Page 40 of Hope & Harmony

Andi lit up. “Seriously? Yeah. Of course, I’ll sing it. Wow.”

Padraig returned to the bar, leaving Joel to wonder about the request. “Bigger Dreams?”

“It’s a song I wrote. Usually, people request the covers, so I’m thrilled they want to hear one of mine.”

“You perform here a lot?”

“Just Fridays and Sundays. Then I wait tables the rest of the week.”

Joel sighed. “You’re going to work yourself to death at this rate.”

Andi didn’t seem to share his concern. “It’s worth it.”

“Why?” Joel asked, curious about what was driving her to work so damn hard.

“I told you why. Because of my brother. Dylan wants to go to college. That’s not cheap, and there’s no way I’m letting a lack of money be the reason he can’t attend. He’s done without enough in his life.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?” she asked confused.

“Aren’t you doing without things, too?”

She waved his question away like it was ridiculous. It wasn’t, and her response tweaked the alpha in him that wanted to demand she take better care of herself.

“Where are your parents?” Joel knew it was a personal question, probably too personal, considering they hadn’t even known each other for twenty-four hours. Still, he needed to know what he was up against if he hoped to convince her to giveup her three jobs and take a chance on a new career, recording her music.

“My dad split when I was nine. Mom was pregnant with Dylan at the time. She did the best she could…for a while. She has a drinking problem,” Andi admitted.

“So you pay the bills.” His statement wasn’t a question, but Andi answered it as if it was.

“Mom chips in sometimes, but holding down a job isn’t really one of her strengths.” Andi gave him a rueful grin as if she was ashamed of herself for saying something negative about her mother.

Meanwhile, he felt the need to meet her mom and read her the riot act for allowing her daughter to not only carry the weight of the family on her slim shoulders but also put herself in dangerous situations to do so. Andi had no business working in that convenience store in the middle of the night.

“To be honest,” Andi added, “the nights I sing here don’t feel like work. My music is my happy place, so having the opportunity to play my guitar and sing the songs I’ve written for an audience feels like a gift.”

“You realize you’re talented enough to record. Have you never considered pursuing a career in music?”

She laughed as if the idea was preposterous.

“I wasn’t joking,” he said, too seriously. This woman worked too hard for her family without giving a second thought to herself. Didn’t she have any dreams? “What do you wish for, Andi? In life,” he clarified.

She tilted her head. “I told you. I want my brother to go to college.”

“No.” Joel shook his head. “That’s your brother’s dream, not yours.”

Andi sighed, and for the first time since he had met her, that ever-present smile on her face faded. “Dreams are for peoplewith money, Joel. I’ve learned it’s smart to keep my aspirations smaller, more achievable. I need to get back on stage. Thanks for the chat. I hope the rest of your business in Baltimore is successful.” She used the word he’d said to describe his brunch meeting. “Goodbye.”

It was apparent she expected him to leave, but she didn’t know him well enough to understand that their conversation was nowhere near finished. Andi thought walking away would end the uncomfortable topic, but she was about to get her first lesson in who he was. Because Joel was a stubborn son of a bitch.

He spent the next hour listening to her sing, falling more and more in love with her voice—and God help him, maybe even Andi. He found himself imagining a futureforher since she refused to dream for herself.

When she sang the requested song, “Bigger Dreams,” he didn’t doubt that Andi had the potential to become as big a star as Teagan Collins.

As the last strains of the song faded away, she rose, thanking everyone for coming, then packed up her guitar.

“You’re still here.”

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