“Dallas never talks about her,” Stone commented, his voice low.
“About Rainey? I’m not surprised. I think he feels a lot of guilt, ‘cause he didn’t really pay too much attention to her before she died. He didn’t even know about her leukemia for the longest time. None of us did. She kept it well hidden. But he harbors that guilt of not being there for her.” I took a bite of my omelet. Even though I was hungry, it didn’t taste as good as it should. Talking about Rainey was difficult.
“Even when he explained who you were, in relation to him, it seemed like he had a hard time saying her name. I’m sorry that the two of you lost your sister.” He looked so sad, so helpless. I could relate.
“There’s nothing that can be done now. There wasn’t much they could do before. Part of the reason I’m here is to get away from all the sadness. Everything back home reminds me of her. So I thought getting away would help.”
“Has it?” he asked, his eyes deep and soulful.
“I’m not really sure. I mean, this city is gorgeous, so full of life, but it hasn’t really been long enough for me to decide how I feel. So I’m still on the fence,” I explained.
“I understand what you mean about getting away. That’s why I left Pennsylvania,” he admitted, scooping the last of his omelet into his mouth.
“Oh yeah? I thought you wanted to be a star.”
He shrugged. “I do and I don’t. It was a means to an end. Of course, I’d love to be a star, but I’m willing to sell one of my songs to a well-known artist, too. I’ll take whatever I can get. But most of all, I had to get away from my home town. People never left, never pursued their dreams. It’s kind of depressing.”
“Some people’s dreams are to stay in their small town,” I said, thinking of Rainey’s best friend, Gabby. Her whole life, she wanted to stay in Casper, and she got her wish. She even had her happy ending, with her baby and Wolfe’s daughter, too. Her dream was a family.
Stone snorted. “Not my style.”
Eleven
Stone
Breakfast was amazing. The girl could cook. Even with peppers and random shit in the eggs, it tasted good. I wasn’t a big fruit eater, either, but everything was fresh and full of flavor. I tried not to pay attention as she slipped a succulent strawberry into her mouth. I focused on my own fruit, instead.
When I finished chewing, I looked at her again. “Don’t get me wrong – I like my small town. I just don’t want to live there for the rest of my life. I want something more.”
She nodded. “I’m right there with you.”
“But you’re a model. You’re already on your way to being famous,” I countered.
She sighed. “Being famous isn’t my goal, though. I just want to be happy. Satisfied with my life. I’m not saying a small town won’t provide that for me, I just want to see what else is out there. Discover new things.”
Her dreams were so similar to mine. I didn’t truly care about superstardom – I just wanted to feel like I was doing something. Something important, something worth doing. Even though my career hadn’t jumped or anything since I moved to Nashville, at least I was trying something, aiming for a goal higher than most of the people I knew.
“So what do you want to discover today?” I asked, thinking about all the touristy things I could take her to.
“I was actually kind of hoping we could work on your song this morning and then later go out and do something,” she suggested.
“That sounds perfect.”
I went and grabbed my guitar out of my room. I returned to find her doing up the dishes, so I sat on a bar stool and strummed a few chords. She hummed along as I started to sing. She didn’t have all the lyrics down perfectly, yet, but she knew the tune. Her voice, once she started singing along, meshed well with mine.
She finished the dishes in no time and moved around the island to stand in front of me. Together, we sang along, the music of my guitar wafting through the apartment. Acoustically, it was beautiful. But watching Ember get lost in the lyrics was all-encompassing. She mesmerized me as she sang, never once focusing on any one thing other than the music. When she sang, she put her whole heart into it.
I was so entranced ; I forgot to actually play my guitar, all my attention drawn to her.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
I had no idea how long ago I’d stopped playing. I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah. Sorry. You have an amazing voice.”
“Is that flattery?”
“It’s the truth.” There was no other way to put it. “You put a lot of soul into your voice when you sing.”
“Well thanks. I never really thought I had that good of a voice. Are you sure you want me to sing with you?”
She was so insecure, so unsure of herself. If only she could hear what I heard when she sang. I felt privileged to be able to listen to her sweet voice. I laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She gave me a half-smile, tilting her head to the side. “I think you’re just trying to get in my pants.”
“No!” I said too quickly. “I mean, you’re gorgeous, of course, but I just want to sing with you. I respect your decision to maintain your distance. I’m not going to try to take advantage of you because we’re in such close proximity.” I was back-tracking, but didn’t care. I didn’t want her to feel awkward.
“I was only kidding,” she murmured.
Great. I was an idiot. “Right.” I didn’t have anything else to say, so I just started playing again, my fingers moving over the strings with more confidence. I’d played the song so many times over the last twenty-four hours I knew it by heart.
Hours later, we were both tired of singing and Ember suggested we go out for lunch. I put up my guitar and then we were out the door. I drove us to a floating restaurant on the lake. Coveside had excellent food and the view was phenomenal. We chose one of the tables near the railing to have a better view of the lake.
The restaurant wasn’t too busy, so the atmosphere was peaceful. We each ordered our meals and sipped our drinks while we waited.
“This place is great,” she commented. “How’d you find this place?”
“I searched Google. And then once I found it, I asked around. Dallas said he hadn’t eaten here, but he and I have been a few times since I got down here and it’s fun as hell on Friday and Saturday nights, when they have live music.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It’s a blast. Of course, Dallas just likes to come and pick up women,” I joked. Dallas wasn’t a player. At least, not in the conventional sense. He was straight up with every woman he dated, letting them know he had no interest in forever.
Ember laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard not to notice how gorgeous he is,” she started. Jealousy burned in my gut. “I mean, he’s kind of my brother, in a weird way, so I don’t want him or anything, but I can appreciate his good looks.”
“Sure,” I agreed, trying to sound nonchalant .
“Are you pissed off now?” she asked, calling me out.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Not at all.”
“Liar,” she accused. “I don’t want to sleep with him or anything, jeez. He is pretty much a brother to me. I don’t see him sexually.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “That’s good to know.”
“You were jealous!”
I shook my head. “Nope.” I forced my arms apart and laid them on the table, fingers wrapping around my glass of sweet iced tea.
“You’re a terrible liar. Don’t worry,” she said, patting my hand. “You’re pretty, too.”
I yanked my hand away. “Stop it.”
The amusement in her vibrant green eyes was borderline mischievous. “I don’t want to sleep with Dallas. I do, however, want to sleep with you.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
She broke out into riotous laughter. “You should have seen your
face!” she howled, pointing at me.
The few people on deck all turned to stare at us, or more pointedly, me. I felt my cheeks burn and glared at her. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Oh, I can’t be funny once in a while?”
“It’s not that. I just didn’t expect it, I guess,” I muttered, rubbing the palm of my hand against the back of my neck. “You seem a bit more reserved than that sort of talk.”
She leaned in close, her voice low. “I’m the girl who gave you an impromptu blow job yesterday in the bathroom. Don’t ever assume you know whether or not I’m reserved. I’ll surprise you every time.”
I bit back a laugh. She was right. “Touché. Sorry.”
She sat back, her hand around her glass. “All’s forgiven. I’m also trying to be a happier person than the depressed girl I’ve been since Rainey died.” She clammed up a little, as if saying her sister’s name was difficult.
I nodded. “I’ll have to keep on my toes, then. And if there’s anything I can do to help you be happy, I’ll be happy to do it.” I lifted my glass to make a toast. She raised hers and waited. “To new beginnings and being happy.”
She clinked her glass against mine. “To being happy.”
Twelve
Ember
Being around Stone was so different than being with anyone back home. In Maine, everyone knew my back story, knew how tormented I was by my sister’s death. They all treated me with kid gloves, as if I might break if they said or did the wrong thing. Sure, I was fragile, and I definitely missed Rainey, but I wasn’t going to lose it. I was stronger than anyone expected me to be.
And Stone understood. He got me in a way not even Rainey’s friends did. Mallory and Gabby were sweethearts, but they were always so tentative to mention Rainey or her death. As much as it sucked, I wasn’t letting her death rule my life. It was okay for me to be happy. Maybe at first I wasn’t quite like that, but now… I was sure of my decision to get away from that world. Who knew if I’d even go back?
Stone was sweet and understanding without being pushy for me to talk about Rainey. I wanted to tell him about her, though. Talking about her wasn’t something I’d wanted to do since she died, but I felt like I could trust him, like he wasn’t going to make fun of me.
“I had a dream about Rainey last night,” I started as our meals arrived. I ordered a chicken salad, crispy chicken at his insistence that I didn’t eat enough.
“Oh yeah? Anything good?” he asked, digging into his spaghetti and meatballs with gusto.
I smiled. “Yeah. She and I were running together around Nashville. She told me how proud she was of me that I’d gotten out of the small-town life and was trying to better myself.”
“That’s great. She would be proud of you,” he commented, shoving another meatball in his mouth.
I cleared my throat, a little nervous to ask him what I wanted to ask. “Do you think she’s reached out to me?”
He sipped his sweet tea. “Absolutely. I mean, I don’t know what’s after this life, but I like to believe we can send signals and notes back to the people we love. It makes sense to me that she wants you to know how proud she is of you.”
I gulped, pushing the sudden lump in my throat down. His words were exactly what I needed to hear. I remained silent, though, fighting back threatening tears. I ate my salad, looking out over the beautiful lake.
“You okay?” he asked, picking up on my discomfort.
I nodded. “Sure. I was just thinking I’d like to do something a little crazy today.” It wasn’t the truth, but as I said it, I wanted to do it. I wasn’t usually much of a risk-taker. Today, I wanted to change that.
“What do you feel like?”
“Let’s go skiing,” I suggested, watching a few boats on the water.
He raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
“I think so. Let’s at least go ask them about what it costs,” I said.
A few minutes later, our lunch bill was paid and we walked across the dock to the boat rental. Stone led me to the rental desk and inquired about rentals.
The woman at the desk, a skinny woman with bright red hair and freckled skin answered him. “I’m sorry, all our skis are taken at the moment. We have a double tube, if that’s something that interests you.”
Stone looked at me and I shrugged. “Do you have a spotter or someone to come along?”
“No, but if you pay the hourly fee, Henry over there will take the two of you out in his boat,” she said, pointing to an older man at the end of the dock.
“Okay,” I agreed before Stone could say no.
He paid for the tube rental and then carried it over to Henry, with me trailing behind him.
“Good afternoon,” Henry greeted us in a thick southern drawl. “Y’all wantin’ a ride around the lake?”
“Yes, sir,” Stone confirmed.
“No need to be callin’ me ‘ sir .’ My name’s Henry and y’all can just call me that. It’s forty-five dollars for an hour.” Henry looked at Stone and waited.
“I’ve got it,” I interrupted, pulling some cash out of my pocket. I handed Henry the money even as Stone stared daggers at me. He didn’t argue, though, for which I was grateful. Egotistical men drove me crazy, insisting on paying for every damn thing. I had some money. I wasn’t afraid to use it. And I didn’t go along with the idea that a man needed to pay for everything. Especially when Stone and I weren’t dating. It felt like we were sometimes, but we were both clear on the fact that we weren’t.
Henry led us on to his speed boat, holding his hand out for me and even helping Stone get the tube on board. He instructed us to sit in the back and then we were off. I knew almost nothing about boats, which was sad, considering I came from a small fishing town. I could swim like a fish and fish like a pro, but boats weren’t something my mother exposed me to. I was excited to do something at least a little bit wild.
Henry took us out to the middle of the lake before stopping. He instructed us to get in the tube on the water and asked us where our suits were when we both started for the rear of the boat in our clothes.
“We don’t have them,” Stone answered.
“Damn kids,” Henry muttered.
I glanced at Stone and we both tried not to laugh as Henry hefted the tub up over the back railing so we could get it in the water. The tube was large enough for two, but it would be fairly intimate. Stone held the tube in the water while I got in. I curled my legs under me and leaned forward to hold on the boat while Stone got in. He jumped in behind me, causing me to lose my balance and fall back.
His arms went around me, his muscular biceps pressing against my shoulders. “You okay?” he whispered in my ear. His chest was flat against my back, the position more than intimate.
I gulped. “Yep.” I couldn’t say anything more. I was temporarily mute. Even if I could speak, I doubted I would. My brain was going haywire, letting me feel things I definitely should feel for someone I‘d only known twenty-four hours.
Stone sat back, pulling me with him so I was settled between his legs. I didn’t miss the distinct hardness of his erection, nor his laugh as I gasped when I felt it. He was enjoying torturing me! I wanted to get back at him.
I leaned forward. “Henry? Will you take this? I want to have a dry shirt when we’re done,” I yelled, whipping my shirt off. My spaghetti-strap tank top underneath was black, but it didn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. I tossed my shirt to the boat and then leaned back against Stone.
“You little minx,” he muttered, adjusting our position. He was hard as a rock and it was nice to know I inspired it. He needed to know I liked to have the upper hand.
“Here we go!” Henry yelled back at us.
I held on to the handle straps in front of me, leaning forward. I knew Stone had an excellent view down my back and I was probably showing crack, but I didn’t care. His hands gripped the handles on the sides. As Henry drove the boat, he started nice and slow, letting us adjust to the ride. I eve
n let go and leaned back into Stone, fully relaxed.
Henry must have thought we were too complacent, because he hit the accelerator thing and we shot off, the tube jumping over the waves the boat caused. Stone’s arm went around me when I almost bounced out of the tube. He was so close, I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. One of his arms was around my waist, the other clutched the handle. He kept both of us secured in the tube, his dick pressed firmly against my ass.
I wanted to rub him, wanted to take him in my mouth again, but I knew we couldn’t. Especially not right then. Our position was precarious enough as it was. Even if I tried to rub against him sensually, I ran the risk of hurting him more than pleasuring him. So I kept my hands to myself, mostly. At one point, I ran my fingers over his where his hand splayed across my stomach. I wasn’t sure if he got my message, but he stayed hard the entire ride, so I had to assume he knew what I was getting at.
No matter how bad it was for us to get together, it seemed like the best idea, too. Maybe, if we just had sex, we would both be able to focus a bit better. I’d caught him staring at me earlier; I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I also knew he was afraid of Dallas, and when Baker showed up next week, I figured he’d be afraid of him, too. Until then, though, I wanted him to make a move.
Once the ride was over, Henry helped each of us back on to the boat and we were soaked. My jeans were plastered to my ass, my tank top revealing far too much about my bra. I picked up my shirt as soon as I could and put it on. Stone, on the other hand, took his off, wringing it out into the water.
I tried not to stare at his fine muscle tone. When he turned, I noticed a tattoo I hadn’t seen before when I saw him naked. It was under his arm, which is probably how I missed it. Dear Lord. He was gorgeous, but the tattoo was an inspiration. Count Me Among Thy Saints. It was poetic and oddly religious. It didn’t bother me, I just didn’t peg him the religious type. Perhaps it was directed at something else. The phrase sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
Crazy Dreams Page 5
