Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,106
let me start over, all brand new.
My song with Horse released about a month after I returned to Sunnyville. By then, I was already working on my new album. Calvin—I fucking refused to call him Horse anymore—co-wrote and produced the whole thing with me. He had a buddy who knew someone with a private studio only an hour from Sunnyville, so I didn’t even have to travel to make the album. I got to come home and rest my head next to Kat’s every single night. I rested easy too, knowing the music I made was something I could be proud of.
Life could have turned into a whirlwind once “Don’t Believe the Scars” released, but I chose not to fall back into that orbit. Keating and I had a long talk about what I wanted my career to look like, and it didn’t include being gone for months on end. I also took control of my schedule so I’d know exactly what’d be going down in my life.
My career was important, but nowhere near as important as Kat and Ellie. They were my life, and I made sure they knew it.
Kat came up behind me, kissing the side of my neck, her arms draping over my shoulders. “Are you done?”
Reaching behind me, I tugged her into my lap, making her squeal. “Do you need attention, Lady?”
“Yep. I do. And I’m tired of hearing you make the same jokes.”
I growled, nipping at her neck and chest. “You don’t think I’m funny? I’ll have you know, I made a DJ in Wisconsin laugh until he pissed his pants.”
I’d been on the phone all morning, doing radio interviews, and yeah, I tended to recycle the same material. I still thought I was hella funny.
She snorted, pushing away from me. “I’m going to pee my pants if you don’t stop.”
I swiped a wet lick up the side of her face. “How about that? Is that better?”
She groaned and used my shirt to wipe off my spit. “Why do I love you? You’re worse than Leroy.”
“Come on, no one’s worse than Leroy.” I patted her ass. “Hop up. I’m all done working and I want to take my girl for pancakes.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Really? It’s almost noon.”
“Yep. I missed Bertha’s pancakes all summer. I need to make up for lost time.”
“Okay, but I’m not changing.”
She had on a flannel and worn jeans, her hair in unruly golden waves around her face.
“Why would you? You look perfect.”
She patted my cheek. “And that’s why I love you.”
She rounded up Leroy while I grabbed a couple things, then we walked together to Bertha’s—a walk we’d taken at least a hundred times over the year I’d officially lived in Sunnyville. Sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with Ellie and Leroy. It seemed like each time, I’d fallen deeper for this town, my girl, our kid, and even the damn dog. They’d become my family, and even now, there were nights I’d lay awake, Kat sleeping peacefully beside me, Ellie down the hall, looking up at the stars outside our window. I’d send up a thank you to each little light, just in case it meant something. If those were my lucky stars, they deserved all the thanks.
We were still figuring out our life together. After a month of me living in the cottage, I moved in with Kat and Ells, but the house was too damn small. So, we renovated, adding an entire second level. Getting Kat to agree to me spending that money on a house I didn’t own had been a challenge, and I paid through the nose to get it done fast so she couldn’t change her mind.
We’d made it then, and we’d made it through a summer of me going on tour too. Kat had come to as many shows as she could, even flying out with Ellie to some. Touring sober, with a family at home, had been an entirely different experience, one I loved. It’d been all about the music, not how high I could get or how many girls I could screw. I could say with a straight face I was glad I’d had those days, but I was equally glad they were well behind me.
I stopped Kat about a block before we got to Bertha’s, pulling her against a building. “Hey.”
She smiled. “Hey.”
“You know I love you, right?”
Her smile grew. “I do know. And you know I love you back, right?”