AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My finger hovered over his name, heart thundering with what I was about to do. And then I thought about Kenna’s freckles, each one appearing as her confidence grew, and I hit dial.
The stench and sound of New York City was overwhelming. It was also as cold as Irene’s iced coffees. My blood had become accustomed to Sunshine Key’s warm temperatures, making this bustling city feel like another planet.
The glass-and-steel high-rise seemed to touch the gray sky above. People moved all around me, in a rush to get somewhere important and completely unaffected by a guy in jeans and cowboy boots gawking up at a building like a total tourist. If I didn’t hurry up and walk inside to get through security, I’d be late to my interview. I’d come too far to fuck this up now.
All through security, the elevator ride up to the seventh floor, and the makeup people that came to apply all kinds of products to my suntanned face, I thought about the nine long days since I’d seen Kenna. She’d come home the day before I left for New York, but I hadn’t seen her in my rush to set things up. Pops informed me she looked great and had moved more of her things into the house, which made me immensely relieved.
She came back.
There was still hope.
It was that bubble of optimism that carried me through a nearly two-hour interview with the largest magazine in the world that chronicled people’s lives. There wasn’t one question I deemed off-limits for being too invasive. I told my story, how it had all ended, and why I made the decisions I did. I wrapped things up by sharing what was on my heart.
“I’ve met someone special, yes,” I answered the female interviewer with a wink. It was amazing how easily I slid back into the persona that had made me a superstar. “She’s back home in Sunshine Key. She’s actually the one who motivated me to start the Ride the Music Foundation.”
The woman leaned closer. “Do I hear wedding bells?”
Of course she’d latch on to the sensationalism of a relationship, not the good work I was doing with my brand-new foundation. “Now, that I’d like to still keep private.”
“How about you tell me about your foundation instead?”
“Gladly. It’s a program set up to provide sober rides after music concerts. I’ve reached out to some heavy-hitter donors, and once those are secured, we’ll immediately start buying cars and training drivers. Rides will be subsidized by the foundation. Never again will there be an excuse to drive drunk leaving a concert.”
It had been an idea rolling around in my head for years, but I’d been too scared to out myself, even for a worthy cause. Now that I’d gotten it up and running, several of my old friends in the music industry had been all too happy to help out. Come to find out, quite a few drunk driving accidents had been linked to alcohol consumption at the very concerts we artists were making money off of. With this program, we hoped to eliminate all drunk drivers coming from our concerts.
And I hadn’t lied. Kenna really did inspire the foundation. Without her coming to Sunshine Key and pushing her booze cruise idea, we never would have been in the paper and that reporter would never have recognized me. That had led to the chaos after and now I’d used it for something worthwhile.
It felt damn good.
Better than I ever could have imagined to have my identity leaked and prying eyes everywhere I went. I had a feeling there would be more days of chaos ahead, but with each passing day, it would die down a bit. But I’d still be doing something good with my old fame, keeping accidents like my father’s from happening again.
“You’ve turned into a philanthropist, Debogglan?”
I smiled. “Nah. Just a guy wanting to do some good so he can look into the eyes of the woman he loves and be proud of himself.”
“She sounds like a lucky lady.”
I looked right at the cameraman with the black leather cord around my neck and the good luck charm now hanging from it again. I shook my head. “No. I’m the lucky one.”
After another hour of photos to go along with the print interview and the video clips they wanted to use on all their social platforms, I walked out of the high-rise building without the usual weight on my shoulders. I shoved my hat back on my head and turned north. My steps felt light and even the honks and shouts from drivers stuck in traffic couldn’t dampen my spirits as I walked back to my hotel.
Harley had been right and I’d told him so several times now. I’d been living small. Kenna, with her wild hair and newly formed calluses from home renovation, had shown me what it looked like to be courageous.
Now I needed to get back home so I could implement the second part of my plan. Because as much as Harley was right about a lot of things, he was dead wrong about Kenna not needing a big show as an apology. I’d put on shows in sold-out amphitheaters across the world for total strangers.
Kenna, the woman I loved, would get the best show of all.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kenna
“The pack mule has landed.”
I shoved my phone between my ear and my shoulder as I kept my eyes on my two large suitcases and hit the elevator button. Sweat was already dripping down my spine. Liz would have called upon the national guard to find me if I didn’t call her the second I landed in Florida.
I’d spent two extra days with her, going to all my favorite spots in the city as a final farewell and planning for our future. We’d come up with a six-month game plan for Liz to quit Morgan & Dudley and move to Sunshine Key with me. We’d also put together a business plan for my new graphics design business. I’d decided that the art was where my heart was, not the actual publishing. I was finally going out on my own, with the split assets from my divorce giving me the time to get my business up and running.
The elevator dinged its arrival, so I shoved the suitcases in the metal cube and warned Liz the call might drop. She stayed quiet until I exited the elevator and stepped outside the airport, sighing at the warm, humid air. I was home.
