Chapter Ten
C hristine ate a spoonful of delicious soup made with shredded chicken, Spanish rice, avocado, and tomatoes. She and Julianna were at their favorite Mexican restaurant. The waiter was unabashedly appraising Julianna, who didn’t even notice.
“How are you holding up?” Julianna asked.
“Not well, honestly. I went to the doctor and got some Xanax. Every noise freaks me out. The neighbor’s cat jumped from their deck to mine last night, and I nearly came out of my skin.”
“I’m so sorry. There’s got to be something more we can do.”
“Not until we find out who’s stalking me.” Christine’s phone rang and she put her finger up to motion for Julianna to hold her thought.
“Hello, Austin. What’s up?”
Julianna mouthed, “Speakerphone.”
Christine shook her head but then figured she had nothing to hide and hit the SPEAKER button.
“We’re taking this shit international. We’re going to Canada.”
“That’s barely international. You can drive there,” Christine said.
“Not so. We need passports. That means it’s in-ter-na-tio-nal.”
“Fair enough. When is this world tour?” Christine asked, the sarcasm sneaking out of her voice.
“Don’t be a hater, Chrissy. It’s in January, and I want you to go with me.”
Julianna put her hand over her mouth. Christine could tell she was chuckling by the shaking of her body. Christine waved her off but was smiling herself.
“You know I love being on the road with you and the guys, but it sounds bitter cold,” Christine said.
“It will be. But if I have to be gone for almost two weeks, I want one person there who has the guts to call me an ass when I’m acting like one.”
“Two weeks? I can’t take two weeks off work. That’s all the vacation I get for the whole year, and I prefer to spend it under a palm tree somewhere.”
“I already called your boss and promised him you’d get first shot at pitching me music. He’s banking on a hit coming out of this trip and some serious cha-ching for his company. He said yes, and you don’t have to take vacay days.”
“You shouldn’t have done that without talking to me,” Christine said.
“Nope, I shouldn’t have. But I did. Niagara Falls, here we come.”
“Austin, are you forgetting I have a stalker intent on harming me? Or at the very least scaring me. Going to Canada is a horrible idea.”
“Your stalker is in America. In fact, appears to be in Nashville. I bet Canada is the safest place for you. Hell, I bet you’re safer in Canada than you’ve been since you met me.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as an odd thing to have to say?”
“Yeah, a damn pitiful thing to have to say. But I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you’d be safe. I can count on you, right?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And I’ll take that as a yes.” He disconnected the call.
Christine sat staring at her phone until Julianna cleared her throat.
“I hate to be cold,” Christine said.
“I know you do,” Julianna said, a smile creeping onto her face.
“I don’t want to go.”
“I know you don’t.”
“But I probably will.”
“You most definitely will,” Julianna said.
“But I don’t want to,” Christine repeated.
“But. You. Will.”
“But I will.” Christine plunked her head down on the table.
“Look at the bright side. Matt will be there,” Julianna said, causing Christine’s head to snap back up.
“He has a girlfriend,” Christine said.
“Yes, but he hasn’t put a ring on it.”
“Which doesn’t make it right for me to make a play for him,” Christine said, slamming down her spoon.
“All right, all right. But, Christine, you’ve fallen hard for him. And you think he’s the one for you. At least give some thought to letting him know how you feel.”
“Argh. Enough. I can’t think about this right now. It’s making my head hurt. Change the subject.”
“If Austin’s still with Phoebe when you leave for Canada, her head will go into a tailspin.”
“And that scares me a bit.”
“It’s not her.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Christine. It’s not her,” Julianna said.
They paid their bill, left the restaurant, and got into their cars.
“Canada. In winter. You’ve got to be kidding me,” Christine said, pounding her steering wheel before putting her car in drive and heading out.
Christine went home, thankful not to find any nasty notes on her door.
She made a cup of tea and sat on her couch, staring out the deck doors.
She wanted to sit on the deck, but being outside made her vulnerable.
Anybody could see her. Looking at the outdoors would have to suffice for now.
Even though she lived in an apartment complex, there was a tree line across the parking lot, and she enjoyed how pretty it was in the evenings.
Fall in Nashville could go either way, weather-wise.
It could be sunny and hovering in the seventies.
Or, it could be ugly, near freezing, and rainy. So far this year, it had been warm.
Christine enjoyed a quiet Friday night, choosing to stay in, watch a movie, read a book, take a bath, and pamper herself.
The hoopla of awards week was behind her and all of Nashville was slowing down, preparing for the winter break.
When her phone rang at five o’clock in the morning, she dreaded what it meant.
It was either her parents calling with horrible news or Austin calling with some dilemma.
She bet on it being Austin. She looked at the caller ID and said, “Damn, wish I’d laid money on it. ”
She picked up the phone. “Austin, it’s five in the morning.”
“I know, but I need help.”
“Are you drunk in some chick’s apartment?” she asked.
“I am not. I’m stuck in Cookeville, and the bus left without me.”
“I thought you were finished touring. It’s almost Thanksgiving. Who tours this close to the holidays?” she said, turning on the light and shaking off sleep.
“We had a radio show last night in Roanoke and the bus rolled out at some crazy hour of the morning. The driver stopped at an all-night Walmart, and it woke me up. I decided to go in and get some snacks.”
“And he left you? Didn’t you leave the paper towels on his seat?”
“I did. It’s not our regular driver. I guess nobody told him what the paper towels mean,” Austin said.
“So, call him, or Matt, or one of the band guys.”
“Oh, duh. Why didn’t I think of that? Give me some credit for having a brain. I called them all. Except the bus driver. I forgot to get his number. Nobody is answering.”
“How long have you been there?”
“About an hour. Those guys will arrive in Nashville and sleep on the bus until ten. They tied one on last night. It’ll be hours before they realize they left me. You have to come get me.”
“Call Phoebe. She’s your girlfriend.”
“Eh. I’d rather you come and get me,” he said.
“Why?”
“That’s a long time in the car with her.”
“You’re sleeping with her, for God’s sake.”
“True dat. And if we could have sex the whole way back from Cookeville, she’d be my first phone call. But we can’t. I mean, we could, but it wouldn’t be safe. Please, Chrissy. Come get me.”
“Austin . . .”
“Chrissy . . .”
“Fine. Text me the address.”
“Thank you.”
Christine pushed the END button on her phone, turned the radio on, and started singing. Despite being in the music industry, Christine couldn’t sing.
At all.
But alone in her apartment, she didn’t care, so she sang at the top of her lungs.
“Chrissy!” Austin yelled. “Chrissy!”
Christine looked at her phone and saw it was still connected. “Austin?”
“Your phone didn’t hang up. Nice Miranda song, by the way. See you soon.”
Christine was horrified. He’d heard her sing? She made sure the phone hung up this time.
She padded into the kitchen, grabbed a mug, poured in some water and a tea bag, and popped it into the microwave.
She chided herself. “What the heck, Christine? You could’ve said, ‘No, I’m not driving out there on a Saturday morning.
’ ‘No’ is a word, and you’re allowed to use it. Even dogs understand the word ‘no.’”
She put on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a ball cap. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, grabbed her purse and tea, and got in her car.
“Half a tank of gas. He’s filling it up.”
It was a pretty drive, despite the fact she was heading east and the sun was in her eyes.
Here she was on yet another crazy excursion, compliments of Austin.
She wondered what the last five months would have been like if she hadn’t met him.
She wouldn’t have a stalker, for sure. But she also wouldn’t have had the adventures of a lifetime.
She’d still be holed up at work and in her apartment, afraid to open herself to a guy.
It was good to start with Austin. It wasn’t romantic, but it was intimate.
In a different way. She recognized it as a step toward healing and not seeing every man as a potential threat.
Her GPS took her directly to Walmart, and at seven o’clock, she found Austin sitting outside the store. He was playing guitar and singing for about fifty people. She smiled.
When he saw her, a lopsided grin spread across his face. He finished his song and posed for about thirty selfies before sauntering to her car. “Thanks for coming.” He opened the back door, threw in his guitar, and jumped in the passenger seat, then leaned over to hug her.
“You got off the bus with your guitar?”
“Huh? No. I got bored and bought a cheap one in there. I had a song idea I wanted to get down. But then people started showing up and recognized me, so I did a little impromptu concert. Ya never know when you’re going to make a fan. Don’t ever blow an opportunity.”
“Do you have a degree in marketing or something?”
“And what if I do?” he said, looking directly at her.
“Seriously?”
“Never underestimate me, my friend. I studied marketing for two years before I was offered a publishing deal and left school. I can always go back and get my degree. And I probably will. But, hey, seriously, thanks for coming to get me. I called every one of those jerks and they either ignored it, slept through it, or had their phones turned off. I’d have sat there for hours. ”