Chapter 4 Grady #2
She and I had met by sheer luck and total coincidence the night Cleo had rightfully called it quits. Olivia hadn’t wanted anything from me, nor I her. We became fast friends on a one-way track to something bigger than either of us anticipated.
My mom had always told me to marry my best friend, so that’s what I’d done. There was no one who knew me quite as well as she did. Not even Cleo, as much as the thought killed me. We’d been good together until we weren’t.
“Charlie said Ben needed me?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. The gold band on my ring finger suddenly felt heavy. It felt wrong wearing it here, especially when it wasn’t Cleo who’d put it there.
Olivia waved her hand. “He was looking for the setlist. I couldn’t remember where you stashed it when we were packing, but Beau found it.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “I’m so sorry, Grady. I know you were going to see her, and I swear I wasn’t trying to be a cockblock—”
I barked out a laugh. “Uh, yeah. I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem since she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Oh, no.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t great. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. I don’t even think she knew I was going to be here, Liv. It was a disaster.”
“Didn’t her dad hire you?”
“He did,” I said, rocking back on my heels. “But god knows what the fuck Doug was thinking.”
Charlie gasped, covering her mouth with her little hand. “That’s a bad word, Daddy.”
I held my hands up. “You’re right, baby girl. It is.” She laid her head back down on Olivia’s shoulder, satisfied with her scolding. “Anyway, it wasn’t great. She ended up running off before I could try and stop her.”
“How did she not know her dad hired you?” Olivia asked, running a hand up Charlie’s back.
That was the part I was trying to figure out. When Douglas Hayes had called me about playing for his birthday celebration, I’d seen this as my chance to redeem myself. That maybe she’d had a hand in the hiring and was ready to talk things out.
Apparently, it was just my delusion talking.
After Cleo and I had awkwardly run into one another a few months ago, I lingered in Ashwood, surrounded by the ghosts of my past until I stumbled into a drunken depression.
I was supposed to have stayed with my dad, but being in my childhood home brought back too many memories.
It wasn’t just Cleo, but my mom, too. I couldn’t help but realize how much I’d missed by chasing my dreams. Suddenly, I found myself wondering if it was all worth it if I didn’t have her.
After several missed calls, and my refusal to open the motel door when Dad knocked, Olivia had been forced to fly out.
I’d been locked in that room for four days by the time she’d found me.
There’d been no judgement as she surveyed the empty bottles of liquor perched on nearly every surface, or the trash littering the floor.
She’d just sat down next to me while I clung to a tattered photograph and cried.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I thought so. I thought that was why Doug had reached out, but now I’m not too sure.”
Olivia drew her lips together, rolling them tightly. It was her tell, something I’d learned early on meant she had thoughts about whatever was going on but that she wasn’t going to voice them.
“Come on, Liv. Don’t gimme that look,” I groaned, tipping my head back.
She rolled her eyes at me before bending forward to set our daughter down. “Girl, you’re getting too big!” she said, forcing a smile. “Who gave you permission to keep growing? I thought I said you weren’t allowed.”
Charlie giggled, looking down at the length of her small frame. “I gotta grow, Mommy. It’s how I’m gonna be big like you one day.”
“I know you do, baby.” Olivia crouched in front of Charlie, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Hey, why don’t you go show Uncle Ben the stuffed animal we picked up yesterday?”
My guitarist was close enough I didn’t need to grab his attention. He marched over at the sound of his name and put his hands on his hips. “You got another new toy? Mav is gonna be so jealous!”
He really wouldn’t, but none of us were going to tell Charlie that. She adored Ben’s son.
Maverick was the result of a one-night stand in Chicago ten years ago after Ben found out his wife had cheated on him. He’d had a rough go of it after that, but his son was the light of his life. It’d given him a reason to keep going when things got hard.
I can relate.
“Really?” Charlie asked, jumping up and down.
“Really, really,” Ben said with a dip of his chin. “Wanna show me what it looks like so I can tell him?”
Charlie gripped Ben’s hand and took off running in the direction of the parked vans we’d rented. Olivia and I both waited until they were gone before she spoke. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms and shifted on my feet.
She looked away, lowering her voice. “I don’t want to see you like you were before. I don’t want you to stay here and drink yourself—”
“Olivia—”
She whirled toward me, jabbing at the center of my chest. “No, you’re going to listen to me, Grady Wilde.
I won’t be here to pull you out of the dark again.
This time, Charlie will be with you. I need to know being here isn’t going to send you back to that place again.
” Her chocolate eyes watered slightly, but she wouldn’t let the tears fall. She never did.
“Liv, I won’t—”
“Promise me,” she said, meeting my gaze. “Promise me you know what you’re doing for our daughter’s sake.”
I was reaching for her the second her lip wobbled, pulling her into my chest and wrapping my arms around her. I let my chin rest on top of her head and looked out over the pasture. As much as I wanted to say those words, I couldn’t. Not yet anyway.
I wasn’t going to break another promise to a woman I loved.