Page 104 of When It Reins
I’ve never seenBottle Grounds like this.
The night of the charity concert was a huge night with tons of people lined up around the block. That had been a huge night.
This was even bigger.
“What is going on?” I ask no one in particular, slinging drinks behind the bar. I am on what had to have been my hundredth drink in the span of an hour, with three other bartenders working with me. We are looking at having a great night.
My last night for a month.
I feel bittersweet about all of it. I am excited to go on my first tour. After a few months of recording in the studio that Felicity works out of, with Mitch and Felicity by my side as much as possible, I have a five-track EP of my very own that I am heading out on the road with.
I am opening for one of the newest country hotshots that came on the scene, and I am both excited and nervous about how that could go. I’ve heard nothing but good things about her, but you never know until you meet someone who they really are.
I pull another pint out of the drying rack and head to the keg, groaning when I realize it’s empty. “Dammit.”
Unhooking it, I pull it out from underneath and haul it to the back before loading another keg onto our dolly and heading back to the bar. My wrist is fully recovered, as is my shoulder, so lifting the keg is easy now. Though I did have a couple of months of no lifting.
Mitch was more than happy to take over keg duty for us when I was unable to do it.
When I’m back to pouring beers, cheers and shouts come from the stage, and I glance over, seeing Felicity on stage, waving to the crowd. “I didn’t know she was singing tonight.”
Annmarie grabs my arm, Shelly on the other side of me, both wearing wide grins as they maneuver us out from behind the bar. “She’s not.”
I glance at the two of them and frown. “What’s going on?”
“You are singing tonight,” Annmarie says, pushing me through the crowd as they cheer some more.
“You don’t have to force me. I’m willing to do it,” I say, knowing that while I may have started with a little bit of nerves a few years ago, singing in this bar is like second nature now. It is my safe place, my home.
“Yeah, but this is your send-off party,” Shelly admits, smiling broadly at me. As I step onto the stage and see Mitch standing there, guitar over his shoulders and smile on his face, I realize she wasn’t kidding.
“So this is why the bar is packed.” I muse, blushing furiously as the crowd yells my name.
I wave at them, feeling completely overwhelmed by the love and support the town is showing me. It is the bittersweet thing all over again.
I am excited to go on this tour, but I am so sad to be leaving my town behind, even if it is only for a small amount of time.
I smile and hug Felicity, who squeezes me tightly. She’s not only a pillar for the family we’ve all been sharing recently, but she is the one person who worked just as hard as I did on my album. She wasn’t required to help at all, but she did it anyway, helping me as if she was a sister of my very own.
She pulls back and grips my arms. “I’m so proud of you! You’re going to have an amazing tour and then some.”
“Thank you.” I don’t know what else to say without crying, so I give her a squeeze back and then move on to the man who is standing behind her.
I step over to him, and he steps away from the mic, giving me a look that I could decipher as proud and wishing we were alone.
“Surprised?”
I blink, realizing what he’s implying. “You?”
He shrugs, and I glance around at the overwhelming crowd, smiling and cheering with excitement. “I wanted you to know how important you are. You mean a lot to the people in this town, to your family, to mine. You need to know that no matter how often you leave, you’ll always have support when you get back.”
“Mitch.” I swallow, emotions clogging me up, and shake my head. “Thank you.”
He leans in close, pressing his lips to my ear. “I love you.”
I shake my head, pulling his face down to mine and kissing him right there in front of our whole world. “I love you more.”
He smirks and steps back as we take our positions, him with a mic and guitar and a look aimed in my direction, waiting for my cue, and me with a heart full of love and a promise of a great future.
And right there in front are all my sisters, Mitch’s brothers, his mom and niece and aunt and uncle, and the wranglers we’ve made friends with from the ranch. His brothers from theclub are on one side of the audience, and Rosemary is standing closely by her son.
It’s our whole world, right here to support us.
The road to get here wasn’t easy. It was far from it and hard work. It was emotional, stressful, and, at times, frustrating. But we are here, and we are whole, and that is all I could ask for.
I can’t wait to see what else our lives have in store.
But for now, I am ready to live in the moment.
