Outlaw Country Read Free Page A

quickly towards a stop sign, Roger mumbled, “Sorry.” He mashed down on the brake pedal not fifteen feet from the sign. He leaned back in anticipation, but Colton’s body flew forward until the seatbelt locked.  The singer’s head swung forward with a quick snap.  
    “Fuuuck.” Colton growled as he brought his hands up to his neck. “The hell you tryna do, Rog?” The deep gravel voice was worse than usual, and Roger wondered if he’d be able to squeeze out a decent take.
    “Waking you up, asshole. We’re here.” Roger pulled into the small gravel lot beside the small, brick studio. It didn’t look like much on the outside, but neither had Hitsville, U.S.A.
    Roger opened the passenger door for Colton to get out. The young singer looked like comprehending anything beyond sleep would be a huge chore. Roger heard the faint, muted sound of drums coming from inside, and hoped to God that the band was still working on the backing track. He had to unsnap the seatbelt, then grab Colton by the arm.
    “Hell, at least let me have a smoke.”
    Roger yanked Colton up. “Not a chance. You might go up in flames.” The manager kicked himself for not bringing a can of Axe or snagging the dangling pine tree from the rear-view mirror. Miss Gracie Hart wasn’t going to be getting Colton at his finest, that was for damn sure.

    Gracie saw just how pissed her mother was the second that Colton walked in. The batboy country singer was barely conscious. Her mother covered her nose when his manager walked him past. She reached for her phone the second that Colton headed into the sound room. Gracie knew that her mother would have every intention of calling Arvin. She was about to send the call when Gracie’s hand stopped her. “Mother, let’s just ignore it. As long as he can sing, we can get the take and be heading home before long.”
    “It’s unprofessional.” Kathleen said it loud enough, so they could hear it as Roger and Colton headed inside the room.
    “Mother, please .”
    Gracie didn’t want to start a big thing over it. After two hours, she wasn’t expecting him at all. Now that Colton was in the studio, she couldn't help but feel the rush of excitement enter the building along with the singer.
    He wore a tight, gray t-shirt with a stylized skull pattern on the front. His dark jeans had a light leather belt around them with a large buckle reading HAGGARD across it. The outfit was made complete by the cowboy boots on his feet.
    He was bigger than she thought he’d be in person. The sleeves of ink disguised just how muscular he was. She had watched a video of him playing at some summer festival where he was shirtless, but in person, the muscles were much clearer and larger. Gracie made a point not to stare. She wasn’t worried that Colton might catch her. Gracie suspected that his eyes were barely open beneath his Aviators. The real fear was her mother seeing her.
    Gracie’s body tingled at the sight of him. Despite the fact that he was hungover, or still drunk, at nearly noon. She knew he was probably going to give a real lackluster performance, and she knew he’d either hit on her or barely speak to her, but it didn’t seem to matter. Gracie felt that presence that she’d heard so much about. In an instant, it was clear how he had climbed from nothing to such a hit so fast. Even half-awake, he filled up the room.
    His manager eased him onto a stool in front of one of the microphones and gave Gracie a half-hearted wave. She turned to her mother. “It’ll be all right. Really.”
    “If you say so.” Kathleen’s eyebrows were furrowed in concern and suspicion despite her attempt at holding onto any shred of positivity.
    Gracie headed in to stand beside Colton and record. His manager was on his way out. The older man gave a beaming smile and extended a hand. “Roger Ellery. I have the good fortune to represent the genius behind me.” He spoke in low tones and really laid the sarcasm on thick at the mention