Learning to Breathe Again (31 page)

“
Glenn, you need to find out
where she signs to publish her songs. I’m going to be looking for
some new material for my next album,” Dusty turned back to
Bayleigh. “I’d like to see what you’ve got. That is, if you’d be
interested in working with me again.”

“
Are you kidding? I’d love
to!” Bayleigh prayed she wasn’t dreaming. Write songs and have them
recorded by Dusty Rhodes, up and coming superstar? Oh, hell,
yeah!

“
Sounds like you two already
have it all worked out, then,” Glenn Marks, Dusty’s manager held
out his card. “Once you have a deal with the publishing house, let
me know. Are you local to Austin, then?”

“
I live a few hours west of
here, in the heart of the Hill Country, but easy driving distance.
I’m staying with my brother for a while until I decide where I want
to be permanently.”

“
Well, keep in touch. Dusty,
we need to get into this meeting,” Glenn reminded him, with a
glance at his watch.

“
You go ahead. I’m going to
walk Bayleigh out. I won’t be long,” he promised his
manager.

“
You don’t have to walk me
out if you have a meeting,” Bayleigh told him as the other men,
including Liam, headed for an office down the hall.

“
Eh, it’s just business.
That’s what Glenn and Chris are for,” he told her as he took her
guitar from her and ushered her through the doors and into the
hall.

“
So, what are you doing
here, anyway?”

“
I’m going to record my next
album in Austin. We’re looking at using Liam’s studio. And of
course, this weekend, I’m playing the Austin Rodeo. You should come
check it out. Bring your brother with you, if he wants to
come.”

“
He’s married.”

“
Then how many tickets do
you need? I can leave them at the gate for you,” he leaned against
her car as she unlocked the door with the key fob.

“
Four, I guess. But no
promises. I’m not sure what we have planned.”

“
Four it is. And no
pressure. I’d love to get a chance to catch up some more.” He
pulled her in for another hug before he pressed a chaste kiss to
her cheek. “I’m glad to hear you left that loser behind you. You’ve
got too much talent to waste your songs on scum like
him.”

“
Thanks, Dusty. You always
were good for the ego,” Bayleigh opened her driver’s door and
turned back to him to say goodbye. “I hope I get a chance to talk
to you on Saturday, then.”

“
Here, this is my personal
cell. Call or text me. Maybe we can meet up before or after the
show,” Dusty pressed his business card into her hand, closing her
fingers around it.

Bayleigh glanced over his shoulder. “You’d
better get back inside. Your assistant just came looking for
you.”

Dusty laughed and stepped back, allowing her
to slide inside her car. She lifted her hand in a wave as she left
the parking lot, a smile on her face. Who knew connections made ten
years ago in a little hole in the wall dive in Nashville with a
bunch of wanna-bes would add up to an invitation to be on what
could potentially be a multi-million selling record? She couldn’t
wait to tell Jack.

“
You know Dusty Rhodes and
you never told us? Girl, you’re holding out on me!” Nicole teased
as the two couples checked into one of the hotels in downtown
Austin on Friday afternoon. When Bayleigh mentioned she might be
able to get tickets to Dusty’s show, Nicole had made plans for both
couples to spend the weekend.

Bayleigh grinned at her sister-in-law. “Never
occurred to me to include that in my references,” she teased. “I
had no idea he’d be at Liam’s the other day.”

“
Now, who’s Liam
again?”

“
He owns the recording
studio I used. He and Maddie were really close for a while back
when we were all in Nashville.”

Jason walked up and slid an arm around his
wife’s shoulders. “Okay, we’re all checked in and they’re taking
our bags up to the rooms for us. We’ve got enough time to rest for
a bit before we’re meeting Bayleigh’s friends for that sound check
thing he invited us to.”

“
Bayleigh’s friend who just
happens to be Dusty Rhodes,” Nicole interjected with a
smile.

Bayleigh sighed and looked at Jack. “Is she
going to be like this all night?”

Jack shrugged and glanced at his watch. “You
ready to head up to the room so we can rest before we go meet these
people?” Without waiting for a reply, he marched over to the
elevators, stabbing at the call button with his finger.

Surprised at his abrupt tone, Bayleigh
glanced at Nicole and Jason, seeing their matching frowns.

“
I think we’re going to grab
a drink in the bar first. You going to be okay with
him?”

“
Of course,” Bayleigh tried
to give her brother a reassuring smile as she hurried to catch up
with Jack before the elevator doors closed. “You okay?” she asked
him, managing to step through the doors just before they
closed.

“
I’m fine,” he leaned his
head against the wall of the elevator.

“
Then what’s
wrong?”

“
Nothing,” he shouldered his
way past her as the elevator doors opened on their
floor.

Not sure what else to do, Bayleigh followed
him down the hallway and waited for him to open the door to their
room. She entered behind him and watched as he tossed the keycard
on the desk before he stretched out on the bed.

She moved over to stand beside the bed, her
hands on her hips. “Are you going to tell me what this is
about?”

“
I’m just tired, Bayleigh. I
just need to take a nap. Can you wake me in a couple of hours so I
can take a shower?”

“
Jack…”

“
I’m tired, Bayleigh. That’s
all,” he grabbed one of the pillows and pulled it over his head,
cutting her off.

Bayleigh huffed out a breath and stood with
her hands on her hips. “Fine. I’m going back down to the bar with
Jason and Nicole.”

“’
Kay,” Jack grumbled from
under the pillow.

Throwing her hands up in frustration,
Bayleigh stormed back to the door, not bothering to catch it to
keep it from slamming. She’d give him his two hours and not a
minute more.

Stepping back onto the elevator, she hit the
button for the lobby. She found Jason and Nicole sitting at the bar
and slid onto a stool next to them.

“
Didn’t expect to see you
back down here,” Jason commented after she ordered a glass of
wine.

“
Neither did I,” Bayleigh
muttered, taking a healthy swallow of the wine.

Nicole exchanged a look with her husband and
jerked her head towards the doors. He nodded and leaned over to
kiss his wife before he slid off the barstool. As he passed by his
sister, he patted her back.

“
Want to talk about it?”
Nicole asked, taking a sip of her own drink.

“
I don’t even know what to
talk about, Nicole. You saw what he was like down here, then when
we got to the room, he laid down on the bed and said he wanted to
take a nap.” She took another sip of her wine.

“
Did you two have a fight or
something?”

“
What? No, why?”

Nicole turned to fully face her
sister-in-law. “He’s been in a mood for the last couple of days. I
thought maybe it was something between you two.”

“
And I was hoping it was
something at the office,” Bayleigh pushed her wine glass aside. “I
don’t know what to do, Nicole.”

“
Well, Jack’s the kind of
guy who just needs time to work things out on his own, whatever is
bothering him.” Nicole reached over and put her hand on Bayleigh’s
arm. “He’s a complicated man, Bayleigh. Just give him some space.
He’ll let you know when he’s ready to talk about whatever is
bothering him.”

Sliding off the barstool, she slid her purse
strap over her shoulder. “You want to hang out with me and
Jason?”

“
No, I’ll just go walk
around a little,” Bayleigh was quick to shake her head. “It’s
Austin. There’s always something to do,” she gave her a weak
smile.

“
You sure?”

“
I’ll be fine, Nicole. I’ll
give Jack his space for two hours and then we’ll see what
happens.”

“
Come find us if you need
anything, Bayleigh. Anything,” Nicole gave her a hug.

Bayleigh nodded and watched her sister-in-law
walk out of the bar. The bartender pointed to her glass but
Bayleigh shook her head. She wasn’t one to drown her sorrows in
alcohol. But she was one to bury it in the music. And Austin was
known worldwide as the Live Music Capitol of the World. She was
going to go see what was happening on the streets. Maybe a few
hours would give them all a little perspective.

“
WHAT THE HELL WAS YOUR
problem tonight?” Bayleigh asked, tossing her purse on the small
desk in their hotel room.

“
Nothing,” Jack grabbed a
bottle of alcohol out of the mini-bar and poured it into a glass,
tossing it back in a single swallow.

“
Jack, you didn’t talk to
any of us all night! I don’t even think you talked to Dusty at
all!”

“
I didn’t need to, you
talked to him the whole night!” he shot back, reaching for another
bottle of the whiskey.

“
Don’t you think you had
enough of that already?” Bayleigh raised an eyebrow.

He opened the second bottle and tossed the
cap aside. “I’m not drunk, Bayleigh. Not even close,” he downed the
second shot.

“
Well, you’re well on your
way, then,” she muttered.

“
Why don’t you go rejoin
your friend Dusty? You were pretty close to him the other day,” he
reached for a third bottle of the alcohol.

“
What the hell are you
talking about?”

“
I saw you, Bayleigh, so
don’t try to deny it!” he drank the third bottle down.

“
Deny what? Are you sure you
aren’t drunk?”

“
I saw you! Outside the
studio the other day, here in Austin. You were in his arms, he was
all over you!”

Bayleigh stared at him in shock. “You saw
what?”

“
The day you came to Austin
to record your demo, I had to meet a client here. I was going to
surprise you, take you out to dinner, something fancier than what
we have in Waketon. I got to the studio in time to see you making
out with that guy!” he opened the fridge again then slammed it
shut. “There’s not enough alcohol in this room. I’m going to the
bar.”

“
Wait, Jack! We need to talk
about this,” Bayleigh reached for his arm but he jerked it out of
her reach.

“
I’m done talking, Bayleigh.
I’ve been cheated on before by the woman I thought I loved. I
should have known better than to trust you!”

“
What are you talking about?
You
can
trust me! I
don’t know what you think you saw but it wasn’t me cheating on you,
or even close! Dusty is a friend, nothing more!”

“
Awfully close friend, isn’t
he?”

“
Oh my God, Jack! Nothing
happened! You didn’t see anything! Dusty, Liam, Will, Maddie and I
were all in Nashville together back in the day! We were all friends
supporting each other. Dusty showed up at the studio that day and
it was the first time we’d seen each other since before I left for
England. I have never been interested in Dusty that way.
Ever!”