“Ty, my boy. What’s gotten into you? It’s you and me. I like Ivy. She’s a great girl.”
I studied him. My face hard. “I’m not kidding with you. I’ll die on this hill, do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear. Nothing to worry about. I think she just got the wrong idea.”
“Sure, she did.” I pointed at him. “Just stay the fuck away from her, Zane, and we’ll be okay.”
“Dude. What is going on with you? A couple weeks in this godforsaken town and you’re acting crazy,” he said, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching. He never wanted anyone in the band to see the cracks that had started spreading in our working relationship. What he didn’t know was that everyone in the band was tired of his antics, of the way he was running us into the ground, all for the mighty dollar. I was the only one trying to save his ass.
“I’m done with the bullshit. It’s my name on this band, and I am done being told how things are going to work. Schedule a meeting with the label. I want to discuss some new tracks and our tour schedule.”
“What the fuck do you have a manager for if you want to do everything?”
“That’s a great fucking question, Zane.”
“Ty, I handle things so that you can focus on the music,” he said.
“Not anymore. We will both be sitting in on those meetings from now on. I’m not a kid. I want to start taking back some control over what I do and when I do it. You can either be on board with me, or we can go our separate ways.”
His eyes bulged out of his head. “Of course I’m on board with whatever you want to do. You got it, brother.”
I nodded. “I know they want us to record ‘Country Girl’ because that’s gotten a lot of hype on tour.” I’d introduced it on a whim a few months ago, and it had been an instant hit. It was the last song I actually wrote before I’d locked up. And now I had a lot of new shit to introduce to the band.
“Yeah. Let’s do it. Give us five minutes to get ready.” Zane waved over a few guys from our sound crew and told them to set up.
I nodded. I think he’d heard me loud and clear, because I was done fucking around with him. I made my way into the room where everyone was showing Ivy their instruments.
“How’d it go out there?” Zack asked, and I didn’t miss the concern in his eyes. He’d been telling me he didn’t trust Zane over the past few months, but Zane was still an important part of this team. He just needed to be a fucking team player and not a stubborn asshole.
“All good. So we’re going to record ‘Country Girl,’ and I want you to hear this one too.” I pulled Ive into my arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Do I really have to go out there? It’s so much better in here,” she whispered as she tipped her head back to look up at me. Everyone laughed.
“You’ll be fine. I talked to him. He won’t be messing with you.”
Ivy waved at everyone before moving back out to sit down and watch us. Zane gave me a thumbs-up as he said something to her, and she nodded.
“I like her,” Smith said.
“I think we should keep her,” Zack piped in, and Jo barked out a laugh.
“She’s not a puppy, you morons. But yes, I think we should keep her too.”
Yeah, tell me about it.
“I’m glad you got to meet her. But she loves this town the way we love the road.” I strummed on my guitar a few times and dropped to sit on the barstool.
“I hate the road,” Zack said, and Smith agreed.
“I don’t hate it all the time, but Rayne is sick of me traveling so much. I think it’s just Zane who loves the road,” Jo said.
“All right. Let’s focus. Ready?” I asked, because we had a job to do. They’d shoot the shit all day if someone didn’t take charge. But let me say, I stored that information away for another day.
“Let’s go,” Smith shouted, giving Zane and the sound guys a thumbs-up.
“Days are long, shame has a cost. Paid ten times over for the life I lost. A father’s sin passes on, it’s true. Paying for a crime I didn’t do.” My gaze found Ivy’s through the glass, and she watched me so intently I could read her every thought. She understood these lyrics the way I did.
“The stones were thrown, the glass walls shattered. Picked up the pieces, broke and tattered.” I strummed a few times on the guitar before the beat picked up for the chorus. “Thoughts of you my only light, my country girl so full of life. A smile that could heal the devil’s heart. My country girl from the very start.”
She smiled, knowing every word was for her. When I’d performed over the last few years, I always searched the crowd for those green eyes with pops of gold. And right here, right now, I was exactly where I wanted to be.
“Different faces grace my bed. Thoughts of you still fill my head. Can’t escape no matter how hard I try. My reflection doesn’t believe the lie. You’re better off without me there. Want you back, but I don’t dare.”
Ivy cocked her head and smiled as she watched me. I belted out the chorus like I was performing for a live crowd. Because the only person I ever wanted to impress was sitting right here, right now.
Mine.
At least for the moment.
“The stones were thrown, the glass walls shattered. Picked up the pieces, broke and tattered. Thoughts of you, my only light, my country girl so full of life. A smile that could heal the devil’s heart. My country girl from the very start.” I played a few chords on my guitar. “A smile that could heal the devil’s heart. My country girl from the very start.”
Ivy was on her feet clapping and Zane studied her as if he were completely confused by her reaction.
He wasn’t used to someone being genuine. Being real. Music was supposed to move people. Speak to them. Heal them. For Zane, music was a means to an end. All leading to the almighty dollar sign. But for Ivy, this was just a love letter written to her.
She got it.
And that’s why she’d inspired every song I’d ever written.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ivy
“Marry the man who takes your breath away.” Addy, one day after Jett proposed
The next week had been a blur. I’d met with Maura and Crew to finalize a few details on their upcoming winter wedding. They’d decided to have the ceremony and the reception out on the Carlisle property, so we’d chosen the area that would work best out behind their family home. With Crew and Maura living in Dallas, we tried to meet every time they were both home so that I could get all the planning underway.