Bad Habits (Nashville Outlaws #1)

by Cheryl Douglas

  We were living in his house, which had been redecorated, to ‘feminize’ as he called it. He’d even bought me a horse for my birthday. A freakin’ horse! And acted like it was nothing when I cried myself stupid because I was so happy.

  My sister tapped on the door before she poked her head in. “Hey, can I come in?”

  “Of course.” I glanced at her in the full-length mirror before turning to face her. “So? What do you think?”

  “You look gorgeous,” she whispered, clasping my hands. “Just like I knew you would.”

  “Having Daddy here to walk me down the aisle means everything.” I swore I wouldn’t cry, but just thinking about how far he’d come in his recovery made me so grateful that he’d been given a second chance.

  “I know.” Charli swept the veil over my shoulders. “And they love Nashville! It’s like moving there gave them a new lease on life.”

  They’d made the move last month, after the doctor finally gave them the okay, and had been settling in like they’d always lived there. They loved the local music scene and were meeting new people. Once again, I had my amazing fiancé to thank for making the transition so easy for them.

  “It’ll do the same for you, I bet,” I said, taking Charli’s hands in mine.

  She’d spent a couple of months giving notice to her landlord, packing up her apartment and putting everything she owned in storage before coming to live with our parents and helping them prepare for their move. They’d sold or donated everything that wasn’t essential, so they could start over.

  “I hope so.”

  She smoothed a hand over the sleeveless low-cut silk dress that landed just above her knee. She looked stunning in the rustic color she’d selected for our autumn wedding. That was the beauty of a wedding party that consisted of only a best man and maid of honor, it kept the discussions about duties and wardrobe selection to a minimum.

  Knox asked Dade to be his best man, since he couldn’t choose just one member of his band and his brother was out of the country on assignment. My sister seemed to be getting more and more comfortable spending time with her long-time crush, so I didn’t expect any awkward incidences with them sitting next to each other or being expected to join us on the makeshift dance floor after the first dance.

  “You’re having doubts about moving to Nashville?” I asked, stealing one last glance in the vintage full-length tilt mirror.

  I’d kept it simple with a fitted, floor-length champagne colored dress that dipped low in the front and back, with a train suspended from my waist. It seemed appropriate for a rustic outdoor wedding that included a hundred of our closest friends and family. If we’d had the wedding in Nashville numbers would have swelled to ten times as many people, with guests from all corners of the music industry, but having it in my hometown allowed us to keep it intimate and personal, just the way we both wanted it.

  “No doubts,” Charli said, curling her hands around my shoulders as she looked at me in the mirror. “You know that’s one of my favorite places on the planet, and I’m stoked that I finally get to live there, but…”

  “But?”

  I rolled my hand before re-fastening a clip in my hair. I hadn’t hired a hairdresser or make-up artist today because Knox would have been disappointed if I’d tamed my wild curls and I wanted my face to look natural with a healthy glow, not airbrushed, in photos.

  “Well, I haven’t landed a job yet and that makes me kind of nervous. I’ve seen Dade a few times since that day in the hospital, and he knows I’m moving to Nashville, but he hasn’t said anything more about the job. You sure he hasn’t hired an assistant yet?”

  I knew for a fact he hadn’t because a good friend of mine, Brooklyn, worked for the company promoting his tour and she told me Dade needed to get his shit together and hire a new assistant because not having a go-between was making her job a lot harder.

  “No, he hasn’t.” I shrugged. “Maybe you should flat-out ask him if he’s still considering you for the job.”

  “I can’t do that!” She blushed, stepping up to the mirror when I snagged my pearl earrings off the dresser. “It would make it seem like I’m desperate.”

  “Honey, you’re staying with Mama and Daddy until you find a job and an apartment. If you’re not desperate now, give it a month and you will be.”

  We shared a knowing look before we burst into laughter. We loved our parents like crazy, but there were a handful, and my sister had already confided numerous times since she moved in to help them prepare for the move, that they were driving her crazy with their pointless bickering. Apparently they still went at it, no matter how meaningless their arguments seemed to the rest of us.

  “I’m not all that worried,” Charli said, taking the pearl necklace that had belonged to our grandmother and fastening it around my neck. “Even if Dade doesn’t hire me, I’m sure I can find something.” She glanced at me through her lashes, looking uncertain. “Um, I was also thinking about trying to get a few gigs. Just for fun. You know, local bars and stuff like that. Do you think that’s crazy? It would help to pay the bills and—”

  “No, that’s not crazy! Are you kidding?” I seized her shoulders, giving her a little shake. “You’re so talented, hon. I’ve always told you that you should be performing in front of an audience.”

  Personally I thought she was good enough to be part of our crew, but it’s not like I was going to put either Gina or Chris on the chopping block to make room for my sister. That would be a shitty thing to do and those girls had earned their stripes.

  “You know how much I love music.” Charli moved to the foot of the bed, carefully sitting on the cream chenille throw before sighing. “Just being there, in that environment every day, will be like a dream come true.” She shook her head. “But enough about me. Today is all about you and Knox.” She grinned. “I still can’t believe it. You and Knox!”

  I laughed as I slipped into the cream heels I’d spent a whole month searching for because comfort was paramount today. We had good friends performing in the decked out barn and suspected the live music would result in a few blisters and an album full of amazing memories.

  “Me and Knox.” I shook my head. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, sis. It feels too good to be true.”

  “You deserve this,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t you ever doubt that, girl.”

  “Thanks.” It felt like an embarrassment of riches, but I decided I must have done something pretty amazing in a previous life to deserve this kind of karma.

  “You girls almost ready?” Mama asked, poking her head in. She gasped when she saw me, covering her mouth with her hand when tears filled her eyes.

  Mama wasn’t the sappy type, who cried at the drop of a hat, but she had her moments, and this apparently was one of them. “Don’t cry,” I warned, shaking a finger at her. “If you start, we both will, and we don’t wanna mess up our make-up.”

  “Oh sugar, you look so beautiful.” She glanced at Charli as she moved in to the room and closed the door. “You both do.”

  “Thanks, Mama.”

  “The florist will be bringin’ your bouquets in in just a minute,” Mama said, sneaking a quick peek at herself in the mirror.

  She’d gone to her old shop for the royal treatment that morning: hair, nails, and makeup, and she’d selected a green pantsuit, opting to banish the colorful streak in her hair, so as not to clash.

  “You look wonderful.” I knew our celebrity friends made her a bit nervous, but mama was always… mama. No matter the company. She made people laugh, gasp, and shake their heads sometimes, but I couldn’t imagine my special day without her.

  “I couldn’t be happier for you.” She blinked back the tears, fanning her face. “Knox is an amazing man, and you two together… well, you’re just perfect for each other.”

  We weren’t perfect. We were like every other couple. We snapped at each other when we were tired or stressed. We argued over the little things and fel
t guilty enough to apologize after an hour. I got jealous when I saw groupies hanging off him and he warned men off with filthy looks whenever I chatted a little too long. We were still the best of friends, but these months added a new dimension to our relationship that made it both more challenging and more amazing.

  In spite of the trials, I’d stake my life on one thing: Knox was my forever.

  A knock on the door, followed by that familiar creek that Granddaddy never got around to fixing, alerted us when Daddy stepped into the room. His long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his beard was groomed, probably for the first time ever. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt, yellow tie, and yellow rose in his lapel. But the profusion of flowers in his hand made me giggle.

  “These are for you ladies,” Daddy said, thrusting the bouquets at Mama. “The florist asked me to bring them up, since I was headin’ this way anyhow.” He shrugged a broad shoulder. “She was busy with somethin’ else, I guess.”

  Charli whistled under her breath as Mama passed her a bouquet before slipping a corsage on her own wrist. “You clean up good, old man.”

  He gave her the stink eye. “You know I’m none too happy about this, so watch it.” He pulled at his collar. “I feel like I’m bein’ strangled in this damn thing.” He sighed when he caught my eye. “But I’d do anything for my girls, you know that.”

  “Thank you,” I said, stepping into his outstretched arms. “Can’t tell you how much it means to me.” Almost losing him meant I treasured every moment we had together so much more.

  “Well, we’ll give you two a few minutes,” Mama said, beckoning to Charli with her finger. “But don’t take too long. We don’t wanna make that handsome groom of yours nervous.”

  Daddy waited until we were alone before he released a gusty sigh, “My princess. You really do look like a princess today.”

  “Thanks.” The tears threatened to spill down my cheeks again, but I couldn’t let them fall. I had to be strong today, just like he taught me. “Feeling really blessed today. Especially because you’re here.”

  He nodded. “Bein’ here to see my baby girl get married means everything.” He pinched his lips together and I could tell he was wrestling his emotions too. “You chose the right man, Cece. No doubt in my mind about that.” He looked around at his parents’ old bedroom. “The fact that he would do this for our family shows what kind of man he is. Proves that family means somethin’ to him, and your kids, they’ll mean everything to him.”

  “I know,” I whispered.

  A hundred times I’d imagined the love of my love as the father of our children and it wasn’t hard. He wasn’t the same man who’d charmed me into taking a job with him almost six years ago. He still loved to put on a show, but didn’t need to get high or drunk when the lights went down anymore. Instead we’d sneak away to our bus and enjoy our own private celebration between the sheets. Instead of flirting with all the girls who scored backstage passes, the way he used to, he’d grant a few selfies and autographs, answer a few questions, and politely excuse himself. He’d become a family man, even though we weren’t officially a family yet.

  “Just appreciate each other, honey. Don’t ever take one another for granted. You know that life can be cut short so live every day like it might be your last together. And don’t ever forget to tell that man how much he means to you.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  Daddy had never been big on meaningful moments, but he came through when it counted. Like the day he packed up my old jalopy so I could make the long drive to Nashville the summer I turned nineteen. He made me believe then that I could make all my dreams come true, and his soft-spoken words were giving me the confidence I needed today too.

  “Well, you ready to do this?” he asked, handing me my bouquet.

  “So ready.”

  Knox

  Cece took my breath away as I watched her walk down the aisle.

  Reminded me of the first time I saw her. We’d been holding rehearsals at a friend’s bar. She strolled in wearing tight ripped jeans and a low-cut black t-shirt with high heeled boots. She had a beat up guitar case slung over her shoulder and when our eyes met... her dimples popped.

  My heart started beating a little harder and faster when I saw her. And by the end of the night, my whole body was thrumming with awareness. When I asked her to come back to my place, she laughed and patted my chest, telling me we were better off as friends if we were gonna be working together.

  Friends. Best friends. That’s what we’d evolved into over that first year. I loved everything about her, even her quirks, but if someone had told me then I’d be standing here, my heart beating out of my chest, just like it did the first time we met, because I was finally going to make her my wife, I would have laughed and called them crazy. Because guys like me didn’t commit to one woman forever. Guys like me didn’t fantasize about babies. Or buy run-down old farmhouses. Or horses. That last one still made me chuckle. She’d named her horse Misty because it reminded her of her favorite cow, Maisy. My girl had a serious soft spot for four-legged animals, but I was grateful she’d had the patience to tame this two-legged animal too ‘cause I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

  Reed agreed to officiate for us, which meant seeing his ex-girlfriend for the first time since their breakup. And Brooklyn brought a date. I knew it was killing Reed to see her with someone else, but he was putting his friendship with us first and vowing not to let anything ruin our day.

  He opened with a few remarks about how long it took us to get here, because I was a little slow on the uptake, making everyone laugh, before he invited us to recite our vows.

  For a man who made his living weaving words, my wedding vows proved harder to write than any song. How the hell was I supposed to put into words how much this woman meant to me? It seemed impossible, until I started to think about her. The memories we’d made. The laughs we’d shared. The fights we’d had. The successes we’d celebrated. And I realized I already had the words buried deep inside. Words she’d placed there, every day that she loved me and showed me how to love her.

  “Cece…” I held her hands in mine, as I drew a deep breath. I didn’t get nervous singing in front of sixty thousand people, but this day wasn’t about critics’ reviews. It was about starting my life with the person who’d become the centre of my world and I was nervous as hell about screwing up.

  “You blew into my life like a hurricane.” We shared a smile. “Stirring everything up in your wake. By the time the dust settled, I realized I was becoming a different man… because of you. When I started to doubt myself, you were right there to speak faith into me, to make me believe that we really could do this crazy thing, make a name for ourselves in a business as cutthroat as music.”

  She smiled, nodding slightly to let me know she was still right there, believing in me.

  “It wasn’t a smooth ride to get where we are today. There have been plenty of potholes and detours, but the one constant I could always count on was having you right there riding shotgun.” It took everything in me not to kiss her when she licked her lips. “You started out as my background singer. Then you became my best friend. Now? You’re my life partner… and my everything. We’re probably going to navigate more potholes and detours, but I’m not worried about that ‘cause I’ve got you right there beside me… where you belong.”

  A tear snaked down her cheek and she gave me a rueful smile to let me know she’d tried hard not to let it loose.

  Reed invited Cece to share her vows and she took a deep breath, squeezing my hands before she asked, “What can I say to the man who gave me a new lease on life? I was a scared kid living in a new town, praying I’d find someone who believed in me. That someone was you.” Our eyes locked and it was one of those moments where we exchanged love without words.

  “At the time all we had were prayers and promises, but we kept at it, and one grueling day at a time, we made all our dreams come true.” She bowed h
er head and when she looked up again the tears were flowing. “It took me a long time before I looked at you and saw forever in your eyes. But today, it’s hard to remember not looking in your eyes and seeing that. I see my future when I look at you. I see our babies. I see rocking chairs on our old front porch and I see myself…” She smiled and I knew she was adlibbing now. “Still riding shotgun.”

  I heard soft murmurs, sniffles and throats clearing before Reed told us to exchange rings and invited me to kiss my bride.

  About damn time.

  I wrapped her beautiful face in my hands and kissed her tenderly as flashbulbs went off around us. The paparazzi weren’t allowed to crash this party. This day was just for us.

  Everyone wanted a piece of us as we made our way through the crowd, but this wasn’t the kind of crowd I was used to navigating. All of these people genuinely knew and loved us. They wanted to congratulate us and whisper words of encouragement, but that would have to wait because our photographer was whisking us away, along with our best man and maid of honor, for pictures under Cece’s favorite old oak tree.

  The photographer wanted pictures of the sisters first, so that gave Dade and I a minute to catch up.

  “Congratulations, man,” he said, offering his hand. “I couldn’t be happier for you two. Cece’s the best. Seriously. You’re a lucky man.”

  “I know it.” I wish my friend could have found what I had, a woman who loved me for me, not because of all of the zeroes on my bank balance. “Thanks for doin’ this for me, Dade. I know weddings aren’t really your thing…” Anymore.

  “It was an honour.”

  His gaze was honed in on Charli and I had to ask, “Brook tells us you still haven’t hired an assistant. Why is that?”

  He shrugged. “You know how it is when you make a few too many mistakes, buddy. You can’t trust yourself to make good decisions no more. Seems I’m stuck in this, I don’t know, limbo. I know hirin’ an assistant isn’t the same as choosing a life partner, but…”