by Taylor Hart
“We’ll burn it up,” Liam agreed, swinging his long blond surfer hair out of his face. Liam was so much more carefree in life. Not that he wasn’t driven with the music and intrinsic to running the ranch, but it always felt like he didn’t take things so seriously. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked Shay. “You’ve been distracted the past couple days.”
He thought of the Jaycee and the wild way she’d held him after they’d kissed. Lightning in a bottle, that’s what she was. Intoxicating. “I’m fine.”
Skinny stalked away.
“What’s got his panties all bunched up?” Shar asked, with her hair all frizzed out and a black collar-like necklace around her neck. As the drummer, she liked to look like the whole Bon Jovi approach, including thick eyeliner around the eyes.
“I’m fine,” Shay muttered, strumming the chords and making sure he had the right tune.
“Who’s what?” his brother Noah asked, moving to Liam’s side, holding his keyboard and stand in his hands. He winced as the band onstage ended their last song with a whimper. “Why does Skinny book these guys?”
Shay wondered the same thing. Were they this bad? Was that why their music had never taken off?
The past year, his sister Leah had tried to get their music out hard on the indie scene, all over social media. Her twin, James, had tried to help, even setting up a recording studio in one section of the barn. They’d pushed and pushed and written and written more songs.
Shay had spent so many hours writing. He’d even bring his notebook to the mechanic shop, and he’d stop and jot lyrics down whenever they occurred to him. It still felt like they were at a standstill.
The other band slunk out of the spotlight, and the Summervilles moved out onstage. Noah started playing chords, and Shar started the beat. Shay adjusted the guitar into the perfect position and let himself release all of the angst of the day. He moved to the mic and closed his eyes. Dang, he loved this song. It was the perfect song to describe his day.
“Summer love isn’t perfect.
No, it isn’t even close.
But you can’t stop it.
And you feel it getting hold.
That day when I first saw you, the fire in your eyes.
That day when you first kissed me, I knew we were flying in the sky.”
CHAPTER 6
Driving in circles around this town wasn’t Jaycee’s ideal Friday night. Not that she had any Friday night plans. When she’d gotten older, and Duke had become such a jerk, summers had turned into mother/daughter time. Now, as she drove through this town, all she could think about was all the memories that she couldn’t push away. The little mani-pedi place she and her mom would go to. The ice cream parlor. The grocery store where they would always pick up picnic stuff to take back to the lake. Before her mother lay in bed. Before all the sadness. Had her mother found out about the mistress? Was that what had put her mother into bed full time?
Jaycee pulled up in front of The Bird Lounge. She finished off her coconut ice cream, which she’d picked up at the ice cream parlor. She’d asked the workers there if they knew where Shay played. Of course they had. This was a small town, and everyone knew everything.
She popped down the mirror and checked out her face and hair. It didn’t look that great. She wiped away the eyeliner beneath her eyes, and she retrieved her red lipstick and gloss from the glove compartment for a quick touch-up. Good. She was passable.
Her nerves increased and she pressed facetime call to her best friend.
Tauni’s face instantly popped up. “What’s up, girlie?”
Her friend was incessantly optimistic. Even before she’d been nervous about coming to Rutherford for the summer and all Tauni would say was ‘Things happen for a reason’ or ‘it will all work out.’ The funny thing was, that Tauni was from Rutherford, just a couple of years older than Jaycee. They’d met at Harvard. Tauni was getting her master’s degree in Journalism “How’s my hometown?” She flashed a smile.
Jaycee could tell that she was still at the stupid newspaper, she could see the offices behind her. “It’s fine.”
Tauni turned her full attention on Jaycee, even pulled off her glasses. “That bad, huh?”
Nervous butterflies filled her and she filled Tauni in on all that had happened in regards to kissing Shay and him dropping the car off and … everything with her father.
Tauni was never one to answer quickly, she pursed her lips together, then flashed another smile. “I can’t believe you hooked up with Shay Summerville.” She sighed.
“What?” Jaycee didn’t know if that sigh was a good or bad thing. “We haven’t hooked up at all, he’s…truthfully, the man’s infuriating.”
Tauni let out a light laugh. “All Summerville’s are. The family…” she trailed.
Jaycee snapped. “Wait a sec. Is this the Summerville family….the Jack Summerville family that you talk about?”
Tauni nodded. “Yep.” Her eyes glazed over for a brief moment. “But that was a long time ago. Six years ago for me.”
Jaycee’s heart raced, she’d known that Tauni didn’t have a desire to come back to Summerville, she’d been really clear about that, she didn’t realize it might have to do with some heart ache. “Because of Jack?”
Tauni seemed to freeze. She was staring off a bit then turned to face her, her eyes were sad. “Almost married the guy.” She drummed the desk in front of her.
“What?” asked Jaycee.
Tauni shook her head. “Nope, not talking about that. This isn’t my story, it’s yours, so go enjoy it.” A grin filled Tauni’s face. “You’re at the Bird, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Yes, I…they’re playing here.”
Another slow breath from Tauni, who seemed to slow down. “Then go do what you have to do, this could be the most important summer of your life, Jaycee, do you know that?”
Something triggered inside of her. Like…warm chills rushed through her and she inherently knew that what Tauni said was true. “Why would you say that?”
Tauni hesitated.
At the same time, Kurt tried to facetime call.
“What’s going one?” asked Tauni.
Frustrated, Tauni ignored the call. “Nothing.”
“It was Kurt, wasn’t it?”
Jaycee didn’t respond.
“You tell Kurt to leave you alone,” Tauni said, her hands on her hips and she looked all mother hen-ish.
Jaycee grinned at her. “I have told him, but I have the little problem of my father trying to push us together every second.”
Tauni sighed, she’d been with Jaycee on this whole rollercoaster with her family the past couple of years. “Go have some fun in Rutherford. Enjoy a Summerville boy.”
It was strange to Jaycee that everyone seemed to know the Summervilles’, except her. She stared at the bar, trying to decide if she should go in or not.
Tauni grinned. “Be brave, have fun, you deserve it.” She flashed another grin. “I have work to do, gotta get this thesis cleaned up and then focus on Oxford for next year.”
It made Jaycee happy that her friend had gotten into the PHD program at Oxford, but sad she wouldn’t see her that much. She pushed her bottom lip out, dramatically. “Fine. Miss you.”
“Miss you, too. You got this. Go!”
Jaycee stepped out of the car and pushed End on her phone. She walked up to the bar. She didn’t go to bars. She and her sorority sisters would go clubbing sometimes, sure, but she’d actually never entered a small dive bar. Who would they even meet in bars? Stinky, drunk old men?
When she turned to see the band onstage, she jolted to a stop. The man on that stage wasn’t old or stinky; he was glorious. His hand was gripping the microphone, and his guitar rested patiently on his back. It was a slow song, and he was pouring his heart into it. His dark hair obscured his face, but she would know that voice anywhere. Shay.
She couldn’t stop the attraction that pulsed through her. Maybe she was so drawn to him because s
he’d tasted his lips, she’d smelled him, she’d felt him pressed against her, reaching for her. Even though the vision of the fire had shaken her, she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to kiss him again.
“It’s fire and ice. And it burns me! But I don’t how to let go, care about you, when the moon is shining like it does. When the sun is coming up each day. I don’t know how to let you go, when all I do is seem to fade away. Time goes by, and all I see is you.
But I don’t know how to let you go, care about you, when the moon is rising, when the sun is setting. I just, just don’t know how to let you go.”
The song ended, and she realized she was still in the same spot she’d been in. The drummer tapped the drums to an upbeat, and they started into the next song. Shay turned his back to the audience.
The guitarist next to him stepped up for his turn at the vocals. “This is for all you angry women out there,” he said, prompting the audience to clap and laugh.
Jaycee skirted along the edges of the room and approached the bar.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked. This was the kind of guy she would expect to meet in a bar: a big grungy-looking one. His eyes swept up and down her in a leering way.
“Umm, seltzer water.” Her heart nervously thumped.
“Nah.” The guy leaned back and pulled out a rag, rubbing the bar counter. “You’re in my bar; you drink something with alcohol. I can even do frou-frou drinks. Want a margarita or a daiquiri?”
She didn’t want any of it, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“Which one?”
The other guy onstage was rocking the song, but she suddenly heard Shay’s voice too. “And you think she’s gonna cry all night, you’d better think again. You think she’s gonna cry all night, you’d better think again.”
The backbeat filled in, and the other guy started into a rocking guitar solo.
The bartender plunked a drink in front of her. “You chose a margarita, Eight bucks.”
Out of sorts, she tugged a card from her back pocket and handed it to him.
“The night was long, waiting for you to come back, but I held the bat in my hand and I knew you’d never be the same.”
Jaycee perked up, realizing that he was singing the girl’s part.
“Before she knew it, he was there, and he was out of the car and the rain came down.”
An upbeat took over. The other guy onstage joined him. “When the bat came down on that Chevy ’69, the shards of glass came fast.”
Shay sang. “He grabbed her way too fast, before she even broke the other one. He grabbed her way too fast, and he threw her to the ground.”
The other guy chimed in. “He picked up that bat and he held it high above. The lightning hit so fast, it must have been God’s own reply.”
“And it was fire,” they sang together. “A lot of fire.”
Jaycee’s heart was doing a crazy pitter-patter, bringing her back to the moment when she’d first kissed Shay. The heat had licked at her feet, and she remembered that dream. It was like that dream was trying to tell her something.
But all of it faded from her mind when their eyes met.
CHAPTER 7
Shay’s attention was drawn to Jaycee like she was illuminated by a spotlight. Her thick red hair and bright green eyes were so vivid, he wondered if he was seeing a mirage. She wore tight black pants and a yellow top that hugged her in all the right places. The memory of kissing her that first time pierced his heart like a knife. He stopped singing.
Good thing Liam was already going to sing the last song by himself.
The audience exploded into applause and shouts, but all Shay saw was Jaycee’s broadening smile. He didn’t tell his brothers or sister that he would be leaving. He didn’t say any final words to the audience. He just put down his guitar and stepped offstage, walking to her.
Previously, he’d daydreamed that she would be here tonight. He had to touch her, feel her, smell her to make sure she wasn’t part of his imagination.
As he approached, she stared at him, as perplexed as he was.
“You’re here?” he reached out, taking her lotion-soft hand.
Jaycee glanced down at their hands. “I drove around for hours, wondering where to go. Then I stopped at the ice cream place my mother used to take me to, and I asked the kid where you sing, and he told me.” She reached out and touched his face.
Shay couldn’t stop this magnetic pull between them; he snaked an arm around her waist. “It seems we can’t quit this kissing thing we have going on.”
“Kiss me at your own risk,” she said, but she was grinning.
This woman was different from any he’d ever met before.
As his lips touched hers, he already knew he was in love with her. How he knew, he still wasn’t sure.
Both of her hands cupped his face.
He deepened the kiss, and she pushed herself further against him. Everything around them melted away. She pushed a hand through his hair, and all he wanted was this heat forever.
“Excuse me.”
Jaycee pulled away from him, turning to see who had interrupted them.
Shay knew who it was. “Liam,” he said, “Meet Jaycee. Jaycee, Liam. My twin brother.”
Her brows creased and she looked back and forth between them. She covered her mouth and laughed. “Wow.”
Shay smiled uncertainly. Was that a good wow, or a “your brother is far better-looking” wow?
Liam nudged him. “This is the girl you hit?”
Shay wagged a finger. “This is the girl who didn’t get out of the way.”
Jaycee grinned at Shay. “Sure, you tell the story your way.”
Shay laughed, all he wanted to do was kiss her, again.
Liam cleared his throat. “Well, nice to meet you.” He stretched out his hand to shake hers.
Released from their connection, she turned to Liam. “So nice to meet you.” She tilted her head toward the stage. “You were so good.”
Liam winked at Shay, then turned back to Jaycee, acting as if she’d come for him. “Thank you. Thank you for coming and appreciating Summerville Entertainment. My sister and other brother would be just as flattered, I’m sure. If you could use your family connections to help us meet Texas Waters and get signed with his new record label, we’d really appreciate it.”
She froze.
Shay smacked Liam’s shoulder. “Pay no mind to him.”
Liam gave him an accusing gaze. “Right, like you don’t try to call Texas Waters every day and somehow get us working with him.”
Shay waved a hand through the air, dismissing his very annoying twin brother. “Are you done yet?”
Liam glared at him, then flashed Jaycee a smile. “Nice to meet you, Jaycee. I’ll just put this out there: if you get tired of my brother, and you want the blond good-looking brother, call me.”
Shay glared at him, then grinned. “Alright, alright.” He flicked his fingers. “Off with you.”
Jaycee’s lips pinched into a straight line, and with visible effort, she plastered on a polished smile for Liam. “Okay, thanks for the offer.”
Liam scrunched his face and moved back to the stage.
Shay took her hand, loving the feel of it.
Her eyes met his and he thought about the last time he’d seen her at the lake, how he’d caught her singing and how the tune had been rolling around in his mind the past couple of days. “I missed you.” He found himself saying.
She blinked, then a grin filled her face. “Me, too.”
Time dropped away and it was just them. Her hand inside of his.
Her fire red hair that smelled like jam. He wanted to reach in and untangle it all, he wanted to kiss her again, he wanted to hear her sing and harmonize with her.
This girl…was pure quicksand, that’s what his mother would say if she knew how he felt in this moment.
Suddenly, he could see how this story ended: They fall in love, the summer ends, they part ways, and one day, he’s s
itting in his family room, watching the news, and her face flashes onto the television, and she’s marrying some other politician. The Kurt her father was talking about. The thought angered him.
Jaycee glanced at Shay. “Are you okay?”
That jerked him back to the here and now. “Yeah. Fine.” Even though their worlds were so different, and they couldn’t possibly end up together.
“So are we going cliff jumping or not?” she asked.
Shay stared at her, wondering at her sudden interest in him.
His sudden interest in her.
It was like he was in some movie and he’d entered this alternative universe.
“I’ve never been cliff jumping,” she sputtered out. “The truth is I’m utterly terrified.” She tightened her grip on his hand.
“I want to go.” Liam’s smile brightened hopefully as he sauntered back to them.
Shay ignored Liam, moving to the stage.
His brother, Noah, and sister, Shar, were already gone. He passed his guitar to Liam. “Will you take this with you?”
Liam laughed. “Oh fine, don’t have too much fun without me.”
CHAPTER 8
J aycee and Shay stood at the cliffside, their hands linked together. After leaving the bar, she’d driven back to her house and grabbed her swimsuit and towels, telling Millie that they were going swimming. Duke hadn’t been home, thankfully.
Now Shay was explaining how when they jumped, she needed to put her hands right by her thighs so she didn’t get hurt. “Jump on three. Sound good?”
Her heart hammered in her chest. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I can’t believe I’ve never done this before.”
He laughed and the wind whipped his hair. “It’s fun.” His body was visible in the moonlight; she’d known that he was ripped, but now his muscles looked glorious. “Ready?”
She nodded.
He grinned, the dimple making an appearance. “On three.” He lifted his other hand and counted down. “One, two …”
This moment had been destiny, fate, the best part of life—unpredictable, thrilling, fun. She gripped his hand harder.
