Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Grabbing my phone as I leave the bedroom, I check for messages from my family. There are a few of them but I don’t bother replying yet. I’ll get to that in a moment. I have something more important to do first.
A quick search of my fridge confirms that I have the ingredients to make Dotty a hearty breakfast. This is how every day will start from now on, with me caring for and feeding my princess.
I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to find her. I’ve spent years on the road, traveling from city to city. I searched the faces in every crowd, hoping each night to glimpse my soulmate. But she was right here, waiting for me in my hometown.
I’ve cracked an egg when my phone rings. I answer quickly, not wanting to wake Dotty. She’s going to need her strength for all the adventures I want to have together.
It’s a call from my manager, Thea Madison. She’s the best talent manager on the East Coast. That’s not just me talking. It’s what all the fancy music magazines call her. I only know her as my manager.
We took a chance on each other when we were both unknowns. She had no experience managing a singer, and I was a wannabe musician with only a guitar and some dreams. Together, we built my career and her reputation.
I mumble a greeting as a piece of eggshell falls into the pan. This has to be a perfect meal. I’m not entirely sure I made the best impression on Dotty yesterday. I have to do better today.
“Oh, good. You’re still alive,” Thea says in a deadpan voice.
I grunt. She was with me when I fell off the stage. She didn’t try to convince me to go to the hospital. She knows I don’t do that shit. But she did send me one of her patented glares, which means she wasn’t happy with me. “I can’t go to the big rodeo in the sky yet. I’m still your biggest money maker.”
“You’re also the biggest pain in my ass,” she points out, her tone falsely sweet. Anyone else, and I’d believe her words. But Thea has a soft underbelly she never shows. To the outside world, she’s an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. A hurricane in heels is what one magazine called her. But she’s got a heart bigger than the Carolina sky, and she’s fiercely protective of those she cares about. Including me.
“I make it worth your while,” I remind her.
She grumbles under breath. I’m pretty sure she called me something unflattering.
To distract her from deciding to fire me, which she swears at least once a week that she’s going to do, I tell Thea, “I found her.”
Thea stops mid-rant about how hard it is to dissolve a contract and how much she hates paperwork and that’s the only reason she’s still stuck with me. She gasps. “Where?”
She knows I’ve been searching for the love of my life. Watching my brothers fall for their women over the last year has only made me more desperate to find my own girl. I knew she was out there, and I finally got to hold her in my arms. “Right here in town.”
“That’s amazing!” Thea sounds as happy as if she has found her soulmate. She doesn’t believe in the idea, but she’s always supported my search. “Tell me about it.”
I grunt, unsure of what to say. I’m a words guy. I write songs, but describing the most amazing person I’ve ever met? That’s going to take a lifetime.
Thea is used to my grunts. She knows I save up all my words for my songs. “Wait…you didn’t act like your brothers when you first met her, did you?”
“I didn’t make a great first impression,” I hedge. At least, that’s what I’m guessing since I can’t remember most of the time I spent with her. But I’ll have thousands of days to spend with my woman, and I plan to cherish every one of them.
“Is she even on speaking terms with you?”
Since I haven’t even had the chance to talk with her yet, I’m going to assume we are. Besides, if we aren’t, I’ll have to convince her to talk to me. The first step to making that happen is feeding her a delicious breakfast.
Thea sighs at my silence.
“She might need some convincing that she’s my soulmate,” I finally admit as I lower the bread into the toaster. What’s her favorite kind of jam?
“Well, how did you meet her? Start there,” Thea says.
“She hit me with her car,” I tell Thea, the moment coming back into my memory in broken fragments. I was standing in the middle of the dirt road and her car hit me. I don’t remember it hurting, probably thanks to the medication I had taken.