The temptation to drop everything and catch an early morning flight to St. Louis was present the second Trent opened his eyes the next morning, but he fought the urge. He had some things he needed to get done, and even though he wanted to hunt Zach down and punch him in the face, he remembered how upset Bree had been when Trent had interfered the last time.
So he went to work for a few hours, as he’d planned. He was going to get some work done and then leave around lunchtime to go to the airport, catch a quick flight to St. Louis, and be at the hotel well before
Having gotten a text from Trent that he was at the hotel, Bree rushed back from the outing with the rest of her band, catching a ride from the grounds of the Gateway Arch, which she hadn’t wanted to see without Trent anyway. She practically ran through the hotel doors to the elevator, wishing the little lights would drop faster and the lift would arrive so she could make it up to her room and see him at last.It hadn’t even been that long since she’d left home, but with everything that had gone on with Zach--and Cat--she wanted to throw herself
Getting on the bus to ride to the theater with the band was uncomfortable for Trent, to say the least. Not only did he and Zach have to come face to face and not punch each other, Cat was there, too. Bree’s revelation that Cat was stirring things up, trying to encourage Bree to see Zach on the side, made him want to shake the woman. He was raised to keep his angry hands off of female, though. Lucky for her. Everything she did on the short ride to the venue was annoying--the way she folded her arms, the way she smiled, the way she laughed. He tried to ignore the woman, but it was difficult, and he found himself glowering at her more than he did Zach.
Shawna was a beautiful girl, and she was super nice, too. Bree watched the way she interacted with all of her bandmates, particularly the guys, and while she was polite to all of them, it seemed like she paid especially close attention to Zach. Bree tried not to watch them too closely because she didn’t want it to be obvious that she was going to try to see if Zach might be interested in the other girl, but it made her heart beat harder in her chest to see him flirting with her, even if it was all innocent and sweet.“If y’all wanna hang out here for
It wasn’t like Zach to raise his voice at all, so when Bree walked into the green room to see him so flustered, she could only imagine what Cat had said or done to make him that angry. “What’s going on?” Bree asked.“Nothing,” Cat said, getting up and storming out of the room, glaring over her shoulder at Zach as she went.
Cat was coming out of the bathroom down the hall when Bree stepped out into the hallway. She was on the phone with someone, talking in a quick, hushed tone. It seemed odd to Bree, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying. When Cat saw her, the woman’s eyes bulged for a second, and she quickly hung up, shoving her phone in her pocket.Deciding to ignore the odd occurrence, Bree asked, “Are you all right?” She did her best to make her voice sound concerned instead of angry. It was hard for her to feel sorry for the girl who constantly seemed
Despite all of the drama that went on before the show started, once Bree got out on stage, everything else faded away. She was even able to let her frustration at Cat go so that the two women could sing together in harmony and even stand shoulder to shoulder while they sang some of the more complex songs, the smiles on their faces not quite as faux, thanks to the music, as they otherwise might’ve been.The band sounded great, and the crowd was definitely enjoying the show. Bree could feel the energy from the audience pulsating throughout her body as she ju
Standing on the grounds and looking up at the Gateway Arch with Trent’s hand in hers was much different than it had been the day before when Bree had been there with her bandmates. She’d been angry at Cat and frustrated at Zach. Now, she was still upset at Cat, but Zach was with her, and she was pretty happy with him.Especially since he and Shawna seemed to be hitting it off so nicely. The girl they’d met the night before at the club had been a little hesitant to come along with just the three of them, but Bree had managed to talk her into it, and n
The moment she sat down on the bus, it was clear to Bree that the others had not had such a good day. Cat had her arms folded and that disgusted look on her face, while the remaining guys who were supposed to have spent the day with her seemed fed up and annoyed.It would’ve been easier to let it go, but Bree had to ask what their day had been like since she was hoping Cat would call it quits before too much longer. So, she sat down next to Cat and asked, “Did you guys have fun today?”
Two weeks later…. Bree sat on the beach, a drink one hand, Trent’s fingers interlaced with her other where it lay in the sand. The ocean waves rolled in, wetting the sand near their toes, the sun baking down on their tan skin as it dried from their first dip in the ocean. There would be plenty more.&nbs
The sound of the gavel echoed throughout the courtroom. No one said a word for what seemed like the longest few seconds Bree could ever remember. Then, the people around her came back to life, and she found air in her lungs again. “Are you okay?” Trent asked. He was always asking her that, checking on her, making sure she was all right. Bree nodded. She was all right. She was going to continue to be all right, too. It seemed like a nightmare that had lasted almost two years was finally over.&nb
Yet again, Bree found herself speaking to a police officer. This time, she wasn’t the one lying in a hospital bed, though. Instead, after they’d pieced together enough of the story to know that the maintenance man had been trying to make it so that the pipe above her head would move down, Bree and her bandmates had been asked to come to the police station. The others were sitting outside, or maybe one or two of them were being interviewed by other officers now. All she knew was the man sitting across from her, Detective Coop Wellington, didn’t look like the sort of person one kept information from. “We know Monica and this&helli
“All right--Bree Matthews!” a stagehand shouted, coming over with a clipboard and a microphone on his head. “Are you ready?” “We are ready!” Bree said for all of them, bouncing on her heels. “Then, head to your spots.” He signaled for them to approach their section of the stage. The band had been prepped on how this would work before the show. They headed to the places they’d been told to earli
Sitting in a chair, staring at a runway, brought back way too many uncomfortable memories for Trent. Had it really just been a little over a year since he’d spent at least one or two days a week sitting in just such a chair, waiting for Monica to come down the stage? It seemed so strange now. He tried not to fidget, but his leg was bouncing up and down so quickly, he was glad he wasn’t outside because he might manage to start a fire with the right kindling--and like Bree, he’d had enough of fire for one lifetime. “Are you all right?” Celia asked, leaning over to whisper in his ear. “You’re making me nervous, an
Anxiety bubbled up in Bree as she stood in the staging area, getting ready for the big show. All around her, models and bands were putting the finishing touches on their makeup and hair, the models getting into their first outfits so that they’d be fully prepared to grace the runway as soon as it was their turn to take the walk and show off the newest fashions to an invigorated audience. From what Bree could tell, this wasn’t actually one of those fashion shows where the clothing was practical and might be bought by the average housewife. No, it was mostly lingerie, and it was mostly, well, ridiculous, in her point of view. None of it was s
The sound of voices from the television met Bree’s ear as she walked through the apartment door. She checked the time on her phone. It was only a little past 3:00. What was Trent doing home? She had to assume it was him watching the television because it sounded like the news channel, and if the housekeeper had turned it on, it would’ve been a soap opera or court show. Hanging her purse by the door, and placing her keys where she could find them, she went into the adjoining room to investigate. Trent was sitting on the couch with his laptop open on his lap, his stocking feet on the coffee table, typing away. She almost didn’t want to
Meeting Monica at the event center where the Nashville Nights concert was to be held was intimidating, even though Bree had her bandmates with her. She had insisted Trent go to work; it was a Thursday afternoon, after all, just after lunch, and there was no reason for him to miss work to walk with her through the building where she’d be playing in a couple of nights, not when she had three capable men and Shawna with her to give her moral support.Trent had protested, saying he’d feel much more comfortable if Bree allowed him to go along, that the rest of the band wasn’t aware of how Monica could be. It had almost led to an argument. Bree had insisted she wasn&
“This is a horrible idea. The worst one ever. In the entire history of the world, I cannot imagine one idea worse than this one.” Celia sat across from Trent in his office, her arms folded, her legs crossed, her face puckered.At the moment, he couldn’t even allow himself to snicker at her exaggeration. While he agreed that what he was about to do was a terrible idea, he could think of lots of other ideas that were worse, many of them involving wars that had killed thousands or millions of people. Or spread disease. Or polluted the environment. But she was right--of all of the decisions he’d been directly involved in, this one was pretty awful.