“No, thanks,” Ethan said. “I’m good.”
Mikey gave a dismissive wave. “You probably don’t have what it takes to make it, anyway,” he said. “Your little friend does. It’s her loss she went with that old fossil Jack Holm.”
“Well,” Ethan said, “thanks for your time.”
“Whatever,” Mikey said. “Just don’t let me see you around here again.”
As Ethan moved to the door, he braced himself for an ambush. He figured he could sustain a few hits to the chest or stomach; he just didn’t want to get punched in the face.
But when he got outside Mikey’s office, the hallway was empty. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Have a nice day,” the secretary said as Ethan left.
Chapter
54
AnnieLee walked along the Cumberland River, which ran green-brown and slow as it wound through Nashville. She passed joggers and dog walkers, little kids toddling behind their parents, and an old married couple creeping along with the aid of walkers. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and she was trying to wake herself up with a giant coffee and a scone from the café on Commerce Street. So far it wasn’t exactly working.
After a while she turned off the path and ducked into the trees, where little spots of shade provided relief from the sun, already blazing at 10 a.m. She was humming the song she’d almost thrown away—the one about the girl who’d hated being ignored until she found out that being noticed was worse.
I was invisible, invisible
Like shade at midnight, a ghost in the sunlight
Some songs came to her so fast it was like being jumped in an alley; others took months of frustration and hard work. Encouraged by Ruthanna, AnnieLee had been working on this one for weeks, and she’d even played it in public. The experience had been nerve-racking for reasons she didn’t want to dwell on.
Not to be cliché, but you could have heard a pin drop when you sang it. That was what Ethan had said, back when he was still talking to her.
But AnnieLee was resolutely not thinking about Ethan Blake this morning, because she’d already spent all night doing so. Every time her thoughts drifted in his direction, she pulled them back to the song. Something about the bridge wasn’t right yet, and maybe the third verse wasn’t so hot, either. She sang it softly, feeling the words take shape in her mouth as she kept walking, not paying attention to where she was going.
But then I grew up pretty and I grew up wild
Didn’t look no more like a hungry child
Her phone rang, startling her. It was Jack.
“Are you sitting down?” he asked.
She felt her breath catch in her throat. “What’s wrong?”
Jack’s laugh came booming into her ear. “Nothing’s wrong, kid,” he said. “Like I said, you sittin’？”
AnnieLee shook her head, though he couldn’t see her. “No.”
“Well,” he said, “you ain’t got far to fall, I guess. So listen up. I’ve got you a chance to open up for Kip Hart.”
AnnieLee gasped. Kip Hart had over a dozen certified gold albums, twice that many top ten singles, and his catchy “Live Fast, Love Hard” was Billboard’s number one country song of the previous year. She leaned against the nearest tree and then slid down it. Now she was sitting.
“You’re kidding,” she breathed.
“No, not kidding. Congratulations,” Jack said. “You’ve got a date in Knoxville, and if it goes well, which I know it will, there’ll be more.”
AnnieLee squeezed her eyes shut tight and squealed like a little girl on Christmas. “Sorry,” she said. “Did that hurt your ears?”
“Honey, I blew out my eardrums long ago,” Jack said. “A hazard of the music business. I’m glad you’re happy—you should be. Anyway, kid, I have to run. We’ll do the details later.” And then he was gone.
Holding back another scream of delight, AnnieLee opened her eyes as a crow squawked from a branch above. She looked around her, and suddenly she realized where she was: right near that smooth patch of dirt underneath the big old elm tree, the spot where she’d spent her first cold and lonely nights in Nashville.
A few yards away was the little hollow where she’d hidden her backpack as she wandered the city, looking for a place to sing her songs and a place to wash her face.
I’m back where I started, she marveled. But now everything’s different.
Chapter
55
Turn the offer down,” Ruthanna said.