“You heard me. I know you’re the reason that Hannah wouldn’t record that song with me. That was going to break me into the mainstream and that’s her fault.”
Garrett couldn’t believe that this guy was a friend of Hannah’s. He couldn’t believe he was sitting here listening to him spew this bullshit. “C’mon.”
Bryson’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “What?”
“You, you wanna talk like a big-ass man, then c’mon. I’ll beat your ass like a big-ass man.” He grabbed the back of Bryson’s neck and pulled him back behind the building and quickly got in his face. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are or what your beef is with my wife, but I’m about to be all up in your business.”
“Man, I didn’t mean to…”
“You didn’t mean to call my wife a bitch? You didn’t mean to throw her under the bus and talk shit about me in the press? You didn’t mean any of that?” Garrett asked, putting his head up against Bryson’s ear. He didn’t want people to hear what was being said if anyone was around.
“I didn’t want to cause problems.”
“You know what my problem is with you, motherfucker? The fact that you like my wife, and I don’t mean as a friend. I’m not a dumbass and I’m not blind. I can see just fucking fine. I see the way you look at her; I’ve heard the way you talk about her in the press. You might be hot for her, but let me tell ya something, she’s not hot for you. She’s got all the man she needs right here. If I ever hear about you talking shit about her again, if you check her out again, if you even breath inappropriately towards her, I will kick your ass from here to next week.”
“I heard that about you.”
Garrett didn’t know if this guy was brave or just fucking stupid. “You doubt it?” he asked, grabbing Bryson by the collar and shoving him hard up against the wall.
“Talkin’ is easy.”
Garrett smiled, laughing. “You think I talk shit?”
“I’ve heard that you talk shit.”
“Who’d you hear that from? Ashton Coleman? He was talking out the side of his mouth for a couple of weeks after I got through with him.”
Bryson just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Regardless of what you did to Ashton Coleman, you tell your wife that she owes me a number one hit.”
That was it, Garrett was done. Done listening to him, done being nice and done with it all. It wasn’t in him to let shit go—especially when someone was talking about his wife. “I gave you a chance,” he said as he reared back and let his fists do the talking.
Bryson put up a small fight, but Garrett was faster, stronger, taller, and he flat out didn’t like the guy. Three shots and Bryson was slumped against the wall. “Remember the next time you think I talk shit but don’t follow through who was left lying in a parking lot. Do not ever come near my wife again or I will seriously fuck you up.”
He was mad as he went back to the car, pissed that someone had pushed him that far. No matter how much he would fight for his wife, he did not appreciate people pushing him into a corner, one bit. “Fuck.” He beat the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. How was he going to explain this to Hannah?
* * *
He pulled into the driveway, noticing the extra cars. The family was here, and he had busted knuckles and dried blood on his hand. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called Jared, knowing that he would have come with the family.
“Hey, dude, we’re at the house, where are you? This house is amazing by the way.”
“Thanks, I just rolled in and I need a favor. Come out and help me carry this stuff in and bring me something to wipe my hands off with.”
Jared was quiet for a moment. “Okay.”
“I’ll explain in a minute.”
Garrett parked and waited for Jared to come out into the garage. It took him a few minutes, but he finally made his way out, carrying a washrag.
“What the fuck happened?” he asked, glancing at Garrett’s knuckles when he started to wash them off.
“My fist ran into Bryson Grant’s face.”
Jared whistled. “What did he say?” He knew that whatever it was, wasn’t good. Garrett might like to fight, might even need to sometimes, but he never fought for no reason, and judging by the shape of his knuckles, Garrett had kicked some ass.
“He thought he was cute when he saw me loading the shit for Havock in the car. Asked me if I had to get a leash for my bitch,” he breathed deeply. “At first I was willing to let it go, but I asked him if I’d heard him correctly, then gave him a shot to back out of it when I told him that my dog was male. He told me he meant my wife.”
“Seriously? Fuck, I can’t believe you didn’t murder him.” If there was one thing that all of them had learned about Garrett over the last few months, it was that there was no messing around with Hannah, there was no talking about her, there was no questioning her place in Garrett’s life. More than that, she was their friend too, and he kind of wanted to shove his own fist in Bryson’s mouth.
“It was difficult, but I thought about all the people I had here waiting on me to get home. I don’t think we’ll be hearing anything else out of him for a while. Next time I’ll shove his dick down his throat.”
“Hey, babe, did you finally make it back?”
Garrett hurried and cleaned his hands faster when he heard Hannah. “Yeah, Jared’s helping me grab the stuff. Had to get Havock everything.”
Jared grabbed bags, leaving the crate for Garrett to grab. “I got this if you get that.”
Garrett turned around and was startled as Hannah stood in front of him. “You okay? You were gone a long time, and I saw Jared bring a washrag out here.”
He couldn’t lie to her, they’d never been liars to each other, and he wouldn’t start now, even if it made things easier. “Bryson and I had words, and then my fists did the talking.”
Hannah swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “You can’t go around doing that.”
“Oh, I can when he calls my wife a bitch.” He slapped his hand against his thigh. “I could have kept that from you, but I don’t want you to think this fucker is your friend and then let him talk shit behind your back. He isn’t the guy that you used to know. He let the lure of a number one hit make him turn his back on you. He doesn’t deserve your loyalty or your friendship.”
That hurt. “I can’t believe he would say that, but then again, I know that sometimes when you get into this business you want to be number one. He obviously wants something that he doesn’t have and feels like I can give him. I’m sorry that someone told him that, but you and I both know that song was never going to be his.”
“I know.” He reached over and hugged her close. “I know that it sucks to hear that, but I wasn’t about to let him talk about you. Words were exchanged and then fists flew. He got the worst end of the deal.” He smiled at her.
“I have a feeling that’s usually the way it goes with you.” She smiled back up at him. “I love you, and I love that you stick up for me. I wish you didn’t have to, because honestly Bryson should have come to me.”
“The fucker better be glad he didn’t.”
She loved the look that flashed in his eyes. It was possessive and real, and it was the look he gave only to her. “I’m a lucky woman, and I appreciate what you do for me, but you and I both know that one of the things that I’m working on is standing up for myself.”
He could understand where she was coming from, but he didn’t trust Bryson. “Promise me you won’t seek him out. He’s pissed and I laid his ass out. There’s no telling what he might do. I’m not saying he would physically hurt you, but I know words hurt you just as much. Let it alone, babe.”
Hannah knew he was right. Squeezing him around the waist hard one last time, she let go. “C’mon, your family and our boy are here. Let’s go spend some time with the people that matter.”
That was the best idea he’d heard all night.
Chapter Thirty
* * *
<
br /> Hannah groaned as the alarm went off beside her head. It read six in the morning. She slapped it off and rolled over, curling her lip up at Garrett, who slept peacefully beside her. This was the first Thanksgiving that she’d been home in years and the very first Thanksgiving that she’d offered to help her mom cook—hence the alarm at six a.m.
Carefully pushing the covers back, she quickly got out of bed, shivering as the early morning air hit her bare skin. More often than not, now that they were together full time, she woke up with no clothes on. Fumbling around in the dark, she finally found underclothes, a pair of sweat pants, and a T-shirt. She snuck into the bathroom, quietly shutting the door. With half-closed eyes, she went about her business and then brushed her teeth, washed her face off, and secured her long hair in a top-knot to keep it out of her face.
“Okay, Han, this is what being an adult and wife is all about,” she sighed as she gave herself the pep talk. She hadn’t seen six a.m. since she had been through with the tour, and it surprised her how quickly she had forgotten how much it sucked.
As she walked out of the room, she heard the jingle of Havock’s collar. “You wanna come with me, boy?” she whispered. He followed her out and she shut the door behind her.
He stretched in front of her and then obediently stood next to her, waiting to see where she would go. “C’mon,” she told him as she made her way down the stairs and towards the noise she already heard in the kitchen.
“Morning, ladies,” she greeted. Already there was her mom and her mother-in-law standing by the counter, Stacey sitting at the kitchen table, her forehead against the wood surface, and Shell standing at the coffee pot.
Without asking, Shell passed her the cup she held in her hands. “It’s yours.”
“I don’t know what I would do without you,” she told her sincerely, taking a sip and letting the caffeine rush through her body.
“Be bitchy. You’re lucky we understand each other,” Shell joked as she moved to have a seat beside Stacey.
“Are you alive over there?” Hannah asked as she nudged her sister-in-law.
“Barely. Just barely.”
Liz and Marie stood next to each other, laughing at the younger girls. “It will be okay that you ladies woke up early. You’ll make it,” Marie assured them.
Surprisingly, Hannah was excited. “What do we need to do?”
Liz walked over to her daughter and felt her forehead. “Are you sick? Because you’re never this agreeable in the morning.”
“It’s all the sex she’s getting.”
Hannah spit her coffee out and threw the first thing she picked up at Shell’s head. “Really?” Her face burned hot; she couldn’t believe that Shell had said that in front of the older women. Didn’t matter how old she was, it would always embarrass her.
“Oh c’mon,” Shell argued. “You’re a newlywed for God’s sake.”
“Still.” She covered her cheek with her hand, feeling how hot it was.
“Trust me, Hannah.” Marie winked. “I know my son is a good-looking man.”
Dear God, could the floor not open up and swallow her right now. “I got nothin’,” she said as she had a seat across from Stacey.
Shell realized she’d put the spotlight unfairly on Hannah when she didn’t really want it, so she turned it to someone else. “At least you aren’t bunking next door to that one,” she pointed at Stacey.
Stacey sat up, a smile on her face. “Hey, I make no excuses and I offer no apologies.”
Liz had a seat at the table with the rest of them, motioning for Marie to join them. “Why don’t we enjoy our first cup of coffee together, and then we’ll get busy.”
That sounded excellent to Hannah. When she’d been little and wanted sisters, this is the exact type of situation she’d thought of, and she loved this group of women as if they were her sisters. “Anybody interested in hitting up the Black Friday sales tomorrow? As in the national shopping holiday, not our men,” she clarified.
“I’m just going to say it.” Liz set her coffee cup down. “Do I need to, you know, buy stuff for a possible grandchild?”
Again Hannah struggled to swallow her coffee. “Jesus Christ, mom,” she mumbled.
“She opened the door, I’m stepping through it.” Marie looked over at her, her gaze penetrating so much, like her son’s did. “What are your plans?”
“There aren’t any right now.” She shrugged. “We haven’t sat down and talked about it at length. We’ve mentioned it off-hand. I mean, I’m sure it’s coming. Garrett’s not getting any younger, and I do want children,” she trailed off.
“But is it coming in the next year?” Marie pressured. “This is what we need to know.”
“I’m not God.” Her tone was sarcastic. “I can’t tell you when it’s going to happen.”
“Hannah, don’t be a smartass,” Liz told her. “We’re excited.”
“Not to mention, he’s hot, you’re hot, the children that the two of you make will be out of this world,” Shell offered.
A deep voice rumbled in the room. “Who’s kid? Han?”
Her head dropped onto her arm. “Nothing,” she told Garrett. “They’re being dumb.”
“Is there something you need to tell me?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and turned to face him. When she did, her mouth went bone dry. He stood in the kitchen in a pair of sweat pants, no shirt, and his hair was lying haphazardly on his head. She may have pulled it a bit too hard the night before, she decided as she got up to go stand in front of him. “We’ll be right back,” she told the group.
“What were they talking about? Granted, I’m fuzzy because I just woke up, but were they saying that you’re pregnant?” he asked, shock in his voice.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not, remember, I have that little IUD that makes sure I don’t have any slip ups? They want me to be, but that’s them. You know we haven’t really sat down and talked about that yet, and you also know that I want a few months alone with you before we do. They’re just excited because I have time off. I could have a child if we decide to.”
“I gotta say,” he blew out a breath and she smelled the mint of his toothpaste, “for a split second I was super excited, and then I was fucking terrified.”
She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly, hooking her arms around his waist when he caught her around the neck and deepened the caress.
“Morning,” he told her as he pulled back.
“Morning.” She licked her lips and pulled her bottom one between her teeth. “Speaking of, why are you even up right now?”
“I woke up alone. Both you and Havock were gone, and I didn’t want to be by myself. I figure I can watch some TV and listen to you ladies gossip and bitch, take a little cat nap, and be ready to eat when it’s time.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” she told him, walking him over to the couch.
He lay down, and she covered him up with the blanket they’d been keeping on it. She leaned down and kissed his cheek, stopping when he caught her by the wrist. “For the record, you’d make an incredible mom.”
“Thanks.” She grinned. “I hope so, but when the time comes and not before. We’ll know when we’re ready.”
* * *
“This game fucking sucks,” Kevin growled, disgusted at the football game he watched on TV.
“Who knew these guys got so serious about a game,” Hannah whispered. She never even knew that Garrett watched sports.
“Come the fuck on,” Jared yelled. “Break the tackle, dude, you weigh three hundred pounds.”
“Five yards, that’s all we needed. Five goddamn yards,” Robert said, surprising his daughter.
“This is embarrassing.” Garrett threw the remote down.
“And really fucking boring,” Stacey whispered back at the ladies.
They all giggled because they agreed.
“How much more time does the turkey need, Mom?” Hannah asked, ready to eat.
L
iz walked over and opened the oven, then called Marie over. The two of them both gave their opinions and told the younger women that they thought it was ready. It made Hannah happy that her mom and Marie seemed to be getting along well. It was important for her to have them be friends. Their lives would never be normal, and that would mean that sometimes everyone would have to see each other at the same time. It wouldn’t work if they didn’t get along.
“Let me get the guys,” Marie told them.
“God be with you, lady, for interrupting that,” Shell threw out, having a seat at the table.
“Do you want some wine?” Hannah asked her. It wasn’t often that they pulled out the good bottle, and none of the guys liked it, but they did every once in a while.
“Ohhh yeah, that’ll be a nice change of pace.” Shell’s phone buzzed at her side. She hesitated to pick it up. It was the holidays and the guys were making their way into the room, but she worried that it was someone who needed her or needed an answer to a question. Glancing down, she did a double take; she wasn’t sure if what she’d seen was her imagination or if it was the truth or not. “Holy fuck,” she breathed.
“Could we please put the f-word away for the rest of the day?” Hannah asked, setting the glass of wine in front of Shell.
“No, you’re gonna wanna say it when I tell you what this message says.”
Hannah doubted that highly. “You know I don’t even cuss, usually.”
“Oh, you do sometimes,” Garrett piped up, a shit-eating grin on his face.
Hannah cleared her throat. “Can we not just have a quiet family dinner?”
“We sure can,” Shell said. “And I’d like to get a picture of you and Garrett, if I could.”
Hannah went over and sat in Garrett’s lap, smiling as Shell snapped a picture, asking them to pose for one more. “I’m not sure why you want one; you have to have a ton of pictures of the two of us. Why do you need another one?”
The Price of Love (Rockin' Country Book 2) Page 18