I didn’t know