It’s been a long time since I’ve sneaked out of a woman’s bed in the early hours of the morning. What surprises me even more was that I didn’t want to leave.

Once wasn’t enough. Hell, the three rounds we went weren’t enough.

Even though I don’t know Ripley well, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that my presence would not be a welcome one this morning.

Which is why I’m sitting on a rocking chair at the end of my dock, casting into my trout pond at seven thirty in the morning, wearing the T-shirt I stripped off her last night with the spicy citrus scent of Ripley teasing my nose.

There was no point in going back to bed, because I’d reach for her and want more.

How the hell did I get myself into this mess?

Any of the women who threw their panties on the stage last night would have been hard-pressed not to handcuff me to the bed to keep me longer, but I had to set my sights on the one woman in the bar who not only didn’t wear panties, but also didn’t want anything to do with me. And there’s the fact that she probably wouldn’t have touched me sober.

Smart, Boone. Real smart.

Now I’m the chump who wants another shot with the chick who probably never wants to remember what happened last night.

I get a bite on my line and tug sharply before reeling it in. The fish fights for a few minutes and then the line goes slack. When I bring it up, there’s nothing there.

Probably about the same luck I’d have with Ripley if I tried . . .

But as I cast again and let myself remember how good she felt when she was curled around me, I decide I’ve got nothing to lose by trying.

I get another bite and devise a plan of attack. What exactly would get that woman to bite?

As I reel in a nice-sized bluegill, an idea hits me. I turn it over in my head a few times, trying to figure out the best way to go about executing it, when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket and the fish spits out the hook.

Dammit.

The only person who ever calls me this early is Ma, but when I pull out my cell, it’s definitely not her.

Nick.

“I didn’t know you ever got up before nine a.m. What’s the occasion?”

“What did you do last night?”

His harsh tone has me stopping the rocking of the chair and planting my feet firmly on the dock.

“You want to try that again, Nick?” My response doesn’t leave any question as to how I feel about being spoken to like that.

“I’ve got an e-mail with a list of links to articles and pictures of you singing at the White Horse Saloon, and then there’s some asshole threatening to bring you up on assault charges. You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Assault charges? You’ve gotta be kidding me. I stepped in between a guy pawing at a woman who didn’t want his attention. She kneed him in the balls, but I never touched him.”

“Well, apparently he’s saying you did.”

Now I wish I’d hit that douchebag. “He’s full of shit.”

“You got a witness who can make a statement to that effect?”

My jaw clenches tight, not just because I know Ripley wouldn’t want her name mixed up with mine, but also because the last thing I want is to drag her into a media circus. That would be the fastest way to scare her off for sure.

“If it’s necessary. Tell him to go fuck off, or the woman he was groping will press charges.”

“Fine. But if it gets ugly—”

“It won’t.” My answer is resolute, and I hope like hell I’m right.

“Good. Charity’s practically doing backflips over the other articles this morning. Public opinion is in your corner. They love the brokenhearted Boone Thrasher, coming out and saying that you gotta get back up and try again when it comes to love.”

I scowl, letting the chair rock again. “Pretty sure that’s not what I said.”

“Well, that’s what the headlines say, so Charity’s happy as shit. The first YouTube video posted from last night has over a half million hits already. Bet it’ll get to a million by the end of the day.”

Jesus, not exactly what I planned when I walked into the White Horse Saloon, but then again, I don’t regret it either.

Any of it.

“So why do you sound so pissed off?”

I cast again, not willing to let Nick cost me another fish when I rarely get a chance to drop a line in this early, if ever.

“Amber’s camp is starting to make noises, and the better you look, the louder they’re getting.”

“What kind of noises?”

Nick pauses and his voice drops low, like he’s worried about being overheard. “I got word late last night that there’s a chance she’s filing for an annulment this week.”

“An annulment? You’ve gotta be joking.”

“Britney did it. So did Kenny Chesney. So it’s not like Amber will be the first. Shit, I bet they already had odds on how long that marriage would last in Vegas.”

Even though Amber has only officially been out of my life for less than a week, with every day that passes, I realize the writing has been on the wall for much longer and I was too blind to see it. Or maybe I just didn’t want to see it. I haven’t seen her in over a month. Even when we were in the same city on the same night, we couldn’t manage to connect. Before the proposal, I hadn’t heard her voice in ten days. We’d communicated solely through texts.

What kind of relationship is that?

Not much of one, in my opinion.

The more distance I get from her, the more perspective I find. I loved the idea of Amber, but now I’m starting to wonder if I ever loved her. It’s a hell of a realization to chew on as the sun rises on this beautiful Tennessee morning.

“From here on out, feel free to keep anything you hear about Amber to yourself. I closed that chapter and I’m moving on.”

“What if she hasn’t?” Nick asks.

I sit up straighter. “I think she closed it pretty loud and clear when she married another man.”

“Fine, but I’m still watching it like a ticking time bomb.”

“That’s your job, Nick. Not mine. Anything else I can help you with today?”

“Yeah, call Charity when it’s a decent hour. You’ve got a whole slew of radio station interviews to do with this new single. Have you seen the charts? It’s already climbing to the top. You’re gonna have another number one on your hands by the weekend. We’ll do some morning shows, and if the radio play keeps going, probably a few of those late-night gigs that I know you hate.”

It takes everything I have not to swear into the phone. Those late-night TV show hosts are all trying to outdo each other to be the funniest fuck on TV, and all it does is succeed in pissing me off. They love to make us country folk look like idiots to help their ratings.

“I’m not agreeing to shit yet. Have Charity tell me who reaches out, and I’ll tell you where and when I’ll consider going.”

“Every other artist on my client list would kill for these opportunities—”

“Then hand ’em down the line. Because I don’t need some slick asshole in New York or LA trying to make me look like a dumb redneck on late-night TV.”

“We’ll talk about it.”

“On my terms.”

“Fine. But let me or Charity know the next time you’re gonna pop into some local bar and get the crowd fired up. We like to get ahead of this kind of media coverage and make sure you’ve got enough security.”

“That all?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” I end the call and stare out at the reflection of the sunrise on the glasslike surface of the pond.

Funny Nick should mention popping into some local bar to get the crowd fired up. I think tomorrow night, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Maybe I’ll even get a parrot fired up too.