Chapter 30
Dalton
“THINGS WENT OKAY then?” I ask, shifting slightly before realizing I should close the door. When I move into her space, and the door clicks closed, she takes a steadying breath and actually smiles.
“Things went better than okay, maybe even good. They’re letting Mae out of the tour for now.
” A nervous laugh escapes her, but the joy bleeds away when a phone on the table vibrates and then vibrates again.
Mae’s phone. “We won’t roll out of here for a few more hours.
” She stretches backward in her chair and nervously eyes Mae’s phone as it skitters with another notification.
Hands now rubbing anxiously against her jeans, she sighs. “Still plenty of time for things to go awry.”
Moving closer to her, I plant a hand on the back of the chair across from her. “Want to talk about it?”
She motions for me to have a seat and then flips over Mae’s phone. Scrolling down on the lock screen, I can see that there have been several missed calls and many texts from Trenton in the last few minutes.
He knows.
Not wanting to invade Mae’s privacy, I reach across and gently lower the phone to the table. “Is that, uh”—I clear my throat—“gonna be a problem?”
Green eyes flick up to meet my gaze through thick eyelashes. She gives me one curt nod. “The show tonight is still on as planned for Trenton and his team. I’m afraid he still thinks there’s a chance he can talk her into staying on.”
“Didn’t Theresa and the rest of them go to pack things up?” I ask, clasping my hands in front of me.
“He doesn’t care about the rest of them. He just wants her, and unfortunately, despite Mae’s reassurance to me that she’s done with him…”
“You think he could still persuade her?”
Raleigh smiles sadly. “It’s just the pattern.” A pattern she’s seen time and time again.
Wheels spin in my head as I run through the potential run-ins with Trenton and his team today. An impending annoyance. “Isn’t Trenton staying in this hotel?”
Raleigh lifts a hand and begins inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. “Mitch informed me that he didn’t return last night.” Shifting her attention, she then turns to her watch. “I expect he’ll be here shortly.”
“What can I do?” I ask with a sigh.
“If I’m here when he shows up, I might actually kill him.” She shifts again, clearly ready to remove herself from the situation. “I think it’d be better for everyone if you were the one here to handle it.”
Of course it would be. It’s my job. “You want me to stay here and keep an eye on everything?”
Raleigh nods and quickly grabs her bag. “I have a conference call to take, and frankly, I just need a breather.”
She stands to leave, and I absentmindedly rise to greet her. She huffs and raises her shoulders in a gesture to the universe that suggests she’s come to terms with today’s challenges.
Without thinking much of it, I pull her into a hug and she just as easily melts into me. “You have my permission to rough him up a bit if tries anything.”
Any other day, I’d think she was joking, but not right now. Not with the bite in her tone and the way she’s latched onto my shoulders.
Her watch starts to beep in alarm before I sneak a kiss on her forehead. She’s slipped away from me and out the door before I can reassure her.
***
Not long after Raleigh retreated to God knows where for her call, Mae and Theresa reappear from across the hall and dive head first into an impromptu writing session.
The two are throwing around lyrics about the good ole’ boys club and corporate ladders.
I notice that lyrics and melodies that would allude to a breakup are absent, but I don’t comment on it.
Mae hasn’t touched her phone since she arrived, but every time it vibrates, I see her flinch. I think all three of us know the moment of confrontation is coming, it’s just a matter of when. Mitch and two others are downstairs, but there’s no guarantee we’ll get much of a warning.
“What if we did this with the melody?” Theresa asks, taking her second favorite instrument into her arms. The edginess of the banjo dominates the room as Theresa plays through the forming chorus. It’s enough to get my head bobbing and my attention off of the dread pooling in my stomach.
The bliss is short lived because, just as Raleigh anticipated, Trenton’s voice can be heard down the hall. Only a few seconds later, he’s banging on the door and demanding for Mae to face him.
My earpiece buzzes to life with Mitch’s voice, though I can hear him outside trying to calm Trenton down.
Looking at the girls on the couch, I pray that either of them will give me an order. Mae already has tears in her eyes, but she manages to give me a command through a wobbling lip. “Please tell him to leave. I don’t want to see him.”
Realizing that the moment is here, I roll my shoulders and glide to the door. Every ounce of my training, as well as every experience I’ve had with Trenton in the past, is about to come into play.
Immediately, Trenton attempts to push one of his boots past me. Thankfully, I take up most of the doorway already so it doesn’t take much of an adjustment to effectively block his view of Mae on the other side.
“Sorry, Dalton,” Mitch starts. He has a hand on Trenton’s collar, and the country star is fuming. There’s no point in getting Mitch involved, so I wave him away. As soon as Mitch steps back, Trenton thinks he’s about to take me on.
“She made me a promise about this tour!” he demands, as if that fact would ever get me to step aside. “Come on, Dalton. You’re out of this job, now, too.”
I roll my eyes and attempt to deescalate the situation. “You get to keep touring.”
There’s not a hint of a change in the fury of Trenton’s face.
“We’re just taking a little break.” When Trenton rises to step onto his tip toes to look into the room again, I take a big step toward him and close the door behind me. “Hey, eyes on me.”
Now I’ve really pissed him off. He throws a finger into my face. “She made a promise to me.”
Without thinking my eyes flick to his finger where a wedding ring so easily could have been. Who knows how many other women have held that hand in the past few months. Who knows where that hand was last night. “I think you made promises, too.”
The loser laughs. He actually laughs. “Guess neither of us can keep a promise.”
“It’s time to go,” Mitch says, sensing the rising tensions. Trenton merely shrugs off the attempt.
“You both signed contracts, too…made promises.” He narrows his eyes at me and smirks. “Was sleeping with Raleigh on that contract?”
Any semi enjoyment I was getting from watching him squirm is gone in a heartbeat. Before I know what I’m doing, he’s across the hall and pinned up against the opposite wall.
“Hey! Dalton!” Mitch is already at my back trying to pull my arm away from Trenton, but I will not be budged.
It’s my turn to put a finger in his face. “I see you here again with ill intent and we’ll have big issues.”
“I’ll press charges," Trenton seethes, pushing me away from him. I let him create that separation because if I didn’t, it’s unlikely I’d let him go without inflicting some sort of damage.
“I’m prepared for the consequences. Are you?” I step toward him again, my fists itching to just get one good hit on him. “I could make it so your face could never be used on an album cover again.”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Mitch roars, stepping between us.
Realizing his defeat, Trenton leaves me with an empty threat.
If he were to ever tattle on me, the whole history of his abuse with Mae would get investigated too.
The label wouldn’t like that too much. Still, an unhinged man feeling like he was wronged is enough for me to let out a shaky breath as he disappears on the elevator.
With the threat gone, the adrenaline falls. As the high crashes, I recall my behavior in the heat of the moment. Leaning back against the wall, I gently lower to the cushioned carpet floor and let the anger wash from me.
“You didn’t hurt him too bad, did you?” Glancing up, I find the door to Mae’s suite partially opened with the wide-eyed woman peering out at me.
“No. I don’t think I hurt him at all.”
I’m not sure why she voices her next statement outloud, but I appreciate that she trusts me enough to do so. “I don’t think I should go back to him this time.”
“No, I don’t think you can, Mae.”
She nods before her hand slides down the door in defeat.
“Are you going to be okay? Should I call Raleigh for you?”
She glances over her shoulder where I hope Theresa is ready to catch her if she falls. “No, don’t bother her. I’ve got my guitar; I’ll be alright.”
With that, the door closes, and I’m left out in the hallway again. I don’t know how long it takes for me to be brave enough to text Raleigh about my shortcomings.
Dalton: I may have roughed him up.
She answers almost immediately.
Raleigh: I already heard…
Raleigh: I was hoping you’d done worse than a little verbal threat.
Raleigh: But I appreciate you not throwing any punches because having me be the one bailing you out of jail would have been really embarrassing for you and I’m finally starting to like you.
Dalton: I didn’t mess anything up, did I?
Raleigh: NO! Everything’s as it was this morning. All coming home to Nashville for a needed break. I have more to tell you, but it’s better in person. Just make sure Mae’s okay and I’ll see you soon!
I let Raleigh’s promise of a future reunion sink in before returning to my feet and finding my place next to Mae’s door once again.