Ride With Me by Joanna Blake Page A

snorted. As if he'd called it home for more than a weekend since he'd been shipped off to military school at the age of twelve. He'd barely been back in all that time. But now he'd been summoned by his eldest brother Jackson. Not that he wasn't tempted to ignore such a high handed demand.
                  Just like he'd ignored all the other missives he'd gotten over the years.
                  This time it was different though.
                  This time, Jake was tired.
                  He'd run out of places to go. He wanted to come home, if only to remind him why the hell he ran in the first place. And it would make his Grandmother happy to see him at Christmas.
                  Home for the holidays.
                  What a joke.
                 
     
     
     
     
    **********
     
     
     
     
                  "Damnit all to hell!"
                  Elle was bent over, picking up the shards of broken china. She glanced up to see Shirley staring at her.
                  "Best not let Mr. Peabody hear you talk that way, girl. He'll dock you."
                  Elle stood up, brushing her hands off on the skirt of her uniform.
                  "Yeah well he didn't hear me did he? Sorry Shirl, I'm just having a day."
                  Shirley clucked her tongue sympathetically and bent down to help.
                  "Here, I'll hold the dust pan for you."
                  Elle nodded and grabbed the broom.
                  "Thanks Shirl. I don't know what I would do without you."
                  She meant it too. When Elle had arrived in Nashville without a work visa, no one would hire her. It was a lucky break and a band that was looking for a singer on Craigslist that started all of this. If the bassist’s sister hadn't been looking for a roommate she wouldn't have met Shirley. Now they shared a sweet little apartment outside Nashville. That led to befriending her roommate and eventually to landing this job.
                  They didn't check her papers when she applied. Shirl said that's because the Country Club relied on illegals to do so much of the grunt work on the golf course. And thank God for it too.
                  Otherwise God only knew what Elle would be doing to survive. After the first week in the youth hostel she'd been relying on extra crackers and a cup of soup to make it through most days. Things had been dire to say the least.
                  She'd known coming to America was a risk. But as a singer, she'd been irresistibly drawn to Nashville. The center of the music industry. There was a reason they called it 'Music City U.S.A.'.
                  Elle didn't sing country exactly. Her style was a bit edgier, a bit more rock and roll. But her voice blended beautifully in the country style. And since she'd known her share of heartbreak, the music had always been there for her.
                  Born to a single mom in a poor as dirt part of the Irish countryside, Elle had grown up hard and fast. The former mining town had one restaurant, owned by her mother's brother, Uncle Dave. If it hadn't been for Uncle Dave, Elle and her mother wouldn't have been able to eat, let alone live. As it was, Elle's mum was a waitress slash cook slash cleaning lady and Elle had worked alongside her since she could walk.
                  Good old fashioned child care her mother had called it, with a wry wink. For no matter how hard life had gotten, the beautiful woman had never stopped smiling. Or singing while she worked. Her mother's voice was one of the prettiest she'd ever heard.
                  Elle was still trying to live up to her mother's example. And when she made it big, her mother would never have to work again. Elle would buy her a big house, with a maid and