Page 79 of A Country Kind Of Love

The song comes to a close. The reaction from the crowd is promising. Peyton can feel her whole body pulsating; she’s rigid and barely able to smile and nod, but the roar of the crowd helps slow her breathing.

Cleo slowly claps along, but it lacks enthusiasm. There’s sheer delight from a woman at the front of the stage, but her focus is on Charlie. She blows him a kiss. Peyton can only assume it’s his newgirlfriend.

“You okay?” Charlie leans over and whispers.

Peyton covers the microphone. “I’m surviving. I just wish I wasn’tso nervous.”

“It’s understandable.” He shrugs. “Remember, the best things come from situations that make you feel uncomfortable.” He smiles softly and nods towards the band.

Herewe go again.

?

Peyton exits stage right. The crowd of Nashville wine-drinkers seem to approve. She can still hear the cheers. Charlie did undo his shirt half-way through the last performance of Southern Smooth’s hit song “Shirtless in Tennessee”, so she’s attributing the majority of the screams to that. Luckily, she’d heard Jesse play the song around the apartment time and time again, so she was able to comfortably provide backing vocals.

The whole experience has her ears ringing and her heart pounding. The excitement is like nothing she’s ever experienced before. The band waiting in the wings congratulate her with one high five after another and words of affirmation. Peyton finds itsatisfying.

“You were amazing,” says a woman similar in age to Peyton and wearing a uniform from the vineyard.

“Thank you so much.”

The event manager barely looks their way. She feels like screaming,you’re welcome, at the top of her lungs, but that would be adrenaline fuelled and out of character—bad idea.

Jesse bounds over like a gazelle on drugs.

“You. Were. Incredible!” He grips her by the waist and lifts her off the ground spinning her around like she’s a child. She almost kicks three passers-by as herlegs flail.

“Jesse!” She pushes against his vice-like bear hold. “Put me down youcrazy fool.”

He places her neatly back on her own two feet. “I am so proud of you.” His breath smells like wine, and his eyes are still glazed. “Like seriously, I knew you could sing, but you canreallysing.” The second sing sounds like swing. Charlie promptly supplies him with another bottle of water.

Peyton chuckles. She’s never seen him so drunk, but he’s loveable, so it’s like trying to be mad at a twelve-week-old puppy. It is fundamentallyimpossible.

“Thank you. I’ll hate on you tomorrow when you’vesobered up.”

She can’t focus fully; they exit the barn to the left. Once she’s pushed her way through the crowd at the bar, she surveys the area. There’s only one person she wants to see. This could be her opportunity to try and fix the mess she made. She doesn’t know if she can handle two uncomfortable, nerve-wrecking situations in one night, but she figures she can use the adrenaline coursing through her veinsas a boost.

“I’ve never heard that second song,”Jesse says.

“You have. I played it for youlast week.”

“You did?” He scratches his head like a cartoon character.

“Yes, when you made your grandma’s famous hot chicken, but you said I couldn’t have any until I played you a new song.” She rolls her eyes.

Jesse reminds her more and more of her brothers every day. The likeness in personality and the unrelenting want to pull her from her comfort zone is scary.

“Oh, right. The lid to the cayenne pepper fell off.” Jesse laughs.

“Yes, it did.” Peyton had to brush her tongue four times just to break free of the burning sensation. Her pallet could handle a normal amount of spice, but Jesse withheld the fact that he’d accidently tripled, if not quadrupled, the pepper dosage.

“Who are you looking for?” Jesse towers over Peyton’s petite frame. His head bobs from left to right.

“Cleo.”

“Oh.”

“It would’ve been nice to get the heads up that she was here tonight.”She frowns.