Learning to Breathe Again (37 page)

“
I have that session with
Dusty in the morning. I need to get going,” she pushed her chair
back and looked around the table. “Sorry to break it up, guys, but
I need to head back to the apartment.”

“
Do you need to take my car?
Brian or Rick will give me a ride, right guys?” Maddie asked
them.

“
Of course. Unless you want
one of us to drive you home, ‘Leigh,” Rick agreed.

“
No, I’ll be fine taking
Maddie’s car,” Bayleigh stood up and grabbed her purse, checking to
make sure she’d tucked her phone inside.

“
I’ll walk you out,” Jack
stood up as well. “I think I’m ready to call it a night as
well.”

“
I’ll try to keep the noise
level to a minimum when I get home,” Maddie told her with a grin.
Being a night owl, Maddie sometimes forgot others didn’t share her
nocturnal habits.

Bayleigh grinned back at her and said her
goodnights to everyone else at the table. She turned to walk out,
Jack at her side. She led the way over to her car and hit the
button on the key fob to unlock it. After she opened the door, she
turned to face him.

“
Thank you,” she told him,
resting one hand on the car door.

“
For what?” he quirked an
eyebrow.

“
Staying and getting to know
my friends, even though they were a little on the rude side at
first,” she gave him a small smile.

“
It’s okay, I understood.
I’m glad you have friends who look out for you,” Jack stepped in
closer to her. “I’m glad you let me stay,” he whispered, as his
hand came up to cup her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. “I’m
going to kiss you.”

Bayleigh’s eyes widened as
he announced his intentions but didn’t step away or try to stop
him. Her eyes closed as his mouth closed over hers. His scent
enveloped her and she moaned, sinking into his kiss. Her hands
fisted against his chest as she lost herself in the moment.
This is what I missed,
she
thought to herself, kissing him back.

“
Come back to my hotel with
me,” he invited between kisses.

Bayleigh tore her mouth from
his, dragging in a ragged breath. “I can’t, Jack,” she pushed
against his chest and he took a step back. Bayleigh felt the chill
in the air as she lost his body heat. She inhaled and forced
herself to look him in the eye. “I’ve let my emotions rule me for
far too long. The first twenty-two years of my life, I did whatever
my parents asked of me, including going to college and getting a
degree. Then, it was all about Will and his band, and keeping the
peace. I need this time alone, Jack, to make sure that I’m doing
what
I
need for a
change.”

Jack took another step away from her and
nodded. “I’m not giving up, Bayleigh.”

Bayleigh took a step back towards him, her
hand reaching up to cup his face. “I’m not asking you to, Jack. But
I need some time to figure it all out.” She sniffed and shook her
head. “You and I were a whirlwind back in Waketon, that instant
attraction and everything that happened that threw us together. I
need to get my balance again. There’s so much at stake and I don’t
even know how to work it all out. I just need…”

“
Time. I get it, baby.
Really, I do.” Jack reached up and covered her hand on his cheek
before he turned his head and pressed a kiss to the palm. “Just
don’t forget that somewhere during that whirlwind, we fell in love.
So while I will respect you and give you the time and space you’re
requesting, I am not giving up on us.” He dropped her hand and
stepped away from her. “I’m going to catch a flight back to Texas
tomorrow but I’ll call you sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

Bayleigh nodded as she blinked back the
tears. She wanted to believe she was doing the right thing, but
good God her heart was killing her right now! “I do love you,
Jack,” she whispered as she looked down at her car keys.

With a low growl, Jack
stepped up to her and pulled her against him. “I don’t care what
else you think about me, or our time in Waketon. But believe that I
love you, too, Bayleigh Morrow. And I am
not
giving up on us. Ever. You want
time, you’ve got it,” he dipped his head and kissed her
again.

“
Now, get in your car and
drive away before I kidnap you,” he whispered against her lips a
moment later as he released her.

Unable to stop the tears this time, Bayleigh
did as instructed. Jack rapped his knuckles on her roof and stepped
away as she turned the key in the ignition. She dried the tears and
waved her hand in a wave as she shifted into gear and drove out of
the parking lot.

Jack stared after the taillights until the
car turned a corner and disappeared. Time and space to think,
that’s what she was asking for and even if it killed him, that’s
what he was going to give her. He looked around the parking lot and
back towards Maddie’s bar, an idea taking shape in his head.
Knowing he was risking his health and safety, he turned to go back
inside to talk to Brian and Rick, hoping they wouldn’t try to kill
him on sight.

TWO WEEKS LATER, BAYLEIGH LET herself into
the apartment and called out a greeting to Maddie as she kicked off
her shoes. She’d spent the morning at the recording studio with
Dusty, making changes to one of the songs they’d been working on
together.

“
Oh, good. You made it home
before I had to leave,” Maddie stepped out of the kitchen. “You
have a package on the table and the curiosity has been killing me
all afternoon.”

“
Package? What kind of
package?” Bayleigh asked stepping into the kitchen.

“
Well, envelope, really.”
Maddie laughed as Bayleigh picked up the large envelope.

“
Oh, my God, Maddie! It’s
from David Wilson!” Bayleigh stared at the envelope.

“
I know. And from the size
of that thing, I’m betting it’s a contract,” Maddie told her with a
laugh. “Now, open it!”

“
I’m too afraid to,”
Bayleigh admitted with a shaky laugh. But she took the letter
opener from her friend and sliced through the layer of tape on the
flap. With a deep breath, she slid the papers out, reading through
the letter quickly. With a gasp, she handed it over to Maddie.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “Tell me I’m not dreaming!”

Maddie scanned the letter and then looked at
the other documents in Bayleigh’s hands. “I think we’re both having
the same dream,” she looked at her friend. “You did it, ‘Leigh. You
just landed your first contract!” she squealed, throwing her arms
around her friend.

Bayleigh laughed and hugged her friend back
and then grabbed the documents back. “I need to find an
entertainment lawyer to review this for me, just to make sure it’s
all good,” she shook her head. “Wow. I mean, I knew he liked the
music, but I figured I’d get the standard contract and be forced to
sign an exclusive agreement. But this,” she tapped the stack of
papers. “This is amazing!”

“
I told you, you’ve got
talent, girl! And with Dusty already snatching up those three
songs, the word is out on the street that you are the one to
watch!”

Bayleigh shook her head. “It’s too much to
take in,” she muttered, sliding the papers back into the
envelope.

“
Hey, I thought this is what
you wanted?” Maddie’s voice was filled with concern as she put her
hand on her friend’s arm.

“
It was, I mean, it is! It’s
just…” her voice trailed off and Maddie shook her head.

“
Too many changes in such a
short period of time?” Maddie guessed, her voice soft and
knowing.

Bayleigh sighed and nodded. “Something like
that,” she agreed, tapping the envelope against her palm.

Maddie smiled and slid her arm around
Bayleigh’s shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. “Look, you have a
few days to think it over. David’s one of the best, but he’s
certainly not the only game in town. You won’t do much better than
the contract you have in your hand, but no one said you have to
sign the first deal presented to you.”

Bayleigh took a deep breath and nodded.
“You’re right. I’m going to go make a few phone calls. Maybe Nicole
knows someone I can talk to about the contract. I’ll meet up with
you at the bar later, okay?”

“
You bet,” Maddie gave her
another hug. “I need to get going. Call if you’re going to be more
than a couple of hours!”

Bayleigh waved her friend off and wandered
over to the living room to look out the window. With her forehead
pressed to the smooth windowpane, she watched as the cars whipped
by on the street below. It still hadn’t sunk in yet that she
actually held a songwriting contract in her hand. One that allowed
her to retain the copyrights and didn’t limit her to being
exclusive for the publisher.

She knew it wasn’t a contract offered
lightly; most new songwriters had to either be exclusive to the
publisher for a few years or give up the rights to the songs they
penned, at least until they had proven themselves. She wasn’t going
to have to do either of those. She was coming to the table with
songs already being cut by the likes of Dusty Rhoades, not to
mention writing songs with him.

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket with an
incoming text message and she tugged it out to check it, smiling as
she saw her brother’s name.

“
Just checking in. Are you
doing okay?”

Bayleigh hit the tab to place a call to her
brother instead of responding and waited for him to answer.

“
Hey, kiddo! I just texted
you,” Jason’s answered on the first ring.

“
I know, I thought I’d call
instead of texting back. Do you have ESP or something?”

“
No, why, is something
wrong? Is that leg bothering you again? I can call…”

“
Jason, stop! I’m fine,”
Bayleigh laughed as she cut him off, both a little amused and
guilty that her brother’s first thought was along the lines of her
being in trouble. “I just had some news from that publishing house
I talked to, that’s all.”

“
Well, what did they
say?”

Bayleigh loved that her brother was as eager
to find out the news as she was to share it with him. “I’m in, they
offered me a contract!” She had to take the phone away from her ear
as he shouted his congratulations.

“
So now what?” he asked,
once he had calmed down.

“
I don’t really know. They
just sent the contract to me today to review. I guess I need to
find an entertainment lawyer to review it and then decide if it’s
what I want.”

“
Well, I know two really
great lawyers here in Waketon who know a thing or two about
contract law. I bet they’d even give you the family discount. I
know Jack would.”

Bayleigh shook her head at her brother’s
tactics. “I don’t know, Jason. That would be a little awkward. I
mean, we haven’t really talked since he left here two weeks
ago.”

“
Because you told him to
give you some space and time, Bayleigh,” Jason pointed out. “Look,
Jack’s a pretty private guy and he sure as hell isn’t going to come
talking to me about how he may or may not have broken your heart.
But you have that man tied up in knots, little sister.”

“
I’m not trying to,”
Bayleigh whispered into the phone.

“
I know that and so does
Jack. And I know you want some space to figure things out. But
sometimes, all that space does is create more problems. Trust me on
that one. I refused to back down when Nicole left me all those
years ago and it took us ten years to find our way back to each
other.”