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Tyler grabs my hand and stands up. “Let’s go talk.”
“Oh, come on, guys. You can’t take away my entertainment,” Blake complains.
I laugh as Tyler pulls me toward the door.
We walk hand in hand through the hospital, and I’m not sure what’s on Tyler’s mind, but there’s a worried expression on his face. It seems that whatever he wants to talk about is pretty damn serious.
TYLER
When we reach the parking lot, I turn to face Avery. “There’s something that’s been weighing on my mind all night and I think we need to talk about it.”
Her brow furrows. “Okay. I’m all ears. What’s up?”
I lick my suddenly dry lips. “I don’t want to go back on tour with my band.”
Since I met Maddie the other day, the thought of leaving this town hurts like hell. Maddie instantly stole my heart and made me realize that music should not control my life. I can be a musician anywhere. The music is in me, and I’ll never lose that, even if I follow my heart and chase a new dream.
It’s the choices I made that led me to Wicked White even though my heart really isn’t into the kind of music that we perform. I want to make music that speaks my truth, and in order to create that kind of music, I have to start with being honest with myself and going after what my heart truly wants. Right now that’s to be a family with Avery and Maddie. Nothing else matters to me but them.
Shock passes over her face. I’m sure the admission I just made isn’t one that she expected to hear. “What makes you say that? I thought music was your life.”
“It was,” I say and then pause. “Growing up, all I ever dreamed about doing was being a musician. Creating music and performing has been one hundred percent what my life has been about. There was nothing that mattered more to
me. My dad knew that, which is why he pushed me so hard to get out of this town. He knew that a career as a performer would never be anything more for me than just a dream if I got trapped in the small-town life. He didn’t want to see me get tied down like he did. He loved to tell me stories about all the big dreams he had growing up, and when I asked him why he never tried to make them come true, he would always just tell me that things changed for him when he met my mother—that she became the most important thing to him. They got married. He got a job at a local factory and then they had me.
“For some reason he never thought his simple life was good enough for me. He never wanted to see me settle for anything less than my dreams, so he pushed me. He pushed me to be better—to want to get out of this town. Dad’s biggest fear was that I would get a girl pregnant and get trapped here in this town, which is why I think he made me make that promise to him.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting your child to accomplish more than you did,” Avery says. “I can see why he would push you like that. I want the same for Maddie. He wanted you to have the best life you can.”
I take her hand in mine. “That’s where I think he was wrong though, Avery. When he told me to go out and find my dream, I don’t think he could’ve ever possibly known that my dream was going to come into this town and find me.”
“What are you saying, Tyler?” she whispers.
I trace her cheek with the tips of my fingers. “I’m saying that my dreams have changed, and if I’m to keep my promise to my dad, then I need to go after them. My dream is you, Avery. You and Maddie. I want us to be a family.”
“I told you we’d give us a shot,” she says.
Instantly, I shake my head. “I don’t want to be away from you and I don’t want to miss a single day in Maddie’s life. I’ve missed too many firsts already that I’ll never get back. I love you, Avery. You and Maddie. I don’t want to see you just part-time or the times when I’m not on the road or in the studio—I want the two of you in my life every day.”
“I can’t just pack up and leave here, Tyler. I’ve worked hard to make this a home for Maddie and me. I’ve got the bar and Granny—my life is here.”
“I know,” I tell her to try and alleviate some of the confusion and panic I see in her eyes. “I’m going to come to you.”
“You can’t do music from here.”
“I know and I don’t care. None of that matters now.”
Tears fill her eyes. “You can’t be serious. You can’t leave everything you’ve worked for on a whim.”
I cradle her face in my hands and force her to look into my eyes. I want her to know that I’m being a thousand percent serious. “This isn’t a whim. I regretted leaving you here the moment I did it three years ago. I wanted to come back and beg your forgiveness so many times, but I was afraid—afraid of confronting my guilt. I want you now and forever. I promise you my heart from this moment forward. It’s yours for the taking. All you have to do is tell me that you want me to stay. I need to hear that you need me just as much as I need you if I’m going to walk away from everything.”
“Tyler,” she says my name through a strained voice and I can tell it’s taking everything inside her to hold back from sobbing. “I want you, but I don’t want you to resent me or Maddie down the road.”
“I will never do that. I swear it. The band—it’s not much to give up. I’m not happy there. No one gets along, so I couldn’t care less if I ever see those guys again. If music is meant to happen for me, it will happen in a way that you and Maddie can still be a part of my everyday world.
“Say yes, Avery. Say that you’re in this with me.”
She closes her eyes. “Of course I am.”
