Page 104 of Holding On

The lights dim and the crowd goes berserk—there is no other word for the level of screaming that is bouncing off the walls, and I still can’t stop grinning. Her band starts playing the intro, and I know she’s going to be on stage any second.

The excitement is all for my girl, and she deserves every ounce.

Her silver cowboy boots show up on the large screens that are the backdrop to her massive stage set up before I can see the rest of my girl. I can’t hear her footsteps, but I somehow feel them in my soul.

I feel Tinsley when she moves—especially when she’s moving toward me. A solo spotlight shines in the center of the stage as a gorgeous redheaded goddess struts right out as if she owns the place—because she fucking does.

She owns me as well.

The tiny sparkles woven into her long vibrant wavy red hair catch the light and pops of copper and blonde come together to create an angelic glow. It’s not an illusion—it’s Tinsley. Her black sequined halter top adds more sparkle, and shows off her incredible cleavage, not at all hidden by the pale pink guitar she’s carrying as she walks out. The caveman part of my brain would prefer to keep her all to myself, but I can’t keep a work of art to myself, not when she’s meant to shine this bright.

And that’s what she does … she absolutely shines.

It doesn’t stop my brain from repeatedly claiming what she is as I watch her walk down the center stage.

Mine.

Tinsley Sinclair is mine.

And those curves are mine too.

I’ve mapped every inch of her perfect curves, and I’m already counting down the minutes until she’s back in our bed tonight.

Her curves go on for days and they’re in all the right places. I love every single one of them, just like I love every single thing about this woman.

“Hey there, Nashville! How y’all doing? My name’s Tinsley Sinclair and I’m so happy you’re here.” She strums a few chords on her guitar after her standard greeting as the crowd somehow gets louder, and I seriously wonder if my ears could bleed from the volume.

I’m too old for this.

But … I’m not too old for her, never too old for her. The houselights come up a little so Tinsley can see the crowd, and as soon as she can, she looks up to our suites. She knew I’d be in the middle of the three that Wells and I reserved for our friends and family. The twenty thousand other people in attendance fade away when her eyes lock on me. Her grin widens as I shock her, raising my arms over my head to clap. A display that has my girl rearing back before bursting into laughter as Wells rushes over, jumping over two rows of seats to stand next to me.

“Yeah, the Ice Man has officially melted! Let’s pump her up!” Wells raises his hands over his head, fist pumping in true Wells fashion, which makes everyone in our suite laugh right along with my girl. Before I know it, we have three suites of Callahans, Bennetts, Sinclairs, Rileys, Smith-Harringtons, and a handful of others pumping our hands in the air to cheer on our girl, who is now wiping tears away from laughing so hard.

And I know that’s going to make this mean even more because whenever she laughs until she cries, she thinks of Fiona—and it’s only fitting that Fiona makes her presence known tonight of all nights before Tinsley even sings her first note.

CHAPTER FIFTY

As soon as Jack raised his arms over his head and shocked the shit out of me by a public display of anything, I was gone—and then each of the three suites of our family and friends all joined my goofy brother in his standard fist-pumping cheer he always does whenever he’s in the audience at one of my shows. The pure joy and love of the moment, serenaded by the intro music my band was playing and around twenty thousand fans screaming at the top of their lungs felt like the universe was somehow allowing Fiona to hug me.

In this moment, I feel my friend’s love wrapping around my heart and soul.

I was laughing until I cried—and she’s right here with me. Her body isn’t, obviously, but her spirit is. I carry her with me every day, but in this moment, I feel her in such a tangible way that if I wasn’t standing on this stage in front of all of these people that had paid to come see me, I probably would’ve been on the floor in a sobbing mess. But maybe that’s also why I feel her—she knew I would need her strength to feel the power in this moment, the love pouring from the crowd to see me back on the stage, the support and encouragement from my people, my family and friends that know me and love me, not the pretty picture of me, but the version that laughs until she snorts, is too competitive in board games, and at the end of the day, just wants to be loved for me.

And they do. The people in those three suites love me. My Jack, my brother, my cousin, and the family I found when the Callahans accepted me as one of their own, the friendships I found in Forrest Falls—they are mine, and I am theirs.

What an honor it is to be loved by them.

“Well, dang, that’s one way to start a show, y’all!” I swipe away another rogue tear and the crowd erupts again. I play a few chords and try to find my breath, mentally hearing Cami coach me through focusing my emotions and intention under my control until I find it again.

“Tonight is going to be a fun night, and we have a few surprises in store.” More cheers erupt at that promise. “First things first, there’s been a lot of whispers and questions, so let’s just put it all out there, shall we?” I grin. “We’re going on tour, y’all!” I can’t even hear my own band now; the crowd is cheering so loud, so I laugh and play a few more chords until I can hear enough to talk. “Oh, and one other little announcement, I’m doing live recordings, and when I wrap the tour, I’ll be dropping a new album.”

I shrug as I look over to my guitarist who is grinning. He thought I was crazy to drop so many announcements, but I wanted this to be a memorable night.

“All proceeds from The Freedom Tour and album will go to The Skye Network, which is also the organization we are here to help out tonight. So, I have to personally thank each and every one of you for being here tonight.” I walk out to the catwalk from the center stage and adjust the guitar a little, looking back up at the suite and directly at Jack.

My Jack.

“It’s been a minute since I’ve had the honor of being on stage, and so, if it’s okay with all of you, I wanted to start tonight off with my own little surprise, and I need a little help from all of you.” I play a few more chords and transition into the song I had planned to open the set as the crowd erupts at one of my biggest hits.