Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers 2) (23 page)

“So, what happened?” I ask gently.

Paige takes a ragged breath and
then speaks. “She had been doing fine until yesterday. My mom went to see her
in the afternoon, and she said Grandma looked really bad and was lethargic. The
doctors said that she was just having a tough day. Then my mom got a call just
after two in the morning saying that Grandma had suffered another stroke.” She
lets out a little sob. “She was already gone by the time the on call doctor
made it to her room.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” I reach out
and take her hand. She squeezes it and sobs again.

“I just wasn’t expecting this,” she
cries, “I thought she had been getting better, even though I knew she was never
going to be the same.”

“I know, Paige. I’m sorry.”

“Once we get up there, my mom and I
will make arrangements. Thank you for coming with me.”

We don’t talk anymore, and Paige
nods off a few times during the drive. Traffic is light and we make it to her
mother’s house in less than three hours. Marybeth is at the door waiting for
us, and she envelops Paige in a hug. They go into the house, and I quietly
bring our bags inside, sitting down at the kitchen table to give them some time
together.

Marybeth comes into the kitchen to
put on a pot of coffee, and she gives me a hug.

“Thank you for being here,” she
murmurs.

“Of course. I’m so sorry for your
loss. Please, just tell me what I can do to help.”

“I will. I’m going to call the
funeral home this morning, and I need to run by my mother’s house and retrieve
her will and other documents.” Her eyes are red and puffy and it’s clear that
she’s been crying all night. “Why don’t you come in the living room and sit
down with us?”

I help her carry in the cups of
coffee and I sit next to Paige, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. The
Christmas tree in the corner seems out of place with so much palpable sadness
in the room.

“Momma, just tell us what we can do
while we’re up here.” Paige says as she sips her coffee.

“I was just telling Blake that I’ll
need to take care of a few things like getting Grandma’s will and contacting
the funeral home.” She takes a deep breath, trying to hold her composure. “I
know you both are due back on tour next week, and I don’t want to drag this out
anyway. We’ll try to make the arrangements in a few days time.”

Paige starts to cry again and
Marybeth reaches over and takes her hand. “Sweetie, I am just as sad as you
are. But let’s remember that Grandma had a long, good life. Until a month ago,
she was as healthy as a horse. As sad as we are, we have to remember that she’s
not in pain anymore and that she had a happy life.”

“You’re right.” Paige’s voice
cracks. “She had a good life.”

We finish our coffee, and Paige and
Marybeth seem to be lost in their own thoughts. After Marybeth drains her mug,
she puts it down and sighs. “Alright. As difficult as this is going to be, we
need to get started.”

Five Months Later

“Daddy, I’m heading out!” I call,
as I sling my bag over my shoulder. My father comes around the corner, holding
a glass of some funky looking green juice and gives me a hug.

“Alright, sweetheart. We’ll see you
later tonight at the rehearsal dinner.” He gives me a sad little smile. “I
can’t believe you don’t live here anymore.”

I hug him back. “I won’t be living
far, Daddy. It’s only twenty minutes. And besides,” I say flashing him a grin, “you’ve
got Daisy here to keep you company.”

“I know, but it’s not the same as having
my little girl.”

I kiss him on the cheek. “See you
at six!”

I get into my car and start heading
over to the house in Belle Meade that Blake and I are about to share in just
two weeks time. I quickly call Blake on my cell, and it starts ringing through
my car’s stereo system.

“Hey baby,” he says happily when he
answers.

“Hey yourself! I have one last bag
of stuff that I’m taking over to the house now. Do you need anything else from
over there?”

“Nah, I think I’m good.” He says.

“Alright, Mr. Evans. I’ll see you
later this afternoon then.”

“Alright, soon-to-be Mrs. Evans.”

I laugh and then hang up the phone.

I flip through the radio as I
drive, and I hear one of my songs playing. I still can’t get over the fact that
my music is always playing on the country stations. Since we wrapped up our
tour at the end of January, our lives have been a whirlwind. We'd traveled all
over the country continuing to promote our music, not to mention adjusting to
our newfound fame. I had diligently been planning our wedding, and we had spent
the past six weeks busting our tails off to get our new home ready for when we
returned from our honeymoon.

It has been a spring filled with
happiness, and that has done wonders in helping me cope with the loss of my
grandma, which was the one dark blemish among all our joy.

I smile now as I think of Grandma,
and I pull up to our new home’s gate and enter the code. I drive my car up the
sloping driveway which is lined by lush trees and I’m amazed all over again as
my new home comes into view. I don’t know if this feeling will ever wear off. I
pull up to the front of the house and park the car. I unload my bag, grab my
keys and let myself in.

I take a deep breath and smile. The
house still smells of fresh paint and I take a long look around as I admire the
house we lovingly decorated together. I’m tempted just to walk slowly through
the house, marveling at each room, but I’m on a tight schedule today, and I
need to get back into town to pick up my mother.

I climb the winding staircase that
leads upstairs, and I walk into our master bedroom. The soothing blue tones of
the room calm my soul and before I can make my way into our large bathroom, I
see a beautifully wrapped package lying on the bed.

“Blake!” I say to myself, skipping
over to the bed. I sit down and carefully pick up the heavy card lying next to
the package. The card looks hand pressed and it’s made from thick paper.

Baby,

Tomorrow you are going to make
me the happiest man in the world. I love the life we have created together and
I love you.

Always and forever,

Blake xoxo

He is so thoughtful! I place the
card down and gingerly open the package. I pull out a gorgeous looking
hand-dyed silk caftan.

“Oh my goodness,” I murmur to
myself. This is going to look amazing while we are on our honeymoon. I rub the
luxurious material against my cheek and squeal with excitement.

Knowing that I don’t have time to
linger, I quickly pack the gift up and go to put my toiletries in our bathroom.
Taking the package with me, I make my way out of our house, taking one last
look before I pull the door closed. It will be two weeks before I step foot
back inside.

Throwing the package in the back of
my car, along with my other bags for the day, I hurry back out of Belle Meade
and make my way towards my mother’s house.

I have to admit that I have been
thoroughly spoiled since my mother moved to Nashville two months ago. After my
grandma died, my momma and I talked in length about her moving back to
Nashville. We both knew that I would never return to Bristol, and momma had
enjoyed living in Nashville while she had attended a boarding school and while she
was married to my daddy.

And not only would a move to
Nashville mean that momma and I would be living in the same city, but she would
also be closer to her new boyfriend Jackson. I was so thrilled when Momma put
her house up for sale and began looking for a new job. Her house sold first,
and then a few weeks later, she found a great job. While she and Jackson
weren’t quite ready to move in together, they were doing great, and Momma had
the cutest little town home I’d ever seen.

I pull my car up outside Momma’s
house and I see her peek out the window, before the door opens and she comes
hurrying out. We’re spending the afternoon at the spa before we head over to
the rehearsal and dinner. Being famous now does have its perks, and Momma and I
are going to be getting the royal treatment at Nashville’s premiere spa, La
Mer.

“Oh my lord! I can’t believe you’re
getting married tomorrow!” my mother cries as she gets in the car.

I laugh. “Hey momma,” I say,
leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

“Oh, sweetie! I am just so darn
happy for you!”

We make our way towards the spa in
town, talking excitedly about the wedding. One annoying part of the planning
was taking into account the paparazzi that would be trying to get shots of
Blake and I. We were doing what we could to minimize disruptions and hopefully
that would pay off.

I'd settled on a beautiful old
mansion just outside of town called Cedarwood. It has gorgeous rolling lawns,
idyllic trees, and colorful gardens, perfect for all our pictures. It also has that
southern charm that I love about Nashville. The weather is looking beautiful
for tomorrow, so we're planning on having the ceremony outside under the trees.
The reception will move inside to the mansion, with some of the overflow
spilling out onto the large patio.

“You’re going to make such a
beautiful bride,” my momma says, tearing up.

“Momma! No tears! Come on! We’re
about to spend the afternoon getting pampered at the spa! I’m not about to
cry.”

She laughs, wiping at her tears.

We pull up to the spa, and I take
advantage of the valet parking. The spa is expecting us, and we’re ushered
inside and shown upstairs to the quiet and more private area.

“We are so excited to have you
here, Ms. Lawson!” the owner, Bridgette exclaims.

“Well, thank you!” I say. We start
off with a light lunch in their spa dining room, and then we spend a half hour
in their aromatherapy pools. Afterwards, my mother and I are each led to
private rooms for our massages, full-body scrubs and facials.

Nearly three hours later, we
emerge, each of us grinning in that foolish sort of way when you’re so
completely relaxed that it should be illegal. We sink down into two comfy
chairs in a tranquil waiting room and sip cool water with cucumber slices.

“That was heavenly,” my mother
sighs, running her hand along her plush, white bathrobe.

“Oh my gosh, I know. I need to come
back here more often.”

After relaxing for a bit, we’re led
to the private upstairs salon, where we each have our hair washed and blown
out, are given manicures and pedicures, and then finally have our makeup
applied.

“Well, that’s it,” I declare, “I
have never felt so pampered before!”

Bridgette, who is checking on us,
beams. “I’m so glad to hear it!”

An assistant hurries in with our
garment bags, and my mother and I step into a dressing room where we can
change. I glance at my phone and see that we have only forty minutes until the
rehearsal is to begin at Cedarwood.

“Oh boy,” I whisper, “we need to
hurry.”

I pull my dress on and zip it, then
slip my feet into my heels. I take a quick look in the mirror and my mother
comes up behind me, smiling.

“Beautiful,” she breathes.

I’ve chosen a royal blue tea-length
dress, and the color gives the retro dress more of a modern feel. There’s a
sheer panel at the top of the dress, which incorporates the sleeves. The
stylist left my hair simple and only curled it down my back.

My mother looks stunning in a
simple black and white dress that hugs her curves just enough to show off her
trim figure without being too much.

“Alright, Momma. I think we’re
ready. We need to head out of here.”

We thank everyone for their help
and I promise to come back for more services in the future. La Mer is just the
kind of place I should visit when I’m feeling stressed out and overworked. I
sure could have used one of their massages when I was busting my butt back in
the fall.

We get back in the car and make our
way out to Cedarwood. We have a short rehearsal there and then our rehearsal
dinner will be about ten minutes away at a beautiful home generously offered to
us by one of Daddy’s clients. Not only is the home beautiful and situated on a
private lake, but there's also more than enough room for our twenty guests and
the grounds are completely secure. The client, a successful bluegrass singer,
happens to be on vacation all month so we won’t be interfering at all.

We arrive at Cedarwood, and I see a
few people from our wedding party milling around. While we have nearly 150
guests, I'd kept the wedding party small. Of course, I also don’t have many
friends, so that worked perfectly for me anyway. I actually had made a few new friends
over the past months, but I didn’t feel right asking people to be in my wedding
as soon as we were becoming friends. I asked Jami and Becky to be my
bridesmaids, and that worked out well because Blake is sticking with Ben and
Ryan. Even though they're band mates, they are also like brothers and I know
Blake is closer to those guys than any of his other friends.