The Price of Love (Rockin' Country Book 2)

by Briscoe, Laramie

  “Some food, woman. What the hell do the two of you eat?”

  She snorted at his frustration. “Normally we are stocked up, but the tour ends in a week. Neither one of us is thinking about food. If you want, I can get the bus to stop, run out, and grab all of us something.”

  “That would be awesome, I’m starving.”

  Garrett called Hannah into the main room, and they looked up the closest fast food restaurants to where they were. Within minutes, Shell had a list and they were stopping in the parking lot.

  “Don’t forget my honey mustard,” Hannah yelled as Shell went to leave.

  “For the hundredth time in five minutes, I will get your damn honey mustard.”

  Hannah giggled as Shell made her way off the bus. “I love to make her mad. She’s so easy to rile up, but I’m glad to see that whatever was in that letter from Jared wasn’t bad. The one thing about Shell is that she can’t hide what she’s feeling. If it was bad, we would know. She even seems at peace.”

  “I would agree with that,” Garrett told her as he grabbed his bag and pulled a DVD out of it.

  “Do I even get a say-so in what movie we watch?”

  “No, I came to you, and this time we do what I say.”

  She wasn’t sure if she liked that at all, but there was something very cute about him being bossy this way. “Fine,” she sighed. “Can we watch it out here, at least? I don’t want Shell to be lonely.”

  That was a concession that he was willing to make. Within minutes, Shell had brought their food back, and all of them were situated in the back lounge. Garrett and Hannah snuggled together on the couch; Shell lay out in the recliner. Garrett would never tell anyone this out loud, but it was the most relaxed he’d been in weeks. Here, in a dark lounge in the back of a bus, his wife snuggled to his chest eating chicken strips, a horrible action-adventure movie playing, and her best friend sitting to the side doing the same thing as the two of them. This was a huge departure from years past, but he knew with everything that he was, he would not change this for anything. If there was one thing that Hannah had brought to his life, it was stability, and he no longer had to be the life of the party. This was now the party, and he had never been happier. Leaning down, he brushed a kiss against her forehead. This was where he saw himself in five years, and he hoped with everything he had that she was with him all the time. It was selfish, but it was the truth.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  * * *

  Hannah had expected the days since Garrett’s departure to drag, but that hadn’t been the case. It was as if one day she woke up and realized that this was it. They’d made it to the end of the tour. Only one more show stood in their way, and then she could be Hannah Thompson. She could be the person that she’d been longing to be for what seemed like forever. Of course, she knew that was an exaggeration, but she was okay with that.

  “When’s Garrett going to be here?” Shell asked as they moved around the bus, packing up last-minute essentials.

  Hannah stole a glance at her phone. “He should be landing right now. He and Jared were going to rent a car, I think, because Garrett and I are doing the four-hour drive to Nashville tomorrow. We want to check on the house that’s finally ours and figure out what we want to do for the holiday.” Thanksgiving was in a week, and they still had yet to decide which family and which coast they would be spending it on. It was something that Hannah hadn’t wanted to mess with on top of everything else that was already going on. She was fine with letting it play out however it would. Tomorrow she would start worrying all about that.

  “Good, because I’m flying back with Jared, but if you have a car, then that means you can take most of my luggage to the house?”

  “Sure, just let me know which suitcases you want taken over there, and I’ll be glad to do it.”

  They busied themselves with getting the rest of what they needed off the bus, and suddenly, it came to a stop.

  “We’re here,” Shell told her quietly.

  Here was the Phillips Arena.

  Hannah glanced out the window to the place they had been waiting for since this whole thing began. It seemed like both a lifetime ago and only yesterday that she had taken a look at the grueling touring schedule they’d placed in front of her. There had been times when she wondered if she could do it. There were other times when she wondered if she wanted to do it. She remembered with startling clarity the nights that she’d cried herself to sleep because she’d missed Garrett so much. On the other hand, she remembered all the amazing days off she had with him. Not being on tour would change the whole dynamic of her relationship with him, because more than likely in a few short months, he would be the one going on tour and she wouldn’t be staying behind. This time she would be following along. It was an unknown for her, so it was scary, but at the same time, she was more than excited to being this next chapter.

  “Let’s go get ready for the show.” She smiled, reaching over to give Shell a hug. “My makeup ain’t gonna do itself.”

  “Is it weird to feel like I’m walking into the unknown and scared shitless?” Shell asked her as they made their way off the bus, both holding what was left of their bags.

  “No.” She shook her head. “I feel the same way too. Neither one of us have ever had this much time coming to us. We’ve never had the option. I feel like we’re seniors and we’re graduating from high school, ready to take college by storm but wanting so badly to stay at home and be the children we’ve always been.”

  “The irony of that statement is that we both went from being seniors in high school to doing this,” Shell laughed.

  That was the irony. Ever since they had been adults, neither one of them had what anyone would call a normal life.

  “Guess we better get ready for the freshman fifteen then,” Hannah joked as they made their way into the back of the arena.

  Just in case this was the last time she did this, Hannah took a moment to glance behind her. She took note of the setting sun behind her tour bus, the hustle and bustle of everyone getting the equipment ready for the show. She took a minute to look around the side. From where she stood, she could see the line of people coming to see her already forming. Tears gathered in her eyes and she breathed deeply. The journey she was about to embark on was the most important of her life, but if anyone asked her, she would tell them that she had never been so scared. Ever.

  “You coming?” Shell asked, holding her hand out for her friend.

  “Yeah.”

  “Wanted to remember it, huh?”

  Hannah nodded. She wasn’t sure that she could push the words past the tightening in her throat. “I do, just in case I don’t come back.”

  Shell pulled her into a tight hug. “You know that whatever you decide I’m a hundred percent behind you.”

  “Are you sure? You were pretty ticked at me when I started talking about this.”

  “That was me being an idiot, and I am sorry for ever putting you through that. That was my own insecurities. You are always going to be the best friend I’ve ever had, just like you tell me. Whether you come back to this or not, we will always be close. I promise you that.”

  That was exactly what Hannah had needed to hear. The two of them made their way through the back halls and into the dressing room. Hannah took a deep breath, sat down at the makeup table, and went about putting on her face. This was the face that many fans would have to remember for a long time to come.

  * * *

  “Atlanta! I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming out tonight,” she spoke clearly into the mic, trying to keep her voice from cracking. “As many of you know, this is my last show for a while.”

  The announcement was met with a huge round of applause. “I hope you’re clapping because you’re happy about what I’m going to be doing,” she laughed as she looked over to the side of the stage where Garrett stood. “I’ll be spending all kinds of time with my husband.” More loud cheering and screaming. “But before we go into
the last two songs of the night, I want to say thank you for all the support. I want to tell you how excited I am that you’ve accepted me and Reaper into your lives. Our song, which is sitting at number freakin’ two right now, means a lot to us, and I hope it means just as much to you.” She stopped, gathering her breath and courage. “Having said that, I’m going to invite Reaper out to sing it with me—you know, if that’s okay with you?”

  The response was so great she could feel it in her chest. The screams and stomps of feet reverberated in her body. It got even louder as Garrett made his way onto the stage. “Thanks for coming,” she told him as he leaned down, kissing her on the cheek.

  He had to yell to be heard. “Wouldn’t miss it for anything. To be honest, I’d hoped you would ask me out here to do this song.”

  One of the stage hands brought two stools out, and they had a seat facing each other. “Say hi,” she told Garrett as she indicated the crowd. He waved, smiling over at her. “I hope we aren’t giving you a bad reputation. You’re charting on a country chart, and now I’ve pulled you out to sing at a country show for the second time.”

  He glanced over at her. “I’ll do anything you ask me to, babe.” That was met with the cooing of the entire crowd, and he flashed them a thumbs-up.

  “Since we’re pretty much re-enacting the way we did this in the hotel room that we shot the YouTube video in, I’d like to invite my friend Shell and Black Friday’s lead guitarist Train.”

  The two of them were also met with a thunderous applause. As the foursome got situated and Jared made sure the guitar was in tune, Hannah took another moment for reflection. She’d caught herself doing that many times as the night and concert had progressed. She wanted to make sure she remembered each moment as she went through it; she wanted to remember exactly how she felt. It was no longer the best feeling in the world to her, but she wanted to make sure that she was completely in this experience.

  “You ready?” Garrett asked, his deep voice echoing through the arena.

  “If you are.”

  “Always ready when it comes to you, babe,” he told her, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her cheek.

  The song they sung was about loving each other regardless of the imperfections they both had. It was about loving someone when all the obstacles stood in the way. Somehow, here, in front of this arena full of people, it felt even more intimate than it had in the hotel room. Garrett would not move his eyes from her as he sang, and she found herself having to look away, the emotion too much for her. He brought her right back to him every time she looked away. By the time they were done, there were cell phones up in every part of the arena, she had tears streaming down her face, and he’d stood up to hold her next to his side.

  “Thanks for letting me come hang out with you tonight, Atlanta! I appreciate it,” he told them before kissing her again and making his way off the stage. The songs that would follow and the little amount of time they had left in the concert would be hers. He would never steal anything like that from her or her fans. He watched her turn her back to the crowd and seem to collect herself. “C’mon, babe, you got this,” he yelled from where he stood, clapping his hands for her.

  Her brown eyes glanced over and met his, offering him a small smile. She nodded and exhaled before turning back around. Harmony was back on and would be for as long as Hannah needed her to be.

  * * *

  “You okay?” Garrett asked two hours later as he helped her drag her suitcases to the car. He stole a glance at her. The stage makeup was gone, her hair was in a top knot on her head, and she had on sweatpants and a hoodie. She looked like she was student moving into the dorms on her first day of college. She had been quiet, and he couldn’t help but worry about her.

  “I’m good.” Her smile was shaky, but it was there. “I’m just a little emotional and I’m tired. I think after I get a good night’s sleep I’ll be okay.”

  “Not regretting it, are you?” That was a big fear of his, and he was afraid she would regret it as soon as he walked off the stage for the final time.

  “Never. I have the most peaceful feeling in the world surrounding me right now. I’m a little raw though, I need some time to decompress. The past year has been insane, and honestly we’re lucky the past few months didn’t drive me to a nervous breakdown. I’ll be fine; I just need a few days.”

  He stopped what he was doing and walked over, scooping her up in his arms. He hugged her for a long time before kissing her tenderly. “I love you and I thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made for us.”

  “They aren’t any different than yours. We love each other, and as long as we remember that, we’ll be good.”

  As they got into the car and began the drive north, he still hoped against all he had that she would not come to regret the decisions that she had made.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  * * *

  Just as Garrett had figured, as soon as they were an hour outside of Atlanta and well after midnight, Hannah fell asleep in the passenger seat beside him. Taking his eyes off the road for a second, he glanced over at her and realized that his heart was full. She was his for longer than she’d been his in the entire time they’d been together. He had so many things he wanted to do with her, so many things he wanted to show her. Truth be told, he was tired too. He was tired of the distance, of the separation, and of pretending like it didn’t matter so much to him. When he didn’t show it, it didn’t seem to wear on her as much, but there was only so much he could take. He was at the end of that rope with it all. He was ready to have his wife with him, and to know that they would soon be celebrating the holidays together was one of the most exciting feelings he’d ever had.

  Reaching over, he clasped her hand in his and squeezed tightly. The first order of business would be to get some weight back on her and remove the dark circles from under her eyes. The tiredness he’d seen there lately he didn’t like one bit. The way her smile didn’t touch her eyes, the beaten-down look. That needed to be gone. Garrett was ready for a bit of normalcy with them, even though he knew he’d soon be dragging her out on his tour, it would be easier with the two of them in the same spot for more than a couple of days.

  Hours later, he pulled into the driveway of his in-laws and carefully got out of the car, keeping it running so that he wouldn’t wake Hannah up. Robert met him on the front porch, surprising Garrett. He said so, asking what the older man was doing awake.

  “I was watching for you,” he explained. “Do you need some coffee or anything? I know you’ve driven all night.”

  Garrett shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

  Robert reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to the house that he’d been taking care of for them. “We got some groceries for you yesterday. I had some of the guys from my shop help me move in a little bit of furniture. I figure if you don’t like it, you can use it in the studio. Just a couch, a chair, a TV, and a Blu-Ray player. The bed you ordered was delivered yesterday too, and Liz made sure there are sheets and stuff on it. Heat’s on and it should be ready for the two of you.”

  “Thank you so much, you have no idea how much we appreciate this.” Garrett reached out, shaking Robert’s hand.

  “Just take care of her. She’s had a rough couple of years.”

  Garrett looked back at the car, knowing that Hannah slept peacefully inside. “She is my number-one priority.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. Please let us know what you two want to do for Thanksgiving.”

  Garrett had almost forgotten that it was so close, even though he’d been thinking about the holidays on the drive up. “As soon as we get settled, that will be the first thing we talk about.” It was then that a jaw-popping yawn made its way out of his mouth.

  “Go, get some sleep. Call us if you need anything, and we’ll figure everything out in the next few days.”

  Garrett surprised himself by reaching over and hugging the other man. He felt closer to Robert than he expected to feel, and
he figured that was a part of the growing-up process, a part of welcoming more people into his family. Quickly, he made his way back to the car.

  It was a good thing they had a GPS, because if asked, Garrett wouldn’t be able to tell anyone how they had gotten to their new home. It had been a maze of turns, and he wanted only one thing—to get home. Home sounded like such a good word. He couldn’t wait to make this home with her. It had been one of the only things that had kept him going through their long separation.

  He pulled into the garage and shut the door before turning the car off. “Han.” He reached over and gently shook her shoulder. When it was obvious she wasn’t going to wake up, he unbuckled and went over to the passenger side. Carefully, he got her out and let them both inside. He hoped like hell he remembered which room the two of them had decided on. A pang of loneliness hit him too when he didn’t hear the clickety-clack of Havock’s toenails against the floor. They would have to bring their boy out here; as it was, Garrett hated leaving him.

  The stairs weren’t easy with her limp in his arms, but he navigated them. When he got to their room, he breathed a sigh of relief. The freshly made bed looked like an oasis in the middle of a desert. He was running on fumes, and he knew she was too. There wasn’t anything left in either of them. He moved back the cover as best he could with one hand and laid her down; he then lay down next to her, still fully clothed. He pulled the cover up around them. That would have to be enough. The exhaustion of the last few months weighed on him, and he finally let it go, closing his eyes, putting his arms around Hannah, and letting it all go.

  * * *

  Hannah felt like she was some place she’d been before, but she couldn’t place it. She knew that Garrett was with her because she could feel his body behind hers. Prying her eyes open, she looked around. They were in their new house and it was dusk outside. How long had they been here? Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she saw that it was four o’clock in the evening. The last thing she remembered was getting in the car a little after midnight that morning. Had she really slept for over twelve hours?