Coming Altered: Welcome to Carson, Book Four

by Renee Harless

  “It’s a pretty common thing with crazed fans or groupies. Don’t take it too hard,” Ann says as she offers Cassidy a hug.

  As her friend squeezes her a little tighter, Cassidy responds, “Thank you. I’m not sure what I should do now. There aren’t that many days left on tour.”

  Pulling back, Cassidy feels a yank in her hair and she screeches in alarm.

  “I am so sorry,” Ann explains as she holds up her wrist. “My bracelet must have snagged your hair.”

  Cassidy rubs the small patch of skin where the hair was removed and grimaces.

  “That’s ok. I have a watch that does the same thing.”

  “Anyway. Let me know what you decide. We may not be able to get another bus, but you could always share with me.”

  “Oh, you have your own? I didn’t even realize,” Cassidy inquires.

  Ann turns to glare at her before softening her features.

  “Yes. I have my own, though not nearly as luxurious as the one Harlan chose for you.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Cassidy begins but Ann simply steps away from the bus and brings her phone to her ear.

  “Just let me know,” she hollers without turning around as she wanders off just as Harlan approaches.

  “Everything good?” he asks as he runs his hands over her hair.

  “Yeah… Harlan?”

  “Hmmm?” he responds as he takes a moment to lean forward and kiss her neck under the shade and seclusion of the bus.

  “I think…I think I’m going to go home.”

  ARLAN’S MOUTH PAUSES ON the small dip where Cassidy’s shoulder meets her neck. He can feel the warmth of his breath ricocheting off her skin as her words coat over him.

  Home?

  He presses one last kiss to her soft skin and pulls back, his mouth instantly missing the taste of her.

  “What do you mean?” he asks casually, not trying to startle her with the eagerness he feels growing deep inside to keep her close.

  “Well, it just seems silly to try to find another bus when there is only two weeks left of the tour. All of the costumes are situated and I think…”

  “What do you think, sweetheart?”

  “I think I want to move back to Carson.”

  Nodding his head Harlan rests his hands on her hips and then leans forward to press a kiss on her forehead. She has been playing with the idea of moving back home off and on for a few days, so her desire to do so now, considering the situation, isn’t that alarming to Harlan.

  “You’re not mad?” she asks with brows furrowed in confusion.

  “How could I be mad at you? Carson makes you feel safe and, right now, I can’t argue with your safety.”

  “Thank you for understanding,” she adds as she lies against him, resting her chin on his chest as she gazes up at him.

  “Make no mistake though, Cass. I will be coming for you. Your crazy town folk can’t keep me away.”

  “I am kind of hoping for that,” she implies with a wicked gleam in her eye just as the musical interlude begins playing in his mind, coursing through his veins, and itching to make their way onto paper.

  Harlan and Cassidy spend the remainder of their afternoon together, but apart. He works on three new songs spewing forth in rapid fire while Cassidy makes endless phone calls regarding the selling of her apartment and the moving of some of her business to Carson. She even convinces Shelly to consider making the move with her son.

  He watches her, mesmerized as she paces back and forth in the hotel room he splurged for them, for their last night together.

  As she ends her call Harlan asks, “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

  She walks over to where he sits on the loveseat, guitar by his side, and places both of her knees on either side of him on the couch, straddling him between her hips.

  “It leaves tomorrow morning at nine AM,” she says with a forlorn look.

  Cradling her hips with his hands he questions, “What’s the matter? I thought you were excited to be moving home.”

  “I am. I just feel like it took so many months to bring us to this point. I mean, I started to believe I had dreamt that night. And now someone is hell bent on having their way and it is going to keep us apart.”

  “We’re not going to be apart. We’ll talk every day, sweetheart.”

  “It’s not the same,” she pouts and Harlan can’t control the urge to reach up and stroke her plump bottom lip as it juts forward. “Gosh, I sound like a child. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound so depressed. I’m just going to miss you. I got used to having you hang around.” She pauses for a beat as she strokes her fingers through his hair, the movements lulling his body into a sweet reprieve. “So, did you get any songs written?”

  “Three,” he replies as his eyes shut, relaxing into the movements of her fingers against his scalp, the movements eerily similar to the soft beats harmonizing in his mind.

  “Can I hear?” she whispers as she presses a gentle kiss on his lips.

  “Not yet.”

  Cassidy pulls her hands from his head and sits up straighter, causing Harlan to open his eyes wearily.

  “Why not?”

  Harlan chuckles.

  “You’re not ready to hear them yet.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  Recalling the lyrics he jotted down as each beat and note flowed through his body, he shakes his head as he slides his hands over her thighs. Words of devotion, trust, and love are scattered across the pages as every song penned is a dedication to the woman that changed the course of his life.

  “No, you’re not ready yet.”

  Just as she opens her sumptuous mouth to retort, her stomach growls loudly making Harlan laugh before his grumbles in return.

  “I guess we should eat. What do you think about ordering in?” he suggests as he reaches for the phone.

  “That sounds fine. I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she adds as she slips off of his lap and heads towards the bathroom.

  Harlan orders them two steak dinners but due to the volume in the hotel and the time, they have about an hour before their food will arrive.

  As he hangs up the phone his jaw practically unhinges itself as Cassidy opens the door to the bathroom clad in a lingerie set of red lace and silk.

  “Holy shit.”

  Walking towards him as if she’s wearing nothing but a t-shirt and jeans, not a sexy piece of clothing designed by the devil herself, Cassidy asks, “How long until the food arrives?”

  Dryness crackles in his mouth and Harlan has to lick his lips before telling her that they have an hour.

  “Whatever shall we do during the time?” his vixen asks as she stands before him, stroking a hand down his chest as she peers up at him behind her long lashes.

  Harlan doesn’t react at first, but then his desire breaks free and he grabs her behind the thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist, before depositing her on the bed.

  “I can think of a few ways to pass the time.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” she poses coyly with her legs still wrapped around his waist as he hovers above her.

  Not one to back away from a challenge Harlan spends the next two hours showing her exactly what she’ll be missing while she’s home, and giving her every reason to expect him to come after her.

  Harlan is so lost in Cassidy that neither of them hears the knock on the door when the food arrives. Instead they feast on each other, Cassidy’s taste being the only thing Harlan needs to survive.

  HARLAN RESTS AGAINST A pillar in the airport, brim of his hat pulled down low, hands tucked into his jeans, hoping that none of the other patrons recognize him. Not that he cares; he isn’t leaving Cassidy’s side until the absolute last second.

  He watches as she tries to lift one of her bags onto the baggage check area and Harlan chuckles as she struggles, knowing that each of her six bags are over filled and over the weight limit. Anthony assists her in lifting all of the bags and then hands over a credi
t card, Harlan’s credit card, to pay for the fees, even though Cassidy fights against him. Her shoulders sag in defeat and she turns around to exit with her eyes on him.

  Fuck, she is beautiful, he thinks to himself.

  She struts towards him clad in a pair of light wash jeans cuffed at the bottom with her white Converse shoes. A black shirt hangs loosely exposing a bare shoulder that he wishes he could sink his teeth into, and her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, elongating her neck, and showcasing her classic features.

  As he stares at her, he can’t help but feel himself harden under her gaze. Even after the marathon of sex they had last night he still can’t get enough of her. His body is drawn to her like a beacon in the night. She is everything he never knew he needed, his anchor, his mate, his heart.

  As she approaches her steps slow and the color of her eyes change from a dark brown to a whiskey color, something he noticed happened anytime she is aroused.

  “I was coming over here angry at you for spending money on my luggage, and then you look at me like that and I can barely remember my name.”

  Tracing a finger down the barren skin of her neck Harlan asks, “What look?”

  “The one where you look at me like you want to eat me alive; like I’m your last meal.”

  Dragging his fingers down her body, caressing the outside of her breast causing her breath to hitch from the movement, he fists the loose material tightly in his hand and yanks her body closer, sealing his mouth over hers.

  She rests her hands on his shoulders for balance, but her fingers tighten into the skin as she reciprocates the heat in his kiss.

  He pulls back only slightly, nipping at her bottom lip as he says, “I will never get my fill of you, Cassidy.”

  She expels a breathy moan just as he uses his tongue to soothe the skin he nipped in his kiss.

  A cough sounds from behind them and Cassidy’s eyes widen as she remembers the very public location of their small rendezvous.

  “It’s ok, sweetheart. No one is watching,” Harlan explains as he releases her shirt and wraps his arms around her waist.

  She breathes a sigh of relief, and though it pangs Harlan to continue to keep their relationship private, he understands her hesitancy, especially after the repercussions of the previous photo scandal.

  The photographer that released the photos has yet to step forward, but Ryker and Cassidy did end up coming forth earlier in the week to explain that their relationship is one of love – familial love -- and requested privacy for their family, neither disclosing their shared surname. For Harlan, it felt like a small victory because Cassidy gave no inference of their relationship as bogus, even when she was asked. She kept herself calm and collected and simply answered that she plans to keep her private life private and that she was hurt that someone felt the need to try and tarnish her reputation.

  Luckily, the photos had done the opposite. Cassidy explained to him that her sales and orders had skyrocketed, surprising her.

  “It’s time to go, Ms. Connelly,” Anthony beckons from across the way.

  She raises her tear-filled eyes towards him and the antique diamond ring begins to burn a hole in his pocket. This isn’t how Harlan had planned to propose, in all truth he had been tossing around the idea since the moment he found her again, but how did you ask for someone’s hand in marriage that you had barely known for a few months?

  And an airport isn’t the place for this, but he needs to leave her with something, something that proves to her that this isn’t the end.

  As she swipes at the tears running down her cheeks, an idea pops into his head and he reaches into his back pocket to pull out the tiny white box where he had placed a flash drive. He had written a small note divulging all the things she makes him feel, how she is his muse, his love. And within those words a small declaration spending a lifetime together. It isn’t a proposal or question, but more of a statement proclaiming that they were meant to be. His fingers brush past the note and the soft paper and with a bit more finesse than he thought he is capable of he slips the ring under the tissue paper of the box and then hands it to her.

  “What’s this?” she asks as she curiously looks over the box.

  “Don’t open it until you get home; until you have a moment where you can’t bear to be away from me any longer.”

  “What if I feel like that all the time?”

  “You’ll know the right time. When you get home you’ll be sad, but you’ll be surrounded by your family. It’s when you’re alone and wish that I was there with you; you’ll know when.”

  “Ok,” Cassidy whimpers as she gazes down at the box before tucking it safely into her carry-on.

  Surprising him, and nearly knocking him off balance, she practically jumps into his hold and wraps her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly, afraid to let go. But as she steps back, Harlan rests his hands on her cheeks and wipes away her remaining tears before pressing a gentle kiss on her trembling lips.

  He takes a deep breath before declaring, “I love you,” for the first time in his life.

  “I love you, too, Harlan,” she answers as a radiant smile grows on her face.

  “Now, go get on that plane so I have a chance to miss you,” Harlan adds as his heart pounds wildly in his chest.

  Cassidy simply laughs gleefully, causing Harlan’s chest to bloom in love. She kisses him one last time, a sweet and thoughtful peck, but no less powerful, before heading towards the short security check line.

  Harlan watches as she steps through the scanning machine and replaces her shoes and bags.

  Just as she is about to turn the corner, removing her from his sight, Harlan shouts, “Hey, Cass!” to draw her attention. When she looks his way with questions in her eyes, he follows up his shout by calling, “I am going to come for you.”

  With a sad smile his woman responds, “Promises. Promises.”

  HE WHOOSHING OF THE ceiling fan in her childhood bedroom lulls Cassidy into a state of relaxation she hasn’t felt since lying in Harlan’s arms. Just thinking of him elicits a deep pang in her chest, her heart yearning for its companion.

  A knock on her door sounds and Cassidy turns her head watching as her brother Austin strolls in with his adorably pregnant wife. She sits up in bed and smiles at the couple that has persevered through so much, but seem as though they are living their fairytale.

  “Hi, Cassidy. How are you holding up?” Nikki asks as she waddles over to the bed and plops down.

  “I’m fine. I just miss him. He’s supposed to come see me when the tour is over next week.”

  “Well, that’s nice,” her sister-in-law says with a smile as she rubs her extended stomach.

  “How are you feeling?” Cassidy questions as she reaches her hands forward, silently asking if she can rub Nikki’s stomach.

  “I’m great. Just a couple of weeks left. But with my luck Grace will decide to stay put until she’s ready.”

  “Just like her daddy,” Cassidy jokes as she looks up at her brother who is smiling indulgently at Nikki. “Mom always said she knew he was going to be stubborn when she delivered ten days past her due date.”

  “I am not stubborn!” Austin argues.

  The girls exchange a knowing glance and announce at the same time, “Yes, you are,” before bursting into a round of giggles.

  As their laughter dies down Cassidy asks, “How is Avery doing? I’m sure Logan isn’t letting her out of his site.”

  Nikki’s face lights up at the mention of her best friend.

  “She’s doing great. She’s grown a lot in the past month, but you’d still never know she’s having twins. With the pediatric clinic almost finished, Brooks will be moving here just in time for the deliveries which give Logan and Austin a good peace of mind. But her OBGYN says she may need bed rest if she starts to experience swelling. And we both know how that is going to go.”

  Cassidy giggles to herself; Avery is one of the most independent people she has ever met. Her half-sister is n
ot going to take a command of bed rest easily.

  “They still don’t want to find out what they’re having?”

  “Nope. They want to be surprised, but those kids are going to be gorgeous. I’m kind of hoping for boys so our little girl will have someone to protect her.”

  “I don’t want to think about boys chasing after our Grace,” Austin chimes in, earning a steely glare from Nikki.

  “You be quiet,” she commands.

  “Anyway, what brings you by?” Cassidy asks as she stands from her bed and stretches, just as her eyes catch the small white box on the corner of her dresser.

  “You’ll know the right time. When you get home you’ll be sad, but you’ll be surrounded by your family. It’s when you’re alone and wish that I was there with you; you’ll know when,” he had said to her as he handed her the box.

  Cassidy misses him so much right now that her chest physically feels like an elephant is sitting on it.

  “Well, you had mentioned that you wanted to move back home and I just had a new property come on the market. Did you want to take a look?” her brother inquires.

  Tearing her gaze from Harlan’s gift, Cassidy nods enthusiastically.

  “Yes, please.”

  As they shuffle out of her bedroom door Austin takes a hold of her elbow gently, turning her attention towards him.

  “Is your man planning on moving here with you?”

  “Austin!” she shouts in a whisper, but he simply arches his brow at her in question. “Yes…no…I don’t know. I haven’t actually asked him to move here, but I want to move back home anyway. It would just be nice if he wanted to come too.”

  The thought of Harlan not moving to Carson with her isn’t one she has truly entertained up to this point. But now that the question hangs in the air, she can’t seem to imagine a house being a home without his presence.

  “I’m sorry, sis. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  A sad smile flitters across her face as she stares at her brother with mixed emotions in his eyes – protection, concern, and compassion.

  “I’ll be fine. Now let’s go see the house.”