Free Sweet Harmony by Luann McLane

into anything you don’t want to do, but you should be aware of the fact so you can make decisions down the road. Fair enough?”
    Jeff looked at Cat and they both nodded.
    “Good. Well, the studio is open for the rest of the afternoon if you want to rehearse. If possible, I’d like for you to perform at Sully’s on Friday and get the reaction from a live audience. Is that okay with you?”
    “Sure,” Jeff said. Cat nodded again but she didn’t look all that pleased. Jeff understood. He didn’t want to be a damned duo. One song! And that was going to be it.

6
    Got to Get You into My Life
    W HEN PETE LOOKED UP TO SEE MARIA ENTER THE FRONT door of the tavern, his heart started to thud. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a towel and started wiping down the already clean bar top. Ever since Maria’s return to Cricket Creek last Christmas, Pete had been hoping to find a way to get his ex-wife back into his life. When subtle hints failed to work, Pete decided it was high time to step up his game. He reached up to stroke his beard—a nervous habit he’d formed over the years since Maria had left him—but encountered smooth skin and then he remembered.
    That morning he’d shaved.
    During the week after Maria had left Cricket Creek for Nashville and Clint had left for college, Pete had let himself go and the result was a beard that he’d ended up keeping for the following seventeen years. After the divorce, beer and bar food became other habits, resulting in weight gain and ultimately health issues.
    While Maria visited Cricket Creek for family events, they would only see each other in passing, resulting in apolite hug and forced smile that would haunt Pete afterward. When Clint didn’t come home from California after he’d failed to get drafted into major-league baseball, Pete had been sure his son would return to Cricket Creek. Instead, Clint chose to stay and coach college baseball. Pete had missed his son like a physical ache. So much anger and words left unspoken had resulted in years of unhappiness and regret. Clint chose to visit his mother occasionally in Nashville, and Pete had heard that Maria had made several trips to California. Visits to Cricket Creek, however, had been few and far between. And when Clint confessed that he’d stayed away because he thought Pete was disappointed that he hadn’t made the major leagues, it had torn Pete apart.
    Why hadn’t he reached out to them?
    Pete gripped the edge of the bar and closed his eyes.
    Foolish pride. It had taken heart problems to knock some sense into Pete. Years of not caring about himself finally reared its ugly head.
    The return of Clint last Christmas changed all of that, and Pete now worked out on a regular basis over at the Cricket Creek Cougars baseball stadium, where Clint worked as a coach. Clint had also insisted on adding healthy choices to Sully’s menu and the result was Pete being in the best shape he’d been in for a long-ass time, and it felt damned good.
    While Pete wiped the same spot over and over he watched Maria’s progress out of the corner of his eye. She wore dark blue boot-cut jeans and a fitted tan leather jacket that she removed and hung on a row of hooks lining the wall. A crisp white collared shirt was tucked into her jeans, revealing an intricate silver belt buckle studded with turquoise. Maria always did love Western and Native American jewelry, and she looked amazing. Pete reached up and tried to stroke his beard once more and then wondered what Maria would think of his clean-shaven face.
    Would she even give a flying fig whether he had a beard or not?
    Pete quickly looked down so Maria wouldn’t catch him watching her, but when he heard the heels of her boots clicking across the hardwood floor, he couldn’t resist glancing up.
Damn
. John Jameson, newly elected state representative and oh so full of himself, slinked over and extended his hand toward Maria. She smiled politely and accepted the handshake, but when John