by Megan Ryder
Her mother shot him a nasty look. “If you’re not going to help, you can leave. And stop eating her food.”
“What? I’m hungry.”
Meanwhile, Piper ignored them, turning over thoughts in her head, her mind remembering some of the things Ty had thrown at her over the weeks they had known each other. God, she had been so stupid. Ty had been telling her that, had seen what she had been feeling, suppressing deep inside but had been too afraid to admit to herself and everyone else. But he saw her, told her, and she accused him of not truly seeing her, of not accepting her.
She let her head fall back against the love seat and closed her eyes. And now she’d lost him all for a stupid career she wasn’t even sure she wanted anymore.
She heard her mother sigh and leave the room, her father following. The couch cushion depressed next to her.
“Well, lil’ bit. You got yourself a fine mess here, don’t you?”
She rolled her head and opened one eye to look at her brother, who had also rested his head on the back of the couch. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He just gave her a knowing look. “I gave Ty a ride to the airport, remember? It’s not like he danced out of here.”
She arched her brow. “Are you kidding? He was thrilled to see the back of Nashville and us and get back to Montana. Trust me.”
He stared at the ceiling. “I don’t think that’s how he sees it. Yeah, he was pretty pissed off. But if he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t be so hurt.”
“I screwed up, Colt.”
He nodded. “So, what are you going do about it?”
She sat up, decision made. “I’m making some changes. Starting with this damned song.”
“Thank God. It wasn’t you at all, Piper.” He hugged her, side armed. “I’ve got your back, baby sister.”
She butted his head. “Love you, Big Gun.”
Her parents came in on the tail end with a plate of sandwiches. “What’s going on?”
Piper jumped up and took the plate from her mom, setting it on the coffee table, where her brother immediately grabbed a sandwich. Pig. “You may want to sit down for this.”
Her parents sat in the chair, staring at her with alarm, as if wondering if they should be calling for a straitjacket and men in little white coats. She giggled a little at the mental image, making her mother’s eyes widen even further. Yeah, not the way to soothe their worries and convert them to your side, Piper.
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, here goes. I’m not happy. Obviously. And not just because Ty left, though that’s part of it. He was right about everything here. I hate touring, performing, everything I do. I love music, singing, and working with musicians, but I don’t want to be on tour or be on stage.”
Her father frowned, looking baffled. “But that’s what we do. Are you saying you don’t want to sing anymore?”
“Not as a solo act, not in the spotlight. You know what I really like? Working with new artists, helping them in the studio, finding new talent, guiding them in their new steps along the way.”
Her mother bit her lower lip. “That didn’t work out so well with Ty, dear. He left, remember?”
“Exactly. Because I didn’t take charge. I let Darren do it, even though I knew what Darren was pushing for wasn’t what Ty wanted. I was so focused on trying to get back to my own career, what I thought I wanted, that I went with it. But no, I dread going out on stage again. Hell, I even dread getting back in the studio. These songs are all wrong for me and I know I could write others, find ones that work, but that’s not where my passion lies.”
Her parents exchanged another glance and then looked at her brother. Finally, her mother looked at her. “Then where does your passion lie? On a ranch in Montana?”
Piper smiled. “Maybe. If he’ll have me. But first, I want to work with new artists, some that aren’t quite ready for the big time yet, maybe. I don’t know. I might write songs again and do some recording. But not at the breakneck pace that I was. I’m burnt out.”
Colt finished his sandwich and stood, giving her a quick hug. “Well, you’ve always had a great ear and found some great opening acts for me. I think you’d be terrific at that.”
Her parents quickly followed, her mother with tears in her eyes. “I had no idea you were so unhappy. I thought you were just tired from the road. If this is what you want, give it three months, or even six, and see how it goes. Darren often said you had the best ear. He’s signed some fantastic new acts because of you. He owes you.”
Her father enveloped her in a bear hug. “Well, baby, I hope this guy is good enough for you because you’re giving up an awful lot for him. But if it makes you happy, then we’ll be behind you the whole way.”
“Daddy, he’s worth everything. Believe me. And I’m not doing this for him. It’s for me.” She hugged her father, tears in her eyes. Her family was being so supportive, putting aside the fact that they weren’t completely on board yet. She could work with it. She’d show them and everyone else that she was making the right decision.
Now she had plans to make before heading home.
Chapter Thirty
It was harder than she had anticipated to get her business resources in line. She had spent much of the past several days tying up loose ends with her business manager and team, shifting her situation away from performing and to the business side of music. Darren took the shift relatively well, once she promised to remain associated with him and his company as a talent scout and liaison for new acts. He even thought her working on the West Coast would be a good assignment for her, adding a depth to his agency and new opportunities too. Dealing with the legalities took a little more finesse but he pushed that through earlier that afternoon and they’d just finished a celebratory dinner with her family as a send off for her.
Now, she was pulling up to her house, a house that would shortly belong to someone else if the sale would go through as quick as her real estate agent promised, and she could be free. She really needed to renew her driver’s license though. She was tired of relying on other people for rides. That was one of the next things to change in her new, take-charge-of-her-life phase, but that could wait until she was settled in her new home. Provided she had a new home to settle into!
The driver pulled up to the front of her home and the Sale Pending sign and she sighed. Darren looked at her. “Are you sure you really want to leave Nashville and do all of this for a guy?”
“I’m not doing this for a guy. I’m doing this for me. He’s only part of it and yes, he’s totally worth it. Remember your promise. The song is ours. Always.”
He made a cross over his heart. “I’ll miss you but somehow I think this new partnership might be better for both of us. And you’ll still sing and record.”
“Only some songs. Just what I want to sing. And yes, we’ll record that song. Eventually.” She leaned over and hugged him. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll be in touch with next steps.”
“Be happy, Piper.”
She smiled and opened the door of the town car, stepping out onto the driveway. A familiar truck was parked in her driveway and she froze, staring at the license plate, dumbstruck.
Darren leaned forward. “Piper, do I need to call security?”
She shook her head, still unsure of what she was seeing. “I’ve got this. Go home.”
He started to slide out of the car but suddenly Ty was standing there, along with Dundee, who put his front paws in the car and barked. “She’s got this, Darren. Dundee, off.”
And Ty closed the car door firmly in Darren’s face, then thumped the hood of the car, basically telling the driver to leave. Dundee jumped on Piper, tail wagging so hard he almost fell over, whining and crying with excitement. She crouched down and rubbed the dog, getting lots of kisses in return. But she never stopped staring at Ty, half-expecting him to disappear if she looked away. Finally, she stood, brushing at the white and red fur on her black dress.
“Dundee, leave her
alone.” Dundee huffed and wandered to the grass and lay down to watch them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I came for you.”
Piper swallowed past the lump in her throat, blinking furiously as tears threatened. “I thought you hated it here.”
“I love you more.” He advanced until only inches separated them. “You were right. I never gave it a chance here. I was keeping one foot at the ranch, not even trying to fit in here. I didn’t talk to you about anything or even try to work with anyone. I should have spoken up or talked with you all more. Instead, I walked away. It’s easier to walk away, to retreat, because that way it’s not a risk. I don’t get hurt that way. I don’t fail. I think I was afraid that I would disappoint you, me, everyone if I fucked up. So, I blamed everyone else and walked away.”
“So, you want to give it another shot? Try to be a big country music star?” she asked, her heart in her throat.
His eyes got a little panicked and he swallowed. Hard. “Well, it means I’m willing to try, but with some conditions and adjustments. But I’m all in. No fallback with the ranch.” He gestured to the truck behind him.
Her eyes widened as she took in the truck packed full of stuff. “What does that mean exactly?”
He took her hands gently in his and drew her close. “I was using the ranch as a crutch. So, my brothers basically told me to come out and not think about the ranch, that it was time for me to have my own dreams. So, I packed up everything, including Dundee. I’m here to stay. If you’ll have me. Dundee refused to stay behind, in fact.”
She angled her head to look around him and gauge the amount of stuff. “Is that all of your stuff? Everything you own?”
He shrugged, looking a bit confused now. “Basically. I mean, I didn’t take my furniture. I figured we didn’t need it.”
She sighed. “Well, damn it. You had to go and be the bigger man and beat me to the punch. And now we’ll have no place to live since your stuff is taking up all the sleeping space in that truck.”
He dropped her hands and shook his head. “Darlin’, I’m not getting it. Are you telling me that I’m not welcome here? That I need to grovel more? Because I will. I can sleep in the cab of the truck. Dundee and I did it on the way here. It’s a thirty hour or so drive and we needed to sleep at a couple of rest stops.”
“You drove straight through? Are you out of your mind? You must be exhausted. Why didn’t you get a hotel room? And you slept at rest stops? That’s one of the prime places serial killers get their victims. You’re lucky you’re not dead.”
A gentle smile curved his lips. “Darlin’, please focus. Dundee would have protected me.”
They glanced at the dog who was currently rolling in the grass letting the world see his business. She arched her brow at him like, really? He sighed. “Okay, but we were fine. I wanted to get out here and see you, talk to you. Can you please tell me if you forgive me?”
“Of course, I forgive you. I wasn’t sure you’d forgive me. I kind of threw you to the wolves out here and didn’t help you. But that’s been taken care of. Your song is still yours. I made sure of that and I looked over your contract and made sure Darren knows that he has to be a little less militant in the future.”
Ty just grinned, his quirky little alpha smile. “I already knew that. Hailey was all over that contract. She had called him last week and ripped him a new one. She’s a little scary, that one. I have new respect for my brother for marrying her. He’s got balls of steel.”
“No wonder he gave in so quickly. Bastard. Anyway, we still have a problem. We have nowhere to live.” She gestured behind her. “For such a smart country boy, didn’t you look at the sign?”
He looked up and his brow furrowed. He took a few steps, and she realized that from their angle, the sign was obscured by the hedges along the front row. His jaw dropped when he finally found it. “You sold your house?”
“Yup. I was kind of hoping I had this cute cabin on this ranch in Montana. Do you know if it’s still available? Or did you sign it over to Tara for her guest ranch?”
He grabbed her and hugged her close. “You were coming to Montana?”
“If you had bothered to look inside the windows, you would have seen half my house boxed up, although I am leaving most of the furniture. Hell, I wasn’t a big fan of it. It belongs here anyway. The buyers loved it and the stuff was barely used. Do you think we can put a hold on the furniture Gene was sending out here for me, have him send it to the ranch instead for us?”
He pulled her close, the heat from his body warming her, thawing her finally even though it was warm in the Tennessee evening. She snuggled closer, laying her head on his chest and feeling his heartbeat through his shirt. “I’ve missed you for so long. Nothing felt right when you were gone. Hell, nothing felt right even when you were here. Nothing was right down here at all. I missed Montana.”
He rested his chin on her head. “I was miserable without you. But what about your career, your family?”
She cupped his face. “I have a family in Montana. And, you were right about my career. I hated what I was doing and that’s why I wasn’t doing well. It was time to find a new path, my own path. I’m going to work with new artists, find new artists. It’s going to be hard doing it from the ranch so I might need to find recording space, maybe in Missoula, that I can work from. But I’m going to work with Darren as a talent scout and then have a small studio where we can record demo tapes and get new talent to build and grow. Once they’re ready, we can move them to the big time. And I can still record and write music if I want.”
He tilted her chin up to face him. “Will that be enough for you?”
She smiled. “I’m hoping I have my first two clients.”
He cocked his head. “Who?”
“You, silly, and Scene of the Herd, though I think we need to change their name.” She rose on tiptoes and kissed him. “I love you, Ty. So much.”
“Finally.” He exhaled a shaky breath and crushed her to him. He took her lips in a deep, drugging kiss, hauling her up until she was pressed against him. She twined her arms around him and tugged his head down, while her leg wrapped around his thigh in an effort to get closer.
A wolf whistle pierced their moment and Ty lifted his head with a growl.
Colt and her parents stood on the street. “Take that shit inside. This is a family development.”
Ty flipped him the bird and went back to kissing her.
Epilogue
Piper drove down the long driveway toward the main house at the guest ranch, being careful to stay in her lane and not drift. She had been accused of not paying attention, of watching scenery too much, and of thinking of songs while driving. And who could blame her? The nature all around her in Montana had awakened her inner muse and she was writing music again, even as she was focused on developing a program to work with young artists. Which brought her to her current state, crawling down the driveway to the ranch and her little slice of heaven. The cabin she now shared with Ty.
Ty gritted his teeth next to her but refrained from speaking and she smothered a grin. He was so patient with her, not taking over driving to give her a chance to learn, but he hated being a passenger when she drove. He gripped the Oh Shit bar until his knuckles turned white, even though she rarely went fast enough to truly risk his nerves, though she may have gotten close to the guard rails around the high passes in the mountain, and maybe the cars in the other lane, resulting in some horns blasting. But she was getting better. Really.
She finally parked in front of the main house with a triumphant grin. He loosened his grip and muttered something under his breath. She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t hear that. Do you want to repeat it?”
“Not on a bet.” He opened the door and got out, stretching his muscles and greeting Dundee.
Tara and West came out of the barn they were renovating for the guest ranch, to be the new events location, since her wedding had gone viral on Pinterest and var
ious wedding sites. They had converted the old storage barn that had been used for Chase’s bull-riding practice and equipment storage and were currently shoring up the walls, and completely ripping out the interior so it could have that rustic appeal that many brides were looking for, apparently. Piper had looked at it as a possible studio site but the acoustics weren’t the best and it would need too much work.
“How was the workshop with the kids?” Tara asked.
Piper grinned. She and Ty had started working with some of the local kids who had expressed interest in music, giving them a path they had not thought possible before now. “A lot of noise but some potentials in the group. Some of them think it’s a great way to meet girls but a couple kids have real potential. We just need to get them some real instruction.”
“Emma’s working on that, trying to find a music teacher who can help them, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but I want to do more. Like a program for some of these kids. Anyway, I think I found a studio in Missoula that’ll work for me.”
“That’s great, but it’s so far.” Tara wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure you’re ready to drive that far every day?”
“Hey, I’m not that bad a driver. I’m getting better.”
“On the back roads. Missoula is a city, not quite like Nashville but with a lot more cars than Granite Junction. And when winter comes…”
Piper sighed. “I know. I’ll probably do less travel then. But we can at least do some of our own recording before then. I have some staff members who are willing to relocate from Nashville, people who weren’t going to get ahead anytime soon at the label and are excited about working with younger talent.”
“Starting your own label, Piper?”
“Not exactly. Just providing opportunity. Who knows? Maybe it can be like one of those artist co-opts but for musicians.”