What We've Become (My Kind Of Country Book 2) (16 page)

“Rough day, Chad?” Dale, one of the songwriters, chided, wearing his smirk proudly.

Another one of the songwriters spoke up. “Don’t you mean, rough night?”

A series of snickers ensued, and Chad glanced curiously around the room at the faces he had come to know well. “Did I miss something?”

Dale snickered again, but it was Andy who rose from his chair. “Leave him alone, will you?” He then turned, his gaze set firmly on Chad. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say you don’t read the newspapers around here.”

He shrugged. “I don’t, actually. Why would I? Did they leave a scathing review of my new single or something? Just ignore them all. I do.”

Chad watched as Andy stretched across the desk and pulled a folded newspaper from it. “Now might be a good time to start paying attention to what they write, Chad.” Andy flipped through until he found the page he was looking for, then folded it back and handed it over to him.

It took a moment for Chad to comprehend what he was seeing in front of him. There she was, the woman he had been hoping to see, to feel, to be with—the woman he was waiting for. This, however, was far from how he wanted to see her, with her lovely features displayed next to an article that boasted anything but the truth, and depicted her in a less than appealing light.

“So, who is she, Chad?” Dale broke the silence, and Andy leaned over and punched him hard in the arm.

“When did this—”

Andy cut him off. “It’s yesterday’s paper. I figured if that reporter from this morning didn’t nail you for it, then Jenny is about to. She’ll be ticked off, I’m sure, with the bad publicity and all. I just figured you would want to know.”

A revelation washed over him, followed by a wave of nausea he struggled to swallow. This was why he had yet to hear from Katie. She’d seen the article in the newspaper and—

She had changed her mind.

“Damn it!” He hissed a string of curses as he dug into his pocket for his phone. With the ringer off, he had missed the text coming in.

I can’t do this. I’m sorry
. The words stared back at him, leaving him breathless and hollow.

“No. Hell, no. Not this time.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket and pushed the folding chair out of the way harshly. “Tell Jenny this meeting is going to have to be rescheduled.” He pushed the door of the office open wide.

“Wait!” Andy’s voice cut through his jumbled thoughts. “What do I tell her when she asks why?”

“The truth.” Chad turned around to face his friend. “That the person who inspired the song is more important than having it heard by anyone else.”

***

Chad cursed the traffic once again, banging the wheel in angst as his truck stood still in a long line of vehicles attempting to head in the same direction.

“Come on!” He yelled the words to no one in particular, hating the fact that he could see the top of Jay’s apartment building from where he sat at a standstill. He debated throwing his truck into park and abandoning it, making the rest of the trek on foot. It sure would be faster. His truck inched slowly closer and closer to the turning lane, and he stole the chance to redial Katie’s cell phone number again. For the fourth time, her sweet voice advised him that she was unable to come to the phone right now and to leave a message. He tossed the phone carelessly onto the passenger seat, driving the truck roughly up onto the curb to pass the Lincoln in from of him. A series of blaring horns announced his fellow drivers’ displeasure at his impatience, but he ignored them and hit the accelerator, pushing his truck toward the apartment building.

The truck was barely stopped before he barreled out and ran for the lobby entrance, coming to a halt to wait for the stupid automatic sliding doors to open wide enough so he could pass through.

“Damn it!” He cursed again as he bolted for the staircase, bypassing the ridiculously slow elevator completely. Chad was puffing and breathless by the time he hit the third floor and dashed down the hallway toward the door he sought. He knocked loudly, leaning forward slightly, his hand clasping the outer doorjamb to support his weight while he caught his breath. No one answered immediately, and he knocked again, this time a bit harder. When the door swung slowly open, he already had his mouth opened to start begging and pleading with her, convinced that she had decided they weren’t right for each other. Chad’s mouth slowly closed into a rigid line when he came face to face with Jay, a mischievous smirk already transforming his face.

“Where is Katie?” There was no time to dance around the subject. He had nothing he wanted to say to Jay, and he was certain the man was well aware of it.

“Well, well. I can’t imagine why you’re here.”

The taunting tone in Jay’s voice irked Chad beyond reason, and he struggled intensely to push the flood of frustration rising inside of him back down into the pit of his stomach.

“Don’t toy with me. I can guarantee you I am not in the mood for that. Just tell me where she is. I need to talk to her.”

“It sounds to me like you two have been doing a lot more than talking, Chad.”

He knew, then. Fine. Chad struggled, but he kept his expression neutral. Jay knew about last night, and his dagger-like stare revealed just how pissed off he was about it. That was fine, too. “If you want to hash this out, let’s do it—but not right now. I need to talk to Katie. Now.”

“She’s not here. And if she was, I’d be goddamned if I would let her talk to you anyway.”

“
Let
her?” The words came out as a challenge, Chad’s brows peaking high above his eyes. “That’s your problem. You think you own her, like she’s yours to command.”

“Don’t sit there and tell me—”

“Where is she?” Chad spat the words out again, the volume of his voice rising more than he meant it to. He banged his fist against the doorjamb for emphasis, breathing out in an attempt to calm himself down. “Just tell me,” he pleaded in a lower voice.

“She’s not here.” Jay paused, seeming to debate whether or not to finish his thought. “She and Mason are gone downtown...to buy him a suit.”

Chad tilted his head. “Oh, yeah? And what does he need that for? Are you celebrating the fact that you’re ruining Katie’s life? That would be fitting, I think.” He couldn’t resist, despite knowing that goading Jay would not help the situation any further.

A wry sneer spread across Jay’s stubbly face. “No, Chad. It’s actually for the wedding.”

Chad’s mouth went dry. “What wedding?”

Jay’s teeth flashed brightly as his smile widened. “Ours. Katie and I are getting married.”

He could feel the color draining from his face, and the vicious grin on Jay’s face confirmed that his horror at such a revelation was obvious. “Katie wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t love you, Jay. Hell, I don’t even think she likes you, sometimes. With good reason.”

Jay laughed out loud then, only adding fuel to the angry fire igniting within him. “Just because you slept with her doesn’t mean you know her. Get your head out of the sand, Kirkwood. Speaking of that, it’s time for you to leave, seeing as I’m not really all that fond of having a good ole’ conversation with the man who just slept with my fiancée.” The cocky grin was still plastered across his face as he swung the door to close it, a faint chuckle reaching Chad’s ears.

Chad jutted his arm out, stopping the door from shutting just before it reached the latch. He pushed back in one swift movement, his eyes locking, determined, with Jay’s. “Why would she decide to marry you? What did you do? It doesn’t make sense.”

Jay stepped back a step, a flicker of uncertainty in his gaze. In a flash, it was gone again. “Why do people get married? Because they love each other. Get over yourself. Now, get out. I’ve got a quick and simple little civil ceremony to get to down at the town hall.”

Chad remained where he stood, his hand still clasped tightly on the door. “I’ll damn well stay here until she gets back.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “All right,
now
you are starting to piss me off.”

“Only now? Admit it, you’ve been pissed off at me long before now. Because Katie loves me, and even you can’t deny that.” Chad remembered Katie’s remarks back when he saw her at his single release party, when she admitted that someday she hoped to be the blushing bride with the gorgeous dress, the oversized cake, and the ceremony attended by a mass of beaming friends and family. He wanted her to be able to have that wish granted, not some five minute ceremony with someone she felt obligated to be with; someone who saw her as a possession rather than a companion, a lover, and an equal. He shook his head slowly, pushing away his crippling thoughts. “Don’t do this,” Chad pleaded. “If you ever gave a damn about her, Jay, don’t put her through this.”

A dark shadow curtained Jay’s gaze. “I’ve already nicely asked you to back off once, Chad. Now, you’ve got sixty seconds to get the hell out of here, or I’m calling the police.”

Chad instinctively took a step forward, but stopped. He saw Jay flinch, the man’s eyes scanning the room, undoubtedly checking his proximity to his cell phone to ring for help. Chad lowered his hand from the door, clenching and unclenching it reflexively. “You know what? You’re not worth the fight.” He pushed the door open, letting it bang loudly against the wall behind it. “But Katie sure as hell is.” He left Jay standing there up against the wall, the door hanging open behind him.

***

Chad whipped the door of his truck open and sat down sideways on the seat, his feet planted firmly on the running boards. The fact that he’d left the apartment without tossing at least one fist against the side of Jay’s perfectly manicured face was a testament to just how much he had calmed since his youth. There was once a day when it wouldn’t have been possible for him
not
to resort to physically reminding a man like Jay that his manners still needed to be utilized, especially regarding Katie.

Katie. What the hell was she doing? Jay hadn’t mentioned it, but he was convinced the newspaper picture and article had rattled her. Enough to leave behind the future they had before them and throw it all away for Jay? No way, there had to be more to it.

“Answer the damn phone, Katie.” He pressed redial on his cell phone again, hearing her generic request to leave a message. “Damn it!” Was she avoiding him, or was the ringer turned off? Instead of calling her again, he pulled up his text-messaging app on his phone and began to pound the keys violently with his thumbs.

Katie, don’t you dare do this. I’m coming to find you downtown. Just...do not marry him. I love you too much for that.

He sent the message, not caring if he sounded desperate. He was. He wasn’t going to sit by and watch her make such a huge mistake. If that was what she wanted to do—and he was damn sure it wasn’t—he wanted her to tell him to his face.

He swung his legs around into the truck cab and slammed the door closed. Downtown Nashville was far from small, and he could honestly say he didn’t even know if there were clothing stores in that part of town, let alone ones for kids. For lack of a better plan, he threw the truck into reverse and backed out of the parking spot, heading for the downtown center. He would drive around in hopes of seeing Katie and Mason. All he could hope was that she would see his text message and reply back telling him where she was.

He pressed down on the accelerator and the truck roared ahead. His conversation with Jay had taken longer than he realized, as the noontime traffic had already settled and he was able to actually drive at a decent speed. He never dreamed he would be scouring the streets for a glimpse of the woman he loved, the woman he’d lost more times than held on to. It occurred to him that being in love with someone was a nasty disorder, bringing out not only the best in people, but also the unbelievable worst. Jay, as far as Chad was concerned, was a prime example of such logic. Love—if that was what he felt for Katie—had shown his true colors, the bleakest and darkest of the spectrum. His eyes flickered from one side of the road to the other, willing Katie to appear, trudging along with Mason clutched closely beside her. He stretched across the cab of the truck, his fingertips barely touching the cell phone that had slid to the far side of the passenger seat. The minute impact of his hand was just enough to push it over the edge of the seat, and it fell with a dull thud onto the rubber floor mat.

A curse word he rarely used fell from his lips, and Chad ducked down briefly to retrieve the phone, his hand still planted firmly on the steering wheel. His hand closed around the phone and he sat up straight, returning his complete attention to his surroundings beyond the windshield, only seeing the red light in the flash of a second right before he drove through it.

KATIE

“Come on, Mase. I think I’m starting to actually drag you.” Katie tried to lighten the mood, slowing her footsteps to allow her son to fall back into step with her.

“I’m tired, though. I don’t want to do this anymore. There’s no clothing store down here, Mom. Let’s just go to Wal-Mart.” Mason sighed, shuffling his feet in protest.

“I thought you were seven? When did you become so logical?” She chuckled, swinging his arm playfully as they strolled along. He wasn’t wrong; they’d been walking up and down the streets staring longingly into each shop window for close to two hours. It had started out fun for Mason, his wide eyes taking in the souvenirs, Christmas decor, and new surroundings, but his enthusiasm had fizzled out. Obviously, this section of the city was geared more toward the tourists and less toward the more practical needs in life—like, for example, when someone needed a suit for their son to wear while they married his father who just happened to be a man they didn’t love. In fact, the only emotion they felt towards their son’s father was loathing, but it’s one of those crazy things they had to do in order to keep their son safe and close to them. If that was the definition of love, Katie did not want to love anyone anymore. It hurt too damn much.