"I am crazy head over heels for your mom, Katie." He hesitated to allow her to adjust to the idea. "I want to be a part of her life and yours as well if you would allow me to get to know you better." Katie paused, then smiled.
"Okay, Wade. It will be nice to have you around. We can start by seeing how you do on those burgers and rings." Laughing and with that, Katie flipped her long blond hair similar to her mother's and returned to her table, with Meghan's girls hot on her heels. Meghan burst out laughing as soon as the girls left the kitchen.
"Before you two start making out in here, you might not want to disappoint Princess Katie and her royal subjects." Wade pushed aside his desire to kiss Emily to get busy, making the best burgers to impress his future step-daughter.
Emily felt Wade's absence within minutes of his truck pulling out of the parking lot. How had she gotten this close to him in such a short amount of time? The dinner crowd kept Meghan and Emily busy, but both knew it would end soon. The girls continued at the table, laughing and enjoying the free afternoon. All three had declared the burgers and the rings amazing, but only after Wade had left.
Chapter 11
It was after two in the afternoon when Wade told Emily he would see her in a couple of hours, heading towards the farm to complete his chores. He phoned his attorney, frustrated when the call went straight to voice mail. Impatient, he felt compelled get on with his life after a month of holding onto the fragments. Now he realized it wasn't worth the effort, but Emily is worth every sacrifice he needed to make. Wade rushed through his chores, taking a quick shower, drying off when his phone finally rang.
A twenty-minute phone call with the attorney eliminating his predicament, gone along with his first marriage. His attorney assured him with the agreement for Lacey to retain the Wade name, her brand and the increased financial settlement left no doubt his wife would now accept the divorce settlement.
Wade started the truck, with the plan to stop by Bill's house first then straight to Emily to tell her the remainder of his truth. He fully expected his divorce to finalize on Thursday and by Friday he planned to shop for a diamond ring for Emily. Wade, clean shaved, and happier than he has felt in years, drove towards Bill's house to expose his soul.
Once his story unfolded, Wade found the full disclosure cathartic. Bill's wife Jane sat on the porch drinking tea with them as he told him stories, everything from growing up under his Dad's shadow to admitting the days where there was barely enough food to eat and the bank threatening to call in the loans on the new equipment his dad had purchased shortly before his death.
Wade talked about his dreams of pursuing a life as a musician to the days of making a good living, and to his embarrassment, he admitted he allowed the publisher, press and the business pull him away from his roots, and the music he was born to play. He confessed his name, and his soon to be ex-wife. Wade admitted he allowed the public to believe they were his affairs and not his wife's that destroyed their bond. The embarrassing realization came when he confessed to never loving the woman he chose, a marriage of convenience for the careers. His true love is Emily and because he is finally at peace; he feels the most like himself once again as Wade Owens.
Music career or he was not selling his soul anymore, whether he spends his life flipping burgers in Emily's diner or writing music. He is and will always be Wade Owens. Wade did not blush as he broke down, telling Bill and Jane about their lack of protection. Bill shook his head.
"Dang son, you will learn that life's little mistake will turn out to be the best thing you ever did." Grabbing his wife's hand. "How do you think I got this one?" Wade shook his head, clearly confused. "She was too good for me back then. Her daddy had a bunch of land, and my dad worked in the factory. We weren't in the same class at all, but I got her attention even though she was promised to fancy pants from the next county. His daddy had a bunch of calves her dad wanted to start some new breed, so the parents started conspiring to get them together." Jane leaned into Bill, kissing him on his cheek. "Well, I showed her, I went off to war. I sent her something every time I could, in the mail. Then I came home on leave and tricked her into going to the next county with me. We got a little hot and heavy out in the middle of nowhere, and luck would have it there happened to be a minister down the road." Wade laughed, guessing where the story was heading. That is where Jane interrupts.
"Bill has most of it right. See he thinks he tricked me into going out to that meadow. But the truth is I knew that Bill was a man of honor and he would be the one by my first then would have to marry me. I knew Bill would never get past, asking my daddy for my hand. My dad would have had him thrown off the ranch faster than you could say cottonseed. So, we did the next best thing. He deflowered me, or I did him. It didn't matter in the end. By letting fate take over, we ended up two hours later getting married in a little church. Now forty-five years later it was the best decision that we ever made." A small tear slipped down Jane's cheek. Bill reached up, wiping it away with the pad of his thumb.
"What happened with your Dad?" Wade asked. Jane laughed.
"His face turned so red when he found out; we thought he might explode. He mumbled and grumbled for exactly nine months; then he met his first grandson. He told Bill that night after Jacob was born that he would accept Bill as long as he could give him at least three more grandsons." Bill loved telling this part when he interrupted his wife.
"See, Jane is one of four girls, and we are the only one of his children to give her ole daddy grandsons. Her sister's husbands only gave him more girls. You could say I went from being the worst son-in-law to the best because not only gave him the three more he requested but we surprised him with a fifth." Wade was grinning from ear to ear and laughing when he announced.
"I am so happy I came to Texas and met you both. If Emily accepts me after learning my truth, then I plan on marrying her and buying some land." Bill shook his hand, letting him know they would love to him as a neighbor even though he was a country music star.
#
Emily was busy doing the final clean-up for the night in the back of the restaurant while Meghan took advantage of the girls help in the front. It was nice to have the girl's helping out, Emily continued deep in memories, unable to get Wade out of her thoughts. She ran her hand over her flat belly, experiencing a sense of joy at the possibilities and yet at the same time waiting for the crack in the glass of her new happy life. The dream she had on Saturday at the bunkhouse continued onto Sunday night. The vivid detail trailed her throughout the day, choosing to keep her wishes close to her heart. The second night, her dream expanded to include a farmhouse, with a deep front porch where she was rocking a baby when Wade drove up to the house, full of pure joy when walked towards her. She awoke, from a kiss of the real-life man while the dream still fresh in her mind. Even now a day later, and she was unable to get the image out of her mind.
Emily heard one of the girls yell. "Think about it, Mom." The noise interrupts her happy bliss. Curiosity won out, satisfied the kitchen was complete she walked into the front of the diner, surprised to see Meghan holding the magazine that the girls had been obsessing over earlier. Meghan's eyes met Emily's with a look of guilt, written all over her face. Katie's laptop computer sat open on the table.
"What is all the excitement about?" Katie answered first.
"Mom, what is Wade's full name?" Emily hesitated.
"Why?"
"Mom. Please just answer." Meghan moved nearer to her best friend.
"Em, honey you said something earlier about him telling you his full name. What is it?"
Emily swallowed hard, answering. "Lincoln Wade Owens. He said he has been going by Lincoln since he left home." The girls went nuts, pulling more internet pages up on the computer as Meghan opened the celebrity magazine to the page she had marked. She nudged the dazed Emily on the arm, directing her attention.
"Honey, we think this is him." Meghan read the headline. "Country star Lincoln Wade left Nashville suddenly last month ami
d a very messy public divorce to Country Starlet Lacey Wade. Sources close to the couple states the demands were for Mrs. Wade to retain her last name as it part of her brand. Sources state that the couple has been through many fights since she caught him cheating several times while on tour since their wedding five years before. Sources also say that Wade's attorney is fighting to keep a large number of the couple's holdings which include his family farm in North Carolina that has received large amounts of the couple's income that has been used to invest in the farm where his Mother and sisters continue to live."
Emily felt sick, sitting down in the first chair she reached.
"Mallory, go get Emily a soda, please." Meghan insisted, as her hand touched her youngest daughter’s shoulder.
"Mom." Katie whispered, before turning the computer around, and there was a photo of her Wade without his cap, a faded t-shirt, and jeans. This one was a up close, and there was no mistaking, Emily felt the familiar burn of tears, when Mallory handed her the coke.
"Here Aunt Em, this will help." Taking a sip as the words played in her head. Yes, with rum in it. She absently rubbed her stomach.
"Mom, I am so sorry I didn't realize it would hurt you. It started as a joke when we first thought it was Wade, looked like the picture. We never, I mean who would have thought a country star would be hanging out in Mason, Texas. Emily hugged her daughter.
"Baby. It's not your fault. It is mine for not finding out who he was before I fell in love with him."
Emily laid her on her arms, unable to focus on anything but the moments she can't help but wonder in the future if she will consider them fate or disaster. Meghan sent the girls home to her house after she called her husband explaining the situation. Mark immediately volunteered to haul the musician out into the middle of nowhere for some Texas justice. Meghan appreciated him caring but assured him it would not help the situation. She could only hope there was a good reason that Wade had not told her best friend the whole truth. Meghan could not get past the feeling that he was indeed a good guy, and he never intention of breaking her best friend's heart.
#
Wade left Bill's house, heading into town, feeling more positive than in a long time. He knew what he wanted, unable to deny the drastic changes his life had taken in the short four weeks since he arrived. His new life began with Emily. Wade sang to himself the new song he worked on late at night while thoughts of Emily filled his heart. Picking up his phone, trying one more time to reach her, this time the phone didn't ring instead went straight to voice mail. A heavy feeling hit his stomach as he pulled the truck to a screeching stop in front of Emily's little house.
A short time later, Wade's world spun out of control when he realized she knew. He knocked several times before Meghan finally opened the door. He could see Emily in the living room on the couch with a blanket, a box of tissues wadded all around her and on the table in front of her sat a half gallon on Blue Bell chocolate ice cream. Taking in the scene before him, it appeared as if Emily appeared to have been hitting it hard. Over the past few weeks, he had personally witnessed her cravings for the chocolate ice cream. He had developed his own addiction, declaring it the best ice cream he had ever had. Emily's eyes, red and swollen, with tears streaming down bother her cheeks when her eyes met his, cracking away at his heart.
Meghan stepped through the door to explain what happened. His heart sank into the boiling goo of hurt churning in the pit of his stomach.
"Meghan, I had planned on explaining tonight." He hated that Emily found out this way instead of hearing the truth from him, the way he planned. Wade berated himself for not telling her over the weekend, due to his pure selfishness. Meghan touched his arm, surprised to see tears in his eyes.
"You do love her, don't you?" Wade nodded, swallowing against the mountainous lump forming in the back of his throat. "Don't give up. Give her some time. Maybe write a letter or something. Explain what is happening." Wade nodded, then returned his eyes to the heartbreaking scene inside the small house where he longed to be the person to hold her on that couch instead of next to the door.
"Emily, baby, I know you probably don't believe this, but I love you. You are the only one for me. I was planning on telling you the entire story tonight. I had to make sure that I was going to be free before I did." He waited for a response. Instead she sat stock still on the couch with a fresh round of tears streaming down her cheeks. He continued. "I have one favor to ask of you, please, please do not believe everything you hear, or read about me."
Emily suddenly stood to face him, walking the few steps towards the door. Meghan, silent, unsure of what to do as she watched her best friend looked up towards the man that she so obviously loved. Emily reached up to his cheek with the tips of her fingers, touching this man, the man that in a short time she had fallen in love with and planned a future. Even now Emily had the distinct feeling that she was carrying his baby inside of her, with a breaking heart all she longed for him to do is have him hold her to tell her it was all a mistake. That he loved her and that wasn't him in the magazine.
"One question. Are you married?" Wade nodded before answering.
"Babe the divorce will be final the day after tomorrow." Emily held back the tears, still caressing his cheek, committing the feel to memory.
"You should have trusted me enough to tell me the truth." Emily removed her hand from the warmth of his skin for what she felt sure would be the last time. Turning away while she held the strength inside not to crater into his arms and beg to stay there for the remainder of her days. With more bravado then she felt, she walked straight towards her bedroom, shutting the door on Wade and her heart as she cried herself to sleep.
Wade nodded to Meghan as he returned to the truck getting in, sitting there in front of the little house. He had felt so sure of his life until now minutes later, it felt as if his world were ending.
Chapter 12
For two weeks after learning Wade's identity, Emily insisted she was fine but chose to handle her duties for the restaurant from home. At first, she claimed a cold and did not want to risk exposing customers or staff. To her surprise and much to the shock of Meghan, Wade continued as the cook, taking over for Emily in the mornings. Each night on the way to Montgomery's farm, he stopped by Emily's house. At first, he brought flowers, then resorted to her favorite things. Thanks to her best friend and everything he learned about the woman he loved during the time he spent in the small town. Wade dropped off books by her favorite author, and food. A bucket of ice cream came next, for that one he watched from down the street as she picked up the gift, smiling.
These moments helped him survive the hours of loneliness until he received the call, the one that forced him to return to Nashville and close the first chapter of his life. Three weeks since the best days of his life and the worst. He prepared Meghan for the day when she would lose his help in the kitchen. Wade spent his last few days showing the new hire the routine. With a saddened heart, he packed his bag, unable to ignore the demands of his life any longer. He tried once more, a knock to the door, with no answer he turned to walk away.
Walking to the truck, taking one last look towards the little house, he spied a glimmer of hope when the curtain parted, allowing him a glimpse of her silhouette in the window watching. He did the only thing that he could do, blowing her a kiss, praying that this would not be the last time that saw Emily again.
The Monday morning after Wade left town, the vomiting began. Three days and nights with Katie attempting to care for her mother when Meghan insisted it had been long enough, dragging her to the doctor.
Emily walked out of the house into the May sunshine, tipping her face up she enjoyed the warmth. She leaned on Meghan fighting, the weakness and nausea. An hour later both Meghan and Emily sat stunned in the doctor's office as he told them the news. "Pregnant" Emily had been confident she had imagined the symptoms. Surely it had been a virus. It was wishful thinking when she and Wade had spoken about the possibility. She had never been
this sick with Katie. A short time later, they left the office with a bottle of prenatal vitamins and a scheduled next appointment for next month. Meghan hugged Emily.
“He promised he would stay,” Emily muttered through the sheen of tears.
“Emily, you did force his hand when you refused to speak with him. You never gave him a chance to explain.” Emily’s clenched jaw, the only evidence of the hurt and anger she felt at this moment when Meghan added. “I know you love him and damn it Em. He loves you too. But do you want to be miserable for the rest of your life because the boy made a mistake?” Emily slammed the door on Meghan’s car, facing through the window, ignoring the cold, hard, slap of the truth. “I love you, and I will always choose you, always have, always will, but it is my job as your best friend to tell you. You are wrong.”
“You think it is okay for him to hide the small fact that he was married? And what about the claims that he had affairs? Is that a man I should have in my life? Katie’s life? This baby’s?” Her hands cradled her now flat belly in anticipation of the baby to become.
“Emily, What, did Wade say?” Emily shook her head. “Em. Listen. He said not to believe everything you hear. He deserves a chance to tell you what happened, and you deserve to hear what he has to say.”
Meghan started the car, driving towards the diner, both relieved when Meghan was able to find a cook to take Wade’s place. Emily wondered how she would survive walking into her place of business she loved every day and not see his face. Meghan knew better than to force the issue on her friend. Years of experience had taught her of the stubborn streak that ran through both Emily and Katie. She knew Emily needed to work through her issues for herself, the seed if hope now planted. Meghan wished for it grow, fast before the baby arrived. Changing the subject, she announced.
For Love or Music Page 6