Learning To Fly (Fated Love Book 1)

by Lauren Firminger

I nodded and sighed. I guess I got where he was coming from. I was still pissed about it, though. Leaning back against him, I turned my head to meet his eyes. “Keep anything like that from me again, and bean will be an only child.”

  He kissed my temple and nodded. “Noted, darlin’.”

  I wrapped his arms tighter around me. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, darlin’.”

  As I packed, which wasn’t hard to do considering Morgan and I both practically lived out of suitcases while we were on the road, I tried to think about who could be responsible for the letter. No one stood out. I got along well with all of the girlfriends and wives of the band and crew. It was surprising because most women didn’t like me. I guess being with Morgan, they no longer saw me as a threat like most did. His two opening acts were new Up-and-coming artists. They had their noses so far up everyone’s ass just to make sure they didn’t fail that it would be stupid of them to do something like this.

  “What’s on your mind, darlin’?”

  “I’m just trying to see if anyone comes to mind as to who could have written it. What if it’s not the obvious?”

  “What do you mean?” Morgan sat on the bed and looked over at me.

  “Well, we are thinking this was written by an ex-girlfriend or one of the women on tour, right?”

  He nodded, and I continued, “What if it were written by one of the guys or even Josh to make it look like someone else? We don’t know for sure it was written by a female at all.” He gave me a worried look. “What?”

  “You’ve spent too much time with Daniel and Lucas. You think too much like them, darlin’.” I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I’ll talk to Lucas. You could be onto something.”

  I nodded and zipped up my bag before going to the bathroom to put our toiletries into my case. Zipping that up too, I sat it by my suitcase and did a quick check to make sure Morgan and I had everything.

  Once Lucas and the boys were ready, Lucas went to check us out of the rooms while Morgan and I, flanked by the guys, headed to the garage down below. Getting settled in the back seat, I curled into Morgan as we headed to the new hotel.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Morgan

  It didn’t take Maddie and me long to pack. Once we got the okay from Lucas that we were good to move, I got Maddie into a car, and we headed to a new hotel on the outskirts of town. We needed to be somewhere away from prying eyes. I had a couple of shows to do here, and I really wasn’t one to cancel, but if security was compromised again, as much as Maddie disagreed, I would have to. I had to think about her and my baby’s safety. If it were just me, I would shrug it off and know my boys had my back, but I wasn’t playing with Maddie’s safety. She was too damn important to me. I had considered sending her back home early, but I knew she wasn’t ready to go, and forcing her to do anything would only result in her being upset, and I couldn’t do that to her.

  After we got to the new place, we ate lunch and curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Hearing my phone go off, I pulled it from my pocket and saw that Lucas had sent me a link. I frowned and clicked on it.

  ‘Country Superstar in Trouble’

  Country superstar Morgan Young and girlfriend Maddison Lee announced their engagement via social media today. Sources close to the couple say that’s not the only news coming from the Young camp. Our source revealed that Maddison is expecting their first child—due mid-July. This comes after only four months of dating. Our source also revealed that the engagement and pregnancy are last attempts in holding the failing relationship together. Are things really as good as the pair are leading us to believe?

  I snorted, and Maddie looked over her shoulder at me. I showed her the article. She rolled her eyes and handed back my phone. “Find out who the source is, and get rid of them.”

  “Lucas is on it, darlin’.”

  She nodded and wrapped my arms tighter around her. It was a comfort thing she did. “Babe? The only people who knew about the due dates were us, the doc, and Uncle Michael…”

  “Doc wouldn’t say anything. It wouldn’t be worth the lawsuit for breach of privacy, and we have been together all day, so unless someone was on that balcony with us....”

  “It was Uncle Michael.” She sighed as she picked up her phone and sent him a text message asking if he’d said anything to anyone.

  I sent a message back to Lucas asking him to look into Michael for me. Something just wasn’t sitting right with me. I knew he wasn’t my biggest fan, but would he really go this far? I knew I was jumping to conclusions, but this was gonna kill Maddie if he had said anything. Putting my phone back down, I wrapped my arms back around her and pressed my lips to her neck. I felt her instantly start to relax and melt into me. “All that matters right now, darlin’, is you and me. Let’s lay here and let the world disappear.”

  “Using your song lyrics as lines now, baby?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Good to know you pay attention, darlin’.”

  “To you? Of course!”

  Maddie rolled over to face me, and I loosened my arms just enough so she could. I pressed my lips to her head, and she closed her eyes. “That’s not really watchin’ a movie, darlin’.”

  “I don’t care about a movie when I have my sex on legs fiancé wrapped around me. I’m letting the world disappear.”

  Sliding my hands beneath her shirt, I let my fingers move lightly over her skin. It was moments like this that I wished I could share with the world, but I was so glad not to at the same time. In this moment, I was just Morgan and she was Maddie. I wasn’t some big country music star. I was just hers.

  Reaching carefully for my phone, I switched it to silent and took a photo of her and me like this. Opening my Instagram, I put the caption ‘Perfect moments with my perfect girl. Letting the world disappear. #FamilyTime #PapaBear #MamaBear #EngagedLife #WouldntHaveItAnyOtherWay.’ I tagged her in it and hit post before putting the phone down.

  “Morgan? Did you just tell everyone I was pregnant?”

  “In a way.” She pulled back and held her hand out to me. Handing her my phone, I showed her the post. “You mad, darlin’?” She shook her head and smiled before kissing me softly and handing back my phone.

  “No, baby. That was really cute.” I grinned and kissed her nose before she put her head back against my chest. Right now, with my girl safe in my arms and our boys keeping watch, nothing could beat this moment. Right now, in this moment, my life was perfect.

  A couple of hours later, we were both showered and ready to leave. Maddie was coming to the show with me. Her and the boys would hang out backstage. I had spoken to the label about everything that had come out today and they understood she wouldn’t be taking photos from the front now. They also said if she wanted to, she could do backstage shots or just relax and enjoy herself. She still hadn’t heard anything from Michael, and she didn’t know where he was to leave a message with someone when he didn’t answer her calls. The more time passed, the more things just didn’t seem right to me.

  Grabbing my guitar and taking her hand, we left the room once Lucas had the car waiting, and we made our way downstairs. I loved what I did, but I couldn’t wait until I could relax with Maddie and our baby at the end of this. I had been doing this for a while now, and I was finally seeing what was really important. Maybe after this album, it would be time to take a break. We could stay in Australia and raise our baby, or we could settle here with my family and give bean the same upbringing I had. Either way, the little bean in my soon-to-be wife’s belly was something I had been waiting my whole life for. They both were. I pressed my lips to her temple as the car pulled up at the concert venue, and I got out. Taking her hand, we headed inside to get ready for tonight’s show. Maybe I could surprise her one more time today…

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Maddison

  When we got inside the venue, shit got crazy. Once everyone knew we were there, they were in my face, asking if it were true that I was pregnant and con
gratulating us on the engagement. Seeing that I was overwhelmed by it all and needed to get relaxed again, Morgan pulled me away from everyone. Once we got inside his dressing room, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself back down. I hated people in my face like that.

  “You okay, darlin’?”

  I gave him a small smile and nodded. Taking the bottle of water from him, I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes. Maybe I should have stayed home tonight. I heard a knock on the door and bit back a groan. Morgan answered the door, and I opened my eyes to see who it was. When I saw Lucas there, I closed my eyes again and put my head back against the couch.

  “We found him.”

  “Who?” I said.

  “Michael,” replied Lucas. I opened my eyes and sat up straighter.

  “Where is he?” I asked

  “Here in Arizona.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket, saw nothing still and sighed. “It’s him. He’s the one leaving the notes. He’s the one behind the messages.” I looked up at Morgan, and they both looked like they were ready to grab me and run. I couldn't let Morgan do that, though. He needed to finish this. “I’ll stay here with Lucas and Daniel. When you’re finished with your show, we can leave. Lucas? Can you have someone watch him?”

  Lucas nodded. “We have your uncle now, Maddie. We’ll get a couple of guys to take shifts and keep eyes on him.”

  “Do not let him leave your sight!” said Morgan.

  “We won’t, Morgan. We also have him on GPS.” I nodded, and they both stared at me.

  “What?” I said.

  “You are being surprisingly calm about this.” Said Lucas.

  I shrugged. “All he has done is confirm what we already know.”

  “Yeah, but what we don’t know is why.” Replied Lucas.

  I lay back against the couch and nodded. Would he ever admit this to me, or was he still gonna think me to be stupid and oblivious? Did he think not answering me would make this go away? Lucas left, leaving me to my thoughts, and Morgan closed the door. Did we really know what Uncle Michael was capable of? I never in a million years thought he could do something like this to me. I tucked myself into Morgan’s side when he came to sit beside me, and laying my head against his chest, I closed my eyes. I felt his hand move to rest against my belly as his head rested against mine. Please God, don’t let anything happen to my family. I’m not sure I could handle it.

  Sitting in the dressing rooms, I watched Morgan as they went through his prep before going on stage. His openers were just about done, so it was nearly show time. It was weird not to be watching this one. Normally, by this time, I would be out in the crowd waiting with them for him to come on. This was the right decision, though. I smiled against his lips when he bent down to kiss me.

  “Be safe, baby.”

  “I will, darlin’.”

  I kissed him softly again, and he left me alone with Daniel and Lucas. Taking a kindle from my bag, I opened it to my last chapter and settled back to start reading. I needed to try to keep my mind occupied. Lucas stood up and moved to whisper something to Daniel before turning to look at me. It took them clearing their throats to get me to look at them. “Yes?”

  “You don’t really want to stay cooped up in here do ya, princess?” Daniel wore a sly grin, and it made me raise a brow.

  “No, but it stops people being in my face and keeps me safe.” They looked at each other.

  “What if we could stop both?” Daniel asked.

  “You’d still have to deal with Morgan.”

  Daniel just snorted and moved over to me. “I’ll deal with him. Come on, princess. Let’s go watch the show. You won’t want to miss this one.”

  Bookmarking my place, I raised a brow and I grabbed my phone and looked at Lucas. He grinned at me, and I nodded. Leaving Morgan’s dressing room and following alongside them, they led me through the hallways and up toward the back of the stage. These two were up to something. What that was exactly I wasn’t sure.

  When we reached the side of the stage, I could hear Morgan and the crowd. “This isn’t something I do every show,” he said to the crowd before turning and looking at Daniel and Lucas. “I want to bring a special someone out here on stage.” My stomach dropped, and I turned to run when Lucas put his arm around me to stop me and led me out onto the stage. “Everyone, let’s give Maddie a warm welcome!” I forced a smile on my face and moved over to Morgan. “She is probably going to kill me for this, but for the last four months, she has been putting me to shame. My girl...can sing.” I glared at Morgan and went to move away, but he kept his arm firmly around my waist. “Maybe if we ask real nicely, she might join me up here for a few minutes.” The crowd started to cheer with Lucas’s encouragement. I hid my face in my hands and groaned. He was right, I was gonna kill him for this.

  I nodded with a sigh and took my hands away from my face. I took the microphone from him. “I’ll do it, but you are going to sit and watch for this one.” I turned to Scott, who was Morgan’s keyboard player. “Scotty? Think I could borrow your keyboard for a few minutes?”

  “Sure thing, Maddie.”

  “Lucas, wanna get Mr. Young here a stool? He may want to sit down for this.” I moved out of the way as Scott and the crew moved the keyboard closer. I gave Morgan back his mic and moved to sit down. I took a deep breath and looked over at Morgan. “This is all on you, baby, if they want refunds.” He rolled his eyes playfully, and I shook my head. “This song is a cover I have just recently fallen in love with. I know it’s not what you would normally hear, but then again, neither am I, so here goes.” Moving my fingers over the keys, I began to play ‘If I Could Fly’ by One Direction.

  I had kept my eyes on Morgan the whole time. I didn’t dare look anywhere else in case my nerves got the better of me. By the time I’d finished, the crowd was cheering and going crazy. Morgan just gave me that smug grin of his, and I stood up. Letting Scott move his keyboard back into place, I crossed the stage and kissed Morgan’s cheek before moving to walk off the stage. Before I could move away though, he took my hand and carefully pulled me back to him. Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed me properly before whispering against my lips.

  “I’m not done with you yet.” He directed me to the now empty chair, and I sat down. “Wasn’t she amazing, everyone?” They all started to cheer again, and I felt my face heating up. Yep, definitely gonna pay for this. After Morgan was done making me swoon with a new song he’d written for me, I headed backstage to where Lucas and Daniel were waiting for me. I punched them both as hard as I could and let out a huff when they just laughed. I couldn’t help but grin, though. The rush it had given me... I could see now why Morgan did it. Not many people got the chance to do that. I was blessed.

  Hearing my phone go off, I took it from my pocket and saw notifications from Instagram, Twitter, and a few messages. Checking the messages before everything else, I saw a new number I didn’t know. This one was different to the last one.

  “Hope you’re having fun. Time is running out. Time to decide how you are gonna die, Maddison.”

  I hit Lucas, and he stopped mid-sentence with Daniel. Showing him the message, he rested his hand on the small of my back. “We need to get you out of here.” No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than Morgan appeared after his encore, and they all closed in around me. They showed Morgan the message, and he nodded. Taking my hand, we headed back to the dressing room to get our stuff so we could leave.

  “The guys haven’t let Michael out of their sight since they found him. He hasn’t left the hotel.” Lucas told Morgan.

  “Are you sure about that? He seems to have a new fucking number!” Said Morgan

  “He could have gotten it before, Morgan!”

  “Do you have eyes on all entrances?” he asked.

  “Yes, Morgan, I do. This isn’t my first job, ya know!” I was watching the two of them, and I could tell Morgan had just about reached the end of his patience. I was sure Lucas had too, but he was bet
ter at hiding it. If they didn’t end this soon, they were both gonna snap. Taking Morgan’s hand again, I squeezed it gently.