Outlaw Country Read Free Page B

of the genius .
    “I’m Gracie Hart. Glad to meet you, Mr. Ellery.”
    “Please, Roger is just fine.” He leaned in close. “Look, I can’t apologize enough. He’s not...well, let’s just say he’s not a morning person.”
    Gracie shook her head and gave her best confident smile. “You think I don’t know what kind of person he is? I know what I’m getting into.”
    Roger laughed, gave her shoulder a squeeze, and stepped past her out of the recording booth. Gracie turned back to the man she was to sing with. The confident smile fell away.
    When was the last time you were nervous? Thirteen, maybe fourteen. It was too long ago for Gracie to remember with any certainty, but those nerves were back hard. Her stomach turned, and her heart beat like the recording was a make or break moment. She couldn't find words, which was another unusual feat for Gracie. Her mind went blank the moment she stepped beside the second microphone.
    Colton looked in her direction, and she wasn’t sure if he gave her a nod, or if his eyes wandered up and down her body. She prayed her mother saw a nod, but to Gracie’s eye, it was something else. She caught the hint of a smile barely hidden behind the pop screen of the microphone.
    “You know the words?” His voice sounded like he’d spent the night out behind a truck stop. Gracie was beginning to think that he wouldn’t be able to lay down a take after all.
    She nodded, still unable to find any words.
    “That mean you ain’t got them written down anywhere?” Colton bent his head forward and looked at her over his sunglasses. The deep amber of his eyes looked like flames in the dim room.
    Gracie grabbed the sheet from a music stand. This time, she didn't miss the dip his eyes took to the low V of her dress. A shiver ran down Gracie’s spine.
    Her mind was still blank, but she forced out a few words. “Sorry, my lines are highlighted.” Willing her hand not to shake, Gracie handed the lyrics sheet over to Colton.  
    He grinned at her. “Thanks, doll. Guess I didn’t do my homework.”  
    That smile. Jesus, that smile. Gracie hated herself for all the feelings and emotions surging through her body. They were so rapid that she barely had time to grab onto one before it was something completely different. Lust, anger, desire, impatience, and confusion brawled beneath her blonde curls. She turned away from Colton and the large pane of glass separating the two singers from everyone else on the other side. She was blushing hard.
    For a second, anger won out, and Gracie couldn’t help herself, saying, “Did you even learn the melody?” She threw over her mouth, but it was too late. That acid tongue that she tried so hard to keep caged had gotten loose.  
    “The hell you say?” Colton’s dark and throaty voice was at attention all of a sudden. He pushed the sunglasses back over his bloodshot eyes. He leaned right against the screen in front of the microphone. “We ready to do this shit, or do you have anything else snappy to throw my way?”
    Gracie’s heart raced, and she wanted to claw her voice box out. She had started things off on a great note. Piss off the man you’re going to duet with. Brilliant.
    “Uh, give me just a second to cue up the backing track, Mr. Wade.” The audio engineer’s voice played through speakers in the vocal room.
    “Nah, nah, nah. Mr. Wade sounds like some fuckin’ insurance salesman. It’s Colton, or it’s nothing.”

    The room was dark through the sunglasses, but Colton loved to play the James Dean character. Silent right up until the moment of the explosion. It always put people on edge, and it always gave him the upper hand.
    “Oh, sure thing, Colton.” He heard that submission in the engineer’s voice.  
    Colton smiled to himself. He turned back to the pretty, young thing he had the pleasure of standing beside.
    Gracie Hart, herself, in person. When Roger had told him, Colton got hard at the prospect. Sure, he thought she was the