~ Excerpt ~
One
Fallon
The first time I met Augusta Belle Branson she was fixin’ on
killin’ herself.
Said the minute I’d walked up, she was tryin’ to decide if
jumpin’ off the bridge in the center—where the water was deep and the current
stronger, would be a swifter end--or if jumping near the edge, where jagged
limestone labs anchored the slow moving current awaited her.
Certain death for sure.
I replayed the split-second when the blinding summer sun
opened through the orange oak leaves, a halo of warmth enveloping her.
Like an angel, stardust sparkling straight from Heaven,
ploppin’ her in my path.
And then she turned, the most startling shade of liquid
amber eyes breathing something real and alive, like fire, into my soul.
That same something I’d been runnin’ from, or chasin’,
dependin’ on how you looked at it, just about everyday since.
I settled myself on the lone wooden stool that awaited at
center stage, my thoughts drawing back to the present. My head swam, but the
old familiar chords drove on through the current of whiskey in my blood,
strumming the first few notes of a song I wrote a lot of nights ago by the
sheer act of muscle memory.
Old acoustic guitar resting on my knee, my first and third
fingers in position on the strings, the opening chords of Whiskey Girl bled
from my fingers.
Every chord, another dagger.
Every whispered lyric, my undoing.
I still don’t know what the fuck had overtaken me the night
I’d written Whiskey Girl in a fevered rush.
Well, the booze may have played a factor, but I happened to
think my best shit came out of uninhibited states.
I’d just had a fuck ton of uninhibited states recently.
And the harder the liquor, the more she haunted me.
Whiskey Girl.
My poisoned lullaby.
The crowd of a few hundred erupted into a standing ovation
when I ended with the final, emotion-charged words.
The irony that this song was the one that’d launched my
career, the first single to hit radio waves and then the top spot on the
Billboard charts brought reporters, music executives, long last family members
that I wasn’t even really sure I was related to, and too much other scum with
an end game that carried dollar signs to my front doorstep.
I’d moved to Nashville a rising star, and left two years
later, middle finger in the air as I tossed my once promising music career out
with last night’s liquor bottles in favor of the open road.
Chasing something.
Not finding the one thing I needed.
Playing local honky-tonks for a fraction of the money I
could have made.
But truth was, the road is the only place I could find my
happy.
A familiar ball of pain formed in my throat as I stood,
pushing my guitar over one shoulder and bowing deeply. I couldn’t see a single
face behind the glaring stage lights, but still, some part of me pretended she
could be out there, that I was singing to her.
That she would hear her song and find her way back to me.
After hundreds of faceless crowds and too many bottles of
Tennessee whiskey to bother counting, I still felt the pull inside me to travel
every town in America if that’s what it took to find her.
Hell, maybe she was happily married with a few kids, a dog,
and a fucking minivan by now.
I nodded my head, giving one last wave to the crowd in the
dark beyond, then left the stage, taking the steps two at a time and angling
past the curtains to head for the tiny-ass dressing room this dive bar provided
for another chug of amber gold, before packing my shit into my truck and
hitting the road.
I pushed a hand through my hair, thinking maybe a shower
would be in order before I bailed when a curvy little thing backed right up
into me.
My palms landed on her shoulders, warm blonde waves falling
in a cascade over one side. The heady scent of peaches and honey filled my
nostrils, my eyes slammed closed and brought me back to summer nights under a
giant oak, fireflies melting together with the stars above like a painting.
“Sorry, I just dropped my phone.” The sweet-scented creature
spun, brilliant smile falling off her face when our eyes made contact for the
first time.
Every cold-hearted memory slammed into my chest like a
pallet of bricks.
I narrowed my eyes, gaze tracing the familiar, yet
unfamiliar angles of her porcelain face.
She was thinner now, cheeks sharp slashes of bone that
highlighted her always-devastating round eyes and full lips. It was her
alright. I’d know this woman anywhere.
“Hi, Fallon.” I’d been dreamin’ of this moment for the
better part of a decade and still, my heart wasn’t prepared for those two
words. My name on her lips left me with a toxic reaction.
My whiskey girl.
My damnation and my savior.
“I need a fucking minute.” I dropped her shoulders, her
touch still haunting my fingertips, and walked straight down the narrow
hallway, pushing the rusted back door open so hard the hinges protested.
Warm, autumn air filled my lungs, replacing the empty
feeling that seeing her again had left.
“Fallon…” Hell, she’d followed me out.
And hell if wanted her to, but I didn’t not want her to
either.
The emotions bombarding my mind were just a-fucking-bout
unbearable.
“I said, I need a fucking minute.” The sentence more of a
growl than I intended. Before she could reply I stomped across the potholed
parking lot, aimed for my heavy-duty Ford.
I yanked the door open, digging behind the driver seat for a
fresh bottle of my favorite recipe.
I couldn’t be bothered to retrieve the half-full bottle I’d
left in my dressing room, I had to get as far the fuck away from her just to
clear my head and process what her being here even meant.
My hands circled the neck of the bottle and I opened it in a
flash, chugging back the first warm bite of pleasure I’d been craving.
I tossed the cap on my dash and fished the keys out of my
pocket, about to climb into the cab and make hay when fingertips painted a dark
navy filtered into my vision and back out again, my goddamn truck keys hanging
from one finger.
“Fuck,” I bit, crawling out of the cab and swiping for the
keys.
My reactions were a helluva lot slower than I thought they
were, how much of that bottle had I drank before the show? I shook the thought
from my head, realizing this was probably about close to my average state of
play on any given day. Runnin’ away from the life Augusta Belle and I’d had
took something out of me. Something only whiskey could fill.
“I don’t care what your stupid ass does on your own time,
but you’re not dying on mine, Fallon Gentry.”
My head pounded then, a whole fucking sentence out of her
pretty pink lips, my body’s old dependable reaction to her infuriating every
cell of me.
I’d never been in control when it came to Augusta, shouldn’t
have been surprised that it was no different now.
“As irritating as ever, I see.” I bit, swiping for my keys
one more time and missing, before I stumbled off around her, whiskey bottle
clutched in my hand and hell on my mind.
Augusta was back and there wasn’t enough whiskey in the
state of Tennessee to help me deal.
~ About the Author ~
Adriane Leigh is an Amazon Top 25 and USA
Today bestselling author of contemporary and erotic
romance. Raised in a snowbank in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she was born with
a book in her hand and won her first Young Authors award before the age of ten.
She finished her first romance novel at 14, and hasn't stopped playing
with words since. She earned a literature degree, co-founded and organized
international book conventions with RARE: Romance Author & Reader
Events, and has written more than 45 independent titles under various pen
names.
Married to her own Prince Charming, she now lives among the sand dunes of
Lake Michigan, and plays mama to two sweet baby girls. She's a
romantic rebel and word junkie that believes wanderlust is life, is
part of the #goodvibetribe, and wishes she had more time to read and knit scarves
to keep her cozy during the arctic Michigan winters. Yoga pants, puppies, and
mac and cheese also help. Never miss a release! Get an alert at: http://www.adrianeleigh.com
Praise for Adriane's work:
“Sizzling chemistry, a glamorous world, plot twists…a
perfect combination held together with Adriane Leigh’s addictive writing. I
dove into this world, and didn’t want to come up for air. I can’t wait for
more!” –
Alessandra Torre, Hollywood Dirt
“Adriane Leigh never dissapoints with equal amounts of heat
and heart with all the sex, suspense and scandal…Leigh’s newest mysterious hero
will have you anxiously flipping pages well into the night trying to uncover
his secrets.” –
Jay Crownover, Marked Men
~ Connect with Adriane ~
