Holding her breath, Bree waited for Shawna to tell them what her boss had said. Would she be able to y keyboards with them in the band that night?


    "He said... I could," she said with a big smile.


    "That''s great news!" Bree eximed, hugging the woman, even though she really didn''t know her that well. "Let''s get you up to speed. Is there a keyboard somewhere we can use to practice?" "Yeah, there''s one in the closet. Can some of you guys help me?"


    "Sure." Zach was the first one to jump in to help, and Griffin volunteered, too. A few minutester, they had a keyboard set up in the green room, and Bree and Zach were going over chord progressions with Shawna. She caught on very quickly to the newer songs, and she did already know all of the older ones. By the time another stagehand came to tell them it was time to take the stage, Shawna was ready to go. She wouldn''t be able to y any of the solos Cat usually added in, but she knew enough to get by.


    But she was nervous. Her hands were shaking as she headed toward the door. She wiped them on her skirt. "You''ll be fine," Bree assured her. "Just stick to the chords, and don''t worry about anything else. You''ve got this." "I sure hope so," Shawna said, under her breath.


    "I know so," Bree assured her, putting her arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.


    Trent gave Bree a hug and kissed her quickly. "Have fun," he said. "I''ll be on the front row--as usual."


    "Thanks," she said, crossing her fingers and holding them up to show him she was hoping all went well. She had a feeling that it would.


    Shawna walked on stage just ahead of Bree, who was always thest one on, and the band started ying. When Bree took the microphone in her hand and broke into the first song, the crowd roared. She turned to look over her shoulder at Shawna and saw that the nerves she''d been showing earlier seemed to have melted away.


    Bree''s smile was genuine as she got into the beat of each song. Gone were the worries of thest few weeks--that Zach might leave, that Cat might start trouble--and she was certain the band sounded better than it ever had before. Halfway through the show, Bree went over to Shawna and said, "You''re doing great!"


    "Yeah?" she asked, giving Bree a broad smile. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes! Keep it up. You''re amazing!"


    That made Shawna smile even more, and when they started the next song, she went from just ying the chords to really getting into it and ying more riffs and melodies. Bree loved it and encouraged her with a smile from the microphone. Shawna grinned back at her, and Bree truly felt like they''d just found the perfect addition to their band.


    At the end of the show, before they went out for the encore, everyone gathered around Shawna and congratted her, hugging her and telling her how awesome she was. Bree was thrilled that the rest of the band seemed to like her as much as Bree did. Zach was beaming, and when Shawna looked at him, it was clear she liked him as much as he liked her.


    "All right, let''s send this show into history with the best encore performance ever!" Bree said, leading them back onto stage.


    Just as the guitarists picked up their instruments, Dominic grabbed his sticks, and Shawna poised her fingers above the keys, there was a weird draining sound as all the lights went off, and the entire arena was left in ck. "What the hell?" Griffin said somewhere behind her.


    "I don''t know, but we need to assume the worst, that this is some sort of attack, and be cautious," Zach said,ing over to Bree and herding her toward Shawna as if he intended to shield the women with his body. Phones turned into shlights, and Bree saw Trent standing right in front of the stage, along with security. She had no idea what to think, but the fact that she could see him made her feel more at ease.


    A few momentster, a stagehand came out. "Someone cut all the electricity to the entire building! It''s crazy! The electricpany said it''ll take a few hours to get things back up and running. It looks like y''all have been sabotaged." One name came to mind. Bree shook her head. "Cat!" she murmured. At least she''d beente tounch her attack, and only one song had been affected.


    "What are we going to do? Just walk off without giving them an encore?" Chase asked.


    "No, we can ''t do that. Grab your acoustic guitar. Dom, can you y a soft beat without drowning us out?"


    "Sure, Bree," the drummer replied.


    "Got a fiddle?" she asked Shawna.


    "Yeah, and an upright bass." She signaled for the stagehand toe back, and he did. A few secondster, he exited quickly, and then came back with the two instruments Shawna had requested, someone else helping him carry them. Zach had an acoustic guitar as well.


    As soon as everyone was ready, Bree gave the signal, and they broke into an acoustic version of "Meant to Marry Me." The crowd, which had started to whisper, wondering what was going on, quieted at the sound of the familiar song, and many of them started to sing along with Bree.


    By the time they yed thest chord of the song, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a beautiful rendition of her most famous song, and she was so d her band was able to put it together at thest second. It really spoke to their talent as musicians.


    "Thank you, St. Louis!" Bree shouted. "Have a good night! Be careful going home!" At least there were emergency lights along the aisles so that people could see to get out. She wondered if anyone even knew what the problem had been or if they thought it was all part of the show.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    As they walked out, Bree kept a smile on her face, but inside, she was already thinking she needed to have a little chat--with a Cat.