Once she settles, I shift in my seat to face her. “I’ve been thinking about something you said yesterday. You mentioned your surgery isn’t scheduled for two weeks—was there a reason they needed to wait?”
She yawns before answering. “No, there’s not a medical reason. I have a summer festival I’m headlining this weekend in Texas.”
“The Summer Stampede Festival?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “You’ve performed there for the past six summers.”
There’s a slight frown on her face now, but she slowly nods her head. “I guess it has been that long. Wait, how’d you know that?”
I roll my lips together as I mull over whether or not I want to disclose my secret to her. “I was in Texas six years ago for Carson’s wedding, and I may or may not have watched you open for Mason Corbin.”
Her eyes widen in shock. “What? Jax, that was my first big show. It was when I sang—”
She starts and cuts herself off when she realizes what she was about to tell me, but she doesn’t need to continue for me to know what she was going to say. That was the first time she sang her debut single “Martyred.” I’m not sure she realized then that it would become a hit that shot her into stardom. Taevin had already signed a three-album deal with Tambourine Records, but that single was what started her on the path to becoming a household name.
“Back to my original question—why are you delaying surgery?”
“I can’t just back out of my commitments, Jackson. My fans are counting on me to perform.”
She sure didn’t have a problem backing out of her commitment to our marriage the moment she thought she had a better opportunity. Instead of saying that, I swallow past the bitter taste of resentment threatening to surface. “I believe you once told me sometimes you have to put yourself first, or am I remembering that wrong? It’s been so long since the night you left.”
“Jax—”
“It’s fine, Tae. I just think if there were ever a time to put yourself first, it’d be when you’re about to endure the fight for your life.”
“My gynecologist in Nashville assured me a week or two would be okay.”
“But it’s not just a week; it’ll be almost three between when you were diagnosed and your surgery.”
She places her hand on my forearm, and the moment her skin touches mine, goosebumps ripple up and down my arm. When she realizes what she’s doing, she pulls away far too quickly for my liking.
Sighing, she says, “I’ve made my decision regarding the festival, J. You said you’d respect my choices in this.”
Closing my eyes to hide my frustration, I reply, “Fine. You’re right, it’s ultimately up to you. But I’m coming with you. I don’t like the thought of you performing a full set after what happened yesterday at Bennett’s wedding.”
I don’t point out the fact that yesterday was only one song, not a full set list, because she knows as well as I do the difference the festival in the summer heat will be and the toll it will take on her body.
“If you insist,” she replies, rolling her eyes.
“I do,” I answer curtly, narrowing my eyes at her snark.
Now it’s Tae’s turn to shift in her seat to face me. “Perhaps I should put you to work if you’re coming along. Wanna be my water boy? Hmm, no, maybe you should be my bodyguard since you’ve taken it upon yourself to dismiss Braidy while you’re with me. Or, no! You can grab your Gibson when we’re in Minnesota and you can bring it to Texas. When’s the last time you played, J?”
Shaking my head, I don’t answer her and look ahead at the seat in front of me instead.
“Come on, don’t go quiet on me now. You got to ask your questions, don’t I get to ask mine?” she pushes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played,” I answer her without elaborating, which only further spurs her on.
“A few days? A week? Wait, why didn’t you perform the first dance song at Bennett’s wedding? Why did I?”
She huffs in annoyance when I don’t respond.
Rolling my eyes at her insistence, I tell her, “He asked, and I turned him down. I haven’t performed since around Griffin and McKenna’s wedding.”
“Oh my goodness, I didn’t realize they got married. They were so cute together the summer they started dating,” Tae gushes before asking, “When did they get married?”
