Love Hard (Anything But Mine Book 2)

by Barbara Justice

  The door squeaked as he began to close it behind him. The sound woke the baby up, and he immediately began to cry. “Damn it,” he said, under his breath.

  Meg sat up, looked at the clock, and glared at Sky. “Seriously? Why did you come in here? I just got him to sleep an hour ago.”

  “Let me help,” Sky offered.

  Meg shot him down. “Just leave us alone. I’ll nurse him and try to get him back to sleep.”

  His face fell. “Oh. Okay. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  Sky retreated to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. While he ate breakfast, he sent a text message to Fiona, asking her to check on Meg and the baby during the day. He left a note on the kitchen counter, reminding Meg that he had a meeting at the offices of his record label, and would be back by dinner time.

  By the time he climbed into his truck, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Glad to get out of that house of horrors for a few hours today,” he muttered under his breath as he turned out of his driveway and drove towards Music Row.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Sky arrived at the meeting with seconds to spare, and slid into the empty seat next to Jack. He nodded off a few times while they were discussing the band’s upcoming tour, and only snapped to attention when Jack poked him in the side. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

  “We want you to take Larissa Townsend out on tour. She’s been added as the opening act,” the record company executive repeated.

  Sky was infuriated. “What the hell?”

  “Her sales are flat, and radio has been slow for her. But since she sang on ‘Heat’, and that’s the next single you’re releasing, we thought it would be good for her to get exposure to your fans.”

  “No. No, my wife will never go for that.” Sky jumped up and began pacing the room.

  “Your wife? Since when does she call the shots? She doesn’t get a vote.” The record company executive folded his arms against his chest. “It’s already decided.”

  “You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to avoid Larissa since that incident at Whiskey Kitchen last year. I can’t…”

  “You can, and you will. Like I said, it’s already decided. So you’d better figure out how to tell your wife, because you’re announcing that Larissa is joining your tour tomorrow morning. We’ve booked you a bunch of radio calls.” The executive and his staff stood. “You boys want to get lunch?”

  Jack spoke up. “No, thanks. We’re good.” He waited until just he and Sky were left in the conference room before speaking again. “What the hell happened to you? You look like you haven’t slept in weeks. How are Meg and Quint?”

  Sky couldn’t look Jack in the eyes. “Good. How are Becky and Ryan?”

  “Great. Who’d have thought we’d have two sons born within a week of each other?”

  “Yeah.” Sky walked ahead of Jack, and pulled open the conference room door.

  Jack caught up with him and grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong?”

  Sky shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “Hey, man, you know you can always talk to me.”

  Sky wasn’t able to meet Jack’s eyes as they walked towards the building exit. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “Let’s get some lunch,” Jack said, as they reached the parking lot.

  “I don’t feel like being out in public right now. I know I look like hell.”

  “Then come over to my place, and I’ll fix us some sandwiches. Becky should be home, but I’ll just tell her we’re going to work on some new music in the basement.”

  Sky closed his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. “Okay.”

  When Sky walked into Jack and Becky’s house, he was startled by the sharp contrast between their home and his. It’s clean. Organized. And so quiet. You’d never know there is a baby here. He looked around, and asked Jack, “Where is everyone?”

  “The baby’s probably napping.”

  “He is,” Becky said, as she entered the room and greeted Sky with a kiss on the cheek.

  Sky’s eyes grew wide as he looked Becky up and down. “Wow. You look great. You’d never know you had a baby two months ago.”

  “Thanks.” She took a close look at him, and asked, “Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, well. I didn’t realize how tough it would be to have a newborn not sleep through the night.”

  “I told Meg she needed to hire an au pair, or even just a part-time nanny. She needs help. That’s how I’ve managed to pull myself back together. I get my sleep, and am back to my pre-pregnancy weight.”

  “But she refuses. Says she wants to do it all on her own. She doesn’t want someone else raising our son,” Sky said. “She didn’t have a mother, and doesn’t want that for Quint.”

  Becky and Jack exchanged worried glances. “But she needs to take care of herself. If she collapses from exhaustion, or has a nervous breakdown, that won’t be good for the baby,” Becky said. She guided Sky into the white marble kitchen and sat him down at the large farmhouse-style table. “Have some sweet tea,” she said, handing him a large glass.

  “Thanks.” He took a sip, and added, “Jack and I were going to write, but I’d rather talk, if it’s okay. I just don’t have it in me today.”

  Over the next two hours, Sky poured his heart out to Jack and Becky. “The baby never sleeps. Like never, ever. He just screams all night long. I think it’s because he’s too attached to her. She hardly ever puts him down during the day.” He went on to explain Meg’s obsession with Quint. “It’s so bad, that I can’t remember the last time I actually kissed her.” He sat back and ran his hands through his hair. “Not that I even want to. I don’t think she’s showered in a week. She went to bed last night with some of Quint’s dried spit up in her hair. It’s like she’s another person since the baby was born. And now this thing with Larissa…”

  Becky swung her head towards her husband. “What thing?”

  Jack held his hands up. “Larissa Townsend is being sent out on tour with us. That’s what the meeting was about this morning.”

  “Meg’s gonna flip out,” Sky said. “It’s a sore spot with us.”

  “Yeah, not to mention the gossip it’s going to stir up,” Becky agreed. “Meg’s going to have to travel with you. It’s the only way to keep it all under control.”

  Sky buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell her.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Sky entered the log cabin carrying a bouquet of gerbera daisies. It was quiet, and there was no evidence of Meg or the baby.

  “Meg? Darlin’, where are you?” He looked around, and noticed that the house was neat and clean for the first time in weeks. He placed the flowers in a vase of water on the kitchen counter, and tip-toed towards the nursery, which was empty. Walking next door to the master bedroom, he found Meg asleep on their bed, and Quint sleeping in the bassinet.

  I need to be more patient with her. She’s exhausted, and trying so hard. He retreated out of their bedroom, and into the kitchen. He rooted through the refrigerator, and came up with a plan for dinner. The least I can do is grill some chicken and asparagus, so we can eat whenever she wakes up.

  Half an hour later, when he was removing the chicken from the grill, he spied Meg walk into the living room. He entered from the deck, and said, “Hey, baby. You were sleeping when I got home, so I thought I’d grill something for dinner. Glad you got a nap in.”

  “Me too. I needed it.” She yawned, and continued, “Fiona came over today for a little while, and helped me get this place straightened up. She watched Quint while I got a shower in. It felt good.”

  Sky took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. “I’m glad she was able to help you out. I wish you’d accept help more often.”

  She couldn’t meet his eyes. “But I told you that I want to do this on my own. I don’t want someone else raising our son.”

  “I know you don’t want to hire an au pair or a nann
y like Jack and Becky did. But letting Mrs. B do some babysitting for an hour or two, here or there, isn’t raising Quint. She’s like a grandmother to him. And it would let you have time to take care of yourself. And let us get back to being, well…us.”

  “I don’t know, Sky.”

  “Promise me you’ll at least think about it.”

  She closed her eyes and hung her head. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

  “Good.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments, while Sky gathered the courage to broach the next, more controversial topic.

  It was Meg who forced him to address the issue. “How was your meeting today?”

  He swallowed hard. You promised to always tell her the truth, so just do it and get it over with. “It wasn’t what I was expecting, that’s for sure. Jack and I were told that Larissa Townsend is being sent out on the next leg of the tour to open for us.”

  Meg exploded in rage. “What? Are you kidding me? She’s all over you any time I’m not around. I hope you told them no.”

  “I did, but was told that it’s a done deal. The announcement is being made tomorrow morning.” He repeated what he was told earlier in the day. “Apparently, radio is slow for her, and her sales are flat. They think sending her out with us will help, especially since we recorded “Heat” together, and it’s going to be our next single.”

  “You know I’m going to be sitting home every weekend wondering if she’s going to succeed at breaking us up.”

  “To be fair, Meg, she’s never tried to break us up. Even that night last year at Whiskey Kitchen, once I told her you moved in with me, she backed off.”

  “And to be fair to me, Sky, she’s also made it clear that she wanted you, and was not pleased that we were together.”

  He reached out and took her by the hand. Looking her in the eyes, he said, “I know you said you didn’t want to go out on the road with me when Quint was a baby, but I wish you’d re-consider it. I’d love to have our family all together on the bus.”

  “Quint’s too young.”

  “Jack and Becky are bringing Ryan out on the road, along with their au pair. It’ll be fun.”

  “I don’t see anything about it that will be fun. Upsetting Quint’s routine certainly won’t be fun.”

  “What routine? He doesn’t have a routine. He barely sleeps, he cries all the time…”

  Meg cut him off. “And taking him out of the only environment he knows isn’t going to help.”

  “Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe you’re coddling him. How is he going to learn to adjust to change if all you do is keep him here at home? You hold him all the time. That’s probably why he cries whenever you put him down.”

  “Are you saying I’m a bad mother?”

  Sky’s face fell. “No. No, I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that the only way he’s going to fall asleep at bedtime, and the only way he’s going to learn that he can’t get his way all the time, is if you’d let him cry sometimes. I read a book about letting babies ‘cry it out’ so they learn to self-soothe and sleep through the night. Maybe we should try that with Quint.”

  Meg’s eyes grew wide. “You read about a book?”

  “Yeah, I did. Believe it or not, I’m interested in being a good father. And this book was about teaching babies to sleep through the night by letting them cry.”

  “That’s downright cruel.”

  “It’s the only way he’s going to learn.”

  The sound of Quint crying interrupted them. “I’m going to check on him. It’s time for a feeding anyway.”

  “Can I feed him?”

  “No. You know he prefers my breast to a bottle.”

  Sky watched Meg walk towards their bedroom. Once she was out of sight, he muttered under his breath, “Yeah, I know that.” He walked into the kitchen, pulled a beer out of the refrigerator, and took a deep sip. “I prefer your breast to a bottle too.” He took another sip, and added, “But I guess I’ll have to settle for a bottle again tonight.”

  The two months leading up to the start of the next leg of the tour were filled with rehearsals and meetings. The band’s new single, “Heat”, shot to the top of the charts, earning them another number one hit.

  Sky and Meg’s relationship continued to be strained during that period of time. They fought when she refused to consider taking Quint out on the road with the band, but also refused to leave him home with Fiona.

  During the week before the first run of the tour, Meg surprised Sky when she received a delivery. She opened the box, and pulled out a tiny pair of blue headphones.

  He looked up from his laptop screen. “What’s that?”

  She smiled. “Noise cancelling headphones. They’re for Quint. He’ll need them if he’s going to be side-stage watching his daddy work this coming weekend.”

  His eyes grew wide. “You’re coming with me?”

  “Yes. We’re both coming with you.”

  He jumped to his feet and pulled her into a tight hug. “Baby, this means so much to me.”

  “I know. It just took me a while to come around to the idea of bringing Quint out on the road.”

  Sky sighed. “I don’t know how to say this…but sometimes it feels like I don’t matter to you anymore.”

  Meg’s eyes welled up. As she looked up at Sky, a single teardrop rolled down her cheek. “Nothing could be further from the truth. And I thought the best way to show you was by going on this run with you.”

  “It is.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “I think that’s the first kiss we’ve shared in months. I miss you. And I miss being inside you.”

  She nodded her head. “I know. I miss you too. And I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too, Meg. I need you, and I love you. We’ve both got to try harder to make time for us.” The sounds of Quint crying interrupted them, and Sky swore under his breath.

  “We will,” Meg said, as she shrugged out of Sky’s arms. “Hopefully this weekend. Maybe he’ll sleep better on the bus.”

  Their hopes were dashed the first night out on the road when Quint cried through the night. “I really hoped the motion of the bus would help him sleep, but each time we hit a bump or pothole he wakes up again,” Meg said to Sky as she slipped out of their bed to soothe the baby.

  “I need to get some rest,” he said, as he slipped a pair of headphones over his ears. “I can’t perform on no sleep.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” She dragged the portable bassinet out of the bedroom of the bus, and slid the pocket door closed behind her, before lying down with the baby in one of the three guest bunks. “Oh, Quint, please. Please try to sleep. Mommy and Daddy are so tired. Please…”

  A few hours later, the sound of the baby crying woke Meg up. She looked at her watch, and realized that she had managed to sleep for nearly four hours. “Aww…you must be hungry,” she said, as she brought the baby to her breast.

  While she was feeding the baby, Sky pulled back the curtain on the bunk. “Did you manage to get any sleep at all?”

  “About four hours. Did you?”

  “Yeah.” He opened the schedule on his phone. “I’ve got a full day ahead of me. Interviews first, then sound check. You should hang out with Becky and Ryan.” He leaned in and kissed her. “See you later.”

  After Sky left, Meg persuaded their driver, Paul, to watch Quint while she showered. After she finished drying her hair, she thanked him for watching the baby.

  “Happy to help you out. I felt bad that he didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “It’s not your fault. He just isn’t a good sleeper.”

  “My oldest daughter wasn’t a good sleeper either,” Paul said, while handing Quint over to Meg. “But then we decided to try letting her cry, and within a week she was sleeping through the night.”

  Meg mulled over Paul’s suggestion while she strapped Quint into a baby sling and stepped off the bus to meet Becky for a walk. While they walked and talked, Meg learned that Becky and Jack had
also trained Ryan to sleep through the night by letting him cry.

  “Hmm…maybe I’ll try it once we get home,” Meg said.

  As they circled back towards their buses, Larissa Townsend approached them. “Ooh…let me see the babies,” she said. “They’re even cuter in person than they are in the pictures y’all released online.”

  “Thanks,” Meg and Becky said in unison.

  Larissa continued to stare at Meg and Quint. “You’re a lucky woman, Meg. Hope you realize that,” she said, before walking away.

  Becky waited until Larissa was out of earshot before asking, “What was that about?”

  Meg shrugged her shoulders. “It’s no secret she has a thing for Sky. I guess that’s her way of, once again, reminding me of that.”

  After her set that night, Larissa filled a large plastic cup with whiskey from the bar the band set up back stage. As Sky, Jack, and the band played their set, she drained her drink and poured another, which she drank while standing side stage waiting to join the band for their song “Heat”.

  From where she stood, Larissa was able to see Meg and Becky sitting on the opposite side of the stage in director’s chairs and holding their sons. “I have so much more to offer Sky than she does,” she thought, while staring at Meg. “We could have been the next Johnny and June.”

  The band slowed things down halfway through their set. Jack and Sky dedicated “When I Met You” to Becky and Meg, and when they finished, they tossed their acoustic guitars to their guitar tech.

  “Let’s turn up the heat,” Sky shouted into his microphone. “Please give a warm welcome to Miss Larissa Townsend.”

  Larissa bounded onto the stage as the band began to play “Heat”. Each time they reached the chorus, Sky and Larissa turned towards each other and locked eyes as they sang

  Every time we meet,

  We turn up the heat

  Meg squirmed as she watched her husband sing with Larissa. It’s just a performance, she reminded herself. But it’s hard to deny the chemistry, even if it’s just for show.