Page 1 of Soaring Free
Chapter one
January
The classic rock music playing around the pool matches my mood as I take another healthy drink from my glass of wine. This song is perfect—the lyrics are angry and bitter, just like me right now.
“Hey, Sav. I almost didn’t see you there.” My younger sister Vivian walks up the stone path leading from my guesthouse and sits on the lounge chair next to me. I raise my glass to her and take another drink. “Sorry I wasn’t here sooner; I got your text and came straight here from Walker’s. I always thought Forrest Falls was so close to Nashville, but it feels so much further now he’s there when I want him here with me.” She tentatively looks at me as she assesses my current state of hot mess express. “Is everything okay? You usually only play this album when things are definitely not okay.”
“See, Viv, you’re smart. You know to approach with caution. It’s wise to understand when you are near a pissed off wildcat. You never know what they’re willing to do when pushed to the damn max.” I roll my head to look at her. Vivian’s face falls when she sees I have been crying. I’m sure my makeup is a disaster, if I haven’t cried it all off by now. “My husband, on the other hand, is not as smart. In fact, one might even say he is a complete and total dumbass.”
“Honey, what happened? What’s wrong?” Vivian reaches out to touch my arm as I shake my head.
“Everything. Everything is wrong right now, but let’s take it one step at a time.” I notice my words are slightly slurred. I glance over to the bottle and surprise myself when I see how low it already is compared to when I opened it a bit ago. Whoopsie daisy, maybe I should slow down. But then again, my girls are having a cousin sleepover tonight at Daddy’s, so maybe I should do whatever the hell I want for once. For fucks sake, it’s obvious Shane’s been doing whatever he wants for a long ass time. I wonder if that includes whomever he wants.
Hmmm. Interesting, I don’t actually care at this point if he’s cheating or not.Shit, how potent is this wine?
I inhale and exhale a deep breath before sitting up in the lounge chair and swinging my legs to the side so I can face my sister. Placing my wine glass on the side table, I lean down to pick up the fuse to my evening’s explosion from under my chair.
“What is this?” Vivian asks.
“Those, my dear, are the spark that caused the damn explosion that blindsided me and signaled the end of my marriage. I discovered them when I was tidying up in the office. They lit the fire, and honey, it’s going to be one hell of a blaze once I’m done.” My voice cracks.
Vivian’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “What am I looking at here, Sav? What is this a purchase agreement for?”
“That would be for a new penthouse in downtown Nashville my husband signed for last week … and is solely in his name.” I meet my sister’s gaze as her eyes widen. “Now why would my husband purchase a penthouse without my knowledge?”
“Are you sure there isn’t an explanation? Maybe he’s just buying it as an investment or to have a place to stay when he’s in the city for work?” Vivian tries to make me feel better, but I shake my head in response.
“I hoped that too, but my gut was telling me it was more. I logged into the computer and pulled up his calendar to check what it said on the day he signed those papers. Shane told mehe was in court all day, and that’s what our shared calendar said also, but I checked the docket and he didn’t have a single case at the courthouse all week. So, what logical explanation is there for my husband to purchase a penthouse without my knowledge, while lying to me about where he was the day he did? I called him, expecting him to give me an excuse or call me crazy, or something. Or even better, have a fucking explanation for what is going on. But do you know what he said when I confronted him?”
Vivian slowly shakes her head. “I don’t, but I don’t think I’m going to like it.”
“That makes two of us. Shane told me he didn’t mean for me to find out like this but it’s time we face reality. He is done and wants out. He’s filing for divorce.”
My sister gasps in shock. “Did he say why? Or what brought this on?”
“He said he never wanted the suburban life. Shane feels like our small town and life is just that, it’s too small. It’s suffocating him and he wants freedom from all of it … including me.”
“Oh no, honey. I’m so sorry,” Vivian says as she moves to my lounge chair and pulls me into a hug.
“He said he wants to see the girls occasionally but thinks it’s best if they stay with me as the primary parent. The penthouse doesn’t even have enough bedrooms for them to have their own, but he said he doubts they will even stay over there that often because we won’t live far apart. He didn’t even pretend to fight for our girls, Viv!”
“Then to hell with him! You and those sweet babies deserve so much more, Sav.”
“Oh, I know. And you know better than most all that I have done to make his life as smooth and organized as possible. I have supported that man through growing his practice, navigating social circles well out of his depth, introducing him to the right people we know through our family—I have done so much to ensure his life is good. All of this? His success? His empire? He only has all of this because of me. And for what? For him to just walk away and be done with us? Done with me?” My voice cracks,and while I thought I was cried out, more tears stream down my face.
“Honey, I’m so sorry. What can I do?” She rubs my back, and I wish she could fix this, but there isn’t an easy fix. Before I can respond, I hear the patio door open and our brother Jack calls out to us as he steps out of my house. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen him, and even with my slightly blurred vision, I notice Jack does not look happy. He’s wearing his typical travel outfit: a black dress shirt with the top few buttons left open, black slacks, black loafers, and a khaki trench coat. My brother is a lot of things, but colorful is not one of them.
“Hey, Jack. I thought you were still in London for another week.” Vivian stands to hug him, and as he turns to greet me, he freezes.
“Savannah? What’s wrong?” His eyebrows scrunch further together, emphasizing his already pissed off face.
“Just my life imploding, it’s fine. I’m fine, it’s … it’s actually all pretty shitty. But are you okay? You look like someone pissed in your cereal.”
Jack takes a deep breath and gives Vivian a look, which has her sitting down next to me on the same lounger and putting her arm around me. He sits on the lounger facing us, with his elbows on his knees, and fingers steepled together. “There isn’t an easy way to say this, but it’s not something I would keep from you.”
“What happened?” Are Ryan and Finn okay? Did something happen to Liam?
“When my plane landed from London earlier this afternoon, Max called me.” Max Riley is one of Jack’s lifelong friends and manages the music division of Jack’s streaming company, Lux. “Max went to an artist showcase last night at a bar on Music Row for one of our potential new artists. While he was there, he wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw Shane.” Jack rubs the back of his neck and scowls so deeply, my spine stiffens. If my stomach could drop anymore from today’s events, I’m sure it would have, but it’s already made up of concrete.
