Brand New Sky

by Heidi Hutchinson

  She hung up before he could say goodbye.

  Which is actually how he preferred it.

  ***

  Ryan felt eyes on her and looked up from her mocha to see Lucy staring at her. She let out a surprised laugh. “What?”

  Lucy tapped her fingernail on the table in the little coffee shop and blew a stray hair out of her eyes. “You and Sway.”

  Ryan smiled inadvertently. “What about it?”

  “You like him.”

  “Maybe I do,” Ryan said, her smile growing at Lucy's terrible interrogation tactics.

  “And he likes you.”

  “That does seem likely,” Ryan agreed.

  “But tonight is our last show.”

  Ryan finally laughed out loud. “Just ask a question, Lucy!”

  In the short amount of time she'd spend on the road, she'd come to really adore these women. They were like a tribe all to themselves. And they had accepted her into it without question. At first, it had felt a little unnerving, but as the week went on, it became natural.

  It probably had something to do with being on tour. Sway had tried to explain it her one day. When you live and work with people in close proximity, you get to know them faster than in “real life.” Which is what she suspected him of trying to do by bringing her along. But she couldn't argue with the method. It was both fun and effective.

  “What happens next?” Lucy asked.

  “What do you mean?” Ryan countered, stalling. She was wondering the same thing, but hadn't allowed herself time to think about it yet. It was one thing to “live in the moment” when it was only for the moment. But eventually the moment would pass and reality would need to be dealt with.

  “I mean, when will I see you again? Are we allowed to visit, or do we have to ask Sway for permission. Because he's never liked me.”

  Ryan's heart eased with Lucy's words. They liked her. They wanted to be friends with her even if she didn't come with Sway. This was... new.

  Brand new.

  And just like that, something solidified in her soul.

  She didn't have to be part of a package to be wanted. Like those gift baskets that can be purchased at department stores around the holidays. The ones with a bunch of useful items like crackers and wine and chocolate—and then a refrigerator magnet that doubled as a bottle opener. No one would buy the magnet on its own. They'd buy an actual bottle opener, probably a fancy one. But if it came free in a gift basket, they wouldn't complain.

  Ryan wasn't the refrigerator magnet. She was a standalone purchase. Deliberately wanted.

  This was an exciting turn of events.

  “Well,” Ryan said slowly, trying to hide her eagerness. “When I'm working, I can be kind of hard to reach. But if you make a plan, I'd gladly have any and all of you over.”

  Lucy's smile was instantaneous. “I can't promise that Zelda won't fangirl all over your living room.”

  “As long as she cleans up after herself, I won't mind.”

  ***

  The show went long.

  It was the last one and the guys didn't discuss it, but the set just never seemed to end. They played for hours. Indulging in their favorite covers and their oldest songs. Some they hadn't played since high school.

  Sway felt like he could have played all night.

  But eventually the set had to end. And the equipment had to get packed up and put away. No one knowing when they'd have the opportunity to use the old spare parts again.

  The nostalgia that had come along with having to work around shorted out amps and rewired pedals was unexpected. It felt good to have to fix his things with his hands again. No techs, or extra hands. Just the simplicity of pulling the guts out of his equipment and making it work again. Or tossing it and trying something else altogether.

  He was glad he'd brought Ryan along. This is how he wanted her to see him. A struggling musician hell-bent on playing his songs for anyone who wanted to listen.

  It was so much better than having her come to a huge arena tour.

  This seemed more honest, somehow.

  He ran his hand down her arm and back up again. Tucked against his chest and sleeping soundly, she didn't even stir. The moonlight streaming through the window highlighted her skin in hues of blue and silver. Never had Sway been more at peace than he was in that moment.

  They'd talked for a long while in her hotel room before he'd noticed her blinks getting slower. So he'd talked her into getting in the covers and just resting with him for a bit. But he was still too buzzed from the show to sleep.

  He kissed the top of her head and slowly rolled out from under her. Her slumber remained undisturbed and Sway sat down in the chair across from the bed. He reached for the hotel provided pen and notepad.

  And there in the dark of a room where he didn't deserve to be, in the presence of a beauty he didn't deserve to hold, he wrote a song that could have been bled directly from his heart.

  Tomorrow they would go home. The bubble of the tour would pop and they'd be faced with regular life again. Tomorrow, she might come to her senses and kick him back out of her life.

  But tonight...

  Tonight he was in love.

  It was a moment he never wanted to forget.

  And so he wrote it down.

  Chapter 19

  Slumber

  “Where are all those friends of yours I've heard so much about?” Gran asked as she set two glasses of lemonade on the table before them and then sat down in one of the old chairs.

  The rain had changed their plans for the day, but Sway didn't mind. Whether he was working the orchard with Pops or having lemonade with Gran, it didn't matter. He was at his most content when he was here.

  He reached for his glass and shrugged without comment.

  “Are you embarrassed of us or them?”

  Sway barked a laugh. “Neither, Gran. I just don't like mixing my worlds is all.”

  Gran nodded thoughtfully. “Of course. That makes sense.”

  Sway slid his eyes that direction, he couldn't tell if she actually agreed, or if she was getting ready to give him a hard time about it.

  Gran was a wild card that way. Every once in a while she'd let him go on something that the rest of the world deemed unreasonable. Other times, she'd point out his dumbassery and offer up wisdom.

  “Then again...”

  Here is was. Wisdom the only way Gran could deliver it.

  “Sometimes you have to mix some of the boldest colors to get the right shade of you.”

  Sway took a long drink of the lemonade before putting the glass down. “That's some good advice, Gran. But I'm just not ready to start all that yet. I like being me when I'm here, and being me when I'm there. I'm different in both places.”

  She was quiet for a long time, the soft drum of rain on the porch's roof filling his head with daydreams and new ideas.

  “When do you suppose you'll be ready?” she asked quietly.

  “I'll know.”

  ***

  Ryan stood in her kitchen, lost in thought as she gazed out the window into her backyard. The coffee cup in her hand was mostly forgotten as the hazy memories of the week before played in her mind.

  Had it really only been a week? It felt like so much longer. So much so that she actually had tears in her eyes when she hugged the girls goodbye. They were going to be pressing on with the drive and going all the way to Boston before calling it a day.

  They had only paused in Hartford to drop off Sway and Ryan.

  Ryan's eyes drifted in the direction of Tawny's house even though she couldn't see it from where she was. He was over there. Maybe still sleeping. She imagined his hair tousled and his chest bare to the sunlight that was undoubtedly streaming in through the window, touching him in ways she wanted to. Warm, soft, slow.

  What would happen now?

  Ryan remembered her coffee and took a slow sip as she made her way to her office and unpacked her laptop.

  At the very least, she had to check
her email and reconnect with her editor. The week's vacation had been amazing, but she had to get back to her real life deadlines and dreams.

  Her mind drifted to Sway again. She didn't know if he figured into her future at this point. He damn sure figured into her present. Maybe that was enough for now.

  Blythe and Shayla would be bringing Clive back this afternoon. Which meant that Ryan had enough time to shower and get some work done. Clive would be a nut when he got back and she'd have to take him for a long walk to make him feel loved again.

  Her email was full of things that needed to be answered, but nothing from Annie. Ryan stared at the arrow that hovered over the first email, taunting her with its harsh edges and irritating reminder that she wasn't on an adventure anymore. She sighed and closed the laptop. Deciding to begin with a shower.

  And one more cup of coffee.

  ***

  Sway ran a hand through his damp hair and wondered if it was too early to see if Ryan would give him a cup of coffee. He pulled a dark green v-neck tee on with his jeans and decided to go over there. Just because they weren't in the same hotel anymore didn't mean he didn't want to be around her all of the time still.

  She opened her front door and Sway noticed two things. The first was that she was smiling at him. The second was the intense calm that filled him at the sight of her face.

  “I forgot why I came over,” he said with a grin as he moved in for a kiss. He slid his hands around her waist as she tilted her head up to receive him. Living next door to her was going to be very convenient this summer. And very distracting.

  “Would you like some coffee?” she asked after he had pulled away.

  “Yes,” he said, holding her eyes for a second longer before letting her go. He watched the sway of her hips as she made her way into her kitchen. Yeah, that was a view he would never get tired of. He took note of the empty k-cups lined along the counter as he rested one shoulder in the doorway. “How many have you had already?”

  Ryan flashed him a smile as she took a cup out of the cupboard. “I've been up for a little while trying to work.”

  “Anything for me to read yet?” he asked, genuinely curious.

  Ryan smirked and set his hot cup of coffee on the counter beside him.

  “You think I'm playing with you,” Sway said with a grin.

  “I think,” Ryan said, picking her cup up and moving around him to go back through the living room. “That you're very good at flirting.”

  “That goes without saying.” Sway snagged his cup and followed her, giving her a saucy grin and an eyebrow waggle when she rolled her eyes at him over her shoulder.

  She opened the screen door and went outside, Sway followed. They sat down side by side on her top step.

  “You need furniture out here,” he said, observing the bareness of her covered porch.

  Ryan took a breath and frowned, looking around. “Yeah,” she said absently. “I always meant to get some. I guess I just put it off and then forgot about it. I have the swing, but I never really use it.”

  “Maybe you can drag me to Lowe's or something to look at chairs this summer. Teach me how to be domestic,” Sway said, taking a sip of his coffee.

  Ryan snickered under her breath. “When are you going to start looking for a place of your own?”

  “Probably in a couple of weeks.” He wasn't sure how to broach the next topic but it would fit perfectly in this spot. So he cleared his throat and went for it. “Miles is staying with me for two weeks.”

  Ryan's eyebrow went up. The one that ambiguously signaled suspicion or curiosity. He could never tell which. “Oh yeah? When does that happen?” She raised her cup to her mouth and he lost eye contact.

  “Today, actually.”

  That got it back. Now both of her eyebrows were up. But her face remained impassive, waiting for him to tell her what to think. He loved that. That she waited until she had something to react to before, well, reacting.

  “Alexa and James are going on a second honeymoon thing and they asked if he could stay with me.” Sway smiled and glanced down at his feet for a second. “I'm really looking forward to it. Only seeing him every couple of weeks has been killing me.”

  “I bet,” Ryan agreed. “Is that why you're moving here? To be closer to him?”

  “Yeah.” Sway nodded. “And I want to take him to meet my grandparents. They're just to the north of here.” He huffed a laugh. They don't know yet.” He glanced at Ryan. “About Miles. They don't know they're great grandparents yet.”

  Her lips parted with the hint of a smile. Her large brown eyes conveying how adorable she thought he was. “You're just going to drop that nugget of surprise on them?”

  Sway nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “How did your parents react?” she asked.

  Sway licked his and rolled his eyes skyward. “About how I expected. Polite. Monosyllabic. They haven't asked to meet him or anything. I don't know if they just think he might go away, or if they're trying to process it still.” He frowned into the distance. “I've never really understood them. I guess that's why I want Miles to meet my grandparents. I know they're gonna love him.”

  “How do you know that?” Ryan asked, getting his eyes back.

  “Because they love me,” Sway said with a shrug. “I spent a good deal of my summers staying with them. They have this little farm in East Granby. Mostly an orchard, with some horses and ducks and stuff. They're retired now, so there's not as many animals and Pops leases the orchard to the neighbor.”

  He faced her and frowned.

  “What?” she asked.

  Sway's thoughts were a tangle of happy memories and relaxed musings. It wasn't his usual state of being. He usually tried to steer conversations away from his childhood or grandparents. Those things were sacred to him, so he kept them well protected. But Ryan hadn't even asked. He was just spilling his secrets all over the place.

  And he didn't mind.

  Except that he kind of minded that he didn't mind.

  Was this just a symptom of being in love? You just blurt out all of your deep dark secrets without even being questioned?

  “Maybe I'll take you to meet them, too,” he said. Okay, he had obviously gone insane. Except that he suddenly did want to take Ryan up to East Granby. He'd never wanted to take anyone there. Not even Alexa.

  Her head tilted as she narrowed her eyes.

  Now it was his turn to say it. “What?”

  “Is that something that you really want?” she asked carefully. “Or are you just being polite?”

  Sway's head jerked a little, was he that easy to read? He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he thought about it. “I do want to take you there. Maybe not right away. I'll take Miles first and see how that goes.” He pictured his grandparents and the acres of apple trees, and the sunset along the west ridge from horseback, and then he pictured those things with Ryan there. “I absolutely am going to take you there this summer.”

  She smiled in a way that said she thought he was crazy, but she was okay with it. Shaking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear, she swung her knee over to connect with his briefly.

  “We should probably talk about when you want to meet Miles, too,” he said, staring at the place where her knee had touched his.

  She took a sip of coffee and set the cup down on the top of her leg. “Maybe we shouldn't meet yet.” She faced him quickly when his mouth opened to protest. “Not to say that I don't want to—I do. But you guys are really just getting to know one another and I don't want to mess any of that up.”

  Sway worked his jaw back and forth. “Maybe.” He didn't like the idea of pretending like he didn't know Ryan though. They'd be living next door to each other for two weeks. Acting like they didn't know each other would be along the lines of lying. And he didn't like that at all. Not when it came to Miles.

  “Or,” Ryan said slowly, “we could just tell him we're friends. And see how that goes.”

  “I like that idea bette
r,” Sway agreed quickly. “It'll suck to not be able to kiss you whenever I want.” He leaned over and kissed her on her neck to demonstrate. She blushed as he smirked with satisfaction behind his coffee cup. “So we'll be friends in front of Miles. And then when Miles leaves...”

  Ryan rolled her eyes and Sway couldn't help but laugh.

  “When Miles leaves I'm taking you out. On an actual date.”

  “Really?” she asked, sincerely surprised.

  He was surprised at her surprise. “Yes, really. Someplace fancy.”

  “What if someone sees us?”

  “What if they do?” he countered with a shrug.

  She swallowed and finished her coffee. “Okay.”

  He chuckled at her braced posture and leaned one shoulder against hers. “C'mon, sassy pants. Let me treat you to what you deserve.”

  “Maybe I'm not a traditional type of girlfriend,” she said, her shoulders straightening. “Did you think about that?”

  Sway tried to fight his grin. “First off, you just referred to yourself as my girlfriend. So please let me have this moment to gloat.” She pursed her lips and he couldn't help but kiss her cheek. With his mouth still very close to her face he whispered, “Second, I am absolutely counting on you being one of a kind.”

  She sucked in a shallow breath. Sway set his cup down beside him so he could use the hand to curl around her neck and face. He stared into her dark eyes with the spikes of bronze and gold daring him to look deeper. Eyes thick with mystery and adventure. He held that eye contact until her lids fluttered and his mouth closed around her bottom lip.

  So incredibly soft. Her lips, her mouth, her hair. Everything about her was soft and warm and yielding. His tongue slid between her lips and he could swear she welcomed it with the way she sighed. Every part of his body honed in on her. Every molecule was focused on being near her, wrapped up in her. Like that's where they belonged.

  Sway pulled away slowly, regretfully. And tried to catch his breath. Every kiss with her was reminiscent of that time Lenny had made them all go bungee jumping. Fear and adrenaline and excitement, and a total lack of control. Just them, out there in the wide open blue, holding on for dear life.