A Better Man(91)

"I'm a busy woman. I got things to do. Stuff to take care of."

Like what? he wanted to ask.

Yes, he and his brothers were fortunate she'd stepped in and agreed to live in the main house with Nicole for the time being. It was obvious by her suddenly trembling hands that the question made her nervous. Whatever it was, she just needed to tell them so they could fix it. If she had anything to do with it, they'd forgive her. She was family.

"Well, if you can think of anything you think we should know, you'll tell us, right?"

"Of course." Her nervous laughter raised an even bigger question mark. "Well, I'd better get that plate. Your sister's probably starving."

A few minutes later, sugar-­laden plate in hand, Jordan knocked on Nicole's door and the strumming of the guitar stopped. He waited for the proverbial snotty teen response but to his surprise she opened the door and said, "Hey."

Thank God they'd moved on from "What the hell do you want?" Although with his luck, the reprieve was probably temporary.

"I brought you breakfast."

She smiled. "It's afternoon, you dork."

He could hardly tell his sister that he had happily lost track of time between the sheets with Lucy today, so he shrugged. "There's never really a bad time to eat donuts, is there?"

"No. But now I'll have to exercise." She snatched one off the plate and bit into it. "Mmmmm. I love maple bars."

"You sleep okay after we got home last night?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason. Just trying to look after you. How's the song coming along?"

"I'm putting it in my repertoire."

"You have a repertoire now?"

"Yeah. For when I go to Nashville."

"Nashville! What the hell are you talking about?"

"My birthday is in a couple of months. So whether I graduate or not, I'm packing up my stuff and heading to Music City. You can hardly start a country music career here."

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." He put his hands up. "Let's back this train up for a second."

"You're not talking me out of it." She sat on her bed and pulled the guitar onto her lap. "Besides, what do you care? I heard you guys talking this morning. Apparently I'm a giant pain in the ass you feel someone needs to babysit. This way you won't have to worry."

"Are you shitting me?" Panic raced inside his chest. "You take off to a city you've never been to, all alone, and I'll worry even more."

"You took off at eighteen."

"I was drafted by the NHL when I was eighteen. Big difference."

"Maybe to you. Besides . . ." She smirked. "I never said I was going there alone."

"What?" His head whipped around so fast his neck cracked.




       
         
       
        
"A friend is going with me."

God, now he was getting a freaking cramp in his brain. "Does this friend happen to be a boy?"

"Does it matter?"

"Hell yes it matters." He sat down on the bed next to her.

Now he knew how fathers of stubborn, wild teenage girls felt. And he had a feeling that talking sense into her was going to be like catching a fish barehanded.

"Picking up and moving away without a plan, or money, or a job is crazy," he said. "Doing all that with a guy who has expectations makes it worse."

"Who said I don't have a plan or money?"

"You don't think Taylor Swift made it big the minute she rolled into town, do you? She had parents to take care of her needs. Who's going to take care of yours? Where are you going to live? How are you going to pay rent? Buy food?"

Holy shit. He sounded like an old fart.

"I'm going to play in bars until I get discovered."

"You're not even old enough to go into a bar. And I wouldn't count on that instantly getting discovered thing. It's not easy to make it in the music industry. There are people who've been playing those bars for years and have barely made enough to buy a McDonald's hamburger."

"How do you know? You've never been in the music industry."

"No, but I dated an award-­winning country singer at one time. Gave me a little insight to the business."

"You dated a country singer?" Her eyes popped open wide. "Who?"

"I'm not telling."

"Come on. No secrets."

He laughed. "Look who's talking."

"Well, if you won't tell me who she is, tell me what color hair she has."

"Blond."

"Carrie Underwood?"

"Little sister, do you really think someone like Carrie Underwood would ever date someone like me?"