Rebel Song: (Rebel Series Book 3) ((Rebel Series))

by J. C. Hannigan

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he laughed, his eyes twinkling a little. When his laughter faded, he looked at me again. “Does Aiden know?” he asked, peering out at the lake. Aiden and Max were taking turns jumping off the floating dock.

  “He’s been introduced as a friend,” I replied. “It’s better that way, so I’d appreciate it if everybody didn’t make a big deal about it in front of him. Save your commentaries for when he’s not around.”

  “Don’t worry, we’d never put you on the spot. Besides, it’s a good thing, Becky. I’m glad you’ve decided to date again and I’m sure Brock will be too.”

  Yeah, until he sees who I’m dating, I thought.

  Tessa pursed her lips at me thoughtfully. She was sun-kissed and glowing, her week in paradise having done wonders for her complexation. “I just don’t know why you’re keeping it a secret. Why can’t we know his name?”

  She leaned against the counter, watching me scoop out the potato salad from the plastic container into a serving dish. I wouldn’t deny it came from the grocery store if I was asked, but I didn’t want to advertise my lack of skills in the kitchen.

  “You’ll know it soon enough,” I replied evasively, glancing at the clock over my stove. Travis would be pulling up at any moment. A small part of me deeply regretted inviting him tonight, and I wondered if perhaps it would have been easier to just tell everybody individually, without him there.

  The welcoming committee out front did little to ease my anxiety. Brock and Braden had decided to stand on the front yard and check out the roof, as the next thing on Brock’s hefty to-do list was replace the leaky, rotten shingles. Of course, this gave them a wonderful vantage point of both the neighbourhood and the driveway from where they stood on the front lawn. They would be able to spot Travis before he even hit my street. I hoped they would have hid in the backyard, manning the barbeque.

  Elle stood at the other counter, making a Caesar salad. She glanced over her shoulder at me, a knowing look in her eye. I wondered if Sue had let anything slip to her. If she did, Elle was doing a wonderful job keeping the secret.

  The distant sound of the rumbling diesel engine had my head swivelling, and I stepped out onto the porch just as Travis’s truck came into view. I could see the confusion and surprise on both of my brothers faces from where they stood. Braden turned to speak lowly to Brock when Aiden flew across the yard to greet Travis.

  “No freaking way!” Tessa exclaimed, turning to me with the widest grin on her face. “Travis?! How? When?”

  “It’s a long story, I should probably tell it another time,” I said, casting a pointed look toward the driveway. Travis was stepping out of his truck, a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne in his hand.

  My suspicion of Elle’s knowledge was confirmed by the unsurprised smile on her face. She tucked a strand of her wavy dark hair behind her ear and smiled. “That’s awesome! I’m happy for you guys!”

  I breathed a little easier, feeling their genuine excitement for me.

  Brock, on the other hand, was noticeably less thrilled about it. He had a hard set to his jaw and a somber look on his face.

  Luckily, Braden heeded my warning from the other day. He put his hand on Brock’s bicep to slow him down enough to say something. Brock nodded reluctantly, and although the air was still thick with tension, he stopped stalking toward Travis.

  I watched warily while Travis and Aiden started walking up the sidewalk to the house. Travis didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. Aiden was chattering happily to him, reminiscing about the night of the storm, all the while being his smiling, charismatic self. He paused before Brock and Braden, tucking the champagne under his arm and shaking each of their hands in turn. “Hey man! How was the Dominican?”

  “Great,” Brock replied, his tone clipped.

  “Alright, let’s get those steaks on the barbeque, fellows,” Tessa instructed, breaking up the terse moment and giving her husband a pointed look.

  Travis let my brothers walk ahead, and paused before me. The smile on his face was genuine contentedness, and his eyes swept tenderly across my face. “Hey Becs,” he murmured, his eyes pausing to rest on my lips. “These are for you, and I brought champagne to celebrate the newlyweds. It’s non-alcoholic, so Aiden can partake in a toast too,” he added, making me fall for him a little more.

  I accepted the bouquet from him, and held my breath when he purposely brushed the back of his hand against the back of mine when he passed. The subtle gesture had my heart stuttering.

  Taking a stabilizing breath, I followed him inside.

  Travis

  Dinner was a little bit awkward. Brock really wasn’t at all stoked about me being there, but he put his best foot forward for Aiden. His smiles seemed a little strained, and he avoided looking directly at me, but he wasn’t the kind of guy to cause a scene and Tessa seemed to keep him grounded.

  They left after dessert, once they’d given Aiden gifts they’d bought for him in the Dominican, after telling us that they were still jet lagged from their trip. He hugged Becky before he left, but he barely cast a second look in my direction. I figured he’d be pissed for a bit, so I tried not to let it get to me.

  Shortly after they left, Elle and Braden dipped out too, claiming that Elle’s mom needed help with something. I figured they were trying to give us some privacy.

  “Alright Aiden, it’s bed time!” Becky instructed after everyone had gone. Aiden and I were playing Minecraft. I’d always been big on video games when I was a kid, but I hadn’t had my own gaming system until I started working part time at the gas station near the diner where my mom worked. I’d saved up for months to buy the first generation Xbox. I still had it, I’d held on to it for nostalgic purposes.

  “Awe but I wanted to stay up with Travis!” Aiden pouted. “We’re building a rollercoaster.”

  “You’ll see him again soon, but he’s going home too. I have to work in the morning,” she replied. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Aiden let out a loud sigh, but stood, setting his controller on the table. “Bye Travis,” he murmured, still rocking the pout.

  “Later bud,” I couldn’t help but smile. Becky mouthed at me to wait, and followed him down the hall. I shut down the system and went into the kitchen to clean up the post-dinner mess. There wasn’t much of one, Tessa and Elle had cleaned up the majority of it before they left, but I still didn’t want Becky getting stuck with the rest of it.

  Twenty minutes later, she returned to the living room and sank down beside me on the couch. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me and breathing in her sweet scent.

  “What are you doing this weekend?” I asked. While she’d been busy putting Aiden to bed, I’d been plotting. I wanted to spend as much time with the both of them as I could before I had to return to Nashville.

  “Nothing really. Aiden has a game on Sunday, but aside from that…we’ll probably just go to the lake,” she shrugged, unconcerned.

  “Why don’t you come to my place? We’ll take my boat out. It’s been a while, she needs a tour,” I chuckled. “I think Aiden would enjoy it.”

  “He probably would,” Becky nodded deliberately, likely weighing the pros and cons of such a venture with me. I held my breath, worried that she’d say no.

  “Can you be ready around nine?’

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll bring some sandwiches,” she smiled.

  I pressed my lips to hers, tasting her like I’d gone weeks without doing so. She let out a quiet gasp, barely audible, and all but melted into me. I pulled away for a moment, resting my forehead against hers while I looked into her eyes.

  Biting her lip, Becky moved so that she was straddling my lap. She ran her hands through my hair—tugging it at the roots a little before she kissed me again. My hands went to her ass, gripping it and grinding her against my thickening erection.

  The next morning, I drove out to Brock’s cabin. I knew he would be there working on the dock, g
iven by what little was said during dinner.

  When I pulled up the private access road, I saw him over near the dock. Brock had his table saw set up on a picnic table to the right of the beach, and was cutting new pieces of wood to replace the rotten boards.

  He didn’t hear me approach, and I waited until the saw was off to make my presence known. “Hey man, need a hand?” I asked, extending the proverbial olive branch to him.

  Brock looked at me over the shoulder. I could tell he was a little pissed still, but I needed to resolve this weirdness between us. “You still do manual labor?” he shot back, purposely hitting me below the belt.

  “It’s been a while but I’m sure it’s like riding a bike,” I shrugged, stepping up to the table. We worked in silence for a while, making sure we had all the pieces we’d need cut and piled by the dock.

  I’d been Brock’s friend for over two decades, and I knew he was the kind of person that preferred to work through things silently. He didn’t speak again until we’d finished the task at hand and stood back to admire our work.

  The rotten boards were all replaced, and the dock looked more stable than it probably had when it was first built forty-years ago.

  “So, you and Becky huh?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, my eyes serious.

  “When did it start?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

  “Full disclosure? Four years ago.” I inhaled deeply, shoving my hands in the pockets of my shorts.

  Brock’s jaw clenched, and he nodded slowly, absorbing that detail.

  “Look, before you punch me in the teeth…can I just say something?” I asked. His only response was to look at me expectantly. “I really care about her, Brock. She’s all I think about, she’s all I want.”

  “What about the twins you brought to town a few weeks ago?” Brock brought up darkly, his tone as unforgiving as his eyes.

  I winced. “Yeah, that was a dick move. But I never touched either one of them, or anyone else for that matter. Becky’s the only one I’ve been with for the last few years.”

  Brock must have seen the honesty behind my words, because he nodded, some of the tension leaving his body. “So, what now? Aren’t you leaving in a couple of weeks?”

  “Yeah, but I still want to make things work with her, and I will. Technically, we’ve been doing the long distance thing for a while,” I shrugged.

  He nodded slowly. “I still don’t know how I feel about this, man. I’m pissed you didn’t tell me sooner, and I’m not going to lie—I’m uneasy about the whole thing. Becky’s been through so much, and both of them deserve someone who’s going to be there…you know?”

  “I am here,” I frowned, not really catching his meaning.

  “You’re on the road a lot, Travis.”

  “You’re gone for months at a time too,” I pointed out, my brow furrowing with aggravation. “And I’m not planning on being gone for such long periods of time. I want to come home more, and she gives me a reason to,” I shrugged.

  “What about Aiden?”

  “Him too. I know they’re a package deal, and he’s a great kid.”

  Brock sighed deeply, nodding again, this time with begrudging acceptance. He clamped a hand over my shoulder. “Just know that if you hurt either one of them, I’ll rip your pearly white teeth out.”

  His statement was so serious, but I barked out a laugh. “I’d expect nothing less from you,” I responded, feeling lighter than I had in years.

  I woke up early on Saturday morning, eager for the day to start. I couldn’t wait to spend it with Becky and Aiden, and I hoped they liked my idea to go to Bala, a little hamlet tucked on the southwest shores of Lake Muskoka. It was one of my favourite places to visit, and home of the best ice cream parlour I’d ever been to.

  After breakfast, I headed out to the boat house to get things ready for our day trip. I’d had the Sea-Doo Sportboat for several years now, and I’d taken a serious love to exploring the Muskoka lakes and the towns offshore. The boat was perfect for touring the lakes, fishing, and water sports. It was an all-in-one kind of boat, but it hadn’t seen a lot of action as of late.

  In recent years, I hadn’t really been able to make time for boating, and I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until I was back on Treble Times hull, tucking the cover into a storage bin at the stern of the boat.

  Named for both my love of music and fishing, the Treble Times was also a nod back to growing up in poverty.

  Catching movement in the corner of my eye, I watched as Becky and Aiden made their way down the steps toward the dock. Becky was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top over her bikini. Her hair was in a ponytail, shoved beneath a trucker cap. She held a wicker basket in her arms and had a beach bag over her shoulder.

  Aiden was a few steps ahead of her, carrying life jackets over each of his shoulders, his face white with a layer of sunscreen. “Whoa! Is that your boat!?” he exclaimed, his eyes widening as he took it in.

  “Sure is,” I said, standing up to my full height. “Welcome aboard!” Becky waited while Aiden slipped on his life jacket and hopped onto the boat with surprising agility. He strolled straight over to the helm, tentatively brushing his fingers across the steering wheel with a look of esteem.

  “Aiden, you know better than to touch the steering wheel,” Becky reprimanded. He quickly withdrew his hand and flashed me an apologetic smile.

  “Sorry!”

  “It’s okay,” I laughed. “Maybe I’ll let you steer it, once we get out on open water—if your mom’s okay with it.”

  “Cool!” Aiden exclaimed, flashing a toothy grin at me.

  I extended my hand to Becky to help her climb aboard, knowing that she didn’t need it but wanting to provide it anyway. She flushed, gracing me with another secretive smile. “We’ll see how many boats are out today.”

  Taking the basket off of her, I double checked to make sure that Aiden’s back was still turned before I allowed my hand to brush across her ass as she walked by, giving it a little squeeze before I dropped it to my side. She sent me a look over her shoulders, one that warred between reproach and desire.

  I tucked the basket away securely and inwardly groaned. Touching her had been a mistake, because now all I wanted to do was touch her. Instead, I hopped out of the boat and untied the ropes before I returned to the helm and started the engine. Becky and Aiden were checking out the seats at the bow.

  “Sit wherever you want, you can always switch it up if it gets too windy,” I told them as I turned on the stereo. I pulled away from the dock, easing into the speeds I knew it could handle.

  It was a calm day, and the boat cut smoothly through the wake as I pointed out my favourite areas along Lake Rosseau. I lived a fifteen minute boat ride from the Indian River, which connected Lake Rosseau to Lake Muskoka through a lock system in Port Carling.

  Each summer, tourists flocked to the lock system to watch it in action. Becky seemed a little wary of the people gathered around the locks, but nobody was paying close enough attention to who was in each boat. They weren’t looking for celebrities.

  Besides, I’d always felt safe with my anonymity when on the water.

  We dropped anchor just off Rossclair for lunch before continuing to the southwest shores of Lake Muskoka, to Bala. After docking at the public harbor, we walked into town for ice cream. A few people looked at me curiously, as if they found me familiar but couldn’t place where they knew me from, but nobody said anything.

  Ice creams in hand, we strolled through town, toward the falls carved straight out of the Canadian Shield. Bala Falls truly were one of my favourite sights in the Muskokas.

  We finished up our ice creams and then started walking back to the harbor.

  “Are you my mom’s boyfriend?” Aiden asked as we walked. His question caught both Becky and I off guard. I looked at her for help, honestly perplexed at how she wanted me to respond. Her lips tugged up in an encouraging smile, and she nodded a little, her left shoulder rising in a tiny s
hrug.

  “Would you be alright with that?” I asked instead of answering.

  Aiden was reflective for a moment, mulling over my question with a serious look on his face. “I think so,” he finally said. “But, only if you don’t do any of that gross kissing stuff.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” I winked. “Girls have cooties.”

  On our way back I let Aiden steer, taking over again to get us through the locks and back to Lake Rosseau.

  The sun was just beginning to set when we finally got back to my cottage. I steered us directly into the boat house before turning off the engine and hopping out to tie it to the dock.

  “It’s pretty late, did you guys want something to eat before you head home?” I offered, hoping the answer would be a resounding yes.

  She smiled at me. “Thanks, Travis, but we better get going. We had a wonderful day, didn’t we Aiden?” she asked, sending an imploring look to her son.

  Aiden nodded hurriedly. “Yes! Can we go out on your boat again?”

  “Whenever you want. Next time we’ll go tubing,” I replied, relieved that they’d both seemed to have a good time.

  “Really?” Aiden’s face shone with excitement as we all moved toward the stairs. “Can we Mom?”

  “Sure,” Becky smiled, opening the rear door so he could climb in. She turned to me while Aiden got settled in his seat and pulled the strap across his chest. “If you’re free Thursday night, why don’t you come over for dinner?”

  “Sounds good,” I grinned.

  “And you can come to my soccer game tomorrow if you want!” Aiden added, looking up at me with wide blue eyes so much like his mother’s. I glanced at Becky to gauge her reaction. She was smiling.

  “It’s at Kinsmen park,” she explained. “The game starts at eleven.”

  “See you then,” I told them both.

  I was a little early getting to the park the next morning. I’d even stopped for two cups of coffee. After I found parking, I texted Becky to see where she was. She messaged back a moment later, telling me that they were on their way.