The Price of Love (Rockin' Country Book 2) (23 page)

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H
annah 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.

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