We wish you were here too….I’m hoping to get Garrett to take me for a snowy walk if this stuff ever calms down. The bus ride was interesting, and I thought for a minute that we might die, but YAY we lived! :)
They talked for a few more minutes before Shell had to go and Hannah made her way back to the table.
“You’re in luck, they just brought the food,” Garrett told her as he got up to let her in their side of the booth.
“Good, I’m starving.” Her stomach picked that moment to growl, proving that she wasn’t lying.
The group ate in silence for a few moments, all of them obviously hungry and, it appeared, a little shell-shocked from their driving experience. Finally, Jared broke the silence. “How’s Shell?”
Hannah tilted her head to the side and regarded him with eyes of a woman in love. He was sad and missing his lady; she wondered if this was what Garrett had looked like when they were apart. “She’s good. Tired and freaking out that she has to take General Ed classes again.”
“Seriously?” Brad asked, shoving a bite of steak in his mouth. “General Ed?”
“Yeah, and I know for a fact she sucks at math. There is cause for her to be concerned,” she laughed.
“General Ed is no joke,” Chris nodded. “It’s why I’m in my thirties and still working on a Master’s. It took me forever to get my head out of my ass and realize that being a drummer in a rock band, while totally fucking awesome, didn’t completely fulfill me the way being a student to life does.”
Jared risked another question. “How did she sound to you? When she talks to me, she acts like everything’s fucking hunky dory, and I know it’s not. She’s got to be lonely in Nashville by herself.”
“I can tell she misses us. Shell puts on a good front, she always has, but I can usually tell when she’s having a hard time, and she’s having one right now.”
Across the table from her, Jared grimaced. It was odd for her to look at him objectively, normally she was in tune with only one man’s moods and that was her husband’s. Here, in this situation, though, she had to be in tune with four men and their moods. Even though Jared looked dangerous, with his close cropped hair, neck tattoo, and a brand new lip ring, she knew that he wasn’t. She knew that he was a mixed up man who loved an equally mixed up woman, and neither of them knew what in the world to do about it for longer than the few hours it took them to physically express that love.
“She’s gonna do what she wants to do, though, right?” He shrugged, fighting the melancholy he was feeling.
“If you’ve learned nothing about my BFF, you at least know that.”
Jared nodded, taking a drink of the Coke that sat in front of him. He did indeed. He didn’t dare let Hannah know that he’d tried to convince Shell to come with them, that he’d done everything he knew to do, short of asking her to marry him to get her ass on the bus with them. His lady was having none of it, she wanted to give college a shot and while he was proud of her, fuck he missed her. Looking across the table at Hannah and Garrett, it hit him hard in the chest and he had to physically rub the ache away. He wanted that, the way the two of them stared at each other like they were the only ones in the room. Maybe it had been his fault for waiting so long to tell Shell what she meant to him and this was his punishment. He’d take it like a man, like he had his whole life.
* * *
“Do you think Jared’s okay?” Hannah changed from the clothes she’d put on to go downstairs and have dinner to her pajamas, putting socks on her cold feet.
“I don’t know why you’re bothering with those clothes.” Garrett cut his eyes over at her. “You’ll be out of them before the sun comes up.”
She knew that he was right, but she was cold, and until he made a move or she decided to, she wanted to be warm. “Shush, I asked you a question.”
“When is he really okay? I mean, that’s the question. He has issues, Han, and sometimes he’s not going to have an easy time of it.”
“He misses Shell.” she worried her lip between her teeth and twisted her hair into a braid.
“So do you,” he pointed out. “He’ll learn to deal with it. I told him it wasn’t easy.” He walked over to where she sat on the bed, still braiding her hair. “I told him it would feel like he was missing a piece of his soul and a part of his heart. I told him it would ache and it would feel like he couldn’t put it back together again. I was completely honest with him, but there’s nothing that can prepare you for it. Guys like us, we love hard, especially Jared. You know what it took for him to finally tell her.”
“He doesn’t see this as a slap in the face does he?”
“Nah.” Garrett shook his head. “He knows what she’s doing is important to her, and he would never keep her from doing something important to her. Just like I wouldn’t keep you from doing something important to you. Do we all wish that we lived different lives and didn’t have to be apart? Hell yeah, but we are who we are, babe.”
She knew he spoke the truth, but her heart still hurt whenever she looked at Jared and saw the lost look on his face. It reminded her of a child who was looking for his parents. She’d asked a few times about Jared’s childhood, but Garrett almost flat-out refused to talk about it. It made her curious, but she wanted to respect the privacy of everyone involved. “You’re right. I just want everyone to be as happy as we are.”
“I’m not sure anybody could be as happy as us.” He smiled down at her.
It was that smile, the one that caused butterflies in her stomach and her blood pressure to rise. “Why do you say that?”
“Because we’re damn lucky, and I think we both know it,” he told her as he reached down and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close to him.
“We are,” she agreed, licking her lips when she saw his eyes there.
“Teasing are we?” He cupped her jaw in his hand, pulling her so that they were a breath away.
“We do have an empty room, an empty bed, and a call time of ten a.m. I think that’s a good combination for one of those marathon TV sessions Brad and I like to have.” She laughed at the growl he unleashed on her.
“Oh baby, we’re marathoning, but it sure as hell isn’t gonna be Sons of Anarchy.”
She squealed loudly as he threw her on the bed and followed right behind.
Chapter Three
* * *
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Overnight, the snow and wind had stopped. Roads were still iffy, but it looked as if Black Friday would be able to do their concert. They had a few hours before they would have to get ready and Hannah desperately wanted that walk in the elements.
“If that’s what you want to do, we’ll do it. I have no problem with it,” Garrett told her as he grabbed a knit cap to place over his head. “It’s cold though, so no bitching.” He grinned.
She pursed her lips at him, sticking her hand on her hip. “I don’t do that.”
He threw his head back, laughing loudly. “You do, you’re just sneaky about it. It’s kinda like the bless-your-heart thing.”
Hannah pretended not to hear him as she dug through her luggage, pulling out clothing that would keep her protected from the weather. She was lucky she’d gotten some rubber snow boots before they’d made this trip. Shell had made fun of her, saying she’d never have to use them, but Hannah had only shaken her head. It was better to be prepared than not prepared at all. After putting on her boots, her jacket, a knit cap, and wrapping a scarf around her face, she put gloves over her hands. Turning back to Garrett, she had to take in a deep breath. He looked hot.
“You okay?” he asked when he heard the sharp intake.
“Do you even know how hot you look?” The side of her mouth cocked up in a grin that matched his. Her eyes started at his feet and then slowly worked their way up. The black motorcycle boots blended into black pants that were tucked in so snow couldn’t get inside. She stopped at his waist, taking note that he wore the new belt she’d given him after their New Year�
�s Eve concert. A leather jacket encased his torso over a hoodie. He’d put the knit hat on, and pulled the hood of the sweatshirt over top of that, along with the hood of the jacket. Gloves covered his hands and a bandana that looked like a skull kept his chin and mouth protected.
He was dangerous with the dark stubble showing against his cheeks. He positively made her mouth water. There was an air of mystery surrounding him, and she had the thought that she wanted to run and hide and let him find her.
“Do you even know how cute you look?”
The blush that covered her cheeks was one she was growing accustomed to. There was something about him giving her compliments that made her feel like a teenage girl. Hopefully that would never change, because she couldn’t imagine her life if her heart didn’t skip a beat when he smiled at her.
“If I’m half as cute as you are hot, we’re in trouble,” she laughed.
Grabbing her phone, she focused it on him and quickly took a picture. This wasn’t one that she would post up for the world to see, this was for her alone. It was possibly her new favorite.
“I had no idea the robber look turned you on, babe.” He regarded her face closely as he walked slowly over to her, taking note of the way her eyes dilated.
It was new to her too. “Me neither.”
“Do you really wanna go for this walk?” he asked, his tone gruff.
It was odd because she could hear his voice, but not see his lips move. She had to shake her head to clear her mind and focus on what he was asking. “I do,” she confirmed, clearing her throat.
“Then let’s go.” He reached out a gloved hand, clasping hers in his. As they left the room, he leaned down and spoke softly against her ear. “Don’t you even for a second think I’m forgetting this interesting turn of events.”
* * *
“Damn good thing I normally wear sunglasses.” He fished those glasses out of his pocket and placed them over his eyes as she did the same with hers. “Fucking bright,” he complained as he turned to face her. “Where we walking to?”
There was a small trail over to the left that had a wooded area. She’d asked the concierge if it was possible for them to walk it, and he had confirmed it was. “Over there, it’s a small half-mile trail.”
“Alright, let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and helped her trudge the snow, making a place for her to step behind him. They made it first to the bus to grab Havock, Garrett putting his collar and leash on him. “Sorry you had to stay in the bus last night, buddy; they’re a little snooty here.”
She laughed as she bent down to pet the dog’s head and then grabbed hold of Garrett’s hand again. They walked a few minutes in silence, the only sound the crunch of their boots against the packed snow and their breathing as they made their way towards the woods.
“Thanks for taking this walk with me.” The trail was already hard packed and didn’t make it nearly as hard to walk. It was obvious that many people used this for exercise, even in freezing temps and snow.
“You don’t have to thank me.” He put his arm around her shoulders as best he could, pulling her into the heat of his body. “I love spending time with you and I was a little worried that it would be hard to do on the tour, but I’m glad we’re making it happen.”
That had been a concern of hers too, but she knew if they wanted their marriage to work, they would have to make compromises. “I have to admit, it’s gone easier than I thought it would. I thought there would be some friction from the guys, but they’ve been so nice to me.”
“They love you!”
“But you have to admit that having a woman and a dog on board is different for a bunch of men who’ve never really had one there before. They’ve been very nice, and I suspect that as we spend more time together and the tour goes on longer, we’ll all become more comfortable with each other, but I appreciate so much how nice they’ve been to me.” Suddenly a thought occurred to her. “You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?”
“Not at all!” He stopped and forced her to look at him. “There’s one thing I’ve learned in this crazy life. People have to be real people. Just because I love you doesn’t mean they’re going to love you too. I hope so, and I want that to happen because you and the guys are the most important people in my life besides Mom, Dad, and Stacey, but that relationship has to be organic. If I force it, then who’s won? Nobody. They really love you.” He tucked a strand of hair back that had come loose from her knit cap before tugging his bandana down. Leaning down, he captured her lips with his. Aware of where they were and the fact that they could have company, he kept it short, but not without heat. There was always heat when he was around her.
“Thank you.” She nuzzled against the stubble on his chin and then pulled back, putting his bandana back where it had settled before.
“No need.” He shook his head. “You’re a good person and you’re real. Why would you think that people won’t like you?”
For someone who was as confident in everything he did as Garrett was, Hannah knew he wouldn’t understand, but marriage was about being honest. “It’s those residual feelings I’ll always have of not being good enough. I’m working on it.”
Grasping her around the waist, he pulled her so they touched as much as possible with the amount of clothing they had on. “You’re too good for me, fuck that good enough part.”
Closing her eyes, she sunk into his arms and let herself stay there for a few moments to regain her composure. When she’d done so, she pulled back and reached up, kissing his cheek over the edge of the bandana. “C’mon let’s walk…its gettin’ cold.”
Garrett watched her, trying to judge if she was okay. Those residual feelings scared him, and he did everything he could every day to let her know how loved she was, but he knew it was something that had to come from within herself. He knew she was trying and that’s all he could ask. Putting his hand in his pocket, he grasped his phone and quickly snuck a picture of her, posting it on his own social media account.
Fucking freezing, but being a real man and taking my beautiful wife for a walk in the woods. Looks like my very own Snow White huh?
Because of the cold, they arrived at the end of the trail much quicker than they thought they would have, and they both gasped at the view. There was a waterfall that had frozen, and the scene it made was beautiful against the snow and rocks.
“Let’s take a picture here, but don’t pull the bandana down.” She winked at him, a saucy smile on her face.
His chuckle was deep as he situated them so that they could get as much of the waterfall in their picture as possible. He was going to have to pull the bandana and dark clothes out for her again when she least expected. Every day she surprised him, and the way she reacted to his outfit was probably the biggest surprise of all. His timid wife was beginning to open up to new experiences, and he was excited to share all of those with her.
Chapter Four
* * *
Standing over to the side of the stage, Hannah watched Black Friday play to the sold-out crowd. It still amazed her that all of these people showed up, even with the bad weather. They were dedicated in a way she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to understand.
As she did often, she pinched herself, just to make sure that this was her life. If anyone had told her two years ago, even a year ago that she would be married to a rocker and touring with him she would have laughed in their faces and not stopped until she couldn’t breathe. Sometimes when she looked at herself in the mirror, she didn’t recognize who she was. There was a sparkle in her eyes that had never been there before, a glow to her skin, and the lines of stress were gone. Hands down, she was the happiest she’d ever been. At times that scared her, but she knew she couldn’t live her life in fear. She needed to enjoy every day she had with her husband and these guys. This was her life, and it was okay for her to love it.
Glancing up, she saw that they were saying goodbye to the crowd and making their way off the stage. Garrett grabbed her arm
as he walked by her. “C’mon, babe.” He towed her along with them, making sure she didn’t get stuck behind. In the crush of people, she’d once gotten separated from him and lost; they made sure to never let that happen now.
Their fingers locked together as they made their way back to the set of rooms that were serving as their green room for the night. Rick met them there, to go over a few things.
“We have about an hour and a half before the busses are ready to go. I suggest that you shower and eat dinner here; we won’t be stopping for the night. That includes you, Han.” He gave her a pointed look. “If you wanna enjoy a hot shower, you better take one.”
She nodded, wondering if she was supposed to use the same showers as the other guys. There were four, leaving her the odd one out. Before she could open her mouth to ask, Rick started talking again.
“You’ll be over here.” He gestured to a room off to the side. “That way you don’t have to mess with these guys and their BS.”
It wasn’t their BS and he knew it. She didn’t feel comfortable getting naked with all those people, and she mouthed a thank you to him. Reaching over, she picked up the bag with a change of clothes that she carried with her into every venue. Showering on the bus sucked, plain and simple.
“I’ll meet you later,” she told Garrett, reaching up to give him a kiss before she followed Rick to the room they had secured for her.
Rick ushered her inside. “I’m locking the door for you. The only way somebody can get in is with a key, or if you unlock it from in here.” He held up the key, showing it to her.
With this many men around, at times, she did feel like a piece of meat, so she appreciated it when they took extra care with her safety. The logical part of her brain told her that no one would dare touch her for fear of Garrett, but there were contract workers at every arena who didn’t know her husband’s temper when it came to her. “Thank you,” she told him. “I’ll try not to take too long, because I definitely want to eat before we leave.”
Full Circle (Rockin' Country Book 3) Page 3