News

Sitting in one of her favorite restaurants, sipping a glass of wine, Bree waited for Trent to meet her. He’d texted a few minutes ago to let her know he was running just a few minutes behind, thanks to traffic, but she was so glad they’d decided to meet right after work, rather than having him go all the way home and then come back downtown. She was so excited to tell him about the tour, she couldn’t help but smile. After rehearsal, she’d gone home and put on one of her favorite dresses, a red number Trent really liked. Her hair was up in a twist with loose curls framing her face, and she’d put on some diamond earrings Trent had gotten her a few months ago. She knew she looked great, and with everything finally going her way again, she felt great, too.
Trent looked amazing when he came down the aisle with the maître ‘D, headed toward her table. She couldn’t help but leap up and wrap her arms around him. “Hi, baby,” he said, kissing her. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.”
Trent made a face but didn’t argue. True, he had come straight from work, but he was wearing a jacket and tie, and in Bree’s opinion, he always looked amazing. He stepped around to hold her chair for her and then pushed her in before sitting down across from her. “How was your day?”
“Fabulous,” she said, barely able to contain herself. The waiter came to take their order, and Bree picked something that sounded good without much thought because she was in a hurry to get the interloper out of the way. Trent took a little more time, but after a moment, they were alone again. “I have some awesome news!” she exclaimed.
“Great. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
Realizing she was being slightly rude, she asked, “So how was your day?”
A smile came across his lips. “It was good. But I want to hear about yours first. How was practice?”
“So great,” she gushed, stopping herself just short of letting out a squeal. “You will not believe what Alvin had to tell us.”
“Oh? Alvin was there?” Trent spread his napkin in his lap as the waiter came back with a glass of wine for him and left the bottle.
“Yes, he was, and he told us he has tour dates for us! Isn’t that exciting? We’re about to hit the road again. And our first show is going to be at The Rusty Wagon Wheel!”
“Wow--Bree! That’s a huge venue. Congratulations. I can see why you’re so excited.” He reached across the table and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “No wonder you’re so happy.”
Even though Bree was nervous about the fact that Sam’s band would be opening for the show, just the thought of being back on stage again had her giddy. “I know, it’s great! He had several dates to share with us. We’ll be on the road most every weekend for several months once we get started.”
“That’s awesome,” Trent said, still smiling as he took a drink of his wine. “Where else will you be playing?”
Bree filled him in on all of the venues Alvin had told them about. Some of them Trent was familiar with, others he wasn’t, so she went into detail about the ones he didn’t know about. By the time she had said everything she could about the tour, save the fact that Back Roads would be opening for them at The Rusty Wagon Wheel, they were almost done with their entrees, and she felt like she’d been talking for hours.
“This all sounds amazing, baby,” Trent said after swallowing a bite of steak. “When does it all start?”
“Soon. The first show is April 15.” Trent’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she thought he might be about to choke. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” He took another drink of his wine. “It’s just… I got some news at work today, too.”
“Oh? What’s that?” Feeling like a heel for talking so long to tell him everything and not even asking him how his day had gone, Bree set her fork aside, done eating and ready to listen.
“Well, apparently, the firm is up for a pretty important award.”
“An award!” Bree exclaimed, clapping her hands. “That’s awesome, Trent! What is it?”
“It’s called the NNEOTY, the New Nashville Entrepreneur of the Year awards.” He shrugged as if it wasn't that big of a deal. “I guess there’s a gala and a ceremony, and all of that.”
“Wow!” It was her turn to squeeze his hand. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you, babe! Do you have to give a speech?”
“I suppose so, but it doesn’t matter.” He shrugged again, playing the whole thing off.
“Why is that?” She was missing something. Bree tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Surely, you’re not thinking of missing it, are you?”
“Well… it’s just… the gala is the same night as your opening show, April 15. And I can’t miss that.”
Suddenly, it all hit her, and Bree understood the reason for his lackadaisical attitude. “Oh.” Her countenance fell. The idea of him missing her show, and her missing his gala, was disappointing to say the least. She definitely wanted to be there when he accepted his award. And the thought of him missing her show made her sad as well, especially since she’d been counting on him being there to help her get past seeing Sam again. But she couldn’t miss the show, and she’d never ask him to miss his awards ceremony. “Trent, you have to go. I’ll be all right at the concert.”
He was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. “Absolutely not, Bree. I definitely want to be there when you go back on stage.”
“Trent, it sounds like this is a major award, a big deal.”
“So what? Celia can accept on our behalf. She’s done most of the work anyway.”
“I doubt that’s true.” Bree knew Celia had done a lot when he was out while she was recovering from her injury, but she also knew Trent was one of the hardest workers she’d ever met. “You have to go.”
“What about your show? I don’t want to miss that.”
“I don’t want you to miss it either. And I don’t want to miss your ceremony. But… this is just one of those times when we’ll each have to manage on our own. It’ll be all right.”
“Bree….”
“Trent!” She tipped her head to the side, hoping he’d understand she was serious. “You can’t possibly expect to miss your award ceremony because I have a gig.”
“It’s more than just a gig, Bree. It’s your first time back on stage after months off.”
Bree shrugged. “Maybe you can make it after your ceremony. We’re playing in town.”
He opened his mouth as if he would protest again, but then nodded, it finally sinking in that she wouldn’t be swayed. “All right. Maybe so.”
She managed to force a smile. “Good. I’m so proud of you!” She squeezed his hand, letting her fear of facing Sam and being on stage without him in the audience fade to the background “I hope someone records it so I can hear your acceptance speech.”
Trent chuckled. “I doubt that it’ll be worth listening to, Bree, but I’ll see if that’s a possibility. Do you think your show will be recorded?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll definitely ask.”
He nodded as if to say it was all settled then, and despite the letdown she was feeling having gone from the high of knowing she was about to get back on stage to realizing she’d be doing it alone, Bree felt confident that she could do this. It might be difficult, but she’d faced complicated tasks before. While it was easy to say that Trent would always be there with her, no matter what, she had to accept that that wasn’t always going to be the case. She was tired of being a victim, though, tired of being the poor, hurt little girl. She could definitely handle this situation on her own, especially since the rest of the band would be there to support her. Rather than letting the fact that Trent wouldn’t be there to see her play bother her, she focused on the fact that he would be receiving an award without her in the audience and how disappointing that would be.
“Do you want dessert?” Trent asked her, his fingers tugging lightly on hers to regain her attention.
“Definitely,” Bree said with a nod. Today was definitely a day for dessert, whether she was celebrating the new gig and the award or lamenting the two of them going it alone, some cheesecake was definitely in her future. Trent flagged down the waiter, and Bree ordered New York cheesecake--with cherries on top--telling Trent if he wanted some, he’d better get his own.

* * *

The whir of the ceiling fan had Trent’s full attention as it went round and round above his head. Bree was snuggled up against him, her cheek pressed to his chest, her hair fanning out over his arm where it rested tucked beneath his pillow. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately, once he’d finished making love to her. But here he lie, staring at the ceiling, nearly two hours after she’d moaned his name and let him know he’d reached his goal.
Something was off, and he knew it. Exactly what it was, he couldn’t say, but he had a feeling in his gut that the hardships they’d gone through weren’t over yet, that whatever had brought them the bad luck of having her first show and his award ceremony scheduled on the same night wasn’t done messing up their lives.
It seemed silly to let intuition keep him up. He was a number’s guy, after all. All day long, he worked with facts and figures, not feelings and hunches. Yet, that nagging sensation was there just the same, telling him that, if she went to that concert without him, if he went to that award’s ceremony and Bree wasn’t there, it would be a mistake, the kind that began a downward spiral, the kind that would make their worlds begin to spin out of control all over again.
He’d had enough of that. From the fire to Bree’s burn, to the madwoman in the hospital who’d tried to kill her, he was done with it all. The trial would be starting soon, as well, and Bree would have to relive it all. Whatever it was that was telling him not to go to the ceremony, to go with her instead, was a reminder that one more round of bad luck might be all it took for Bree to lose everything--her rising fame, her ability to play and sing, even her life. He wasn’t willing to toy with something so serious.
And yet, the entire conversation he was having in his mind seemed ridiculous. Why in the world had he convinced himself that someone or something was out to get them? It was ludicrous. And Bree would say the same thing if he told her--again--that he didn’t want to go to the awards ceremony. She’d insist that he do so, and she would be offended if he implied she wasn’t capable of attending the show by herself.
So… they’d have to go their separate ways for one evening. Big deal. What difference did it make? Trent forced himself to close his eyes, trying his best to shut out the noise in the back of his head, the one insisting that it was a big deal. Since there was nothing he could do about it at that moment, he decided to worry about it the next day and adjusted on the pillow, determined to get some sleep, praying the negative thoughts didn’t haunt his dreams.