The Nashville Bet

by Shana Gray

  “Once we see the main things, I’m pretty sure Dave might know of some other fun places.” Ava leaned forward and called up to the driver. “Dave, think about some other places you can show us.”

  “You got it,” the man said. They’d had the same driver each time Chase arranged for a car and Ava was incapable of not being friendly enough to learn the guy’s name.

  The first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. They hoped to beat the crowds and then head out to the river boat for lunch. The women piled out of the limo and stood in front of the doorway to country-music history.

  “I can’t believe I’m here.” Celia gazed at the front doors in awe.

  “You know what? Me either,” Fredi said, and she stepped forward to be the first one through the door. Bonni hung back with Ava.

  “Are you okay, honey?” she asked.

  “Sure, why?” Her friends knew her well.

  “I know you, Ava. I know how you open your heart and, remember, you told me about that guy in Texas. I know what’s going on in your head.”

  Ava sighed. She couldn’t hide anything from Bonni. “I don’t know what to think.”

  “How about you don’t think right now? How about you just put it all away for a little while and have some fun? Give your brain a break and just let everything play out naturally. When it’s time to act, you’ll know,” Bonni said earnestly, and tapped her chest over her heart. “Trust me, you’ll know.”

  She gave her a hug then they linked arms and followed Fredi and Celia inside.

  “Oh look, there’s a Little Big Town exhibit!” Ava said excitedly.

  “I almost feel like I’m in hallowed halls,” Bonni said.

  They walked through the rotunda, taking the time to look at all the exhibits in the displays. They purchased tickets for the museum proper.

  “I wonder if they have new-performer information here,” Ava pondered.

  “Do you mean, as in, there could be something here talking about a man named Chase Hudson? One of the CMA new artists of the year?” Celia asked her.

  “Something like that.” Ava looked around.

  “Why do you like Little Big Town so much?” Fredi asked Ava.

  “For one thing, I love Kimberly Schlapman’s hair. If I had curly hair, I’d totally get my hairdresser to cut it like that. But I think their song ‘Girl Crush’ is heart-wrenching, and ‘Better Man’—geez, all their songs are soooo good. They resonate with me. ‘Girl Crush’ is just so sad.” Ava turned away, feeling the emotion rush into her, and tried not to let it take over thinking about that song, but man, it was a hard thing to do. “Could you imagine? Knowing your man was loving someone else and you couldn’t cope with it, wanting to be all the things that the new woman was? It chokes me up every time.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” Fredi wandered around and stopped before a fashion display. “I think I’m going to need more time than what we allotted. Just look at these clothes.” She reached out and touched the glass.

  Bonni and Celia chattered away as they continued on their tour.

  “Look at all these vintage instruments.” Celia was leaning down to read the inscriptions and taking photos.

  “You can almost feel the history, can’t you?” Bonni said. She put her hand beside Celia’s. “I often wonder, if I touch something, will it suck me back to the time or give me visions.”

  Fredi hooted. “Seriously? This isn’t Outlander. Come on, guys.”

  They were silent for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. But all Ava could think of was her and Chase. About their future, what was to come tomorrow, and beyond that. Standing amidst all this history made her certain that there was no time like the present. It was time to talk.

  They wandered through the exhibits for a while, each finding delight in something they saw, and finally Celia wrangled everyone. “You know what? I think we’ll have to come back here later, because we have to get going to catch that paddle boat for lunch.”

  “Oh yes!” Ava didn’t even bother to hide her excitement. “It’s lunchtime, and I’m hungry.”

  “When are you not hungry?” Fredi asked her. “We need to feed the beast, girls. And don’t sneak anything off her plate or we could have a repeat of the meatball caper.”

  “I’m not that bad,” Ava said, but that was a lie. She would also admit she was protective of her plate. “That reminds me, what is the chicken-fry place in Nashville?”

  “I don’t know.” Celia shrugged her shoulders.

  “Reese Witherspoon did a video a few months ago and she recommended it for hot chicken. I’ll have to try and find that video when we get back to the hotel.” Ava led the charge out of the museum.

  “No need,” Celia told her as she pulled out her phone. “I’ll find it and—”

  Ava watched her and saw Fredi roll her eyes, then she commented, “Celia, if yesterday at the distillery tour was any indication, you really need to curb your phone addition.”

  Celia didn’t even lift her face from the screen but Ava saw the smirk on her face. “Nope. And, come to think of it, I haven’t done a group shot yet. Gather round, girls, it’s selfie time.”

  They pressed close together, with Bonni and Ava at the back and shorter Celia and Fredi in front. Celia held her phone out and they all leaned in.

  “Everyone say cheeeeeese,” Celia instructed, and she captured it.

  “This is definitely going on IG,” she said, sticking her nose back in her phone.

  “Why I am not surprised?” Fredi muttered.

  “And I’m tagging you all. I’ll even tag Chase.” And before Ava could tell her not to Celia hit send and did jazz hands to prove it.

  “Done and done.” Celia laughed, obviously quite pleased with herself.

  “Now let’s hightail it back out to the car. We have lunch waiting,” Ava said, and led the way. She hadn’t heard from Chase yet this morning but she knew he was in the studio. She was going to have fun with her girls but she also had the sweet heat of desire, knowing she’d be seeing him later.

  Chapter Thirty

  After their lunch on the paddleboat, the girls took a drive by the Bluebird Café. They were hoping to get in, but it was closed for a special event. Some kind of birthday party was going on and no one uninvited was allowed in.

  All four of them stood at the window, their hands shielding their eyes, and peered inside.

  “I don’t see anybody famous, do you?” Celia asked.

  “It’s hard to see anything,” Bonni answered her.

  “This reminds me of that scene in the show Nashville when they had a big party for Deacon. You know, his birthday-party bash,” Celia told them.

  “Imagine, wouldn’t it be cool if we happen to stumble across some big-name birthday or anniversary, or even a filming of some show?” Ava said excitedly as she moved down to look in another spot at the window.

  It didn’t appear promising.

  “Okay, guys, come on. This is really weird, staring inside like this. Let’s get going. I don’t want to be bailing us all out of jail or something for loitering in or being a peeping Tom,” Fredi said, grabbing Ava’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  “Well, what are we going to do now?” Ava asked. She turned to look at Celia. “Got a Plan B?”

  “No, my next thing isn’t until tomorrow. I kind of thought this day would draw out a little longer, what with visiting the Bluebird and all.”

  Once they were back in the limo, they asked Dave if he’d come up with any ideas.

  “There is one way to see Music Row, if you’re up for some exercise. I can call ahead and see if there’s room, plus, it’s BYOB.”

  Bonni said, “I’m always up for exercise, you guys know that.” She raised her hand, fisted it and flexed her bicep.

  Typically, Fredi groaned. Ava didn’t say much, waiting to see what the rest decided. Her thoughts were mainly about seeing Chase later.

  “Okay, what do you have?” Celia leaned back in the seat and pulled out her phon
e from her pocket.

  “There’s a pedal bar.”

  “What’s that?” Fredi asked, skepticism edging her voice.

  “It’s a pedal-bike bar that goes through the downtown streets. Basically, you drink and ride and, since you guys aren’t driving, you can stop and bar hop as well if you want.”

  “That sounds pretty cool,” Bonni said.

  “Oh, look! It’ll be a blast.” Celia held up her phone and they all leaned in to look at the image on the screen.

  “I’ve heard, if you have too much to drink, they stick you on the back of the bike and put a helmet on you in case you fall out,” Dave told them.

  “Oh my God, that would be hilarious,” Celia said, and gave her friends an inquisitive look. “We should go.”

  “We are not repeating your drama from Fat Tuesdays in Vegas,” Fredi said sternly to Bonni, wagging her finger.

  Bonni just laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

  “We should make a bet on who’ll end up with the helmet.” Celia was all over it.

  “We’re not in Vegas, we’re in Nashville, and there’s more talk of making bets here than there was there,” Ava said. “I like the idea, but we don’t need another bet to worry about, especially when it comes to getting drunk and wearing freaking helmets on the back of pedal bikes.” Ava shook her head. “Nope. I won’t get drunk where there’s pedaling involved but I’m in for a fun time.”

  “Are you in, then?” Celia asked Fredi and Bonni.

  “I am,” Bonni answered.

  “I guess majority rules,” Fredi grumbled.

  “To the pedal bar, Dave,” Ava said.

  Ava stared at the contraption; she wasn’t quite sure what to think.

  “That looks like it’s a whole lotta work for a few drinks.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at her friends to see what they thought about it.

  “Looks like loads of fun to me,” Bonni said, standing behind one of the seats, ready to jump on.

  “I’m with you, Ava: not sure the drinks are worth all the effort.” Fredi had crossed her arms and tossed her head, giving everybody a narrow-eyed look. Her blue eyes suddenly looked stormy.

  “Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. Hop on.” Celia was already climbing up into the seat she had chosen, which was right near the front.

  Bonni was next, then Fredi and Ava looked at each other, let out a joint sigh and took the next two seats.

  Dave handed over a cooler of the beer they’d purchased along the way. The bartender took it and stashed it.

  “I may as well start this drama off with a drink.” Celia slapped her hand on the bar surface. “Pronto Tonto, please.”

  The female bartender opened a beer and handed a bottle to Celia. “Make sure you keep my friend liquored up as well.”

  The woman looked like she loved her job. She was conversing with the other guests, laughing at her male counterpart, who was telling jokes. Ava was feeling a whole lot better, but then she always did with her friends. She knew they would have the time of their lives on this monster booze bike.

  “This must be a super-fun job?” Ava leaned forward to get in the shade a little bit. It was going to be hot on this thing.

  Fredi twirled her beer bottle between her fingers. Bonni and Celia were already guzzling.

  “It is. I like meeting people and having fun,” the woman told her. “By the way, my name is Carolina, so don’t be shy on calling me when you want something.”

  “Perfect, thanks.”

  Ava pulled her sunglasses out of her over-the-shoulder bag. She put them on and pulled her hair up into a topknot. It was going to be warm, pedaling around.

  “Everybody settled? Everybody got a drink? Because we’re about to get cracking,” Stephen, the driver upfront, shouted. “Let’s crank the tunes.”

  “Come on, people! Let’s let them know we’re ready to pedal for the drinks!” Carolina called out, and blew a horn.

  “And here we go.” Music came on the speakers, everybody started their pedaling and off they went. There were a couple other bikes coming up behind them.

  Ava turned to look at Fredi, who was sipping at her beer. “You’re not pedaling, Fredi.”

  “My little legs won’t make the least bit of difference.” She cast Ava a challenging stare then blew her a kiss.

  “You can at least make it look like you are, like, put your feet on the pedals. Everyone else is doing their part.” Ava pointed to the group of people across from them.

  “Yes, that’s a good idea.” Fredi looked down and got her feet settled on the pedals, doing a great job at faking her participation.

  This wasn’t just a drinking bike ride, it was also a great way to see downtown. You could pub crawl, too, if you wanted, but Ava hoped her friends would be happy with riding the bike around and not getting off.

  “So what do you think of this, guys?” Celia, up front, leaned forward to look back at them.

  Fredi raised her second bottle. “Oh, this is just dandy. I’ve always wanted to ride a bike bar.” Then she downed a good portion of the bottle.

  They laughed at Fredi and her antics. Even though she complained, she had herself a good time.

  Celia had a huge grin on her face and Ava knew full well she was thrilled they were enjoying this bicycle trip. Even Fredi was still smiling and having fun. Which was what their girls’ weekends were all about.

  “At the rate you’re going, though, Fredi, you’re going to be the one sitting on the back with a helmet on.” Ava chuckled and sipped on her beer. No way was she going to get hammered. She had a date later.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chase placed his guitar on the stand and went into the control booth. Dozer was lounging on the couch with a shit-ass grin on his face.

  “What are you smiling about?” Chase asked him, grabbing a soda out of the fridge, and a couple of sandwiches that were in there. He was hungry and inspected them to make sure they were still edible. He was so hungry his stomach thought his throat had been cut.

  “I guess you created an impression last night.” Dozer spread his arms out along the back of the sofa and tapped his fingers. “Yep, when you do the talk, you sure do know how to do it right.”

  “So, I take it I’m performing with Lance?” A thrill of excitement made Chase feel pretty damn happy. Ava would be excited and he knew Fredi would demand a meeting.

  “You betcha. They want you to do two songs and are asking that one of them be your latest hit. And you can choose the other one.”

  Chase thought about it for minute. And he was fine singing “You Drive Me Crazy.” Figuring out another one was a dilemma. “I’ll think on the second one.”

  “What about the one you were doing just now?” Dozer lifted his finger and pointed at the booth.

  “No, not that one.” Chase wasn’t ready for the Ava song to be made public yet. She had to hear it first.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Dozer was insistent, and Chase knew, unless he shut him down right now, he’d be as relentless as a dog with a bone.

  “No. I’m not singing it.” He stared Dozer down.

  Dozer stood up and faced Chase, tilting his head back to make eye contact. Chase crossed his arms. Dozer narrowed his eyes and puffed up like a peacock trying to look big, ready to argue.

  “No,” was all Chase said. “But, if I feel it’s ready, then I’ll do it. There’s a lot of factors involved in this song and it’s only been kept within this circle here.” Chase hitched his thumb behind him at the live room, where his band was probably watching the exchange with interest.

  “You know I don’t like it when you go against what I think is the right thing to do,” Dozer told him.

  “I know, and you’re usually right. But this time I’m making the call.” Chase was determined. The anger and protectiveness rushing through him made him realize how special the song was.

  To show the conversation was over, Chase took a bite of sandwich and dropped into the big old leather chair that had pro
bably been in the room since the early days and seen all the artists that have come and gone over the years.

  “One thing I do want is backstage passes.” Chase finished off the bottle of water then started working on the second sandwich.

  “Backstage passes, for CMA Fest? Are you out of your mind?” Dozer rested on the stool in front of the engineering console.

  Chase shook his head. “Nope. I know you can do it. That’s why you’re my agent.” Chase gave him a look from under the brim of his cowboy hat and his voice carried a message that was clear as a bell.

  “How many?” Dozer sighed.

  Chase smiled behind the sandwich he’d just bit into. He didn’t like being tough with Dozer, but sometimes he had to be. He held up four fingers.

  “Four! That’s asking a lot.” Dozer ran his hand through his hair.

  Chase swallowed his bite before answering, “I understand. One, for sure, and the others if you can do it.”

  He laughed when he saw Dozer relax.

  “One, I can guarantee.” He stood and grabbed a flash drive sitting on the mixing board. He held it up and waved it. “These are good. You’re really going to be at the top, Chase. And I’m here to work hard for you, you know that, right?”

  “Of course I do.” Chase washed down another bite of his ham and cheese sandwich with a big gulp of soda.

  “Right, I’m off. I’ll be in touch later with details.” Dozer left and Chase finished off his food, eager to get back to his new song. But he had a thought and whipped out his phone.

  He texted Dozer.

  If that song is on the drive you took, you’re not to share it. Fair warning.

  As he opened up his contacts, seeing Ava’s name gave him a burst of happiness. He was eager to see her later. He typed her a message.

  Chase: How’s your day going, Boots?

  He didn’t really expect to hear back from her, knowing they were being tourists today. He’d wanted to take them to more places yesterday but they’d run out of time. Chase was looking forward to later and wanted to cram in as much time with Ava as he could before she left. Unless he could talk her into staying a little bit longer.