Outlaw Country (9 page)

Emotion was welling up inside of Kathleen, but she couldn’t pin down from where. It could’ve come from any number of places; her relationship with Eric, Gracie’s with Shepherd, or whatever was going on with Colton.

Kathleen reached for Gracie’s hand, even knowing that she was taking a big chance. Her daughter could reject it in a snap. “Honey, I’m sorry.” Her voice shook.

Gracie took her mother’s hand. She didn’t like to see her mother cry, especially when she was the cause. She had gotten so caught up in Colton’s charm that everything around her faded away. Gracie tried to put herself into her mother’s shoes. For a manager, every stadium show was a nightmare. Security was a nightmare, the fast getaway was a nightmare, and even the hotel had its dangers. All of that, and Gracie had run off with Colton and not told a soul. She understood the guilt that her mother had been talking about.

Gracie felt her own guilt. She was aware of just how much work her mother did. She knew all the things her mother had given up so that Gracie could be a star. Gracie pushed hard so that someday her mother wouldn’t have to. She wanted to give her mother the relaxation and security that she deserved

“Mother, you don’t have anything to be sorry for. I…” Gracie knew that her words would bite her, but she had to say them anyway. “I knew you’d be worried, but I had to go. I just had to.”

It wasn’t that Colton wouldn’t take no for an answer. It was more like Gracie
couldn’t
say no. She didn’t
want
to say no. Her mother didn’t reply, and Gracie knew she wouldn’t. It was one of her techniques to keep Gracie talking.

“He scares me, mother.” Gracie’s words came out much quieter than she had planned. She turned her head when she felt her mother squeeze her hand.

“How? What you mean?”

Gracie shook her head.. “I don’t know. All kinds of ways. I’m scared that he’s like Shepard. I don’t know much about my dad, but from what you’ve told me, Colton sounds like him, too. I’m also scared because…because he’s so fast.” Gracie could look her mother in the eye when she said that last part. Any time the two of them talked about sex, it didn’t end well. Kathleen usually went the abstinence-only route, sounding more like a preacher than a mother.

 
Admitting that fear made her heart pound. When she and Colton were making out, the fear wasn’t there. It wasn’t present, at least. Gracie wanted Colton. She wanted him badly, and that scared her, too.

“Hey. Look at me, Gracie.” Kathleen waited until her daughter turned to her. “It’s not easy for me to hear that, but I know it’s not easy for you to say, either. I know what it’s like to be scared that you’ll never find a good man. There’s plenty of guys out there, but a good man is hard to find. I don’t hate Colton. He’s not at the top of my list, I can tell you that much.” Gracie smiled, letting Kathleen know there was a hint of warmth and breakthrough. “I know you’re not the same, but I guess I just see your father and me when I look at the two of you.”

“I’m not going to make the same mistakes you did, mother.” Before Kathleen could snap back Gracie cut her off. “You taught me well. You taught me to learn from your mistakes, and I have, Mama. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Gracie looked around. “I wouldn’t be on the top floor of some five-star hotel in Nashville, I can tell you that much. I’m only here because of you. I’m only here because I
do
listen to you.”

Kathleen couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you?”

A single tear fell from Gracie’s eye. She nodded, taking a deep breath. “I try to, anyway.”

Every bit of anger vanished. Kathleen couldn’t stay mad at Gracie. Her daughter was all Kathleen had. She threw her arms around Gracie as her own tears started to fall. “I love you, Gracie. I was just worried, that was all. Yeah, if you had asked I would’ve said no. I know you’re a grown woman who can make her own choices, but I just love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mother.”

For a split second when Colton woke up, he couldn’t believe the night before. He couldn’t believe anything, actually. He was on the top floor of the Hermitage Hotel. The last time his band had rolled through town, they had stayed at a Motel Six with four guys in each room. He stretched out in a king-sized bed and only had one regret: There wasn’t a girl in the bed beside him, but not just any girl. Gracie.
 

Colton was sunk, and he knew it. The night was still young when he and Gracie got back into town. She ran into the hotel, leaving him to do whatever he pleased. Colton could’ve walked down Broadway and into any bar he wanted. He could have climbed onstage and blown the crowd away. He could’ve downed every shot that they bought him and grabbed the prettiest girl in the tightest jeans. He could have done all those things, but instead, he crashed in his bed alone, his thoughts on Gracie.

If her mother don’t think I’m a changed man after that, ain’t no changin’ her mind.
Colton chuckled to himself and sat up. He took in the room around him, nodding his head with a satisfied smile.
I can get used to this.
After stretching his hands up into the air and popping his back, Colton reached for his phone. He spotted the clock.

Colton was so shocked, he spoke to the empty room. “Half past eight? Fuck.” He couldn’t remember the last time he woke up that early and didn’t feel like shit. He didn’t even know what people did that early in the morning. “I guess that’s what happens when you go to bed before two.”

Colton was used to waking up last. He was usually hustled onto the tour bus half awake, not even sure what city were headed to or leaving from. As the bus rolled down the highway, his breakfast was a bloody Mary straight from the premixed bottle. Colton thought it would be a shame to waste such a morning in such a hotel on a bloody Mary.

He tossed his phone onto the softest linens he’d ever felt and reached for the room phone. “Yeah, uh, room service?” He realized that besides TV and movies, he had no idea how room service worked. The phone clicked, and a second person answered. ”Can I get some food sent up to the executive suite?”

Colton looked around when the person on the other end mentioned a menu. He didn’t spot anything right away, and there was no way he was getting out of bed. “I don’t know, just bring me one hell of a breakfast for two. Oh, and a bottle of champagne.”

He laughed after he hung up the phone.
The fuck have I become?
He wasn’t upset about it, but the good life would take some getting used to. Colton had paid his dues. He paid more dues than most, and he was ready to reap his rewards.

 
With breakfast on the way up, the only thing Colton needed was someone to help him eat it. He knew just the person he wanted. Gracie had been the last thing on his mind before he fell asleep and the first thing when he woke up. She was like a brand-new tattoo under his skin and burning just enough to never let him forget.

He pulled her number up in his phone. Even seeing the contact in there made his heart beat harder. He couldn’t pin down what it was about Gracie. Every girl had that one thing that would drive him absolutely mad. Even as he hit
dial
, he still couldn’t believe his luck. It was up, then down, but that luck was nothing but great.

“Hello?”

Her voice was a little groggy, and Colton apologized, “Shit, I woke you up. Sorry, darlin’.”

He liked hearing her polished and sharp voice all out of shape. It made her seem more human to him. “It’s okay. What’s up?”

“Well, you see, I got this big, lovely breakfast heading to my room. Only problem? Too much food for one person to eat alone. I could sure use some company.” Colton did everything but pray that Gracie’s mother was staying in a separate room. She never let the fiery girl out of her sight. With his reputation, Colton could understand why.

Gracie was hesitating to long, so Colton went on, saying, “No funny business, I promise. Just two costars talkin’ about the show. What we can improve, what went well, you know the drill. You can tell your mother all of that, and she might even believe some of it.”

He got her to laugh, which was a big win. “Give me a few to put some clothes on. What’s your number?”

 
“I don’t know the number, but I’m in the executive suite.”

Colton couldn’t believe how hard his heart was beating. He was more excited for a breakfast than he was with most groupies.
 

Am I goin’ soft?
Thinking about Gracie’s legs around him the night before had Colton anything but soft. Leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head, Colton felt like a big man. He felt like a winner.

Fifteen minutes later, room service brought up a cart of food. French toast, eggs, bacon, a basket of bread, and to top it all off, a bottle of Dom Perignon. Colton held himself together as the two waiters brought the food in. As soon as they left, however, he laughed and shook his head.

Lifting the champagne from its ice bath, he couldn’t help but marvel. “Holy shit.” Colton was going to milk this tour for everything it was worth. Even if their single flew up the charts, it didn’t guarantee that Colton wouldn’t go back to his old life. There were no guarantees in the music business, and he knew when to enjoy himself. It was a long, steady, hard climb up the mountain, but one loose foothold and you could tumble all the way back to the base in a heartbeat.

Just a few minutes after the food arrived, a second knock sent Colton’s heart skyrocketing. Walking to the door, he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. Colton stopped and made sure his fly was up. He flexed his muscles, wondering if Gracie would appreciate him being shirtless. Running a hand through his hair, Colton turned back to the door.

He had a smile on his face when he pulled it open. Gracie did not.

She held up her phone. “Just what in the hell is this?”

Colton was caught off-guard. He stared at her for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the phone. He saw the all-too-familiar TMZ logo and his body tensed up.
Oh God, what is it this time?
Colton tried to remember the last few days. Things started to get hazy when he thought back before the tour with Gracie. He and The Guilty Party had celebrated extra hard before joining up with her tour. That could mean any number of things…

He grabbed the phone from her hand and scrolled down. He groaned as he read the headline: Colton Wade Cheating On Gracie Hart Already?

They had two pictures of him side-by-side. In one he was tongue deep in some generic blonde beauty. In the other, his Western shirt was unbuttoned all the way, and he had a 40-ounce in each hand. Colton’s eyes looked glazed over in the picture, which was no coincidence. He couldn’t remember what night that was, and he couldn’t remember that girl’s name either.

There was no point in reading the article. “That wasn’t last night.” Colton stepped back and opened the door wider. “Gracie, I’m tellin’ you.”

She didn’t move towards the door. He could see the hurt in her eyes as she spoke, “That’s the first thing you’re going to say? It wasn’t last night? There’s one hundred things wrong with this, Colton. Do you know why TMZ says were dating?”

Colton had assumed that Roger was behind it. He was great at planting stories and keeping Colton in the news. His head shook side to side. Again, Gracie had left him speechless.