A Ballad for Her Cowboys (10 page)

‘I don’t need to unpack. I’m not staying.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m gonna head back to Nashville. You don’t need me here tonight.’

Misty told him of her plans to invite Aiden and Seth to come watch her perform a few days ago, but didn’t think he’d taken much notice. ‘You don’t have to leave, Wade. If they show up, I’m gonna let you have this room to yourself tonight.’

‘Which one of them is it you’ve fallen for?’

His swift change of subject was a tactic she remembered from the many times they argued in the past. Back then, she’d have blurted out an answer, but somehow, Wade had lost his ability to manipulate her. Or maybe she just didn’t care enough for it to work anymore.

‘What difference does it make?’

‘None I guess. They both seem like decent guys.’

‘They are. You really don’t have to leave you know.’

Wade opened his arms, asking for a hug for the first time in forever, rather than just trying to take one. Misty walked into his embrace, genuinely moved by the thought she may never see him again. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead and pulled away.

‘The least you can do is let me do the honorable thing this one time. I’d rather leave you through choice than have you taken from me, Misty.’

Her stomach dropped when she saw the pain in his eyes and realized that he really did still love her. She’d dismissed his feelings for so long, assuming all she ever been to him was a meal ticket. Misty hadn’t believed he truly cared for her at all.

She grabbed his hands as he pulled away and gave them a little tug to force him to at her. ‘Do you have enough money for the bus?’

‘Yes. You’re not gonna have to pay me to leave you alone this time’’ He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thick sheaf of papers. ‘I had these drawn up, and I’ve signed where I need to. You only have to add your signature and get them notarized, and you’re free.’

Scanning the document releasing her from the contract with Wade, Misty smiled at the irony of getting back the rights to her talent and career when she no longer cared about any of it.

‘Take care of yourself, Misty. Thanks for the ride.’

Wade kissed the top of her head and strode out of the room. Just like that, he was out of her life.

Misty sank onto the bed, stunned by another sudden development. She expected Wade to make things difficult for her when she tried to leave him after the tour. Fear of what he might do in front of Aiden and Seth had consumed her thoughts. Now, without the fight she readied herself for, she had nothing to do but sit and fret over whether they would turn up at all.

A couple of hours later, Misty’s nervousness escalated to such a pitch, she barely thought straight. Her hands shook so much as she dressed for the show that she had to ask one of girls she shared a dressing room with for help with a zipper on the back of her costume.

She turned to the mirror, taking small comfort in the fact that the outfit she would wear for them this time was one she actually liked. She smiled, remembering Aiden’s quip about Elvis impersonators and allowed herself a little moment of anticipation as she tried to imagine how the pair of them would react to seeing her now. The corset bodice in emerald green did amazing things to her eyes and complemented her pale skin. Her skintight jeans had multicolored sequins sewn down the seams that caught the light and glimmered like peacock feathers when she moved. Most nights, she curled her hair and swept it into an asymmetric chignon and allowed the ringlets to fall over one shoulder, but she didn’t want it that way when the boys saw her again. Misty knew they loved her hair down, natural, and flowing to her waist.

What if they didn’t come?
The thought slammed through her once more. She knew she had hurt them deeply before and they may not want to forgive her a second time. Misty hadn’t been ready for what they offered back then, but now she was. The weeks spent on the road taught her that nothing meant more than their love. If she had any doubt she loved them before, she didn’t anymore. She spent too many nights missing them desperately and crying into her pillow not to be sure.

‘What’s wrong with you, honey?’

She jumped at a voice behind her. Rita, one of the older members of the troupe, placed a hand on Misty’s shoulder.

‘Are you sad the tour is coming to an end?’

She smiled and nodded, happy to let Rita believe whatever she wanted. The backstage intercom buzzed, and she heard them call her to the waiting area behind the stage. She went on in five minutes. Blowing out a hard breath to relieve some of the tension building in her throat that made it feel like it closed, Misty picked her guitar up from the table and made her way through the labyrinth of corridors at the back of the theater.

‘Come on,’ one of the crew whispered loudly, with a frantic wave meaning she should hurry. ‘Mary-Jo just cut her set short. You’re on—now!’

A hand made contact with the small of her back and Misty found herself propelled through the stage curtain before she had time to even worry if Aiden and Seth were waiting for her. She saved them the best seats in the house, in the very front row, so it took all of ten seconds for her to see they had chosen not to come.

The empty seats seemed to taunt her and the gap in the crowd reminded her of their absence, and how it would leave a gap in her life no one else could ever fill.

A movement at the corner of her vision made her heart leap into her throat and she strained to see the figures approaching down one of the aisles. But it wasn’t who she hoped for, just an old couple having trouble finding their way in the darkened auditorium.

Her eyes filled with tears, turning the faces of the crowd into a blur. Misty smiled. Years of training took over, reminding her to at least go through the motions until she got a hold of herself. By the time she’d finished the first verse of the song she always opened with, she didn’t need to hide her tears anymore. They dried up, along with any hopes she’d had, leaving her feeling nothing, but the hard lump in her chest.

Misty watched the audience while she worked her way through the short set list. How many knew a broken heart when they heard one and could feel the sadness in her voice? Were they even listening or simply waiting for her to get her set over with so the headline act would come on?

The time came for the last song, and Misty turned to the band, warning them she made a few changes to the playlist and needed no backup for this one. They didn’t care either way, shrugging as they exited the stage, happy, she felt sure, to have the unexpected five-minute break to get a beer or have a smoke.

Misty sang a new song, one she written about Aiden and Seth. One they would have known had been just for them. It spoke of their special kind of love and how the world wouldn’t understand. It told of her gratitude for finding someone who had known better than she did what she needed and how she thanked God every day that she’d come to know the truth. The last line of the song simply said she didn’t want to live in a world that didn’t have them in it.

The words could have been meant for a family or friends, but Misty knew Seth and Aiden would have understood them. As the last notes from her guitar strings faded into silence, she was crying openly and didn’t even try to stem the tears.

The audience didn’t know what caused her display of emotion, and no one seemed to care. To a person, the crowd got to its feet and began clapping, cheering, and shouting for more. Seeing their reaction just made her cry even harder. To achieve one of her dreams only when it didn’t matter to her anymore seemed so ironic. Misty ran from the stage.

Out in the cool night air a few minutes later, she thought of going back to the dressing room and reassuring everyone that she was okay, but she couldn’t face anyone. Not yet. Thankful she had the sense to grab her purse before she stumbled out of the building. She turned and headed up the alleyway leading to the street that ran along the side of the theater.

Two shadows loomed in front of her and blocked out the light from the streetlamp. Her heart lurched, more from surprise than real terror. The thought that she should run the other way barely formed before a voice she recognized made her start for an altogether different reason.

‘We were just coming to find you.’

‘Aiden?’ Misty didn’t care who the voice belonged to. She put a little distance between her and the dark shadows just in case.

‘Are you okay?’ The shape with Seth’s voice took a step forward. ‘We saw you crying and wanted to come see what was wrong.’

‘You were there?’ They nodded. ‘Why didn’t you use the seats I gave you?’

Aiden looked away and Seth cleared his throat before he spoke. ‘We didn’t intend for you to see us, Misty.’

They didn’t want her to know they were there? That meant they didn’t want to have to speak to her or spend time with her. Did Seth’s confession hurt any more than thinking they hadn’t come at all? She couldn’t be sure. Misty only knew she wasn’t handling her disappointment well and the thought of breaking down in front of them made her want to be sick. She tried to plaster a smile on her face.

‘As you can see, I’m fine. Thanks for coming, guys. Why not go back and enjoy the rest of the show?’

Misty angled closer to the wall so she could slip past them and escape another cruel irony—being so close to them again in a way she had dreamed of, yet knowing they didn’t want her anymore. At least the semi-dark alleyway saved her from the torture of being able to see into their eyes and finding them empty of the love she craved.

A hand closed around her arm and pulled her back to where she stood only seconds earlier.

‘Where are you going?’

Frustration, at being unable to get away, stretched her reserves to breaking point and she began to cry. Her hands bunched in Aiden’s shirt when he moved to comfort her, and she dragged him closer with all her strength. Misty pressed her face into his chest, not caring that she stole the intimacy she’d been starved of, and sure it would be the last time she ever got to hold him.

Aiden took a couple of steps to the side, turning with her still in his arms, then she felt Seth’s hands on her shoulders and his lips pressed into the hair covering her ear.

‘Don’t cry anymore, Misty,’ he whispered.

The kindness in his tone just made her sob all the more, despite her efforts to stop. When Aiden began to pull away, she forced herself to let go of his shirt.

‘Where are you staying?’ he asked.

‘Come on. We’ll walk you back.’

‘It’s okay. It’s only a block away.’

Aiden didn’t answer, so she let him lead her from the alleyway, clasping the hand he offered. A fresh bout of tears threatened, but she wouldn’t allow them to fall. Misty didn’t want to make them feel any worse than they probably already did. She definitely couldn’t handle their pity. She brought this on herself. She let Aiden’s hand slip from hers, determined to handle whatever they had to say with some measure of dignity.

The dark, quiet street seemed to amplify every sound around them as they walked in silence toward her hotel. Misty noticed how the clump of their boots set a counter rhythm to the fast click of her heels while she struggled to keep up with their long strides. The hotel entrance had come into view before anybody spoke.

‘That last song…’ Seth left the words hanging and turned to her. Aiden stopped walking too.

‘Oh, you heard it? ‘Her stomach began flip-flopping again. Of course they heard it.

‘Did you write it?’

She nodded, looking up into his face and swallowed against another urge to cry when she saw his green eyes clearly for the first time in months. ‘Why didn’t you ever play it before tonight?’

Seth’s question wasn’t the one she’d been expecting. ‘It’s a new one. I…I wrote it a couple of weeks ago.’

‘Would you have played it if you thought we were there?’

Aiden moved to stand next to Seth, the three of them blocking the small path leading to the entrance of the hotel.

‘Probably not.’

Seth punched Aiden in the arm, a triumphant expression chasing the tension from his face. ‘See, I told you it was for us.’

Aiden look as if he intended to argue with Seth, but instead, turned his attention to Misty. ‘Only one way to find out, was it about us?’

‘Yes?’ she said, turning the word into a question for fear it wasn’t what he wanted to her to say.

‘Then why the hell wouldn’t you have played it for us?’

With the answer lingering in the front of her mind and the words on the tip of her tongue, Misty couldn’t fight the tears any longer. ‘I wanted to sing it for you at another time. After I’d told you that I love you both…so very much.’

Seth’s arms where the ones to hold her this time. ‘Is that still how you feel?’

She nodded, unable to speak until she got the sobs wracking her body under control. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, once she regained her voice. ‘I know now I left it too late.’

‘It’s never too late,’ Aiden said. Misty strained to turn around in Seth’s arms and look at him. The smile he sent her way should have lifted the heaviness in her heart, but she was afraid to believe she understood right. When he leaned down to kiss her, she threw her arms around his neck without hesitation.

‘Can I have some of that?’ Seth said, after what seemed like an age where she could sense nothing but Aiden’s lips on hers.

Aiden let her go with a chuckle and she turned to Seth, stopping when she saw a couple getting out of a cab a few feet away. He sighed.

‘Is there somewhere a little more private we can go?’

‘Well, there’s always my room,’ she teased, backing away and beckoning the pair of them to follow her.

Unlocking the door moments later, she didn’t even have time to turn on the light before Seth set about getting his share of her. He walked her backward into the room with his lips welded to hers. His hands went to the zipper of her corset, he ripped it open, and stepped back to look at her as he peeled it away. ‘This is pretty, but I like what’s underneath better.’

Misty laughed and put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself while he dropped to his knees to tug off her jeans. Aiden took advantage of the opportunity to kiss her, his hands tore at the buttons. He moved back to kick off his jeans as Seth finished removing hers and stood up to begin undressing too.