Buch lesen: «Catch A Fallen Star»

To my darling teenage daughter, Alyssa. I hope you read this someday and can laugh at the bits of you I may have written into Violet. I hope you know I love you dearly even though your eye-rolling is now documented for all to see.

Acknowledgments

To my book-club friends who helped me name many of the characters of this book.

You guys are the best!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“WHAT IN THE name of all that is holy is this?” Boone Williams stood in front of the shiny silver Airstream trailer with his hands on his hips. He’d slept in a lot of strange places while touring the country, but this had to be a joke.

“This is your new home away from home,” Dean said, flashing the used-car-salesman grin he thought worked on everyone.

Dean Presley was the head of Boone’s record label, Grace Note Records, and the one who had convinced Boone to come down here to small-town Grass Lake. He had promised the perfect Tennessee retreat. A place with all the comforts of home and none of the stress. It was supposed to be top-notch, somewhere the rich and famous like Boone could reconnect with the music.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Boone grumbled. This was a trailer in the middle of a horse farm. The pungent smell of manure did battle with the overwhelming scent of hay that made his nose itch. This was no vacation home. This was a nightmare.

“Don’t judge until you see the inside. It’s not the Four Seasons, but you’d be amazed at what we fit into this little space.”

“I knew there wasn’t a Four Seasons in this Podunk town, but I’m sure there have to be accommodations a little more fitting for someone like me.”

“Boone—”

“I have twenty-five number-one singles, I’ve won three Grammys and ten Country Artist Awards, and I was named America’s favorite male country music artist at the People’s Choice Awards...four times. I’m pretty sure I deserve better than this.”

Dean sighed, mimicking Boone’s stance. He closed his eyes for a moment and his smile faded. “I hate to remind you that you also haven’t had a record out in five years. Instead, you’ve had two DUIs and a few other run-ins with the law that you were fortunate to get out of because of who you are. The last time you attended the CAAs, you were asked not to return because you shoved an assistant producer backstage. And right now, the only thing you’d win if people voted would be favorite tabloid star. I’m pretty sure this place is exactly what you need.”

Every dose of reality was like a hot poker in the gut. Dean was right, but that didn’t mean Boone wanted to hear it. Dean opened the door to the Airstream, and Boone stomped up the stairs and inside.

It wasn’t the worst place he’d ever had to stay, but not at all what he had expected. He had grown accustomed to his life of luxury. The pillow with the words Welcome Home stitched across it mocked him from the beige couch in the front. A basket of cookies and a bottle of sparkling water sat on the little dinette in the kitchen area. In the back was the bedroom, complete with a full-size bed and one tiny nightstand. Boone threw his suitcase on the bed.

“Faith stocked the kitchen with some basics, but I can take you into town to pick up groceries or any incidentals you might have forgotten,” Dean offered. “I can also show you around the barn and introduce you to the horses whenever you’re ready. We can save the studio tour for tomorrow.”

Studio tour? The studio was apparently also on this godforsaken farm. The likelihood that Boone would be impressed was low. Not that he had anything to record. The words still weren’t coming. The music had dried up when he’d dried out.

“How many horses are there?”

“We’ve got three right now.”

“That’s not very many.”

“We lost one back in May,” Dean explained. “Faith’s been taking her time looking for a new one. Therapy horses aren’t easy to come by. They’re special. Not every horse can work as one. Faith drove up to Nashville this morning to check out a filly a friend of hers has for sale. Maybe we’ll have four in a few short days.”

Faith was Dean’s fiancée and the one who ran the farm where Boone was now trapped. It was supposedly a therapeutic horse farm called Helping Hooves. Boone wasn’t sure how horses could help someone like him. Of course, the humans who had tried hadn’t had much success, either.

Maybe he was a hopeless case. The failure his father had always believed he would be.

Suddenly the already tight quarters began to feel even more claustrophobic. The walls closed in, and Boone began to panic. Soon there wouldn’t be enough air for both of them.

“Let’s go meet the horses,” he said, pushing past Dean to get to the door. At least he knew the animals wouldn’t ask him about his divorce or when his next album was coming out. They wouldn’t remind him of how far he had fallen.

* * *

THE AFTERNOON SUN shone bright in a cloudless sky as Dean led Boone to the stables. Boone rubbed the back of his neck, cursing himself for not grabbing a hat.

A red sedan that hadn’t been there when Boone arrived was parked near the barn. An uneasy feeling came over him. He did not want to deal with the public just yet.

“Just to be clear, I’m not signing any autographs or doing any meet and greets while I’m here.”

Dean glanced over his shoulder with what strongly resembled a smirk. “We’re definitely on the same page about that. You aren’t exactly what I’d call fan-friendly at the moment.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Boone nudged him from behind. Dean’s business partner was usually the one who acted like Boone was incapable of being nice. Maybe Dean believed that to be true.

The real truth was that if Boone wanted to, he could charm the pants off anyone. All he was saying was he didn’t want to, not that he couldn’t. There was a big difference.

“I mean you’re here to focus on you and the music, not make new friends.”

The two men stepped into the stables just as a teen girl with dark hair and ripped-up jeans began her tirade.

“I knew you would tell him! This is my time with the horses, and now he’s going to make me talk about things I don’t want to talk about! Why do you hate me so much?”

A man dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt—presumably the “he” who was going to make the girl talk about whatever it was she clearly did not want to talk about—stepped between the angry young lady and whoever had made her so furious.

“No one is going to make you talk about anything you don’t want to talk about, Violet. That’s our deal, remember?”

“You say that, Jesse, but you always get me to spill my guts even when I don’t want to.”

The girl reminded Boone of another indignant teenager who loved horses. His daughter, Emmy, was fourteen and, likely thanks mostly to her mother, hadn’t answered his calls or replied to any of his text messages in months.

“Please give me a break,” an exasperated redhead said as she pushed her way around the man named Jesse. “I can’t take this drama. Jesse is your social worker. He should know when things happen so you two can process through it. Lord knows you don’t want to talk to me about it.”

“Why would I talk to you? You don’t want to hear about my drama. I bet you wish you could ditch me just like Dad did.”

The mother’s head fell back as she let out a growl of frustration. Boone took a step toward the door. They were obviously intruding on a very personal conversation.

Jesse noticed them then. “Dean.” He made his way over while mother and daughter glared in their direction—another all too familiar sight.

“Sorry, Jesse.” Dean also began to backpedal. “We’ll come back. I didn’t realize you had a session scheduled.”

“No, I’m going to go,” the redhead said. “Violet’s right. This is her time with the horses, not our time to fight. We should save that for home.”

“Ruby...” Jesse spun back around. “We should use this as an opportunity to work on your communication.”

“I am pretty sure you could spend the rest of your life helping us with our communication. I can afford only an hour of your time, so I am going to leave.” She gave Dean an apologetic grimace. “Sorry for the...whatever this was, Dean.”

“Don’t be sorry. We really can come back. Maybe you should stay and talk this out with Jesse and Violet.”

“And keep your friend here from getting the grand tour? No way.” Her hand landed solidly on Boone’s chest. That was the moment he realized she knew exactly who he was. Clearly she was a fan. For some reason, his female admirers always wanted to touch.

“Aren’t you cute,” Boone said, ready to prove to Dean that he could be nice. “If you think it would help, I’ll sign something for you and your daughter. Maybe this little encounter will turn the whole day around.”

People used to tell him that all the time. They would profess their love for him and swear that meeting him was life altering. Fans often told him that getting his autograph or their picture taken with him was the best moment of their lives, even better than the day they got married or gave birth to their children. Boone Williams had that effect on people.

This little redhead cocked her head and seemed confused, however. Boone figured she was still trying to play like she didn’t recognize him. It was a common ploy. Fans sometimes tried acting unaware of who he was at first in the hope it would put him more at ease around them.

He gave her his trademark grin and lowered his voice, which had literally made women swoon. “You want me to sign something for you, pretty lady?”

See? He could be nice.

The line between the woman’s eyebrows deepened. “Unless you’re signing your name on a check that’s going to pay for about a hundred more sessions with Jesse, I’m not sure your signature is going to do me and my daughter much good, mister.”

With that, she was gone.

“Are you famous or something?” the girl asked, arms crossed tightly in front of her.

He thought he was. He sure used to be. Lately, however, he’d been famous for all the wrong reasons.

“Violet Wynn, this is Boone Williams.” Dean paused for her to react. She didn’t, so he continued, “He’s a very famous singer at my record label. He’s going to be staying here for a few weeks to work with the horses and maybe write some new music.”

That was a big maybe.

“Welcome to the farm, Boone. I’m Jesse Keyes.” He held out his hand to shake. “We’re happy to have you here.”

“Jesse says that to everyone,” Violet said behind him.

Jesse took a deep breath. Turning, he suggested to the girl, “Why don’t you go in the tack room and get things ready while I grab Sassy?”

“It’s true. You do say that to everybody. You’re one of those nice people who goes around saying nice things to everyone you meet. I just thought he should know so he doesn’t start offering to sign things for you, too.”

Dean coughed a laugh into his fist. Jesse seemed to be fighting a smile as Violet took off in the other direction. “Not surprising she gets along best with the horse named Sassy, is it?” he asked Boone.

“Not surprising in the least.” Boone glanced around at the stables. How had his life come to this—hiding on a horse farm in the middle of small-town Tennessee where people didn’t even know who he was? This was not the way things were supposed to be.

He had to get his career back, and fast, or fame would be nothing but a faded memory. And if he wasn’t famous, what was the point of all those years of hard work and sacrifice? Boone had given everything he had to his career. Without it, he was nothing.

CHAPTER TWO

IF RUBY HAD her way, she would eradicate the world of men. Maybe not all men, just the ones who didn’t give a damn about their children and the ones who thought they could fix the world’s problems by smiling and offering...their signatures.

Okay, the signature part was still weird. Why anyone would think writing his name on something could make this horrible day better, she’d never understand.

With an hour to kill and an ex-husband she’d also like to kill, Ruby figured the safest place for her was under the watchful eye of her best friend.

Holly Davis was editor of the Grass Lake Gazette. The Gazette was published on Thursdays and had a distribution of a whopping 2,600 people. Holly certainly didn’t need to work on a Saturday, but she often put in more hours on the weekend when her husband could be home to watch their three kids.

The small-town newspaper was housed on the top floor of the tallest building along Main Street. Ruby decided walking up the six flights of stairs would help her burn off some of the adrenaline that seemed still to be coursing through her veins.

Sure enough, the door to the Gazette was unlocked when she reached the top. Holly sat at her desk with a pen in her mouth.

“I know you come here for peace and quiet, but I need to spend some time with someone who likes me,” Ruby said, slightly out of breath.

Holly removed the pen and stuck it in the bun on top of her head. Her round face and large blue eyes gave her a childlike appearance, such a stark contrast to the streaks of gray in her dark brown hair. “I love you,” she corrected Ruby. “Who doesn’t love you?”

“I’ll give you a hint. She’s about this tall and is a professional eye roller.”

“How is my favorite thirteen-year-old?”

“She’s a pain in my butt.” Violet had a way of perfectly pushing Ruby’s buttons. She somehow managed to make her mom feel bad for her and infuriated by her at the same time. And whatever the problem was, it was always Ruby’s fault.

Never mind the fact that what had sparked the whole meltdown today was that Levi had once again canceled his visit with his daughter. Never mind that he’d spent months promising to take Violet to California for a long weekend. They were supposed to go to Disneyland and see the Hollywood sign. Only, Levi called last night with yet another lame excuse for why he couldn’t follow through.

“She loves you,” Holly said. “She’s starting puberty. It’s natural for her to clash with her mother. It’s her destiny to fight you on everything until she’s grown and on her own. Then she’ll think you’re the wisest person in the world.”

Ruby dropped into an empty office chair. “Ha! I hope I live that long.”

Jesse had once explained that it was safer for Violet to be angry with Ruby because she could trust that her mother would always be there. If she were to lash out at her dad, he might cut and run for good. Even the occasional phone call was better than nothing, so Violet couldn’t express her frustration to the real cause of all her angst.

Sometimes being the responsible and reliable parent really stank.

“When I was Violet’s age, I used to tell people I was adopted because I didn’t want them to think I was related to anyone in my family.”

“Holly!” Ruby leaned back and put her feet up on the desk. “That’s terrible. Your family could not have been that bad.”

“Oh, that’s nothing compared to what my younger sister did. My parents deserved a medal for surviving our teens.”

Ruby knew all about pushing parents to their limits. Her own mother could have written a book about the things Ruby had done at Violet’s age. What was happening now was most definitely karma.

“I don’t need a medal. I’d be happy simply to get one day without her sighing or telling me I don’t understand. Don’t worry. I won’t hold my breath, I promise.”

“Good, because that could take a very long time.”

Even though Holly had three boys who still let their mom tuck them in at night and asked for extra kisses before they could fall asleep, her opinion still fed Ruby’s fear that she and Violet would never find common ground. Especially when Violet’s father constantly played games with her emotions.

“Tell me something good. What amazing things are happening in Grass Lake this week?”

Holly rubbed her hands together and giggled like she had when they were roommates in college and had a secret to tell. She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her cluttered desk. “Grass Lake is about to be put on the map.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Holly’s blue eyes somehow got bigger. “We have a celebrity in town. A megastar.”

“What kind of celebrity? A movie star?”

“Not someone from Hollywood. Someone from Nashville.”

Ruby’s interest diminished significantly with that revelation. Country music wasn’t her thing. Never had been, even though Levi loved it. She was more of a progressive rock kind of girl.

“Nashville stars are not mega.”

“Oh, I know a whole lot of people who would disagree. Boone Williams is easily one of the biggest names in country music. He’s right up there with the likes of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.”

Boone Williams. Ruby knew the name. She’d have to live under a rock to not have heard of him. He’d been married to some other country singer and made a mess of his life a few years back. Ruby couldn’t picture him, though. A quick Google search would remedy that.

As she typed his name into her phone, Holly added, “In fact, he’s staying over at the Stratton farm. You have a decent shot of laying eyes on him when you’re there with Violet.”

Oh, Ruby had laid eyes on him. In the images on her screen, he resembled more of a rugged cowboy than the average Joe he’d seemed to be in the barn. Not that he was average-looking by any means. His piercing blue eyes had caught her attention, as had his rock-hard chest. Of course, then he had opened his mouth.

“I definitely saw him there.”

Holly nearly fell out of her chair. “You met Boone Williams? Did you talk to him? Did he talk to you? Did you ask him for an autograph?”

Ruby wanted to laugh out loud at the last question. He had been offering her an autograph because he thought he was as famous as Holly did. His ego was incredible, but perhaps a bit more understandable now that she knew who he was.

“Had I known you were such a fan, I would have taken him up on his offer to sign something to make up for the horrendous argument I was having with my dear daughter when he stumbled upon us.”

“He what?”

“I guess that’s how he rolls. Whenever he sees pain and suffering, he offers to sign his name on a piece of paper so all the troubles will be forgotten.” Ruby placed a hand over her heart. “He’s such a giver, a true hero. Just think if he used his amazing powers of peacekeeping in the Middle East or North Korea.”

Boone, ego and all, was similar to the other men Ruby had known in her life. They thought they could charm their way out of anything and women should simply be grateful for their existence. They certainly didn’t have to be responsible or deal with the messy parts of life. They never truly cared about anyone’s feelings but their own.

“Are you telling me you didn’t get his autograph?”

Ruby found her friend’s disappointment a tad disturbing. “Holly, are you not hearing me? Perhaps the sarcasm distracted you from what I said. The guy thought giving me his autograph would make up for the fact that my daughter thinks I hate her. That it would make that little girl forget her father is a lying deadbeat. His delusions of grandeur are ridiculous.”

“Cut the guy some slack. He’s used to people knocking each other over to get a look at him,” Holly said in his defense. “Maybe we can get him to agree to do an interview for the paper.”

“We? I have nothing to do with this. I deliver babies, not the news.” Ruby had moved to Grass Lake because Sadie Greenville decided that after sixty years as a midwife it was time to retire. She had offered Ruby her office space and her handful of patients.

Refusing to give up, Holly reminded her, “You do a great job with the column.”

Ruby had also inherited Sadie’s monthly advice column at the Gazette. Ruby was now responsible for enlightening the town on how to be a good parent. She was waiting for someone to call her out as a fraud.

“Not the same thing,” Ruby argued.

Holly folded her hands together and started with those puppy-dog eyes. “Pleeeease. You have a reason to go to the farm. I only need you to see if he’d be willing to sit down with me. You wouldn’t have to do the interview.”

“I go to the farm because my kid is falling apart thanks to the fact that her dad doesn’t care about her.”

“Oh, man.” Sympathy quickly replaced the pleading look in Holly’s eye. “I know things haven’t been easy, but I thought they were getting better since you moved here.”

That was true, but as long as Levi was still in the picture, things would never be okay. His constant indifference was the reason Ruby had agreed to take over for Sadie. She had an excellent reputation, and that meant a viable business for her successor. Once Ruby made enough money to hire a lawyer, she planned to file for full custody and take off to Seattle to be near her older sister.

“Coming here was the best decision I’ve made in a long time.” Ruby tried to smile for her friend’s sake. She didn’t want Holly’s pity.

“Jon and I knew this community was exactly what you needed. And I, selfishly, love having you so close.”

It had been Holly who had convinced her to come to Grass Lake. Sadie had delivered Holly’s boys and wrote the parenting column for the Gazette, so when Holly found out she wanted to turn everything over to another midwife, she suggested Ruby. Holly even rented her mother-in-law’s house to Ruby dirt cheap.

Friends like Holly came along once in a lifetime.

“I don’t know about an interview, but I bet I can get Boone Williams’s autograph when I go back to pick up Violet.”

Holly grinned from ear to ear. “I’ll take it. But maybe slip in that I’d love to do an interview. My sister will be absolutely Wicked-Witch-green with envy if I tell her I’m going to sit down with Boone Williams.”

Holly’s sister wouldn’t envy her at all if they both knew what Boone was really like, but Ruby would try to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he wasn’t good with first impressions.

* * *

JESSE AND VIOLET were leading one of the horses around the paddock when Ruby returned to Helping Hooves. She noticed the content smile on her daughter’s face as she spoke with her social worker.

Ruby’s heart ached the way it always did when she thought about how Violet would feel if she had a father who actually participated in his daughter’s life. It was so depressing; she couldn’t dwell in that thought for too long.

Slamming the car door shut garnered the attention of both of them. Violet’s smile quickly disappeared, and Ruby’s heart took another stomping.

Someday she’ll like me.

Teenagers weren’t supposed to like their parents, and parents weren’t supposed to be their teens’ friends. In a few years, her daughter would thank her for being a parent and not a friend. Ruby had been given all that advice and then some as Violet approached this wretched age. It didn’t always ease the pain of her daughter’s constant rejection, though.

“Why do you always have to show up so early?” Violet complained. “I still have to clean Sassy up before I can go.”

Ruby took a deep breath and reminded herself not to be offended by her daughter’s tone. “I can wait. No worries.”

“Why don’t you let your mom know what you accomplished today?” Jesse prompted.

There was a small glimmer of pride in Violet’s eyes. “I got Sassy to perform a flying lead change.”

“Really?” Ruby tried to show the right amount of enthusiasm. Violet hated too much and resented too little. “That’s awesome.”

“Do you even know what that means, Mom?”

Ruby had no idea, since she had little to no experience with horses, but she wasn’t about to admit it. “Yeah, of course.”

Violet seemed unconvinced. Jesse saved the day. “Violet’s doing a great job of getting Sassy to change her lead legs. I think the two of them are going to do really well at the horse show in a couple of weeks. Do you want to join us in the tack room, Ruby?”

The look on Violet’s face made it clear she did not want her mother to come with them. The last thing Ruby needed was to agitate her bear of a daughter.

“I need to touch base with Dean about something,” Ruby said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder. “But I’ll meet you in there in a few minutes.”