The Price of Love (Rockin' Country Book 2)
Page 19
Putting her phone out in front of her face and fixing the camera, Shell shrugged. “Just wanted to get the look on your faces when y’all found out for the first time that your duet went to number one on the all-genre chart.”
She said it so off-handed that it took a few seconds for the words to sink in, but when they did, the looks on their faces were priceless, and Shell had never been so excited to capture the moment on camera.
Tears were shed, hugs were given, and fists were pumped as the small group congratulated the couple.
“Did you ever think it?” Liz asked.
“No, not at all,” Hannah answered, humble as ever. “I hoped, especially when I saw how many hits it was getting on YouTube. I’ve been getting messages about people using it at their wedding too, so I knew it was popular, but no, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine all-genre,” she squealed, pulling Garrett into another hug.
“Would it be in bad taste for me to somehow get Bryson’s phone number and text something along the lines of ‘suck my dick’ to him?” Garrett asked. He knew without a doubt that they wouldn’t be hearing anything from him, hopefully ever again. There were certain people that Jared knew in dark places and they’d done some checking on Bryson—he wasn’t as clean as he liked people to think.
Hannah shook her head. “Yes! You know this is killing him even more than the beating you gave him yesterday. According to what he said to you, what he wanted more than anything was the number one, and we got it, baby!”
He exhaled a breath. Everything that the two of them had been through had been working towards this moment. Their friends, their family, their dog, a number one song. He had known as soon as he’d kissed her that Hannah was going to be the person he spent the rest of his life with. To know that she was going to be there, no matter how ugly the world got, no matter how tired he was at the end of the—meant everything.
“So,” Liz asked as she stood. “Who’s hungry? Let’s celebrate!”
Epilogue
* * *
New Year’s Even
Hannah could hear the noise of the crowd as she made her way, along with the guys of Black Friday, towards the stage. New Years Eve was the night to have a concert, and out of sheer luck, the guys had managed to snag Nashville for the night. This would also be the opening night of their tour.
They’d all thought they’d have a few more weeks off, but when New Year’s Eve had opened up, they decided to go for it. Hannah was all for it. As long as she was with Garrett, there was nowhere she wouldn’t go.
“Have I told you how hot you look tonight?” he asked, putting his mouth next to her ear so that she could hear him over the noise that was just beyond the curtains.
“No.” She pouted. “And I dressed up in this just for you.” She smiled up at him.
His arm went around her, resting his hand on her hip, half of his palm on her ass. He gave it a tiny squeeze and she jumped. “The little black dress does it for me.”
Obviously, if the look in his eyes gave any indication of how much he liked it. “I’m glad.” She kissed his cheek. The heels that she wore put them closer to the same height, but he still had a head length over her.
“Heels are fucking hot too.” He looked down at the hot pink stilettos she wore.
“Do I need to go change before I join you onstage for our duet?” she asked, clasping his free hand in hers.
He breathed deeply. “Nah, it’ll just give me something to look forward to when we get done with the show. Then you and I can have our own little party to ring in the New Year. How’s that sound?”
“Perfect.” She stepped back as the guys started to circle.
“Two minutes, guys,” Mike told them.
“Give me a kiss,” he told her, grasping her hips to bring her back where she had been before.
She did as she was told, and then waited as they chanted something that she couldn’t make out, but made her laugh anyway. “I’ll see you later,” she told him.
“Don’t make me wait when I call you out,” he warned.
Hannah didn’t. When he called her out, she came out to an amazing cheer from the crowd, and they sat closely together, singing the duet that had made them both bigger stars together than they had ever been separately. As they finished, Hannah stood up and took a small bow. Grasping Garett’s hand she pulled him in for a kiss. This was exactly what she’d been missing when she’d met him. She hadn’t known it then, but she knew it now, and she would never give it up for anything that anyone promised her—there was no monetary value they could put on the price of love.
The End
Book #3 in the Rockin’ Country Series
(Will also include an exclusive Rockin’ Country Novella!!)
Coming early 2015
Prologue
Hannah looked out over the German crowd; ninety thousand strong, as Black Friday performed their set for the summer festival. She was so thankful she had taken this time off. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t be here for this, and she knew that she wouldn’t want to miss it. Garrett held the huge crowd in the palm of his hand. Every time he asked them to do something, they did it without hesitating. She had never seen this many people before in her life. These rock festivals were much larger than the country festivals that she attended.
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
She glanced up at Shell, nodding. “It is. I can’t believe all these people have been out in this intense heat all day.”
From where she stood, Garrett was in the shadow of the setting sun, and his silhouette was beautiful against it. Pulling her phone out, she snapped a few pictures, uploading one of them to her Instagram account. So far, everyone that had told her the fans would love to get glimpses into their private life was right. Any picture she uploaded of the two of them got more likes than the last one. Pictures of just him were probably the most popular, but she didn’t let that affect her one way or another. Since taking her break in November, she had been careful to keep the posts at a regular interval. Call her crazy, but it was important for her to keep them informed. She didn’t want to lose the fans that meant so much to her, no matter what she ended up deciding about her career. The past six months had been amazing, and she knew that she would never give them up for anything.
“Are you nervous?” Shell asked, a soft smile on her face.
“Kind of. I mean we didn’t expect for this to happen so soon. We thought it would take longer,” she told her friend, putting her hand on her stomach that, even though still flat, held a little bit of extra weight.
“The two of you are magnetic together, I’m pretty sure that as soon as he looked at you when you went off birth control, it was like boom, pregnant.”
Hannah laughed. “Kind of.” She turned her attention back to the concert, watching Garrett.
He was now the father of her child. Conceived in early April, they were expecting the birth in January. It still wasn’t ideal. While she would be off, he would still be touring, but by the time she had to go back to work, the baby would be six months old and hopefully on some type of schedule.
“Stop thinking ahead. I can see the panic on your face,” Shell told her. “We’ll deal with it, no matter what it is.”
She knew that Shell spoke the truth. Her attorney had found a clause in some of the legal language that would allow her to terminate a portion of her contract if she so wanted to. It would allow her to take off as much time as she wanted, up to two years, after the birth of a child. Hannah still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but she figured that by the time all of that rolled around, she would know. Her CD was still selling well, the lyric videos released on social media were well over the millions of views, and the record company was happy that she was still active. Right now, they were all happy. She hoped it would continue to be that way. Just that morning, she had let the record company know she was pregnant, and they seemed okay with it. She was relieved they hadn’t asked her to get an abortion; she had heard of that before, even had
a few friends in the music industry that had done it at the suggestion of a record company. It would ruin their image and their career, they had been told. For her and Garrett, this was planned, a symbol of the love that they shared for one another—only they hadn’t expected it so quickly. She smiled as she thought back to the morning she’d woken up feeling sick, wondering if the one time they’d tried, it had taken. He had been so freaked out when she went to take the pregnancy test, and then he’d gone white when she’d come out of the bathroom holding it, not needing the five minutes it was supposed to take.
“I can’t believe I’m here right now.” Hannah gestured out to the crowd and then looked back at her husband. He wore a T-shirt with the armholes cut out—white in deference to the hot day. Sweat caused the material to stick to his body. The longer hair style he now sported caused his hair to curl up at the ends, and she hoped with everything she had at that moment they had a son that looked like him. She would love for their child to have the curly hair he got once it got long enough. He looked over at her and she could feel his gaze, even though she couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses.
“My wife is here today,” he was saying to the crowd. “I’d like to invite her out here, if it’s okay with you?” There was a huge uproar from them, clapping and whistling.
They hadn’t talked about this. She knew that he wanted to make the announcement today, but she hadn’t been aware that he wanted her to go out and be with him.
“C’mon, babe.” He crooked his finger at her.
She was immediately glad she had taken the time to put her hair in a braid. The black shorts she wore weren’t too short, and the tank-top she wore was billowy enough that no one could make out the fact that she had gained a few pounds. She pushed her sunglasses over her eyes and walked out onto the stage. It was breathtaking to see that many people in one spot, and it felt like it took forever until she reached where he stood. He held his hand out to her.
“So everybody, this is my gorgeous wife, Harmony.” He toyed with the braid that rested over her shoulder.
Not sure what to do, she waved out to the crowd.
“Say hi.” He held the mic up to her mouth.
“Hi,” she giggled, nerves getting the better of her.
The crowd was so loud she was afraid they would knock her down with their response.
“They love you almost as much as I do.” He stood behind her and grabbed her around the waist.
He dropped the mic to his side and moved his mouth to her ear. “Do you wanna tell them?”
“We can if you want. Everyone who needs to know already does.”
He dropped a kiss on her nose, and the crowd went wild. “The reason I brought her out here is because we wanted to share something with all of you.”
Hannah held on tightly to his hand that spanned her stomach. If he hadn’t been holding her up, she was afraid she would have slid down in the face of all these people. The crowd continued to yell as he waited; they grew louder and louder until he put the mic back up his mouth.
“Okay, okay. You wanna know, I’ll tell you. Sometime in the New Year, there will be a little Reaper or Harmony running around. She’s pregnant.”
The roar of the crowd was so loud and the enthusiasm so much that they both physically took a step back. At some point a “kiss her” chant started, and Garrett smiled at her, pulling her to him. “Now that the cat’s out of the bag, we don’t have to worry about keeping secrets anymore.”
“We sure don’t.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, squealing when he bent to pick her up and put her legs around his waist.
This time the picture that went around the world was the one of them lip-locked in front of ninety-thousand fans in hundred-degree weather. It would be the most popular picture of the two of them for months.
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Acknowledgments
This has been the most amazing journey of my life, and I wouldn’t have gotten here if it weren’t for the many people that have already been listed in the front of this book.
The people that come together to make up the Indie Publishing Industry are some of the best around, and I’m one of the luckiest people ever to get to work with them.
There are too many people to name, but know that all of you that have ever spoken with me, left me a message, sent me an email (whether it be good or bad), or just supported me by liking my page on Facebook…I truly and greatly appreciate it!
Also by Laramie Briscoe
Meant To Be
Heaven Hill Series #1
Prologue
Denise Cunningham pulled back the curtains covering the window pane in her front door with shaky hands. The knock that had sounded moments before wasn’t the gentle knock of a friend over for a visit. Staring back at her through the glass, she saw two Warren County Sheriff’s deputies holding papers. Dread rolled up in her throat as her stomach began to churn. She let the blinds fall and took two deep breaths before she unlocked the door and faced the men standing on the other side. As she stepped out, the brightness of the sun assaulted her eyes, the warmth of the summer day made it even more difficult to breathe past the lump in her throat.
“Denise Cunningham?” The taller of the two asked.
Not trusting her voice, she could only nod her head in acknowledgement of who she was.
With cold efficiency, he handed her the papers in his hands. “Denise Cunningham, I’m serving you with papers from Kentucky Housing.” He produced a pen and requested her signature.
In minutes it was over. The scene she had dreaded most over the last few months had come to fruition. Unless she could come up with six months back mortgage, she would lose her home. She stood frozen in shock as the officers walked away from the door and headed back to their patrol car. It almost made her laugh – the fact that they felt she, a single mother, was dangerous enough to warrant two deputies. As they pulled away, she realized her neighbors watched. Shame and embarrassment caused her face to burn as she slammed her door shut.
Tears came now, along with shakes that wracked her body. “God, please help me,” she whispered as she opened the packet of paperwork they had left with her. “What am I going to do?” Through the tears, she read the legal papers in her trembling hands. The amount due was more than she had seen in years. Especially now that her hours had recently been cut. She was officially screwed.
The shrill ringing of her cell phone broke into her freakout. A number she had never seen before displayed on the screen, and she wondered if she should answer it. Along with the money she owed on her home, she owed thousands to credit card companies. They had also begun to hound her. Should she take the chance and answer it or let the voicemail pick it up? As she debated, her finger hit the accept button of its own accord.
“Hello?”
“Denise, this is Roni,” the voice on the other end greeted.
Roni was in fact Sharon Walker, another employee at the big box store where Denise had found a temporary job. They’d only spoken a time or two, and Denise hadn’t actually been sure the other woman would ever call her. To say this was a surprise was an understatement. But at this point, anything that took her mind off of what had just happened was welcome.
“Hey, Roni.”
“Did I catch you at a bad time? It took you a while to answer. I’m gonna ask you for a favor, so if you can’t do it, just let me know,” she forged ahead in a rush.
A bad time? Was it couth to tell a mere acquaintance that your home was about to be foreclosed on?
“Can you cover my shift for me tonight? I’ve got a little bit of an emergency with my brother, and I’m gonna need a few hours.”
Denise bit her lip. She had heard rumblings about Roni’s brother. Word around town had it that he was part of a major outlaw biker gang called the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club. Whatever Roni would be doing to help her brother would probably be illegal. Would that make Denise an accomplice?
“Would it make you a what?” Roni asked as Denise stood frozen with the phone to her ear.
Shit. She’d said that out loud. “Nevermind. I’ll cover for you. What time do I have to be there?” Anything would be better than sitting here, worrying about things she had no control over.
Roni rattled off a time that would only allow her minutes to get dressed, head out the door, and make it there just in time to clock in. Quickly they hung up. Depression threatening to take over, Denise shoved the packet of paperwork under the pillow of her couch. With any luck neither of her children would see it. Their lives had been in as much upheaval as hers. They didn’t need to see this too – she felt like a failure as their mother.
Pulling out of her Plum Springs subdivision, Denise made her way to Louisville road which took her to the interstate. The interstate would take her less time than going through town. She made sure to take in her surroundings. Unless a miracle happened or she hit the lottery, her days living in this neighborhood were numbered. A red light stopped her right before she hit the interstate. To the left, blue lights could be seen swirling on top of police cars. Men were being handcuffed and put in back seats two at a time. It wasn’t unusual to see arrests right next to the interstate, but this time she noticed an influx of motorcycles. The gas station on Duntov Way, situated between a fast food restaurant and a liquor store, usually didn’t see a lot of motorcycles. The exception being Harley Weekend at the local dragstrip. With keen eyes, she got a good look at the patches that adorned the backs of the leather vests, or cuts as they called them, the men wore.