Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SCARLETT
“ I ’m so impressed with your progress,” Gretchen says to Dad just a few days later after a particularly grueling physical therapy session. “In my professional opinion, my work here is done.”
“Really?” I ask, my voice full of hope and excitement.
“Really.” Gretchen smiles at Dad and then gives him a big hug. “You’ve done a great job with your exercises, and frankly, you’ve recovered incredibly well. Keep up the good work. And if you ever have questions or concerns, I’m only a phone call away. As soon as I get back to the office, I’ll let your doctor know that I’m releasing you.”
“Thank you,” Dad says, patting Gretchen’s back. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Oh, I know,” Gretchen says with a sassy wink. “I’d better get going. Be sure to follow up with your doctor, and let me know if you need anything.”
She waves before walking out of the house, and I wrap my arms around Dad’s middle, holding on tightly, so relieved that he’s going to be okay.
“I’m so proud of you,” I say against his chest. He smells the same as he has since I was a little girl, of Old Spice. “You knocked it out of the park.”
“Being an overachiever runs in the family,” he says with a laugh. “It feels good to be pretty much back to normal. I’ll keep a cane nearby for when I’m tired, but I’m feeling fantastic. In fact, you don’t need to babysit me all the time anymore. I got rid of those damn rugs in the kitchen, and you heard Gretchen. I’m fine.”
I frown and follow him into the kitchen where we each grab a bottle of water out of the fridge and then walk outside. Summer is quickly approaching, along with long, hot days. But today is pleasant with a cool breeze.
“You know I worry about you.”
“And I appreciate it, honey. But maybe it’s time for you to start thinking about going back to your normal routine.”
I take a sip of water, thinking it over. I miss the music and my friends in Nashville. My routine.
But if I go back to what I know in Tennessee, I won’t have Tucker.
And that just seems out of the question.
“You went and fell in love with him, didn’t you?” Dad asks with a satisfied smile on his lips.
“I did,” I admit softly, looking across the yards to Tucker’s house. He should be getting home from work anytime. Chloe went to Jenny’s house again. It seems the two girls have become inseparable. “And I’m stupid.”
“I didn’t raise a stupid girl.”
I sigh and shift my gaze to my father. Lexi looks just like him, with her brown hair and blue eyes. I get my darker features from our mother. I wonder if looking at me for all these years has been bittersweet for my dad.
“A relationship with Tucker seems impossible,” I say. “He’s here, and my career takes me everywhere. ”
“You’ll work it out,” Dad says with confidence, and before I can ask him how he thinks that’s possible, Tucker pulls up to his house. “Go see him.”
“But you’re?—”
“Cleared to go back to normal activity,” he reminds me with a proud grin. “Go see your guy. I’ll get dinner started. We’re having pork chops. Tell Tucker to join us.”
And with that, Dad walks into the house.
I watch as Tucker steps out of his car and glances over at Dad’s place. When he sees me sitting on the back porch, his face breaks out into a wide grin.
God, I’m going to miss seeing him every day.
I offer him a small wave, then walk across the grass to him, the same way I did when we were kids. Tucker sweeps me up in a hello kiss that would rival any chick flick out there.
“Hello there,” I say when we come up for air.
“How was your day?”
“Pretty great. How was yours?”
“It’s looking a lot better now.” He laces his fingers with mine and leads me into his house. “Is Lexi with your dad?”
“No, Dad’s by himself.” Tucker turns and raises a brow. “He was just given the okay to go back to normal from Gretchen.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“Me, too.” Tucker sits on the couch with a sigh, and I climb into his lap, lay my head on his chest, and soak him in. “Was work bad?”
“We had an accident,” he says and buries his lips in my hair. “Two little ones didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry.” I kiss his chest. “I guess I forget about this side of your job. I always think about speeding tickets and drug cartels.”
He chuckles and gives me a squeeze. “It’s usually somewhere in the middle of those two.”
“When was the last time you took a vacation?” I ask.
“A couple years ago,” he replies. “Why?”
“Well, if you can swing it, I’d like to go to Nashville for the weekend. I haven’t been home in months, and I’d like to check on my house and stuff. Honestly, I’d like to show you and Chloe what I’ve been up to all these years.”
“When would you like to leave?”
“Friday morning.”
“That’s two days away.”
“I know.” I’m not looking at him. Honestly, I’m nervous that he’ll turn me down. “But Chloe’s last day of school is tomorrow, and you usually have weekends off.”
“I’ll make it work,” he says, and my head whips up in surprise.
“Really?”
“Sure. Getting out of town for a few days will be fun. Chloe might kill me if I say no.”
“We wouldn’t want that.” I kiss his cheek. “I’ll make sure Lexi can look in on Dad. I know he’s been given the all-clear, but looking in on him won’t hurt.”
“I guess I’d better make a couple of calls,” Tucker says with a smile. “Seems my lady wants to take a trip.”
“Seems she does,” I confirm. “So, I’ll go and let you get things straightened out. Oh, and Dad said to tell you we’re having pork chops for dinner.”
“I’ll be over in a few.”
I lean in and kiss his lips softly before I pull away and saunter toward the door, more excited than I expected for the upcoming weekend away.
“See you soon.”
“ This is my bedroom?” Chloe asks, looking around the guest suite on the second floor of my home in Nashville. We just arrived at the house, and I’m pleased to see that my staff aired out all the rooms, changed the linens, and stocked the kitchen for us.
“Don’t you like it?” I also look around the space, taking in the big, four-poster bed and the white linens. “You have your own bathroom in here, and a balcony in case you want to get some fresh air.”
“Oh my gosh, it’s awesome ,” she says, her voice shrill. “It’s a princess’s room. I could have twenty people over for a sleepover.”
“Oh, good. You scared me.” I kiss her head and look over to Tucker, who’s leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his jeans’ pockets, watching us. “You can unpack your things if you like and get comfortable. Your dad and I will be downstairs.”
“Okay. Dad, can I have my phone so I can FaceTime Jenny and show her this room? She won’t believe it.”
“Sure,” Tucker says, passing her the iPhone.
“Thanks,” Chloe says. “And thanks for this cool room, Scarlett.”
“My pleasure.” I pat her shoulder, and then Tucker and I walk down the hall to the other side of the house where the master bedroom is. “Should you also stay in a guest room? Of course, I want you with me, but Chloe’s so young, and I don’t want to assume?—”
“Chloe and I talked about this,” he says, surprising me. I walk into my bedroom, and Tucker joins me. The staff has already brought up our luggage. “She’s cool with me staying in here with you as long as I don’t tell her about the kissing.”
I feel my lips twitch into a grin. “Well, I think we can manage that.”
“Your home is beautiful.” His voice is soft, but I feel him holding back.
“But?”
“But it’s a little intimidating. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house this big.”
I nod thoughtfully. “I get it. It’s a big house. But there’s also a recording studio you haven’t seen, along with a gym and a pool.”
“Well, Chloe will love that.”
“Do you love it?”
He walks to the double doors that open out to the balcony that overlooks the pool and gardens. We step out and lean on the cement railing.
“It’s fun,” he says at last. “Different.”
“It’s not as intimidating as you think,” I assure him. “The staff doesn’t stay all the time. They meet me here after I’ve been gone for a long time to help me get settled. But then they’re gone. Trust me, I don’t keep a butler and a maid every day.”
“I didn’t say anything about that.”
“I saw your wheels turning.” I take his hand in mine because the distance is killing me. “The maid comes once a week. I also have a gardener and a pool boy.”
“Of course, you do.”
“I mean, I have a pool,” I remind him. “Hence, the pool boy.”
He laughs and reaches up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “It’s great, Scar. You’ve done really well for yourself. Thanks for having us.”
“Let’s take the weekend to relax,” I suggest. “We can go into the city if you want to do the tourist thing. We can swim, or veg, or whatever. No agenda.”
“Sounds good.” He leans down to kiss me, but we suddenly hear gagging noises behind us.
“Seriously,” Chloe says. “Ew. There is a child present.”
“You weren’t present four seconds ago,” Tucker says, ruffling her hair and earning a scowl. “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking? Did your father raise you in a barn?”
“The door was open,” Chloe reminds him and rolls her eyes. “And my father is the one born in a barn.”
I love watching them banter. They’re funny, comfortable with each other, and you can see the love between them.
Tucker is an excellent dad.
It’s just another reason for me to love him more than anything in the world.
“Is that a pool?” Chloe asks with excitement, leaning over the railing. “Oh my gosh, we gotta swim! I brought my suit, just in case. I think I read in People magazine a few years ago that you had a pool. Dad, we need a pool! I’m gonna go change. Last one in’s a rotten egg.”
She runs through the bedroom and toward her room, leaving us grinning after her.
“So, I guess first up is swimming,” I say with a laugh.
“How can you resist that?” he agrees. “And the last one in’s a rotten egg, so let’s go.”
The weekend flew by in a flurry of activity. We ate, relaxed, laughed, and swam. It’s been wonderful. I don’t want it to end.
“How is it Sunday evening already?” The night is quiet around us. We’re sitting out on the master balcony on plush furniture, with chips and queso as a snack because I got hungry. “Time sure flies when you’re being lazy.”
“We haven’t been lazy,” Tucker protests with a full mouth. “We’ve been swimming and recording awful songs in your studio for two days.”
“There’s that,” I agree with a grin. Chloe loved the studio, and we spent all morning today laying down tracks. “With some voice lessons, she might?—”
“Still be tone deaf,” Tucker finishes for me. “She’s my daughter, and I think she’s the most brilliant child on the planet, but even I can admit that she has no future in singing.”
I’m laughing, holding my sides. “She’s not that bad.”
Tucker pops another chip into his mouth and stares at me. “Really?”
“Okay, she’s pretty bad. But she’s great with the guitar.”
“That I’ll agree with,” he says. “She practices all the time.”
“It shows. We barely left the house since you arrived.” That’s an understatement. We’ve only been to the grocery store three miles up the road to stock up on more food. “We didn’t go to the Opry, or any of the amazing restaurants, or anything.”
“We didn’t mind.”
“Chloe seems to enjoy it here.” God, I’m nervous. Why am I so damn nervous? Oh, yeah, because my very happiness might depend on how this conversation goes. No pressure or anything.
“She loves it,” he agrees, scraping the last of the queso out of the bowl. “She might have grown gills this weekend, with as much as she was in the pool.”
“She loves to swim.” I look out over the pool area in question and take a deep breath. “Do you think this is somewhere you might be able to see yourself living?”
I bite my lip and watch as a frown forms between Tucker’s eyes. He sets the bowl down, swallows the food in his mouth, and licks his lips.
“I mean, not right away, of course. I know it takes time, and maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit.”
“No.”
I blink rapidly. “No?”
He clears his throat and shakes his head. “I couldn’t live here.”
“Couldn’t, or wouldn’t?”
“Both. We can’t move to Nashville, Scar. My job, Chloe’s school, our family is in New Hope.”
“Right.” I nod, still blinking, but now trying to keep tears at bay. “Of course. Besides, we’ve never really said this thing between us is going anywhere.”
“Stop talking,” he says with frustration. “I’m not telling you that we aren’t going to be together, or that I’m not thinking about the long-term with you. Do you think I throw the L word around to everyone?”
“No, I?—”
“But it’s not as easy as Chloe and I just packing up the house and relocating. It’s not that simple.”
“I understand that.” I nervously pluck at a loose thread on my chair. “I do. It’s just…I’m based out of here. I have dozens of people who rely on me, and my career isn’t something I can just pick up and move.”
“I understand that, too, and I would never ask you to give it up.”
“So, it’s impossible,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Hey, the Scarlett I know isn’t this dramatic.”
I stare at him in horror. “Are you fucking kidding me? We basically just decided that our relationship won’t work, and you’re calling me dramatic ?”
“Who said our relationship won’t work? I didn’t say that.”
“Oh, for the love of Moses.” I stand and walk into my bedroom. “I’m done discussing this.”
“You brought it up.”
“And I’m dropping it,” I reply coldly. “Because the alternative to you moving here is us being fuck-buddies on the rare occasion I get to New Hope, and I’m not going to insult either of us by insinuating that that’s what you meant.”
“Now you’re just pissing me off.”
“Thanks for catching up to the conversation at hand.” I plant my hands on my hips and frown at him. “And thanks for being so willing to compromise. It’s the foundation of a functional relationship, after all.”
“Scar, everything Chloe and I know is in South Carolina. She’s in school there, with friends and a whole community that loves her.”
“Nashville has schools,” I inform him. “And it’s not like I’m suggesting we never go back to New Hope again. I know I don’t get home often?—”
“Or ever.”
“I’ll buy a private plane for God’s sake, and we can fly over any time. Any time.”
“I don’t have a solution,” he says, holding his hands out to his sides. “I know that I don’t want to lose you. And I also know that Nashville isn’t the answer for me.”
“So, I’m the only one who should bend here because I’m not a mother, and I have money.” I nod, feeling hurt all the way to my soul. “I guess it’s good to know now what your expectations are.”
“I don’t have any fucking expectations,” he growls.
“Well, I do. I expect you to consider the whole picture and come into a conversation with an open mind.”
“I’m not the only one unwilling to bend. You just said your life is here and you can’t pick up and move. Why aren’t you compromising, Scarlett?”
“There is nothing productive about this conversation.”
“Agreed.”
I’m breathing hard with anger and disappointment. Sadness. Frustration. “The other guest suite is down the hall.”
“You’re kicking me out because you didn’t get the answer you wanted?”
“I’m kicking you out because I’m mad at you.”
Tucker shakes his head and blows out a breath. “I guess you’ll know where to find me then.”
He turns on his heel and stalks out the door, closing it firmly behind him.
I’ve ruined everything. I just had to share my home with Tucker and Chloe. I wanted them to see where I live.
I wanted them to just shift right into place, into my life, without any hiccups.
“I’m an idiot,” I mutter and turn to the bathroom. I need a hot shower, and I need to let go of some of this angry energy.