Only The Beginning (Rockin' Country)

by Briscoe, Laramie

  I’m a brat, thanks for loving me! If I feel like I need a vacation, then I know you most definitely do. Have fun and I love you!

  Shell couldn’t help but smile. Hannah was trying to do the right thing.

  * * *

  “On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you at me?” Shell heard her before she saw her. Shell was sitting in the backstage area of their venue for the night, waiting for Hannah to show up. She was relieved to realize Hannah had made it there with plenty of time to spare.

  “Yesterday afternoon and last night a fucking twenty, but since talking to Jared, I’m at a firm seven.”

  “That’s better than I thought it would be.”

  Hannah walked in carefully, not sure of what Shell would say to her, and had a seat across from her. “I’m sorry that I worried you. I want you to know that.”

  “I appreciate that, and I’m sorry that you felt like you had to leave here without telling anyone. For that I will take responsibility. I would have talked you out of it and probably have made you feel worse. As hard as it is for me to admit this, I sometimes think more as your manager than your friend in situations like that. It’s good, but it’s bad at the same time. I’ll take responsibility for the fact that we should communicate better.”

  “And I’ll take responsibility for the fact that I shouldn’t have done it without letting someone know beforehand. I was selfish, and I can’t be that way anymore. I have too many people counting on me.” She bit her lip and pressed on. “I just felt so stifled, and it was such a strong feeling, I had to get away. I had to be able to breathe, and I just felt suffocated.”

  “Next time you feel that way, you let me know. It’s my job to make sure your mental health is as good as your physical health, and you can thank Jared for reminding me of that. It would kill me if you did the things he does, because it’s preventable.”

  “It is, and I don’t ever want to be like that. To be honest with you, I was in a very dark place. I don’t ever want to be there again. I’m going to work on my own self-esteem issues and make myself into the person that I should be, not the person that I let Ashton make me think I was.”

  It had never occurred to Shell before this moment that Hannah was exhibiting signs of abuse. Not only the physical kind that showed on her arms in the form of bruises, but the mental kind that made her question every rational thought she had. It never should have gone that far, and she would make sure that from now on, they were all taken care of. Shell threw her arms around her friend, so glad that she was back and that she appeared to be no worse for wear. That had been one of her major fears when she had discovered Hannah missing. In their business, in their world, it could mean bad things. Someone could have hurt her, she could have had a mental break, and suicide had even flashed through her mind. It hadn’t been pretty as she had sat up all night with every scenario running through her head.

  “You, my friend, are gorgeous, and you’re a great person. You may make some bad decisions, and you may have made them in the past. But like you said, don’t let those dictate your future.”

  Hannah breathed a huge sigh of relief. “I just hope the fans come out for the free show as my apology.”

  “I’m sure they will. It’s going to be a busy couple of days. That free day we had no longer exists, but if we can make it through the next four days then we’ve all got six weeks.”

  “Speaking of,” Shell grinned. “Thank you for the vacation.”

  “Take Jared and have a good time. You deserve it. I’m putting a bit of extra money in everyone’s bonus that we’re handing out today for the trouble too.”

  “That’s good.” They had been just as worried as Shell, but she didn’t want to bring that up again. Looking at Hannah, she could tell this had all taken a toll.

  “Do you think the fans truly believe what Ashton said,” Hannah asked softly.

  She shrugged. “You never know with fans. There are those that will believe anything that is written in any magazine. All we have to do is what’s best for you and what you think is best for them. I think the free show will go a long way in offering some goodwill to them. You kill it tonight and you do that. Next week they will have forgotten it.”

  “You’re right. I’m learning,” she frowned.

  “You are, and it’s not easy, but we’ll all come through everything on the other side together. I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m not still just a little bit pissed, but I accept your apology, and I do understand why you did it.”

  Hannah hugged her friend tightly. “I’m really thankful to have people like you in my life. I’m truly sorry that I caused so much worry.”

  “I know, now just go out there and kick some ass and let’s get these four days over with so that we can have some time off. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for Vegas, and then I’m ready to put my toes in the water, ass in the sand for a few days.”

  Hannah laughed as she went over to hair and makeup. Everything would be just fine, no matter what happened or came up, things would be okay. If there was an important lesson to be learned from all of this, that was it.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  * * *

  “You excited?”

  Hannah smiled widely. She was FaceTiming with Garrett, and they had mere hours to go before they saw one another.

  “I am, but I’m also really, really tired. We had an unplanned radio show. I’m definitely sleeping on the way to Vegas.”

  He scratched his cheek. “I didn’t know you had a radio show.”

  “Yeah, it was tacked on at the very last minute. I was so happy to be getting to the end of everything that I just told Shell to say yes, and we just did it,” she yawned as she leaned back against her pillows.

  “I miss you,” he told her, his eyes shining. He, the band, and his sister had arrived in Vegas the day before.

  “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow afternoon,” she assured him. “I wish I could have come up today, but we have to close out everything with the tour. Since Shell and I are the management team, it requires both of us. Besides, I’m sure you’re having fun with your sister.”

  “I am,” he nodded, but then his smile turned sexy and he winked. “But I could be having so much more fun with you.”

  He adjusted himself on the bed, and for the first time, his face wasn’t in the shadows. “What is that on your face?” she asked, trying to get a good look.

  “It’s called a beard.” He ran his hand over the hair that had grown along his jaw line.

  “Hmmm.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  She tilted her head to the side, trying to see it better. It gave him an older, more distinguished look. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, it was just different. “It’s different. I’ll hold off on official word until I can see it in person.”

  “I don’t normally do it, but I’ve been incredibly lazy the past few days.”

  “Your hair grows that fast?” As weird as this conversation was, it really did interest her. She never had this ease with Ashton; she could never ask him questions that came to her mind without him making her feel stupid.

  “Yeah, I usually shave every day. It’s the one thing I kinda do for my mom. She hates the tattoos, she hates the piercings in my ears, but she likes me clean-shaven.”

  “You’re so cute,” she giggled. “As much as you try to be hard, you are so sweet when it comes to your mom.”

  “I don’t have to try to be hard where you’re concerned.” His eyes darkened and his voice dropped.

  “That’s not what I was talking about, and you know it.”

  “Can’t help it, Han. One-way street with you.”

  She liked that, she really did, the fact that he wanted her so much, but it was intimidating at the same time. “I’ll be there soon.”

  “Do I need to pick you up at the airport tomorrow?”

  “I hadn’t planned on asking you to, but if you want to that would be great. Shell’s taking a later flight because
she has a few other things she needs to do, so I would be by myself.”

  He nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll spend some time together before I introduce you to my sister.”

  “I’m nervous about that,” she admitted.

  “About meeting Stace?”

  “Yeah. She’s your sister, she’s obviously very important to you.”

  “You’re important to me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You can stop trying to impress me, I’m a sure thing.”

  He laughed loudly. “Good to know, but I’m not ever going to stop trying to impress you. That’s kind of my job. When I stop trying to impress you, that means this is over.”

  “You are kind of right. It’s one thing to be comfortable with each other, it’s another to not care at all.”

  “Exactly.” He watched her yawn again. “I’m gonna let you off here. You’re tired.”

  “I am,” she nodded.

  “Sleep good, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He blew her a kiss into the phone.

  “You too! I can’t wait!” She blew him one in return and then disconnected.

  Rolling over onto her side in the bed, she did her best to turn her mind off and close her eyes. It was difficult, but she knew that when she woke up in the morning, she would be that much closer to vacation and Garrett.

  * * *

  Garrett was nervous and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe the fact that this kind of sealed the deal with the two of them? It felt official, and he wasn’t even sure what made it that way. As far as he was concerned, it had been official since their time at the diner in Nashville. But he was nervous this time, meeting her at the airport. He’d even stopped to get her flowers—which he now held in shaking hands.

  Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time and realized he was going to make it with just enough time to spare. Quickly, he found the gate for her flight and sat back against the wall. He didn’t want to cause a scene if he could help it. His phone vibrated and he flipped it over, seeing his mom’s picture there.

  “Hey,” he answered.

  “Hey, I was just checking on you and Stacey. How are things going?” she asked. He could hear her doing something in the background.

  “We’re doing good. What the hell are you doing?”

  “Making cookies. Your dad’s having poker night,” she explained as he heard a timer go off.

  “He always does that when I’m not around, it’s not fair,” Garrett complained.

  She laughed. “He’s afraid you’ll beat him, but you’ll be home for a while…make him have one while you’re here.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Can I talk to Stacey? She wasn’t answering her phone earlier, and I have a question to ask her.”

  “She’s not with me.”

  “What do you mean she’s not with you? She’s your little sister, and the two of you are in Vegas. Please tell me you know where she is.”

  “Mom, I’m not a dumbass. I’m picking Hannah up at the airport right now, and I left Stace back at the hotel with Brad.”

  Marie didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Brad, huh?”

  He scrunched his nose up. “Why did you say his name like that?”

  “No reason,” she said much too quickly.

  “Ohhh, there’s a reason, but I don’t have time to get it out of you right now. Hannah’s plane is starting to de-board.”

  “Okay, well when you see your sister again, have her call me.”

  “Will do, right after I ask her about Bradley.”

  “Garrett, leave it alone,” his mom warned. “Seriously, I don’t know anything. I was just making a statement.”

  He, of all people, knew that his mother never made a statement she didn’t mean, but he would leave it alone. For nothing else than to keep the peace. He wasn’t really sure he wanted to know what the hell was going on anyway. “Alright, will do. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too, and tell Hannah I said ‘hi’.”

  They hung up, and he watched as passengers trickled off the plane, glad, for not the first time, of his height. Because Hannah was so short, her head couldn’t be seen over the other passengers. He was about to give up when he noticed her, wearing a hoodie with a Black Friday hat.

  “Hannah,” he called out. Most people never called her by her real name, so he didn’t think they would be in too much danger of others knowing who exactly she was. For his part, he was actually wearing his real prescription glasses and a long sleeve shirt.

  “Look at you,” she said as she walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. “I love the glasses.”

  “I figured the sunglasses would totally give me away, even with a long sleeve shirt on.”

  “You’re probably right,” she told him, dropping a light kiss on his neck.

  “For you,” he told her, handing the flowers.

  Her face beamed. “Thank you! If I wasn’t worried about an audience, I would kiss you right here,” she told him.

  “Then let’s go to the car.”

  They walked down to the baggage claim and grabbed her bags before walking out, hand in hand.

  “You have a lot of stuff.” He eyed her suitcases.

  “I know, sorry about that, but since it’s the end of the tour, they were taking the busses to get cleaned. I’m either going straight home or straight to your house after Vegas, so I needed all my stuff. I’m not even going to tell you how much I had to pay for being over the weight limit. These airlines should be ashamed.” She shook her head, taking it out of the hat she wore.

  When they were in the safety of his car, he turned to face her. “So what do you think?” he turned his jaw to the left and right.

  “It’s sexy,” she winked. “You look like you just rolled out of bed, put on some clothes, and came to pick me up.”

  He reached forward and grabbed her behind the neck, allowing himself a moment to explore her mouth with his tongue. “That’s pretty much what happened,” he whispered as he pulled back.

  She giggled. “At least you’re having a good time on vacation.”

  “You have no idea, baby, but I am so glad you’re here with me now. You ready?” he asked as he put the car in gear and went to check his blind spot.

  “Sure am. Can we stop and get some coffee though? I’m a little tired.”

  After the last time in Vegas, he realized that she wasn’t playing when she said those words. “I passed a coffee shop right up here; let’s hit the drive-thru.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly he was in the turning lane and hitting the coffee shop.

  “I’m not going through that again. I like you every way you are, but I can only handle Princess for so long.”

  “I’m so glad that we’re now being completely honest with each other,” she laughed.

  “Hey, if we’re in this for the long haul, there are just things we have to get out in the open. So I’ll start, I’m not a fan of Princess.”

  She was giggling over in the passenger seat as he handed her the frappe he had ordered without even asking what she wanted. “Fine, if we’re going to go there, I’m not a huge fan of scared-of-country-music-fans Garrett.”

  “That’s fair.” He nodded as he leaned over and took a drink from her straw. “Now that that’s out of the way and we’re getting some caffeine in you, let’s party.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  * * *

  Day two in Vegas was turning out to be one of Hannah’s favorite days ever, she realized. Shell had arrived two hours ago and had been introduced to Stacey, and then the three of them had commandeered Garrett’s rented SUV for a shopping excursion.

  “I’m so excited to have women to hang out with.” Stacey clapped her hands as Shell maneuvered them through traffic. “Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with my brother and the guys, but there’s only so many fart jokes, noises, and smells you can take.”

  “They’ve had gi
rlfriends before though, right?” Hannah asked. She knew that Vanessa had toured with the guys.

  Stacey snorted. “Yeah, you could say that. None of them were ever as nice as the two of you, I can promise you that.”

  Hannah wanted badly to ask about Vanessa. Garrett didn’t like to talk about his ex-girlfriend, and Hannah didn’t like to pry, but she did want to know. “Vanessa wasn’t nice to you?” She could have bitten her own tongue off when those words came out of her mouth.

  “Vanessa was all about doing whatever Garrett wanted her to and servicing to his needs. If you get my drift.”

  “Really?” Hannah had never taken him for the kind of man who would demand that.

  “Oh don’t get me wrong, it’s not because he wanted her to, that’s just how she was. She wanted that diamond ring, car in the driveway, and her name on the deed to Garrett’s house. Luckily, he saw right through it. I’ll admit, he strung her along for a lot longer than he should have, but she deserved it.”

  “Did she cheat on him?” Hannah blurted out.

  “Towards the end, yeah. I’d venture to say they cheated on each other. Garrett did try to do right by her, but it wasn’t there between the two of them. Like,” she licked her lips and looked at Hannah, “I can see the two of you together, and I know that my brother would do anything for you. You can see it in the way he looks at you and the way he treats you. He almost treated Vanessa like a groupie towards the end.”

  The word groupie made Hannah flash back to the argument the two of them had, but she slammed the door on that conversation. “So there’s absolutely no shit that Vanessa can just show back up and Garrett will go running to her?”

  “Are you for real?”

  “She is,” Shell piped up from behind the wheel. “It’s a sickness with her, to be honest with you. She is the only person within a thousand mile radius of that man who thinks he’s going to find someone better.”

  “Hey, I’m still here you know?”