Coffee & Country (Hunter Hayes Fanfic)

33- Quitting & Touring

(Three Months Later)

*Hunter's POV*

"Only one more week!"

"Yeeeeah!"

I looked over as Sam, Andy and Matt approached Steve, Devo, and I. I quickly latched up my guitar case and picked it up from the ground, then stood up.

"One week." Matt held up one finger.

"Yeah, one week until tour!" Devo exclaimed. "Time to party it up this week to be ready."

"The three of us are going out for drinks, anybody else?" Sam asked, pointing at Andy and Matt.

"Can't, already promised Ally we'd have a lazy day since Christina is out of town."

"Man, we're getting old. The women are tying us down." Matt groaned.

"Oh, please, you would do the same with Steph." I countered and he agreed. "So, enjoy your week, I'll see you gentlemen on Thursday morning!"

I placed my guitar in the back of my car and sat in the drivers seat. Then I began the drive to the apartment.

Between juggling a new tour and keeping Ally's surprise a secret, and her at her job, we just didn't have time to get our own place yet. I was at tour rehearsals for eight hours a day for the past month and her hours were wacky and never consistent so we didn't have a lot of down time to spend apartment searching.

I pulled into the parking lot, actually surprised to see her truck in the lot. There wasn't a lot of times when she beat me home, not with her job wanting her constantly.

I parked my car next to hers and locked it up, carrying my guitar case at my side loosely.

As soon as I shoved the door open, the movie on the tv stopped and the person on the couch turned my way. Her cheeks were puffy and eyes were red, the sure signs that she had been crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I rushed over to her side, taking her hand.

With her other hand, she brushed some hair from her face and laughed. "So quick to wonder what's wrong, what if I were just watching a sad part of the movie?"

I glanced over at the paused TV screen. "First of all, you started without me, and second, it's Clone Wars, nothing sad about it except maybe the part where Ahsoka and Stinky almost die."

She sighed, letting her head fall a little. "I quit."

"What?"

"I quit at the firm. A client and a co-worker blew up in my face and I packed my stuff up and left."

A smile appeared on my face. "Yes! I'm so proud of you! You needed to get out of there!" I pulled her into a hug tightly.

"Yeah, but now I'm unemployed." She mumbled into my shoulder. "I guess I should've taken that record deal when I was offered it. I once again have nothing. Things were so much easier with the shop."

I thought to myself about how much better she was gonna be in ten weeks when the new shop opened up. It was in the final stages of being finished. In the next two months it would be furnished with the best machines in the business, decorated just like the old shop, and cleaned up and ready for Ally.

"Hey," I took her hands in mine. "Forget the record deal, forget the law firm, forget the past. Just do what you do and it'll all work out soon enough."

God, I couldn't wait until she could find out. Keeping this from her was so hard.

"I wish I could forget the shop, that'd be nice. You're right though, but now I have to go job-hunting, again. I gotta support myself at least."