Chapter 12

"If this is Saturday night, this must be Cincinnati," Bass said, as he entered the room back stage.

Hailey Marshall smiled. "Where's Axe?"

"He's at the airport picking up Jenny and Kasey. They'll be here in twenty."

"I didn't think they were coming to a show until next month."

"Yeah, well, apparently Kasey's having some problems. Don agreed to try to talk to her tomorrow and then send her back to Central City."

"What kind of problems?"

Wes frowned. "It's not my place, Hailey. Sorry."

Hailey frowned. Don breezed into the room, waving as he hurried toward the dressing room to change. "Five minutes," he called out. "Sorry that I'm late."

Hailey turned to her mirror and checked her makeup once more.

"I don't know why your mom insisted we come," Hailey heard Kasey tell Jenny. "There's nothing wrong."

"Yes there is, Kasey. You haven't been out of your room in four days except to go to school. Brandon Weathers called yesterday and you wouldn't even talk to him. Besides, I think she wants me to spend time with Wes."

"Kasey, Jenny, you two are with me," Morty said firmly, interrupting the girls' discussion. Kasey whispered something that Hailey missed and then they were gone.

"So, what did you think?" Hailey asked as she sat down next to Kasey.

"Oh my gosh, Hailey! You guys sound fantastic. Better than the Labor Day show. And Dad seems to be really happy right now."

"Was 'Lost Without You' okay? I'm not trying to compete with what you too did."

"I like it. I'm not jealous, really. Your voice sounds better than mine anyway."

"Don't sell yourself short, Kasey. I've never heard the song done better than you two did. How are you doing? Are you adjusting to the new school okay?"

"I guess," Kasey said somewhat sadly.

"As cute as you are, I'll bet the boys are all trying to get a date." Hailey felt Kasey stiffen. "What's the matter, Kasey?"

Kasey paled for a moment and looked away.

Hailey put her hand on Kasey's arm. Kasey turned back. "I heard you and Jenny talking before the show. I'd like to help, if you'll let me. If not, I can butt out and we'll find something else to talk about."

Kasey was silent for a moment. Then she sighed. "I miss my Mom. I could talk about stuff like this with her and not feel like an idiot."

"I know I'm not your mom, Kasey, but you can talk to me about anything. I've been there, too. I'm sure Don's a good listener and so are Jenny and Leslie. If you don't want to talk to me, talk to one of them."

"But I can't talk to Jenny and Dad about this. I, um, I feel like an idiot. My first date was a disaster. Jenny and Dad both sensed something about Bobby that told them he was trouble. I missed it completely."

"Let me guess. He said all the things you needed to hear. How beautiful you are, how pretty your smile is, how smart you are, did I miss any?"

"No."

"And then he put you in a position where he thought he could get into your pants."

"How did you know?"

"Been there, done that. I don't know many girls that haven't. Luckily, most of us get over it with a minimum of problems."

"But it was my fault. Dad didn't even get mad at Bobby. He came and got me and held me and told me there was someone nice out there for me."

"Hmmm. When was your date, last Friday?""

Kasey nodded.

"That explains a lot. When I got to the practice space Saturday morning, I heard Stix trying to settle Don down. I don't think I've ever seen Don as pissed off as he was that morning. The gist of what I got before we all settled down was that Don went and visited some kid before coming to rehearsal, the kid denied doing anything wrong, and Don warned the kid that if he got within six feet of you Don would string him up by a very sensitive part of his anatomy with a broken high E string." Hailey chuckled remembering the tantrum that Don had that morning.

"High E string?"

"Guitar string, Kasey. Real thin, likely to cut that part of his anatomy off."

"Oh," Kasey said and then the image sunk in. "Oh!"

The two giggled.

Kasey looked serious again after they stopped giggling. "So how do I get past this? I'm afraid every boy that asks me out will do the same thing."

"When the horse throws you, you gotta get back on and ride him, my daddy always said. Go out on a date with someone you can trust. Or go on a double date with Jenny. She's not having trouble with boys, is she?"

"God no. Her boyfriend's great. They are almost as cute together as Mom and Dad were." Kasey frowned and then smiled. "Thanks, Hailey," she said, hugging the blonde.

Don saw Kasey hug Hailey and wondered what was up. He finally finished with the reporters. It was time to talk to Kasey.

"How're you doing, kid?" he said slipping up next to Kasey.

"I'll leave you two alone. Good show, Axe. Keep your chin up, Kasey." Hailey smiled as she stepped away from them.

"So," Don started.

"I know, Dad. I'm sorry I was being a pain. I'll do better. And I'll apologize to Leslie and Jenny."

"Wow, I'm good. I didn't even start talking and you're doing everything I wanted." Don chuckled and hugged his daughter. "Just for my piece of mind, what was the problem that you've managed to solve on your own?"

"Hailey helped me realize that it wasn't my fault that Bobby Jones was an asshole and that there are some nice guys out there."

"I thought we talked about that last week?"

"We did. I, um, missed the part about it not being my fault. I thought you blamed me because you didn't yell or scream at Bobby."

"Well, not that night, but I did later. I might've killed him that night."