“No. I’m the sorry son of a bitch who let you go.” He placed a kiss at the corner of my mouth. “I have nobusiness asking you to give me a chance. But if you’re willing, I’m here, and I’ll drive.”
The difference between then and now was that I had a choice. No, I’d always had a choice and Rhys had made sure giving up wasn’t one of them. He was doing it again, but this time, he was offering a path that included him.
Would I forever be wondering if he’d fly back to Montana and stay? Yes, probably. But if he was serious, he would work infinitely harder to let me know that though we might be apart, we still had each other. He was a dad. He had other considerations. But I would still be one of his priorities.
So my choices were to leave him behind, to endure the heartbreak for decades more and try to heal.
Or let him drive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
June
Summer and Jonah’s cabin had signs of baby everywhere. A little portable bassinet stood by the big picture windows. How many babies got to nap with the view of a wide, sloping valley? A swing and changing table were by the wall. Down the hallway and to the left was a new addition that included the nursery Summer had done up with pictures of wildlife and mountains.
My sister was curled up in the corner of the couch while I rocked in a handmade rocking chair. A Jonah special. I’d have to order one for the cabin, but I had time. My tour would last for almost an entire year. I was leaving after my visit here. The first concert was in four days and it was crunch time for my team.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” Summer said. She’d trimmed her hair recently. All the old blond highlights were gone, leaving her natural strawberry-blond tresses.
“Me too. I told my team that no matter what, I was getting here to see you and little Eli.”
“I wasn’t sure, but I wouldn’t have held it against you. Your album is going bonkers.”
I grinned.Canyon Confessionswas on its way to double platinum. The cover photo I’d used was the one taken at Copper Summit, the one I’d asked Wynter not to use in the promotion. My album had topped both the country and pop charts in the first two months, and three of my songs were in the Billboard Hot 100 at the moment. “It’s been wild.”
My audience was devouring the songs. They speculated about them and which ones had to do with Hot Mountain Daddy. Many of them had concluded that all the songs were about me and Rhys. They were right.
My most successful single to date was the one I’d written for myself about myself and what I could do with the love and support of my family. I had titled it “Don’t Wait for Me.” The song still sat at number one, but it was about to get bumped out by “Senseless,” which had just released. I never did name the man in the song who had pushed me away only to kiss me senseless.
The press and the picture from months ago had started circulating again, along with the story of our high school relationship, and it was fueling interest. More people were buying the album, streaming the songs, and it was hard to scroll through any social media without hearing snippets.
“My favorite part,” I said while gazing adoringly at the little sleeping face of my newest nephew, “is how many people have messaged and posted that these songs speak for them.”
“Everyone can hear you now.”
“Yeah.” Only my sisters knew what that meant for me. In a way, we were all still in the same car together. But we’d all survived and now we were all succeeding.
She pushed up the sleeves of her loose, long-sleeved shirt. “So? How often are we going to see you over the next year?”
“I’m figuring all that out.” I danced my fingers along Eli’s scalp, brushing his superfine hair back. “The first half of the tour will be pretty hot and heavy.” My amazing new manager and my promoter had been enthusiastic about scheduling venues, but when I had returned to Nashville and met with them, I’d slowed things down. I’d still have a heavy travel schedule through the end of the year, but I’d also have longer breaks too, and the venues were grouped to decrease the sheer amount of travel.
The good news was that I had graduated from a bus artist to a plane artist. I could fly from city to city instead of spending so much time on the road on a bus. Being able to take planes eased my anxiety about having the girls travel on the road a lot, and it helped with Bethany’s motion sickness. She still didn’t feel good, but the travel was shorter and she was so thrilled to fly that she didn’t care.
Muffled voices carried in from the kitchen, on the other side of the door to the garage.
Bethany and Hannah spilled in. Both of them had ponytails with orange clip-in hair pieces to add color streaks like I had in my hair. The play extensions were our compromise. Kirstin and I didn’t want to permanently dye their hair and temporary color didn’t show well in their darker tresses.
“It was so cool,” Bethany said. Her gaze landed onEli, and she shushed her sister who wasn’t talking, then made the same motion to Rhys and Jonah behind her.
Jonah’s mouth tipped up, but he nodded. “Quiet down, Rhys.”
“I’ll try.” Rhys grinned, but his warm gaze was on me instead of the baby.
The girls surrounded me. They’d been enthralled by Eli since we’d arrived.
“Can I hold him?” Hannah asked.
“Absolutely.” Summer got up and took Eli.
