That Night in Nashville (Ticket to True Love)

by Savannah Kade

  Rhea, their driver, kept a lax hand on the large steering wheel. Whatever was happening to make them take an unscheduled stop, it didn’t bother her.

  Right then Hailey's phone rang. “Melissa?” she said by way of greeting, putting the phone to her ear.

  Melissa was managing this leg of the tour. The call wasn’t unusual, until Melissa began explaining the new problem with the second of the two buses. “Look, Hailey, my trailer is having issues. There's a small repair shop in the next town… I called ahead and the good news is that the management thinks they can handle it today.”

  Melissa sighed, and Hailey wondered why she was even included in this decision. She was the “talent,” but the talent’s opinion mattered a hell of a lot less than people thought.

  “We have a couple of options,” Melissa continued, making the issue clear relatively quickly. “We can stay on schedule. Mostly. Either way, we’ll have to take a short stop here in True Springs. But if you want to keep moving, we're going to have to double up the people on the bus. The equipment bus is fine, so at least that’s not an issue.”

  That was when Hailey understood. There were three buses on this tour. The first, hers, carried the band. The second held Melissa and her two roadies. The third was almost people-free, carrying the equipment packed in tight.

  So Melissa was explaining to her the logistics. If they kept driving, Hailey would have to deal with the fact that her bus would be severely overcrowded. There was no extra room in the equipment bus—certainly not for people. It would add to an already cramped situation, and probably increase the stress factor on the first leg of her first tour.

  “Also,” Melissa continued, “They’ll need their luggage and it won't entirely fit underneath. In fact, only a little of it will.”

  Hailey wanted to cringe. That was in large part her own fault. She was the lead, which that meant she was traveling with her own clothes and several costume changes. She’d had Shay make her several versions of each one in case of damage or dirt or God knew what. But it was a lot to haul around.

  “If we do that, we can stay to our driving schedule.” Melissa pushed on, not seeing Hailey’s cringe.

  “Sleeping will be really awkward,” Hailey pointed out.

  “Absolutely,” was Melissa's only reply.

  There were a limited number of beds on the bus. They’d all have to share and sleep in shifts.

  “Option number two?” Hailey asked.

  “Stay in True Springs and get eight hours behind schedule or however long it takes them to fix this bus. And hope that they can get it fixed in time to get us back on the road and late for rehearsal but not the show.”

  “What do you think we should do?” Hailey asked.

  “I think it's about how crowded you are willing to be and how much being late affects you.” She paused, then added, “I think it's anybody's guess how quickly they're going to be able to fix this monster.” Melissa referred to the second bus, the one that she was on, and the one that was apparently making concerning noises and overheating.

  In the end, they opted for a halfway check. They would stay in True Springs for four hours, and then check again on the repairs on the bus and see what they needed to do. Hailey liked that she had options. “Then we can make a decision based on whether or not they still think they can get the other bus running in time.”

  It was only twenty minutes before the chain of tour buses pulled off the exit and disgorged all the people in front of an adorable little inn. Hailey stepped into summer air that was hot, but milder than the oppressive humidity she was used to. She was looking around when she felt her drummer grab her hand and pull her along.

  Grinning, Carrie told them, “Grab your pennies, ladies, there’s a fountain!”

  Hailey laughed as the buses pulled away to find the local mechanic and the women stopped in front of a trickling fountain. “I didn’t figure you for the wishing fountain kind, Carrie.”

  Carrie was wearing black leather pants and a tank top that laced up the sides. She definitely stood out in True Springs, but she was already digging for pennies from her wallet. “Oh, I’m not. But we need to do everything we can to get that bus repaired!”

  20

  Hailey’s phone pinged with a message from Adam.

  — Where are you today?

  She could feel one side of her lips quirk up as Carrie looked at her.

  Her drummer raised a pierced eyebrow from over her magazine. “I wish I got a message like that.”

  “Sadly, it’s not like that. I wish.” Hailey turned her phone around to show Carrie. “He wanted to know where we are today. And look where we are.” She waved her hands around the small gift shop.

  After the women had tossed every penny—and a handful of nickels and dimes—into the True Springs fountain, Carrie had poked around and called out, “Look at this. It’s a plaque.”

  She’d proceeded to read it out loud to Hailey and Melissa about how the water was believed to bring anyone who drank it their true love. “That’s True Love with capital letters.”

  Hailey had snorted, but Carrie immediately reached into the water and splashed Melissa. “If you get it in your mouth, you’ll find your true love!” She scooped more water and flicked it at their manager again.

  “Uh!” Melissa looked affronted for a moment, but as Hailey watched, determination set into her gaze and she returned fire on Carrie. There was something in her expression that made Hailey wonder if it was true, that no one could resist a drummer. Was the water already working on these two? She stepped back out of reach of the splashes. The last thing Hailey needed was a complication like True Love.

  After a moment, her manager and drummer called a truce, deciding to quit before they actually got wet, rather than just spotted with fountain water. They’d looked around for the next adventure to bide their time in True Springs and found a shop, where they’d wandered aimlessly, looking at trinkets until Hailey’s text had caught Carrie’s eye.

  “Is that your True Love?” Carrie pressed, the tone in her voice clearly capitalizing the true and love parts.

  It was all Hailey could do to avoid saying, “I think it's my Fuck Buddy.” Because the fact was, at one point, Adam had been her True Love. Capital T. Capital L. The corner of her mouth dropped instantly.

  “It should be!” The voice coming from behind her startled her and took her a moment to figure out that when Hailey hadn’t answered Carrie, the voice did. “You’ll find your true love if you drink from that fountain. It’s the best kept secret in the state.”

  “Oh,” Hailey turned around, the question she wanted to ask hovering on her lips as her eyes scanned empty air. At last they came to rest on the very short woman in front of her. Silver hair and knuckles that spoke of arthritis didn’t detract from sharp eyes and a wide smile.

  Hailey heard Brenda's voice in her head. She was a public figure now, which meant that when she was in public she had to be polite, charming, on. Even if people didn't know who she was, they might one day remember. She turned up the megawatt smile. “Well, we're very lucky we wound up in the best kept secret then. Because one of our tour buses has left us stranded for a bit.”

  “Yes! You are in luck.” The woman’s smile grew wider, if that was possible. “I’m Mabel and Mac runs the repair shop. He’ll take good care of your truck or whatever. That boy can fix anything.”

  “Well, that's good to hear.” Hailey was still smiling though she was looking for something else to say when Mabel turned away.

  “Let me get you ladies some hot cocoa or coffee, if you prefer.”

  Hailey felt the corner of her mouth quirk again. It had been ages since anyone thought she was of an age to be offered a hot cocoa. The three women followed Mabel around toward the back of the small shop where a counter flanked a small area to prep coffee and sodas and maybe a scoop of ice cream.

  Hailey watched as Mabel slowly and carefully mixed cocoa into one of the cups and poured coffee into two of the others, as Ca
rrie and Melissa had requested. Hailey stared down in at the marshmallows swirling at the rich surface. It was not a cool day, but they were inside in the air conditioning, surrounded by the tchotchkes and the sweet old lady. She could drink hot cocoa and make an old lady happy.

  For a moment, the three women just sat at the counter, taking sips and looking around before Mabel said into the air, apropos of nothing, “I made those drinks with fountain water for you.”

  It was Melissa who sputtered first. Hailey might have spit her cocoa back out…if she believed. But there was no way a fountain could hold the kind of magical properties that the plaque suggested. Surely it was there just to get people to throw in as much money as possible. The town would collect it and keep the fountain pretty, the flowers watered, and a little bit of a tourist trade going.

  Hailey smiled a “thank you” at Mabel even though she didn’t believe at all and raised her mug in a small salute before drinking again.

  Beside her, Carrie elbowed Melissa. “Well, what do you know?” she said, and made Hailey begin to wonder about the little encounter she'd seen back there at the edge of the fountain.

  It wasn’t any “magic” water working, it was just a spark of attraction being given a chance. Hell, the way things were going, hot cocoa made with a little bit of fountain water wasn't going to cut it for Hailey. She would need to fall in and practically drown to fix her love life.

  Sure, she and Adam had heat, but aside from that, they’d been doomed from the start. It would have been better if he'd been some random guy working the show. Someone with whom she had instant chemistry and not much more.

  Then again, none of it ever would have happened if he'd been random. She would never have done anything like that in her tent if it hadn’t been someone she already trusted.

  “You okay, honey?” Mabel asked.

  “Oh, I'm good.” She pulled out her phone and replied to Adam’s text.

  —I'm in a tiny town called True springs.

  She didn't mention the water or its supposedly magical properties. She didn't tell him that she'd apparently been dosed by Mabel, who didn’t seem to understand she’d already been splashed by Melissa and Carrie horsing around earlier. After a moment, when Adam didn't reply right away, Hailey figured he wouldn't. So she pushed the phone back into her pocket and finished the hot cocoa. Who knew how many hours they would be stuck here? Whether Mac the Wonder Mechanic could fix the tour bus.

  So she wandered the store looking at all kinds of country paraphernalia. In the corner was a rack of quilts, one in beautiful shades of pinks and another in greens. A fall scene caught her eye on yet another quilt and she pulled it out to carefully admire both the work and the price tag. If she had money, she would take one. But not today.

  The three women paid for their drinks and wandered until they’d seen every last item the store offered. Later, when she plucked her phone out of her pocket again, Hailey saw that Adam had indeed replied and she missed it.

  —I'm sorry I missed you before you left town. I was counting days and pretending I didn't want to call you and I screwed up. I should have just said I wanted to see you again.

  Her heart stuttered a little.

  Quickly. She sent a message back.

  —Me too.

  21

  “Hey boss.” Jerry stuck his head in the door where Adam had been sitting at his desk, staring at his phone. Before Adam could even answer, Jerry frowned and chimed in again. “You okay?”

  This time, he took his own concern as cause to step into Adam’s office and almost close the door behind him. He was clearly ready to offer a heart-to-heart that Adam probably needed but didn’t want.

  “Yeah, I'm good,” Adam replied with a forced grin, though he knew he wasn't selling it. He could tell from Jerry's expression that Jerry wasn't buying either. But at least he offered only a nod and continued with what he’d come for.

  “Did you ever make a decision on buying those projectors?”

  Crap, Adam thought. This was exactly why Jerry wanted to know what was wrong with him. Something clearly was. He hadn’t been himself lately, and it seemed everyone was picking up on it. The man Jerry knew was driven. He was going to build this business with everything he had. Adam showed up early and stayed late. Instead, what Jerry was getting now was the boss who had been staring at his computer and doing nothing for well over a week.

  "I'll have the decision to you tomorrow," Adam told him and he meant it. It was well past time for him to get his head out of his ass. And his eyes off his cell phone.

  "What you looking at?" Jerry asked.

  And he couldn’t even look away from the messages she wasn’t sending him for a minute. Adam didn't want to answer, but maybe it would be better if he did. At least it would look better. He held his phone up face out toward his top guy.

  "Oh, that's nice." Jerry grinned at a screen that showed him fifteen different women who had agreed to meet Adam via his online dating profile.

  Adam smiled, but it probably didn't mean what Jerry thought it did. There were so many faces waiting for him because he hadn't checked in so long, not since before the Nashville Brewers Fest. He hadn’t looked at his profile once since Hailey had crashed back into his life. What he was doing now was staring at it. Should he take his profile down?

  He closed the app without making a decision. But it was making the messages pile up. Even his little decisions suddenly felt very big.

  Jerry gave him a thumbs up sign and slipped out of the office, pulling the door mostly closed behind him. It was Adam’s signal to his employees that he was busy but could be bothered for important things. The problem was that he wasn’t actually busy, unless he counted staring at his phone and trying to answer basic questions about his own love life.

  Apparently, he didn't have the answers to any questions at all. Should he or shouldn't he invest in the projectors? Should he or shouldn't he take down his online profile? Was he or wasn't he in a relationship with Hailey Watkins?

  His phone pinged and he realized maybe he was. He had gone and confessed several hours ago that he missed her. He was definitely an idiot for playing games and counting days. And here she was saying she missed him too. So they must be involved.

  Sure, he'd been staring at his phone like a lovesick fool for the last week, but he had also been taking a good hard look at his life. The return of Hailey Watkins was forcing him to ask some big questions. What was he doing with his life and what did he want?

  Adam knew what he wanted to do with the company. He had the right job, at least. He probably wouldn’t have been a good manager for Hailey’s career, but he was a damn fine rigger and projectionist. He was an excellent cameraman and he’d become a good salesman. He prided himself on being a good boss. But for the rest of his life? He had no clue.

  Was he a carefree bachelor dating wherever he felt like? Or was he looking for something real? It was hard to say. What did a guy do when he'd had something real at nineteen, but had been left with this?

  For a moment, he thought about what he'd expected back then. He’d believed that by now Hailey would be a big star, that they'd definitely be married and probably be having children. They'd have a yard and a fence and maybe a minivan. None of that had come to pass.

  Only Hailey was still on the right track. His path had changed entirely. Some of it was because of his mother, some of it was because he’d been nineteen and hadn’t known what he was good at or what he wanted to do. Hell, he hadn’t even known this career existed back then. Some of it was because he hadn’t been able to see beyond Hailey Pulaski and her big dream of becoming a country star.

  Everything had stayed the same for her, except him.

  Everything had changed for him…except her.

  But what did he want now? And did Hailey still fit into it? But even if she did fit into his dreams, did she want to?

  22

  Hailey rummaged through her purse at the counter of the small gas station. "I have change," she offer
ed as she unzipped the compartment on her wallet only to find out she didn't.

  Oh, yeah, she thought, she’d thrown every last coin into the fountain at True Springs. Right before the shopkeeper Mabel had made them drinks with fountain water.

  Honestly, Carrie and Melissa looked like they'd already found whatever the fountain was promising. Hailey could admit she was more than a little bit jealous.

  "Here." She gave up and handed over her card to buy the bag of chips and soft drink. Her diet had gone to hell.

  Life on the road was harder than she'd thought it would be. She'd expected it to be grand rather than grinding. She loved being on stage, and she loved singing. But doing soundcheck wasn't singing—not like what she enjoyed. She wasn't the headliner at any of these shows, so she was on and off stage often faster than she could blink. Sometimes she was on in the afternoon to crowds of people milling around and not paying attention to the music. She sang her heart out anyway.

  When it worked, the roar of the crowd lifted her up. Being able to sign a few posters and CDs afterwards—or even just knowing that she'd sold a good handful at the end of each show—made her smile. There were plenty of good times. Even being stuck in True Springs had turned out to be fun. But it was getting harder to get up on stage and give her all for a crowd that often didn’t give anything in return.

  Hailey was beginning to wonder if the stage and intermittent fun was enough to counteract the endless hours on the road, not being home, not being able to keep up with her friends or even get a cat or a dog… She must be losing it.

  As she took her chips and climbed back up into the bus, it felt like every step was torture. Each high stair pulled her closer to the couch, the bunk bed with the thin curtain, the road rumbling under her so she could never quite just be still.