Storming the Castle (Dale Series)

by Arianna Hart

  He’d often lost himself in the music when it was riding him hard. In the past, he’d gone days without sleep, ignoring everyone around him to get the notes down. Sometimes he felt like his muse would disappear if he didn’t give her 100 percent of his energy. Bridgette never understood that, but would Faith?

  Maybe, maybe not. She gave so much of herself to her business, but she still had time to play with her daughter. She managed to find a balance somehow, could he?

  His stomach rumbled loudly, making the decision for him. He could go without sleep, but not without food. After he fueled up, he’d be able to focus on the melody drifting through his mind.

  He whistled as he headed down the path to the main house. It was hot as hell already. He never thought he’d want to be back in Georgia, but Dale was turning out to be just the balm his body and soul had needed.

  Too bad he only had a little over a month left.

  Shit. His mood plummeted. Christ, he did not want to think about that. He was just about to step out of the trees when he saw Faith standing on the porch talking to a group of older women. Almost as if there were an invisible cord running between them, her gaze turned to where he waited at the edge of the path.

  Watching the emotions crossing her face was like watching a TV show on fast forward. First, a smile lit up her face, then she reddened with what could have been embarrassment, then she looked at the women in front of her and panic made her eyes widen.

  He stepped back into the cover of the trees as one of the women turned to see what had caught Faith’s attention. He felt like a kid spying on his parents as he hid behind a large tree trunk, but he didn’t head back to the cabin.

  “Is everything okay?” one of the ladies asked.

  “Yes, just a squirrel. I’m a little jumpy today.”

  “No wonder, with all the excitement you had last night. You should have a nice cup of chamomile tea and put your feet up.”

  “That’s a great idea, I might just do that.”

  “We should get going so the poor girl can get out of this heat and rest. You’re looking a little flushed. You go inside and rest for a spell, ya hear? We’ll spread the word that you’re just fine and all those busy bodies are to leave you alone. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  “Thank, Mrs. Gage. I sure do appreciate it.”

  He peered out from behind the trunk to see Faith herding the group of women to an older model Olds parked in the shade. Her gaze kept darting to where he hid, and he held back a snicker at her worried expression. Did she think if the old biddies saw him, they’d know she’d had sex? Hell, he’d seen speculation that he’d slept with a woman just because he helped her into a taxi in front of a hotel. Wait, was she embarrassed that they’d had sex? Hmmm, he hadn’t thought of that.

  This wasn’t his world. What had Nadya said last night about Faith’s asshole husband’s asshole parents trying to say she was an unfit mother?

  Fuck. He was so busy thinking about his life and his problems, he hadn’t even considered how his presence could impact Faith. What if she didn’t want him to stay longer? Maybe he’d better hold off checking out recording options in Atlanta until he tested the waters.

  After what felt like fifty good-byes and take-cares, the car full of women pulled slowly out of the drive. He waited until he could no longer hear the crunch of gravel before he came out of hiding.

  “Sam?” Faith called out, walking toward him.

  “Right here,” he said, stepping out from behind the tree. “Is the coast clear?”

  “For the time being. There’s no telling when the next round will show up. Although, Mrs. Gage is better than an Amber Alert at getting the word out. If she tells people to steer clear for a bit, they’ll probably listen to her.”

  “You know, I spent a lot of time in the South growing up, but it really is a different world down here. I guess I was isolated from a lot of it living on base.”

  “I’m sure you were. Come on in, and I’ll fix you a late breakfast. There’s still some casserole and biscuits left, and I just put on a fresh pot of coffee.”

  His stomach rumbled at the mere mention of breakfast. “Fantastic.” His gaze followed her ass as she walked back to the house. The sway of her hips was hypnotizing. He’d walk across the country if she walked in front of him.

  “You coming in?” she asked from the top step of the porch.

  “Just admiring the view,” he answered, jogging a little to catch up to where she waited. “Are you wearing another one of those barely-there thongs?”

  With her standing on the porch and him on the ground, they were close to the same height. His body tightened as he watched her eyes widen with surprise and her tongue dart out to lick her lips.

  “With as close as you’ve been inspecting my behind, I’d figure you’d be able to figure that out.”

  “Babe, I could spend eons staring at your ass.” He slid his hand to the nape of her neck and pulled her close for a kiss. It started out teasingly gentle, but didn’t stay that way. She opened her mouth for his tongue, and he felt something in his gut relax, even as the rest of his body tightened with desire.

  He wanted to haul her against him and feel her legs wrap around his waist, but common sense stepped in and stopped him from screwing her against the porch railing.

  “We need to take this inside,” he murmured against her neck, licking at the salty skin there.

  “No condoms, remember?” she said, stepping out of his reach. She fanned herself as though she was trying to cool her heated cheeks. “Holy Jesus, but you turn my brain to mush. Anyone could have pulled up, and I wouldn’t have even noticed. Come inside, but keep your hands to yourself. There’s no guarantee that Mrs. Gage will be able to keep the masses of nosy rosies away. I’d rather not have the garden club see me with my shorts around my ankles.”

  “How do you expect me to keep my hands to myself when you say things like that?” A vision of her bent over the porch railing with her pants down and her ass up in the air sizzled in his imagination. Old biddies or no old biddies, he was going to make that vision a reality real damn soon.

  “Suffering builds character.” She tossed a flirty smile over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen.

  He noticed the living room had been cleaned until there were no signs of last night’s break-in. What time had she gotten up anyway?

  “Have you talked to the cops yet?”

  “J.T. stopped by this morning. They got a few fingerprints and are going to run them through some database. He didn’t seem very hopeful.”

  “I guess it’s not like on TV.” He sat at his usual spot at the counter and accepted a mug of coffee with a sigh of bliss.

  “It rarely is.” She made up a plate of something that looked filled with cheesy goodness and popped it in the microwave. “I checked on your phone again this morning. It looked good to me, but the website said to leave it in the rice for twenty-four hours. I dumped out the old rice and refilled the bowl.”

  “Thanks.”

  The microwave dinged, and she took the steaming plate out and set it in front of him.

  “That looks incredible.” He blew on a forkful before risking a burned tongue to eat it anyway. It was as delicious as it smelled, and for a few minutes, he couldn’t think about anything other than getting the next mouthful.

  Eventually, he came up for air and realized Faith was leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee, and watching him with a satisfied smile on her face.

  “I just love watching you eat. You go about it with a single mindedness that makes me feel like I’ve made a gourmet meal instead of a breakfast casserole.”

  “This is better than a gourmet meal. It’s been a long damn time since I’ve had home-cooked meals. My dad could cobble together a few simple things, and I can make bacon and eggs and grill the hell out of a burger, but that’s about it.”

  “But you must have eaten in some excellent restaurants. You’ve traveled all over the world.”

/>   “I’ve toured all over the world. For the most part, I go from hotel to hotel with very little down time in between shows. Sure, I’ve been to five-star restaurants, but it’s not the same as having someone make something just for you, ya know?”

  “I do. It’s funny, when I was married, I tried to learn how to cook fancy dishes for dinner parties. I’d spend days experimenting with recipes and fresh herbs only to have my guests pick at their meals because they weren’t eating carbs that week or were on the raw diet or could only have bean sprouts and cabbage. I’d rather make a simple meal that people enjoy than a frou-frou meal that no one eats but looks fantastic on the table.”

  “Amen to that.” He nodded when she held the pot of coffee over his mug. “So what do you have on tap for today? A trip to the store to buy more condoms?”

  Faith laughed as she placed the pot on the burner. “I’ll probably stick close to home. I want to put Piper’s bed together and work on a few more things for her room. I have some laundry to do, too.”

  “I can help with the bed if you want,” he said before remembering he wanted to work on the elusive song that had teased him that morning. Had that ever happened before?

  “I don’t think that’s a great idea, but I thank you for the offer. Folks will be coming by all day, and if you want to stay out of the limelight, you don’t need a bunch of nosy neighbors seeing you and asking questions. That Mary Ellen hasn’t said anything yet is nothing short of a miracle. I don’t want to push my luck with the garden club or Mrs. Gage.”

  “You sure you’re not worried that you won’t be able to keep your hands off me if I’m around to tempt you?”

  “There’s that, too.” Her smile lit up her face. “Go on back to the cottage and work on that song you started last night. I can see you’re itching to go.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been tapping on the counter ever since you finished your breakfast.”

  He looked down at his fingers and realized she was right. He hadn’t even known he was doing it. “Hell. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was just here for breakfast and then rushing to get out.”

  “You didn’t. Go on, those songs aren’t going to write themselves, and I’ve got work to do.”

  “Uh, when I get into the zone, sometimes I don’t come up for air for a while. I’m not ignoring you on purpose.”

  “Sam, you’re here to work, not to entertain me. If you get hungry, let me know and I’ll make something for you for dinner, otherwise I’ll see you when I see you.”

  There was something off with her statement, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He should be happy she was so accommodating, but for some reason, it rubbed him wrong.

  Sadie let out a warning woof, and Faith hurriedly grabbed his plate and shoved it in the dishwasher.

  “Someone’s coming. Go on before you get spotted.” She shooed him along, practically pushing him out the door.

  “You know, there are women who wait in hotel laundry bins by my room in order to be seen with me, and you’re shoving me down the stairs to avoid it.”

  “I’m doing this for your own good. Move it, mister.”

  He captured her mouth for a quick kiss and jogged across the parking lot to the path back to his cottage. He’d barely entered the woods when he heard the car pull up to the house.

  Part of him wanted to hang out on the edge just to mess with Faith, but the part of him that had been patiently waiting for him to eat so he could get back to work was stronger. As he made his way back home, a few more lines of the song solidified, and soon he was lost in a complex web of harmony, melody, and emotion.

  …

  “You’re sure you want to do this? It’s not going to be some fancy party, just a few folks sitting around a fire pit in lawn chairs having a couple drinks. It’s not anything like what you’re used to,” Faith said dubiously as Sam helped her carry a plate of cookies to the truck.

  She couldn’t believe he really wanted to go to the bonfire at Mary Ellen’s. When he’d said yes earlier in the week, she knew it was more to tease her than out of any real desire to hang out with her friends.

  “Yes, I really want to go. It’ll be good to get in a different head space for a while. I’ve come to a standstill on the song I was working on. Sometimes getting out is just what I need to get the muse going again. She likes to party, too.”

  “I hope she’s not disappointed. This is more a social gathering than a party. I think you’ve met everyone but Ellie and Bill.”

  “I have to admit, I’m curious about the man who could keep up with Mary Ellen.”

  Faith laughed loudly. “Wait until you meet him. If he says five words, I’d be shocked. I swear Mary Ellen married him so she wouldn’t have competition when it comes to talking.”

  “They say opposites attract.”

  “That’s the God’s honest truth. Bill is a great guy and a wonderful father. Ellie is a sweetheart, too. She was a huge help when I was setting up the business accounts. I don’t know what I’d do without her, especially come tax time.”

  Faith mentally crossed her fingers and said a prayer that the truck would start without any problem. When the engine fired up with barely a cough of protest, she let out a sigh of relief.

  “Why don’t you use some of that money I gave you to get a new car? This thing is on its last legs.”

  “You shush up, my baby is just fine for what I need. It’s not like I’m driving back and forth to work every day. Besides, I’m using your hermit money to get a new HVAC system in the house. I did get new tires, though.” She didn’t mention she was holding on to his money in case she needed it to pay a lawyer.

  Her mood dimmed as she thought about her meeting with Lydia tomorrow. Everything about it bothered her. The fact that she had to face the woman who’d had an affair with her husband, that she was blackmailing her, oh, and the reason she needed to blackmail Lydia in the first place. Whenever she thought about the whole mess, she felt sick to her stomach.

  “I’m sorry, it’s a wonderful truck and you can use the money any way you want. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Faith shook herself out of the funk she was spiraling into, surprised and pleased that Sam was so attuned to her emotions. “You didn’t. I was just thinking about that thing with Piper’s grandparents.”

  “You know, if you need help with that, just say the word. I know some great lawyers. Not that you’ll need one, even a blind man could see that you’re an amazing mother.”

  “Aw, thank you. You’re so sweet sometimes.” Faith couldn’t hold back a snicker at the look of disgust on Sam’s face.

  “Sweet? Have you been living under a rock? I’m a total badass. I am not sweet.”

  “Offering to help me pay for a lawyer is sweet, and I appreciate it, but I’m okay.” She took a deep breath before putting the truck into gear. “Tonight is about relaxing with some friends and maybe a glass or two of wine. To paraphrase my momma, I’m not going to borrow tomorrow’s trouble, it’ll come soon enough.”

  “I’m not going to argue with that, just know I’m here if you need me. Okay?”

  “Sure.” But for how long?

  No, she was not going there.

  As they passed through town on their way to Mary Ellen’s, he stared in wonder. “This really is Mayberry, isn’t it? There’s a general store and everything. I keep waiting to see Aunt Bea on a porch.”

  “It’s not quite that cliché. Not everyone who lives in Dale was born and raised here. The vast majority of folks, yes, but not everyone.”

  “I didn’t think places like this existed anymore. I’m sure they don’t in California.”

  “You’d be surprised. I think there are little towns all over the U.S. Although I’m sure they’re a dying breed. I know Dale was on its last gasps five or six years ago. The only thing keeping it alive was the Forestry Service station and the rental money from the cell tower the phone company put up.”

  “What changed i
t? I mean, how did it not become a ghost town?”

  “I think there were a few different things. Around the time I moved here, Nadya’s brothers opened up a trail-riding business that brought some folks into the area. They own a fancy horse-breeding farm, so some of their wealthier friends and clients came in. Dale’s always been popular with hunters, and when the real estate market bottomed out, some of those nice rich folk decided to buy property up here for vacation homes so they could relax while their kids went on trail rides or their husbands entertained clients killing poor animals. Those folks needed places to eat, so a few more restaurants opened up. Some families moved in because there were jobs in the area. You get the picture.”

  “It wasn’t one single thing, but a bunch of little things.”

  “Right. We’ll never be as big as Canton, we’re just too isolated, but that’s okay. I like living in a town where when something bad happens, everyone comes together to support each other.”

  “Like yesterday, when half the town showed up with covered dishes and desserts for you.”

  Faith laughed at Sam’s bemused look. “It wasn’t that bad. And it wasn’t just casseroles and cookies. Mary Ellen brought that giant box of condoms. You should be thankful for that.”

  “I’m not sure whether to be thankful or scared. There had to be fifty condoms in that box. I’m not sure I can live up to that level of expectation.”

  “But it sure will be fun trying.” A bolt of heat zinged between her legs as she remembered putting some of those condoms to good use last night. She’d been downright mortified when Mary Ellen had dropped off the box, but she’d been even more grateful that she didn’t have to go into town to buy them herself.

  “Absolutely. If I wasn’t so curious to see how you party out here in Mayberry, I’d say turn the car around now and let’s make a dent in that big old box.”

  “Too late, we’re here. It looks like we’re the first to arrive.” Faith parked the truck behind Mary Ellen’s minivan. It was almost dark out, and Mary Ellen had put candles in mason jars lighting a path to the back yard.