Sing Me a Song

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  She was in over her head here and suddenly she wasn’t so worried about her performance tonight at the Rusty Horn as she was over pursuing losing her virginity to these fine, sexy soldiers. She supposed if she were going to finally let go and have sex, why not have it with these guys who made her feel so incredible, so special that she could see losing herself completely in them. Which meant losing her heart to them, too.

  It was a big decision to make, but if they kept kissing her like this, kept touching her and taking control of her body four at a time, losing her virginity and her heart were inevitable. She prayed she would make the right decision and not cause more trouble in her already complicated life.

  Chapter 10

  Hart was feeling annoyed for having to travel to Fisher to get a part for the tractor that broke. They didn’t have the part in Croton or in Turbank, which would have been a lot closer. He released an annoyed sigh as he made his way into town. The sight of the place brought back some bad memories. He didn’t like coming here afraid that he would see his father. He and his brothers purposely avoided any contact with the man. He was the reason their mom had died of a heart attack.

  As he pulled his truck alongside the general parking lot, he immediately noticed the little blue Mazda across the way. He squinted his eyes, thinking he was losing his mind, because he was worried about Sydney all week and wondering where she went off to every morning and where she disappeared to the last two weekends. It didn’t sit right with him. He also thought of Tara and her cheating ways.

  The second he saw the long brown hair dancing in the wind, the short skirt, heeled boots, and blouse frolicking against her hips from the breeze, he knew it was her. He watched her long, toned thighs as she bent to pull a bag from the front seat and place it on her shoulder. She also had a small jug of water and closed the car door then locked it. His eyes never left her body, and his curiosity as to why she was here in Fisher and what was she up to had him in a dead stare. What he hadn’t expected was to see her wave then smile, practically run toward a man wearing a black Stetson.

  He did a double take and his gut clenched, his temper flaring as Sydney just embraced his father.

  It was a quick hug, but not quick enough as an anger and disgust so great caused him to lurch open the truck door, shove it closed, and book across the street. He followed behind them, Sydney and Rusty talking a mile a minute.

  Rusty held the door open for Sydney as they entered the Rusty Horn, his dad’s pride and joy, the establishment he put before everyone and everything in life including his wife.

  Hart waited a moment, wondering if he should not go inside and just call his brothers and tell them that Sydney wasn’t worth their time because once again they found a woman, fell for a woman who was a cheater. But it would kill them even more so to know she was cheating with their dad. Goddamn, the man was a piece of work. He could be her damn father. And what was with her whole shy, intimidated game she played with them on the picnic? Here she was with a man in his fifties who was six feet three, pretty damn big and intimidating himself.

  He was fuming. He wanted to demand to know what the fuck was going on. Then he wondered if it was even worth the bullshit and the pain and he thought about Sydney. Her sweet body, her soft, gentle demeanor, and the way she made Orsin come out of his shell, had Atlas talking about cooking dinner for her at their place and Juno working on setting up time to teach her to ride horses. They were all falling for Sydney hook line and sinker, and here she was with their estranged father? What the fuck!

  He slammed his hand against the door and took a deep breath. This was bullshit.

  He pulled the door open and then slowly walked down the hall.

  He could hear what sounded like a band starting to play music. A strum of some guitar strings, a few taps to drums, and then a mic check and a piano playing. Was that Sydney’s voice on the mic check?

  He caught sight of his father standing by the stage, his hand on Sydney’s shoulder as he held a paper in one hand and she nodded her head. The other musicians were smiling and joking around, and then Rusty stepped back and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  The moment the band began to play, Hart paused by the side of the stage where no one could see him. Then he heard Sydney singing. His heart pounded inside of his chest, his stomach filled with butterflies, and goose bumps ran under his skin. She sounded so angelic, her voice strong and powerful, and then sweet, soft, and talented. He was consumed with so many emotions. Pride, excitement, and he was truly impressed and drawn into her voice and the song she sang. When it ended, the band clapped and so did Rusty, moving closer. But then Rusty stopped short, hands together in front of him as if he was frozen in the clapping motion and his eyes locked onto Hart’s.

  “Hart?” Rusty said his name.

  “What?” Sydney called out and looked, her face fully red and she placed her hand over her heart as tears filled her eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  Rusty looked at her then at him seeming confused.

  “What are you doing with my father?” Hart asked, and Sydney looked at Rusty then back at Hart.

  “Your father?”

  “Yeah, is he the one you’ve been seeing behind out backs? He’s the one you’re meeting?”

  “What are you talking about? Did you follow me here?” she asked, and suddenly her accusing him of following her like some stalker immediately minimized his anger, his jealousy.

  “No. I was in town to pick up a part for the tractor and I saw your car. I saw you. Hug him.” He nodded toward Rusty and Rusty stepped closer.

  “Son, it’s not what you think.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t need to hear anything you have to say.”

  “Hart, you don’t understand,” Sydney said as she hurried toward the stairs and came down toward him. Hart held his hand up.

  “I understand. I understand completely. You’re just like Tara. You’re a liar and I won’t let you hurt my brothers when they were already hurt so badly before. Just don’t talk to them or contact them.” He turned to leave and felt the hand on his arm.

  “What in God’s name are you talking about?” she yelled at him.

  “Son, she sings here. She works for me and is practicing with the band. She and I aren’t together. God, I could be her father. Hell, you’re ten years older than her.” He shot a look at him.

  “It’s true, Hart. I came here to audition a couple of weeks ago and Rusty offered me a job. I had to bring in a big crowd last weekend to get on the payroll steady and do more performances and did that last weekend. I haven’t told anyone else about this except for my mom and Ella. I didn’t want Matt to know. You know, I just really met him and this is personal to me.”

  “What about us? You couldn’t share this with my brothers and I?’

  “And risk everything I’ve been sacrificing for.”

  “What does that mean?” Hart asked, not understanding what she was saying.

  She looked away and exhaled then placed her hands on her hips and stared up into his eyes.

  “I was afraid to tell you guys. I came here to Texas to start this new life and to try and have a relationship with my dad. A Marine who left my mom for the Corps instead of sticking by her. You and your brothers are older, set in your ways, and Marines, too. I was afraid that if things got serious between us quickly that you guys might not accept my goals and dreams of being a performer, a singer on stage. I’ve never had a relationship with a man before, never mind four. And look at the four of you. You’re intimidating, huge, filled with muscles, plus so capable and experienced. I’ve only known men that don’t stand by their women and worry about themselves. How could I risk my dreams that were finally becoming a reality to four men I just met and feel so strongly about? How?” she asked him.

  Hart could see the emotion in her eyes. Hell, he knew her deal with her dad. Matt explained a lot and how hard Sydney worked to care for her mother and sister. This was
her time. But she hadn’t even given them a chance.

  “This is a hell of a mess, Syd,” he said then reached up, cupped her face between his palms, and held her gaze.

  “But my brothers and I are different men, different soldiers than you’re used to. We’ve been hurt before, deceived by a woman we thought might be right for us.”

  “I’m not her though. I’m not involved with Rusty, or with any other man or men. I like you and your brothers. I want to spend more time with you guys and I wanted to share this secret with you but I needed time. Time to be certain that you wouldn’t hurt me, too.”

  “What do you say we all stop making assumptions and we just work on exploring these feelings we have? The other stuff will work itself out, Syd. I just know that when I saw you with Rusty, I was pissed off and jealous. I need to know that you belong to me and my brothers and no one else. Can you make that commitment?”

  She smiled. “If you guys make that commitment to me. No other women but me.”

  He caressed the nape of her neck with his thumb then lowered his mouth to hover over hers. “Only you, darling.” He kissed her deeply and then Sydney hugged him.

  He was relieved that things didn’t seem as they appeared and he knew there was more to work out but he felt so uplifted and relieved. Until he looked over her shoulder and locked gazes with his father. Then that happiness lessened and only hatred filled his belly. How the hell were he and his brothers going to let their woman work in the Rusty Horn for him? This wasn’t good at all.

  * * * *

  Sydney pulled back and placed her hands on Hart’s chest. He was no longer looking at her but over her shoulder at Rusty, and he didn’t look happy at all. So Rusty was Hart’s father, and he and his brothers obviously didn’t have a good relationship with him.

  “Hart, it’s been a long time. How are you? How are your brothers?” Rusty asked, and Sydney turned toward him and Hart placed his hands on her shoulders but remained behind her.

  “Like you care?”

  “Son, come one now.”

  Rusty stepped closer and Sydney felt Hart’s hands grip her shoulders tighter.

  “Don’t call me that,” Hart replied.

  “Are we practicing or what?” Benny, one of the band members, yelled from the stage.

  “I’m coming. Just give me a minute.” She turned around to face Hart and he didn’t look too happy. That dark, lost look in his eyes gave her the chills. She reached up and touched his cheek.

  “I have to get back to practicing. I have a longer performance tonight and Saturday night I have to get ready for.”

  He licked his lower lip and held her gaze. She could tell that he wasn’t happy about this situation. She would need to talk to him later and get all the details of why he and his brothers didn’t have a relationship with their father.

  “When will you be finished?” he asked.

  “We’ll be at it for a few hours. I have to head into Pearl to pick Ella up from work, and then I’ll be back on the ranch by suppertime. I need to be here for seven thirty tonight.”

  “You plan on having dinner with me. Be ready for me to come pick you up at five, okay and I’ll get you here by seven thirty?” he asked, and she nodded her head. She wasn’t sure what would come of tonight and this situation they fell into, but she knew she cared for him and enough to want to know why he was so angry right now. Maybe Hart and his brothers weren’t like other soldiers she knew. Maybe they were willing to support her and care for her like a good man should? Maybe.

  He leaned down and kissed her then caressed her lower lip with his thumb. He still didn’t smile. What the hell would it take to make Hart smile, she wondered.

  “Later. Be good.”

  He glanced at his dad, his expression cold and distant before he headed out the door. She turned around to face Rusty and could see the emotion in his eyes, the sadness. She felt badly. She didn’t want to be caught in the middle but she found herself caring anyway.

  “Well that was terribly awkward. I’m sorry for the interruption. I’ll just get back to rehearsing,” she said and began to walk toward the stage. The band was fiddling with some of the music to start the next song.

  “How long have you been seeing Hart and his brothers?” Rusty asked.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip.

  “I only met them a few weeks ago when I first arrived here. We just started hanging out. I’ve been so busy and they want to see more of me but I was keeping this job a secret.”

  He squinted at her.

  “Why?”

  She took a deep breath and released it. “I moved out here to Texas with my mom and sister Ella to meet my biological dad, Matt.”

  “Matt McCullough is your dad?” he asked and her eyes widened.

  “You know him?”

  “Shoot, I went to school with Matt. I haven’t seen him in here in a while. He went through some rough times when he retired from the service.”

  “I know. My mom told me. But we all went through our own tough times. My mom went through a bout of cancer. We nearly lost her. She had been talking to Matt over the phone for months and he talked her into moving out here with us. I’ve been working and caring for Mom and Ella and putting my own dreams on hold for far too long. I don’t trust easily. I know it stems from my dad wanting nothing to do with me when I was a baby, and Ella’s dad left for his own dreams and adventures dying in the process.”

  “So you don’t trust my sons to support you and stand by you?”

  She felt her belly tighten with guilt. “I don’t really know your sons that well. Like I said, I just met them and at the same time I got this job and it’s been a dream of mine. I just don’t want to screw things up.”

  “I understand your concerns. It may seem funny coming from me, a man my own sons won’t even talk to, but I’ve kept an eye on them over the years. I know Juno and Hart work on your dad’s ranch and that Orsin works for the government and Atlas is a deputy. I know they were in a relationship with a woman who turned out to be cheating on them and it hurt them badly. I wished they would talk to me and let me explain some things to them but they won’t. Anyway, you have an amazing voice, a raw, pure talent that’s going to help you get to wherever it is you want to go. The only advice I can offer you is to make sure that you hold onto the things, the people you love, and don’t let fame, money, or the adventure of what could be blindside you into hurting people who love you and any chance at the kind of happiness material things can’t hold a candle to.”

  Benny called her name over the mic and she and Rusty chuckled.

  “Get on up there before he flips out.”

  She smiled then headed toward the stage. She was surprised that she had such a heavy heart considering her secret was out of the bag with Hart. Surely he would tell his brothers where she was working and what she was doing. What was going to happen when she saw them later? She had to put all those worries out of her head and focus on practicing. Hopefully the guys would handle things well. They had to.

  * * * *

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Atlas raised his voice as he stood in the kitchen just arriving home from work.

  “I wouldn’t make this shit up. Hart explained it all just as I did to you. Sydney and Hart will be here any minute,” Juno told Atlas.

  Orsin leaned against the counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  “She’s fucking singing there. Apparently this was her secret. She’s been wanting to be a singer and perform on stage for years. She’s been taking care of her mom and sister and working through college. It’s her dream,” Juno continued to explain. His own heart was heavy with concern and so many fears. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted nothing to do with their father.

  “Hart must have flipped when he saw her hug Rusty. Fuck, I would have knocked him out,” Atlas stated then ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Listen, we can’t act like this in front of Sydney. It’s not fair to her. She didn
’t know who Rusty was. She wound up at the Rusty Horn and we’re going to have to go there to see her,” Juno said.

  “Are they even going to let us in? You know how hard it is to get in there,” Orsin said and crossed his arms and stared straight faced.

  “They fucking better let us in,” Atlas said and then they heard the truck pull up in the driveway.

  “Be cool about this. Sydney is special,” Juno told them.

  “Be cool about this? She’s working for our fucking father. The man who basically killed our mother with his self-centeredness. I don’t want my woman being friends with him and hugging him. Fuck if I care if she gets upset about it. This can’t happen like this,” Atlas told them and then slammed his hand down on the table and walked toward the hallway.

  “You need to calm the fuck down,” Juno told him, and Atlas shook his head then leaned against the doorframe.

  Just then the back door to the kitchen opened and Hart stepped to the side to let Sydney in. Juno thought she looked gorgeous. Her hair was all done up, and she wore a short flared skirt, high-heeled boots, and a pretty, pale-pink blouse that barely reached her waist and showed her belly when she lifted her hand to run her fingers through her hair.

  Juno’s chest tightened. She was going on stage at the Rusty Horn where a lot of wealthy cowboys hung out and picked up women. How many men would flirt with her and try to touch her, never mind get her number? He looked at Atlas, who stared at her.

  “So I gather that Hart explained what happened today?”

  “I don’t want you there. I don’t want you in a relationship and friendly with Rusty.” Atlas raised his voice from across the room.