Love Songs and Lullabies

by Amy Vastine

  “The fans want us to be together, Dean said that going on tour together is the right thing to do for both of us, and the smartest move we can make is to give people what they want.”

  Sawyer’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. His mouth snapped shut. What in the world was she talking about? He could have sworn she’d told him she was pregnant, but now she was talking about what was best for their careers?

  “Did you just say you’re pregnant?” he finally managed to get out.

  Piper began to flit around the room. Her arms flailed as she spoke. “I found out this morning at the hospital. Did you know they test for pregnancy without even asking? If you need an X-ray, they run a pregnancy test. Just like that. Then, the doctor walks in and drops the bomb—‘You’re pregnant!’—and you’re supposed to take that all in and leave with your prescription for prenatal vitamins like it’s no big deal. But let me tell you, it is a very big deal. It’s the biggest deal ever.”

  “You’re pregnant.” Sawyer didn’t know what else to say. He needed to sit down. His mind was racing. He plopped down on the couch and stared straight ahead. Piper was pregnant and he was the father.

  How were the two of them going to raise a baby? Sawyer didn’t have time to take care of his dog in this new life; how was he supposed to be a parent?

  Piper kept moving like some sort of out-of-control Energizer Bunny. “I need to tell my father, but I thought you should hear it first. We need to convince him that this won’t ruin everything. He’ll know what to do so our careers stay on track.”

  Sawyer’s brows pinched together. He didn’t need Heath Starling telling him what to do about his child. Heath might control Piper, but he was not going to control Sawyer, and he definitely wouldn’t be in charge of this child.

  “This is our baby.” He pointed to her flat stomach, trying to picture it round and swollen. “We get to decide what happens. Not your dad.”

  “I feel sick. I think I had too much sugar.” Piper sat down next to him. “My dad can help protect my image.”

  “How can you think about your image right now?”

  Piper didn’t flinch. “How can I not? I am financially responsible for my entire family, Sawyer. My career pays for everything, including my brother’s enormous medical bills. My family depends on me to uphold the image I’ve sold to the world.” She placed a hand on her stomach. “And I am thinking about this baby. This baby is going to depend on it, as well.”

  Sawyer took a deep breath. “How is being pregnant going to ruin your image?”

  Piper picked at the sequins on her dress. “Trust me. I’ve been at this longer than you have. I know how the business works. Country music is way more conservative than pop. I may be looking to cross over but my base is still country. Not to mention that my brand is good girl, girl-next-door, girl you can bring home to your mom. Good girls don’t get themselves in this situation. Good girls get married and then have babies. There are mothers out there who would not want their daughters listening to my music if they thought I promoted anything other than a clean lifestyle.”

  Sawyer had issues with this logic but couldn’t deny he’d seen other celebrities take a fall when a scandal hit. A baby and a wife weren’t exactly part of his branding, either. He shook his head. How was he able to think about his image and career right now?

  “Can I have a little more time to wrap my head around this before I have to deal with your father, who is probably going to kill me?”

  “We have to tell him before I go meet with the tour promoters tomorrow to sign the contract. There’s no way I can go on a yearlong tour when I’m going to have a baby in less than nine months.”

  The tour would have to be cut short. Sawyer hadn’t thought about that. Heath really was going to kill him.

  They agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast. They would tell Heath together.

  Sawyer left Bridgestone Arena feeling much less confident about his future than he had coming in.

  * * *

  “THE MORE I think about it, the more I can’t believe you’re okay with the world thinking you and Piper have a thing going,” Hunter said as they walked into their hotel. “Anyone who knows you is never going to believe it, and everyone who doesn’t, will. So much for me being wingman to the most eligible bachelor on tour.”

  “I can’t talk about this right now.” Pretending to be dating Piper was the least of Sawyer’s concerns.

  “Poor Hunter is going to have to find his own dates,” Faith teased. “And I’ll say it again, there are worse things than dating Piper Starling.”

  Sawyer wasn’t about to let himself truly fall for someone like Piper. He’d been avoiding women like her his entire adult life. Why had he let his guard down? Piper had made it clear back then and tonight that her career was her number one priority. She reminded him of women like his mother, who’d left her husband and children without ever looking back.

  Sawyer wanted to be like his father—a strong provider who put his family first. But how was he going to manage raising a child while building a career in music? How difficult would Piper and Heath make it for him to be part of their child’s life? He knew one thing for sure—he didn’t want his child raised by nannies.

  “I need a minute with my brother,” Faith said, hooking her arm in his and pulling him in the direction of the stairs instead of the elevator. “We’ll meet you upstairs.”

  She pushed the door open and motioned for him to lead the way. He might have grown up without a mother, but he had a Faith, and she knew him better than anyone.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours? Ever since you got done talking to Piper, you look like your favorite horse just ran away.”

  “It’s been a pretty stressful day.”

  “Tell me what’s really going on. Is there something wrong with Piper? Does she not want you to go on tour with her? What did she need to talk to you about?”

  Lying to his sister was impossible, and right now he needed someone to talk to more than ever. “What if I told you it’s not so far-fetched that Piper and I could be together? What if we were together a couple months ago?”

  Faith didn’t buy it for a second. “I was there when you two were working on her album. You were living under my roof. You might have been flirtatious, but there’s no way you were sneaking around having a secret romance. I would have noticed.”

  Sawyer side-eyed her as they made their way up the stairs. She was one to talk. Faith and Dean had carried on a secret romance for an entire summer over a dozen years ago when she was only eighteen.

  “Right, because no one has ever gotten away with a secret relationship on our farm before.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Dad knew about me and Dean. I didn’t know he knew, but he did. He told the Presleys about us.” She was quiet, probably thinking back to when things were starting between Piper and Sawyer. “I’ll admit, I noticed she looked at you like you hung the moon for a long time. I also noticed you were kind of loving all the attention. But those last couple weeks, it was different. It was almost like you were avoiding each other.”

  They had been avoiding each other, but that was no longer a possibility. Piper would be a part of Sawyer’s life forever. “What if we were in love? Or thought we were.”

  Faith laughed. “If you were in love, I would know, because it would change you. And you have been the same ol’ Sawyer since she left Grass Lake.”

  “Well, I’m not the same Sawyer I was a couple hours ago.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, trying to keep up with him. “What is going on? If you want me to tell Dean to back off this idea of you and Piper leading the rest of the world on, I will. I don’t want you to feel like you have to lie about who you love or don’t love.”

  “What if I don’t have a choice?”

  “What?” She tugged on his shirt to get him to
stop. “Why wouldn’t you have a choice?”

  Sawyer pressed his back against the wall and pulled at the front of his hair. “I messed up, Faith. I messed up big-time.”

  “She’s not sick.” Faith stopped. He could imagine the gears turning in her head as she put everything together. She grasped the railing. “She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

  Sawyer nodded.

  “Oh, my... Sawyer.” She wrapped her arms around him. He dropped his head on her shoulder. “We have to tell Dean,” she said.

  Sawyer straightened. “We can’t. You can’t tell Dean until Piper is ready to tell him. She is freaking out right now.”

  “How far along is she?”

  “I would say about six weeks.”

  “When I was in Memphis for that horse show,” she said, shaking her head. “Okay, six weeks. Has she made plans to see a doctor? She fainted today. Someone needs to make sure everything is okay with the baby.”

  “I don’t think so. I think she’s so overwhelmed, she doesn’t know what to do.”

  “I know a midwife here in Nashville who would definitely be discreet.”

  Faith always knew what to do. Her level head had kept him out of trouble more times than he could count. “We can talk to her about it in the morning, when we tell her dad.”

  “I still think we should tell Dean.”

  “We can tell Dean when we tell Heath. Maybe the more people in the room, the less likely I’ll end up dead. Heath is going to hate me.”

  “Don’t worry about that. You’re taking responsibility. That’s all he can ask of you right now.”

  “What does being responsible mean? Do I marry her? Send her a check to help pay for expenses? I have no idea what to do. She thinks this is going to ruin her career. Is it going to ruin mine?” Sawyer was about to hyperventilate.

  “Relax. Calm down.”

  “Faith, I found out I’m going to be a dad a few hours ago. I’m pretty sure when I wake up tomorrow, I’m going to need you to remind me this wasn’t all a bad dream.”

  Faith frowned. “I hate that neither of you is thinking of a baby as a blessing.” She placed a hand on her brother’s cheek. “I know the timing sucks, but you’re going to be a dad. That’s the most important job you’re ever going to have.”

  “Dad would be so disappointed in me for getting in this situation.”

  “Dad would be ecstatic about becoming a grandpa. He never would have judged you. You’re both twenty-five years old. Our parents were younger than you when they had me.”

  “Yeah, but we’re terrible parents already. Piper’s freaking out. I’m terrified.”

  “If that makes people terrible parents, then everyone is a terrible parent. It’s going to be okay,” Faith assured him. “We’ll figure it out. That’s what family does.”

  Sawyer took a deep breath. He wanted to believe his sister, but who knew what Piper would think in the morning...or the lengths Heath would go to keep Piper’s career on track.

  CHAPTER SIX

  PIPER’S HANDS TREMBLED. She sat on them to keep them still. Waiting for Sawyer to show up was torture. All she wanted to do was tell her dad what was wrong and let him fix it.

  “Dean wasn’t kidding,” her dad said, lifting his eyes from his phone screen for a second. Heath had the country music TV station on in their suite while he scrolled through his social media feeds. “Everyone is talking about you right now. I haven’t seen buzz like this since you met Prince Harry.”

  Sawyer wasn’t the first guy the world had wanted Piper to date. A year ago, a very vocal group of fans had desperately wanted her to become a princess. At the time, she’d thought it was ridiculous. How she’d love to go back to laughing off the silly whims of some teenagers.

  Piper jumped at the knock on the door. Her nerves were completely shot. “Remember to be nice, Daddy.”

  He smirked. “I’m always nice.”

  “If by ‘always’ you mean ‘never,’ I concur.”

  “Lana, I can be nice, can’t I?”

  Poor Lana froze as she arranged the room service breakfast they had ordered. “Of course, Mr. Starling.”

  Piper shook her head. There was no way Lana could answer that question honestly even if she wanted to. They all knew if there was one person who took the most of her father’s abuse, it was poor Lana. “You’re too nice, Lana.”

  She opened the door for Sawyer. Behind him stood Faith and Dean. Sawyer had texted her last night to tell her his sister had interrogated him until he broke. Faith was well aware of what was about to be discussed, but Dean was not.

  “You ready for this?” Sawyer whispered as he greeted her with a hug.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. You?”

  “Let’s do this,” he replied.

  The presidential suite at the Berkshire Hotel had two bedrooms, a spacious living room and an adjoining dining room. The living room had two sitting areas filled with plush couches and wingback chairs. A large flat-screen television hung on the wall above the fireplace.

  “I figured we’d eat while we talked,” Piper said. The table was covered in pastries and family-size portions of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and potatoes. There was a large platter of fresh fruit in the center.

  They all sat down and everyone dug in except for Piper and Sawyer. Piper inhaled deeply. She’d never done anything to make her father angry with her. Growing up, she was the kid who did what she was told and never stepped out of line. Her brother’s illness had given their parents enough grief.

  Sawyer took her hand and held it under the table. The contact made her stomach flip and her skin tingle. As much as she appreciated the support, it was more distracting than anything else.

  “So, Sawyer and I talked last night. We are both completely on board with touring together.”

  “That’s great,” Dean said. “I think it’s a really solid business decision. You two are meeting with the tour promoters today?”

  “This afternoon. Are you sure about this? We talked about a lot of other options,” her father reminded her.

  “There’s a reason why I think it’s a better idea to take Sawyer on tour,” Piper replied.

  Faith folded her hands in front of her. Her engagement ring caught the light and sparkled. Piper wished it was Faith and Dean making this announcement rather than her.

  Everyone stared, waiting for Piper to go on. Surely they could all hear her heart thundering inside her chest.

  “Do you plan to share?” Heath asked.

  “When Sawyer and I were writing the songs for my album, we...thought we were in love. And foolishly, we acted on those feelings and—” Her voice cracked as her eyes darted from person to person. She didn’t want to make eye contact with any one of them for too long.

  “Piper is pregnant,” Sawyer said. “We found out yesterday. We weren’t sure how everyone would take the news, so we waited until this morning to tell everyone. Especially you, Mr. Starling.”

  Piper’s father dropped his fork with a clang. “You have to be kidding me. Tell me he’s kidding, Piper.”

  “I’m sorry, Daddy. I know this isn’t what you want to hear right now, but I swear to you, I will do whatever it takes to make this okay.”

  Her stomach clenched as she waited for him to say something, anything to give her a clue as to what he was thinking.

  “I suspected something was going on when I had to leave to help your mother with Matthew,” he finally said. “I trusted you to not to do anything stupid, but I guess that trust was misplaced.”

  Piper squeezed Sawyer’s hand as her shoulders stiffened.

  “I don’t think falling in love with my brother is stupid,” Faith said, jumping to her brother’s defense.

  “Love?” Heath scoffed. “They were not and are not in love. They barely know one another.”

  “O
kay, everybody needs to take a breath,” Dean said. “Piper’s pregnant. It’s not the end of the world.”

  “Not the end of the world?” Heath’s voice shook. “She has a reputation to uphold. She’s about to start a yearlong tour across the US. This is a public relations nightmare.”

  “You’ve been drooling over all the positive press about me and Sawyer today even after I fainted on national television. Last night should have been a complete public relations nightmare, but we have everyone rooting for us to be together instead. Maybe there’s a way to salvage this,” Piper said.

  Her father covered his eyes with one hand. His chest rose and fell with frustrated breaths. He dropped his hand, and his glare zeroed in on Sawyer. “There’s only one way to salvage this. You will marry my daughter.”

  * * *

  MARRY PIPER? SAWYER felt nauseous. The only Stratton getting married anytime soon was Faith. He glanced at Piper and those baby blue eyes. She had this sweetness about her that sucked him in. Maybe he had believed for half of a second that Piper could be the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but she’d quickly proved she was not. She wasn’t as innocent as she looked. She was as conniving as her father.

  “I won’t make Piper do any of this alone because this baby is my responsibility, too, but I can’t get married. To me, people should only get married when they plan to stay married.”

  “I don’t really care what your feelings on marriage are. You will make an honest woman out of my daughter before the press finds out.”

  Dean interrupted, “Heath, you can’t force him to get married. Let’s be reasonable about this.”

  “I am being reasonable! Aren’t you the one who wanted to force my daughter to pretend she was in love with this boy? How is my request any less reasonable?”

  Dean had no comeback.

  Piper spoke up instead. “I know you’re not in love with me,” she told Sawyer, letting go of his hand. “I know you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with me, but we are having a baby. We are going to be parents. My image can survive a divorce from the father of my child. I’m not sure it could withstand the beating it will take if the truth comes out.”