CHAPTER 33

Drake

Two Weeks Later

Two weeks on the damn road with no one to keep me company but Hank. No Landon. No Stone. And certainly, no Delia. I called her every night to see how she was doing, but mostly she steered the conversation away from herself and onto me. It was frustrating as hell and it made me wanna scream, but I got where she was coming from. Hank and I had engaged in a few heated discussions while on the road. Conversations that spring boarded from the dose of truth he threw at me in my driveway a couple weeks ago. I didn’t want to admit that I was treating Delia that way. I was worried about her and I wanted to do what was best for her.

I didn’t want to admit that giving her space was probably what she needed right now. She was pregnant and vulnerable, but she was also strong and smart and capable. I was just so damn scared of losing her and that baby, it consumed my every waking thought.

So, I gave her space as best as I could. I missed her, which was new for me. Sure, I missed Elsie while on the road, but no one else had mattered to me since I started touring.

I was really looking forward to being home in Nashville. It was my last performance and the tour had gone well with lots of good press, which made Hank very happy. But mostly, lots of happy fans despite the fact that I didn’t have my band. There were no giant speakers to hop up on and no pointing out to women in the crowd. I didn’t have my signature six-pack on stage and I wasn’t guzzling down alcohol until I couldn’t remember anything.

I was performing clear-headed, acoustic concerts. And I was having the time of my life, musically speaking.

We rolled into Nashville and I drew in a deep breath of that clear country air. I had no idea if Delia was going to actually show up tonight. I hoped she did. I prayed she did. But with the conversations I’d had with Hank over the past two weeks, it wouldn’t have shocked me if she didn’t.

So when I rounded the corner to gain access to the back area of the stage and saw Delia standing with Hank, my heart leapt with joy. A grin spread across my cheeks as her eyes connected with mine. I walked over to Hank and put my hand on his chest, pushing him out of the small room before I slammed the door in his face. I turned toward Delia, raking my eyes up and down her form as she smiled back at me.

That innocent little smile that lit up her eyes.

I strode over to her, taking her in my arms as our lips crashed together. My hands were all over her. Cupping her luscious breasts. Cradling the small pooch of her stomach. Swallowing her moans as my tongue raked across the roof of her mouth. I settled her onto the couch backstage, our presence cut off from everyone as our lips melded together. Our teeth clattered as her legs spread for me, her body no longer fighting what it so desperately wanted.

Our foreheads connected as we came up for air, panting and heaving as our eyes fluttered open.

“Nice to see you, too,” Delia said.

“Wasn’t sure you’d come,” I said.

“I wanted to see you.”

I cupped her face and ran my thumb across her cheek. Her skin was soft andit sent electric jolts down my arm. She had awakened me. She made being sober worth it. Remembering every changing inch of her and committing her sounds to memory wasn’t possible when I was drunk. But now it was, and I was thankful for it.

“I missed you,” Delia said.

“I missed you, too,” I said.

“I just needed some time to think on things.”

“Like how much you can’t resist me?” I asked.

She swatted my ass playfully as I chuckled into her cheek. I allowed my lips to trace the curve of her neck, committing her changing scent to memory. eyes I slid my hand over her small baby bump underneath the dress she’d worn to the performance and I smiled into her shoulder.

“You can swat at it all you want later,” I said, with a grin. “Right now, I gotta show to do.”

I stood up and I held my hand out to her. She took it without a second thought, allowing me to help her off the couch. Delia fixed her dress as I smoothed my hands over my shirt, then I picked up my bucket hat she’d knocked off my head. I grabbed my guitar from the corner and threaded my arm through the strap, slinging it over my shoulder as Delia’s eyes danced along my body.

“Come on. I found you and Hank a seat so you don’t have to be backstage,” I said.

I walked out onto the stage and my eyes found hers. She was grinning up at me, her leg crossed over her knee as she clapped for me. I started into my set, beginning with the most painful song I'd ever written, the one I wrote after losing Shannon and Ava. The crowd was singing along as tears stained their faces, my fingers strumming my guitar as I sang to Delia.

I sang song after song, just me and my guitar. Delia’s eyes were on me the entire time, and my eyes never wavered from hers. I sang my heart out for her. I poured my soul out onto the stage for her. I wanted her to see that I was serious. I wanted her to see that I wanted this with her. Despite our differences we had incredible similarities; loss and addiction, passions and goals. We understood each other’s hurt in a way no other person in our lives could understand, and I wasn’t ready to lose that.

I wasn’t ready to lose the love I knew she had for me. Even if she wasn’t willing to admit it yet. And I wasn’t ready to lose the love I had for her. I couldn’t help but revel in the miracle of it all.

As I strummed the last chord of my last song, the crowd went wild. Delia leapt to her feet, clapping her hands over her head as she smiled. Seeing her that happy at something I could do warmed my chest. It spread a grin across my cheeks as I stood, taking a bow right toward her. My eyes left hers for only a moment, enough to dip my head and surrender completely to her.

Then I rose back up, finding her gaze again as her hands fell to her sides.

I raced into the crowd and took her by the hand. I handed my guitar over to Hank as a smile spread across his face. I tugged her from the crowd as they chanted my name, cheering Delia and I on as we ran from the arena. My legs carried me as fast as I could as she squealed behind me, trying to keep up as she yelled for me to slow down.

But I didn’t want to slow down.

I wanted her all to myself as fast as I could get it.

I picked her up in my arms as her arms threaded around my neck. I walked us toward my truck that I’d convinced Hank to let me drive. I was glad I convinced him that the bus was overkill. There was no need for it since it was just him and I on the road. But the real reason why I didn’t wanna ride on that bus was because I knew it would be a trigger. All the ragers Stone and Landon and I had thrown, all the women we had fucked in those beds, all the alcohol we had stored in that fridge.

It would’ve swung me back to drinking in a heartbeat.

I piled her into my truck as she giggled her little head off. I shut the door beside her and ran around, trying to beat the crowd out of the stadium. I hopped in and pulled her close to me, my lips planting squarely onto hers. Her hand came up and cupped my cheek as her lips allowed me entrance again, and I groaned as I tasted the sweetness of her mouth.

I pulled back and looked deep into her eyes as her fingers danced along the nape of my neck.

“You’re kidnapping me again, aren’t you?” Delia asked with a grin.

“And if I am?”

She leaned over and planted a kiss to the tip of my nose as my arms cradled her closely to my chest.

“Better hurry,” she said. “I think your fans have spotted us.”

I could hear throngs of women chanting for me as I sped out of the parking space. I raced through the parking lot, dodging cars and people as we sped away from the venue. We sped out onto the main road, making our way for the highway with the windows rolled down and the radio turned up high. I looked over at Delia, watching as her long legs spread out over my dashboard as she kicked her boots off.

She wiggled her cute little toes in the breeze of the night as her hand slid next to mine. I took a chance and threaded our fingers together, the warmth of my skin communicating more than my lips ever could.

And she squeezed my hand as her eyes watched the world pass us by.

This was it.

This was what I had been looking for.

This was the life I would stay sober for. No matter what it took.