rascalflattsfans101

My POV

Once again my stupid alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning. I quickly shut it off then snuggle back into Joe Don’s chest. I did not want to get up and go to work at all. And I knew Joe Don didn’t want me to leave either.

“Call into work…” Joe Don whispered and kissed the top of my head.
“Is that a request or is that an order?” I asked jokingly and Joe Don looked at me like ‘why would you say that?’.
“Baby, I don’t order you around. That’s because you’d kick my butt if I did.” He laughed. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my phone, and dialed the gym. I left a message just saying I wouldn’t be there today; they didn’t need to know why.

“That’s taken care off…” I said putting phone down and turning around to face Joe Don.
“Good.” He said pulling me into a heated kiss.
“Hey now…you wore me out enough last night…” I laughed pulling away, “And since when are you a morning person?”
“Baby…” he whined, “Com’on…please?”
“No. I’m going back to sleep…” I said turning over.
“You’re too stubborn…” he said.
“But that’s why you love me…” I laughed pulling his arm around my waist.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three hours later and I was up and trying to figure out what to do with the day. Which was a difficult task considering I dragged Joe Don out of bed at 8:30 a.m. and we actually had a full day to do something. I went outside with Storm while I waited for Joe Don to get out of the shower and come downstairs. I sat on the deck and watched Storm basically play with herself by launching her toy from her mouth then chasing after it. I couldn’t help but laugh. Then I realized what Joe Don and myself needed to do today. That was actually start planning stuff for the wedding considering we really only had 5 months until the big day.

“Hey babe.” Joe Don said making me jump.
“Seriously…don’t do that!” I said.
“Aww. Did I scare you?” he asked like he was talking to a little kid.
“Yes.”
“Well then I’m sorry.” He said giving me a kiss, “So what do you want to do today?”
“I don’t know. We’ve got way to much time to fill…”
“Is that because you got me up early?”
“Yep.”
“Well, you know what we haven’t done yet?”
“What's that?” I replied rolling my eyes.
”Go for a ride on the bike.” Joe Don said referring to his motorcycle. And we aren’t talking a Harley here; we’re talking one that’s basically a racing motorcycle.
“And where would we be going?”
“Downtown. Maybe get some lunch.”
“Okay, but then when we get home we have to start planning stuff for the wedding.” I said and Joe Don let out a groan, “Baby we have to…we don’t have a whole lot of time. Besides Kati and Alicia are taking me dress shopping next week so I kinda need an idea of what the look of the wedding is…”
“Fine. But what do you want to do for the next two hours until we leave?”
“Do you really need to ask that?” I said.
“Okay. We’ll start planning.” He laughed.
“Good.” I said getting up to go get my laptop from inside.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“See aren’t you glad that I fought my way into getting red and white for our wedding colors.” I laughed while me and Joe Don waited for our food at the restaurant.
“Yeah. Especially since blue and white symbolizes ‘we’ll miss you.’” He said.
“And weddings are supposed to be happy, not sad.”
“Okay, Okay. Stop rubbing it in that blue and white was a stupid idea.”
“I’m not, just stating—“I stopped hearing a voice all too familiar.
“What?” Joe Don said seeing the stunned look on my face.
”Oh my God. This is not happening…” I said after turning around and seeing the one person I never wanted to see ever again.
“Baby?” Joe Don whispered.
“Jeff…” I whispered back motioning my head to behind me. I could tell by the look on Joe Don’s face that he was walking over.

“Well, well. Look who’s here.” I heard Jeff say right behind me.
“What are you doing?” I said turning around with an annoyed look on my face.
“Just coming to say congratulations on your engagement to what’s-his-name.” he said placing his hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t touch me…” I said warning him.
“Why?” he antagonized.
“Get your hands off of me.” I replied firmly
“What are you gonna do if I don’t?” he asked.
“Get your hands off of her right now!” Joe Don yelled while getting up and pushing him away.
“Joe Don! Don’t!” I said standing up in between them. I looked at him and was honestly scared by the look on his face. I felt like if I hadn’t stepped in Joe Don would’ve punched him right then and there.
“Do you wanna start something? Right here!” Jeff yelled to Joe Don causing the whole restaurant to turn and look at what was going on.
“Jeff! You need to leave!” I said turning around to face him, “We didn’t ask you to come over here and talk to us. We were having a damn good day until you did. And frankly, I never want to see or talk to you ever again! So just get the hell out of here!”
“Good luck with her. She’s got more issues than you realize…” Jeff said to Joe Don before turning around and walking out.
“I cannot believe that just happened…” said sitting down and cover my face with my hands to hide the tears.
“Alexa, do want to leave?” Joe Don asked after a few minutes. His voice sounded like a mix of being concerned and angry. I just nodded my head and Joe Don called for the check. We paid and walked out of the restaurant. We got out to the bike and Joe Don turned to me.

“Baby, look at me.” He said and I looked up, “Everything’s going to be alright.” He added whipping the tears from my eyes and giving me a hug.
“I know…Can we just go home?” I asked.
“Sure.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Joe Don’s POV

We got home and Alexa immediately just went into the kitchen. She didn’t say a word nor when I tried to talk to her would she say anything. I decided to go upstairs and call her brother. After all, he was the one was there for her when she went through all of this before. I went into my studio and dialed Justin’s number praying that he would pick up.

“Hey man. What’s up?” Justin answered.
“It’s your sister. Can you come over and talk to her?” I asked.
“Umm yeah. What happened? Tell me you didn’t do something stupid again?”
“No. But we had a run-in with Jeff…” I explained.
“Shit…” Justin muttered, “You do know why she’s reacting the way she is right?”
“Yeah she told me.”
“Okay, well, did he touch her at all?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Well, because that’s the only form of restraining order she could get against him because she had no witnesses of the actual physical abuse.”
“She’s gonna have to go back to court and try to get a real one now…”
“Yep. She’ll get it too. Since he violated the original one” Justin replied.
“Okay, I guess I’ll talk to you when you get here.”
“Yeah. I’ll be there in five or ten minutes.”
“Alright. See you then.” I said hanging up.

I went downstairs and went into the kitchen. Alexa was standing there with her face in her hands. I walked over to her and ran my fingers through her hair trying to comfort her.
“Your brother is gonna come over…” I said.
“I just don’t want to deal with all this again. Especially right now…” she said and fell into my arms. I didn’t know what to do other than hug her. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. I went to go answer it. Looking through the peep hole I saw Justin and opened the door.

“Any better?” he asked.
“I don’t think so…” I replied.
“Well, I want to talk to her alone so I’ll be back in a bit.”
”Alright. Good luck…” I said hoping that he would be able to get through to her.

I heard them walk outside so I sat down on the couch trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened. It was definitely a good thing that Alexa stepped in when she did because if she hadn’t I really would’ve gone after him. And if I had, both Gary and Jay would kill me. I don’t think it was even ten minutes when I heard the sliding door open in the kitchen and saw Alexa walk upstairs with a look on her face like she was on a mission. Justin walked in and looked at me funny.

“I swear she’s bipolar. She went from balling to saying that’s she’s going to kick his ass in court.” He said.
“So where is she going now?” I asked.
“Probably to call her lawyer. Knowing her, she’ll fight to get a court date tomorrow to get this whole thing taken care of.”
“I doubt that it’s possible that this will be all cleared up in a day…” I whispered just loud enough for Justin to hear.
“Yeah probably. But I know she isn’t going to be looking forward to see him in court. That’s if he comes. He never showed up before so why would he now.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My POV
1 week later

“So about that horse you bought…” Joe Don started.
“Hunny, right now I have other things to worry about. My day is packed with court and the CMAs tonight, so really, I’m not in the mood to do any lolly-gagging…” I replied trying not to sound rude.
”Okay then. Sorry I brought it up…”
“Alright, I gotta go.” I said giving Joe Don a kiss, “Make sure you already getting ready for tonight by the time I get home…”
“Very funny babe.” He laughed, “Good luck…”
“Thanks. I love you.”
“Love you too.”

With that I walked out to the garage and got into my car and drove off. Honestly, I was hoping that Jeff wouldn’t even bother showing up at court. I had my lawyer call him with the time and date but knowing him, he wouldn’t show. Actually, it would be best if he didn’t. One, because I would probably want to kick his ass if he did and two, if he didn’t show we were more likely to get the restraining order we were aiming for. Randomly I hooked up my ipod to my stereo and pressed play. The song that started to play was exactly what I need…’No Reins’. I thought to myself ‘how ironic is this?’ Fifteen minutes later I pulled up to the county courthouse and got out of my car. I took a deep breath before walking inside. This was hopefully going to be the end of all my battles with Jeff.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Honey?” I called as I walked in the door taking my heels off.
“I’m upstairs.” Joe Don called. I ran upstairs and followed the sound of his voice to the bedroom. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.
”Someone’s happy…” he laughed.
“Yep.” I replied waving the restraining order in his face. He took it and read over it.
“No show huh?”
“Yeah. He probably figured he had no chance at fighting it so there was no point to go. Good thing because I’m sure Justin probably would’ve tackled him the minute he walked into the courtroom.” I laughed.
“Why do you say that?” Joe Don asked.
“Well, Justin punched him when he found out how I miscarried…”
“Over-protective brother?”
“Actually, not really at that point. I thanked him for doing that since I never had the guts to do it myself.”
“That doesn’t sound like you.”
“Let’s just say that whole experience taught me not to put up with any crap…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“THE FUN HAS ARRIVED!!!!” Jay sang as walked onto the bus in the back lot at the Sommet Center.
^^^ (That line is from Tarzan…haha)
“Jay. Seriously. Today is not the day…” I said making Tara laugh.
“Wait…you’re here? Where’s the other one?” he asked meaning Joe Don.
“Yeah. And him and Gary are in the back.”
“Interesting...” He said shrugging and walked to the back of the bus.
“What’s with him?” I asked Ally as she walked on the bus.
“He always drinks coffee before award shows…not that he needs it.” She said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

7 hours later…

“God, it is good to be home…” I sighed letting Storm outside. It had been a very long day, between court this morning then the CMAs at night, I was exhausted. And I still had work in the morning.
“Tell me about…” Joe Don said wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” I asked turning around.
“What about our deal?”
“You didn’t live up to your side of the deal so why should I have to live up to mine?”
“We won group and besides, we were probably next behind Chesney to win entertainer…”
“Well, second best just isn’t good enough…” I said turning back around to let Storm back inside.
“Do you know how hard we work to get entertainer of the year and still come up short?”
“Well, apparently you need to work harder…” I said giving Joe Don a kiss, “Then maybe I’ll reward you…”
“Wait…maybe?” he asked following me upstairs, “Since when was it a maybe?”
I just laughed and rolled my eyes confusing Joe Don.
“What was that supposed to mean?” he asked as we walked into the bedroom.
“Nothing…” I replied while looking for some shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in.
“Okay, I give up…” Joe Don said. I turned around and flashed him a smile as I walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Next Day…

“Hey baby. I’m on my way home. See you in a bit. I love you.” I said leaving a message on Joe Don’s voicemail. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes knowing that he was still sleeping. I went over in my head what I needed to talk to Joe Don about today. Worlds next week and how I was going to be gone, my new horse that he still didn’t know the details on, and another thing to do with my record deal. The last one scared me. I didn’t know how he was going to react considering he was the one who kind of pushed me into it.

About 15 minutes later I pulled into the garage. When I walked into the house a realized it was dead silent besides the sound of Storm’s tags as she came running to greet me. I instantly knew my previous assumption was correct. He was still asleep. ‘Typical…’ I thought to myself as I went upstairs to wake up my fiancé.

I quietly opened the door to our bedroom and crept inside. He was lying with his back toward the door but was all the way over by the edge of the bed on my side. I knew a sweet, quiet awakening wouldn’t get Joe Don out of bed so I decided to make it a loud one. I walked over to where Joe Don was lying and bent down so my face was right in front of his. I leaned in and kiss his neck lightly and all the only noise he made was a soft moan. I rolled my eyes and laughed silently about what I was going to do. I positioned myself so my mouth was right above his ear.

“Good afternoon sweetheart!” I yelled into Joe Don’s ear. He immediately replied with a shut up and rolled over covering his head with the pillow.
“Baby, come on…” I laughed shaking him, “Time to get up.”
“What time is it?” he groaned looking at me.
“1:30…you’ve been sleeping for 11 hours.”
“Still not enough…”
“Baby, let’s go, we got stuff to talk about today…”
“Oh great. How exciting. Like what kind of stuff.”
“Stuff…you’ll find out when you get up, shower, and come downstairs.”
“Okay, I’ll get up.” He finally said, “But only if you do what you just did again.”
“What? Yell?”
“No. Before that…” he coaxed.
“Fine.” I said leaning in and kissing his neck again. I pulled away, smiled, got up, and walked out of the room to go make some lunch.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Forty-Five minutes later Joe Don came pounding down the stairs with Storm on his heels.

“That dog…” he said walking into the kitchen and giving me a kiss.
“Hey, she’s a border collie. Herding the lazy ones around is her job.”
“You callin me lazy?”
“You bet.” I laughed, “You’re the only person I know who can sleep past noon daily.”
“Okay. So what are we talking about today?” Joe Don asked, “Wait, let me guess. Wedding plans?”
“No. But that’s a good idea…” I replied handing him a sandwich while taking my own into the living room.
“Dammit…” he said following me. I knew he hated planning for the wedding.
“Sit down.” I said patting the couch.
“Oh no. This can’t be good. I have to sit down for this.”
“Some good. Other parts you won’t like so much.”
“Gimmie the good part first…”
“Okay, so about my new horse. I bought him at the Breeder’s Cup sale with one of my mom’s clients who is based in Kentucky. He’s a 2 year old colt who’s named after UPS.”
“He’s named after a shipping company?” Joe Don asked.
“Yeah. Big Brown.”
“Doesn’t sound like the name of a horse…”
“Shut up!” I said shoving him.
“Alright. Chill. So how much did you pay for this horse.”
“Well, his total price was 160 thousand but we split it 50/50, so 80 grand.”
“Damn, why are race horses so expensive?”
“I don’t know. Good question. But this one’s a beauty…”
“Okay so now the bad?”
“Well, I have to go Germany for a week starting Saturday.” I said.
“For Worlds?”
“Yeah, Shawn and Alicia both were selected to the team.”
“Chellsie’s still not ready yet?”
“Nope. She’s having complications from her foot surgery so she might not be cleared to train until January…”
“That sucks…”
“Yeah. They really could use her on bars.”
“Alright, so is that all?” Joe Don asked.
“Yeah…” I replied chickening out on telling him about my meeting with Dann that I had a couple weeks earlier.
“Okay. You going to finish that?” he asked standing up and pointing to my half eaten sandwich.
“No. Take it…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Joe Don’s POV

I took the plate and walked into the kitchen. I knew that wasn’t all she needed to tell me; I could read her like a book. But I wasn’t about to get her upset again so I just brushed it off. I knew eventually she would tell me but who knows when that would be.

The rest of the day we worked on MORE wedding plans. Mostly Alexa calling our planner back in Chicago every 30 minutes with ideas and details about what she wanted. Who know planning a wedding could be complicated.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Next Morning…

I woke up around 10 AM, took a shower, and walked downstairs. Alexa was at work so it was just me and Storm until I had a meeting with Dann later in the afternoon. As I walked into the kitchen, I picked up my usual note Alexa left for me.

“Good Morning (or afternoon) sweetie. I’ll call when I leave work. I love you.” I read aloud to myself. I smiled knowing that she knew exactly how bad my habit of sleeping late was. I decided to go outside and relax for a while before I had to leave but not before I ate. I open the fridge and rummaged through looking for something to that didn’t actually have to make. Finally, I found a half empty bowl of fruit all the way in the back that I knew Alexa had hidden from me. I decided to take it anyways knowing she would pretend to be mad at me even though she really wasn’t.

I walked outside with Storm following me. It was possibly going to be one of the last times I would get to sit out in the backyard without feeling cold until April. I sat thinking to myself that it was more than likely that the next time I sat out here, it would be with my wife. I smiled knowing that Alexa was more than just the love of my life, she was my life. I couldn’t imagine a day without her. I didn’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if I had never met her. To myself or Alexa. I couldn’t help but think that I would’ve met yet another girl who only loved me for what I had in the bank. I knew Alexa wasn’t like that. She has always said that she hates having more money than she can spend. She wasn’t one to impulse buy that $600 pair of shoes. She is low maintenance and laid back which I absolutely love about her. And the most important thing, that even with all of the baggage she carries with her, Alexa is extremely easy to love.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Time flew by and the next thing I knew I was in the car driving to Dann’s studio. I had some meeting with him about him helping me production on the Stars Align album I was working on. But I had another question to ask Dann and I knew Alexa would hate me for asking it, but I decided I wanted to know anyways. Just then I pulled into the parking lot at the studio and walked inside.

“Is Dann in the back?” I asked the receptionist.
“Yes. Studio 3.” She replied. I thanked her and walked back into the recording section.

I walked to the third studio and peeked inside. I saw Dann going over the vocals on a song so I knocked on the door. He looked up at me and waved for me to come in.

“Hey man. Thanks for meeting with me.” I said giving him the iconic ‘man hug’.
“No problem. So tell me about this group.” He replied.

We talked about the vision of the album and what the plans were as far as when we would be doing recording and when it would hopefully be finished. Afterward, I knew I had to ask Dann my other question. Just then I got a text from Alexa saying that she was leaving work and asking if I wanted anything from Cousin’s. I quickly replied back saying I’d pick something up on my way home. Back to my question, I thought.

“Hey, I was just wondering, how is Alexa’s album coming?” I asked, “I know she’d hate me for asking but I want to know.”
“She didn’t tell you?” Dann asked giving me a strange look.
“Tell me what?”
“Well, she told me not to say anything to you because she wanted to tell you…”
“Tell me what?” I repeated.
“I don’t know how to say this but, she had Lyric Street suspend production of her album…”
“What?! When?!”
“About a month ago. I can’t believe she never told you.”
”Yeah. Neither can I.”
“Do you know why?”
“No. She just told us that now wasn’t the right time.”
“Wow…I can’t believe she didn’t even say she was even considering that to me…” I said annoyed, “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

I instantly walked out of the studio and to my truck, got in, and went home. I had a lot of questions I needed to ask Alexa at that point.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My POV

I was on the phone with Kati when I heard Joe Don come into the house.

“Hi sweetie!” I called from the back of the house. I waited for reply but got nothing. I quickly started talking to Kati again.
“Hey, I gotta go. I didn’t get the usual ‘hey baby’ back, which means he’s mad. Love ya girl. Bye.” I said hanging up the phone.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Joe Don screamed walking into the kitchen.
“What are you talking about?” I asked confused.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.”
“No. I don’t actually.”
“You know…the thing you didn’t bother to tell me yesterday, much less a month ago when you made this decision!” he said even angrier than before as he started to get in my face.
“Really Joe Don. I have no idea what you’re talking about…” I said backing away.
“Would you like me to explain it to you then?”
“Yes. I would.” I said starting to snap back.
“Well, you made the decision to suspend production on your album without even discussing it with me first.”
“I’m sorry. But you telling me not to do it wouldn’t have changed my mind.”
“How about you failing to mention the whole thing to me! I had to find out from Dann!”
“I was going to tell you. I was just afraid that this was exactly how you react!”
“Really? When were you planning on telling me?”
“I’m not sure, but the last time I checked, it was my name on the recording contract and not yours.”
“Yeah. And do you know how many people are out there trying to get a record deal who would love to have yours?”
“Yeah I do. And as far as I’m concerned they can have it! It’s not what I want!”
“Oh, but 3 months ago it was what you wanted?” Joe Don yelled.
“No! It was what you wanted for me…” I snapped back.
”What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that if it weren’t for you pushing me to accept the deal, I wouldn’t have signed it in the first place.”
“But I thought that you wanted to be a singer your whole life. Why was it something that you suddenly didn’t want to do anymore?”
“I wanted to be a singer but I knew I needed a back up plan. So I went to college so that if things didn’t work out I would have my P.T. degree and I would be able to get a job. Plus I wasn’t going to waste all the money my parents put in towards my gymnastics by moving here when I was 18.”
“But you’re a gymnastics coach. Basically wasting your degree…”
“You don’t get it!” I snapped, “I can’t give coaching up. I can’t do that to myself or the girls I coach. And in case you didn’t notice, next summer is not exactly the best time for me to go out and promote an album.”
“Really? Why not?”
“Well, let’s see…we’ve got the wedding in April, next spring I have 3 horses racing all over the country, and next summer there’s this thing called the Olympics in Beijing China and I’m coaching three girls who have the chance to earn some of those plane tickets!” I yelled. It was then that I realized that I was very close to the end of my rope. I was almost ready to walk away and deal with all this later.
“And why exactly can’t you walk away from that?” Joe Don asked. I couldn’t believe he had just said that.
“Joe Don! Those girls are so close to living a life-long dream. And I know exactly what that dream feels like. When I was their age that dream came true only for it to be snatched away because of an injury. I can’t leave them hanging in the balance…they’ve already had that done to them once…”
“So this is about the gymnasts you coach? That’s unbelieve—“
“No. This is about me. This is about what I want. Not what you or anyone else wants for me. I want to be that coach that led three girls to an Olympic team. That’s my dream. If I can’t go to the Olympics as a gymnast, I want to go as a coach. That’s why I decided to stop recording my album. It wasn’t my dream anymore.” I said. I looked Joe Don and waited for an answer. Suddenly he turned around and walked away. I knew I had proven my point and he didn’t have anything to say in return. It would be at this point that I would normally say something like ‘thanks for the apology and for understanding’ because that’s the smart alec I am, but I figured why add more fuel to the fire. I heard him walk upstairs and heard the door to his studio slam shut. I rolled my eyes and went back into the living room to watch some TV.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that night…

I looked at the clock on the wall only to see that Joe Don had been in his studio for almost seven hours. It was 9 PM and I was getting close to just going upstairs and getting ready for bed. Just then I heard the studio door open and I figured Joe Don was doing the same thing I was just thinking of. I waited to hear the bedroom door close but all I heard were footsteps coming downstairs. ‘Probably getting food…’ I said to myself. I could hear his footsteps heading towards the living room so I quickly shut my eyes and pretended like I was sleeping hoping he would think I was really sleeping and leave me alone.

Fortunately, he bought my fake sleeping. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave me be. He picked me up off the couch and I just went along with, pretending to half wake up and wrap my arms around his neck. As we were walking up the stairs I felt Joe Don kiss the top of my head.

“I love you too…” I whispered letting him know I was actually awake.
“And I’m sorry…” he whispered back.
“It’s fine…just don’t drop me.” I laughed.
“I’ll try not to…” He replied under his breath.
“Hey!” I laughed hitting the back of his head lightly.
“I’m kidding…I won’t drop you babe.”

Piczo