Wild Card: Boys of Fall Read Online Free Page A

You’re lucky to have him. He’ll get all this crap sorted out soon enough.”
    Wade was right. Toby was a great manager. He was the one who’d landed him the gig with Trent along with a hefty salary.
    “So what now?” Wade asked. “You’re just going to lay low in Quinn until they call you back to Nashville?”
    Glen feigned a shudder. “Shit no. I only plan to be here a few days. Didn’t get much time to visit you and your bride during the last trip. This is just a quick stopover. Figure I’ll hang out here until I get bored, which should only take about three minutes, then head over to Vegas and then…who knows.”
    “We’ve got a guest room and it’s all yours.”
    “Naw. I appreciate the offer, man, but I’ve already booked a room in the B&B. Last thing you and Charlene need is a third wheel so soon after the honeymoon. Besides, I was kind of hoping—”
    “Isn’t it a bit early to be tying one on, Wade?”
    Glen glanced up at the two men who stood behind him and Wade at the bar.
    Wade grinned and gestured to the empty chairs flanking them. “Never too early. Pull up a seat,” he said. “Tucker, Carter, you guys remember my friend, Glen? He played at Coach’s party a few months back.”
    Carter claimed the stool next to Wade as Tucker shook Glen’s hand. “Y’all were former bandmates, right?”
    “Yep,” Glen replied. “Toured together for a few years before I joined up with Trent Maxwell and Wade started stretching his wings with a different sound.” At the time, Glen couldn’t understand his friend’s reasons for the change. Country music and the road were Glen’s life. He’d never felt the need to walk away from the tried and true. Wade had taken a big risk switching up his sound. And it appeared to have paid off.
    Then Wade had left Nashville altogether to move back home after his coach’s heart attack. Once again, Glen had expected his friend’s music to fall to the wayside, but Wade was making it work. And work well.
    Now, Glen was starting to wonder what life looked like on the other side.
    “You off duty?” Wade asked Carter.
    Carter nodded. “Ran into Tucker at the hardware store. We decided to grab a late lunch and a couple of beers.”
    “If we’re going to do a little day drinking, let’s do it right. Two more glasses,” Wade said when Sadie walked over to serve them.
    “Damn. It’s a regular party. Starting to wonder if I should have hired a band,” she teased. “Of course, now that I think about it, the band is already here.”
    “Good to see you again, Glen,” Carter said. “What brings you back to Quinn?”
    Glen took a long sip of the whiskey Sadie had just added to his glass, but he stopped short of chugging the whole thing. Last thing he needed in his current state of mind was to get wasted.
    Then he reconsidered and downed the thing. Wasted was exactly what he needed.
    Now that he’d talked out the whole kicking-Trent’s-ass thing with Wade, he was feeling better. He was a professional when it came to partying hard, and it had been a long time since he’d done it with guys who actually got the concept and did it right.
    Pitchers appeared to offer just what he needed: bunch of fellas with whom he could play a little pool and drink a lot of whiskey, and maybe, with a little luck, a girl to dance the night away with later. The jukebox in the corner was chock full of his favorites, if the past few selections were anything to go on.
    “I’m only in town for a few days. Noticed y’all seem to have more than your fair share of pretty girls down here in Texas. Felt like sampling some of the southern hospitality.”
    Tucker grinned. “Is that right? Well, I can’t fault your observations. We do grow ’em pretty here. And sweet.”
    “Been a long time since I’ve danced with a pretty girl.” Danced, kissed, or otherwise. Quinn felt like a good place to break the dry spell. Hence his room at the B&B. He was damn sure Wade’s new wife wouldn’t