“Bitch you’re dead to me. You got your wish. You get to be with Chap. I hope he treats you just as well as he did me.”
Chap shifted his tone from stern to light and airy. “Francesca … sweetie be reasonable. There’s still five months left on our current contract. Dumping me wouldn’t be wise financially.”
“I don’t care. I’ll write you a check for the remaining five months.”
“What about the tour?” Darla protested. “We still have three months of tour dates. Whiskey Wild needs to get back on the road.”
Fuck I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation this morning. I could fire Chap, but walking away from the tour was complicated. We’d made commitments. Chucking the deuces on the tour would require us to pay back advances. Tickets had been purchased. The band and tour crew were secured and under contract. If I backed out of the tour, the record label would make sure I regretted it. A lot of people invested a lot of money into Whiskey Wild. I couldn’t just shit on their efforts. Chap was right, Whiskey Wild was never just about Darla and me.
I jerked an uncertain shoulder. Making career decisions at seven in the morning was something I was ill-prepared for. “We finish the tour dates, but after that Whiskey Wild is over.”
“Bullshit, you’re not going to walk away from all that money.” Chap squinted his eyes.
“I don’t want to be paired with someone I can’t trust. If she can actively attempt to steal my man, what’s next … my money?”
“Fancy I get you’re upset but think this through,” Darla begged.
“I have. This tour will be Whiskey Wild’s last.”
Chap turned red and spit flew from his mouth as he screamed at me. “You stupid bitch.”
He advanced quickly, closing the distance between us. Stumbling backward, I tried to retreat, tripping over my own feet and falling to the ground. I’d never seen him this angry, and I instinctually raised my hands in case I needed to protect myself.When the gunshot rang through the air, Darla and I screamed in unison.
Chap froze in his tracks and Edison was standing in front of me, the barrel of his rifle still smoking. “I’m gonna say this as respectfully as possible. Get the fuck off my property.”
Neither Chap nor Darla protested, scampering to their respective vehicles. No doubt they noted the incensed glint in Edison’s eyes. He aimed his rifle at Chap’s SUV until it disappeared from view.
“Did you just shoot at my ex-boyfriend?”
Edison secured the safety lock on the gun. Helping me to my feet, he said, “I shot into the sky. But that joker is lucky I didn’t aim it at his kneecap. He thinks he can come onto my property and threaten my girl. I bet his scary ass will think twice about that in the future.” He claimed my hand, leading me to the porch. Setting the gun down, he turned his attention toward me. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” He brushed dust off the seat of my sweatpants.
“No, I’m just a little shook up.”
“Your arm is bleeding.” The way his face was marred with concern you would think my bone was exposed and my arm was hanging on by tendons.
“I must have skinned it when I fell.”
“Fancy.” He pressed his forehead into mine. When he pulled back, his eyes were misty with rage. “I’ma fucking kill him.”
“No, you’re not, because as far as I’m concerned, he’s dead to me.”
Edison stared into the vast, empty land, the muscles in his jaw ruminating. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“I could never be scared of you.” I slid closer in need of a hug, and he obliged. Wrapping me up in his strong arms.
Edison has always been my protector. When we were ten or eleven, we were walking down the road headed to a nearbystream and a dog came out of nowhere snarling and growling. Edison stepped in front of me and tried to shoo the dog away. But the animal attacked, latching onto his arm. He fell backward, pinning me under him. I was useless with fear, but Edison poked the dog in the eye until it released him and ran into the tall grass. Edison had to get a shitload of stitches and a faint scar remains behind.
“Whose dog is that?” Yeti ran off when the gunshot pierced the air, just now venturing out of his hiding spot.
“That’s our dog. Yeti Spaghetti the II.” Yeti ambled over to the porch, cautiously sniffing. Edison held out his palm, allowing Yeti to investigate. Climbing the steps, he settled in between Edison’s legs, resting his head on his thigh.
“Good thing I’m not allergic.” Edison scratched behind our dog’s ears. “Are you hungry? Because I’m starving.”
I nodded but wasn’t quite ready to pull away. How was I going to leave this man for three months to finish up the tour?
Joseph and Sheliainsisted I bring Fancy to Sunday dinner. I suspected Dial filled them in on my current relationship status and now they wanted to confirm it for themselves. The last time I’d brought a woman to dinner … shit … I couldn’t tell you. But when I asked Fancy if she wanted to attend, she smiled that full effortless smile of hers and nodded, her big curls falling into her face.
Per usual Cyrus was absent but he gave his apologies in the group chat. I’ve had Cyrus’s cooking, and it wasn’t better than our parents. Why he chose to stay home or at work like he claimed was beyond me. And what mayor of a town this small couldn’t clock out on a Sunday evening? He acted like he was putting out never-ending fires. Nothing ever happened in Hume and when it did it was still tame in comparison to larger cities.
