No Accounting for Cowboys

by Leah Braemel

  Luckily she had money stashed away, and the rent from the tenant would cover the mortgage payment, though not enough to pay the land taxes or the insurance. She’d have enough to last six months. Make that five and a half by the time she paid for a one-way plane ticket. Maybe four, since she’d have to kick in money for food and whatever else they needed to live on the road. She didn’t want to mooch off Jake. She’d seen the receipts he’d been scanning, and knew the band was just barely breaking even. They’d be back in six weeks. Which meant her savings would last longer.

  * * *

  Brewskie and Pebbles both jumped up when she opened the door at Jake’s place, their tails wagging hard. She knelt, soaking up their happiness, laughing and holding her hands up in defence as both dogs tried to lick her face.

  Shoot. She’d have to get Ben to pick up the dogs.

  “I’m really sorry, guys. I know I promised Jake I’d look after you while he’s away, but I’m going to have to get someone else to take care of you.” Pebbles sat in front of her, staring at her as if she understood every word Paige said. “Tell you what. When we come back I’ll bring you something, maybe a big ol’ bone. Okay?”

  Brewskie lifted his head and barked once as if in approval, while Pebbles’ tail wagged faster. Yeah, whoever said dogs didn’t understand language had never been around a dog.

  She dialed Ben’s number, wondering how long she’d have to wait, especially out of signal range. But he picked up the first attempt.

  “Hey, Ben. It’s Paige.”

  “Hey, how you doin’, honey?”

  “Unemployed. Thanks to Gabe’s lawyer.” And maybe you too? While she understood that he might have felt pressured to let her go, she would have appreciated it if he’d given her a heads-up.

  “Shit. Why?” After her explanation, he said something to someone else. Gabe maybe. She doubted Allie would be at home this early in the day. After a minute he came back on the line. “Miss Her Shit Don’t Stink lawyer is acting on her own. Gabe and I are both in agreement. You’re our accountant, you hear? No matter what anyone else says. We’ll fire K&T if they don’t hire you back.”

  As if sensing the emotions flooding through her, Pebbles jumped up beside her and rested her head on Paige’s thigh. “Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it, and I’ll be happy to keep doing your books, but it won’t be with K&T.”

  “I know it’s none of my business, but you’ll need other clients, won’t you?”

  “Yes, but I’ll get them. Besides I’m thinking about starting my own entertainment accounting business. That doesn’t mean I can’t still do your books too. But in the meantime, I’m going to go out to tour with Jake. See if I can get some contacts through him and his management.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Warmth flowed down the line. She could picture him smiling, maybe even heaving a sigh of relief. “I know Jake misses you. Maybe he’ll be happier on the road with you there.”

  “I hope so.” She stroked Pebbles’ head. The beagle leaned into her touch. God, she was going to miss them. Maybe she should find a way to take them with her. Except, they’d be cramped enough in Jake’s truck. No, the dogs would be happier staying at the ranch.

  “When do you leave?”

  “As soon as I can get a flight. Which is why I was calling. Jake left Brewskie and Pebbles with me, but I obviously can’t take them with me. I was wondering if I could drop them off with you.”

  “Of course. When are you leaving?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I haven’t booked a flight, but I’m going to see if I can get onto one tonight.”

  “Hang on a sec.” He must have put his hand over the phone’s microphone because while she could hear talk in the background it was muffled. A minute later he returned.

  “How are you getting to the airport?”

  “I was going to take the bus. It’s hard to fit my suitcase on my bike, you know?”

  “New plan. Gabe and I are gonna head over right now. I’ll take the dogs back with me and he’ll drive you to the airport. Is that okay?”

  Oh wow. “Yeah that’s great. Let me just see about a flight.”

  Once she’d booked a flight for that afternoon, and packed, she phoned them and sure enough Ben and Gabe in their matching white Bull’s Hollow trucks pulled into her driveway.

  Ben hung back as Gabe approached. “I called Victoria and fired her for going behind my back.”

  “Thanks.” She lifted up on her toes and brushed a kiss over his cheek, grinning as color flooded his face.

  “And I called K&T,” Ben added, “and told them if you weren’t going to be doing our books, not to send anyone else. That they’re fired. I’m really sorry you lost your job though.”

  She kissed his cheek too. “Thanks. But you know, it’s probably for the best. I’ve not been happy there for a while, and they definitely didn’t like me.”

  “If this new business you’re thinking of starting doesn’t work out, I know a lot of people I can recommend come to you.” A sly smile slid over Ben’s face. “Your boss doesn’t realize how much potential business he may have lost. We have a lot of connections.”

  She wondered how long it would take Bill to realize that. He probably already had. “Thanks, but for now I’m going to thinking positively. From the research I’ve done, and maybe with a little help from Jake, I can get a foot in the door in the entertainment industry. There are a lot of musicians out there who need good accounting advice. Lots of other folk too. And I won’t turn down any connections you can give me.”

  Four hours later, Gabe stopped his truck in a designated one-hour parking spot at DFW. “Remember, you’ll always be Bull’s Hollow’s accountant. Ben and I have your back. And I guess it doesn’t need to be said that Jake would have our asses if we didn’t.”

  He carried her luggage as he accompanied her to the check-in counter. “You tell Jake I said hi. And tell him not to feel guilty about bein’ out on the road. But not to stay out too long. You’re not the only one who’s been missing his sorry ass.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Thanks to a hurried patch job after the break in, and the tail end of a hurricane that had flooded half the roads leading to Nashville, the trailer had sprung a leak that had shorted out their electrical system in addition to leaving their bunks soaked. Again. With no choice but to dig into his own savings, Jake had rented a room at one of the chain hotels on Nashville’s outskirts. Worse, they’d had to go to their recording session without Drew. Who had disappeared during breakfast and never returned.

  Jake grabbed his guitar case from the back of his truck and dropped his chin against the driving wind and rain.

  Once they were inside, Jake faced Hunter and voiced the concern both he and Cam had discussed while Hunter recorded his tracks. “You are backing us about Drew, right? He’s out?”

  Whether Hunter agreed or not, it was a done deal. Ruben had already canceled Drew’s contract, as had Southern Gents. The main worry he and Cam had now was whether Hunter would walk too.

  Hunter nodded slowly. “Yeah. I hate it, but I know we have to be professional.”

  Cam hissed in a breath. “Speaking of Drew? He’s back.”

  Jake followed Cam’s gaze to where Drew stumbled across the parking lot, a beer bottle dangling from his fingers.

  Cam straightened his shoulders. “Showtime.”

  Drew lurched into the lobby, his lip lifting in a sneer when he noticed them. “Why the fuck didn’t you guys wait for me, huh? I’ve been sitting on my ass over at the bar waiting for you assholes for the last fucking two hours. I thought we were going to the studio.”

  “We had to go without you because you didn’t show the fuck up when we told you to, asshole,” Cam snapped, against their agreement to let Hunter break the news. “If we hadn’t left they would have canceled our sessi
on and slotted someone else in.”

  Aware of heads turning at the raised voices, Jake held up a hand. “Can we go up to the room, and not do this here?”

  He headed for the bank of elevators and pressed the button, grateful Drew finally followed his lead.

  The drummer continued to snipe and gripe until they were in their shared room. As Cam dug in his bag for the letters Ruben and Stan had given him, Jake closed their room door and faced Drew. “Shut the fuck up and listen. We’re tired of your shit. We’re tired of you being late for rehearsals, of showing up late for our shows. We’re tired of you being drunk or high night after night.”

  “Fuck you,” Drew sneered. “So I have a drink or two before I play, it ain’t harmin’ anyone.”

  Jake huffed in exasperation. “Not harming anyone? How about how you nearly fucked it up for everyone today by not showing up? They could have canceled our contract, you know. You’ve fucked up the rhythm in every single show for the last three weeks. Hunter’s had to sit in for you twice in the past week alone because you showed up high.” Which was when they’d finally made the call to Ruben to arrange for a replacement drummer. “We’ve warned you, repeatedly, that we were tired of your shit and you still kept fucking up. So we’re done, do you hear me? You’re out of the band.”

  “Fuck that, I’ve got a contract, same as you. You have to let me play.”

  “No.” Jake took the envelopes from Cam and shoved them at Drew’s chest. “Both your agreement with Ruben and the contract with Southern Gents have been canceled. By them. With our agreement. We need a drummer who shows up and can keep the beat. And you’ve proven again and again you can’t. Sorry, Drew—” not, “—but you’re out of the Graduates.”

  “Fuck that.” Drew tossed the envelopes unopened onto the bed and went nose-to-nose with Jake. “And fuck you, Grady. You’re behind this, aren’t you?”

  “No, Drew. We all agreed.” Hunter wedged himself between them. “We’ve even got a new drummer lined up already. I’m real sorry, but you need to go home and get dried out.”

  Drew blinked, his chin lowered and he sank onto the bed. “But we’re...friends. Hunt, you know being on the road in a band has always been my dream. How can you just kick me out like this?”

  “I tried to talk to you.” Hunter kept his voice even, though Jake could tell it was tearing him up. “To tell you to ease up on the dope and the drinking. But you wouldn’t listen.”

  “But this is my one shot at fame.” Panic tinged Drew’s voice as his gaze darted between them, sweat beading on his pale forehead. “It’s the only chance I have at gettin’ away from stocking shelves for the rest of my life.”

  “I know, buddy,” Hunter said quietly.

  Jake had to give the bassist credit. Hunter had brought Drew in four years before, with the hope, Jake suspected, that Drew might one day see him as more than a friend. When Drew hadn’t shown any interest in him, Hunter had settled for the role of friend and protector, a role he took seriously. To have to cut Drew loose, to admit he couldn’t protect him anymore, must have been tearing him up inside.

  “But it’s my one shot too,” Hunter continued, “and you’re ruining it. None of us may ever get another chance. So I had to choose, and in the end, you made the choice easy. I’m real sorry, Drew.”

  Sensing Drew was about to break down, Jake handed Hunter the bus ticket he’d bought. “I got this for him this morning. At least he’ll get home that way, right?”

  He patted Hunter on the shoulder, then he and Cam left the room. As they waited for the elevator, Cam ran a hand through his hair and glanced back at their room. “Shit, I hated doin’ that.”

  “It had to be done. If we didn’t, they would have pulled us from the tour, and we may have lost the contract. It was a business decision.” Was he saying it for Cam’s benefit or his own? Shit. Even though he believed everything he’d just said, it had still sucked. Though he suspected in replacing Drew, they may have also lost Hunter.

  “It sucks rotten eggs,” Cam muttered as the elevator arrived. A middle-aged couple moved to the side of the elevator as they climbed in. Once the couple had gotten out on the second floor pool level and they were alone, Cam asked, “D’you think he’s going to be okay?”

  Doubtful. Drew would probably cash in the bus ticket to buy his next hit, but Jake didn’t say it aloud. Whatever happened to him was up to Drew now. The elevator door slid opened, and they stepped out. As they emerged, someone called Jake’s name.

  A woman. With black hair. Pink-tipped black hair. It couldn’t be. She was back in Texas. She wasn’t... She hadn’t said she was flying out.

  Cam slapped his shoulder. “How come you didn’t warn me your lady was joining us, dude?”

  God, he wasn’t imagining her. He didn’t remember crossing the distance between them or if she’d run to him and met him halfway, but the next thing he knew, she was in his arms, and he was in hers.

  Lips met, arms wrapped around each other, fingers dug into clothes and skin, each one holding tight like the other might disappear.

  He pulled back and cupped her face, drinking in the smudged coral lipstick, and the warmth and sheer happiness in her eyes. Going from the darkness under her eyes, a lot of exhaustion too—probably from traveling in a subsonic bullet, not to mention dealing with the TSA and airport staff. But it was definitely a happy exhaustion. God, he’d missed her. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I mean, I love that you’re here but...” Love that she was here? He was ecstatic.

  “It was a spur of the moment thing. You don’t mind, do you?”

  Unable to contain himself, he picked her up by the waist and spun her around. “Are you kidding? I love that you’re here, darlin’.” He set her down, and brushed a thumb over her bottom lip. “It’s killed me to be away from you so long.”

  Her arms wrapped around his chest, she pressed her lips against his again, and whispered, “I love you.” A kiss on the lips, her lips moved to his cheek for another kiss. “I missed you so much.”

  Had she really said it? That she loved him? His breath blew flew out of him as if he was in a plane that had decompressed. How long had he waited to hear her say that? He rested his forehead against hers and may have muttered, “Thank God.”

  Okay, he said it louder than he’d anticipated. Because Paige laughed and pulled back. “I wasn’t sure if I needed to get a room of...our own or not. I can totally pay for it. I know funds are short for you.”

  Now wasn’t that a kick to the ego? That his girl would feel she had to support him.

  “Yeah, damned straight I’m not having you share a room with them. I’ll rent another. Hang on!”

  As he waited for the clerk to check his credit card again, he kept an eye out for Drew and Hunter. Damn it, he hadn’t seen Hunter or Drew come down. Maybe he should go up and check on them. Make sure Drew wasn’t pitching a fit. Destroying their stuff. Or threatening to throw himself out the window. Could you kill yourself falling three stories?

  “Here you go, sir.” The clerked returned with his card-key and slipped it in one of those little envelopes. “You’re in room three-fourteen, two doors down from the other room. I’m sorry I can’t get one side by side.”

  That was fine by him. He’d spent enough nights complaining about Cam’s snoring keeping him awake he wasn’t about to give Cam ammunition about him and Paige doing the mattress mambo. Which was next on the order. He’d been away from her so freaking long, he wanted to take a long time to reacquaint himself with every inch of her body.

  His cheeks split in a grin, Cam brushed a kiss over Paige’s cheek. “Hey you. Welcome to life on the road.”

  Jake held up the new room key. “We’re just going to head upstairs and, uh, get Paige unpacked.”

  * * *

  Paige slid a sideways glance at Jake a
s they waited for the elevator. From the scruff of his beard, he hadn’t shaved for a few days, but she definitely approved of the rough-and-tumble look. His hair, damp from the rain, now reached past his collar. The moment the elevator doors closed behind them, he dropped her suitcase’s handle, and pulled her against him for another kiss.

  He tasted of coffee and beer, and sheer heaven. His lips firm against hers, his hands cupping her ass, holding her hard against him. Damn, she’d missed him.

  He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “God, I missed you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  The desperation she’d caught when he’d first spotted her downstairs still tinged his voice, but before she could question him, the elevator slowed and the door opened on their floor, and three noisy kids invaded the space before they could exit.

  Shaking his head, Jake grabbed the suitcase and slapped a hand on the door before it closed on the kids’ parents, leaving them trapped inside with the hellions. The kids’ father thanked him, and held the door open until they exited.

  “Cute kids,” Jake murmured as he trundled her suitcase behind him.

  “More like hell-raisers.”

  “Oh, that’s when they’re fun.” He grinned at her and stopped in front of their room, swiped the card into the lock, only to be greeted with a red flashing light. When the light turned green on the third try, he muttered, “Finally” and swung open the door, letting her go in first.

  Jake wheeled the suitcase in, then hooked the “do not disturb” sign over the door handle. Dropping the suitcase where it stood, he stalked toward her, his face dark with passion and need. “If you like that outfit, you’d better take it off. Because I can’t guarantee I won’t pop all those buttons.”