“I have my daddy’s truck. We could get on the road right now,” she offered.
Trace turned and looked into her wide, tear-filled eyes. “Get the truck, but you’re staying. We can’t both leave.”
“He’s right, Kylie,” Pauly added. “We can release a statement saying Trace had a family emergency, but you can’t both ditch the tour.”
He felt her fingers dig into his arms. “You are my family.” The conviction in her voice staggered him.
He pulled her to him. “I know, Kylie Lou. And you’re mine. But Rae needs me now and I have to go. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“You go I go, Trace. I care about her too.” His chest ached at the way her voice broke.
“Mr. Corbin?” one of the officers broke in. “We can escort you as far as the state line. 78 East is going to be your best bet.”
Kylie took advantage of the distraction and pulled away from him, moving past all of them. He heard her urgent voice telling someone on the phone to bring her truck around immediately.
“Sounds good, officers. Thank you.” He looked over at his manager. “Pauly, I’m going. And odds are, she’s going too. Tell the band I’m sorry and I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”
His manager nodded and stepped away from the officers. He signaled with a discreet nod for Trace to do the same so he did.
“Look, this might be it for you with the label. Unless you’re willing for the details of Rae’s accident to be made public. I don’t know how else to cover for you this time.”
“Details?”
“She was driving. It looks like there was alcohol involved. The girl that was with her is in bad shape. Might not make it through the night.”
He ran a hand through his hair and resisted the urge to pull it the hell out in frustration.
“Jesus.”
Pauly looked him in the eyes. “I’m not trying to keep you from going. I know you have to go. I just want you to know what it might mean. For both of you,” he said, tilting his head toward where Kylie stood waiting.
“I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” Trace said quietly. The man with Kylie’s truck had pulled up. She tossed the keys to him and he caught them.
He watched Pauly walk around the hood and say something to her. She smiled weakly as she nodded. For a split second, he was torn. He wanted her to come, he did. She was right. She was as much a part of his family as Rae or Claire Ann was. But once again, being a part of his life was going to fuck up hers.
His eyes met her panicked ones over the hood of the truck.
“Kylie, I promise, I’ll be okay. You can stay and I swear I’ll keep you posted on every single thing that hap—”
“Get your tight-jean-wearing ass in this truck right this damn instant, Trace Corbin. Every second you waste arguing with me is a second we aren’t there.”
Judging from the blazing determination in her glare and her stance, he knew it was time to do as she said or else. He might be able to dominate her in the bedroom, but that was about it.
This was his girl. She was still his Kylie Lou.
Trace shot a helpless look at Pauly who gave him a what-can-you-do look and shrugged.
“Okay. Here we go.”
FOUR HOURS in, Trace was extremely grateful she’d come along. He refused to let her drive because he could see the bone-deep exhaustion weighing on her. But she’d been the one checking in with Claire Ann every half hour, and each time they stopped for gas, she grabbed him a large black coffee and every snack food she could carry.
He didn’t have an appetite, but the coffee was a lifesaver.
The sun came up as they crossed into Georgia. He slid his sunglasses on and winced at the skull-shattering headache the glare had already caused.
Kylie’s voice was soft in the cab. “What you’re imagining is probably ten times worse than it actually is.”
He tried to take a breath. Ever since the words It’s Rae had dropped like concrete bricks from Pauly’s mouth, Trace had felt like they’d landed on his chest.
“You’re probably right. It’s just…” He couldn’t talk about it. Talking about it made it real. Made it terrifying and made him want a drink. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went numb. “If anything happens to her, I swear—”
“She’s a tough girl, Trace. She’s going to be fine.” She placed her hand firmly on his knee.
She sounded like she really believed that. So for the rest of the drive, he focused on making himself believe it too.
“HANNAH, I don’t know what to tell you other than I’m sorry. I have to be with Trace right now and I’m not at liberty to explain. All I can tell you is he had a family emergency and I need to be here.”