“Carla isn’t my girlfriend, Presley. I was upfront with her from the beginning. She knew I wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship, yet she quit taking her birth control without telling me. She intentionally got pregnant to trap me into marriage. When Carla told me about the baby, I freaked out and left town. I’ve been so confused these past months. I’m not the type to shy away from my responsibilities. My mom helped me see why I was running scared. I’m afraid of being a father, scared to death I’ll turn out to be an abusive alcoholic like my old man.”
“I would be, too, in your shoes.” Presley means it as a dig, and he apparently takes it that way, as evidenced by the silence filling the line. She doesn’t need his kind of problems. Been there. Done that.
She leaves her desk and moves to the sofa. “Why did you call, Everett? What do you want?”
“To clear my name. I’m not a thief. I never spent a dime of Louie’s three thousand dollars. And Naomi’s lying about me stealing from the inn. I was checking my emails the day she caught me using her computer.”
Presley believes him. Her people reader wasn’t wrong about him. Deep down, he’s a good guy who got caught in a difficult situation.
“Stella’s the one who needs to hear this. You should call her. But I’ll warn you, she’s got a lot going on right now with Jazz.”
“Is Jazz okay?” His genuine tone is proof of how much he truly cares about the kid. And he’s worried he won’t make a good father.
“Jazz ran away from home on Saturday night. I found her hiding in the wine cellar at the inn. Stella hinted that her running away had something to do with Naomi.”
“Poor Jazz. She’s an exceptional kid. She deserves better than Naomi.”
“She deserves a father. Do you think maybe the reason you’re so worried about being a father is not because you’re afraid you’ll be a bad father but because you so desperately want to be a good one?”
Once again, silence fills the line, but Presley knows he’s still there by the sound of his heavy breathing.
“Are you going to marry her, Everett?”
“Who? Carla? Heck no! My relationship with Carla is over. You’re the one I want, Presley. I miss you.”
And I miss you so much, she thinks. There’s a chance they can work it out, but she’s not sure she wants to. So much has happened and she has so many doubts. “Why did you call, Everett?”
“I wanted to hear your voice.”
Gripping the phone, she asks in a soft voice, “Are you coming back to Hope Springs?”
“I’m moving to Nashville, Presley. I signed a contract with Wade Newman at Big Country Records.”
Pressure builds in Presley’s chest, and she finds it difficult to breathe. She knows Wade Newman. Wade was her mother’s biggest adversary, but he was also Renee’s friend. Wade only signs the very best. Presley is not surprised, because Everett has the potential to be one of the best. This is just one more thing Everett kept from her. One more secret. She’s not interested in having a long-distance relationship with a rising country music star she can’t trust.
“Have a nice life, Rhett,” she says before hanging up on him.
31
Everett
Everett lies in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Presley. While there were awkward moments during their conversation, he was making progress with her until he made the mistake of telling her about Nashville. Why did that make her so angry? She knows music is his passion. Is it because he never told her about Wade? Does she perceive that as another lie?
She asked him twice why he called. Once, he told her to clear his name. The second time, because he wanted to hear her voice. Both true. What was his ulterior motive in calling her? What exactly does he want from Presley? A long-distance relationship? The closest airport to Hope Springs is Roanoke, and none of the airlines offer nonstop flights from Roanoke to Nashville. The seven-hour drive from Nashville to Hope Springs is faster than flying but not something anyone wants to do every weekend.
His mom’s words ring out in his head. If you think she may be the one, don’t let Presley get away. You’ve never known real happiness, and I want that for you. How does one choose between an amazing woman like Presley and a career as a country music star?
Presley was spot-on about one thing. The reason he’s so worried about being a father is not because he’s afraid he’ll be a bad father but because he so desperately wants to be a good one. He rolls over to a sitting position. After all these months of uncertainty, he understands exactly what he needs to do. Grabbing his phone off the bedside table, he sends Carla a text asking if he can see her.
She responds right away. Meet me at my apartment in thirty minutes.
He gives her text a thumbs-up. In rush-hour traffic, he has just enough time to get there.
When he emerges from his room, he hears his mom’s sewing machine, but he doesn’t tell her he’s leaving or where he’s going.
When he arrives, Carla, still dressed in blue scrubs from work, is leaning against the hood of her Subaru Outback. She earns good money working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Emory Hospital. She’ll be able to offer the baby a modest living, even without his support. When she sees him, she lowers her head and stares at the ground.
He parks in the space beside her and turns off the engine. He allows his gaze to linger over her swollen belly. His baby is growing in there. His son or daughter. Will he have a passion for music like Everett? Will she have her mother’s brains and independent determination? Will he
