Tender Deception: A Novel of Romance by Patti Beckman

and a solid left hand. Some women are terrific jazz pianists—Norma Teagarden, Lil Hardin, Hazel Scott....”
    Lilly’s heart was racing furiously.
    “How about it, kid? Think you’d be interested?”
    Lilly couldn’t trust her voice. She could only nod.
    “The job only pays scale and it’s kinda rough, from ten at night till four in the morning.”
    “That’s all right,” she said breathlessly.
    “I think I can work it out okay with the union. But I want you to understand it’s just a temporary job. Y’see, I’m not completely my own boss here.” He hesitated, then asked, “Did I ever tell you I have an older brother?”
    She nodded. “I think you talked about him one time.”
    “His name’s Kirk. Kirk Remington.”
    “Remington?”
    “Yes. He’s my half brother. We have the same mother. Kirk kept his real father’s name. That’s why our last names are different. Anyway, to make a long story short, Kirk is involved in this place. He’d have to approve of anyone I put on the band. Right now, he’s out of the country. I can only promise you a place on the band until he gets back in a couple of weeks. Then we’ll have to see how he feels about it.”
    “Well, that’s all right, Jimmy. I’m just happy to have the opportunity to play with you for a while. Maybe your brother will like the way I play, too.”
    “Maybe,” Jimmy said doubtfully. “You never can tell about Kirk.”
    “What’s he like? Is he like you?”
    Jimmy laughed. “Not at all.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Tell you what, Lilly. I’m starved. Let’s go get a real New Orleans breakfast of eggs and café au lait. We can talk some more there.”
    They left the club and strolled arm in arm down the narrow streets of the old city. Streaks of dawn were touching the Mississippi as they crossed Jackson Square.
    In the small, crowded café, Lilly sipped her mug of coffee and milk while Jimmy devoured a hearty breakfast. Then he pushed his empty plate back, lit a cigarette, and began telling Lilly about his brother.
    “You wouldn’t remember Kirk, of course. He left our home town when I was six years old. You were still in rompers. He and my father didn’t get along at all. Kirk went to work in the oil fields as a roughneck. He’s a hard-working son of a gun and smart as a whip. A lot smarter than me where business is concerned,” Jimmy said with a laugh. “Kirk learned the oil business from the bottom up. Then he invented some kind of improved drilling tool. I don’t understand exactly what it does. But what it did do for him was make him rich. Now he’s got his own business and flies all over the world on big oil deals.”
    “When Kirk found out I’d left home and was in New Orleans pursuing a musical career, he became very interested. He flew down, heard me play, said I had a lot of talent, and offered to lease a club here on Bourbon Street so I could have my own place.”
    “Y’see, Kirk is very interested in music. He’s actually a frustrated musician, himself. That’s one reason he and my old man couldn’t get along. Kirk pestered him for guitar lessons when he was a kid and the old man said it was a waste of money. It would have been the same for me, but I got some lucky breaks. The school band director took me under his wing and got me my first horn through the school. I think in spite of all his money, Kirk envies me. He’d give about anything to be able to get up in front of a band and blow a horn the way I do. Since that isn’t possible, he does the next best thing by promoting my music and having a hand in running my band.”
    “How do you feel about that, Jimmy?” Lilly asked.
    Jimmy shrugged. “It’s a big break for me and the band, I guess, but you know how relatives and business don’t mix very well. We get into some pretty big arguments. Kirk is supposed to be a silent partner, but he thinks I don’t know anything about business. He’s probably right about that. The trouble is, he also