Covering the Carolinas (25 page)

“
Well, I can make that promise because there
aren’t more than a couple hundred teenagers total in
Lattimore.”

“
You should be a damn comedian, ya
know?”

“
I’ll keep that in mind if this gig doesn’t
work out,” I say as I walk up the stairs to my bus.

“
Just be ready in the
morning, and we will head that w
ay.”

“
Aight.” He turns and walks to his bigger
mansion of a bus.

Chapter 2

Once I reach the top step onto my bus, Lyndsay
hounds me.

“
Did I just hear that right? Jake Bryant is
comin’ to Lattimore?”

“
Yes, but if you so much as post it on any
social media site, I’ll kill you! You got it?”

“
Easy, killer,” Chase says.

I give Chase a WTH look, and he gives me one right
back. That is why he is my favorite bouncer at Joe’s. He keeps it
real and looks out for me at the same time.

“
Well, I just don’t want a
million screamin’ girls going goo-goo for Jake Bryant while we’re
trying to enjoy
a break.”

“
Please tell me that y’all aren’t dating?” my
mama asks. She has never been one to sugar coat
anything.

“
No, Mama! We aren’t dating, sleeping, or
doing anything together. We are just friends, and I plan on keepin’
it that way.”

Beau almost chokes on his beer at my comment. He’s
always loved how I tell it like it is, and he’s always trying to
keep things quiet around our parents. Leave it to me to spill every
party being thrown in Lattimore, who was dating whom, cheatin’ on
whom, or anything else that happens in a small town. I’m sure that
being the older brother he is, he was probably ready to kill me six
out of seven days a week.

“
Good to know,” Daddy says. “Well, I guess
that means we need to get home and make sure things are ready for
not one, but two, big stars to come to town.”

“
Daddy! There ain’t nothin’ special about us.
We just got lucky, that’s all.”

“
Oh, there’s plenty special about you,
sweetheart, and don’t you forget it.”

Mama, Daddy, and Beau go home while Lyndsay and
Chase hang around for a little while longer. We brew a pot of
coffee, sit, talk, and enjoy a night like we used to every Friday
night after Joe’s closed. I love these two, and honestly, every day
is hard because they aren’t a part of my life like they used to
be.

As the clock approaches four in the morning, they
stand to leave, but I can’t let them drive at this time of
night.

“
Y’all just stay. I’m leavin’ in the mornin’.
It’s late, and I’ve missed y’all,” I tell them.

Lyndsay looks at Chase. “Whatever you wanna do,
Lynds,” he says.

“
Well, I’ve never stayed on a famous country
star’s tour bus before, so hell to tha yeah!” she
exclaims.

I loan Lyndsay some pajamas, and
we get ready to watch a little TV before going to bed. Within ten
minutes, Lyndsay is ready to call it a night, and I tell her to
take my bed. She doesn’t argue and shuts the door behind her. Chase
and I finish watching
Grown Ups,
or should I say, attempt to watch it. Before I
know it, the sun is rising, and I’m snuggled into the crook of his
arm.
Shit!

Trying my best not to wake him, I attempt to slide
away as he begins to mumble something that I can’t understand.
Then, his arm starts to squeeze me like a boa constrictor. That’s
when I realize he’s no longer asleep and just being the ass that I
love.

“
I can’t breathe, Chase! Let
me go
!”

“
I’ll let you go when you scream to the world
that I am best man on Earth.”

Without thinking, I do exactly that. I yell those
words, and Lyndsay pushes open the door like the smoke alarm just
sounded. Her hair is all kinda crazy. “What the hell was that?” she
asks.

“
Oh, you know. It’s just me professing how
Chase is the best man on Earth, because if I don’t, he will squeeze
all the air outta my lungs.”

“
Lord, can y’all fall in love already?” She
turns around and returns to bed.

Chase and I look at each other like she’s lost her
damn mind. That’s one thing I know about Chase and me. We are just
friends. He’s been there since the first day I walked into Joe’s,
and he’s always stayed. When I needed a dance partner, he was
there. When I needed a drinking buddy, he was there, and when I
just needed a friend, he was there. Chase is my constant.

Chase finally lets go of his death
grip, as there is a knock at the door. I make my way over and open
it. Jake Bryant is there, packed and ready to go to my hometown.
Who would have ever thought that I’d take a country music star home
to
the podunk
town of
Lattimore?

“
Hey, Jake. Come on up.”

Once he’s on the bus, he has a confused look when he
notices both Chase and me still in our clothes from last night.

“
Chase and
Lyndsay
stayed last night.”

“
Well, I hate I missed the party,” he says as
he eyes Chase.

I just shake my head. Give me ten
minutes, and
we’ll be on the road.

Hurrying into my room, I tell Lyndsay to get moving
and also inform her that the country god is on the bus. I’ve never
seen a girl move so fast in my life.

“
What?” she asks.

“
Um, he’s just a guy.”

“
To you, maybe, but I’m no dummy. I see the
way he looks at you. In fact, if I were you, I’d act on that if I
had the chance.”

As I stuff some clothes into my bag, I answer her,
“I can’t go there. Do you know what will happen to this tour if we
go there?”

“
Belle it’s only for three more months. Then
after that, you know you’re going to get asked to
headline.”

“
I don’t know about that, but if so, it would
make things weird. And I don’t do weird.”

Lyndsay drops it, and we make our way to the living
area. Chase and Jake seem to be engaged an in-depth conversation.
They both look like they are ready to throw blows at each
other.

“
Everyone ready to go?” I
ask to relieve the tension. “Chase and Lynds, Jake and I will
follow y’all.” I have to say that it’s nice that he has his truck
handy, because I honestly
hadn’t
thought that part through. I guess I would have
ridden home with Chase and Lyndsay or called Beau to pick me
up.

As Jake’s diesel engine hits the highway, he turns
down the radio. “What can I expect in this place called
Lattimore?”

“
Well, it’s like any other redneck town.
Everyone knows your business. We have the best burgers this side of
I-85, a pool hall, and let’s just say, we know how to get down on
the farm.”

“
Nice. Sounds exactly like where I want to
spend my break. Do Chase and Lyndsay live there, too?”

“
Yeah, I’ve grown up with them, but we all
started really hangin’ out when we were old enough to go to Joe’s.
It’s in Charlotte. We learned every country line dance, partied
hard on 1-2-3 nights, and when amateur nights started, they put my
ass up on stage and that’s been all she wrote.”

“
I played there when I first got signed. You
know that’s what people do, right? They play the small country
nightclubs from city to city and hope and pray the fans love
them.”

“
I know. I do believe that I saw a Jake Bryant
there not so long ago,” I say with a smirk. “I’ve seen anyone from
Florida Georgia Line to Blake Shelton there. That was always the
plus of Lyndsay and Chase workin’ at Joe’s. I always got to meet
people, and they were normal, just like you and me.”

“
Now, how
did I manage not to meet you when I played there?”

“
Probably because you wouldn’t have noticed me
with the groupies all over you.”

“
That has to be the worst part. You know most
guys would kill to be in my spot, but I just want someone to like
me for me, not because I’m this country music god that you say I
am.”

“
I won’t say that I didn’t have a total
fangirl moment once I realized I’d be touring with you. Well,
actually both Lynds and I did. Chase laughed his ass off at us that
night, but then I was over it. I realized we are professionals, and
we need to keep it that way.”

The inside of the truck is quiet for a few minutes,
and then Jake finally breaks the silence.

“
I’m thankful they got you up on that stage,
Belle. I was there that night. When you started singin’, I knew I
had to have you on tour with me. You were a voice to remember and
not so bad to look at either,” he says with a wink.

Holy crap! Did he really just hit
on me? I swear I just used the word ‘professional’ in my last
comment, and now he’s flirting
.

“
Well, I love music. I always have, and there
is just something about connecting with people because your song
touched their heart.”

“
Can I ask you one more thing?”

“
Shoot,” I say.

“
What’s really going on with you and Chase?
It’s none of my business, but I see the way he looks at
you.”

“
Nothing. He’s my friend.”

“
Right, if you say so.”

“
Why does everyone have that same reaction?” I
question as we stop at the only stoplight in Lattimore. Jake turns
toward me.

“
Because I see the way he looks at you, and if
you want me to be honest, I look at you the same way. I know you
want to keep this relationship professional, but I’m not makin’ any
promises.”

Completely floored. That is what I am. Maybe
bringing Jake Bryant home isn’t a good idea, because as much as I
want to say that it needs to stay professional, I know deep down
that I want a little bit of what’s in those jeans.

Chapter 3

As we pull up to the two-story brick house on
seventy-five acres, I see the wheels turning in Jake’s mind.

“
Whatcha thinkin’?” I ask.

“
I think this is beautiful. You described a
rinky-dink town, and this house isn’t rinky-dink. Do y’all own all
this land?”

“
Yup. It’s been in the family for years. You
see that little farm house right there?” I point out the window to
the right. “That’s my mawmaw and pawpaw’s. They bought this when my
pawpaw came home from the war. He always wanted his own farm like
his dad but bigger, and that’s what he got. Daddy loved it just as
much and decided to build on the land and run the farm with him. We
sell cotton to all the local factories within the
southeast.”

“
In other words, people know exactly who y’all
are in town,” he responds.

“
No, it’s not like that here. Lattimore is a
tight-knit community. We all work together, and my family provides
a lot of jobs for people in town. We aren’t the biggest farm in
town, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Pulling up to the house, Jake puts
the truck in park. He is in complete awe, and it totally throws me
off guard.
What is his deal?
His house outside of Nashville is a mansion, but
for some reason, he’s blown away by a farm
in podunk
Lattim
ore
.

“
Jake, it’s just a house that cotton built.
There’s nothing fancy here. I promise once you walk through those
doors, you will feel at home. My mama ain’t the best housekeeper,
but she can cook. Daddy works from sun up to sun down, and Beau,
well, that’s another story. He’s tried his best to make it outta
here, but for some reason, he keeps getting pulled right back
in.”

“
I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t expect
this.”

“
What’d you expect? A single wide?”

“
Um, maybe,” he says with a laugh.

I do believe this is the first time that he has ever
pissed me off. “Back up, Jack. First off, let me tell you that if I
lived in a cardboard box, I’d still be proud if it was all my daddy
could afford. Secondly, what gave you the idea I was trailer
trash?”

Jake is dumbfounded because I have never spoken like
that to him, but he has struck a nerve.

He slides closer to me, and my breathing stops for a
moment.

“
Belle, I didn’t mean that.
The way you talk about this town is like there is nothing great
about it, but since we hit the county line, I’ve been amazed by
what I’ve seen. I wish I’d grown up in a place like this. My
childhood was spent going from one military base to another. I’ve
never had a real home. I’m
sorry if I offended
you.”

With one comment, that’s all it takes for me to get
off my high horse and return to normal.

“
What did you mean when you said Beau was
‘another story’?”

“
He loves music too, but I’m the one that made
it out, and he’s still here. He and I used to write together all
the time, but what he’s really good at is making a set a
reality.”

Breaking our connection, I tell him, “Come on. Let’s
get inside.” That’s enough about Beau for now. I grab his hand and
pull him toward the front porch.