Read Online The Songwriter by A. P. Jensen - Free Book Online Page B

others but you have a beautiful voice. No one else can sing like you. Enjoy this time. It’s a gift. Before you know it, it’ll be over.”
    She smiled and sank into her pillows. “I know, Mama. I love you.”
    “ I love you too.”
    Gwen heard Cassie and Barbie come into her bus an hour later but they didn’t open her door. She knew several crew members came to see how she was doing but no one disturbed her. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Stepping onstage took every ounce of courage and energy she had and the crowd sucked it out of her until she had nothing left. She was completely drained and fell into a deep sleep.
     
     
    When Gwen opened her eyes , sunlight streamed through the curtains. The bus was in motion and she swayed slightly from side to side in bed. She hadn’t even heard the bus start last night which meant she slept like the dead. She glanced at the clock and saw it was almost noon. She stumbled into the shower, dressed in a robe and walked out into the living area. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Trey sprawled on the couch watching TV.
    “ What are you doing here?”
    Trey turned the TV on mute and examined her. She froze when she saw the serious expression on his face. Had she done something wrong during the show? She crossed her arms defensively over her chest.
    “ How are you feeling?” he asked solemnly.
    “ Okay,” she said warily. “Why?”
    “ They said you collapsed after your last song. No one’s seen you since.”
    Gwen shrugged. “I was exhausted. I don’t know how you do this every night. It took everything out of me.”
    “ How do you think you did?”
    Gwen stiffened. “I thought I did okay.”
    He cocked his head to the side . “Okay?”
    She twisted the front of her robe. “I did what we practiced.”
    “ You improvised.”
    She had a vague recollection of slapping his hand and shoving him away from her during performance of Breaking Out . She bit her lip. “I was in the moment. I thought the crowd liked it.”
    Trey turned the volume on the TV up and Gwen had to grab the counter to keep from falling down. A video of herself standing on the edge of the stage with her hair flying, eyes flashing and hands reaching out to the crowd filled the screen. That image she fantasized sending to Natasha didn’t need to be sent. It was all over the news.
    “ Instead of cancelling his tour, Trey Phoenix decided to replace his on again, off again partner Natasha Wilde with Gwen Harper, a songwriter. Harper has had no professional training, my sources report, but that didn’t seem to bother the crowd last night.”
    Trey turned to Gwen , who was milk white with a hand over her mouth, as she watched more clips of her flash across the screen.
    “ You were amazing last night,” Trey said.
    Gwen’s eyes filled with tears. “I think it almost killed me.”
    He leapt up and engulfed her in a hug, swinging her around in a small circle.
    She clutched fistfuls of his shirt and then shoved him back. “Why the hell did you scare me like that? I thought I did something wrong.”
    “ I came here after the show ended and you wouldn’t answer me. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I thought you were gonna leave the tour so I’ve been here waiting for you to get up.”
    She sighed. “This may be the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I promised you six months and I’ll finish it.”
    He tugged on her hair. “You rocked the arena. You know after you left, the crowd called your name?”
    Gwen slapped his chest, mouth open. “They didn’t!”
    “ They sure did. God, when you did Breaking Out you nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought the women were going to trample the stage and break me in half!”
    Gwen grinned. “I wanted to put on a good show for Natasha.”
    “ For what it’s worth, I think you delivered. She won’t be able to turn on a TV today without hearing about you.”
    Gwen’s stomach flipped. “You’d think I’d be happy to hear