THE voice on the other end of the phone was probably one of the most recognized female voices on the planet. Country music superstar Melody Mason Montgomery accepted the charges for the collect call and then asked with a laugh, “Money problems, Bobby? Why are you calling me collect?”
“Hey, girl.” Bobby greeted. “I’m on a payphone.”
“What are you doing on a payphone in Virginia?” Melody asked. “Where did you even find a payphone in Virginia? Are you in a museum?”
Melody and Bobby had both signed with the now-defunct Patterson Records early in their careers, and their artistic paths in the industry had paralleled many times on the road from Nashville to stardom. They had both been awarded many prestigious industry honors when they were newcomers, and the gossip rags continuously tried to
