You Need the Darkness to See the Stars.

Every Second Counts

MacKenzie's POV (8/22/16)

Being on the road with Brantley the last couple days have been great. As his girl friend, this was probably the most fun I've ever had. But as a musician who was about to drop an album but still needed one more song, I was seriously slacking. I hadn't strummed a cord or wrote one line. I hadn't even thought about it to be quite honest. I was having too much fun in Pittsburgh to think about my album.

We left back for Georgia as soon as we possibly could after the show in Scranton. It was a 12 hour ride back to Maysville. I told him I was going stay with him until the 29th. But once he was done with the stops in Florida, I was going to fly back to Tennessee. Song or no song.

I was kind of glad to be back in Georgia. Despite the circumstances, this place became my safe haven when everything was going up in flames. I missed being here. I stood on the back balcony looking out over the back of the property just taking it all in.

"What's on your mind, Kenz?" Brantley asked. I turned and smiled at him.

"It just feels good to be back." I smiled. Brantley smiled back at me taking me in his arms.

"It sure does, don't it?" He kissed the top of my head as I settled in his chest. "I invited Justin and Kate to stay with us, Colt is gonna stay at his place in Athens and meet us in Atlanta. The bands gonna be here tomorrow night. So I was thinking we could all go trail riding tomorrow during the day, hang out with the guys and have some fun the next few days. And then we have dinner with Mama before we head to Atlanta." Brantley spoke. "How's that sound, sweetheart?"

"Sounds like a plan." I leaned up on my tippy-toes to kiss him.

It wasn't long before Justin and Kate joined us. We ended up grilling and hanging out on the back balcony, shooting the shit for the rest of the night. Eventually B and Justin went off somewhere, leaving me and Kate out on the balcony accompanied by a bottle of wine.

"So how are the girls doing?" I asked

"They're doing well. Spending some time with their grandparents, while we get some much needed adult time. They're gonna join us out in Red Rocks though." Kate smiled. "I miss them a bunch but we video call every day. So that's nice."

"That's great! I bet you have your hands full with those three beautiful girls." I chuckled a little.

"Oh, girl, you have no idea. But they're my babies and I love them." Kate spoke. "So how long have you and Brantley been together?"

"Oh about 4 or 5 months now." I smiled. "We met in Nashville. I was leaving a restaurant and we ran into each other. We apologized and I kept walking. A few days later we ran into each other outside of a bar. He saw how drunk and stoned I was, and refused to let me drive home. We haven't stopped talking since. He just kinda came into my life when I needed him. I may have not have known it then. But I do now. He's something special." I smiled.

"Awe, you guys are absolutely adorable together." Kate said. "But something tells me y'all ain't afraid to put the other in place if need be." She chuckled.

"We are both very opinionated people. But it works out. As long as we see eye to eye at the end of the day that's all that matters." I spoke sipping my wine.

"I'm not gonna lie I was pretty happy to hear Brantley had found someone. Justin told me all about you when he was up in Nashville earlier this year. I definitely see a new light in him I haven't seen before." Kate smiled sipping her wine. I just smiled and blushed.

"Hey darling." Brantley said coming up behind me. "You ready for bed?"

I finished off my glass of wine, nodding my head. We all called it a night, knowing our day was going to be big tomorrow. After making sure Kate and Justin had all the needed I head off to the master bedroom. I could hear the shower running, so I closed the door behind me and wondered into the bathroom. I didn't waste any time stripping down and joining. We didn't spend too much time in the shower. We crawled into bed snuggling up to one another. Drifting off into sleep.

Brantley's POV (8/28/16)

Mine and MacKenzie's time together in Georgia went by faster than I wanted. And our time here in Florida was running out too. I didn't want her to leave. But I knew it was inevitable. We were currently at the venue having a cook out for lunch. I had just finished sound check about half an hour ago. MacKenzie was floating around here some where. I was tossing the football around with PJ.

"So Kenzie heads back to Nashville tomorrow, how ya holding up?" He asked.

"I'm bummed obviously, but I get it. I just hope she goes back with a clear head, ready to write a song. She was having trouble before she left." I spoke tossing the ball back. "I haven't seen her with a guitar or notebook while we've been on the road either."

"I'm sure she's written something. That girl has the most random sleep schedule I've ever seen." PJ assured me. I chuckled, catching the ball that was tossed back.

"You're not wrong." I shook my head releasing a spiral. PJ reached out to catch it, grunting because he had stretched a little too much to be able to catch it. He made sure to toss it back with a little more kick behind it as pay back. Causing me to chuckle.

"Alright, I see you." I said tossing it back with some power behind it. We were both chuckling. He threw the ball this time going long so I went after it. I saw MacKenzie come around the bus, we were now on a collision course.

"Kenz, watch out!" I called out. She dropped her things and caught the ball stepping off to the side so we wouldn't collide. "Nice catch babe." I said slightly impressed.

"Thanks." She smiled. PJ was clapping. I was picking up all the things she just dropped.

"Toss it back MacKenzie!" PJ shouted. She smiled again. I stood back and watched as she got herself ready. She took a step and released the ball.

"Wow, what a beautiful throw." I said as I handed her all her things, one item being her song book. "Feeling inspired?"

"A little bit. I've got some lyrics floating around in my head but that's about it right now. So at least I'm going back to Nashville with something." She said. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing the top of her head. We walked back over by the grill Kenzie sat at the picnic table and started jotting things down.

As the sun started to fall in the sky everyone started hustling for the show tonight. I was getting ready on the bus. MacKenzie was floating around backstage. As much as I was excited to play for my fans, I knew every minute that passed was one less minute I had with Kenzie. I didn't want her to leave. But I just kept telling myself that we only had 8 shows left after tonight, and a month and a half on the road. But since we are in Palm Beach tonight, I figured I'd take her out after the show. I was gonna make the most out of our last night together. As much as I love playing for my fans, I rushed through the show. Once I got off stage, I booked it to my dressing room so I could shower and change. 

Once I was ready I gathered all my things, taking them back to the bus before hunting down Mac. I found her talking to some of the band members. I walked up behind her snaking my arms around her waist, kissing her neck. 

"Are you ready to go, baby girl?" I asked. 

"Ready whenever you are." She smiled. I grabbed her hand smiling back. 

"Let's go." I said nodding my head towards the truck. She said her goodbyes to the group and we headed off to paint the town. 


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I'm soooooo sorry I neglected this for a while.  I guess you can say I hit a writers block. Idk I get in these weird phases where I want to write, so i write and write and write until eventually I burn myself out. But I guess you can say I'm officially back.