Page 6 of Forever Country (Forever Bluegrass #24)

H olt didn’t know why he didn’t drop Annaleigh’s hand while walking upstairs.

He should have told her to go home the second he learned who her parents were.

Instead, he’d believed her when she said she wasn’t anything like them.

Her parents had been very persistent in their attempts to get him to sign with them.

Still, to this day, he’d stuck with Morgan Davies.

Morgan had been hinting lately that she was thinking about retiring and he honestly didn’t know what he’d do when she did.

He didn’t trust anyone but Morgan to look out for his best interest.

Annaleigh wasn’t playing a damsel in distress.

She’d sought help, but she hadn’t fallen apart.

Then there was the way Annaleigh looked in his clothes.

Women always tried to steal a sweatshirt or something from him, but seeing her in his clothes caused a visceral reaction in him.

A very animalistic response equal to claiming her as his.

However, then she’d used that stupid nickname—Broadway Bachelor.

No matter the work Morgan did trying to suppress it, it still stuck.

He was so much more than a bachelor. Holt bet Annaleigh wouldn’t like only being known as a bachelorette with no praise or reference given to her work, her likes, her dislikes, her charity.

.. nothing. How would she like to be known solely for who she slept with?

“Is this okay?” Holt asked, a little more abruptly than he meant to.

“It’s great. Thank you.”

Holt nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then.” Holt left her standing in the doorway as he headed back downstairs. He would not think of her upstairs in nothing but his clothes.

Holt puttered around for another half hour until the cops returned. They reported that no one was home and they didn’t see anyone. Big surprise. Holt made sure to lock the house up tight and instead of spending the first night in his new bed, he spent it on the couch, watching for any intruders.

Sleep didn’t come easy for Holt, but he managed to get in a couple of hours before waking up early to take care of the horses, check the house, and start breakfast with the little food he’d brought with him when he’d moved in.

Holt glanced up when he heard Annaleigh walking into the kitchen. “Are you cooking bacon? It smells so good.”

Holt smiled at her. She looked damn good in his clothes.

He liked how she was makeup-free and not self-conscious about it.

Somehow, twenty-year-olds were looking forty now with the loads of makeup they put on to make themselves look flawless.

Holt much preferred Annaleigh’s natural look with her dark red hair disheveled from sleep, compared to someone who was so made up that they looked fake.

“I thought you might be hungry. How did you sleep?”

Annaleigh slid onto the chair at the island and sighed. “Not great. I like to think I’m a pretty strong person, but last night freaked me out big time.”

“It’s understandable, Annaleigh. What are you going to do today?” Holt asked as he took out some biscuits from the oven.

Annaleigh looked down at her phone and sighed again. “Get to work. I’m already late. I had to text Maddie, my assistant, to push everything back an hour, which led to more questions.”

“Do you have security at your offices?” Holt placed the food on plates and handed Annaleigh one.

“No. We have someone in the lobby who stops people from just wandering in but they’re more of a receptionist than security.”

“You need to tell your parents and see if they can hire someone for a little while. Maybe seeing security will be enough to deter this stalker from you since you will no longer be an easy target.”

“I’ll see when I get there, I guess.”

Holt was having a hard time giving her space. He knew he had no claim to her and no right to tell her what to do, but he hated that he couldn’t be there to protect her if she needed him. “Do you want me to drop you off at work and pick you up?”

Annaleigh stopped mid-bite and stared at him with something that looked like confusion. “You’d do that for me?”

“I’d do anything to make you feel safe, Annaleigh.

I’ll give you my number. I’ll be at the studio downtown today, but I’ll have my phone with me the entire time.

If you need me for anything, call me.” Holt rattled off his number as Annaleigh put it in her phone and sent him a text to give him her number.

“You’re a very good man, Holt Everett.” Annaleigh ate the last of the bacon and turned back to him. “I guess I do have one more favor to ask. Can you drive me home?”

“Of course.” Holt stood up and took their plates to the dishwasher before nodding to the laundry room. “Your clothes are washed and dried.”

“Oh,” she looked disappointed and that made Holt feel that maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling something, even this early on. “But, why don’t you keep what you have on? I like seeing you in my clothes.”

He liked the way her face flushed pink and how she ducked her head but he was able to see the happy smile on her face nonetheless. So, it wasn’t only him feeling things.

“I’ll never turn down an oversized hoodie,” Annaleigh said with a little laugh as she slipped her feet into her still-damp sneakers.

Holt took the lead and headed for the garage.

He wasn’t a huge car guy. He had a pickup truck and an SUV.

The pickup truck was his from high school days.

He’d fixed it up with his dad. While it wasn’t the new flashy pickups people drove, he liked it.

He wasn’t a flashy guy anyway, even if that surprised a lot of people.

Sometimes it turned them off. Especially if they were expecting luxury.

His truck didn’t have air conditioning. Well, at least not what you could call reliable air conditioning.

He and his dad were going to work on that when they got together next time.

“I love your truck. It reminds me of my childhood. I’m pretty sure my dad had this same truck when I was six.”

Holt chuckled. “That’s because it’s my truck from high school. It was the only thing I could afford and I spent the summer fixing it up with my dad.”

Holt opened the door to the truck for Annaleigh. “Only thing you could afford?”

“My parents were rich. I wasn’t. That was their money and I never wanted to be one of those kids who assumed their money was my money.

They worked hard for theirs, and I worked hard for mine.

” Annaleigh’s face became unreadable as he walked around and got into the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, that’s the look I get from most people.

” Holt didn’t want to admit he was slightly disappointed in her for turning her nose up at how he was raised.

“No, it’s not that. It’s actually . . . I’m kinda jealous.

I wish I had learned that lesson when I was younger.

Then I wouldn’t be under my parents’ thumb.

They hold my trust fund and their money over me every day.

And every day I give in and do what they want because I’m too afraid to strike out on my own.

” Annaleigh took a wobbly breath and looked at Holt, “I’ve never admitted that to anyone before. ”

“I’m glad you trust me enough to share that with me.

It can be scary to take risks, but if you plan it out carefully and then take the jump, you can be more confident in your actions.

I won’t say I didn’t benefit from my parents’ names or the fact that their graduation gift to me was a year’s rent here in Nashville to allow me to pursue my dreams, but I research what I want to do, make a contingency plan, and then jump.

If you could jump, what would you do?” Holt asked as he drove down his driveway.

“I’d mentor up-and-coming artists in the industry.

I’d still like to manage them, but also be there for them.

Take the chance on the ones who don’t have the connections or who are fighting an uphill battle to be discovered.

The industry is changing. AI, writers’ credits, ownership of songs.

.. all of that is changing, and I want to protect the artists so the art and the artists themselves can not only survive all these changes, but thrive.

” Annaleigh answered without hesitation.

Holt looked over at Annaleigh, surprised, because her parents were definitely not of the same mind. “You’d love my manager then, Morgan Davies.”

Annaleigh turned her head to look at him.

Sunlight shone on her dark copper red hair, making it almost sparkle.

She was stunning. He could write a whole album about this one split second that the sun shone on her and she smiled at him.

“I’ve heard of Morgan Davies. An outsider to the music industry who has protected her only music client, refusing to be intimidated by the good ol’ boys, and who, at least according to insider information, got you some of the best contracts in the business. ”

“She and my lawyers did that. Henry and Neeley Grace Rooney.” Holt paused at the gate and Annaleigh gave him her code. The gate opened and he drove down the driveway.

“Shoot,” Annaleigh muttered. “My parents are heading to work. I was hoping to avoid them. Just drive by them. I don’t want you to have to deal with them this early in the morning.

” Holt raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t want to deal with them either, so he slowed down as they stared at the truck and gave them a little wave as he drove by. “Right here. This is me.”

“Nice barn. How many horses do you have?”

“None. My mom doesn’t like the dirt of animals.” Holt kept his mouth closed as Annaleigh opened the door. “Thanks for the ride and for last night. You were my hero. I hope you know that.”

“Let me know everything is okay in your apartment and will you text me when you get to work? I want to make sure you’re safe.”

A rosy blush formed on her cheeks as she smiled shyly. “I will. Thank you, Holt. For everything.”

Annaleigh closed the door and Holt waited as she walked up the stairs.

She left her door open and a minute later she stepped back outside and smiled.

She gave him the thumbs up before waving.

Holt put the truck in reverse and slowly drove away, hoping this wasn’t the last time he saw his new neighbor.