“Well, I appreciate the chance to support the station. I’ve been looking forward to that concert. To get to be a part of it is awesome.”
Stan grinned and was back on the move. “The more you’re in front of the public, the better,” he said over his shoulder before turning the corner.
Kelly was determined to do whatever it took. If they wanted her to make public appearances every day, she would. Working in radio was a dream come true and she planned to do this for the rest of her life if they’d let her. Maybe they would if things kept going the way they were. She entered the studio with an extra bounce in her step.
“Someone looks extra happy today,” Lyle Conrad, the show’s producer, said once she put on her headphones. He sat in the control room, separated from Kelly’s studio by a glass wall. Off-air, he could talk to her through the headset and on-air, he typed her messages through the computer. “Anything to do with those flowers out front? I didn’t know you were dating someone.”
“I’m not.” The thought of the flowers had the opposite effect on her mood. “I think I might have a misguided fan. One who thinks we’re destined to be together.”
“Ah. We’ve had a couple of those over the years around here. Don’t worry. Eventually, they get the hint and move on with their life.”
“Let’s hope so.” Kelly didn’t need the distraction. She didn’t even have time for a real boyfriend, so Mr. Anonymous was out of luck.
“Caller number ten wins two tickets to the sold-out Grace Note Records Concert for the Kids on Saturday, June twenty-ninth,” Kelly announced about halfway through the show. “We’re talking Sawyer Stratton and Piper Starling, the Good Ol’ Boys, Finch and Wells, and the one and only Boone Williams. This is not a show you’ll want to miss, Nashville.”
She clicked the button to play the commercial she had cued up before answering the calls as they came in. Clicking through the lines, she let the non-winners down easy. “Hi, you’re caller eight. Thank you. Bye. Hi, you’re caller nine. So close! Have a good one.”
She switched on the VoxPro recorder before clicking on the winner. These calls were prerecorded just in case someone got a bit too excited and said something not exactly FCC-approved. Lyle gave her the thumbs-up and she pressed the last blinking red light.
“Hello, you are caller ten and our winner!” Usually, callers hollered or screeched when they heard they won, but this one was quiet. Another reason to record these calls—it allowed Kelly the chance to edit it and remove the dead air. “Hello, can I get your name?”
“That depends,” the deep voice on the other end of the line replied. “Is this Kelly?”
Something about the way he said her name caused a shiver to run down her spine. “It is. Who is this?”
“Someone who’s been wondering if you’ve been receiving my gifts. It’s been very disappointing not to hear from you.”
Her secret admirer. Now was her chance to finally find out who he was. “I’ve gotten several gifts lately. I’ve been waiting for a name so I could thank you properly.”
“Which gift was your favorite?”
“That’s hard to say. I’d really like to know who you are.”
“Are you wearing the earrings I gave you?”
Kelly exchanged looks with Lyle. This guy wasn’t going to give up his name even for concert tickets. Her commercial break was almost over. There wasn’t time for all this creepy chitchat. Lyle typed her a message to put the call on hold so he could take over.
She did as Lyle suggested and turned the call over to him. Cutting their conversation short was the best option. Maybe being short with him would end this infatuation. Lyle messaged a few minutes later that the guy had hung up and the new winner was a very nice lady named Rhonda from Brentwood.
The rest of the show went off without a hitch. Kelly threw it to the next deejay and set her headset on the desk. She met Lyle in the hallway outside. He was tall and lanky with arms so long it was almost like he wouldn’t have to bend over to pick things up off the floor.
“Great show, Kel.”
“Thanks. Too bad we didn’t get the name of my secret admirer. I just want the gifts to stop.”
“You don’t have to worry about that guy anymore. Not only was he not happy when I took over the call, but he was downright annoyed when I told him you already had a boyfriend and weren’t interested in his gifts.”
“You what?”
“I solved your problem. Now, he thinks you have a boyfriend and maybe he’ll back off and start stalking someone else,” Lyle said with a shrug.
Kelly felt a calming sense of relief. “Let’s hope so. I mean, the part about him backing off, not the part about stalking some other woman.”
“I’m here to help whenever you need.”
“What about me, Lyle?” Nancy joined them in the hall. “Are you here to help me, too?”
Lyle’s cheeks flushed red. “Of course, Nancy. Do you have a stalker I can scare off?”
“You scared off Kelly’s stalker? Well, you’re our hero.” She touched his arm and his face got redder.
Kelly, Lyle and Nancy went to her office to plan for the next day’s show. When they finished, Kelly said goodbye to Nancy and she and Lyle headed out to the parking garage together.
“You and Nancy are close, right?” he asked as they entered the elevator.
“We are.”
“Do you think she’d ever be interested in getting dinner with someone like me?”
“Someone like you or the actual you?”
Lyle rolled his big blue eyes. “The actual me. I’m bad with rejection. If you could give me a heads-up on my chances, I would be forever in your debt.”
Kelly had suspected there was some interest on his side of things for a couple of months. He laughed at all of Nancy’s jokes. Especially the ones that weren’t even a little bit funny. He had memorized her coffee order even though it was some ridiculously long demand that would drive any barista to quit. And today, the man was completely flustered by a simple touch.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but I could ask.”
“Don’t be super obvious about it, though. If she’s not interested, I don’t want her to know I am.”
His fear of being vulnerable was relatable. Kelly wasn’t the biggest fan of being 100 percent up front about her feelings, either. Being open meant the possibility of being hurt. Being hurt was no fun. She would make sure Nancy knew nothing if there wasn’t a chance. “I’ve got your back on this one, buddy,” she assured him.
Instead of thanking her, Lyle stopped dead in his tracks.
“What’s the matter?”
“That’s your car, isn’t it?” He pointed behind her.
Kelly spun around and gasped. Both headlights had been smashed and on the hood of her car someone had keyed the word TEASE into the paint.
“This is my fault,” Lyle lamented.
Kelly’s heart beat double time and it was hard to breathe. She scanned the parking lot, fearing that her secret admirer turned hater was still nearby. No one else was around. The garage was eerily quiet. It was definitely time to call Uncle Hal.
* * *
“WALSH! GET IN HERE, right now.”
Hal Bonner was not the kind of boss you wanted to cross. He was similar to all of the commanding officers Donovan had ever had in the Marines. Unfortunately, Donovan had been