Page 63 of Fire and Icing

“Let’s Stay Together. It’s a song by …”

“Al Green,” Dustin finishes for me. “I know the song.”

“You do?”

“Mm hmm.” He strums his guitar once, twists the key at the top of the neck, strums again and looks straight at me.

“I think that’s my cue to head to bed,” Gran says. “You two have a good night.”

“You don’t have to go, Gran.”

“Nonsense. You’re too old for a chaperone, and I’m too old to be one.”

She stands and walks out of the room and up the staircase. “Goodnight,” she calls down when she’s about halfway up.

“Goodnight,” Dustin and I reply in unison.

And then, we’re alone.

Dustin doesn’t say another word. He starts strumming an instrumental version of one of my all-time favorites. It’s stripped down and different, but still bluesy and soulful. When he starts singing the lyrics, his voice is rich and sweet and filled with emotion at all the right points.

I’m in such a state of shock that I must look just like Gran did, captivated by Dustin as he performs a private concert for me.

I guess seeing him in his element is helpful. We leave tomorrow for a week of filming the contest. We’re going to be sequestered with the other contestants until the final round to ensure fewer possible leaks of details prior to the show airing. The more I know about Dustin, the more believable our charade will be.

I cup my water glass in both hands and watch him as he sings the final lines of the song.

When he finishes, he looks at me and says, “Something like that. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah. That was rusty as all get out,” I tease. “You really need to brush up on your singing and playing.”

The corner of his mouth tips up. “So you liked it?”

“I actually did. A lot. You did it justice.”

“Wow. Thanks. Want me to play another?”

“Another R&B? Motown? Soul?”

“I know a few.” He smiles warmly.

I tuck my legs up underneath me and lean back into the sofa. “How did you start playing?”

“I always wanted to learn,” he tells me. “On our island there are sort of two sides … Well, three actually. There’s the old neighborhood where I grew up—that’s where all the real islanders live. Then, there’s the resort side where all the tourists come in. And there’s a part we all call the backside.”

He wags his brows like a junior high boy and I laugh.

“The backside has wild animals from one time when a production company filmed there. They left the animals they had brought over and they populated the backside. We’ve got two species of monkeys, wild emu, zebras and ostriches.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“It’s just life as I know it.”

“And yet you left to come here.”

“I did. I had a chance at an actual job at a station, so I jumped on it.”

“And you’re not far from Nashville.”

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