Mindy made a gagging noise next to me, before she quickly walked through the tea room and into the kitchen.
“How is everything, ladies?” I asked as I walked up to the table where Elise was currently chattering away.
“Oh, Bristol, as usual, everything is amazing. What is this tea called again?” Tillie Flach asked.
“Darjeeling.”
“Goodness, it is so good.”
“It’s one of my favorites. I especially like it with a slice of lemon in there.”
“Oh!” all the ladies at the table said.
About that time, the front door opened and my brother, Drake, walked in.
He stopped short when he saw the hat society. Immediately, they all started to say hello and asked him to sit with them, and I was positive I heard Elise say something about her daughter being single and needing a man.
Drake smiled and nodded politely to all the women before glancing at me for a rescue.
“Drake, why don’t you follow me, and I’ll show you what I need fixed!” I quickly said as I wrapped my arm around him and motioned for Terry to take over the hosting. It was usually Mindy who helped with that, but since she had been late and had already made a beeline straight for the kitchen, Terry was still on duty. I knew she would rather be in the kitchen, but she was a trooper.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered as we walked toward the hallway that led to my office.
“I needed to talk to you.”
His voice sounded so serious.
“Okay, alone?”
“Is Mindy here?”
“Yes,” I replied as I opened the door to my office and then shut it behind us.
Drake pushed his hands through his hair and groaned. “I’ve got a fucking problem.”
My heart started to race. What did this have to do with Mindy?
“Okay, well, first let me ask, is Mindy okay?”
He looked at me, and I saw a familiar pain in his eyes. One I hadn’t seen in awhile.
“Drake?” I prodded.
“Yes. But she won’t be when she finds out what I know.”
I slowly sat down in my chair, and Drake sat in one of the other chairs.
“What’s going on?”
Drake blew out a long deep breath. “I had to run into Kerrville today to pick up some stuff for the firehouse at Lowe’s and run a few other errands. One of those errands was to inspect the fire system at the Inn of the Hills. I saw Jim there.”
I frowned. “Okay. Was he in a meeting?”
He glanced away and then slowly shook his head before he looked back at me. “He didn’t see me, but he walked out of a room with Jeni, his assistant. I then followed them to the parking lot. Jim kissed her, pretty passionately, then they got into their cars and drove off separately.”
My heart felt like it had dropped into the pit of my stomach.
“Oh, no,” I whispered. Then anger hit me as I remembered seeing the way he’d flirted with her at an office party. “I knew he had a thing for her! I knew it!”
“I wanted to follow the fucker and kick his ass. Bri, he’s cheating on his pregnant wife, for fuck’s sake.”
Standing, I went to speak, but nothing came out. Then I paced the small area behind my desk.
“We have to tell her,” Drake said. “I can’t not tell her. She needs to leave the fucker.”
I turned to face him. “She’s pregnant with his kid!”
He closed his eyes and then opened them again. “I overheard him telling Jenny he didn’t want the baby. He said he was going to leave Mindy after she delivered but didn’t want to be an asshole and leave her now.”
“He’s going to leave her?” I asked.
Drake nodded.
“She needs to know that, for sure.”
“I wasn’t sure if I should tell her alone or have you there too.”
“Um…I, um…We should probably tell her together.”
Drake nodded. “Sooner rather than later.”
A light knock caused me to look over at the door. “Come in.”
Mindy poked her head in. “Hey, I feel better now. I’m heading out there.”
Her eyes bounced from me to Drake then back to me. “Is everything okay?”
Drake and I exchanged a look before he looked away. “Yep,” I said. “All’s good. I’ll be right out.”
When she shut the door, I faced Drake. “I’m closing the tea room after the Red Hat meeting. Do you want to stay? It will be over in about an hour.”
“I can stay. I’ll help out with the kitchen clean up.”
He went to walk out the door, but I reached out to stop him. “Drake, is she going to be okay? I mean, will this hurt the baby with the stress of it all?”
His throat bobbed. “She’s going to be fine, because she’s got a hell of a lot of people who care about her. She’ll get through this.”
He nodded as he said it, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to convince me...or himself.
I glanced at the date on my desk and stared at it.
April 2nd.
“Why on this day?” I mumbled to myself. “Nothing good ever happens on this day.”
April 2nd was the day Anson left me. Six years ago, he dropped me off at my folks’ house and didn’t look back.
I reached for the door to my office and jerked it open.
“Hate this freaking day.”
Anson - April 2nd
“I HATE THIS fucking day. Everything about this day sucks,” I mumbled as Robert shot me a warning look. It was his way of telling me to not lose my temper with the reporter.
I wasn’t trying to be a dick. But I liked my privacy, and they pushed me constantly for information they didn’t need to know. Ask me anything about the songs, the albums, the tours. Don’t ask me about my personal life. It’s the only thing I asked. Most reporters were good about respecting that wish. Some, not so much.
A reporter sat down across from me and smirked. I sighed internally. It was a young kid, probably a new reporter who figured he had what it took to get me to open my heart up and spill it all for him.
I smiled as he looked down at his notes then back up at me.
“Mr. Meyer, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. I know you’re busy, and your manager said we’re on a time crunch.”
I nodded. “Yes, Sir, we are indeed.”
He cleared his throat. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
I motioned for him to go ahead and said, “Please do.”
Robert sat behind the reporter while Lanny sat to the right of me. Both a good bit of distance away, but close enough. I had two things that were off limits during interviews. One, do not ask me about my family. Period. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy talking about them. I had mentioned my family before in early interviews, when I didn’t realize people would actually go snooping around my folks’ ranch. Or take pictures of my grandparents’ house. I’d quickly learned that talking about my family was my own No Man’s Land. My grandparents didn’t mind as much as my folks did. Especially my father. I couldn’t count how many times my father had threatened to shoot a reporter. It got to the point where the press finally stopped harassing people in Comfort because they were afraid they’d get shot.
I had also never mentioned Bristol. Not once. And no matter how many times reporters snooped around Comfort, no one gave up Bristol as the girl I dated in high school. I knew some folks in Comfort were upset with me, but it was still home. Honestly, I was stunned that after six years it hadn’t come out yet. Although, that may have been more for Bristol’s privacy than mine. Robert had told me it was going to happen one day. Hell, all they had to do was look up a yearbook from when I was in high school. There were plenty of clues in those.
“Let’s start off with what your fans really want to know the most. Did you write “Let It Burn” about your ex-girlfriend back in Comfort?”
Christ. Here we go again.
My smile faded. I’d been asked this qu
estion a million times before, and today, of all days, was not the day to ask it.
“My ex isn’t from Comfort, next question,” I stated.
His brows went up. “So you won’t talk about if any of your songs are written about the girl you left behind.”
I leaned forward and Robert stood. “No, I don’t want to talk about her. Now, we either move on or this interview is over.”
The little prick smirked. “Are the rumors true about your relationship with Lindsey Ashton?”
“That we’re friends?”
He scoffed. “Seriously? Are people really supposed to believe that? The chemistry between the two of you was off the charts.”
I felt my blood boil. “Yes, you really are supposed to believe it, because it’s the truth. We really were only friends.”
“Were? As in past tense? Are you no longer friends because she’s now engaged?”
I glanced at Robert. This little bastard was one of those types of reporters. The ones who liked to twist your words. That never sat well with me.
Robert slowly shook his head, his way of telling me to answer and move on.
“We are friends, and I’m happy that she’s getting married. And no, there was never anything other than friendship between us.”
“What do you think about your reputation in country music as being a bit of a bad boy?”
I laughed. “I think it’s all overrated.”
Lanny moved slightly in her seat.
“What about the rumor that you’ve had an ongoing fling with Lori Miller.”
That caused me to nearly choke on my own tongue.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve got an anonymous source that tells me you and Lori Miller, from Country Weekly magazine, have had a relationship off and on for the last few years.”
I cleared my throat and looked directly into his eyes. “Your source is wrong. Now, are we going to talk about music, or would you like a complete list of women I’ve fucked in the past?”
“Anson,” Robert said coolly.
“Oh, Lord,” Lanny said as she slowly stood.
“Are you offering to supply one?” the reporter countered.
I stood. “We’re done.”
The reporter nodded and stood. When he went to turn, I couldn’t help myself and had to ask, “Where in the hell did you hear the nonsense about Lori Miller?”
He grinned like the cat who had just caught the canary.
“From Lori herself.”
I was positive my jaw had dropped open.
Robert walked up and got in the young reporter’s face. “You print any of that and we’ll sue you and the magazine. And if Ms. Miller is indeed going around spreading rumors about Mr. Meyer, she’ll be sued as well.”
That seemed to wipe the smirk off the little prick’s face. He held up his hands, nodded, then walked out of the meeting room of the hotel and didn’t look back.
Robert faced me. “When was the last time you saw Lori?”
I shrugged. “Six months, at least.”
“She showed up at his concert in Atlanta. Wanted an interview with him,” Lanny said.
Robert looked between us. “What happened?”
Lanny spoke. “I told Anson she was in his dressing room after the show, and he left. I went and told her Anson had left immediately after the show. Before I entered the room, I acted like I was on the phone with the hotel and said Anson was on his way there. I mentioned the wrong hotel to throw her off.”
Robert nodded. “How many times has she done this? Showed up at the concerts?”
“Uninvited?” I asked.
He nodded.
“That was the first time she’s shown up without telling me she’d be there. She’s reached out a handful of times since the last time I saw her. I got tired of telling her I wasn’t interested, so I started to ignore her calls and texts. Atlanta was the first time she just showed up and waited in my dressing room.”
“She’s requested interviews through me, but I was told by Anson to tell her no,” Lanny added.
Robert cursed. “So she’s pissed off and feeling jilted? Is that what we’ve got here?”
“Jilted? We fucked a couple of times, Robert.” I looked at Lanny. “I’m sorry, Lanny.”
She lifted her brows and frowned.
I focused back on him and said, “I never promised her shit. We weren’t even dating.”
He rubbed his neck and started to pace.
“So why would she tell this reporter you slept together?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she wants her five seconds of fame?”
He leaned in and said, “Find out…directly from her. And be quick about it. Public places only. It wouldn’t look out of sorts for you to be seen with her, since she is a reporter, and if it’s not public, Lanny or someone else needs to be with you.”
With a nod, I replied, “I’ll text her right now.”
Lori walked into the Oak Steakhouse located in the Westin hotel and looked around. I stood so she could see me. With an instant smile, she made her way over to me.
“Such a public place, Anson.”
I glanced around. “I was in the mood for steak.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The second she sat, she ordered a glass of the most expensive wine and then looked at me. I dropped my smile and glared hard at her.
“Who’s the little flunky reporter you sent my way yesterday?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Cut the bullshit, Lori, I’m not in the mood. Who is the prick? And if you don’t tell me, I’ll make one call to figure it out on my own and have his ass fired.”
The waiter brought over her wine, and she took a slow drink of it before she set it down on the table and then gave me a cunning smile. “He’s someone I…work with.”
“Sleep with?” I corrected.
She shrugged. “We might have rolled in the sheets a time or two. Did he catch your attention for me?”
“He’s not really a reporter, is he?”
Lori laughed. “God, no. He’s my personal trainer.”
I dropped back in my seat and shook my head. “You went to a hell of a lot of trouble to catch my attention.”
“You’ve been ignoring me, Anson. I don’t like to be ignored.”
With my voice lowered, I asked, “What part of I don’t want to fuck you, are you not getting?”
Her face broke out into a cool smile once again, but I could see the anger in her eyes.
She picked up her wine once more, then looked around the restaurant as she set it back down. “I don’t want to fuck you, Anson. I wanted to warn you about someone.”
My brows pulled in tight. “Warn me about someone?”
“If you had read my text messages or bothered to open an email, you would have known I don’t want your…”
Her words died on her lips. Then she laughed. “That’s not true. I’d always be up for a round with you, but that isn’t why I worked so hard to get your attention.”
“What do you want then?”
“About four months ago, I was at a birthday party for a colleague of mine. Another reporter at the party, his name is Mack, seemed to have a beef with you and was asking me all kinds of questions. For a few hot minutes there, I thought he was privy to our colorful past, but I quickly figured out he simply knew I had interviewed you a few times.”
“Mack Charleston?” I asked.
“Yes. That was him.”
I dragged my hands down my face and groaned.
“I take it you know him.”
“Yeah. I sort of hit him once.”
Her eyes went wide. “How do you sort of hit someone, Anson?”
“When you hit someone and then pay them a lot of money and have them sign lots of legal shit to say you didn’t hit them. That’s how it sort of happens. Witnesses were there and ready to testify that Mack was pushing me. Literally pushing me from behind because I wouldn’t a
nswer his questions. I turned and hit him.”
“He deserved it then,” she stated.
“Yeah, and he’s stayed clear of me since.”
“That you know of. Something seemed weird to me, so I had him followed.”
I nearly spit out my water. “You had him followed?”
She nodded. “Yes. He had a reason to come to me and ask about you. If he was poking in your business, he was poking in mine. I wasn’t sure what his game was. But I found out.”
“And?” I asked as my heart rate increased.
“The PI I hired checked in with me the other day. He sent me a list of all the places Mack has been in the last four months.”
She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Anson, he’s been to Comfort three times, and the last time he was there, your father threatened to shoot him if he didn’t get off the porch of your grandparents’ house.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I replied, “He should have shot him.”
Lori smiled.
“Bristol?” I asked.
She shook her head and I felt a sense of relief. I had slipped once and said Bristol’s name in front of Lori. She had sworn to me she would keep her name off the record. She’d never publish a word about her. This little stunt she pulled yesterday had me second guessing things though.
“I don’t think he’s figured it out. But I can’t help but wonder what his fixation is with you.”
“I’m not sure. Revenge? He’s got a restraining order not to come near me or my family, so he’s playing with fire if he really is going to Comfort.”
She finished off her wine and set it down on the table. “I wanted to tell you. Maybe you should let Bristol know.”
I shook my head. “She doesn’t talk to me, hasn’t in almost six years.”
Something moved across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Then tell someone who is talking to you, because they need to relay it to her. Someone is bound to talk someday, Anson. As much as you don’t want it to happen, her name will come out eventually.”
My hand went to the back of my neck to massage the sudden ache. “I know.”
“Maybe it should be you who says it…in an interview with me.”
I laughed. “That will never happen, so you might as well push that thought right out of your head.”
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