She turned to find Tuck face down on the table with his half-eaten bowl of chili sideways on the floor. She set the glass on the table next to him. “There you go,
doll
.” She carefully fished out the wallet from his back pocket and removed the photograph of her and him, leaving the cash untouched as she placed it on the table next to his Sprite.
She grabbed the suitcase from beneath their bed and walked back to Tuck, who looked as peaceful as she had ever seen him. Even now she hated herself for finding him handsome. Any woman would, she reminded herself. His appearance had never been his problem. Then she pulled the engagement ring from her finger and set it on top of his wallet before heading to the front door.
She placed her hand on the door handle and took one last look around the tiny house. Like the tiny bubbles surfacing to the top of the glass, her bubbles of anxiety had finally found their way out, freeing her. And for the first time in a long time, she could finally breathe. A cold gust of wind nearly took her breath away when she opened the door. Heavy snowflakes fell in front of her, and she smiled. It was going to be a bad storm all right.
She had been counting on it.
Chapter 4
Trista
Trista turned on the radio and scanned the stations for an update on the weather. Earlier that morning, the weatherman had referred to it as the worst storm Nashville had seen in over a decade. And although she had been counting on a bad storm, she needed to stay ahead of it.
She pulled into Brianna’s driveway and left the car running as she stared at the house, waiting for Savannah to come out. Trista thought back to when she had dropped her off a few hours earlier. Savannah had been more than a little curious as to why Trista was so anxious for her to hang out with her friend. She had told her that she was working on a surprise and needed a little time to make it all happen. That seemed good enough for her fifteen-year-old daughter. Besides, she loved nothing more than hanging out with her friends. If socializing were a subject in school, Savannah would receive nothing lower than an A+.
She watched as shadows moved back and forth behind the curtains. She knew the clock was ticking. Not only did they have a flight to catch and a storm to beat, but she also had no idea how long the tranquilizer would keep Tuck asleep. But she knew what she was about to do to Savannah. Uprooting her life and taking her away from her school and friends would be tough. And as much as Trista hated her life with Tuck, there were things about this place she knew she was going to miss. Sure, she had been so preoccupied over the past two years that she hadn’t had much of a social life, but she loved the hospital where she worked. She especially enjoyed working with the other nurses there. They had been her lifeline after Anthony had passed away, and she was going to miss them very much.
The guy on the radio went on and on about how bad the storm was, encouraging people to stay inside their homes tonight if at all possible. Trista looked up at the sky and noticed the absence of stars due to the storm clouds looming above. “Come on, Savannah,” she murmured. “Any time now.”
A few minutes passed, and the front door didn’t budge. The image of Tuck lying face down on the kitchen table caused her stomach to recoil. She still couldn’t believe she had done something like that. But it wasn’t like he’d left her much of a choice. If she was going to get away, she needed a head start. The type of head start that the tranquilizer offered her. Then she imagined how mad he was going to be when he finally came to, and the butterflies turned into rocks falling to the bottom of her gut. Trista got out of her car and walked up to the front door. She gave it a knock and waited for someone to answer, but no one did. She knocked harder. “Brianna,” she shouted. “It’s Savannah’s mom.”
Still no answer.
Trista walked over to one of the windows and peeked inside. The front door opened, startling her. “Brianna, where’s Savannah?”
Brianna wore a look of fear. “She’s…um.”
“What is it?”
Brianna’s eyes shifted to the side for a moment before looking back at Trista.
“Where is she, Brianna?” Trista repeated.
Brianna looked down and tucked her hands into her pockets. She glanced to the side again. Trista followed her line of sight and saw the midnight blue muscle car sitting on the side of the road about two houses down. “Are you kidding me? I told her…” She didn’t bother to look at Brianna before marching over to the muscle car. Trey’s muscle car. The one person on this planet Savannah had been forbidden to see.
Tension filled Trista as her blood boiled with rage. Two weeks had passed since she had told Trey where he could shove his precious car. Although the kid was nineteen years old, he had the maturity of a twelve year old. “Savannah!” she shouted.
Savannah climbed out of the passenger side and headed in the opposite direction down the road, putting distance between her mom and the car. “Hey! Stop right there, young lady.”
Trey made the wisest decision she’d ever seen him make and took off. His tires screamed as they spun out on the asphalt, sending smoke shooting out the back. Trista watched the car as it passed, wishing she had a brick to throw at his precious little car. Then she turned back to Savannah, who had been all but running down the street. “Savannah!” she yelled. But Savannah didn’t so much as turn around.
“Get back here now!” Trista’s walk quickened into a light jog until she caught up to her daughter. “I said to stop!” She grabbed Savannah by the shoulder and whipped her around.
“Get your hands off me.”
“Excuse me?”
“You ruin everything. Things were good until you showed up.”
Trista shifted her weight to her other foot as she pointed at her car. “Get in the car, young lady. We’ll talk about this later.”
Savannah looked at their car and crossed her arms. “I’m stayin’.”
Trista knew how quickly this situation could escalate, but right now she needed her daughter to get into the car before they missed their flight. “Savannah, I get it.”
Savannah turned to Trista, a look of defiance on her face.
“Listen, I’m not happy that you were with Trey. We had a talk about him already, and you weren’t supposed to see him anymore. But I was a teenager, too. And I understand.”
“Then why did you scare him away?”
Trista looked down and bit her lip, exercising all of the verbal restraint she could summon. “Please, Savannah. We have to go to the airport.”
“What are you talkin’ about? Why?”
“You remember the surprise I told you about?”
Savannah nodded.
“Well, I bought us plane tickets to Grandma’s house in New Haven.”
Clearly not impressed, Savannah sat down on the curb with her arms still crossed. “I’m not goin’.”
Trista took a deep breath. Then she sat down next to Savannah and placed an arm around her. “Do you remember the last time we saw Grandma?”
A frown formed on Savannah’s face, and she nodded. “It’s been a couple of years at least since she’s visited us.”
“I know, baby. And I think what you and I need the most right now is to get away. We can talk about everything on the way.”
“You don’t want to talk,” Savannah demanded. “You just want to control me.”
“That’s not true, baby. All I care about is your wellbeing.” She paused and rubbed her daughter’s thin shoulders. “Please come with me. I promise it will be fun.”
Savannah studied her mom’s face. “We’re flying?”
Trista nodded.
Light filled Savannah’s eyes. “All right. How long will we be gone?
Trista carefully considered her response. “A few days or so.”
“When are we leaving?”
“In about forty-five minutes.”
Savannah stood up and walked over to the car. Trista felt bad lying to her little girl, but she didn’t know what else to do. Talking about Trey would only stall their leaving, and she couldn’t afford to miss that flight. Their lives depended on it.
Chapter 5
Seth
February 13th
The word CANCELLED flashed in red letters on the blue terminal screen. “Damn,” Seth muttered. Life didn’t offer too many second chances, and now his was circling the drain.
His lawyer had had to call in some favors to get Seth another shot at finally making his life right again. This time it wasn’t a car accident keeping him from boarding the plane. It was a stupid storm. The worst Nashville had seen in at least ten years.
People dropped their bags and slumped into chairs. Families argued and griped, and a potpourri of curse words filled the air. A dad chased his two young boys while their mom argued with an attendant, demanding answers. Another man tossed a fistful of tickets over his shoulder and walked away, pulling his luggage behind him.
Next to Seth, a little boy tugged on his father’s sleeve. “Why can’t we fly, Dad?”
“It’s not safe right now. The storm has covered the planes in ice.” He looked at Seth and frowned. A woman walked up behind the man and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Looks like all the flights out of here have been cancelled for the night,” she said. “And it’s not looking good for tomorrow either.”
“We should try to get a rental car then,” he said, picking up the little boy.
“Are we going to drive to Michigan?” the boy asked.
The woman ruffled her son’s hair. “We’re definitely going to try, hon.”
The man frowned at Seth again as he shuffled his family forward. Seth didn’t know if the guy was upset about the flight or if he knew who Seth was. He was afraid it was the latter. Still, a rental car was a great idea. Seth held back a bit before following the family through the hall and down the escalator to an area just outside baggage claim. A giant green light illuminated an ENTERPRISE sign. A line as long as the five o’clock traffic on the expressway snaked back and forth. Seth watched the attendants at Hertz and Alamo put up signs that read NO MORE CARS AVAILABLE, and another orchestra of curse words filled the air.
Seth got in the Enterprise line. Judging by the twenty or so annoyed looking people ahead of him, he had a feeling he was in for a long wait. He unloaded the heavy backpack from his shoulder, dropping it to the floor like a bag of sand, and set his guitar case on the floor in front of him.
He noticed the worn photograph of his little girl taped to the case. The memory of her washed over him like cool water on a hot summer’s day. She had hair as soft as silk and a smile bright enough to melt ice, evidence of her mother’s genes. It was the same smile that Lexi had given him the day she’d told him that she was pregnant with Faith. But instead of holding her and telling her how much he loved her and how happy he was, he had taken a step back, shaking his head in dismay. Not one of his finest moments. If only he had done things differently. He wouldn’t be here now. Wouldn’t be fighting for the one thing he cared most about.
Someone bumped into him from behind. Seth instinctively reached for his guitar case to stop it from falling over before turning to see who had run into him.
A teenage girl looked up at him. “I am
so
sorry,” she apologized.
Seth brought up a hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
The girl’s eyes widened as she recognized him.
“Are you…” She brought a hand to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, you are. You’re Seth Storm, aren’t you?”
Seth looked away, wishing he had worn a ball cap, but it was too late. Just when he thought this day couldn’t get any worse.
“You’re…you’re Seth Storm. It’s Seth Storm, Mom!” The girl grabbed her mother’s arm and started jumping up and down.
“You are Seth Storm, right?”
If he didn’t say something soon, she’d keep saying his name and probably start pointing at him like he was a giant giraffe on display at a zoo, drawing even more attention. Something he didn’t want or need, especially now. He looked down and then nodded as he held out a hand. “Yes, I am.”
“O-M-G!” She grabbed his hand and began jumping up and down, nearly pulling his arm out of his socket. “Mom! It’s Seth Storm, the famous country singer.”
Famous? Highly debatable. Up-and-coming without actually getting there, maybe. But not famous.
“I heard him.” The girl’s mother disconnected her daughter’s hand from Seth’s, allowing the circulation to return. “Savannah, calm down. You’re making a scene.”
Seth tucked his hands back into his pockets and nodded at the woman. “Nice to meet you.”
“I apologize for my daughter.” Seth turned back to Savannah, who was now staring doe-eyed at him and smiling from ear to ear. “She’s never met a famous person before.” Unlike her daughter, the woman seemed calm and unaffected by Seth’s presence. Her hazel eyes reminded Seth of Lexi. They held a familiar and comforting power, like rain in a desert, reaching places deep within him. Dark places.
“It’s quite all right.” He turned back around and took a few steps closer to the man in front of him in line.
“Everything’s fine. Cause now you’re with me tonight…”
Seth heard the song coming from behind him and turned to find Savannah’s phone directly in his face. He pulled back just in time to avoid taking an iPhone to the eye. He didn’t know what was worse, hearing his labor of love being played as a ringtone or nearly losing the sight in his right eye from a cell phone.
“I made this my ringtone for every time my boyfriend calls me,” she told him. “It’s my favorite song of yours.”
Seth forced a smile. “I’m glad you like it.”
She batted her eyelashes. “Can you sing something for me?”
“Savannah! Leave him alone.” The woman grabbed her daughter’s arm. “I’m sorry. We need to be going now.”
Savannah frowned as she pocketed her phone. “Mom, can I borrow a pen? I want to ask him for his autograph.”
And here we go, Seth thought. First the cancelled flight and long lines, and now the teenager groupie. Enough was enough. This was why he was no longer a singer, why he had grown to hate leaving his house. And why he wanted nothing to do with the music industry, despite the breach of contract threats he had received from his record label. He longed for an ordinary life. Why couldn’t he just stand in line being pissed off like everyone else without someone bothering him?