Along for the Ride

by Casey Peeler

  Along for the Ride:

  A Small Town Friends-to-Lovers Country Music Romance

  By Casey Peeler

  Edited by Chelly Peeler at Ink It Out Editing Services

  Paperback ISBN: 9798648926318

  Digital ISBN: 9780463725351

  Copyright © 2020 Casey Peeler

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a written act of fiction. Any places, characters, or similarities are purely coincidence. If certain places or characters are referenced it is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The author recognizes all copyright and trademarks that are mentioned within this work of fiction.

  ALSO BY CASEY PEELER

  FULL CIRCLE SERIES

  Losing Charley

  Finding Charley

  Loving Charley

  TUTUS & COWBOY BOOTS SERIES

  Tutus & Cowboy Boots Part 1

  Tutus & Cowboy Boots Part 2

  STANDALONES

  Crashing Tides

  Lion Eyes

  Southern Perfection

  Boondocks

  Worth the Ride

  NOVELLAS

  Our Song

  Beyond the Lights

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Chase

  As I kill the engine on my dirt bike, I look around Belle and Beau’s yard for them. It doesn’t take long to discover where they are as the sound of an acoustic guitar whispers in the hot summer breeze, the cotton field in full bloom in the background.

  Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I hop off my bike and walk toward the most angelic voice that is singing along to the strum of a guitar.

  As I round the back of the barn, Beau and his sister Belle, or Bella Blu as I’ve called her since we were knee-high to a grasshopper, come into view. I’m trying my best not to stare at how her golden hair falls perfectly in her face or how with those cutoffs, her legs go on for days. Instead, I remember the little girl with pigtails and overalls that has been one of my best friends since I moved to this little town in first grade. Too bad those thoughts don’t do anything to help me with how I feel about her these days.

  Propping myself up on the side of the barn, I steal a few moments and listen before they notice me, and when Bella Blu smiles in my direction, there are nothing but inappropriate thoughts that enter my mind about what I’d love to do to those plump and kissable lips. She’s beautiful inside and out, but won’t give me a chancel. Go figure.

  “‘Bout time you showed up. Beau and I were starting to think you ditched us,” Belle says with a smile. Can’t she quit that crap? Well, the smile isn’t crap; it’s the fact I can’t claim those lips as mine.

  “Sorry, Dad had me picking green beans this mornin’. I swear I didn’t think those rows were ever gonna end. Not to mention, I had to go with him to the new site and line it off.”

  “I feel ya. Dad had us out checking watermelons before the sun came up then wanted us to check the cotton fields. Hey, I’m gonna go grab something to drink. Y’all want something?” Bella Blu asks as we both nod and she vanishes toward the house. Dang, I could watch her walk away any day of the week.

  “Seriously, are you going to ask her to the Harvest Festival dance or what? Better yet, might as well wait until prom the way you’re ogling her. You’re lucky I haven’t beat you already.”

  Oh crap. Here we go. Beau is always trying to start something when it comes to Belle. He knows I’ve got it bad for her, but we’re just friends, or that’s what she keeps saying anyways.

  “Prom? Are you kiddin’ me? I’m not askin’ her to prom…I’m gonna marry that girl.”

  “You’re gonna what?” I hear a sweet voice behind me say as Beau starts to belly laugh. Bella Blu is clueless as she hands me a mason jar full of fresh-squeezed lemonade. My face turns a hundred shades of red and if I could strangle Beau right now, I would. Oh, just wait. Payback’s coming.

  “Nothing. Beau was giving me crap about that stupid Harvest Festival dance. He was telling me that I couldn’t find a date in this town if I paid someone.”

  Placing her hands on her hips, I see her eyes dart to her brother. “Why you gotta be an jerk? Any girl would be lucky to have Chase as their date.”

  “Oh, really?” Beau says with an underlying tone.

  “Really. He’s an awesome catch. Far better than you, Beau Bear. Any girl would be lucky to go with him. Besides, you know you don’t have a date either.”

  “What about you, Belle? You got a date? Has that dumb as a rock Tucker Jones asked you yet?” Beau baits her.

  “Um, no,” and she begins to blush. All the girls in Lattimore think that there’s no one better than Tucker Jones. Something about abs for days and what they’d do to lick them or something like that. We’ve heard her and Laurel talk about him since we got into high school. “You know he’s going with his flavor of the week. Besides, he’s pretty to look at, but there’s no light on upstairs. I want someone who can actually carry on a conversation about something other than football and working out.”

  Beau gives me a nudge as he walks by to grab his drink and as his phone rings, he leaves us alone. My insides begin to get all out of whack and I can’t even believe I’m about to ask her this.

  “So you really don’t care about Tucker Jones?”

  “Nah. He’s not really my style. Don’t get me wrong, that six-pack he’s got going on is h-o-t, but honestly, I’m okay going with y’all. It would be fun. Us, Laurel, Beau and few others. He has mentioned something about asking Sarah. You know, he’s head over heels for
her and doesn’t even know it,” she says with a laugh and all I can do is feel his pain.

  Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I muster up the courage to lay it all out there, but first I let out a big breath of air.

  She looks my way, “You okay? You look like you’re about to be sick.”

  “Bella Blu, I know we’re just friends, but would you want to go to the dance with me?” Silently I pray she says yes. Please, pretty please, say yes.

  She looks up at me and pauses. “I’d love to go with you, Chase. Besides, going with your best friend beats going with a dumb jock any day of the week.”

  And just like that, I’m still in the friend zone.

  Belle

  Chase didn’t just ask me to the dance and I said yes. What in the world am I thinking? Next thing I know he’ll be asking me to prom, and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love that boy. He’s been here for me ever since I can remember, but he and I can’t be together. It would be strange. He knows all my secrets, gets me, but it would ruin everything. However, going to the Harvest Festival dance is fun and it’s not like we wouldn’t be going together anyways.

  As Beau returns from his conversation, I quickly take a sip of my lemonade and go back to singing the song we were working on. He pauses and looks between us. “What’s up with y’all?” he asks, cutting his eyes at both of us.

  “Nothin’. Just going to the dance together is all,” I say as Chase chokes on his lemonade.

  “For real?” he questions. Looking to Chase, he shakes his head and is trying his best not to smile. “Well, that’s good 'cause I couldn’t have y’all two being the third and fourth wheel with Sarah and me.”

  “What about Laurel?” I ask.

  “What about her?” Beau states, confused.

  “She can’t go alone.” Laurel is my only girl pal, but since school’s been out she’s been working like crazy at the local diner and never has time to hang out.

  “Oh, didn’t you hear?” Beau smirks as Chase and I look between each other. “She’s Tucker Jones’ flavor of the week, but more like two weeks.”

  “You’re kiddin’?” I'm not sure how my eighteen-year-old brother knows more gossip than I do. I wonder why she didn’t tell me? Oh, wait. She’s lost phone privileges and been working forty hours a week. That might be why, but that’s got me curious. It’s time to make a stop into the diner for more info.

  “Yeah, I'm kiddin’, but then again she might be keeping it a secret so you don’t try and lick his abs or something,” Beau says as he attempts to demonstrate a visual with the mason jar.

  “That is so gross! I’m so over him. I’ve grown up, ya know. It’s not always about looks, but anyways, can we move on and write, please?”

  We all look at each other. I take a seat with my guitar as Beau hands me a few chords sketched on a paper towel. I hum them in my head as my fingers begin to roam the neck of my guitar. As the chords strum to life, I feel the words begin to build in my soul.

  Continuing to play the melody, I begin to sing the words aloud. Closing my eyes, I forget about everything around me and sing, because singing is what sets me free.

  Chase

  Taking one last look in the rearview mirror, I take a deep breath and grab the fresh home-picked bouquet of flowers for Bella Blu. Walking up the steps, I knock and wait as my hands get clammy.

  Opening the door, I’m met by her dad, Max.

  “Evenin’, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “Oh, drop that mess, Chase, and come on in. She’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Walking into the living room, we take a seat as Beau walks in. “Dang, look at you. You lookin’ all spiffy,” he says as he takes a seat beside me. “Y’all wanna ride together? I’ve got to get Sarah.” Pausing, he looks at me, “Scratch that. You’re livin’ your dream and I’ve got one shot with Sarah tonight.”

  “Dude, really? You might as well put a ring on her hand and call it done.”

  Beau starts to reply, but I have no clue what he is saying because my world has completely stopped. The most beautiful girl in the world walks into the room. She’s standing there in a dress that stops mid-thigh and is the perfect color blue for her. It’s not over-the-top fancy; it’s tight yet flowy and covered in lace. Looking at her, she smiles, but when I look to her feet, I smile because that’s the Bella Blu I know. She doesn’t go a day without boots, and if she does she’s barefoot.

  “Wow, you look beautiful, Bella Blu.” Shrugging her shoulders, she shakes it off. Her long hair is curled in long tendrils, and there is a trace of lip gloss and just enough makeup on her face. “Here, these are for you.”

  Handing the flowers to her, she takes a big sniff of them and smiles before turning over her shoulder to her mom, Sharon. “Mama, will you take these, please?”

  “Absolutely, but first we’ve got to get a few pictures.”

  “Mama, you promised!” Bella Blu whines and Beau and I both look at each other.

  “I’ve gotta run and get Sarah. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Wait a second, Beau Bear, you’re not missing this photo shoot,” Belle says with a smile and her mom agrees.

  “Tell ya what, I’ll get these in water as soon as you leave. Let’s get these photos taken. I know y’all are bustin’ at the seams to get goin’. Heck, everyone in town has been waiting on this dance all summer.”

  Walking outside, I stand to the side of the porch as I wait for Sharon’s direction. “Beau and Belle, hop on up there.” They stand on the porch and take a few pictures for her. Beau is so over it, but for me, I’m loving it. Those two are thick as thieves except when Beau’s wanting to hang out with his older friends at the trestle. Within a few moments, those two are doing what they do best—acting a fool. They’ve gone from serious to goofy poses in a matter of seconds.

  “All right, Chase, hop up there, too. I need one of the three amigos.” Stepping toward them, I go to the left of Bella Blu. She puts her arms behind each of us, we do the same, and the three of us smile for the camera.

  Belle

  If Mama doesn’t hurry up with that camera! She takes one last picture with the three of us and then Beau excuses himself. Standing there on the porch, I look up to Chase. “Come on, Chase, smile pretty for the camera,” I tease him, sliding my arm back behind him and he takes a deep breath.

  “That’s easy, all I’ve got to do is look at you,” he says, low enough for only us to hear. Mom acts as if she’s a professional snapping a picture as I look up to him.

  “Y’all two. Let’s take a couple next to the barn.”

  “Mama, really?”

  “Yes, it’s not often I see Chase this cleaned up,” she says with a slight laugh, but in all honesty she’s got high hopes for the two of us. In fact, that’s all I’ve heard since we were kids. I’m pretty sure our moms have had us married off since we became friends, but it’s not happening.

  Approaching the barn, we step to the old wooden boards and pose for a few pictures, but I’m over it. “Hey, Mama, can we do something fun?”

  “Sure.”

  I look up to Chase, “Wanna go push me?”

  He looks at me with a smile and replies, “I guess.”

  Taking a spot on the tire swing, I gracefully try to slide in the swing without showing all my goods, which is more difficult than I had thought in this dress. Chase stands behind me and pushes me as Mom snaps away. Chase and I talk about random stuff like we always do, and when I start to ask Mama something I realize she is no longer there. “When did she leave?”

  “Bella Blu, she was gone after a few seconds.”

  “Oh,” how did I miss that? Suddenly I realize this was what she’s been waiting on. The two of us decked out and doing things our way. “You ‘bout ready?”

  “Of course,” he slows the swing and as I come to a stop, I get dust on my boots. Crap. “No worries, we can clean them up in the truck."

  Climbing in the truck, Chase closes the door for me like a true
southern gentleman. As he walks around, I take a moment to look at him all cleaned up.

  “Hey, Chase, you know what?”

  “What?”

  “You clean up well. I’m going to have to use these shit-kickers to keep the girls off of ya.”

  He pauses and looks my way, “Bella Blu, I’m not worried about me. Now you, on the other hand, Tucker Jones better not look your way.” Pushing his shoulder, he laughs and we drive toward Laurel’s house as my phone begins to ring.

  “Hey, girl. We’re on our way,” pausing, I listen to Laurel. “You sure? All right, see you there.”

  Hanging up, I look to Chase, “Looks like there’s a last-minute change of plans. Tyler Cooper texted to see if she wanted a ride. Who does that? We were on the way there.” Chase laughs and shakes it off.

  “Be thankful that wasn’t Tucker.”

  “Good point. I’m so glad that didn’t even last a week.”

  “Guess it’s just me and you then, Bella Blu.”

  “Guess so. Oh, turn that up.” Turing the dial on the radio, "Dirt Road Anthem" pumps through the speakers and Chase and I both begin to sing. When Chase begins the rap part, I listen intently and smile at how amazing he really is. Who would think a country boy from Lattimore knew how to flow like that? And when he talks about cold beer in the console, he points to it with a smile, and I know what we’re doing later. There’s big boy beer for the two of us.

  Arriving at the dance, I pause when I see how cute it’s decorated. Who knew a little run down town could have a cute little dance floor in the middle of a parking lot next to The Depot. Lights have been strung from one side to the other, there’s a band on stage, and people are two-stepping around the asphalt. Looking around, I see Beau and Sarah. He gives me a wave and I’m not sure if that means he wants us to talk to him or not. My brother can be so weird sometimes. He’s not but a year older, we have a lot of the same friends and the three of us are together a lot, but sometimes he wants to do his own thing with his friends which is understandable.

  As I’m about to walk over there, Chase grabs my hand and shakes his head no. “Bella Blu, if he wants to hang, he’ll tell us. He must not want us taggin’ along tonight.”

  “Maybe so, but I don’t get it. We’re cool people.”