CHAPTER 29 #2
Jamie grabbed her and hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks,” Ruth said, still sounding a little dazed. “I can hardly believe it myself.” She hesitated. “It’s like he’s perfect or something. I don’t know.”
Jamie raised her brow. “Have you slept with him?”
Ruth toggled her head from side to side. “Same room, separate beds.”
“So, no sex?”
She shook her head. “No, but we’ve done other stuff.”
Jamie smirked. “So, you know what you’re dealing with?”
Ruth threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, I know exactly what I’m dealing with. Like I said, he’s perfect.”
“What are you waiting for—marriage?”
Ruth hesitated, then lowered her gaze before looking up with big green eyes. “I don’t know . . . maybe?”
Jamie narrowed her eyes. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?”
Ruth blew out a breath. “I didn’t want to bring it up here at Disneyland. But since you asked, I’d never lie to you . . . I’m moving in with him when we get back to Franklin.”
Jamie’s stomach clenched. “Are you quitting?” The thought unraveled her faster than she’d expected. Ruth had been with her nearly every day for five years—not just as an assistant, but as her best friend. This wasn’t the kind of job you could post on LinkedIn.
“No, of course not.” Ruth shook her head. “And I’ll still go on the road with you, no question. Anyway, we’re kind of homeless right now.”
Homeless . Jamie hated that word. At sixteen it had clung to her like a label she couldn’t peel off.
She didn’t have an address, just a duffel bag, a list of maybes, and the hope that someone’s couch might be free for the night.
Otherwise she’d sleep on her guitar case so no one would steal it.
It took months of tip jars and late shifts before she could afford a grimy basement apartment that smelled like mildew and loneliness.
“Have you thought about where you’ll live after the tour?” Ruth asked.
She bit her lip and said, “I guess I’ll stay at Shorty’s for now. I’ll figure it out after my exams are done.”
“Do you think you’ll come back here? To LA, I mean?”
Jamie’s answer was instant. “There’s no way in hell. ”
When they left the restroom Freddy was waiting by the entrance. Jamie gave a closed-lipped smile as they passed him, signaling that everything was fine.
“That took a while,” Freddy remarked, glancing at his dive watch, though she couldn’t picture a wetsuit big enough for him.
“I had to take a shit,” she deadpanned, which shut him up fast.
With that they plunged into the full Disneyland experience.
The day was a blur of rides, ice cream, and souvenir shopping.
The twins insisted on getting watches like Jamie’s, so she bought them each one.
She also picked up Mickey Mouse ears for everyone—even Freddy.
Of course he refused, grumbling that he’d look ridiculous, which was exactly the point.
Jamie had her own moment of magic when she posed for a picture with Mickey himself—the highlight of her year. So far, anyway.
A few fans asked for selfies and she caught a couple of people sneaking unsolicited photos, but other than that no one had bothered them. She no longer cared about the rumors linking her to Clayton. She no longer cared what Derrick thought.
By nightfall exhaustion hit them all like a brick wall. Dragging their feet they made their way to the bus, the day’s excitement finally catching up to them. Freddy called a rideshare back to LA since they were heading east and he was heading north.
As his car pulled up he turned to them with a rare, almost sentimental nod. “Thanks for a great day.” But just before he climbed in he did the unthinkable—he pulled the Mickey ears onto his head.
Jamie grinned. Mission accomplished.
With just five shows left they were officially in the home stretch. In a week the tour would end in Nashville and Jamie would be facing her HiSET exams. The thought made her stomach twist in knots.
She crammed every spare moment, taking online practice tests and letting the twins drill her with flashcards. It was ridiculous, really. She’d performed in front of millions on the Star Factor finale, but somehow this test felt more terrifying.
They had back-to-back shows in Phoenix and Albuquerque then a day off in Oklahoma—one that Ruth wouldn’t stop talking about.
She’d invited the entire band and crew to her parents’ house in Bixby for a cookout, hyping it up like the social event of the year.
More importantly, she was planning to introduce Nolan as her new boyfriend.
The Abbotts’ farm stretched across ten acres, ending at the banks of the Arkansas River. Jamie had only been there once before but the beauty of it had stayed with her—the open fields, the steady hum of cicadas, the way the river shimmered under the afternoon sun.
The house itself was modest, built in the 1930s when her great-grandparents first bought the land. It had always been a working farm, and everyone in the family had a role to play.
Everyone except Ruth.
She had left straight out of high school, following her sweetheart to California when he earned a full-ride football scholarship to USC.
After just one semester he’d blindsided her—something about the pressure of being a backup quarterback, though the truth was written all over his new cheerleader girlfriend’s socials.
With no money, no place to go, and too much pride to return home, Ruth took the first job she could find—Derrick needed an assistant and she needed a way to survive .
The buses rumbled down a long dirt road in convoy, kicking up dust behind them. The landscape was familiar: rolling hills and split-rail fences, reminiscent of the Langleys’ ranch. Up ahead the Abbotts stood waiting.
Mr. Abbott wore a short-sleeve shirt and denim overalls, while Mrs. Abbott stood beside him in a blue dress, a half-apron tied neatly around her waist. They looked like they’d stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
“That’s them!” Ruth shrieked, pointing through the windshield. “My parents!” She waved wildly, and they waved back.
As soon as Mr. Black pulled into the driveway, Gus opened the door. Ruth didn’t wait—she flew down the steps and straight into her parents’ arms.
Jamie took the twins’ hands and walked them over.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Abbott,” she said. “This is Emily, and this is Charlotte.”
“Hi, sir,” Emily said, sticking out her hand.
Mr. Abbott shook it, smiling warmly.
“Hi, ma’am,” Charlotte said, doing the same to Ruth’s mom.
Mrs. Abbott’s face lit up. “Such lovely manners,” she said approvingly before turning her attention to Jamie.
“Jamie!” she exclaimed, pulling her into a big hug. “Please, call me Sue.”
“And Levi,” Mr. Abbott added with a firm handshake. “I insist.”
Jamie nodded, then glanced over her shoulder as a familiar group approached.
“That would be the Langley boys,” she said .
Sue’s eyes widened the moment she spotted them. “Clayton Langley!” She stretched her arms wide in invitation. “I’m such a big fan. I have all your records!”
Jesus help me.
Jamie rolled her eyes at Ruth who nodded, confirming it was true.
“Howdy, ma’am.” Clayton grinned and hugged Sue. “Happy to sign whatever you’ve got.”
“Hands off my wife,” Levi joked.
Clayton chuckled and took a step back.
Sue’s gaze shifted to the man beside him. “And this must be the doctor!” She scanned him up and down, then turned to Jamie. “Just as handsome as his brother.”
Jamie coughed into her hand and Clayton nudged her boot with his.
“Nolan, ma’am.” He tipped his hat and shook Levi’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Ruth said proudly, wrapping her arm around Nolan’s.
Sue clapped her hands and pulled him in for a hug. “We’ve heard so much about you!”
“Likewise,” Nolan said. “You have a beautiful farm.”
“That would be the rest of the crew,” Jamie said, motioning toward the army of unkempt men approaching the house. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Sue waved her hand dismissively. “The more the merrier.”
“That’s what I always say,” Clayton agreed.
Everyone gathered in the backyard, where the rest of the Abbotts were waiting—Ruth’s siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. If Jamie thought the band and crew traveled in a pack, they had nothing on the Abbotts. There were just as many of them, maybe more .
But she’d overlooked one small detail: the Abbotts were teetotalers. Mormons, technically, though Ruth called them “Mormon-light”—no polygamy, no temple garments, no planets in the afterlife. Still, that meant no alcohol, coffee, or tobacco.
Jamie spotted the band and crew, fresh off finishing the last of their booze from the rider, staring at the drink options—herbal iced tea or lemonade.
The disappointment was instant. When someone asked about beer Levi Abbott just smiled and said, “We don’t drink, but the lemonade’s freshly squeezed.
” Jamie swore she saw Clayton elbow one of the guys in warning before he could complain.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
At least the food made up for it: BBQ chicken, burgers, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, fried okra, cornbread, and pecan pie for dessert. The spread could have rivaled one of Birdie’s home-cooked meals, though Jamie kept that thought to herself.
Ruth sat with her parents, showing them pictures of puppy Reba, but they were far more impressed by the photos of her and Reba McEntire. “Now you’ve hit the big time,” Sue said, squeezing her daughter’s hand.
Not to be outdone, Clayton wandered into the house and returned with an old guitar.
Within minutes he had everyone singing along to country classics and a few of his own.
Jamie sighed. Of course he found a way to steal the spotlight.
But he was patient with Ruth’s little cousins, even letting one strum the strings while he played the chords.
She couldn’t be annoyed about that. Not too much, anyway.