Outlaw Country (19 page)

Colton thought about Kitt often. He’d think about his brother as he lay away in the early morning hours. Thinking about the fight and the accidental punch that very well could’ve ended their relationship, Colton deeply regretted his actions and cursed his temper. It had been the anchor holding him back for years, but it had never cost him a member of his band, or worse, his brother.

It wasn’t all bad, though. As much as Colton hurt, all he had to do was rolled to one side and lay his arm over the soft, smooth skin of his sleeping angel, and the world’s problems didn’t seem to crush down on him nearly as hard. With Gracie by his side, Colton felt like something he had only pretended to feel before; he felt like a man.

His heartbeat slowed as his breaths matched Gracie’s. When he pressed his body against hers in the night, she let out a breathy and dreamy sigh that twisted his soul. Before Gracie, Colton fought sleep with everything he had. Just before dozing off, an idea or title would come to him, instantly springing him wide awake. He’d lived with the belief that if he didn’t strike while the iron was hot, he’d wake up with the idea lost in the ether.
 

After just a few nights sleeping beside Gracie, Colton woke feeling rested, fresh, and his mind ablaze with ideas. Between the two of them, they had come into the studio with seven songs, but each day, Colton and Gracie would bring in fresh songs. Some had written independently, others they had written together while lying in each other’s arms.

Some of the songs were sappy and raw, sure, but between the two of them, the lyrics were polished up beautifully. After a simple backing track was recorded, the Guilty Party and Gracie’s touring band would all add their own special musical colors. Egos were set aside, everyone serving the songs as best they could.
 

If a piano part that Alabama Voorhees played didn’t work, Gracie’s player got a call. If her bass player couldn’t quite find the groove, Lee came in and give it a shot. Gracie even added a touch of mandolin after Colton gave her a quick rundown on the tuning and chord fingerings. Kathleen watched it all from the engineer booth, wrestling with her own feelings. Gracie was happy, anybody could see it. Kathleen
would
be happy for her in due time, it was just going to take some getting used to.

She couldn’t judge, though. Kathleen and Roger had grown too close to keep their own secret. The two found a youthful vigor that they both thought was gone forever. On more than one occasion, the managers were nowhere to be found. Hand-in-hand, Roger and Kathleen climbed the rolling, wooded hills behind the studio. As soon as they thought they were out of earshot, Roger would lay down a blanket he had grabbed, and the two of them would make primal love on the forest floor.

Gracie wasn’t too wrapped up in Colton to notice that her mother had finally found a good man. After hearing her mother talk about men as if they were all the devil, she smiled at the thought of her mother finding a partner who understood and care for her. Gracie wanted her mother to be happy as much as Kathleen wanted the same thing for her daughter. In the two week stint at the Gatlinburg studio, Gracie was under the impression that both of the Hart women had found happiness at last.

“I don’t say this lightly. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I’ve enjoyed coming in the studio this much.” The Brit had a wide smile on his face and his arm around Colton. The control room was crowded between members of Gracie’s touring band and The Guilty Party. “This is going to be an absolute stunner.”

Over those two weeks, musicians have come and gone as the album came together. It had turned into a labor of love between Colton, Gracie, and Jonathan Tillman. As he kept repeating, “This is the sound that country has been waiting for.”

Gracie brought seven new songs in with her, mostly about heartache tinged with a fire that her previous songs have been missing. Colton’s tunes delved deeper into himself than ever before. Before Gracie, Colton could write about country girls in tight jeans or bar fights that ended in drunk tank overnights. For the first time in his career, though, he was looking at what it meant to be a man.

 
Just a few days into their studio time, Tillman had become one of them. His British accent might as well have been Appalachian. After twelve hours in the studio, he would send them home with albums. For Colton, Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love. For Gracie, Loretta Lynn’s Greatest Hits. He was softening Colton while hardening Gracie at the same time. “Let’s show the world just how strong the two of you can be when you switch roles.”

One musician had been absent for the entire studio run. Kitt Wade hadn’t spoken to his brother, Roger, or anyone in the band since the bar fight. Colton knew that both brothers would need a few days to cool off, but when Kitt never showed, he began to worry. His older brother had fallen off the wagon before over lesser things.

Colton knew he should be out there looking for Kitt, but something big stopped him. He thought at first that it was pride. There was magic happening in the studio, and Colton firmly believed that artistic magic could disappear without warning at any moment. It was selfish to stay in the studio while Kitt was on his own, but Colton was so close to knowing the power and money that came with a hit record. Besides, that’s what he had Roger for.

 
Before Kathleen, Roger would’ve scoured every inch of the country looking for Kitt. He would have moved heaven and earth because he knew how important Kitt was to his younger brother. Colton may have been the star, but Kitt was the keystone that held everything together. One hell of a lead guitar player, Colton’s older brother could channel any of the greats. He was Scotty Moore, James Burton, Vince Gill, and a hundred other players when he wanted to be. He never wanted to be in the spotlight, but Colton often shoved him to the front of the stage during extended jams. Kitt was Roger’s other son, but that was before Kathleen.

Ever since the kiss, Roger’s focus began to blur. He had lived his life for the music business for so long that he forgot what it meant to really live. Kathleen was just about the same, and it was so easy for each of them to see it. They had both been pushing with everything they had. The results were massive, staring them in the face, but the consequences were just as big.

Roger had celebrated his forty-fifth birthday on the road, spent with musicians mostly half his age. He drank too much, smoked too much, and exercised too little. He hadn’t been to the doctor in four years, and the dentist in almost twice as long. The highs had been enough to keep him happy, but when the woes came, they came hard. His modest house outside of Bowling Green was paid for, but he couldn’t even remember what color he had painted the bedroom. The neighborhood boy that had kept up the lawn while he was away wasn’t a boy anymore. He was starting his freshman year of college.

The time passed far too quickly as all well-spent time does. Twenty-three songs have been recorded over two weeks. Once again, Jonathan raised his hands to God and promised that any overdubs he would add be minimal. “I hear a string section on one or two of these, but that’s it. And, Kate, I’ll send them to you before I start mastering anything. Do we have a deal, love?”

As a true sign that Kathleen was warming up and climbing from behind her tall wall of defenses, she allowed the Brit to call her by a nickname that only her ex had used. She beamed. “You got a deal.”
 

Jonathan looked to Colton’s manager, his voice lowering and the cheer running like watercolors in the rain. “Roger, I can hold off for a week, but at some point or another, I’ll be needing that lead guitar work.”

He nodded, the smile falling from his face. Two weeks, and not a word from Kitt. Colton’s older brother was the elephant in the room. Everyone was concerned, but no one wanted to bring him up. There was a vibe as fragile as the first layer of ice on a winter lake, and not one single member of the session was going to be responsible for killing the magic.

Kevin knew Kitt better than anyone besides Colton, but even that was up for debate. Kitt and Kevin just clicked from the moment that the two met. Even more than their instant friendship, the two had a way of playing that was absolutely magnetic. Kevin’s steel guitar playing sang, and Kitt’s lead guitar screamed, but the two together made buttery smooth harmonies. The two players could read each other better than old jazz compatriots. Offstage, Kevin and Kitt listened to the classics and talked about everything from history to car restoration.

He knew that Kitt was strong, but Kevin knew that drugs, heroin especially, could beat even the strongest of men. Nobody asked Colton about his scrapes and bruises when recording started. It wasn’t that out of character for him to have a few bar brawl trophies, but when Kitt never showed, Kevin got the idea that the brothers had it out. Kevin had two brothers of his own, so he knew how easy it was for siblings to snap on each other. Kevin and his brothers always managed to make up, but there wasn’t the pressure of drug abuse or rock stardom hanging over the McCallister clan.

 
Of course Kitt hadn’t answered his phone or respond to any of Kevin’s texts. If he didn’t need the money so badly, Kevin would have been out looking for Kitt himself. Part of him resented Colton for not shutting things down, but Colton was at the mercy of the record company. They all were. Kevin could only hope that Kitt hadn’t fallen, and if he did, he prayed that Kitt would land on his feet.

“Tell me it’s not been two weeks already. Colton, I've never felt anything like this. I don't just mean the recording, either.” Gracie and Colton walked through the brush behind the studio. It was just far enough away from the world that Gracie and Colton could feel like private people for a short time. And almost chilly wind meandered between the trees, and the scent of fresh earth rose from beneath them.

He couldn't contain a laugh. “I know you don't just mean just the recording. Although, god damn, once this thing drops, I might finally be able to afford a place on my own.”

Gracie stopped. She turned Colton towards her. “Honey, when this album goes live, you are going to have way more than money. This record is going to make you a superstar.” She beamed, her bright eyes sparkling in front of her lover.