When Last We Loved by Fran Baker Read Free Book Online Page A

is a liar.”
    Cassie was about ready to push the panic button. How could Allen have done such a thing? He knew that a band was only as busy as its reputation was good.
    “It doesn't matter who got their wires crossed; we don't have any time to waste,” Scrappy reminded them. “You've got a full house out there waiting to cut the rug, and the curtain's due to go up in twenty minutes or so.”
    “I'm perfectly aware of the time, young man.” Shaw glared at Scrappy. “Now, I'm wondering what the appropriate course of action is.”
    “I've got an idea!” Cassie snapped her fingers. “It looks like we're all going to have to make the best of a bad situation here, so why don't we go onstage and explain the mix-up to the audience and let them decide what we should do? If they want us to stay, we'll play every waltz we know, three times apiece if necessary. If they don't want to hear us, I guarantee that we'll refund every penny you've paid us.”
    “We're dealing with civilized people, young lady, not a passel of cowboys looking to whoop it up on Saturday night. I doubt very much that any of them will be interested in your type of music.” He massaged his temples with elongated, spatula-shaped fingers. “Believe me, Ingram is going to hear about this travesty. I'll see that he never pulls this kind of trick on anyone again.”
    “Well, do we let the audience decide, or don't we?” Scrappy demanded. “If you want us to clear out of here, then get out of the way so we can load up this equipment.” He laid his fiddle in its instrument case.
    “Why do these things always happen to me?" Howard Shaw moaned. He didn't expect an answer, so the band stood quietly while he weighed his options. “I suppose we really don't have much of a choice at this late hour,” he finally grumbled. “I'll explain the situation and see what we can salvage of the evening.” He parted the curtain to step through, and Cassie could have sworn she heard him muttering something under his breath about a lawsuit.
    The majority of his customers had come to dance, so Shaw had relatively few refunds to make. “I'll expect Ingram to reimburse me for every dime I've lost this evening,” he insisted.
    Cassie and the Twisters were ready when the curtain opened. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” She smiled at a middle-aged man in horn-rimmed glasses who was sharing a table with a perky woman in a light pink formal gown. Neither of them returned her smile. “I know we aren't exactly the breed of musicians you expected this evening. But to be honest with you, you're not exactly the kind of audience we were expecting, either.”
    Dead silence greeted her. Cassie forged ahead.
    “I figure we're all here for the same reason, though— to have a good time— and we want you to know that we're going to do everything in our power to see that you have some fun this evening.”
    “Do you know anything with a rumba beat?” A fortyish blonde wearing a stunning red dress that was slit thigh high called out from a side table. “Harold and I just love to rumba.” She smiled at the owlish-faced man sitting with her.
    Cassie threw a “Help me out of this one!” glance over her shoulder. Scrappy had sucked in his cheeks to hold back the laughter. Mike and Jess kept their stares riveted to the floor. She was on her own.
    “Well, rumbas are kind of out of our league, ma'am.” Cassie hoped her pasted-on smile looked better than it felt. “Something tells me, though, that before the evening is over you and Harold are going to put Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire to shame.”
    The blonde dimpled and Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. One down, a couple of hundred to go. If we get out of this one intact, she thought, we're ready to tackle anything they throw our way.
    “Hit it, guys.” She was going to stand on this stage and sing until every man and woman in the audience was out on that dance floor.
    * * * *
    “I'm sorry, Cassie, but until he sobers up