A Life With No Regrets (Fairhope #5)
Page 25
I turn up the volume and pull over to the side of the road.
With trembling hands, I pull my phone from my purse and look at the date. I laugh and bring a hand to my mouth, hardly able to believe it. Today is the day I had set up the radio interview with Owen in the Morning.
Colton’s voice comes through loud and clear. “Well, I’ll tell you, Owen, it was quite the adventure,” he says. “You wouldn’t believe how crazy it gets out there on the road.”
“Is it really all booze and women like they show in the movies?” Owen asks. “I’ve always wanted to know what that would be like, touring with a famous country music band.”
“There are definitely a lot of fans who will do just about anything to get an autograph, and some of them, as you can imagine, are ladies,” Colton says. “But it’s the weirdest thing. The minute I got on the road, there was only one woman I could think about, and no one else in the world mattered.”
“Oh, really?” Owen says. “Folks, I think we have a little romance brewing here on our morning show. Care to fill us in on who the lucky lady is?”
My phone dings and I see it’s a text from Penny. All in caps.
TURN ON YOUR RADIO, NOW!!!!
I laugh and text her back.
I’m listening.
I’m sure I look like a fool parked on the side of the road, radio blasting, tears streaming down my face, but I don’t care. My heart is open and the whole world is brand new.
“I believe you may have met her,” Colton says. “She’s just about the most gorgeous woman in the state of Georgia, if I may be so bold. Heck, maybe even the world.”
“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about that cute little bartender I saw you cozying up to over at Rob’s, now would you?” Owen teases.
“Now, I’m not the kind of guy to kiss and tell, but if that bartender happens to be listening right now, there’s something I’d like to share with her right now, if you’ll let me.”
“Oh, please,” Owen says. “I’m absolutely captivated by this story, Colton. Tell us what you have for us.”
“Before I left to go on the road, she and I had some harsh words,” Colton says. “We said some things we didn’t mean, and before we could clear the air, I left. But I’m telling you—and if any of you out there have ever been in love, you’ll understand me here—I could not get her out of my mind. Not even touring with a famous band could distract me from her. I missed her like crazy.”
“Gosh, that sounds like the perfect story for a country song,” Owen says with a laugh.
“And that’s exactly what I wanted to share with you all today,” Colton says. He clears his throat, and I hear his fingers tap the strings of his guitar.
My hand goes to my mouth. I’m breathless, not believing this is real. Wanting to remember this moment for the rest of my life, I close my eyes and listen. I open my heart and am present in the moment in a way that I have never been before. I release all my fears about what might happen or where things will end up between us. Instead, I just think about now, and how lucky I am to have this right here and now.
“Last night while the band was onstage, I picked up this guitar for the first time in years,” Colton says. “It used to belong to my grandfather, and after he passed away, I had a hard time playing. But this woman, she encouraged me to pick it up again. For my birthday this year, she surprised me with this guitar, all cleaned up with new strings and everything.”
“She definitely sounds like a special woman, Colton, I’ll tell ya,” Owen says.
“She is. She’s the best, really, and I hope she’s listening right now,” Colton says.
“And if she is, what do you want to say to her?” Owen asks.
“If you’re listening, Boss, I just want you to know I wrote this song for you,” he says. “And that it comes from the heart.”
I press my lips together to keep from crying out. He remembered our conversation on the beach road when I asked him to write a song for me. He still loves me. He has to.
The music begins coming through clear and simple. It’s all Colton. His voice. His fingers on the guitar. And I know that this is the greatest gift he could have given me. Even before he begins to sing, I can feel the love inside the music, and I know that he has missed me just as much as I have missed him.
“There’s never been another woman who has turned my head like you do,” he sings. “There’s never been another lover who has touched my heart like you do. And if you’re listening to my heart true, I hope you know how much I miss you.”
Hands trembling, I put my car in gear and pull a U-turn, heading back toward town. The radio station is just on the edge near the beach, and I listen as I drive, wanting to get there to be with him.
“Because there’s nothing in this world that means so much to me. And there’s no one in this universe that I’d rather be, waking up next to.”
His voice is shaky, but clear, and the music is beautiful and heartfelt.
“So baby please tell me you’re out there, thinking about how we almost lost something that’s just too good to lose. Darlin’, please tell me you’re willing to give me another chance to show you what I’d rather choose,” he sings. “Because we were meant to be. Don’t let the past take that away from me.”
I pull up at the station and slam the car into park. I leave my keys in the ignition and run straight for the door. The receptionist stands, mouth open.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
“You hear that?” I ask, pointing to the speakers playing our song. “He’s singing that for me.”
The woman puts her hand over her heart. “Oh my goodness, darlin’, you better get your pretty self in there,” she says. “Second door on the left and down the hall.”
“Thank you,” I say.
I take off through the hallway, down to the second door on the left, pushing through and running full speed down to the studio.
A few people wandering the halls stop to question me, but I don’t pay any attention to them. All I care about is finding those deep green eyes, and showing him that I’m here.
At the end of the hallway, Colton sits behind a large window that takes up half the wall. His guitar is cradled against him, looking so natural, like he was always meant to play music. Like he’s finally truly come home to who he was meant to be.
Owen tilts his head in my direction and raises an eyebrow. Colton’s eyebrows come together, questioning, but the moment he looks up, his hands freeze on the guitar and the music is silent.
Our eyes meet across the distance, and I lift a hand in a small wave, tears streaming down my face.
He smiles, his eyes filling with tears. “If you’ll excuse me for a second, Owen, I believe I’ve got something I need to take care of real quick,” he says.
“For you folks that aren’t here in the studio, the woman in question has just driven up and run into the studio,” Owen says. “I’m going to tell you guys, this is the single most romantic moment in WKTX Fairhope history. I’m not much of an emotional kind of guy most of the time, but watching these two young folks, I have to be honest. I’ve got a little tear in my eye. I wish you all could see this.”
Colton sets his guitar down on the floor and steps out of the studio. He crosses to me and in one swift motion, lifts me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” he says, his breath warm against my cheek. “I never should have left. I thought maybe you’d be better off without someone like me to screw up your life, but I realized something when I was out on the road.”
“What was that?” I ask, holding onto him so tightly I never want to let go.
He pulls away and looks into my eyes. “I realized that I wasn’t me without you anymore. That I had found the one person in the world who completes me, and if that was true, then you couldn’t possibly be better off without me. That we belong to each other, Jo, and that we should never be apart again.”
His words settle into my heart, healing so much of my past. Making me whol
e again.
“I’m so sorry that I said all those things to you,” I say. “I was so scared of getting hurt again, Colton, that I thought it would be better to push you away than to risk my heart. But the thing is that being without you hurt more than anything. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he says.
He kisses me then, all of his love poured into that one moment.
Around us, everyone begins to applaud, and I pull away, burying my face in his chest so that no one can see how red my cheeks are.
“So you’re home to stay?” I ask, finally.
“Home is wherever you are,” he says. “For the rest of my life.”
He lifts me into his arms again and swings me around. I lean my head back and laugh, the sound true and free and, for the first time in my life, completely fearless.
Epilogue
It’s a gorgeous spring day. The morning sun is shining, its warmth like a promise against my skin.
I reach for my father’s hand. He holds them in a curled position most of the time these days, but I place my hand over his and squeeze. Kelly is on his other side and she holds onto his arm.
Daddy smiles, a single tear sliding down his cheek as he stares out across the large expanse of the Grand Canyon.
“I have dreamed of this moment,” he says. “But never in all my dreams did I imagine it to be this beautiful. This much of a miracle.”
Colton puts his arm around my shoulders and we share a glance. I know that there will not be many more moments like this for my father. The medicine has not slowed the progression of the disease, and over the past few months, his health has declined so much faster than any of us expected. But we take each day as it comes, making the most of the time we have together.
My father is an angel, never complaining about his struggles. I know that more than anything, he worries about me. He is almost more upset about the thought of me having to watch him decline than he is about actually going through it himself, and if that doesn’t speak to the kind of man he is, nothing else will.
He is selfless and brave and stronger than any one person should ever have to be. I am blessed to have him as my father.
The doctors say he will not be walking much longer, so Knox has already filed for the necessary permits to build special accommodations in the house and the bar for a wheelchair.
Some days, I still cry. I cry for all of those who have been touched by such a cruel disease. I cry for those who have had even less time than what we have had. I cry for myself and the fact that my father may never meet my children.
But most days, I am happy. I am grateful for every moment we are able to spend together.
“Woohooo,” my father shouts, his voice echoing across the canyon, along with his laughter.
Beside Colton, Knox joins in, calling out so loud that his voice is returned to us a dozen times over. Leigh Anne laughs and bumps his shoulder, her eyes bright and filled with joy. I went with him last week to pick out her engagement ring, and I can’t wait to see it on her finger soon.
Colton can’t resist joining in, and soon our entire group is sending our voices out into the great expanse. If anyone else is nearby, they probably think we’ve lost our minds, but I don’t care. Times of love and laughter are more precious than anything, and life is too short to worry about what other people think.
I lean into Colton, resting my head against his chest. Ever since he came home, we have been closer than ever, sharing more than I ever thought I would share with a man. He pushes me and encourages me and, best of all, loves me no matter what.
We often spend our Sundays at his grandfather’s cabin. The roof is fixed and most of the dust and cobwebs have been cleaned out. We spend lazy days playing checkers or hanging our feet off the end of the dock, talking about our dreams and what we want most out of life.
He will soon be starting his job with the morning show in Fairhope, and even though I’ll miss him working at the bar with me, I’m so proud of him for finding something he truly loves. Owen thought he was a natural and hired him practically on the spot.
When Colton told his father about the job, the man embraced him and told him he was proud of him, and I know that moment meant the world to Colton, even if he won’t admit it.
And my dreams?
I finally decided to take the leap. The bar closed down two days ago so that the contractor could break ground on a new addition. All of the proper permits and loans are in place, thanks to some help from Penny. We’ll reopen in six weeks if all goes well. Instead of Rob’s Bar, we’ll now become Rob’s Bar and Grille. A subtle but important change.
I’m nervous and scared, but I’m learning to embrace the fear. I’m learning to take risks when it matters. To follow my heart where it leads. To be vulnerable so that I can truly experience all that life has to offer, both good and bad.
To give all of myself to the things and the people that matter most.
No regrets.
If you enjoyed this book, don’t forget to leave a review.
Return to Fairhope with the final book in the series
The Trouble With I Do
Coming 8/8/16
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