The Price of Love (Rockin' Country Book 2) Read online

  The Price of Love

  Book #2 in the Rockin’ Country Series

  By Laramie Briscoe

  Copyright © 2014 Laramie Briscoe

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Edited by: Lindsay Gray Hopper

  Cover Art by: Kari Ayasha, Cover to Cover Designs

  Proofread by: Dawn Bourgeois

  Formatting: Paul Salvette, BB ebooks

  Photography by: MHPhotography & Custom Stock Photos

  Cover Models: Jack & Ashley Edmund

  Heaven Hill Series

  Meant To Be

  Out of Darkness

  Losing Control

  Worth The Battle

  Dirty Little Secret

  Rockin’ Country Series

  Only The Beginning

  One Day at a Time

  The Price of Love

  Dedication

  Love & marriage is not always easy. It takes work, compromise, and a whole lot of forgiveness. Luckily for me, I have a husband who excels in all of those things and more. He’s one of the reasons I do this. If it wasn’t for him, I probably never would have pursued it. Thank you, Michael! You’re my kinda bad boy, but you’ve definitely got the tattoos and piercings!

  Summary

  Wife

  Husband

  Superstar entertainers

  Two people completely in love

  Harmony and Reaper thought life would be easier once they sealed the deal. Stage personas put to the side, settling into marriage should have allowed them to be Hannah and Garrett to the world at large.

  Boy, were they ever wrong!

  Pressure from record companies, fans, and the people surrounding them put their brand-new union under the strain of the entertainment machine. Long nights apart, quick meetings in hotel rooms, and new faces on the music scene were not what either of them thought they would have to contend with.

  When love is strong, emotions go haywire, and frustration is at an all-time high, everyone’s true colors are revealed.

  Hannah and Garrett have a decision to make—is fame worth the price of love?

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Books by Laramie Briscoe

  Dedication

  Summary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Rockin’ Country #3

  Connect with Laramie

  Acknowledgments

  Excerpt from Meant To Be

  Chapter One

  * * *

  Two weeks. Two long weeks. That was how long it had been since Hannah had seen Garrett in person. Sitting downtown at her favorite restaurant on McGavock with her mom, she was trying desperately to stay involved in the conversation they were having, but it was becoming harder and harder to keep her mind from wandering.

  “Hannah,” Elizabeth Stewart snapped her fingers. “Are you even paying attention to me?”

  “Sorry, Mom, I zoned out there for a minute,” she apologized, looking down at her barely eaten sushi. What was normally her favorite meal when she was home just didn’t hold the appeal that it usually did. “I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

  “Miss your husband?”

  Hannah’s face burned hot. How did she tell her mom that memories of the two of them together kept her up at night? Those little snippets of conversation here and there along with nightly talks over Skype and FaceTime weren’t getting the job done anymore. She needed to feel his arms around her, needed to feel his lips against hers, really wanted to smell the spice of his cologne. She missed it all.

  “Yeah, I do,” she sighed, twirling her wedding ring on her finger with her thumb. Recording had amped up for both of them, and this was the longest stretch they had been apart.

  “Well I guess it’s a good thing he just got here, huh?” Her mom shrugged nonchalantly as she took a sip from her wine glass.

  “What?” Hannah understood the words that were spoken, but her brain couldn’t comprehend them. Garrett was thousands of miles away on the opposite coast. There was no way he was walking into a restaurant in Nashville.

  “Look behind you.” Liz pointed behind Hannah’s shoulder.

  Still unsure of what was going on, Hannah turned around in her seat and a squeal ripped free from her mouth as she saw Garrett making his way into the restaurant. Not even caring who saw, she launched herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly around the waist. She felt her feet leave the ground as he tightened his arms around her and bent his knees to pick her up.

  “You’re really here?” she questioned in his ear, almost like she didn’t believe he would have made a special trip for her. She ran her hands through his hair, over the slight beard that covered his face. She even caressed the earrings in his ears, delighting as she felt the coolness of the metal. It was another reminder that this wasn’t a dream—he was here with her, holding her in his arms.

  He pulled back so that he could look her in the eyes. “I’m really here.”

  “How?”

  “Why don’t we go sit with your mom?” He gently pushed her towards the table her mom sat at.

  “Nice to finally see you again in person, Garrett. I thought that from now on all of our conversations would be conducted over a cell phone line,” Liz laughed as she stood up and gave him a hug.

  “Me too.”

  “Wait? The two of you have been talking to one another?” Hannah asked as she sat back in her chair, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

  “You could say that.” Liz smiled, a conspiratory look in her eyes.

  Garrett’s arm went around her shoulder as he sat closer to her, pulling her as close to his side as he could with the arms of two chairs separating them. “I thought she was lying about you missing me, because when I talked to you, you seem fine, but then I realized how sad I was and figured you were just as sad. So I fl
ew out to see you. I missed the hell outta you.”

  “But how did you even get his number?” Hannah questioned. She was very careful with all of his information. The last thing either one of them needed was for people who shouldn’t to get hold of their private conversations.

  “Shell may have had something to do with it.” Liz winked.

  Shell was another person who missed someone terribly. “Please tell me that Jared came with you to see her.” Like her and Garrett, Shell and Jared Skyped, texted, and FaceTimed, but it wasn’t the same as seeing a loved one in person.

  “He was on his way to check into a hotel for the night. Something about them having ‘time to themselves’.” He used air quotes with his fingers, a mischievous smile on his face. He knew exactly what Jared wanted to do with their time to themselves.

  Hannah played with her chopsticks. “She tells me how much she loves him every single time I talk to her about him. I’m glad he came to see her.”

  “Do you want to order something?” A waiter asked Garrett as he came over to the table.

  “Are we gonna be here long enough? I’m about to starve.” His belly picked that moment to growl loudly.

  The ladies laughed and Hannah put her hand on his. “I think we’ll stick around for you.”

  “You know what I like, order me something.” He indicated for her to speak to the waiter.

  “With whatever she orders, I’ll take whatever beer you have on tap.”

  Hannah quickly ordered, and the waiter promised to have it out as soon as possible.

  “So what have you two ladies been doing today?” he asked as he looked between the two of them, situating himself so that he had Hannah next to him, his arm lazily slung over the back of her chair.

  “We’re having lunch and then we’re shopping.”

  “You don’t have to do that now,” Liz protested.

  “No, Mom, I want to! Garrett can come with us.” She grinned as she bumped his side.

  “I’m sure he doesn’t want to do that.”

  “I have a sister,” he deadpanned. “I do lots that I don’t want to do, but I daresay it would be a pleasure to go with the two of you.”

  Hannah pursed her lips and looked at her mom, shaking her head. “He’s a charmer and he can’t even help it. I can see that you’re falling for it too.” She shook her finger in her mom’s direction.

  “He is very good,” Liz laughed. “I can see now why you were missing him and why you married him.”

  * * *

  “What do you think of this?” Hannah asked Garrett as he stood in the middle of one of her favorite boutiques. She held up in front of her a sundress that was a bright yellow color.

  Glancing around, he noticed that Liz was on the other side of the store. He approached Hannah with a smile lifting up the corners of his mouth.

  “What?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

  He reached in and traced where the vee of the neck would lie on her chest, running his finger along the exposed skin there. “Looks like it might be a little low-cut.”

  “Oh yeah, I’ll wear a tank top underneath it.” She licked her lips, looking down at his finger.

  Leaning in so that his mouth was even with her ear, he said, “You wouldn’t have to do that with me. You wouldn’t even have to wear unmentionables with it.”

  The smooth, dark tone of his voice caused her to close her eyes and lean heavily against him, her knees no longer able to hold up her weight. She turned her face into his neck and nipped him there with her sharp teeth. “I missed you,” she whispered.

  “Missed you too,” he answered her back, running his hand through her hair. “More than you fucking know.” He moved away from her when he saw Liz approaching and cleared his throat. Didn’t matter if he had put a ring on it, he still felt weird showing the kind of chemistry they had in front of their parents. “So you’re gonna get that one?”

  “Yeah. Mom, what do you think?”

  “I love the color; the yellow will go well with your darker hair. It’s a little low-cut though. I think you’re gonna need to wear a camisole or something underneath it.”

  Hannah hid her smile. “I was planning on it.”

  Liz’s phone went off, and she struggled through her bag to find it and answer it. “It’s your dad, I better take this.”

  They watched as she walked off for some privacy.

  “I really hope that he’s calling her and asking her to come home. I love her, but I haven’t seen you in weeks,” she blurted out, causing Garrett to laugh.

  He put his hands in his back pockets and rocked back on his heels. “We’ll be alone soon enough. It was really nice of her to set this up for you. I don’t think you would have been honest with me about how much you missed me.”

  “There was nothing that we could do about it. Record companies are record companies.”

  “True, but we could have asked for a few days off.” He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed there. “I’ve been dreaming about you for the last week. I feel like I’m not sleeping at all.”

  “Funny that you should mention that. I’ve been having some pretty…vivid…dreams myself.”

  His dimples appeared in his cheeks, and he ran a hand down her arm before clasping their fingers together. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

  “I don’t know that you’ll ever hear it.” Her face flamed. “But know I had them, okay.”

  He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it as Liz made her way back over to them. “I need to go. Your dad needs help at the shop.”

  “Okay, Mom, I had a good time today.” Hannah hugged her tightly. “If you wanna get together tomorrow, just let me know.”

  “I’ll talk to your dad and see what he wants to do,” Liz commented, holding her arms open for Garrett.

  “It was a pleasure seeing you again after spending so much time talking on the phone.” He gifted her with a smile.

  Hannah noticed her mom’s cheeks getting red. She couldn’t help but shake her head. Even her mother wasn’t immune to Garrett’s charms. They watched Liz walk away, and Hannah pinched his side. “You are way too cute for your own good,” she laughed.

  “What can I say? Women want me.”

  Chapter Two

  * * *

  Hannah gripped Garrett’s hand as they walked down West End towards his car. She loved being in Nashville, even though it wasn’t exactly easy for the two of them. Here, they didn’t have to worry about paparazzi, and people weren’t surprised to see them walking down the street. They could be more free here.

  “I’m so excited you’re here,” she said again, gripping his arm with her free one. She clasped his left hand and gingerly ran her finger over his wedding ring. It still gave her a secret thrill that he was the type of man who liked to wear it and didn’t take it off.

  He swung her bag in the opposite hand and smiled down at her. “I’m excited to be here too. It only sucks that I’m not here for longer.”

  “How long did you get off?” she asked as the two of them approached the car.

  Garrett walked her to her side and opened the door for her, playing the gentleman for her, before walking over to the driver’s side and having a seat behind the wheel. “I flew in today; I’m here all day tomorrow, and my flight leaves at eight p.m. the next day.”

  Not long enough at all, but they would do what they had to do and enjoy the time that they could get together. She bit her lip to keep her emotions at bay. The two of them had chosen this life and they had chosen to get married—no one had forced them to do either of those two things, but sometimes being responsible really sucked.

  * * *

  “I guess Shell already left,” Hannah laughed, seeing a note on the kitchen counter. She leaned down, reading the hastily scribbled handwriting, as she put her bags atop the granite.

  “Is it weird for you that she still lives with you?” Garrett asked, throwing the car keys next to the bags and having a seat on one of the bar stools that ma
de up the kitchen area.

  “Why would it be weird?” She shook her head. “Do you not want her living with me?”

  This was a slippery slope, Garrett realized, but he’d already opened his mouth. “When I come here, I kinda just want to spend time with you; we get so little of it.”

  She could see where he was coming from, but she couldn’t kick Shell out; she’d lived here ever since Hannah had bought the little craftsman bungalow. “I don’t know what the solution to this problem is.” She laughed nervously.

  He got up from where he sat and walked around the counter. “Maybe it’s time for me to put roots down here too. I think it’s time for us to take the step of finding something together.”

  This was big, huge in her mind. Even though the two of them had been married for almost four months, they’d never bought anything together. Purchasing a home together signified something she had been scared to hope for from him. Ridiculous, she knew, but a slow smile covered her face.

  “What?” he asked, smiling back at her.

  Hannah walked over to where he stood and slipped her arms around his neck. “Buying a house is something that married couples do!”

  He chuckled, one dimple showing in his cheek. “Well, babe, we are married.” He held his left hand up to show the wedding ring she’d put on there.

  “I know, but we don’t get to do too many of the things that normal married people get to do.”

  Garrett smiled slowly. “Then we’ll do this, and we’ll devote ourselves to it while we’re recording. I want to do every imaginable married thing possible.”

  That warmed her heart; it always did when he said things like that. There was a part of her that worried he would get sick of her, that he hadn’t honestly been ready to settle down and be with one woman for the rest of his life. Every time he said things like that, it chipped away at one more little piece of resistance.

  “I love you,” she told him, reaching up and capturing his lips with hers.

  “I love you too,” he mumbled against her lips.