ANOTHER SUNNY DAY (21 page)

"As soon as I realized what kind of person you were underneath those gaudy wigs and flashy clothes, I knew what I was feeling for you was more than I expected. But I didn't want to get involved with a woman who would be on the road most of the time. I couldn't see myself following you from club to club, burning with jealousy every time a man got a little out of line with you."

"You could have told me that," she murmured.

"And you could have told me who you were. You must have gotten a big laugh out of how well you fooled me."

"No, I hated every minute of it. But I had promised my sister, and she had so much at stake." Suddenly Sarah frowned. "Who told you the truth, anyway?"

"Your sister decided to play cupid. She called me this morning and told me that if I was half as miserable you were, we probably deserved each other. She explained the whole situation and told me it was all her fault and that she would never forgive herself if you vegetated alone in Kentucky when you could vegetate with me in Alvin. I wasn't absolutely sure what she meant, but I got the gist of it. She was really worried about you."

"She should have told me she talked to you," Sarah stated, her bravado completely deflated.

"What would you have done then?"

"Probably nothing. I figured that you'd be so furious you wouldn't ever speak to me again anyway."

"You've got that right!" he exclaimed roughly, but his gray eyes softened as he looked at her with undisguised longing. "Except for the part about me never speaking to you again. I was so mad I could have strangled you with my bare hands for what you put me through. But then I decided that I'd give it one last shot before I gave up on ever seeing you again."

"But what about your ex-fiancée?"

"My what?"

"The girl who lied to you about her modeling job and had the abortion."

"That was years ago." He looked straight into Sarah's eyes as he continued. "I was much younger and much dumber. I never really loved her, or we would have been able to work things out. You and she are
as different as night and day."  He smiled, enjoying his little pun.

"I was so afraid that you wouldn't understand that I couldn't tell you how I felt had. I had never felt this way before and wasn't too sure of my own reactions," she whispered, her gaze locked with his "It was all happening too fast. I've never been in love before. . . ."

"And you would have sacrificed your own chance of happiness for your sister," he muttered, his voice filled with a grudging respect. "My proud, loyal little star," he said, reaching out and pulling her trembling body into the protection of his strong arms. Joyfully he buried his face in the sweet-smelling cloud of her golden hair.

"I missed you so much," she whispered. "I didn't realize how much I cared for you until I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"The last few days haven't been much fun for me either," he admitted. "Do you think we could start over, and maybe this time we would get it right?"

Her face lit by a happy smile, she pulled away from him and extended her hand. "Hello, my name is Sarah Dayton, and I'm just a country girl from Kentucky."

"Well, maybe we could skip a few parts in between." He laughed and pulled her willing body back into an affectionate bear hug.

KATHY CLARK lives with her husband, two Yorkies and one German Shepherd just outside of Austin, Texas. In addition to writing and reading, she loves travelling, especially to anywhere with a beach, sculpting and going to movies. Kathy is currently working on
Cries in the Night
, the second book in her Denver After Dark suspense series and
BION
the third book in her young adult time travel series, written with her husband under the pen name of Bob Kat. 

Kathy’s books have won numerous awards including Best Indie Book of 2013,
Romantic Times
Best Harlequin American,
Romantic Times
Best Hero, Colorado Writer of the Year, as well as finalists in the Beverly Hills Book Awards and the RWA’s RITA award.  Her books have appeared on many best sellers’ lists, including
New York Times
and have been translated into over a dozen languages.  She is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.  She tries to get her books to reflect the essence of her happy and exciting life—love, laughter, and lots of surprises. She loves to hear from her fans.  Her website is
www.NightWriter93.com
. 

http://
www.NightWriter93.com

http://
www.CUL8Rseries.com

If you enjoyed
Another Sunny Day
, don’t miss Kathy Clark’s (also writing as Bob Kat) latest novels.  Please enjoy the following excerpts.

GOLDEN DAYS

(Sequel to ANOTHER SUNNY DAY)

A Novel By Kathy Clark

CHAPTER ONE

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer stated with ringmaster dramatics. "It's my pleasure to present to you the one . . . the only . . . the greatest female country-and-western singer of all times. . . Miss Sunny Day!" He practically had to shout her name to be heard over the roar of the crowd.

"Sun-ny, Sun-ny," her fans affectionately chanted in unison as she strode out onto the stage vivaciously, and the resounding cheers were deafening. The white-hot spotlights bathed her slender figure, catching and reflecting their own beams in the thousands of multifaceted rhinestones that decorated her yellow satin pantsuit. The microphone rested in the palm of her hand as she waited for the crowd noise to die down so she could do what they had come here for—to hear her sing.

"Sunny! Sunny!" A different sound, a sort of pounding, entered her consciousness. "Wake up. We're just about to drive into Burbank. Miss Day, did you hear me?"

Sunny mumbled something incoherent, but the sound of her voice must have satisfied the person on the other side of the door because the pounding blessedly stopped. Burying her head deeper into her pillow, Sunny rolled over onto her stomach and tried not to wake up completely. Perhaps if she fell back asleep immediately she could slip again into that wonderful dream and let her voice shower its magic on those adoring fans.

But the harder she tried to sleep, the wider awake she became, until finally she sat up in the middle of the double bed that fit snugly in the corner of the small cubicle. She could feel the gentle sway of the big tour bus as it continued its journey across California. Lazily she ran her long fingers through the silken thickness of her pale golden hair, pushing it back from her eyes.

"Sunny. Are you awake yet?" Again the feminine voice penetrated through the thickness of the door. "Can I come in now? I've got your coffee."

"Sure, come on in."

The door opened and Diane Norman entered the tiny room. One hand balanced a tray carrying a steaming cup of black coffee, and a legal-size pad of yellow lined paper was tucked under her arm.

"We'll be arriving at the studio in just a few minutes. I knew how tired you were, so I let you sleep as long as possible," Diane said in a friendly but businesslike manner.

"Thanks. I needed it, but I wish I could have slept just ten more minutes. I was having the most wonderful dream about singing in front of a sold-out crowd that loved me." Sunny shook her blond head sadly. "It's been awhile since I sang for a full house. Today I'd have trouble attracting attention even if I stood naked in the middle of the street at rush hour."

"That kind of publicity you can live without," Diane commented as she consulted her note pad.

Sunny shook her head in amused exasperation. It was just like Diane to take Sunny's outrageous statement seriously. Diane should know by now that a good sense of humor was almost as important in this business as an honest manager. In fact, anyone who had a manager had better know how to laugh easily, because there would be plenty of opportunities to cry.

"Mack was a little vague, but he said this was some sort of western-wear commercial and your outfit would be provided at the studio," Diane continued, handing Sunny a sapphire blue satin robe to wear until her costume arrived. "I'll get your hot rollers ready."

"And I'll get started on my makeup." Sunny sighed as Diane disappeared into the closet/dressing room that was almost as large as the compact bedroom. It had been over five years since she had hired Diane as her secretary and combination assistant/companion. There was no faulting Diane's competent handling of these duties, but she would never be able to replace Sarah.

Sarah was
Sunny's identical twin sister. Her contributions to Sunny's career had never been fully appreciated until she had quit working for the singer, eagerly choosing instead to trade her place just outside the limelight for a starring role as the wife of a handsome Texas rancher. Sunny didn't for one minute begrudge her sister whatever happiness her new life had brought. But, rather, Sunny missed her sister's gentle humor, constant encouragement and telepathic sharing of thoughts. Instead of ignoring Sunny's depressed comment about the deterioration of her career as Diane had just done, Sarah would have bounced right back with some reassuring reminder about how well Sunny had performed last night or how lucky Sunny was to have been asked to star in a commercial. Sarah had always been able to find that silver lining in every cloud.

It was unrealistic to expect Diane to take Sarah's place. No matter how well she did her job, it just wasn't the same as spending the long hours with her sister who had also been her best friend. Sunny forced herself to get out of bed and sit in front of her well-lit dressing table. Staring at the lovely pale face looking back at her, she had an eerie feeling that it was Sarah's face instead of her own. Her hand trembled as she reached out and touched the cold glass, reminding herself that it was only a reflection. Sarah was over fifteen hundred miles away, nestled in the warm, loving arms of the most gorgeous cowboy in Texas.

And right now Sunny had never felt so lonely and unloved in all her life.

It was almost an hour later when
Sunny's manager, Mack, finally came out of the huge studio and joined her in her big yellow touring bus.

"Hey, babe. I'm sorry I'm late getting out here, but we're filming a special in there and I just couldn't get away," he gushed apologetically. "They're setting up for your commercial on the sound stage right next door to the special, so I can take care of both jobs at once."

"You sure have been busy lately," Sunny commented, her tone just a little too sharp. "A lot busier than I've been, in fact."

"Well, you know how this business is. One day you're hot and the next day you're . . . uh . . . ," He paused, realizing the direction his painful observation was heading and obviously deciding not to continue.

No one was more aware of the decline of her career than Sunny. "What kind of special are they filming? I don't suppose they would need another guest, would they?" She wasn't aware of the pathetic pleading in her blue-green eyes or the slight quiver of her full lower lip.

"It's a country-and-western special," Mack answered, his voice dropping almost to a whisper. "And I tried to book you on it. Honest. But it's sort of starring one of my other clients, and they didn't need any other singers."

"Which one of your other clients?" she asked suspiciously.

"Dillon Landry, He's the hottest name in the business right now, His career is on the rise and showing all the signs of really skyrocketing to the top."

"And my career has dropped like a rock and is breathing its last, dying breath," Sunny said bitterly. "I've never met his majesty Mr. Landry, but I hear his voice every time I turn on the radio, and I see his face in every fan magazine I read. He's probably just another flash-in-the-pan kid who'll have a couple of hit songs, then drop out of sight. Remember, it was Sarah who discovered him at that trail ride she went on when she was disguised as me. She's even the one who brought him to your attention."

"That's right! She sure was." Mack nodded. "But I think you're wrong about his future. He's talented, and all the women think he's very good-looking. His only stumbling block to success is that he's really a nice guy."

"I've seen a lot of country boys come and go, and this one doesn't seem any more special than the rest of them," Sunny said sarcastically. She hated herself when she reacted like this. Her disposition was normally as bright and cheerful as her name, but Mack had been getting on her nerves lately. It was his job to find her suitable bookings. She was paying him a fortune that she couldn't really afford from the meager salary she had been producing in the past year, The last thing she wanted to hear from him was such profuse praise about one of his other clients who was, compared with her own seniority in the music business, an amateur. She refused to consider the fact that Dillon's voice was rich and vibrant, filled with a strangely intimate quality that immediately captured its listeners, or that his devastatingly attractive masculine features could create sinful longings in the hearts of his female fans, regardless of whether they were eighteen or eighty years old.