Page 116 of False Promises

Another hiccup.

“Jeff was the one driving me from festival to festival. He was the one cheering on me. My greatest fan, as he used to say.” Tears choked me. “He was my only fan. My biggest supporter. My only blood relative who believed in me. And he fucking died, leaving me to do this on my own.”

The fog clouding my vision thickened.

“I send them plane tickets. Every Christmas, on Jack’s birthday, sometimes just because I miss them…”

With the heels of my hands, I pressed my eyes to relieve them from the sting.

“Carter, listen to me. None of this is your fault. Those are your parents’ choices. Their decisions. And even though you’re the one paying for their mistakes, you’re not responsible for their actions. Just like you are not responsible for Savannah’s actions.”

“How do I heal from this? Once and for all. How do I cut the cord making me feel obliged toward them for good? I’m done suffering.”

“That’s what I’m here for if you’re ready to deal with it and put it behind you for good.”

I rubbed my hands together and sat back in the chair. “I am.”

“Let’s do this then.”

EPILOGUE

CARTER

Breathless, I bent in two to catch some fresh air, before stretching. Running helped me to clear my head. And this time, I was trying to be smarter about it. Every time I had my anxiety-induced episodes, I would run for hours until they passed. Today, I chose to run for the fun of it. Five miles. Not to exhaust myself, but to feel better.

Taylor stopped beside me. “Feels good to be back in town?”

I nodded my agreement as we crossed Centennial Park side by side. “I’ve missed Nashville. It feels great.”

“How are you doing?” my chief of security asked.

“Better. I’m glad it’s all behind me. Savannah has only given a handful of interviews so far, and it’s been three weeks now. She’s cooking something up. I can tell.”

Taylor’s hand clapped my shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Whatever rumors she comes up with, we’ll intervene if she goes too far. Up until now, she’s been claiming you’ve cheated on her and that you need to enter a rehabilitation center. All those have been denied. If she had something important to share, she wouldn’t make claims without having anything to back them up. She signed those papers. She’s trying to surf the breakup wave. Her five minutes of glory. Let it slide for now.”

I cocked my head to stare at him. “Maybe.”

He walked me to my building and turned away to leave.

“Taylor,” I called out before he climbed into his car. “I’m going to spend some time in Green Mountain. It’s overdue since I missed the Holidays with Dahlia and Jack. It has never happened before, even when I was touring the other side of the globe. I know it was for their safety but still…” Tightness clamped my heart at the thought I’d sacrificed too much for a woman who should have never earned any minute of my time. “Anyway, you deserve a vacation too. Stay here, enjoy life, be with your wife. I’ll call you if I need you to come over. I’ll spend time with Jack and Dahlia anyway. Nothing to worry about.”

“You sure?”

I bobbed my head. “Yes. Thanks for always having my back.”

“I checked your security the last time I went up there. All safe and sound. Enjoy the time off.”

“I will. See you soon.”

My phone went off before I reached my floor. “Hey June, what’s up?”

“Cart, can we talk?”

“Huh, sure. Gimme thirty minutes? I’ll shower and eat something. I just came back from a run with Taylor.”

“Listen, I just got off the phone with someone from your record label. They heard from Savannah Prince’s people. Some things we need to discuss.”

“The fuck.”