Authors: Amanda Renee
“I hope you have fun. From what you’ve told me, Allen seems like a decent guy. I hope it works out for you.”
“Thank you.” He could hear the surprise in her voice.
“How are things in—what’s the name of the town—Tumbleweed?”
“Ramblewood.” Adam laughed. “I can see myself here for a long time.”
“What about your place in LA?”
“It’s sold. The closing is on Monday and I hired a professional moving service to go in and box everything up for me. According to the manifest they emailed me, it’s already on the way to Texas. I told you I was serious about leaving California for good.”
“Do you really think they’re going to accept you after you’ve lied all this time?”
“It’s not the rest of the town I’m worried about. It’s one person in particular.”
“Just be realistic when you tell her. You’ve kept who you are from her for a month and a half, or close to it. When she finds out your reputation for being, well, an asshole—I hate to say it, but you were—how do you think she’ll honestly react?”
Adam walked farther away from the building so no one would overhear him. “I’ve done nothing but been myself this entire time. The past ten years onstage I was pretending to be somebody else. The Snake doesn’t exist. Adam Steele is real. I haven’t lied to anyone, just the opposite. I’ve been more honest with people here and with myself than I have in years. Ramblewood and Bridgett have been great for me and I refuse to lose the woman I’ve grown to care about a great deal. She may be mad at me at first, but I’ll do whatever it takes to prove myself to her.”
“Don’t you get tired of proving yourself and fixing your mistakes, Adam?” Lizzy countered. “That’s exactly what you’re doing with Mom and Dad. Trying to right a wrong. It’s what you do. I’m sorry, but from where I stand it doesn’t seem as if you’ve changed. You’re continuing the same pattern in a different place, only you’re calling it something else.”
“That’s not true.”
“Sure it is,” Lizzy argued. “If it wasn’t, you would’ve told Bridgett who you were from day one. When you took the ranch job you could’ve told them who you are. Instead, you raced out and changed your driver’s license. You weren’t honest. Spin it however you want.”
“You’re not being fair.”
“Who’s talking about fair? I want you to see the cold hard facts before you get your hopes up. Prepare yourself, Adam. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“I know it won’t.” Adam knew Lizzy was right, but it didn’t make the words any easier to take.
“I commend you for getting a job—because Lord knows you have enough money that you never have to work again—but what happened to the music school you wanted to build?”
“I still plan on it—”
“And I don’t understand how working on this ranch is helping you earn any points with Mom and Dad. It’s fine and wonderful, but it’s been a month and it hasn’t fixed anything. Stop talking about it and just do it already. Call me later and let me know how it went, good or bad. We haven’t always had the best of relationships, but I love you and I’ll always be there for you.”
Adam swiped at the tears trailing down his cheeks. “I love you, too, Lizzy. I always have.”
Adam hung up the phone and tried to compose himself before going back inside. He’d missed much of her adult life. And maybe if he’d been around, Lizzy wouldn’t have gone through hell with her ex-husband.
Adam was determined to take care of Lizzy now, despite her protests, but he knew it didn’t make up for not being there when she’d needed him most. She had never once said anything to make him feel guilty for his absence. Maybe she didn’t hold it against him. Still, he knew he needed to talk to her about it, and he would one day soon.
Today he would move forward and be thankful for what he had. Bridgett had become an unexpectedly huge part of his life and hopefully he’d find a way to repair the damage he’d do to their relationship tonight. And even if his family hated him, there was still a chance they could work things out.
“Adam,” Bridgett called from the doorway. “Maggie’s back. Are you all right?”
Adam turned around to face Bridgett. If he were smart, he’d tell her the truth right here and get it over with. But he wasn’t going to do anything to detract from this Thanksgiving lunch.
“I’m good,” Adam nodded. “I just had a talk with my sister and she basically kicked my butt.”
Bridgett gave him the comforting hug. The rest of the world could wait for another minute or two. He just wanted to feel Bridgett’s heart beating against his.
Chapter Eleven
“Thank you, everyone for another successful Thanksgiving charity lunch.” Maggie stood behind the counter of The Magpie and addressed the room. “We wouldn’t be able to do this every year without volunteers like you. Today I am thankful you all are a part of my life. God bless, and everyone go home to your families.”
“Where would you like us to begin cleaning up?” Adam asked.
“I thought you and Bridgett were going to the Tanners’ for dinner. Don’t you two want to head over now?”
“There’s no rush.” Bridgett grabbed a box of industrial-strength garbage bags from under the counter. “And not for the reasons you might think. I am sure my mom is overwhelmed by the prospect of meeting Abby’s adoptive parents, and it’s probably better if I’m not there when it happens. She’ll feel very self-conscious with me in the room.”
“I heard you and Abby made peace today,” Maggie said.
“Gee, I wonder what little songbird told you that.” Bridgett leaned past Maggie and waved to Lark. “Did she also tell you she has an interest in Abby’s brother?”
“I do not,” Lark said from across the room.
“It’s funny how you picked up on that tidbit from so far away,” Bridgett teased, recognizing the signs of a new crush. “Admit it, you’ve got it bad for the guy.”
Lark flipped Bridgett the bird without another word, causing all of them to laugh.
“That’s appropriate on Thanksgiving.” Bridgett tucked her hands under her arms to form makeshift wings and strutted toward Lark. “Gobble, gobble.”
Lark attempted to swat at her with a dishtowel and missed. “You know what they do to turkeys on Thanksgiving, don’t you?”
Bridgett laughed. Only a little over a month ago she’d been quick to deny her own feelings for Adam. While their relationship had had its minor bumps, she wouldn’t trade it for anything at this point. Adam had opened her eyes to what was right in front of her and she loved him for it. Well, for that and many other reasons. She couldn’t help smiling when his eyes met hers.
Quickly looking away, Bridgett pried a bag from the box. “Let’s clean up and head out of here. You know the offer still stands for you to join us at Clay’s parents’ house for dinner. They won’t mind.”
“Thank you, but I accepted Maggie’s dinner invitation earlier,” Lark said.
“It only took me asking her twenty times before she finally relented.”
“I can’t believe that after all the turkey we served here today, you’re going home to fix dinner,” Adam said. “You are a glutton for punishment.”
“I’m not cooking,” Maggie wiped down one of the tables. “My husband is. Thanksgiving dinner is his contribution to the holiday. He insists on doing it every year, even if it’s only the two of us and Bert. This year my daughter and her family are coming over.”
“It’s too bad Bert wasn’t able to see all of this come to fruition today,” Bridgett looked around the luncheonette. “He loves this and the Mistletoe Rodeo charity dinner.”
“Did that man ever give me a battle about dropping him off at our house after the hospital. He was determined to come back here to his kitchen. But those doctors had him so doped up on painkillers I was afraid he’d fall in the gravy and drown. He’s in much safer hands with my husband.”
“He’s lucky he didn’t sever a tendon or an artery,” Adam said. “You’ll have your hands full without him for a while.”
“We’ll be okay,” Maggie said. “I’ll man the grill, Bridgett will take over the baking and Lark will wait tables. We managed for a long time with only one waitress—we’ll be fine until Bert is able to come back to work.”
Bridgett appreciated Maggie’s faith in her. Filling her boss’s shoes wouldn’t be easy, but she was up for the challenge. Bridgett slid under Adam’s arm and tucked herself next to him, enjoying the warmth of his body beside her. She might be nervous to meet Abby’s family this evening, but Adam gave her the strength she needed to plow through it. She couldn’t imagine a better man to have by her side.
* * *
F
OR
THE
NEXT
HOUR
, they worked together scrubbing the restaurant from top to bottom until no sign of today’s luncheon remained. Adam heard a couple of the volunteers out behind the kitchen, singing and playing guitar. His fingers still itched to play every day, and luckily, he was able to use one of the old timer’s guitars at the ranch. Confident the man had no idea who he was, Adam had allowed himself the pleasure of playing for him.
In a couple of hours he wouldn’t have to hide his identity any longer. Confident no one would suddenly recognize him, Adam decided to join them. Borrowing a guitar, he led everyone in an acoustic rendition of “We Can Work it Out” by the Beatles.
The fret board beneath his fingers was pure heaven, not as good as being with Bridgett, but damn close. The guitar he played was nowhere near as expensive as his one-of-a-kind custom Guild acoustic, but it didn’t need to be. He was making music, and that had always been his first love.
Owning a music school ranked pretty high on his list, and now that Bridgett was in the picture, she had trumped them all. The chance of making his dreams come true was at his fingertips, and after tonight there was nothing stopping him from opening his school in town and playing the kind of music he enjoyed...unless Bridgett decided not to forgive him.
“I knew it.” Lark stood in the doorway glaring at Adam. “I knew I’d seen you somewhere before. I couldn’t place where, but I knew your voice.”
Everyone stopped singing and stared at Adam.
Bridgett stepped outside. “Lark, what’s going on?”
“It’s him.” Lark’s voice was thick with disgust. “I have to hand it to you, you clean up good.”
“I don’t understand.” Bridgett’s eyes blinked rapidly.
Adam stood, handing the guitar to one of the guys. “I planned to tell you tonight. Somewhere private.” His heart pounded in his ears, almost deafening him. “My name is Adam Steele, but for the past ten years, people have known me as The Snake
.
” There, he’d said it. It was out. He’d told her the truth. Adam inhaled sharply, waiting for her to respond.
“No.” Bridgett shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you.”
“I practically didn’t recognize you,” Lark chided. “Your singing gave you away, though. Very reminiscent of one of your earlier ballads, before you became so angry.”
“Adam?” Bridgett questioned. “I’ve seen The Snake and you look nothing like him.”
“Change the hair, give him a beard and it’s him. Bridgett, he’s lied to you all this time.” Lark whipped her phone from her pocket. “Here, I’ll show you.”
Bridgett held Lark’s phone as a video of Adam’s band played. She looked from the phone to Adam and back again, and Adam knew she was trying to accept what she was seeing.
“This is really you.” Tears fell silently from Bridgett’s eyes. “But I heard on the radio you were in Australia.”
“That was my body double.” The words sounded ridiculous to him. “We sent him there to keep people from discovering the truth. I wanted to give you and my family a heads-up first. This should have occurred in several methodical stages. There are press releases and—it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I was part of a methodical stage?” Color drained from Bridgett’s face, causing Adam to regret his poor choice of phrasing. “How could you do this to me? Do you have any idea what it feels like to be betrayed and humiliated in front of an entire town...twice?”
“It gets better. Have you seen him with Miss July?” Lark chided, showing Bridgett more photos.
“Really, Lark?” Adam tried to lunge for the phone, but she snatched it away from his grasp. “You could have made your point without showing her those.” He hadn’t wanted Bridgett to see him in bed with another woman. She deserved better. He had been a fool for thinking she’d forgive him after this.
“You’re serious?” Lark squared her shoulders. “Bridgett deserves to hear the truth. You lied to her. To all of us.”
“Those photos are only hurting her more,” Adam growled. “You are no friend if you drive the knife deeper. I take full responsibility for what I did, but Lark there is no need to be cruel to Bridgett.”
Bridgett brought the photo closer to her face and studied it. A visible chill shuddered through her body. She handed the phone back to Lark. “Give us privacy please,” Bridgett said, her voice low and quiet. “Lark, that means you, too.”
“I’ll be right inside. You yell if you need me.”
Bridgett nodded and waited for the door to close. “This is why your parents disowned you. Because you told the whole world you didn’t have parents. Your rags-to-riches story was bullshit.” Bridgett glared at him, her eyes devoid of any emotion. “People looked up to you. I promise you, I was never one of them. But kids worshipped you. They thought if you could make it maybe they could, too. But you’re nothing but a fake. Why did you do this? Why string me along with a lie?”
“It’s complicated,” Adam began. “At first I didn’t want to risk blowing my cover.”
“Your cover?” Bridgett stepped away from him. “This was a cover? You slept with me and spewed all this crap about a future together. So what was real and what wasn’t?”
“I meant every word of it.” This was not going as Adam had planned. “I knew I had to tell you the truth. I wanted to from the beginning. But when you mentioned all the lies your mother had told you I was afraid. I thought if I told you everything, I would have never had a chance to get to know you.”
“You should’ve learned from my mother’s mistakes that keeping secrets only damages a relationship. I don’t know if I will ever get back to where I was with my mother and that breaks my heart every day. And knowing what I’d already been through, you went and did the same thing. I don’t even know who you are. I trusted you. I confided in you things I hadn’t told anyone else.”
“I didn’t want to lose you.”
The pain in her eyes was a sight he had feared since day one. “It’s too late. I’m gone, Adam. You committed the ultimate sin in my book. You lied. It’s not about who you are or who you aren’t. Yeah, that’s major—huge! But it’s not about that. You lied to me. You had a front-row seat to not only my reaction to what my mother and Darren did, but deepest feelings about it. You took advantage.” Bridgett turned away from him. “You kn— I can’t—I can’t do this.”
“Bridgett, don’t believe everything you read and those tabloids,” Adam pleaded. Watching her walk away tore his heart in two. “You are the first person I’ve told the entire truth to. Miami was a lie—a lie my first manager made up in order to sell records. It was a lie I was stuck with and one I fought to correct over the years. My management company said it would damage our reputation, so I just went with it. I allowed other people to control my life and I’ve regretted it since.”
Bridgett spun to face him. “Is your sister really in Texas?”
“Yes, Lizzy lives in Katy. So do my parents. They have their own ranch, and my sister lives in a house I bought for her to live in after her husband beat her up.”
“You told me your sister’s hands were damaged from her ex, you didn’t tell me you bought her a house to live in. You left quite a bit out, Adam.”
Thankful Bridgett hadn’t walked away, Adam attempted to explain his lies and omissions. “I bought her a house in a security-patrolled development. You can easily look at the register of deeds online and you will see it in my name...Adam Steele. I sold my house in Los Angeles after I met you. The closing is on Monday. Everything I owned is already on its way to a storage facility here in Texas. I have no intention of going back to California except to wrap up a few more business items. I’ll only be there for a day or two. Ramblewood is my home now.”
Bridgett recoiled from Adam’s touch when he tried in vain to reach for her.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“Bridgett,” Adam said softly. “Ask me anything, but don’t run away from me. Please don’t shut me out. I’ll answer any of your questions but please don’t leave me.”
Bridgett shook her head and just stood there without saying a word. He was grateful she was at least listening to him.
“You had so many opportunities to tell me the truth,” Bridgett said without making eye contact.
“It broke my heart not to tell you the truth.” Adam wasn’t going to deny or even attempt to justify why he’d kept the truth from her. “When I came to Ramblewood, I was driving from Katy to Los Angeles. I had just come off a bad tour—the band had collectively decided to break up the night before and I’d ended up at my parents’ house. They slammed the door in my face and I couldn’t blame them. I turned to my sister for help and she cleaned me up. When she finished, I didn’t even recognize myself. We tested it by running to the store to get some more appropriate clothing, and when nobody recognized me I decided to drive home to Los Angeles to regroup. It was the first time I was able to be in public without fans or paparazzi mobbing me. If I had let everyone in Ramblewood know who I was, I wouldn’t have had the chance to start over.”
“Were you really going to make all those tourist attraction stops you told me about or was that another lie?” Bridgett asked, finally meeting his eyes.
“All of that was true.” Adam’s hands shook. He jammed them in his jeans pockets to prevent himself from reaching for her again.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” Bridgett folded her arms across her chest.
“What doesn’t?”
“You working at the ranch. You clearly didn’t need the money, so why put yourself through the hard work every day?”
“For exactly that reason—it
was
hard work and I craved it. I needed to feel useful. I wanted to wake up with a purpose every day. Standing onstage in front of thousands of people is not as wonderful as you might think. Once the fans leave and you’re back on that tour bus, you have nothing. The adrenaline only flows when you’re onstage, and unless you have something or someone else to go home to, it’s a very lonely place to be. My bandmates have wives and families, I don’t. I’d never loved anyone until I met you. I never saw myself settling down, getting married or falling in love. I never thought I deserved it. But my opinion has changed because of you.”
“My opinion has changed, too. I don’t know how to love someone who has lied to me from day one. You let me down. I mean
really
let me down, Adam.” Tears streamed down Bridgett’s cheeks. “You changed my whole outlook on life and now I feel more cheated than I did before you came to town.”