“Today?”
“Yes, today. I’m in the Raleigh airport right now, walking to my gate.”
A stewardess passes me, her blue scarf flowing behind her.
“Oh.”
Oh? That’s the best I get from him? “You should see what I’m wearing, Cole.”
“Really?” Now he sounds interested.
“Mmm-hmm. Trench coat, high heels, and nothing else.”
“Holy f—Rae, did you just fly across the country like that?”
I glance down at my yoga pants and yellow t-shirt, grinning. “I made sure to sit very lady-like.”
“Baby, when I get a hold of you—”
“Keep that thought. I’ll meet you out front. I’ll be the one wearing red high heels.” Then I press the End Call button.
***
True to his word, Cole pounces on me as soon as he spots my outfit. I changed in the restroom, right after I disembarked.
“I’m so spanking that ass,” he growls. He practically throws me into the passenger side of his Jeep. Instead of driving home, we drive to a hotel near the airport.
Shielding my eyes from the morning sun, I glance up at the sign. “I thought we were going home?”
“Thank Parker,” Cole says by way of explanation. Then he grabs my hand and my carry-on. We run to our room, not caring about all the looks we’re getting.
As soon as the door shuts, he’s stripping me out of my clothes and smacking my ass, just like he promised. Then he’s inside of me, and I’m clawing at him. He’s groaning my name and saying everything I could ever want to hear from him: I love you. I missed you. You belong to me.
All too soon, it’s over, and we lay side by side, fingers laced together and panting.
“I didn’t wear that outfit on the plane.”
“Figured as much.”
“Then why did you spank me?”
We turn toward each other at the same time. A grin kicks up the corners of his mouth. “Because you let me.”
***
“The press is getting worse,” he says.
We’re lying in bed, our bodies flush from sex, in the shower no less. “I’m sorry.”
“They started following Kelly around. She’s having nightmares about men taking her away.”
“Oh God,” I croak. “I’m—I’m sure everything will settle down once the tour’s over.”
“Not so sure we can wait that long. It’s not fair to Kelly.”
He has a point. It’s not fair to Kelly or to him, or to Parker for that matter. “What would you like for me to do?”
Cole lays his arm over his face, shielding his eyes from me. “I don’t know.”
“We could send her to a private school, you know, like where the football players and politicians in Charlotte send their kids,” I suggest. “Or hire some bodyguards. The company I use is—”
“Damn it, Rae. Does every problem you run across have to be solved with money?”
He sits up in bed, the sheet falling down his waist. I stare at his back, at the words tattooed on the right side. They’re the lyrics to the song I wrote him, right after we first met.
“Do you have a better suggestion?” His shoulders go all tight, and I sit up, scooting close to him and wrapping my nude body around his. “I’m not your enemy, Cole.”
“I never said you were.” He throws back the covers and pads across the room, taking a beer from the mini-fridge.
Despite how hot he looks at that moment, covered in nothing but the tattooed lines of his favorite sayings, I feel cold inside. “You don’t have to. Your actions speak louder than words ever could.”
Chapter Twelve
Cole
I want to apologize to Rae but I can’t.
In fact, I just lied to her. No one’s following Kelly around, and all but the local papers have lost interest in me.
I was a passing trend, someone that they thought they could make money on, but then another actress, with another bad habit, got in a fight with another actress. Suddenly, I wasn’t so hot and I was really damn grateful.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only reason the press stopped writing about my family and me.
Four days before the New Year’s Eve Party, Everett came to town and we had a little talk.
“If you don’t break things off with her, then I will end her career, and I’ll make sure that little sister of yours goes to live with her very God-fearing grandparents.” He had opened with this, while taking the lid off his coffee.
“She has lawyer that would eat you alive if you tried that.” Rae loves Kelly almost as much as me, or maybe it’s the same as me, because I know she would do anything for her.
He blows on the top and takes a sip, his actions so calm while I rage inside. “Her lawyers are my lawyers, hired by me.”
“You sure you want to do that? “ I ask, one last desperate chance to stay with the girl I love, and keep my sister safe. “There are lots of things people don’t know about you. Things Crystal told me.”
Everett makes a sound of disbelief and then another sip. “Crystal doesn’t know anything other than what I’ve allowed her to know. And I really doubt the word of an addict will mean jack shit anywhere.” Everett flashes me a smile.
There’s bump on his nose, one that I put there, and I want to break it again, just to see if I can make it bigger this time.
“I’m sure things have been difficult with all the press that’s been hounding y’all. Would hate for that to get worse.”
“Sure would hate for everyone to find out you bought a kid, like a puppy in a pet shop,” I counter.
“Unlike you, I’m not stupid, Cole. I had all of that taken care of years ago.” He pats me on the back, heading to the door of the coffee shop we met in, and pauses. “You take care, and I look forward to all Violet’s attention being centered on what is most beneficial for everyone.”
The bell rings as he leaves, and I let my head fall into my hands. “I’m so screwed.”
“I love this restaurant, Cole!” Rae chirps, bringing me out of my nightmare. She smiles at me, joy lighting up her face. She’s happy to be with me at dinner. We haven’t fought in hours, mostly because I haven’t tried picking a fight.
“Lacey said it was your favorite.”
“Next time, maybe I’ll be able to let you out of my sight long enough to actually visit with her,” she says with a little flush to her cheeks.
“You were rather… greedy.”
The server brings the bill and Rae looks away, pretending that she doesn’t see what’s between us. I stare at the bill, knowing that if I cause a big enough scene, that this will be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back.
But I don’t want to end our night like this.
Only I know that if I tell her what Everett said, she’d try to fix it, and things will get worse for everyone. I know my sperm donor that well. He almost destroyed my mother, a woman he claimed to love at one time. So, I know he won’t hesitate destroying a little girl that has no relation to him at all, or Rae’s career. Or worse, Rae herself.
She’s finally healing from the wreck, and I can’t take the chance on her going back to where she was before. All broken and scarred, and unsure of herself. Now she’s strong, flirty, and confident.
I can’t be the person to destroy her. Besides, a part of me still believes that I’m not good for her, that I’m still white trash and have no business touching her, much less doing all the things I do to her sexy body all day and night.
But I have no other choice. “You paying or should I?”
Her gaze snaps to mine, blue eyes rimmed in black eyeliner, making them sexy as hell. “I thought you were going to pay, but if you want… if you need me—”
“I don’t need your money, Rae, but don’t you think it’s selfish to expect me to pay for the hotel and this bill, too, just because you got a wild hair to fly down here?”
“Well, when you put it like that.” She reaches for the bill, and I
snatch it off the table.
“I can pay.”
She looks at me in confusion. “I thought you wanted me to pay?”
“No, I asked if you thought that it was selfish to expect me to pay for everything.”
“Which implies that I should pay,” she says between gritted teeth, holding out her hand.
“Implies, my ass. I explicitly stated that you’re selfish.”
Her eyes round. “Excuse me?”
I don’t bother to lower my voice. “You heard me, princess.”
“Princess?” Those eyes of hers narrow as if she can’t believe what I’m saying.
Hell, I can’t believe what I’m saying. So I shut up and pay the bill. We leave out of there in a hurry. Once back at the hotel, Rae and I head for our room. She takes the bathroom first and comes out ten minutes later, face devoid of makeup and hair pulled back in a short ponytail, wearing nothing but one of my t-shirts.
She climbs on the bed, flashing me in the process and I swallow.
“Could you be any slower?”
Instead of answering me, she grabs the remote and clicks on the television. I take my turn in the bathroom, and then walk back to the bed.
Rae’s eyes flick over me. I’m in what I usually wear when I sleep with her—nothing.
“You can put that away tonight,” she says primly.
“Mouth or pussy?” I prop one foot on the bed and thrust my hips out, my stance obscene in every way. “Or are you finally feeling more adventurous?”
Her jaw drops, then snaps shut before she takes a deep breath and says, “I don’t know what I said or done to make you act like this, but I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry that your sister is—”
“Now is not the time.” I climb on the bed, grab Rae, and pull her beneath me.
“We’re not having sex.”
“Not in the mood for sex.” I’m not, really, I’m not. No matter how my body responds to hers. I’m nude and she’s not wearing anything under my t-shirt, so what else can my body do but get very happy?
“Then why are you holding me like this?”
Because this would be the last time I ever held her. “So I can make sure you’ll listen to what I’m about to say.”
Tears well up before I can even begin to speak, and it’s all I can do to go through with this. But my sister’s depending on me to do the right thing, and Rae, whether she knows it or not, is depending on me to do the right thing, too.
“Don’t,” Rae whispers. “Please.”
“I’m breaking up with you.” My voice cracks. “I can’t be with some stuck-up princess who only wants me around when it’s convenient for her schedule.”
Her eyes close tight and tears prick at the back of mine. “I refuse to be paraded around like some charity case you’ve taken pity on. We’re over. This is over.”
“Please,” she whispers again, tears still falling. “Don’t.”
I hate Everett Morgan, with everything inside of me. “Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Forget , because that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.”
Then I let her go, get dressed, and walk out the door, grabbing my stuff along the way.
I barely make it to my Jeep and climb inside before I let all of my rage out. I scream, punch everything near me, and shake the steering wheel so hard that the Jeep actually moves.
A tap on my window and I look up. Jaw clenching, I roll the window down.
“I assume you finally grew a pair and took care of things,” Everett says, sunglasses covering his eyes.
“Fuck you to hell and back, you rotten son of a bitch.”
He takes a step back. “A yes would have sufficed.”
“Now you hold up your end of the deal, asshole.” Without waiting for his answer, I start up the Jeep and shove my foot on the gas, leaving Everett in the dust.
Chapter Thirteen
Violet
Tonight we performed in Tulsa, on the very last day of January.
I let the makeup artist and hair stylist talk me into extensions and removing the nose ring. Then, I sang the duet with Jaxon, but Everett got mad with me, because I didn’t put enough feeling into it.
I don’t have any feelings left.
Chapter Fourteen
Cole
Tonight, while I tucked Kelly into bed, she asked me to pray for Rae to come home, safe and soon. Then she asked me to pray for more teeth to fall out, since February is dental health month and she wants the Tooth Fairy to come see her. How all that is connected, I have no idea…
I prayed but my heart wasn’t in it.
God has never answered my prayers.
Chapter Fifteen
Violet
Callie’s acting like an ass to everyone and anyone since Everett brought in a new opening act, some seventeen-year-old girl out of South Dakota. Her name is Joy Anne.
At least Callie’s stop picking on Bliss.
My baby brother cooed at me over Skype today, and I actually smiled.
Guess he’s my Valentine this year.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole
Today I went to see a therapist.
He’s the same one Wyatt sees to talk about his time in Afghanistan. I tell him about Rae, about my family, but not about what I did to her. Or what my sperm donor threatened me with.
I’m not sure if I can trust this guy.
Coincidentally, Crystal and Ford showed up, wanting to move back in and raise Kelly. Together, with Parker and me.
I told them no.
Crystal threw a fit, cussing me up one side and down the other. Ford made her leave, saying that if she couldn’t manage to work things out like a grown up then she didn’t deserve to be in any of our lives.
This must be what a father is supposed to be, or say, or act. But I think he’d reserve that for his kids, and not his wife.
Then again, Crystal acts like a teenager—not a mom or a wife.
Chapter Seventeen
Violet
It’s almost the end of February and I’m still here, still on tour… still going through the motions.
Eat, pray, and play music.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Stare at pictures of Cole, cry, and get mad.
At least I’m feeling something again.
Chapter Eighteen
Cole
Every day I get Kelly ready for school, and then I go to work or to see my therapist. Either way, I still end up at work. I’m still doing the same thing I always did.
Well, minus the fighting and the women.
I haven’t so much as looked at another female since I left Rae. I can’t even imagine being with someone who’s not her, but eventually, she’ll move on and when I see that, then I can, too.
God, I miss her.
Chapter Nineteen
Jaxon
Violet’s barely keeping it together on stage. I’ve known her for too long not to recognize the signs.
Her smile is fragile, her eyes aren’t quite focused, and she missed the bridge on the second verse. Most people wouldn’t notice, but I’m not most people. I know this girl.
Intimately.
We have a history, filled with its share of dark moments.
The spotlight shines, stage left. My cue to join her and sing our song. I sling my guitar around my shoulder, letting it hit me in the back as I slowly swagger to her. The first time we did this, her eyes got all wide and her cheeks flushed. Truth be told, despite being the more experienced one in our relationship, my body reacted the same way.
Singing with Violet, well, it’s kind of hard to describe, actually. Our voices go together, even if our hands stay apart. The melody of our song intertwines, even if the closest our bodies get is standing on stage, inches apart, like we’re lovers.
She joins me at the microphone, setting her guitar down on the way and smiling. Gone is her pink hair. Gone is the hot nose ring. Gone is the girl I used to know. In her place is a woman that I found… no, I find incredibly hot.
I give her the cockiest grin imaginable, at exactly the right moment.
She frowns and rolls her eyes while jerking her thumb at me, playing to the house like we’re Johnny and June Cash reincarnated.
To be honest, there’s the very real possibility I’m feeling this way because she’s been with another guy—one who just so happens to be the other son of my father—and that, coupled with the fact she can’t stand me now, is incredibly challenging.
What guy doesn’t like a challenge?
I’m man enough to admit that the girls who come easy hold no sway over me. It’s the ones that couldn’t give a shit if I’m there, if I notice them or look their way, that make me want them.
Only Violet isn’t doing that to be coy. She’s back to hating me, because we’ve been in close quarters too long for her to pretend that she’s indifferent.
But he’s gone now, and I’m still here.
I wink at her and the band starts up our song.
Violet puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head, exactly like we’ve practiced a million times before. I take my hat off and drop it on the top of her head.
The crowd goes wild.
This is exactly what they want—a reunion between the two of us, despite the fact that I’m still engaged to Callie.
For them, all has been forgiven, but I’m sure as hell that no one’s forgotten. Still, no one can deny that the two of us, up on stage and singing… it’s a sight to behold.
Damn, but this girl can sing. Hell, she’s a better musician than I am.
As she peers out from under the brim of my hat, I gaze deep into her eyes and reach out to caress her cheek.
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