In Tune (Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book 3)

by Laramie Briscoe

  In Tune

  Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book #3

  By Laramie Briscoe

  Copyright © 2015 Laramie Briscoe

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Edited by: Lindsay Hopper

  Proofread by: Dawn Bourgeois

  Beta read by: Danielle Wentworth & Keyla Handley

  Cover by: Kari Ayasha of Cover to Cover Designs

  Formatted by: Paul Salvette

  Photography by: MHPhotography Stock & Custom Photos

  Models: Thomas Addison & Leigha Heverly

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Summary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  Note From Laramie

  About the Author

  Connect With Laramie

  Other Books by Laramie

  Also by Laramie Briscoe

  Summary

  Forgiveness

  Compassion

  Love

  When Cash Montgomery and Harper Stillwell decided to take a chance on a fling, neither one knew where it would take them. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, they are clawing their way back to the kind of relationship they have both fought so hard for.

  Cash can forgive, but he can’t forget. Harper can apologize, but she can’t express her true feelings.

  Growing up is hard—just because you reach an age where the world says you’re an adult doesn’t mean you are. These two are figuring out that life only gets more difficult the older you get, they are learning that love comes at a price, and they are deciding whether it’s worth fighting for.

  After the Collision—they’re desperately trying to figure out if they can ever be in tune.

  In-Tune: A properly and well-maintained machine.

  Red Bird Trail Trilogy #3

  In-Tune

  ‡

  Chapter One

  Harper Stillwell could smell winter in the air as she sat doing homework on the back porch of the apartment she shared with her ex-lover, Cash Montgomery, and his little brother, Remy. Since coming back to live with them, things had been good. That was the only way to describe it, perhaps too good.

  It was odd for her to refer to her situation like that, especially since things had, for much of her life, been in a constant state of upheaval.

  “Harper, do you mind if I go down and ride my bike?”

  Her head turned at the voice of Remy. A few months ago, she would have said no. Remy’s parents had waged a war against Cash for custody of the kid, one that she and Cash had won, to the detriment of their relationship. They were working on getting that relationship back though; however, it was slow-going. Mostly because of her.

  “Sure, but be back before six. I’m cooking spaghetti.”

  He ran over and put his arms around her neck, squeezing tightly. “I’m glad you came back.”

  He told her that every day. It was almost as if Remy thought he could keep her there with the will of his words and his affection for her. She had to admit, her affection for the kid was just as strong. “Me too, dude. Now go have fun.”

  Remy didn’t need to be told twice. Within minutes, he was out of the apartment, down the stairs, and she could hear him yelling with his friends down on the street. Turning her attention back to her homework, she did her best to concentrate. After the stress of the court case for custody of Remy and the fact that she and Cash were still making rent, bills, and food by the skin of their teeth—the last thing either of them needed to do was fail a class. They had both come close to having to drop classes, but so far, they were looking to salvage this semester.

  She hadn’t gotten far into her required reading when she heard the unmistakable sound of Cash’s car turning onto their street. Her heart sped up, like it always did when she knew she was going to see him. There was a part of her that wondered why she still insisted they take it slow, why she didn’t take what she wanted. The other part of her said it would be stupid to not take it slow. It said that they had rushed things before, and they had almost paid the ultimate price.

  Hearing his footsteps up the stairs was still one of her favorite sounds in the world. Closing her book, she stood up and stretched her back before she padded into the bedroom and on through the hallway, into the living room.

  “Hey,” she said as he turned around to put his stuff on the catch-all next to the door.

  *

  The sound of her voice still got him. In the middle of the night, as he slept on the couch, he dreamed of it. He called her sometimes just to hear it. He thanked God every day she was still around, that she was still willing to try to make whatever they had together work. It was still tenuous at best, but every day he hoped they made some headway.

  “Hey.” He turned around, smiling as he took in her rumpled appearance. She’d gotten out of school before him today, and it was obvious she’d taken a nap by the wild appearance of her hair and the fact she wore sweatpants. They were now her go-to sleeping apparel since the weather had turned off chilly. “Did you have a good nap?”

  The blush that covered her cheeks made his smile widen.

  “I did.” She walked over, giving him a hug. “I couldn’t help it; I was here by myself, and I got tired.”

  He knew she was tired, they both were. In order to help cover some of the expenses of having a child to raise, she had been taking on more and more catering jobs. They kept her out later and later at night, and he didn’t like it, but what could they do? They had to keep a roof over all their heads.

  The Cash of old would have bitched and complained that she didn’t need to do that kind of work, that he could take care of all of them—damn the consequences. This new Cash realized it was important for both of them to contribute to the household, it was important for them to both take responsibility for their own actions.

  He wrapped her tightly in his arms and enjoyed for a few minutes the way she gave herself over to the hug. This was something new they’d started a week ago. The hugs connected the two of them and gave him hope that maybe they had turned a corner.

/>   “You’ve been working really hard; I think you deserve a nap every once in a while.”

  She pulled back and looked up at him. “You work hard too, harder than I do. It should have been you taking the nap.”

  “Ha! Men don’t nap, we fuck shit up and figure out how to put it back together.”

  It was a thinly veiled reference to what they had been doing in their relationship for the past few months, and he hoped she got it. He hoped she understood just how important she was to him—how important she was to the rest of his life.

  He didn’t get a response, and honestly he hadn’t expected one, but it was good to know she didn’t push him away.

  ‡

  Chapter Two

  Harper walked over to the kitchen. “I’m cooking spaghetti. Is that good with you?” she asked as she opened both the fridge and freezer to pull out the ingredients she needed.

  His stomach growled loudly. He’d put on some weight since they had started living together, but everyone said it looked good on him. He was still lean, but not gaunt in certain places. He liked having his stomach full; he liked a woman cooking for him. “I think you got your answer.”

  She laughed as she continued to move about the small cooking area, and he walked back to the bedroom. Her mind was on the task at hand as she turned on the skillet and began browning the ground beef for a meat sauce she’d learned to prepare. She put a large pot under the faucet and filled it to her liking before setting it on the burner of the stove and turning it on. It was like auto-pilot as she went about preparing the meal. It was only when she had everything going that she stopped and realized that a relaxed Cash now sat at the kitchen table. She put her hand to her chest and took a deep breath.

  “You scared me.”

  He kicked his legs out from the seat, pulling his sweat pant bottoms up and over the edge of his feet. “I didn’t mean to. You know I just like to watch you work,” he admitted as he ran a hand over the shadow of a beard beginning to form on his face.

  He did love to watch her work. Every time he was home and she was cooking, cleaning, reading a book, or doing homework, he was there with her. Many days they never said a word to one another. Just the fact that they were both in the same room was enough of a comfort for the both of them.

  “I must have zoned out.” She grinned as she pulled out the opposite chair and had a seat across from him.

  They were quiet for a few minutes before she spoke. “I have to work tomorrow night, and I’m gonna try to see if we’ll have any leftovers. We don’t get paid for a couple more days, and there’s not much food here.”

  They both hated this part, but they did what they had to do.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he told her, reaching across the table to grab her hand. If he had to, he’d try to pull together a Trail run. They were more careful now that it was getting closer to the holidays and colder weather. Their tires didn’t stay warm, and there were many more rolling checkpoints in these months. Cash was used to money being lean, but he’d never had two other people to take care of before either.

  “I know.” She smiled brightly. “We always do.”

  “It could be dollar menu if it has to be,” Cash teased. She hated the dollar menu. The cook and baker in her absolutely despised it. Eating out didn’t give her a chance to flex her muscle, and that’s what she loved more than anything.

  “Dollar menu, my ass. We’ll eat all veggies before we eat the dollar menu. They go further, and they are much better for you.”

  His nose turned up this time.

  “You’ll do as I say, Montgomery. Besides, you need to set a good example for Remy. You know he does any and everything that you do.”

  It scared her how badly Remy had a case of hero worship for his brother. She hated to think of the preteen boy riding his bike, doing the things she and Cash had done and would have to do in order to stay alive and make ends meet.

  “If B can watch Rem, I’ll see about working protection at Wet Wanda’s,” he told her quietly.

  This new job had come about recently, and Harper wasn’t sure if she liked it at all. It was a point of contention with the two of them. Liam had approached Cash about working for extra money, without having to run the Trail. Cash felt they were on borrowed time, before the Trail would be shut down by the cops, so he was always on the lookout for legitimate ways to make money. Cash knew Liam had probably done it out of the goodness of his heart, but Cash was thankful for the job. It was good money, but there were a handful of ladies at the club who had their eye on him and let him know every time he was in.

  “I’d rather eat veggies.” She wrinkled her nose at him.

  He laughed loudly before he reached over and ran a finger down her cheek. “None of ’em look as good as you, Harper, and none of ’em sure as hell hold a candle to you. I do it to make sure you don’t have to worry about what we’re going to do until payday.”

  She licked her lips as she gazed into his eyes. “I know. You take care of us.”

  “I try, as much as you’ll let me.”

  The moment got heavy as the two of them stared at each other. Neither one of them sure what to say. They were saved when the oven timer went off, letting her know the garlic bread was finished. As she pulled it out of the oven, she turned to Cash.

  “Would you go get Remy? I told him to be back at six.” She glanced up at the clock. It was a little after.

  He stood up and walked over to her. Cupping her hip with his hand, he leaned in and kissed her softly. “Will do. Don’t start without us. I’m gonna have a talk with him about being late.”

  She watched as he walked out of the apartment and heard him yell loudly for Remy to come eat. She breathed deeply, letting out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

  There was only so long she could hold out, only so long she could deny what she was feeling, and only so long she could hold Cash Montgomery at bay.

  She feared that time was coming to a very swift end.

  ‡

  Chapter Three

  Cash stood with his back to the Wet Wanda’s stage, watching the group of rowdy men in front of him. They were drunk and acting like fools, but this was the reason he was here. To keep them from getting too touchy-feely with the girls. He noticed one guy over to the side, sizing him up, probably trying to decide if he wanted to make a go of trying to get past him and get to the girl on stage.

  “Watch that guy,” Drew Walker said as he nodded towards the right. “He’s been looking like he wants to go for at least an hour.”

  Drew Walker, son of Liam, was young, but he was big and strong. Just past nineteen, he probably shouldn’t have been in a strip club, but he also had money to make.

  “Will do. He’s taller than me, but I think I can take him,” Cash said, never taking his eyes off him. He took any job he did seriously, whether it be running the Trail or working protection here at the club.

  “I think we both could,” Drew told him as he walked away.

  This was one of Cash’s least favorite jobs. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the group of scantily clad women who writhed and danced around on stage; it was that they weren’t Harper. He sighed, switching back and forth between his feet, taking some of the pressure off the sore parts, and dared a glance at his watch. It was almost midnight, and he knew Harper should be getting done with her catering job soon.

  That was another reason he hated working Wet Wanda’s: it was always late when he got done, and if Harper was working, she walked herself to her car in the dark, and she came home to an empty apartment. Cash knew there was nothing they could do at this point. It was about surviving and doing what they could to pay bills and buy groceries, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t think about the time when he would be able to afford the better things in life for both of them.

  “How about you go take a break.”

  He glanced up at the deep voice of Jagger Stone, the person most knowledgeable about the strip club.

  “Yo
u sure?”

  “Yeah.” Jagger nodded. “Your lady just walked in. Why don’t the two of you go grab something to eat and spend a few minutes together. For protection, it’s on the house.”

  His lady had just walked in? His eyes quickly moved to the front of the building, and he couldn’t hold back the grin as he saw Harper cautiously looking around. “Thanks. I’ll be back in thirty?”

  “Whatever.” Jagger grinned. “You do know that there are rooms back there?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at the younger man.

  Cash did know there were rooms, but he was pretty damn sure he and Harper weren’t at that part of their relationship yet. At least, not back around to that part. “I’ll be back.”

  *

  Harper questioned for the thousandth time why she had decided to step foot in here by herself—even if it was to see Cash. She’d never been the type of girl to hang out in places like this. She liked to play life straight and narrow for the most part. Looking up at the stage, her mouth opened as she saw a girl who couldn’t be much older than her perform a split that caused her own groin to hurt. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, and she noticed Cash coming her way.

  She could see the women in the place looking Cash up and down as he walked towards her. They didn’t hide the appreciation in their eyes or the arousal on their faces. Harper knew he was a good-looking guy, knew he exuded confidence, and knew he had the bad-boy mannerisms down pat. What she didn’t realize was how other people looked and saw him. Somehow, in her security of their relationship, she had forgotten who he used to be.

  “Hey.” She met him halfway and looped her arms around his neck. For some reason, it felt important for her to claim him here. She needed these women she’d seen looking at him to know he came home to her every night. That might not mean much right now, but it would soon. She knew they would make their relationship even better than it had been.