Country Wishes

by RaeAnne Hadley

  “Who took Thad’s place?”

  “I burned through a few…I mean I dated in high school, but nothing serious. College was about the same.”

  “Sounds like the shooting star did you a favor.”

  “Interesting perspective. I saw another one a few minutes ago. We’ll see if my wish can pull through this time.”

  “You could always try the well.” He nodded down into the black depth next to us.

  “Can’t hurt. I’ll bring a coin tomorrow.”

  He dug in his pocket and extended a quarter to me.

  Not wanting to fumble the coin, I pulled my glove off, stuck it in my pocket, and reached for the coin. As I took it between my fingers, he cupped my hand between his.

  “They say you have to kiss it first.” Our eyes locked again.

  I prayed he couldn’t tell I was shaking because of his touch. I could play it off as being cold even though I wasn’t. His hands were warm, firm, and sent fire racing through me, negating any trace of cold.

  He smiled and I put the coin to my lips.

  Eyes closed, I wished for a man like Brandt, minus the complications, to sweep me off my feet. And since it was a quarter, I added an extra wish that my feelings for Brandt would find someone else to latch onto. And for extra clarity, I wished to have a platonic relationship with him and help his daughter find an outlet for her amazing voice.

  “You fall asleep?” Brandt asked.

  I opened my eyes and smiled at him. “Decided I better make sure my wish was clear since the wishing well played games with you. And my shooting star was tricky.”

  “Not a bad idea.”

  We stared into the well as my coin flipped over and over, descending into the abyss of wishes and dreams. The tiniest sound might have been the coin dropping into water, but I was lost in the very confused thought about wanting to settle down. What was it about Hopeful that was changing what I wanted out of life?

  A long moment passed before Brandt broke the silence. “Do you give private lessons?”

  What? My eyes grew wide as I turned to him.

  “You weren’t thinking?” He waved his hand between the two of us.

  “No, of course not.” Not only had the shooting star not done its job of allowing me composure, but the wishing well was taking its time too. Something about Brandt captured my heart in a way no other had. I blamed it on the beard and cowboy hat, but that was an excuse. His playful nature at the grocery store, the way he was with Betty and his daughter, and the way he was with me…he’d created a toxic cocktail of Sex on the Haystack and I was drinking it by the pints.

  “Hailey. She’s been taking lessons on the other side of Blue Mountain, but committing to every week is tough with the drive, especially when the roads are icy. She’s careful, but it’s her first year driving so I worry.”

  “I gave lessons in college, but not much afterward. Honestly, most students didn’t have much dedication and some didn’t practice at all. It was frustrating how little they put into it when I spent hours a day working on my own skills. I wasn’t sure if I was a bad teacher or if I had a bad mix of students.”

  “Want to find out? Hailey sings all the time. Sometimes she tries to hold conversations with nothing but song, on her end anyway. It was all fun and games until she asked for an upright piano for Christmas several years ago. The cheap hobby got expensive, but not a day’s gone by she doesn’t sit at it and work on something, even if it’s only warm up stuff like scales.”

  “She sounds like the idea student, and her voice was beautiful when she sang along with me today. She’s talented, maybe even gifted.”

  “Gifted. It’s what her teacher said, but what the hell does that mean. There’s a whole choir full of people with pretty voices at church. Well, full might be the wrong word, a couple of the ladies could use a tune up.”

  “Fair enough. Consider it this way. You heard me sing and offered me a free drink. Do you offer the ladies at church free drinks for their voices?”

  “I’d put you a step above them. A big step. Can’t put my finger on it, but there was something different.”

  “That’s what I hear in Hailey, it’s not fully developed yet, but she’s well past where I’d expect a teen with sporadic lesson to be.”

  “She works at the ice cream shop to pay for her own lessons. Not that I don’t support her, but I worry she’s chasing a dream.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want her to be disappointed if she can’t make a career out of it.”

  “And yet, you tossed a coin into the well. What dream are you chasing?”

  He diverted his eyes. “I get your point. I better get going. See you ‘round.”

  “Okay. And tell Hailey I’d be happy to give her a few lessons to see if we’re a fit for each other.”

  He put his hand to the brim of his hat and tipped it.

  Need settled low in my belly. I nodded and walked toward my house. “Good night.”

  After I took a few steps, he called out, “Where’s your car?”

  “I live right there.” I pointed to my house.

  “Guess I don’t need to offer you a ride then.”

  Oh, I’d take a ride, only I had to keep from saying that. Brandt was a nice guy. I needed to think of him that way.

  Chapter Three

  BRANDT

  Where was Hailey? It wasn’t like her to be late. She was supposed to be home so we could meet with Melody. The two of them had hatched the plan at the ice cream shop after Hailey’s first lesson.

  Turns out Melody played piano as well as sang, and had lived off music performance for a couple years before taking the teaching position in Hopeful.

  Melody was going to tell us all about life as a vocal artist. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

  I called Hailey but it went straight to voicemail. She might have been in the dead zone on the highway outside of town.

  One minute until Melody was supposed to arrive, and I was the only one at home. A tinge of worry, but I wasn’t going to panic.

  A knock on the door. Melody arrived before Hailey. I opened it, worried how it would look having her at my house alone.

  “I should warn you Hailey’s not home yet.”

  “Am I early?”

  “No. She’s late, not like her to be late without calling.”

  “Should I come back later?”

  “Up to you. You’re welcome to come in. I’m sure she’ll be here any minute, as long as you don’t mind being here alone with me.”

  A blush rose through her cheeks. “Alone? You make it sound dangerous.”

  “I don’t mean to imply anything. But you’re a woman and I’m a man, and people might say…”

  He stepped aside as his voice trailed off, not meeting my gaze.

  “Umm, I’m not sure I do. Are you worried about being alone with me?

  “I’ll be a gentleman. There are a lot of people that believe a man and a woman shouldn’t be alone unless they’re married. I can’t keep up with who worries about it and who doesn’t.”

  “You’re serious? Is that a country thing?”

  I nodded. “Not sure. Just how some people are around here. Guess you’re not one of those who worries about it.”

  “No. I’ve had male friends and we’ve hung out, no problems. I’m trustworthy.” She walked past me once we got the awkward alone issue sorted out.

  The sweet scent of her perfume or shampoo or something intoxicated me. It had been faint at the park when we’d met and I’d memorized it, but I hadn’t seen her over the course of the week and it refreshed me.

  The curve of her ass caught my attention as she walked past. She did her jeans a favor. Most women couldn’t fill out jeans the way she did. But she wasn’t at my house to see me. “You can hang your hoodie here if you want to take it off?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks.” She studied my arms, probably noticing my short sleeves.

  How old was she? Old enough to have gotten through school and a co
uple of years on her own. I’d have to work the question in and try not to sound weird about it. I had to be around ten years older than her, not that it mattered I reassured myself.

  “You can have a seat in the living room. Do you want a drink while we wait?” I motioned toward the couch.

  “I’m fine for now.” She sat on the couch and surveyed the room.

  The piano took up one wall, the couch another, TV and shelves with photos and books on a third, and then the open area to the kitchen. I sat in a chair on the open end of the room to create distance between Melody and myself.

  She glanced at me and smiled but quickly looked away.

  “I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” I said.

  “Yeah. No problem. Mind if I check out your pictures?” She was already up and walking to the shelves Hailey kept stocked with her most recent favorites.

  “Go right ahead.” I stood out of respect. Not many women expected that but it’s how I was raised. I headed over to enjoy the pictures.

  “Who’s this?” Melody asked. I walked closer to see who she was pointing at but she took a step toward me.

  Too close. I was reaching for the picture but it happened so fast I miscued. My hands brushed the picture frame she was holding and sent it crashing into the corner of the shelf. The glass shattered on impact and the frame tumbled to the ground.

  I tried to regroup. To steady her? To touch her?

  Both of us flailed, our hands bumping into each other as she finished the step she was taking and fell into my chest.

  My arms wrapped around her as I tried to keep her from touching the broken glass. I wanted to keep her there and savor the softness of her body. “You okay?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said tilting her head to assess the damage but not freeing herself from my grip. Her palms had pressed into my chest as she fell and they were trapped.

  The press of each finger was burning an imprint into me. I needed them on my skin, no shirt, nothing between us.

  “It’s only a picture. You didn’t get cut did you?”

  “No, just embarrassed. I’ll buy a new frame.”

  We held the pose in what I hoped would become a normal event, a great way to start every day. But if I asked her out and she got weird about it, I might hurt her relationship with Hailey. Melody was only in town for a semester anyway.

  Her hands moved as if she was pushing away but her fingers trailed on my chest, more than an attempt to shove away.

  Instead of settling, my breath became ragged.

  “I hate Mom!” Hailey screamed as she burst through the door.

  Melody and I scrambled to untangle ourselves, but were in direct sight of where Hailey entered.

  “What the heck?” she stammered as we scooted several feet apart.

  I went to Hailey. “What happened?”

  At the same time, Melody started apologizing profusely.

  “Were you two…” her mouth fell open and she stopped in her tracks.

  “No, nothing like that.” I motioned between Melody and me while she’d bent to pick up the mess. I didn’t want her to get cut. “Wait, Melody. I’ll get the shop vac.”

  She sat back on her heels holding the frame and picture. It was Hailey and her mom. If any picture was getting destroyed, I was glad it was that one.

  I rushed past Hailey to the garage and she raised her eyebrows as I passed. She didn’t appear upset. One problem averted.

  In a second I was back with the vacuum and Hailey helped me plug it in.

  Melody was in the middle of explaining she was asking about the picture and we bumped into each other causing it to fall and break.

  “I’m really sorry. The picture tore. If you can get a reprint, I’ll get you a new frame.” Melody extended the damaged frame and picture but Hailey put her hands up.

  “Don’t bother.”

  “Hailey, what’s wrong?” I led her to sit on the couch.

  “Mom called to talk about the plan for me to fly out and see her. It was all set then I told her about Melody, and that she was giving me lessons because she’s really amazing, and I might have mentioned she’s really pretty too, and Mom flipped out. Started telling me not to get my hopes up. Not to let daydreamers fill my head. And being pretty had nothing to do with being successful. She doesn’t get it. None of it. And I was about to tell her to cancel my plane ticket but my phone died and I didn’t have a charger in the car. That’s why I’m late and didn’t call. I’m really sorry, but she was yelling at me, and I got worked up and waited a minute to drive home.”

  I hugged Hailey tightly. “Take a breath, she doesn’t have to agree with your plans. She has a hard time with the likes of us.”

  Melody had obviously been a teen at one point, but witnessing a meltdown had to be surprising.

  Melody held the photo but stared at Hailey and me, frozen. “I should go.”

  Hailey pulled away and slid onto the floor next to Melody. “No. Don’t leave, please.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “You heard the lady of the house. Don’t go, please. Why don’t you two set the table while I clean this up.”

  Unwrapping the hose from the unit, I turned the vacuum on and methodically cleaned the rug, wood floor, and shelves where the glass sprayed.

  Hailey carried the photo with her when they left the room and she threw it in the trash can. Not going to argue that choice. Trish had done everything possible to discourage Hailey from pursuing singing. But Trish and I had both passed our stubborn streaks on to Hailey which meant telling her she couldn’t do something was grounds for a battle. I worried how Hailey would succeed as a singer, but not outright negative like Trish. All I’d ever heard about that career was the starving artist problem. Not far from the realities of being a rancher, a hard gig, except we could literally eat our product. Guess that’s why we didn’t get slapped with the starving tag.

  Sitting down to dinner, I reminded Hailey she’d invited Melody over to talk about being a professional singer and we shouldn’t bore her with mom rants.

  Melody shared the glory and the grunge about the industry. I’d never thought about how having a savvy business mind would be nearly as important at being good at singing. Again, not any different than ranching. I had to understand cattle, but a considerable amount of my time was spent managing the business.

  Melody stressed the importance of making sure she focused on the skills she’d need like business management, planning, cold calls, marketing and advertising, punctuality, networking, record keeping for tax and other purposes, budgets, and somewhere in there keeping up on the craft and trends in the industry.

  The more she explained to Hailey, the more I was impressed with her vast knowledge base. She might even be able to teach me a thing or two about running a business. Initially, I’d dismissed her as a failed artist who resorted to teaching, but the teaching degree had been part of her master plan.

  Hailey asked a lot of questions and I added in a fair amount to make sure she heard all of the work that went into it other than singing. The part of the business that could make or break someone.

  I must have come on too heavy at one point.

  Hailey said, “Why do you think I’m learning everything at the ice cream shop? Accounting, taxes, and the Singing Saturday gimmick, it’s promo…spend money to make money.”

  I shook my head and laughed. “You’ve been learning right under my nose to learn how to chase your dreams. Who’s going to run the shop when you graduate?”

  “I’m sure you’ll find someone,” she said, sounding uneasy.

  We’d gotten lost in conversation extending well past dinner when Hailey noticed the time. “Shoot. I’m supposed to go to the movies with some friends.”

  “Let’s hurry and clean up then,” I said.

  “Can I take Hailey’s spot cleaning up? Not like I have anything else to do,” Melody said.

  Her tone was innocent, but my mind had her bent over the sink for something other than washing dishes. I’d spent ele
ven years being a devoted father, but Melody made me remember there were other roles in life.

  With the way my dick got the best of me when I thought about Melody, I needed to tell her not to stay. Who was I kidding?

  Chapter Four

  MELODY

  Was it too forward to suggest Hailey leave? I didn’t want to step on his parental toes especially since I had concern over Hailey seeing us together when she got home. I’d felt horrible about breaking their picture, but when Brandt held me against his body, there was no doubt in my mind it wasn’t because I’d tripped.

  His arms wrapped around me made everything right. I would have stayed there forever, except my teaching position only lasted until June. Considering most of my relationships hadn’t lasted that long there wasn’t much of a risk. Sometimes I enjoyed lying to myself. It gave me permission to make questionable decisions.

  “Inviting someone over for dinner then having them do dishes isn’t the best manners,” Brandt said to Hailey.

  “Really, I don’t mind.” I was facing Brandt and Hailey was to my side. I gambled and winked at him. It was supposed to be between us, but he flinched a tiny bit and a huge smile spread across his face.

  “Okay, you guys are getting weird. Can I go, Dad?”

  I started running a sink of hot soapy water to drive my point home.

  Brandt shook his head at me then addressed Hailey. “Sure. What time are you supposed to be home?”

  “Midnight?” she said pulling her shoulders up around her ears and cocking her head to the side.

  “Not after your stunt last week.”

  “Eleven,” Hailey groaned in true irritated teenager style.

  “Be sure to shut off my alarm when you get home or I’ll search team after you.”

  A chuckle broke from my lips while I bit back a full laugh. Thank goodness my parents hadn’t done that. I’m sure I reeked of alcohol many nights. Then again, he had a clever way of keeping tabs on her.

  Hailey dashed off, calling over her shoulder, “Thank you, Melody. I owe you.”