Girl With Guitar (9 page)

W
hen
they arrived at the The Dixie Tavern in Georgia, Kylie was relieved to see it was about the same size as The Rum Room. But Trace was from Macon, so the bar was filling quickly. She’d just finished her sound check when she spotted a pair of girls heading towards the bus.

Annoyance and jealousy gripped and pulled her in opposite directions. Trace hadn’t so much as looked at her since their odd encounter last night. To make matters worse, the two attractive dark-haired women just strolled onto the bus in front of Kylie like they owned the place.

Laughter was already trilling through the tight space when she stepped on. Quietly, she made her way to her tiny compartment and changed into her performance outfit. Feeling self-conscious about some of the things she’d read about herself online before Trace had stopped her, she chose a loose fitting silver one-shouldered dress with black leggings and boots. She put on the jewelry that went with it and headed out. She could warm up in the bar’s green room and not have to deal with Trace’s groupies. Thank you very much.

“Kylie?” She heard his voice from behind her just as she passed his room. Great.

“Yeah, um, I’m just heading in to warm up a little, give y’all some privacy.” When she stepped into Trace’s doorway she saw that the older woman was standing near his bed and the younger of the two sat on his lap. Something twisted inside of her. Maybe last night had never happened. Maybe she’d dreamed it. But every time she looked at him she was right back there. Clinging onto him for dear life. It had seemed like he was doing the same. That part she definitely must have imagined.

“Is this her?” the brunette with a pixie cut on his lap asked. No way she was older than sixteen.

“Yeah, it’s her,” Trace said with a smile, clearly feeling no shame about his little fan club.

The petite girl jumped off his lap. “You’re even prettier in person. Can I have your autograph?”

“Um.” Kylie looked to Trace. Who was this chick?

“Sorry, she’s kind of a pest,” he said with a slight lift of his shoulder.

“Hey!” The girl gave Trace a firm shove.

Kylie just stood there, trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

“Guess I should introduce you,” Trace began. “Kylie, this is my little sister Rae,” he said gesturing to the shover. “And this is my older sister, Claire Ann.”

“Oh, hey. Nice to meet y’all.” She tried to ignore the relief that flooded through her as she shook each woman’s hand.

“Seriously,” Rae began, “I have watched the video of you annihilating my brother at The Rum Room like fifty times.” The girl’s smile lit up her entire face.

A grimace flashed across Trace’s, but his eyes were full of love for his little sister. She’d yet to see him look at any other woman that way. Well, maybe her for just a second last night. But it was dark and she might have imagined that, too.

“I don’t know if
annihilate
is the right word.” Kylie couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“No, it is,” Trace confirmed.

“We’re just happy that Trace finally found someone who can put up with him,” Claire Ann said with a warm smile in his direction.

“It’s not easy,” she said, winking even though she was completely serious.

But then she thought about him rescuing her from the Phi Kap house and how he didn’t make her thank him. He hadn’t even gloated a little. And he could definitely have humiliated the hell out of her if he wanted to. He’d definitely heard her that night.

“Looks like you may have met your match, little brother,” his older sister said as she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. “We’ll get out of here, let you two have some space before the show.”

“You’re coming tonight, right? Both of you?” Rae asked on her way out. Kylie had no clue what she was talking about.

“We’ll see, Rae,” Trace answered. His forehead wrinkled, and Kylie could tell that whatever she’d invited them to wasn’t something he was particularly excited about.

“Nice meeting you, Kylie, and I’m serious about that autograph,” Rae called on her way out.

“You too, um, both of you, and okay,” Kylie said with a smile.

Trace sat on his bed looking slightly embarrassed and a little…proud, maybe? One thing was for sure—he looked much younger after the short visit with his family.

“So, those are my girls,” he said with a shrug. “Rae’s a little wild but you just have to love her.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I got that.” Okay, time to vacate his bedroom now. She felt like she’d just invited herself into an intimate family gathering, even though she knew she hadn’t really. But there was something she wanted to know. She hadn’t checked online and she felt silly asking, but it was bothering her. “How old are you, Trace?”

“Twenty-six. Why?” He gave her a long side-eye, and Kylie wondered if he thought she was checking to see if he was too old for her. He definitely wasn’t.

“Just wondering.” Seeing him being so playful with his younger sister had made her curious.

“Okay. Well, you about to head in or what?”

Kylie’s entire body flashed hot. “Yeah. Sorry. Going now.” She turned so quickly she knocked into a guitar that had been precariously propped on the wall near the door. She bent down to catch it, made sure it was steady, and stood up to leave.

“Wait,” he demanded, rooting her where she stood. Kylie looked down to check and see if the guitar was about to fall again. It wasn’t.

“Yeah?” She turned slowly, uncertain of what he could possibly be about to say to her.

“You wanna to go to a party? With me? After the show?” Trace cleared his throat and she saw the thick knot in his neck move as he swallowed hard. Well, this was new. He seemed…nervous.

“Um, not sure I should be going to any more parties after—”

“It won’t be like that. But it’s totally fine if you have other plans.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “No, no plans. And yes, I’ll go, as long as you promise to let me walk out on my own two feet.” On her way out she could hear him laughing.

“I’m not making any promises,” he hollered out after her.

A
fter
her set, she stuck around to watch Trace perform. She snagged a beer from the green room, hoping it would calm her nerves about the party afterwards. But watching the man on stage just got them all jangled up again. Pauly sat with her, but he rarely looked up from his phone. Kylie, however, couldn’t take her eyes off the stage.

When Trace was on, when he really gave it his all, it was like no concert she’d ever been to. Kind of like jumping on a runaway freight train driven by a conductor with Attention Deficit Disorder.

She watched as he gave a melodramatic little spiel about a new song he was nervous to try and pleaded with the audience to bear with him. Then he began playing the piano and belting out a popular boy band song, poorly mimicking the high notes on purpose. Kylie laughed in spite of herself. Next he sang one of his own hits, followed by a cover of an Adele song that nearly blew her and the entire audience out of their seats.

Damn, the boy could sing. And Lord, those jeans.
Oh no.
She was becoming a Trace Corbin fangirl. She could feel it happening and she was powerless to stop it.

She was busy mentally punching herself in the face repeatedly when she saw Trace’s little sister making her way over, his older sister not far behind.

“Kylie!” Rae squealed, hugging her like they were old friends. It made her miss Lulu even more than usual.

She barely had time to respond before the girl launched into a complicated story about how she’d seen The Rum Room video online and how she’d shown all of her friends. The girl barely took a breath.
Cheerleader
, Kylie thought.
Definitely a cheerleader
. Not that she didn’t enjoy the high-spirited girl’s open kindness. But if they’d gone to high school together, Kylie knew they certainly wouldn’t have run in the same circles.

“So you’re coming tonight, right?” Rae asked, catching her off guard. “To the party?”

“Way to put her on the spot, Rae,” Claire Ann said, shooting Kylie an apologetic smile.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am.” Rae’s answering smile was so big and open, Kylie smiled back. She knew the girl was probably only a year or two younger than her, but she felt like they were at least a decade apart.

“With Trace? Like, as his date?” Rae pressed.

“Rae,” her sister warned.

“I was just asking,” the younger girl said, a gleam twinkling in her eye.

Kylie fought off a smile. “He just asked if I’d come. I said I would.” There. That was the truth.

“Cool. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to tell all of my friends and oh, you’ll get to meet some of them! But ignore Deidre. She’s got issues about Trace but he’s never really—”

“That’s enough, Rae. Keep talking and she won’t come,” Claire Ann interrupted, practically dragging the younger girl away.

“See you tonight, Kylie! Great show by the way!” Rae called out as she was pulled onto the dance floor.

She just smiled and shook her head. A loud cough from beside her reminded Kylie that Pauly was still sitting in the booth with her. “So, you’re going to a party with Trace? You sure that’s a good idea?” he asked. But Kylie heard what he wasn’t saying.
Do not go to a party with Trace. It’s not a good idea.

“Um, yeah. I guess so. I told him I would.”

Pauly shifted in his seat and leaned closer to her. For a minute he didn’t say anything as they both watched Trace on stage. He was singing a love song to some girl he’d pulled up on stage. It was Kylie’s favorite song of his.
Goodbye in Your Eyes
. Reminded her of her dad. The last time she’d seen him.

She’d been eating breakfast at the kitchen table the morning he’d gone to work for the last time. The night before she’d had an argument with Darla that he’d tried to settle to keep the peace. She couldn’t even remember what the fight was about, but she felt like he’d taken Darla’s side and she’d told him so. Just before she’d slammed her bedroom door in his face.

That morning she ignored him because she was still hurting. Before he left for work he stopped, leaned down over her shoulder, and whispered, “You know you’ll always be my best girl,” in her ear before he kissed her on the top of the head and left.
Forever.

Words she should’ve said were still jammed in her throat. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. No use having a breakdown in front of Pauly.

“You okay, kid?” he asked, bringing her back to the present.

She nodded.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just…look, Trace is not a bad guy, and typically I stay out of his personal life as much as I possibly can but…” Pauly ran a hand over his face and stared at her for a second. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved with him right now,” he began. She opened her mouth to tell the man he was way off, but he held up a hand. “Hear me out.”

She sat back and waited.

“If you want to be
Kylie Ryans
, country music artist who gets taken seriously, it would be…unwise to align yourself with an already established artist in any way other than professionally. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen. Now, if you want to be Kylie Ryans, Trace Corbin’s little sideshow fling, then by all means, party it up.” Pauly leaned back to signal he’d said his piece.

She didn’t miss the way he’d said her name each time. The first time had been with reverence. The second had been with contempt.

“You understand what I’m saying?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she choked out. “Got it.” No way she could go to a party with Trace and not risk losing Pauly’s respect and probably any shot at having him manager her. But watching Trace onstage, she wanted to go. Badly. That, combined with the excitement so clear on Rae’s face, and the thought of letting the girl down when she didn’t show, made it even harder to imagine backing out. Even though she had to.

K
ylie
stood naked on the bus. Trace still hadn’t come back on from the bar, even though she was pretty sure his set had ended.

She stared into her closet. Pajamas. She should put on pajamas and tell Trace she wasn’t feeling so hot and was just going to call it a night.

But her “I rode the bull at Bud’s” tank top caught her eye and she remembered the perfect fit of those designer jeans from her last show. If she
were
going to the party, that’s what she would wear. With her perfectly worn in cowgirl boots. And she’d take her hair down and just let it be wild. Maybe she’d dance with Trace a time or two, if it was that kind of party. Not that she was going. She wasn’t. But a girl could fantasize, couldn’t she?

Lulu would strangle her if she knew Kylie was about to turn down Trace’s invitation.
You only get one shot at life,
she could practically hear her friend saying. Yeah, but she didn’t want to ruin that life for one night of drunken stupidity. But those jeans and that smile, and he was just so…
male
. It would probably be worth it.

No. If this didn’t work out, she had nothing to go back to. Nothing.

Well…that wasn’t entirely true. Clive had said she would always be welcome back at The Rum Room. Right, ‘cause waiting tables and cleaning hospitality rooms wouldn’t seem like a nightmare compared to this.

Jammies it is
. Just as she grabbed some sweats from the narrow wooden dresser, she heard voices. Trace was back.

A loud rapping on her door nearly gave her a heart attack.

“Kylie Lou, you ready?”

How on earth does he know my middle name?
It wasn’t exactly something she went around telling people. It had been her grandfather’s name on her mom’s side. He had passed away a week before she was born.

“Um, yeah, about the party—”

“You backing out on me?” The hurt in his voice nearly eviscerated her.

“No, I was just trying to decide what I should wear.”
And if there’s any way I can still manage to have a career after tonight.

Trace’s laughter made her feel better and worse. “Just throw on whatever. My family won’t care. But we need to get goin’. Getting out of the parking lot is going to be a nightmare.”

“Um, are we taking the bus?” Kylie wondered out loud as she pulled on her jeans and nearly toppled over.

“Definitely not.” She heard a muffled laugh from the other side of the door. “I got us a ride, but we gotta get moving.”

“‘Kay.” Kylie glanced at herself in the mirror one last time after she’d pulled her tank top over her head.
You are officially an idiot.

T
he
ride Trace had gotten them was a pickup similar to the one her dad had driven. A buddy of his from home had loaned it out for the night. The interior smelled like mint Skoal and some type of men’s cologne not nearly as expensive as Trace’s.

Kylie had seen the disappointment in Pauly’s eyes as she’d passed him on her way out.
Well, if I’m going to ruin my career before it even starts, might as well make it worth it.
She scooted a little closer to Trace on the bench seat.

He looked over and smiled. “Thanks for coming tonight. My family can be a little…much.”

“No problem,” Kylie said, suddenly feeling shy. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Trace cleared his throat. Twice. “Um, actually Rae invited you.”

She scooted back towards the door on her side. “Remind me to thank her then.” She stared out the window as they twisted and turned down never-ending back roads. It seemed like they had been driving forever when Trace turned down a long dirt drive lined by a white fence. At least eighty acres spread out before them.

“Is this where you grew up?” Kylie asked, barely able to contain her astonishment.

“No, I wish. This is the house I bought after the first album went platinum. Claire Ann lives here now since I’m always on the road. Rae is pretty much her permanent houseguest.”

“Ah.”

Trace pulled the truck around to an enormous red barn behind the main house. At least twenty cars and trucks were already parked there. After putting the truck in park and shutting off the engine, he turned, causing the leather seat to protest beneath him. “Look, Kylie, I should probably warn you—”

Before he could finish his warning Rae tapped on Kylie’s window, sending her jumping towards Trace. “Come on! You’re late!” the perky little pixie shouted through the glass.

Kylie looked up at Trace. He just closed his eyes and shook his head. She couldn’t help but laugh. Rae was clearly a thorn in his side, but she adored him and he her. It kind of made her wish for a sibling. Rae knocked again, louder this time. Or not.

As soon as they stepped into the barn, a three-tier cake was produced. Every guest broke into a happy birthday flash mob.

Trace leaned down to whisper in Kylie’s ear. “Sorry about this.”

The heat of his breath made her shiver. It was his birthday. She hadn’t known and hadn’t brought a gift. That’s why he’d looked so suspicious when she’d asked his age. He was twenty-six,
today
. Kylie didn’t miss the fact that every other female guest was decked out in short dresses and boots or that they were sizing her up. She was pretty sure the “Deidre” Rae had mentioned was the busty blonde across the room giving her the death glare from hell. So she winked at her.

“Trace, I didn’t know. I didn’t get you a gift,” she whispered up at him.

“Oh, yeah you did. You’re making Rae’s night,” he said, nodding at the girl who was practically bouncing up and down.

“Happy birthday dear
TRACEY
,” Kylie heard Rae belting over everyone. She raised an eyebrow at him. He shook his head and grinned. So that’s why he went by Trace or Tray. This was interesting information.

As she was smiling at the crooners, Trace leaned down and whispered in her ear again. “My birthday was actually a few months ago, but Rae’s is coming up and they had the decorations so they wanted to celebrate while I was in town.”

“Ah,” she said, still grinning and glancing at the white paper lanterns lit like stars above them. It was sweet that his sisters would go all out like this. Must be nice to be so cherished. Their love for their brother was practically radiating from both of their faces as Trace blew out his candles. She recognized the expression. It was the same way her daddy used to look at her.