Patricia Kay – The Girl He Left Behind (страница 3)

Adam hated all that garbage. Always had. He didn’t hate his fans, of course—he liked meeting them, especially at concerts—but if he spent all his time online and doing interviews, when would he be able to write his music? All he’d ever wanted was to write and perform, not blow his own horn about how great he was. It still amazed him that anyone cared about all that stuff entertainers posted. Hell, Aaron even told Adam’s followers what he, Adam, had supposedly eaten for breakfast!

“Yeah, I know he can’t,” he finally said.

Bethany studied him steadily. “So you won’t try to blow off the interview, right?”

“I guess not,” he said reluctantly. “But I’ll never change my mind that it’s the music that counts. Not all this other stuff.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m tired of this old argument, Adam. Yes, the music is important. Of course it is. But having your name and face out there, connecting with all those people who plunk down their money to buy your music and see your shows is equally important. In the long run, maybe even more important. And Rolling Stone! I mean, you’ve arrived. They hardly ever put a country star on their cover. The fact they want you means they consider you a crossover artist, and isn’t that what you wanted?”

Before he could answer, his cell rang and he saw it was Austin calling.

“Gotta take this,” he said, waving Bethany off.

Accepting the call, he said, “Hey, bro. What’s up? Thought you were gonna send over that contract.”

“I am. I will. But something’s happened,” Austin said.

“Oh?”

“Mom’s had a heart attack.”

“What?” Adam stood. “When?”

Bethany, alerted by his tone, frowned and got off his desk.

“Right after I texted you, she collapsed. I called 911 and I’m riding in the ambulance on the way to the hospital right now. They’ve got her stabilized but it’s pretty serious. I think you need to come.”

“Of course. You’re sure she’s gonna be okay?”

“They think so, but we’ll see what the docs say when we get there.”

“Okay. Keep me posted. I’ll try to get out on a flight tonight.”

“What?” Bethany said when he hung up. “What do you mean, get out on a flight tonight? You have that interview tonight, Adam!”

“This is more important.” He quickly explained what Austin had told him.

Bethany opened her mouth, probably to protest, but closed it again when she saw the look on his face. She sighed wearily. “Okay, I’ll call Rolling Stone and explain. Hopefully they can postpone the interview for a few days and still make their deadline.”

“Don’t make any promises. I have no idea how long I’ll be gone.” Adam was already packing up the stuff on his desk that he wanted to take with him.

“What do you mean? Surely you won’t be gone that long.”

His voice hardened. “I said, don’t make any promises. I’ll call you when I know my mother’s condition.”

“I could come with you...” she said hopefully. “I can take care of everything from—”

“It’s better if I go alone,” he said, cutting her off.

“But—”

Ignoring her, he strode out to the hallway where his secretary, Donna, had a desk. “Donna, get me on a flight to Austin tonight, however you can. And I’ll need a rental car when I get there.” Unfortunately, his personal plane was down for repairs.

“Okay.”

“I’ll be upstairs packing. Oh, and get me some cash, too, will you?”

Because he knew she expected it, and because he was in no mood for any kind of scene right now, he told Bethany goodbye, dropped a hasty kiss on her lips and said he’d be in touch.

Then he headed up to his bedroom to begin preparing for his first trip home to Crandall Lake since the day twelve years ago when he’d boarded the bus that had brought him here to Nashville—and success beyond his wildest dreams.

* * *

Eve drove slowly home after dropping the twins at Bill’s. It was always a wrench to see them leave. Sharing custody with him by alternating weeks was the fairest thing to do, she knew that, but just because it was fair didn’t mean she had to love it. She missed the twins when they were gone. Okay, so they were only fifteen minutes away, just on the other side of Crandall Lake, but the truth was, they might as well have been on the moon in comparison to where they lived with her.

After the divorce, Eve had stayed in the starter home she and Bill had bought a few months after they were married. Well, he’d bought it. She certainly hadn’t had any money to contribute. She was only eighteen and barely out of high school. He was twenty-two and had been working at a good job for almost a year, ever since his graduation from college. The house was a small ranch style with three bedrooms, two baths and an attached garage. The only thing that made it different from its neighbors was the front porch Bill had paid extra to have added because he knew how much she loved having a front porch with a swing. Although the neighborhood was quiet and nice, it wasn’t anything special, and it was on the wrong side of town in terms of prestige.

Bill and his new family, on the other hand, lived in the most fashionable part of Crandall Lake, right near the park and the river. Their home was a stately five-bedroom Colonial on a heavily wooded lot. There was a beautiful pool and they even had a tennis court. Bill was an avid tennis player.

Bill’s new wife, Melissa, had already given him a child. Will was eleven months old, and the twins were crazy about him. They were crazy about Melissa, too, whom they called Missy. For days, it was “Missy this” and “Missy that” after they’d spent a week with Bill. Their attachment to Bill’s new family was a continual source of disquiet to Eve. She worried that because she was a working mother with limited time, and Melissa was a stay-at-home mother who always had lots of time to bake and play with her two and their baby brother, that one day the twins would prefer to live with their father full-time.

How would she handle it if that happened? There was no way she’d agree, of course, but what good would refusing do her if the twins resented her for it? She didn’t want them by default. She wanted them to want to be with her.

Olivia was always telling her she worried way too much, that she borrowed trouble, but Eve couldn’t seem to help it. She was a worrier, always had been. “Anyway,” as she’d told Olivia just last week when they were discussing the scary possibility Eve might be laid off from the paper, “I don’t have to borrow anything. Trouble just seems to find me!”

Thinking about the twins and Bill and the whole rumored-layoff thing had pushed all thoughts of Adam Crenshaw out of her mind, but when she arrived home and saw the People magazine lying in the middle of her kitchen table, they came rushing back.

Did he ever think about her?

Wonder how she was doing?

Weigh those two little words—what if?

She doubted it. Because he had never, not once in all these years, tried to contact her. And unlike her failed attempts to call him in those early days, it would have been easy for him. After all, she had been here in Crandall Lake the entire time.

Quit torturing yourself. Throw the stupid magazine away. Adam Crenshaw lives in a different world, one you’ll never be a part of. And that’s the way it was always meant to be. You knew that at the time. You have built a good life here. You need to remember that and stop mooning over what might have been.

The magazine gave a satisfying thud as it hit the wastebasket.

Chapter Two

Donna had gotten him a seat on a red-eye arriving in Austin at one in the morning. As the plane banked, preparing to approach, Adam gazed down at the lights of the city. Although he was tired, he could never sleep while flying.

By the time they landed and Adam picked up his rental car, he knew it would be close to 3:00 a.m. before he arrived in Crandall Lake. Austin had wanted him to stay with him, but Adam didn’t like being in someone else’s home—he liked his privacy—so his brother had booked a room at the Crandall Lake Inn. Adam couldn’t help smiling wryly at the thought of him, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, the eldest of the “wild Crenshaw boys,” actually staying at the posh inn. Of course, it might no longer be posh. He might find it had gone from its long-ago glory to a faded facsimile.

But as he pulled into the driveway of the three-story inn, he saw that it had retained much of its charm. In fact, it still looked elegant and the kind of place that attracted only the best. Adam wondered if he would be considered part of that elite circle now.

“Mr. Crenshaw? Welcome to the Crandall Lake Inn.” The young woman at the desk gave him a bright smile, and he could see the excitement in her eyes. “I hope you had a good trip.”

He nodded, returning her smile.

“We’re so happy you chose to stay with us,” she continued as she swiped his credit card and gave him his keys. “Your suite is on the second floor, with a river view.”

“Thank you.”

Because he had only brought one bag, plus his guitar, with him, Adam turned down the help of the bellman and went up to his suite on his own. When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was the grand piano in the far right corner of the living area, which was large and well lit, with a wide expanse of windows and French doors overlooking the river. He wondered if this was a special suite chosen especially for him. He doubted there’d be many grand pianos at the inn. He was happy to see it. If he ended up having to stay in Crandall Lake for a while, it would help him to have it there. When he was writing music, he preferred to sit at his own piano with his guitar nearby. He would have to remember to thank the manager in the morning.