Reaper's Girl (Rockin' Country #5)

by Laramie Briscoe

  Her eyes widened with relief at his question. “Please, it’s been a stressful day.”

  He leaned down, giving her a quick kiss as he made his way to the bar. Random people high-fived him as they first noticed his shirt and then recognized who he was. It didn’t bother him here, not like it did in California, not like it did in other random parts of the country—he truly felt at home here.

  Finally making his way to the bar, he ordered both him and Hannah a couple of drinks, and then took them back, again weaving his way through the maze of people. Hannah and Shell were laughing as he had a seat and handed her the glass of alcohol.

  “I was so worried no one would show up, and then when I walked out onto the stage and I saw it was standing room only, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.” There were slight tears in her eyes now, and Garrett wondered if maybe she had cried, but hid it so no one could see. That was definitely the way of his wife, emotional sometimes to a fault, but honest about her reactions in most everything.

  “Either way,” Garrett took a drink, relishing the feel of the warm alcohol making its way down his throat, “you killed it. From our perspective it looked like everybody was having an amazing time. Hell, I had an amazing time.”

  “I did too. I was worried I’d feel weird since it’d been so long, but it was like riding a bike. I loved being on that stage, and I realized how much I’d missed it.”

  Everyone who sat with her knew what a huge admission those words were. At one point, Hannah had hated the stage. It’d stifled her, and she’d wanted to get as far away from it as she could. To know she was coming around like this was a good thing.

  Garrett glanced around at their friends and at the crowd. The one thing he wanted most in the world was to get his wife alone, but he didn’t want to have to take her back to their house to do it. He loved showing her off, loved having her on his arm; the more public the setting, sometimes the more he liked it. There had been many people who said they’d never make it, who said they were too different and their marriage would be over in months. He loved that he could flash them a middle finger and prove to them he and Hannah still had it together. They would have it together for years to come because he knew he couldn’t live without her.

  And right now he wanted to show her off, wanted others to kind of see what he had but not be privy to it. A thought sprang to his mind. It wasn’t often he asked her, and it sure as hell wasn’t something he did on a regular basis. Knowing sometimes you did things for your spouses you wouldn’t normally do, he leaned over and couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth.

  “I’d like to put my arms around you and hold you close. Do you wanna dance?” Garrett asked, grabbing her hand. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth waiting for her answer.

  Her eyes showed her surprise at his question, and the smile she gave him made his heart stop. “Yes, I’d love to!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  * * *

  Hannah held tightly onto Garrett’s hand as he directed them to a dark corner of the club. Here, they could hide their faces and bodies and hope no one would recognize a couple enjoying each other’s company.

  “Did you really have fun tonight?” he asked, his voice deep and loud in her ear as he leaned against the wall for stability.

  They swayed to the beat; she let him hold her up. “I did.” She leaned in close so he could hear her. “I forgot how much I missed it, how much it makes me get that adrenaline rush.”

  She felt his hands slip up her thighs, up under her skirt, pulling her closer to his body. They were in the dark, so she allowed it, separating her thighs so she could straddle one of his. “I understand.” He kissed along the pulse point of her neck. “I only get that same adrenaline rush from you. You and the stage make me hard.”

  The drink she’d had earlier loosened her lips. “You and the stage make me wet,” she admitted.

  He wove a spell around her body, making her want nothing more than to be alone with him. Yet here they were, out here in the open, about to behave like teenagers. She gripped his shirt in her fingers, pulling him into her.

  His mouth found the skin of her neck, nipping and soothing as one hand tangled under the nape of her neck, his fingers threading through her hair, the other moving further up the back of her thighs until they encountered the lace of her panties.

  She wondered if he dare do it here, if she wanted him to. It struck her as odd, how much she’d changed from the girl she’d been when they first got together. That girl lurked under the surface sometimes, but for the most part Hannah Thompson was now a woman who knew what she wanted. “Do it,” she encouraged him when she felt the tips of his fingers slip beneath the fabric covering the lower portion of her body.

  He groaned deeply in her ear, the sound causing goosebumps to pop all over her body. “You sure?”

  She nodded, nosing her way to his neck, kissing him hungrily, grabbing at the flesh there. “Do it before I change my mind.”

  Garrett had never disappointed her and he didn’t now as he thrust two fingers deeply inside her body. Thank God he was leaning against a sturdy structure because her knees gave out and she sagged against him.

  “Just let go.” He breathed against her ear, capturing her earlobe in his mouth, using his teeth to tug on the sensitive skin.

  His fingers in her hair tugged her to his liking and left her exposed so he could do whatever he wanted to her. Hannah gave herself over to him, letting him play her like he sang a song. It was intense, beautiful, and passionate all at the same time. There was no other man she’d ever give herself over to like this, and she knew that more now than she’d ever had.

  She ground her hips against him, trying to get closer, one hand caught behind his neck, the other caught his hip, and she almost took her feet off the floor, leaving herself impaled on his fingers. He flicked against her, rubbing his palm against her sensitive clit. If it hadn’t been with him, she would be embarrassed at how fast she exploded against him.

  “Oh yeah, baby,” he encouraged, feeling the rush of moisture against his hand, feeling the tightening of her body and then the relaxation of the aftermath.

  He gripped her thigh with the hand that had just been shoved between her thighs, and shoved his cock up in between those same thighs. She hadn’t even realized he’d unzipped, but as they ground against each other, she was thankful they were in a corner that was pitch black.

  Hannah felt his sharp teeth against her shoulder as she felt him spill into her body.

  “I’d be embarrassed if you hadn’t come as quickly as I did,” he spoke into her ear, his breathing choppy and uneven.

  Hannah pulled back from him, not sure what had gotten into the two of them. Situating her skirt back around her thighs, she did her best to stand on her own two feet.

  “What the fuck did we just do?” he asked, not believing it himself.

  She giggled then, unexpectedly. “I can’t believe it.” She pushed her hand over her mouth. “You’re a bad influence.”

  “Me?” he questioned as he zipped back up and adjusted. “You’re the one who told me to do it.” He pulled her close. “That’s the hottest thing we’ve ever done, but let’s not make public sex a habit, okay?”

  She agreed one hundred percent, but with Garrett, hardly anything was out of the question.

  * * *

  “Your phone is blowing up,” Garrett yelled at Hannah the next morning.

  They’d gotten themselves up and dressed ready to hit a local pumpkin patch after they picked up EJ. He patted his thigh, calling for Havock. “You wanna go with us, boy?”

  The dog loved to do anything with the family. It was as if he truly was a part of the family and understood everything going on. Garrett grabbed a bag that had the things they’d need for both Havock and EJ before he grabbed Havock’s leash.

  Hannah ran into the kitchen, putting her hair up in a ponytail. She looked like a teenager today. Her face was makeup free, hair up, wearing a pair of t
orn jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that read “the struggle is real”.

  “They started ticket sales today,” she explained as she sat down to put on a pair of shoes. “They’re selling them all today. I think sales are gonna suck with them doing that, but the record company said it would be a good idea. I mean what if I sell nothing.” She shrugged. “Okay, I take that back. I know I’ll sell here, but the other stuff, I’m scared they’re gonna cancel the tour.” She laughed.

  She never got the grasp of how big she was, and Garrett was kind of happy for that, because it meant she was always thankful for everything she had. He knew without a doubt the tour would sell out; the song was already a number one on the country chart and in the top ten on the pop charts. Something told him this would be the one show nobody wanted to miss.

  “Well, why don’t you grab your phone and see what the hell’s going on. While you were getting ready it almost fell off the counter.”

  She rolled her eyes, giving him a face as she grabbed her phone. Putting in her passcode, he watched as her eyes read over whatever it was that had been sent to her. Her face changed and he got scared as he watched her eyes widen and a hand fly to her chest.

  “Hannah?” he questioned, immediately worried.

  “No, I’m okay,” her voice was breathless as she spoke. “I just can’t believe it.”

  “Believe what? You’re starting to scare me.”

  She turned the phone so he could see what she was talking about. “The tour, in the first hour, has sold out over seventy-five percent of the dates.” She stopped for a moment. “This is unheard of in country, Garrett, not unless you’re a huge name.”

  “You are a huge name, babe. Maybe you’ll realize that now.” He scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around the room.

  “They’re asking if they can add some more dates in the bigger markets. Two days have sold out in some of them.”

  “Babe, go for it.” He kissed her deeply. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

  She was proud of herself too, but there was a part of her already feeling anxiety creeping in. “I’m nervous.”

  “You’ll be fine, Hannah. We’ll all be there with you, and we’ll live this with you. You won’t be by yourself, I promise.”

  She knew he spoke the truth, knew she didn’t have to worry about the situations and scenarios she’d worried about before. Now however, it felt as if she had a whole new set of anxieties to worry over. She tried hard to push them down and be excited about what was going on in her life.

  “Let’s go get our son. I think Havock’s ready.” She pointed to the door where their dog stood holding his leash in his mouth.

  Garrett threw his head back laughing. “Obviously he’s sick of our shit.”

  “Obviously,” she agreed dryly.

  * * *

  “Is that the one you want?” Hannah asked EJ as they walked through the pumpkin patch.

  He’d loved everything they’d done. They’d played on the playground, gone to a petting zoo, and he’d tried his first cider slush. Havock ran ahead of them with Garrett, enjoying being out in the open. Overall, they were having an amazing family day.

  “Yeah,” EJ answered, shaking his head. “Dis one.” He patted the pumpkin that was bigger than him.

  “We gotta get daddy to come get it,” she told him, scared she wouldn’t be able to hold it and their son both. “Garrett!” she yelled. She didn’t want to leave the pumpkin unattended in case someone else decided it would fit their family as well. It made her nervous to yell his name out like that in this hugely populated place. Because of the day, he wore his sunglasses and he’d pushed his long-sleeved shirt up above his elbows. He looked exactly how he did on stage, except he held a dog on a leash. He heard her the second time she yelled, and she was relieved as she motioned for him to come back to where they stood.

  “This is the one he wants.” She pointed to the large pumpkin.

  “Holy crap.” Garrett caught himself before he said the other word. “Let me go get a wagon. I have no doubt I can carry it, but it’ll be awkward.”

  He leaned down, holding his hand out for his son. “Give me a high-five. You picked out a good one, EJ. It’ll look good on the tour bus. We needed a big one for that.”

  As Garrett left with Havock to get a wagon, it struck her with clarity he was right. They would have this pumpkin on a tour bus, and whether she was ready for it or not, their life was about to get a lot crazier.

  She picked EJ up, kissing him on the cheek. “Oh, I hope you’re a good tour baby.” She whispered a quick prayer up to the Lord above and plastered on a bright smile as Garrett and Havock appeared with a wagon to transport the pumpkin.

  Looking back, this would be the last normal day they had as a family for a while.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  * * *

  Hannah did her best to breathe through the anxiety she was feeling. It was always worse at the beginning of a tour, and this was no different. A few hundred tiny little things had gone wrong—from them getting the wrong color of confetti delivered, to the wrong flowers to give out to meet-and-greet winners. It wasn’t like she was picky, but there were some things they’d planned, and she wanted those things to all go smoothly. Things had to be color coordinated, and there were fans coming that were allergic to the flowers that had been delivered. She wondered if she’d made someone very angry in a past life, because today was not the day she needed all these things to happen. One or two at a time would have been fine. All in one day? She needed a drink.

  She’d been summoned to wardrobe only to find out her opening outfit wasn’t finished, and they’d had to measure her one last time.

  The day had turned into a major cluster, and if she was given to saying curse words, the ones she wanted to spew forth would make Reaper proud. As it was, she was saying them in her mind, and more than once, one had almost slipped out. She knew people made fun of her for not cursing, but it’d always seemed such a crass thing to do, and she’d been taught to be a lady. In her limited experience, most people could be dressed down just as easily without the use of four-letter words. Today though, she was this close to letting someone hear one of those famous words slip between her lips.

  “Hannah, they need you in hair and makeup.” Shell came to the backstage area, a notebook and a pen in her hand. She looked worse for wear too. She’d had to get loud with a beverage vendor and the ladies in wardrobe over the outfit. They both looked to be almost at the end of their ropes, and this was only night one.

  Hannah breathed deeply. Wardrobe had needed her five minutes ago, and she had yet to eat lunch. “I’ll be there in a sec,” she yelled over her shoulder. What she really wanted was a few minutes of peace and quiet, and if she was a smoker, she’d love a cigarette. Alas, she wasn’t a smoker.

  As she was walking down the hallway, she heard “Mommy” and then the pitter patter of little steps running towards her. If anything could brighten her day, it would be this little guy and maybe a hug from his dad. She stopped, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Be careful, EJ!” She heard Garrett warn him right as she turned around.

  When she did, she saw something that made her heart stop and bile rise up in her chest. EJ’s feet got tangled up, not used to running on a hard floor, and he tripped, smacking his body against the hard concrete with a sickening thud. It happened in almost slow motion. She stuck her hands out, wanting to catch him, but knew she was too far away. Right before her eyes, she saw it happen and couldn’t do anything to prevent it. The sounds of the hallway went away, and all she could hear was the thud of his face hitting the floor.

  “Oh my God, EJ!” she screamed as she sprinted towards him. He wasn’t more than ten feet away, but as it registered with her son what he’d done, his heartbreaking wail echoed through the halls, reverberating with a loudness that radiated inside the walls of her chest.

  She reached him first, even though she heard the loud footfalls of Garrett not far away, t
aking her knees so hard she heard them pop against the floor. It was a pain she never felt. She’d never run so fast in her life. “EJ.” She breathed heavily, trying to hold her fear at bay. “Let me see,” she cooed in as calm a voice as she could.

  But he didn’t want to let her see, he wanted to bury his head in her shoulder and cry out all his pain. Hannah fumbled around blindly, putting her hand up to his nose and pulling it away quickly, feeling nauseous when she saw the blood on her palm. “Garrett,” she called to him, making his eyes meet hers as he looked around for someone to help them, her voice hoarse. Holding her hand up, she showed him the blood.

  He reached them then, going down on his knee to kneel next to his wife and son. “C’mon, buddy, let me see.” He was trying to coax his son to let go of his mom, but he grabbed harder around her neck and screamed in her neck.

  “Is it his nose or his head or his lip?” he asked Hannah.

  “I don’t know.” She rubbed her hand up and down EJ’s back in the most soothing manner she could. “He won’t let go of me, and I don’t want to hurt him by making him let me see.”

  His wails were tearing at her heart. All she could hear was him screaming Mommy and then nonsensical mumblings. It scared her to death. She saw both Jared and Shell come running, their faces white as they took in the sight in front of them.

  “What happened?” Jared asked, fear making his voice shake.

  “He fell,” Garrett explained, swallowing deeply against the knot in his throat. “Can one of you grab us a rag and the other go get medical for the venue?”

  Hannah appreciated his calm voice of reason, because she felt like she was ready to melt down. How she was holding it together, she wasn’t sure, but possibly this was what people meant when they said mother’s intuition. Her hands shook as she stretched her legs out and sat against the wall, letting EJ lean against her. He was still screaming as she whispered soothing words in his ear. “C’mon, honey, let me see.”

  When he finally did, her heart started beating normally again as she saw he’d busted his nose and lip, but it looked like his teeth and head were fine.