Chapter 30
“Luke, I don’t think this is the right decision. Give me some time to find Rowan,” Marla said.
Luke shook his head. He’d made up his mind. It wasn’t worth it. None of it was worth if it meant losing Rowan again.
The pictures hadn’t hit social media and he wasn’t sure why. He’d given them to Marla and explained what had happened so she could put her PR spin on it if she had to but she hadn’t had to, which unnerved him as much as having the pictures show up at the house in the first place.
“Mr. Stone?”
He approached the reception desk outside Walter Doll’s office.
“I’m afraid Mr. Doll has been delayed. There’s a three-car accident on the highway forty bridge exit and he was unfortunately on the bridge behind it. Do you want to reschedule?” Samantha asked.
“No. I’ll wait.” He turned toward the chairs in the reception area but turned around after three steps. “Actually, I’ll go next door to the studio and see who’s here today. Will you give me a call when he arrives?”
“Of course, but I’m really not sure how long he’s going to be. Would you prefer to call him?”
He shook his head. “This is a conversation that needs to be in person.”
He caught the look she shared with Marla, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to bail on the label over the phone. Although he didn’t consider it bailing. If giving up music and all the shit that went with being a singer meant Rowan would be with him, he had absolutely zero fucks to give.
* * *
Rowan finally hadto stop for gas about twenty minutes from Luke’s house. It killed her to stop even five minutes, but she wasn’t going to make it that far on fumes. Back in the car, she tried calling Luke again despite Adalynn’s insistence to just show up. Once again it went to voice mail—not directly so she didn’t think he was ignoring her. More like he had it on silent and wasn’t hearing it.
She pulled out onto the access road to the highway while her phone GPS talked to her. She knew where she was for the most part, but kept the map app on to make sure she didn’t take the wrong exit by mistake.
Back on the highway traffic was a little slower and heavier, but she was passing mid-town. A sea of red taillights ahead of her made her ease on the brakes and tap the steering wheel. “Come on, come on, come on.”
The phone rang and her heart pitter-pattered in her chest, but a quick glanced showed it wasn’t Luke calling. She answered the call and put it on speaker. “Hey, Marla.”
“Oh thank god! Where are you?”
“I’m on the four-forty. What’s wrong?” The urgency in Marla’s voice sent her anxiety into overdrive.
“Whereon the four-forty?”
“I’m coming up on the sixty-five exit. Why?”
“Take the exit. I’m going to send you a pin drop for Wild West Records. I need you here now.”
She signaled and checked her mirror, merging to the right. “Marla, you’re freaking me out. Is Luke hurt? What’swrong?”
“He’s quitting,” Marla said.
“What do you mean he’s quitting? Quitting what?” Rowan looked at the phone as if it were a video call.
“He’s quitting music. He showed me the pictures, Rowan. I know they look bad, but it’s not what it looks like. I promise. I want to tell you why, but I’m trying to protect Laney at the same time as I keep Luke from making a huge mistake. Brett is setting them both up and I’m trying to figure out why before I expose his ass.”
“I figured out something else might be going on. I just hope I’m not too late.”
“Me, too. I’m hanging up so I can send you the address. Pull up to the front and valet park—I’ll call down so they’re expecting you. I’ll try to stall as long as I can, but please try to get here quickly.”
The call disconnected and a text followed a few seconds later. Under normal circumstances she’d pull over, but she didn’t want to take the extra time. Keeping one eye on the road, she updated her destination. It was going to take about five extra minutes to get to downtown Nashville because of traffic.
Her impatience ramped up. Every other driver on the road had the singular purpose of getting in her way and preventing her from reaching her destination. Usually a relaxed driver, Rowan now understood why some people experienced road rage. She envisioned going full Mad Max and shooting up the road between lanes, shoving cars out of her way.
Why was Luke quitting? It didn’t make sense—all he’d ever wanted to be was a country singer. For as long as she’d known him he talked about making it big in Nashville and being the next Alan Jackson or Kenny Chesney and he was there. It didn’t make any sense for him to give it all up now.
