Angel on BroadwayArielcouldn’tremember ever beingquite so cold, almost as if the chill had seeped into her bones andgonestraight to her soul. Nashville wasn’t supposed to be this frigid—noteven inmid-December. But the weather matched her mood.
StrollingdownBroadway should havehelped—the lights, the music, the general gaiety—all those things weredesignedto help her forget her grief, if only for a short while. The impulse tocall acab and head downtown had been so strong, there ought to have beenmagic involved,but it simply wasn’t there. Tears stung her eyes, occasionally causingher tomiss her step and stumble as she walked along on the uneven pavement.She hadseldom been more in need of company, yet in spite of the crowds, shefelttotally alone.
LegendsCornerwas full—every seattaken. Four couples occupied the dance floor while a mediocre bandplayed TobyKeith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” withoutmuch enthusiasm. They’d only drawn a crowd because it was warm insideand therewas no line at the door. She stayed long enough to get some feelingback in herfingers and then moved on.
Crossingthestreet, she turned left,pulling her hood up against the bitter wind. One more pass and she’dhail a caband head for home. She knew she shouldn’t have come downtown byherself, but onnights like these, she simply needed to walk, whether she was alone ornot.
Asshedrew nearer to Dilly’s Bar, shenoted the queue outside—not good on such a cold night. The door openedbriefly,letting the music out into the street. The bandstand was center stagein thehuge, street-level window at the front of the building.
Herbreathfogged the glass as shepaused there, standing right behind the drummer. Something about himdrew hereye. Was it his muscular arms, the set of his shoulders, or the way hisblackT-shirt hugged his sculpted body? With olive skin and prominent veinsrunningdown his arms, he appeared healthy and vibrant. Even his neck lookedstrong,yet graceful, and no less masculine for having a fine chain hangingfrom it.She was mere inches from him, separated only by a thick pane of glass.Soclose, and yet so utterly distant.
Shewatchedhim play, becoming absorbedin his movements and the vibration that reached her even out there inthestreet. Calm settled in her. Just watching him made her feel different,bettersomehow. The song ended with a crash on the cymbals and the beat of thekickdrum.
Thespellnow broken, despair descendedonce more. She realized she’d waited a moment too long when he finallybecameaware of her presence and turned. Catching a fleeting glimpse of hisface, shesaw that he was foreign and exotic, with heavily lashed dark eyesbeneath welldefined brows and a straight, prominent nose above his full, sensuouslips…
Hisgazemet hers for a moment. Sheknew better than to make eye contact. It only intensified the bleakloneliness.This momentary connection was different, though—a meeting of the souls,accompanied by a brief lightening of the spirit. Then, as quickly as ithadcome, it was gone. She turned away. Timeto go…
Passingagroup of boys with onecoatless girl who wore a revealing wrap top made her shake her head andsmilegrimly. Silly child, didn’t she feel the cold? The boys weren’t wearingcoats,either. Was it youth or alcohol keeping them warm? Ariel had neither ofthosethings to ward off the chill. Not anymore. Alcohol only dulled thepain, makingit that much stronger when it returned. And youth? Had she ever feltthatyoung? Was it her thirty years, or the mileage on her soul that madeher feelso old?
Thenagain,young, childless widowsprobably all felt that way. But surely not for this long. Not for fiveyears…
Todd’sdeathwas still like an openwound that no amount of grieving could heal. She’d gone through thedenial, theanger, and the bargaining, but had stopped there, right smack dab inthe middleof depression. Acceptance had never come. He’d died a hero’s death,which wassupposed to make his loss easier to accept. Ariel didn’t see it thatway. Hewas still the only man she’d ever loved—the one who’d loved her the wayshe’ddreamed of since childhood. No, his loss cut her every bit as deeply asit hadthe first moment she’d heard the news.
Perhapsthatwas why she’d avoidedcoming downtown until now, when the pain became unbearable. She’d metToddhere, playing in a band that was good but not great, even with histalentedperformance on lead guitar. Competition was fierce. Simply being goodwasn’tenough to be noticed by anyone. To make it in this town, you had to beoutstanding.
Runningfootstepsinterrupted herthoughts. Instinctively, she shrank against the side of the nearestbuilding asa masculine form skidded to a halt in front of her. His hand touchedhershoulder, forcing a startled gasp from her.
“Sorry,”hesaid. “I didn’t mean toscare you. I just didn’t want you to leave before I could ask you…didyou feel that?” The streetlight above himmade a halo of his dark curls and outlined the breadth of his shoulders.
“I…Idon’tknow what you mean.” Arielcursed the quaver in her voice. At one time, she’d been confident andstrong.Now she jumped at loud noises like a nervous kitten, almost as thoughsheexpected a sniper’s bullet to take her life, just as an Iraqi bullethad takenTodd’s. She peered up at him again. A dime-sized pendant embossed withastarburst design hung from the chain around his neck in stark contrastto hisblack T-shirt. The foolish man wasn’t even wearing a coat…
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