Driftwood Read Free

of living in the country, of singing her country songs to people who would actually appreciate them, and finding herself a tall, sexy cowboy to fall madly in love with. Ahh, in a perfect world . . .
    â€˜True love,’ she whispered to herself. She had been searching for true love since she was seventeen, it was just that all the guys she had dated over the years seemed more concerned about being in love with themselves than falling in love with her. Now at twenty-two, she craved falling deeply in love, feeling what it was really like, the overwhelming kind of love that leaves you breathless, that moves heaven and earth, makes you do crazy things; someone you would die for, someone who would die for you. Now that, to Taylor, was true love.
    Was she, like her parents had repeatedly told her, naive and crazy for thinking she could make an honest life for herself in the country? Maybe they were right. Or maybe she was just the black sheep of the family. Perhaps she was more like her biological father. If it were true, she was glad of the fact. She didn’t want to be like her upper-class family, stressing about every little detail in life, mapping out the year ahead, pretending to be something or someone she wasn’t. No, she wanted everything opposite to that, to them. She wanted to feel free, to let life lead her where it would. An irrepressible sixth sense confirmed she was meant to be a country girl and follow in her real father’s footsteps, not her stepfather’s. Her passion for everything country was deeply embedded in her. It was a compulsion she couldn’t shake, and one she could no longer ignore, much to her mother’s annoyance.
    Taylor wiped the gathering tears from her eyes. God, she wished she had known her dad. Wished he hadn’t passed away. All she knew of him was that he was a stockman and that he had died in a mustering accident, a single black-and-white photo of him holding her as a baby the only evidence he had even existed. She didn’t even know his name. Her mum, Grace, and her grandparents refused to speak of him. They told her he was a bad man best left in the past. She resented them for that. How could they be so cruel to not even talk about him as she was growing up? It had caused massive arguments but her mum had never budged, had never revealed a thing. What could he have done that was so terrible? He looked like a really genuine bloke in the snapshot, his broad smile showing how proud he was of the new bundle in his arms. And her mum looked really happy standing beside him, undeniably in love.
    Her heart sinking as she thought about her dad, Taylor switched off the Jeep’s ignition, the haunting melody of ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd vanishing, leaving her sitting in ear-ringing silence. Sometimes she wished she could pull on a pair of massively flared jeans and go back in time to live in the peace-loving seventies. Bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were among her favourites, along with her country idols like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton — but the hunky and extremely talented Adam Brand was at the top of her country music list. Adam’s voice melted her insides, and word had it he was a very approachable and down-to-earth guy, the stardom he’d reached not having gone to his head at all. She would give almost anything to meet him in person, maybe even sing for him, if she had the guts, to find out what he thought of her vocal abilities. Her friends were forever telling her how talented she was, but they were biased; getting approval from an accomplished musical artist was a whole different ball game.
    Glancing over at her Hungarian Vizsla, Floyd, Taylor smiled adoringly. His need for a toilet break was apparent as he whined and gently scratched at the passenger door, so she reached across him, tugged at the door handle and shoved it open. Floyd bounded from the Jeep, running around in circles, his reddish hunting