Page 42 of Falls From Grace
“Yes!” Noah fist pumped.
Savannah let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling, some kind of complicated emotion crossing her face.
“They’re getting antsy though,” Chester warned. “They want you to lay down a couple of studio tracks, ASAP,” he continued.
A silence fell around the table and everyone looked to Savannah.
“The band?” she asked.
“I managed to find a couple of clear days in between everyone’s day jobs, tour dates and the holidays,” he replied, then paused, looking worried, “…starting this Thursday.”
“Well,” Savannah breathed in. “Looks like we’re going to Nashville.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Jesus,” whispered Brynn as they stepped out the doors of a small wing of the Burlington airport to find a private jet waiting. Noah grinned and nudged her.
“What did you expect?” he asked, readjusting his duffel bag on his shoulder and hunching against the icy wind.
“I mean, I’d had hopes for first class tickets…” she trailed off. Savannah and Tucker were ten steps ahead of them, climbing the stairs into the jet like they did it all the time, which, Brynn suddenly realized, they probably did.
Onboard, everything was spacious, pale earth tones, and big white comfortable armchair sized seats. Savannah met her eye and smiled from her seat at the front of the plane as she passed by. Brynn smiled back, somewhat queasily.
After a couple of months of just the four of them hanging out in the woods, Brynn - despite her brief foray into Google, and the reality of the incredible house they were in - had almost entirely lost sight of the fact that she was in the presence of a huge star. It was impossible to hold that in her mind when Savannah was always just there, in jeans and bare feet, the tired mama of a small child, making everyone coffees, being sweet, casual, and very vulnerably human. It sideswiped her to remember she was also the private jet owner level of famous.
A sinking feeling entered her gut as she took her seat a little further down the plane. It was ridiculous imagining any hope of her feelings being returned when Savannah Grace had the whole damn world at her feet. Brynn, on the other hand? Brynn didn’t even have an apartment over her head or a plan for her life. She felt slightly sick.
Noah took a seat facing her own. “You good?” He frowned as he caught her expression.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “This is the smallest damn plane I’ve ever flown on. Just getting my rich people legs on,” she told him, trying for levity.
He grinned.
“I think you’ll find you catch on quite nicely.” He pulled his headphones on and gazed out the window, his eyelids already starting to droop.
The jet took off smoothly. Almost as soon as they reached their cruising height and Brynn felt comfortable to cautiously take off her seatbelt, Tucker came flying and landed in her lap.
“Hey buddy!” Brynn hugged him as he bounced on her.
“Apparently we couldn’t wait any longer to come see you.” Savannah smiled down at her. A small air bump hit and Savannah grabbed for the seat back to stabilize herself.
“Not to worry,” came the pilot’s voice, “just a little pocket of turbulence on the way; we’ll be out of it in a minute or two.”
Brynn wrapped her arms tightly around Tucker. Another bump hit and the plane wobbled.
“Oops.” Savannah swayed and smiled at her son, who didn’t seem at all fazed.
“You couldn’t afford a bigger plane?” Brynn complained, her free hand gripping tightly to the armrest.
Savannah laughed.
“You’re not a good flyer?” The plane did a small hop that made Brynn scrunch her eyes shut and suddenly Savannah was squeezing herself into the seat next to her and Tucker. The seat was big and roomy, but not that roomy. The whole sides of their bodies were pressed together and Savannah’s hand was laid on her knee, in a way Brynn supposed was meant to feel reassuring. The turbulence eased, or perhaps it didn’t. Brynn was only aware of two things: the heat of Savannah’s body pressed against hers and her own internal turbulence.
Between them, Savannah and Tucker kept up a light, playful conversation, clearly aimed at keeping her distracted. It worked. By the time Tucker grew restless, pulling his mama up to go look out the window across the aisle, Brynn had relaxed. Savannah squeezed her shoulder and smiled back at her as she left and all of Brynn felt like jelly. This woman, the one with the world at her feet, still took the time to care for her. To treat her like she was the only person who mattered.
“Fuck,” she muttered. “Fuck! Noah!” She kicked at his foot until he groaned and sat up straight, pulling off his headphones and rubbing his eyes.
“What?”
