"I'm leaving."
"Okay."
"I'm really leaving."
"Go on."
"Hmph." Taylor turned and headed toward the front door.
Ryan saw Taylor's mother standing in the doorway. They nodded in greeting.
Taylor had only taken a couple of steps when she turned back.
"What time are you going tomorrow?" Taylor asked quietly, meaning Abigail's birthday party.
"Probably around eight."
"Mm. Then I'll go early." Taylor nodded.
Ryan got back into his car. It had gone from an understated olive green to a much flashier dark red. And it wasn't just the color—in fact, it was a higher-end, four-wheel-drive version of the Challenger, with far more power than his previous one.
Buying a Cadillac would be a bit extravagant for now, so Ryan had settled for this one.
On the drive back from dropping Taylor off, Ryan had gotten Mary Jane's number. Now he decided to call her.
"Hello?" The middle-aged white woman sounded puzzled.
Ryan introduced himself. "I'm the guy who went to Hillbilly Mud Park with Taylor last time..."
"Ryan, right? I've been hearing your songs a lot these past couple of days. They're really popular." She immediately recognized him.
She was probably even older than Trey. Wasn't this kind of music usually for young people?
Ryan thought of her job as a party promoter and realized she probably heard it at nightclubs.
Since she knew who Ryan was, she was even less likely to turn down his request.
"No problem! I'll get it set up right away and have her fly to Nashville as soon as possible. You can take a look at her first." She was exceptionally eager to help.
Ryan was a little suspicious of her motives, but considering her line of work, it made sense.
"I'd prefer a Slavic girl..." Ryan recalled the woman in the music