Fine, she felt like screaming. I get the damn message.
Ethan’s grip tightened on her shoulders. “You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t,” she said.
“Is that because you don’t know? Or because you won’t tell me?”
AnnieLee stared down at her feet. Now that the adrenaline was fading from her limbs, her legs began to tremble. She felt almost nauseous.
Ethan dropped his hands. “Maybe I should call that Rolling Stone writer,” he said. “Maybe you’d be able to tell her what’s going on.”
“That’s not fair—”
“Not fair?” Ethan interrupted. “I’ll tell you what’s not fair. You expecting me to be your sidekick and bodyguard but never—”
“I didn’t ask you to do that! Ruthanna did,” AnnieLee said, interrupting him right back.
“And you hated every second, didn’t you?” he said, glaring at her. “You resented all the free rides home after your shows. You couldn’t stand how I showed you around Nashville and helped you find a house to rent and furniture to fill it up. You couldn’t stand my company.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she protested.
“Did you know that I used to sit outside that crappy motel room of yours until you fell asleep? You thought you were so brave to stay there. But the whole time I was out in the parking lot like a guard dog. Protecting you.”
AnnieLee inhaled sharply, as if she’d been punched. Of course she hadn’t known. But what made him think he had the right to make her feel bad about something she’d never asked him to do? Instead of gratitude, she felt only anger.
“Well, you were on the clock, weren’t you?” she said. “I’m sure Ruthanna paid you for your time. So the more hours you were watching me the better, right?”
Ethan turned away from her then. “Wow,” he said. “I really don’t know what to say.”
AnnieLee kicked a toe into the gravel. “Maybe you don’t enjoy your babysitting job anymore. Maybe you want to quit.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, she couldn’t believe she was saying them. She didn’t want him to quit. She didn’t know what she’d do without him.
Ethan took a step backward. His dark eyes grew darker. “If I quit now, you’ll have to find your own way home,” he warned.
But she couldn’t back down. “Great,” she said, tossing her head back. “I’ve missed bumming rides from strangers.”
He took another few steps away. “AnnieLee…” he began.
“Just go.”
She could tell that he didn’t want to go any more than she wanted him to. But they were each stuck inside their own anger, and neither of them was going to give in.
“Go on,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’ve done a lot of worrying about you,” he said. “But I’ll try to quit that, too.”
Then he walked away, climbed into his truck, and peeled off, spraying gravel behind him. And AnnieLee trudged back out to the road, pasted a bright, fake grin on her face, and stuck out her thumb.
Chapter
52
Give me a chance, girl, open your eyes now, I’m not the enemy here
I’m a soft heart to lean on
A shoulder to cry on
Two good lips to kiss away tears
Ethan carefully folded up the lyrics he’d written on the back of an envelope. The song was a good one. But could it ever be true? Would AnnieLee ever really give him a chance?
Today he highly doubted it. He hadn’t wanted to drive away from her, but she’d challenged his pride and forced his hand.
He thought back to the night he’d watched AnnieLee charm her way onto the Cat’s Paw stage. If he’d known the havoc she’d wreak on his heart, would he still have introduced himself?
He could practically hear his grandma tsk-tsking him from heaven. Yes, you would have, because when it comes to love you don’t have the sense God gave a goose.
He picked up an old rag and began oiling the fretboard and bridge of the guitar he’d finished right before leaving for LA. He was trying to keep his mind open and empty, but the lyrics he’d tucked away kept swirling around in his thoughts.
Demons, demons, we’ve both had enough of our own
Demons, demons, we don’t have to fight them alone
“I like that a lot,” said a voice. “It’s catchy.”
Ethan spun around, startled by two things at once: that he’d begun to sing out loud without realizing it, and that Ruthanna Ryder was standing in his driveway, dressed as if she was about to have Easter brunch with the queen.