Page 138 of Sing You Home (Nashville Star 1)

Seth steps into the room, followed by Alabama Forester.

Lacey hisses, “Seth, I am gonna kill you.”

He holds up a hand. “Let’s hear her out.”

“Absolutely not,” Lacey snaps.

Sal expects to bristle when she sees Alabama. Instead, a kind of calm overtakes her. A tug in her gut that tells her she’s close to the truth. To the past.

“Hi, Sal,” Alabama says. She looks nervous but holds her gaze.

Swinging her shaky legs over the edge of the bed, Sal stands straight and evaluates Alabama with a decisive eye. Then she smiles faintly. “We’ve talked about this before.”

Alabama smiles back. “We have.”

When Sal sits, so does Alabama.

Before Lacey can go for the jugular, Seth herds her to the couch, where they take a seat. Lacey’s face wary and scowling.

Sal listens as Alabama relays a story that sounds more like it comes from the front page of a tabloid than real life. The incriminating photo was a setup. Alabama a willing accomplice. A mess Mort could fix, thereby indebting Luke to his manager, and ensuring the Brothers Kincaid stayed on as his client.

All the pieces of the puzzle finally snap into place.

As she speaks, Alabama wears the embarrassed flush of a woman who knows she’s done wrong. Sal won’t crucify her for it. While she doesn’t understand, she appreciates the balls it’s taken for her to do this. Twice. Once on the phone and now in person. The past is a fickle road: one Sal’s walked before.

“If you want to blame someone, you should blame me,” Alabama finishes. “And Mort. But don’t blame Luke. He adores you, Sal. He really does.”

Sal looks back at her. “Thank you for coming.”

Alabama stands, her purse in her hands.

Seth gives her a goodbye nod, and she disappears out the door.

“I don’t know ... ,” Sal says softly. She can feel Lacey and Seth’s eyes on her, wondering, worrying about where her mind and heart are.

Seth eyes Sal intently. “Luke should’ve told you about Alabama. But he was more worried about keepin’ you safe. We all were.” He sighs. “He made a mistake, Sal. He was tryin’ to protect you, not lose you.”

Sal turns her face to the window. The early-morning clouds have lifted to light.

Light. That’s all Sal’s ever wanted. The light and the truth. And now that she knows the truth about Luke ... it’s not darkness.

It’s love.

She fell in love with Luke a second time. Her body, her heart, her soul knew it. Every single part of her has always known Luke’s her road. One she’ll travel for a thousand lifetimes. It could curve, bend, crumble, but she and Luke will always find their way back to each other.

A ragged shudder escapes her. She dips forward in the chair and buries her face in her hands. “I said awful things to him,” she moans miserably. “He’ll never forgive me.”

“Luke doesn’t care about any of that,” Seth says. He glances down at his phone, reading a text. “He’s sick to death, Sal. He’s still home. Go talk to him.”

When she raises her face, their gazes lock. Seth gives her a heartfelt smile. The connection between them stronger than ever. They’re family and he’ll always have her back.

Lacey, her own eyes shining, nods in agreement.

Her heart thumping, Sal has a brief feud with her feelings before she rockets out of her chair.

The thought’s too much for her. A life without Luke—impossible.

She needs to go back and apologize. She has to tell him she loves him and hope like hell he’ll still have her.

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