Cole decided to head back to Nashville a week early to give himself time to find a place and settle in. And also because he didn’t want to stay in Charleston another day. It was becoming increasingly clear that his marriage was over. Nothing changed with Chelsea. They hadn’t slept together in weeks. She was always too tired, and he was often in bed by the time she got home. She never worked these kinds of hours when she started at the firm. It seemed to start around the time she first mentioned her new co-worker, Austin. And he was tired of hearing about him.

Chelsea talked about him non-stop, about what they were working on and how impressive Austin was. Cole wasn’t impressed. He was sick of it. He wanted a divorce, but he decided that he was going to go to Nashville first, keep his focus on putting together the best record he was capable of and then he’d come home and deal with Chelsea.

* * *

As soon as he drove into Nashville, he felt his mood lift. It already felt like coming home to him. He booked a room at the same hotel he’d stayed at before and checked his calendar for the next day. He’d gone online before he left Charleston, made some calls and had three different rentals lined up to look at the next day. Hopefully one of them would work and he’d be able to settle in by the end of the week.

His stomach rumbled, and he pulled out his cellphone to check the time. It was a quarter past six. While he was debating what to do for dinner, his phone rang and he smiled when he saw that it was Laura.

“You must be psychic.  I just got into town about a half hour ago. How are you?”

“You’re here already? I didn’t think you were coming for another week?” She sounded surprised.

“I decided to come early. Long story. What’s up?” Cole picked up something in her voice that he couldn’t place. Concern maybe? Laura never called him just to say hello.

“So you’ve been driving all day and probably haven’t seen the news?”

“Haven’t seen a thing. What have I missed?”

“It’s awful, Cole. It’s all over the news. What your father did. Me, you. They’re insinuating that we’re together and that you’re cheating on your wife. My phone has been ringing off the hook and I haven’t commented yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”

Cole’s immediate reaction was to laugh. “That’s rich that they think I’m cheating.” But then he changed his tone because she was obviously upset. “I’m sorry this is happening. How did they find out?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been wondering about it all day. Not many people know and the ones who do would never say anything. Except maybe Dylan. He wasn’t happy with me the other night.”

“I thought you ended things with him?” Cole didn’t like to think of the two of them back together.

“I did. But we still work together, which is a little awkward. But I thought it seemed like he was doing okay with it. So I agreed to have a drink with everyone after our set a few weeks ago. But Dylan wanted to talk to me alone and wanted to get back together. He wasn’t happy when I told him it was never going to happen. It’s been very tense ever since having to work with him.”

“Do you really think it was him? If it was, you should kick him out of the band.” Cole was furious on her behalf.

“I really don’t know. If it was him, then I agree. But it’s not that simple. The band is his. I’d need to find a new one to sing with. So, it’s just a mess. And reporters are hounding me.”

“Can you duck out? We can meet somewhere to hash this out. I was just thinking about where to get some food, I’m starving.”

“I haven’t eaten yet either. Let’s go to that pub we went to before. I can meet you there in about twenty minutes if I leave now,” Laura said.

* * *

The pub was only about ten minutes from where Cole was staying so he jumped in the shower to wash off the long drive first. His hair was still a little damp when he arrived at the pub. Laura was just settling onto a bar stool when he walked in. She smiled when she saw him and he walked over to her and gave her a hug before sitting on the empty stool next to her.

“It’s so good to see you.” Laura smiled and for a moment Cole remembered when she used to smile at him like that all the time. It warmed his heart and for the first time in weeks he began to relax. The situation with Chelsea had been stressful to say the least.

“It’s always great to see you.” Cole grinned as the bartender came over to take their drink order. They both ordered draft beers and after a quick look at the menu, Laura got a bar pizza and Cole ordered a burger with fries. While they waited for their food, Laura filled him in even more.

“It’s all over the internet now, different news media, Facebook. As angry as I am at your father, I wanted to talk to you first before I answer any questions from the media.”

“Thank you, but I don’t care what you say about my father. There’s no reason to protect him. He did what he did.”

“I know that. It’s you I care about. I don’t want this to reflect badly on you in any way as you work on getting your first album out.”

Cole hadn’t considered that. “I don’t see how it can be any worse than what they’re already saying, about me cheating. But seriously, say whatever you like. Tell the truth.”

Laura nodded. “Okay. One of the things they asked me was if I’m going to press charges. I never thought about that. But I don’t think that I want to. It’s not just your father that would be hurt.”

“Aunt Helen,” Cole said.

“I know she was wrong to go along with your father, but I don’t think I could possibly send her to jail. Which means I won’t press charges. I don’t want to dredge it all up again. I just want it to go away, and to move on. If that makes sense?”

“It makes perfect sense,” Cole agreed as the bartender set their meals in front of them.

“I’m going to ruin your father’s plans,” Laura said as she picked up a slice of pizza.

“For being president one day? Probably. Not your fault though. I don’t see any way to really avoid it unless you were to lie about what happened. Which of course you can’t do.”

“No. I won’t lie for him. We’ll just see what happens I guess. I’ll say as little as possible. And of course I’ll deny that there’s anything going on between us if asked.”

Cole laughed. “Thanks. It does seem bizarre, doesn’t it? The way these rumors start?”

“They’d love for it to be true…think about it. Young lovers torn apart and then reunited years later. Even better if I were to tear a marriage apart. Makes for a good story I guess.”

“The media are like vultures,” Cole agreed.

“The ironic thing is that I thought that Chelsea might actually be cheating on me.”

Laura looked shocked. “I thought you were happy?”

Cole sighed. “We were once. But it’s been different ever since we got married to be honest and especially since I came to Nashville. She never liked me doing music. Chelsea is all about image and she was excited for me to pass the bar and work for my father. That fit her vision of our marriage.”

“But she must have always known you loved music?” Laura looked so confused.

“Oh, she did, but she never thought of it as more than a hobby. She didn’t think it would go anywhere, and I’d get it out of my system.”

“Sounds like she doesn’t know you very well,” Laura said softly. Something about her tone made Cole look at her more closely. As usual, whenever he saw her, it was so comfortable, almost as if no time had passed. He always felt better spending time with her.

“Chelsea’s great, but it was never the same as it was with us. It was the next step and at the time I thought maybe it was good enough. But I was wrong.”

Laura rested her hand lightly on his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Well, she’s crazy then. You’re a catch!”

Cole tried not to think about the fact that even now, years later, the slightest touch of Laura’s skin gave his senses a jolt. For him, the attraction was still there, as strong as ever.

“Thanks. You always did know what to say.”

They finished eating and ordered another round of beers. Laura was so easy to talk to and they chatted easily about everything and nothing. He was almost done with his beer when he remembered he hadn’t told her about the new song he’d written.

“I’d love to get your opinion on a song I wrote, if you have time sometime soon?”

“You wrote something! When can I hear it?” Laura sounded so excited that it made Cole laugh.

“Anytime. You tell me. My schedule is pretty open for the next week.”

“What about now? After we finish here? I can stop by your place on the way home.”

“Oh, sure. That would be great. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s go.”