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Garrett
Langford and I seal the deal on the property, and his attorney will send mine the business proposal for the ski lodge. I’m excited to tell Ansley, so once we’re done at the attorney’s office, I take Pierce to the café to introduce the two of them.
The two hours Langford and I were finalizing everything, Pierce spent the time on the phone with the executives in Nashville. They weren’t too happy with my decision to skip the awards show, but once Pierce told them I was at an attorney’s office at that moment, they changed their tune.
Seems he forgot to mention why I was there.
They agreed to let me stay for the benefit and send the news cameras and the check Pierce had suggested as long as I would be back in the studio the day after to record the new songs and finish the album.
“I can’t believe you bought land. It’s like you’re suddenly a grown-up,” he says.
“Yeah, well, you and Aaron have been harping on me to settle down.”
“I meant, stop getting in bar fights, not move to the boondocks. And who’s the girl you’re wanting me to meet?” he asks.
“Her name is Ansley. She’s one of the reasons I purchased the land.”
He turns fully toward me. “Garrett Tuttle, are you telling me that you’ve been home a couple months and already fallen for some chick? The whole point of this sabbatical was to get you away from Tatiana. Shit, I should have sent you to some celebrity rehab center,” he mumbles.
I chuckle. “She isn’t just some chick. She’s the one who got away.”
“Amazing,” he says, shaking his head.
“What?”
“You seem different here,” he says.
“Yeah, well, I feel different. Chalk it up to the mountain air.”
“Hmm … maybe I need to vacation in the Smokies sometime,” he muses.
“It couldn’t hurt,” I agree. “Come on. I’ll introduce you around.”
We stop into Well-Bred Café and Bookstore, and I introduce Pierce and Ansley.
She joins us for coffee, and we fill her in on the news from the label.
“So, you’re leaving next week?” she asks.
“Yep, the morning after the benefit thing,” Pierce answers for me.
I see the pain pass over her face before she hides it behind a forced smile.
“That’s great,” she says.
I reach under the table and take her hand. “I’ll be back,” I assure her.
She nods.
Pierce’s phone rings, and he excuses himself to take the call.
I squeeze her hand once he’s out of earshot. “I’m serious, Ansley.”
“I know you are.”
“Then, what’s wrong?” I ask.
“I just started liking you again, and now, you’re leaving. It sucks,” she says.
It does suck.
“You’re welcome to come with me,” I offer.
She shakes her head. “I can’t leave the café. Besides, you’re going to be so busy with recording and then the tour.”
“I will, but when I’m done, I’ll be back.”
“Okay.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I believe that you believe it.”
“Come on, Foxy. All we’ve been through and me ending up here and us spending time together, it all has to mean something, right?”
“Like what exactly?” she asks.
“That something bigger than us wants us to be together.”
She laughs. “Fate? You want me to believe that Garrett Tuttle believes in fate?”
“Something brought me back to Balsam Ridge.”
“I thought your manager and publicist did that.”
“They could have chosen anywhere in the world for me to lie low. I could have spent a month on an island, sunbathing. I could have spent the summer surfing in Australia. I could have hidden away behind the gates of Pierce’s estate in Nashville. But somehow, I ended up here. I came to you. I came for you. I just didn’t know it at the time. Isn’t that what fate is?”
“I guess.”
“Yep. Fate and the magic of Mom’s prayers,” I confirm.
She shakes her head. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy about you,” I amend.
She sniffles.
“You aren’t convinced, are you?”
“I’m just afraid.”
“Of what?” I ask.
