Love Hard (Anything But Mine Book 2) Read online

  LOVE HARD

  A Novel

  Barbara Justice

  © 2017 – Barbara Justice – All Rights Reserved

  ISBN-10: 1543252559

  ISBN-13: 9781543252552

  www.barbarajusticebooks.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

  Also by Barbara Justice

  Anything But Mine

  For Andrea and Joanne…

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  PLAYLIST

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  Meg Novak groaned as the theme song from the television show “Friends” blared, waking her from a deep sleep. She kept her eyes closed while groping around on the table next to the bed until she found her phone. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and answered the call. “Seriously, Susan? What time is it?”

  “All these years, and you’re still not a morning person,” Susan O’Donnell, Meg’s best friend, replied with a chuckle. “Good morning to you, too. Aren’t you going to wish me a Merry Christmas?”

  Meg checked the time, rolled her eyes, and stumbled out of bed. Still holding her cell phone, she wandered down the hallway into the kitchen, stretching her lean, five foot ten inch frame. “I’m not feeling particularly Christmas-y after working a twelve hour shift at the hospital.” She said a silent prayer of thanks that her new coffee maker was equipped with an automatic timer as she poured herself a mug. “But, yeah, Merry Christmas anyway. What are you doing to celebrate?”

  “My folks are visiting. They wanted to be here for the baby’s first Christmas. And since you worked last night, I guess you’re in Nashville, right? What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go to work again today, and try to avoid Craig,” Meg said, referring to her former fiancé, with a catch in her throat. She took a deep sip of coffee and sat down at her small kitchen table.

  “Are you still crying over that jerk? I swear to God, Meg, you’ve got to get over him.”

  “How can I? He’s a doctor. I’m a nurse. I run into him all the time at work.”

  “Then try to meet someone new. Or change jobs. Move back home to Southampton, or better yet, move to Tampa so you can be near me. Nurses are in big demand down here. There’s nothing for you in Nashville anymore.”

  Meg sighed. “Vanderbilt has one of the best trauma units in the country, and I’m in training now so I can join the LifeFlight team. This is where I want to be,” she said. “Nashville is home.”

  “Ugh…you’re such a glutton for punishment! But I have an idea…you should come and visit with me for a while,” Susan countered. “How about the second weekend of January? I won backstage passes in a radio contest for the Johnson Bishop Band concert that Saturday night. I was going to take Doug,” she said, referring to her husband. “But I haven’t had a night out with a friend since the baby was born. I could really use a night off. And you can stay with us.”

  “Johnson Bishop? I’ve heard some of their songs on the radio.”

  “They’re so awesome. The lead singer is really hot.”

  “Jesus, Susan, you’re a married woman now. Don’t tell me you have a crush on some guy in a band.”

  “Just because I’m married doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good-looking man,” Susan said, chuckling. “So are you in?”

  “Well,” Meg said with a sigh. “I could use a break from here. Yeah, I’m in.”

  “Great! I’ll get the guest room ready.”

  Meg cringed as she heard Susan’s baby crying in the background. “Actually, I think I’ll book a hotel room instead.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mac Rivers, the Johnson Bishop Band tour manager, looked around at the group of guys assembled outside the tour bus, and noted one was missing. “Where the hell is he?”

  “Really? Where do you think he is?” Jack Bishop replied to the band’s tour manager while walking towards the front of the bus and plucking a sweat-soaked t-shirt from the side view mirror. “Shouldn’t this be your first clue?”

  “Goddamn it!” Mac reached for the door handle of the bus, but Jack stopped him.

  “Don’t, Mac. Let me deal with him,” Jack said, as he opened the door.

  A pretty blond caught up with Jack. “I’m coming with you.”

  Jack turned towards his girlfriend. “No, Becky. I’ve got to deal with him myself.” He leaned in to kiss her. “God only knows what’s going on in there.”

  He climbed up the stairs into the bus, walked through the front lounge, and past the stacks of bunks. He drew back the heavy curtain that separated the back lounge from the rest of the bus, and muttered under his breath. “Shit.”

  Jack stared at the built-in leather sofa, and watched his best friend and band mate, Sky Johnson, moan and collapse on top of what he hoped was a legal-aged girl. He cleared his throat loudly, before speaking. “Sky, bus call was five minutes ago.”

  Sky jumped up and off the bewildered, petite, naked blond girl. “Sorry, baby. My buddy Jack has bad timing.”

  Jack tossed Sky’s t-shirt to the girl. “Get dressed, and take this as a souvenir.” Turning to Sky, he said, “You need to get dressed, too.” He turned and walked towards the front of the bus, with Sky, still naked, following him.

  “What the hell? You know it means ‘do not disturb’ when I hang a shirt on the bus mirror,” Sky said.

  “Yeah,” Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “And what about the rules? No girls in the bus unless their i.d. is checked. How old is she?”

  Sky shook his head, and ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. Eighteen, nineteen maybe?”

  “You’d better be right about that. What’s her name?”

  Sky rolled his eyes. “Valerie? Mallory? Something like that. If I could just see Mac’s list for the ‘meet and greet’ I’ll be able to figure it out.”


  “Fuck. Do you have any idea how much trouble…”

  Sky cut him off. “Don’t you act all high and mighty with me. It wasn’t that long ago that you were banging groupies in the back of the bus too. It’s only since Becky that you’ve become so responsible.”

  Jack had to rise to his full height to stare straight at Sky. “This isn’t about me, man. It’s about you,” he said. “One day you’re going to make a big mistake.” He shoved his pal on the shoulder. “Go into the bathroom and get dressed. I’ll take care of the girl,” he said in a low voice.

  As Sky disappeared out of sight, the blond girl pushed aside the curtain, and hesitated for a moment before walking towards the front of the bus. “Where’s Sky?” she asked.

  “He’s in the bathroom. I’m sorry, we weren’t introduced before. I’m Jack Bishop. What’s your name?”

  “I know who you are,” she said with a giggle. “I’m Mallory. Mallory Chasen. I was at the meet and greet.”

  “Nice to see you, Mallory,” Jack said. “Listen, we’ve got to head out, but I’d like to make sure you’re on the list for the meet and greet next time we’re back here,” he said. “Can I see your driver’s license?”

  Mallory stuck her hand into her jeans pocket, extracted the Kentucky driver’s license, and handed it to Jack.

  “Thanks.” He examined her license and calculated that she was twenty one years old. Thank you, Jesus, he thought. He snapped a photograph of the license with his cell phone, and handed it back to her. “I’ll make sure our tour manager puts you on the list for our next concert here in Bowling Green,” he said, as he ushered her out of the bus.

  “Oh wow, that’s great,” she said, as she descended the bus stairs into the parking lot. “But I want to say goodbye to Sky,” she called out as the band members began to enter the bus.

  “He’s still in the bathroom. I’ll say goodbye for you,” Jack shouted back, before grabbing a beer from the cooler and chugging it down.

  Mallory couldn’t stop grinning as she walked through the parking lot. When she reached her car, she called a friend who had attended the concert with her. “You’ll never believe this – I hooked up with Sky Johnson after the show tonight!”

  “No way!”

  “I did, and he’s so hot! I really think he likes me.”

  Her friend was impressed. “I saw him checking you out at ‘meet and greet’. Did he take your number?”

  Mallory’s face clouded over. “He didn’t have time. The bus was about to leave. But Jack Bishop took a photo of my driver’s license, and said he’d make sure I had meet and greet passes for the next time they play here. I’m sure Sky will get in touch with me.”

  “Well…Sky has a reputation of screwing a different girl in each city. But at least you have a great story to tell,” her friend said.

  Mallory furrowed her brows. “I think it was more than that,” she said firmly. “I felt a real connection.”

  She pulled out of the parking lot, and drove a short distance before pulling over to the side of the road. It was easy to find the Johnson Bishop tour schedule in the web browser on her phone. “They’re playing in Lexington tomorrow night,” she said aloud. “That’s a short drive.” She purchased a concert ticket, then e-mailed the band’s tour manager to request a meet and greet pass for the Lexington concert. She stopped at home to shower, change, and pack an overnight bag, before getting on the road again.

  As she drove through Lexington, she took a sip from her now-cold cup of coffee. It was close to two o’clock in the morning, and she had no idea where the band was staying. She drove around the concert venue in circles, broadening her geographic area with each turn, until she found her target.

  “There they are!” Mallory spied the tractor trailers wrapped with the Johnson Bishop Band logo, and the brown tour buses with the metallic arrows painted on their sides in a hotel parking lot.

  She parked in a space near the hotel entrance, and turned off the ignition. She was going to catch up with Sky if she had to wait all night. She kept her eyes focused on the door, and after an hour, her patience was rewarded when she saw Sky walking towards the hotel.

  Sky heard a call behind him, and stopped in his tracks. He ran his hands through his dark brown hair, looked around, and saw a woman running towards him. She looked familiar, but couldn’t recall why. “Hey, baby,” he said with a smile.

  “We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye earlier,” Mallory said.

  Sky squinted, trying to focus. “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t you remember me? I’m Mallory. You took me back to your bus after the show in Bowling Green.”

  Shit. She’s that groupie from earlier. “Yeah, baby, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It’s dark out, and I’m real tired and a little buzzed. What are you doing here?”

  “We had fun before, and I thought…” Her voice trailed off as she tilted her head up to look into Sky’s eyes.

  “Yeah, we did have a good time. But that’s just what it was, a good time.”

  “But I drove all the way here. I thought I meant something to you.” Tears filled her eyes, as she added, “It’s a long drive back to Bowling Green.”

  I can’t just blow her off in the middle of the night. “Baby, I’ve got to get some sleep. I’ve got a bunch of radio calls to make in the morning.” He turned and started to walk into the hotel, then glanced back at her. “You coming with me, or not?”

  The alarm sounded before the sun was up, and Sky moaned from a combination headache and dry mouth hangover. When he pulled the sheets away from his body, he was startled to find that he wasn’t alone in bed. Damn, it’s that groupie from last night. Why the hell didn’t I just send her home? “Mallory? Get up. You’ve got to go. I’ve got work to do.”

  She stirred and mumbled, “Huh…what?”

  “I’ve got to start work, and you have to go,” Sky said.

  “But we just went to sleep,” she whined. “How are you going to work on no sleep?”

  “Work hard, play hard – that’s my life motto,” Sky said as he pulled the sheets off of her. “You’ve gotta go. Jack is going to be here any minute.”

  “But what about us?”

  Shit. She’s a clingy one. “Baby,” he said, as he brushed the hair out of her eyes. “We’ve had some fun together these last twenty four hours, but I’m on the road three or four nights a week. There’s no room in my life for anyone right now.”

  “But I thought…”

  Sky cut her off immediately. “No. I never led you to believe this was anything more than a one-time thing. It’s been fun, but that’s all it is, and all it ever will be.” He jumped up at the sound of knocking on the hotel room door. “That’s Jack. We’ve got to get to work, and you have to go.”

  He hustled Mallory out the door, but could feel Jack glaring at him, and held up his hands. “It wasn’t me. She tracked me down here. I couldn’t send her back to Bowling Green at three o’clock in the morning.”

  “No, you’re right, you couldn’t. But did you have to sleep with her again? Couldn’t you have just gotten her a room?” Jack rubbed a hand over the stubble on his cheek. “I don’t like this, Sky. I don’t like that she followed you here.”

  “Nah…she’s just a groupie. She’s harmless.”

  “Hi, I’m Jack. This is Sky,” Jack repeated to each of the fans lined up to get their photos taken with them at the meet and greet session an hour before the show later that night.

  “Hi Jack, hi Sky,” Mallory said, as she approached them. “At least you don’t have to introduce yourselves to me.”

  A chill ran through Sky’s body. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go back home,” he said, as he shot a worried look in Jack’s direction.

  “I e-mailed your tour manager, and he gave me a meet and greet pass. Surprise!”

  The three of them posed for the usual meet and greet photo, before Sky pulled Mallory aside. “Look, you can’t keep following me around.
I told you that there is no room in my life for a girl, and I meant it.”

  “But I won’t be any trouble, and I’ll keep you happy,” she said, as she reached for his crotch and began to massage him.

  “No!” Sky jumped backwards, and said, “Jesus, Mallory, stop it! Enjoy the show, but after that you have to leave me alone. Don’t contact me again.” He gestured towards Mac, who had security guards whisk Mallory away.

  They finished the meet and greet session, and gathered the band together for shots of whiskey before taking the stage. During the performance, Sky kept his eyes on the pit area in front of the stage. He scanned the crowd until he found Mallory, who waved and tried to get his attention.

  After the show, on the bus ride back to Nashville, Mac called a band and crew meeting. “Guys, we’ve got a problem with groupies.”

  “One in specific,” Jack spoke up. “Her name is Mallory Chasen. I texted each of you the photo of her driver’s license that I took yesterday.”

  Mac interjected, “And I sent each of you her photo from today’s meet and greet. If you see her hanging around anywhere near the buses or the venues when we’re on the road, alert security right away. She’s a problem.”

  Sky stared at the floor as Jack and Mac spoke to the group. When they finished, he stood up, and his broad, muscled shoulders and six foot four inch frame commanded the attention of the band and crew. “Guys, I want to apologize. I’ve been an ass, bringing girls back to the bus every night. I shouldn’t have done it, because this bus is home to all of us on the road. And I’m sorry that this particular girl is causing a problem.”

  Jack stood up and slung an arm around Sky’s shoulders. “Hey, man, I’m not saying you can’t hook up with a pretty girl now and then,” he said with a laugh. He tried to lighten the mood as he poured shots of whiskey for everyone. “Just because I’m off the market doesn’t mean you are too, bro. I know it’s your way of dealing with the demons. Try to be a little more selective is all I’m saying.”

  Sky grimaced and nodded his head, before accepting the plastic shot glass and holding it up. “Johnson Bishop forever, bro,” he said, as he toasted his best friend and business partner, before downing the shot.