Melody of the Heart (Runaway Train, #4)

“I see.”


It was actually kinda nice having the guys help me cook. With all the teasing banter, I had a smile on my face the entire time. After opening a can of green beans and making some instant creamed potatoes, we had a Southern meal in the middle of nowhere West Virginia.

“This chicken is fucking fabulous,” Rhys said, after taking a bite and closing his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Seriously, it’s almost as good as our cook’s, and she was known for being one of the best cooks in Savannah.”

“High praise indeed,” I replied with a smile.

While the guys continued chowing down, I took a plate over to Brayden. Sitting down next to him, I started feeding him bites as he drove. “You’re so good to your man for doing this,” Brayden said, after swallowing a bite of cream potatoes.

“It’s my pleasure, baby,” I replied.

Jake groaned. “You two with the lovey dovey shit are going to make me lose my dinner.”

“Bite me,” Brayden shot back.

I wouldn’t mind if Lily did,” Jake teased. That earned him both a quick glower, as well as a growl, from Brayden. “Keep your eyes on the road, dickhead.”

“I’ll be happy to. Just keep yours off my girl.”

“All right, boys, that’s enough,” I warned.

“He reminds me too much of Mitch sometimes,” Brayden muttered under his breath.

I smiled at him. “Once again, you are so misguided.”

He cut his eyes over to me. “Am I?”

“Just like with Mitch, there will never be anything between me and Jake.”

“Give me a kiss to prove yourself.”

With a giggle, I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. When I pulled back, Brayden winked at me. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” As I spooned him more chicken, I said, “At the next stop, we’ll get one of the guys to take over the wheel. Then we can have some alone time.”

“I like that idea very, very much.”





BRAYDEN


THE PAST


“Brayden, are you coming?” Lily impatiently whined from the front of the bus.

As I slipped the ring box into my jean pocket, I called, “In just a minute.”

I couldn’t help grinning when I heard her stomp her foot in disappointment. We’d pulled into the RV area of the Great Southeastern Fair somewhere in Mississippi about an hour ago. We had a show from eight until ten. While we played, Lily would be manning the merchandise, which was mainly our CD’s and T-shirts.

Of course, I hadn’t expected Lily to be dying to go to the fair. I hadn’t seen her this excited in a long time and all for a half-assed version of what we could get back home on a much bigger scale at Six Flags in Atlanta.

She appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. “We only have three hours before you have to go on.”

Cocking my brows at her, I said, “Wow, only three hours? We may not get to ride everything twice.”

She poked her lips out in a pout that made her incredibly sexy. I had to fight the urge to throw her over my shoulder and head to the bedroom. I knew she would kill me if I even tried.

“Okay, okay, just let me put on my tattoo cream and pull my hair back.”

Lily’s blue eyes widened with pleasure when I unbuttoned my shirt. A week ago we had pulled into a tattoo parlor. Jake wanted some more ink, and considering I only had two tattoos, I thought it would be a good idea to get some as well. One in particular that I wanted was to go over my heart, and it was Lily’s name. The guy had made it look really bad ass with these flames and the word Lily in the middle of them.

“There I am,” she said softly, as I began to rub the cream over her name.

“Always on my heart.”

She leaned in and gave me a kiss. “I love that you wanted to get my name on your body.”

“Maybe we can work up to getting mine on yours.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Your name is a lot longer than mine.”

“So?”

“It’ll hurt more. That’s not fair.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Am I not worth a little pain?” I countered.

“Mmm, hmm, and I consider that taken care of when I have our babies.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Here. I’ll do your hair for you.” Lily wedged herself between me and the mirror. She ran her fingers through the strands of my hair as she swept it out of my face. “I can’t believe how long it’s getting.”

“Don’t you like it?”

She smiled. “Mmm, I love it.”

I grinned at her. “I’m glad to hear that.” In the last month on the road, my hair had grown past its usual length on my shoulders.

“There,” she said.

Glancing past her, I surveyed her work in the mirror. “What the hell is that?” I asked, pointing to the bob at the back of my head.

“It makes you look edgy.”

“It makes me look like a samurai warrior or something.”

Crossing her arms over her rack, Lily countered, “Well, last time I checked, samurai’s were pretty bad ass.”

“Hmm, Lily Marie said a bad word,” I teased.