“I’m fine,” Jess answered, her voice shaking. “Has anyone come to see him?”
“No,” his mother whispered. “No one has come by, and he hasn’t left. Other than when he’s hungry, he stays locked up in his room. I didn’t think anything of it. He used to do it all the time when he’d write his music.”
There was a long pause before Jess let out a weary sigh. “That’s just it. He hasn’t written anything in over a year. Not anything he’s told me about, anyway. I don’t know if he has anything left.”
“Oh, honey,” Reid’s mother soothed. “I don’t think that’s true. Every time I’ve checked on him, he’s been writing in some notebook. Did you see it? I’m sure it’s filled with beautiful words.”
Reid’s heart slammed inside his chest. His pulse thundered in his ears and his skin flushed hot. He sat up quickly, the notebook across his chest falling to the floor. Wide-eyed, he looked from the door to the notebook, a sinking feeling that she’d seen the pages setting in.
“Yeah. I saw it. I’m just not sure what I saw were lyrics.” When Jess’s voice broke, Reid jumped from the bed and tripped his way to the door. He tried to control his emotions, but when he ripped the door open, the force causing it to bang against the wall, he knew he’d failed.
Jess and his mom jumped from the sound, their eyes wide as he appeared next to them. “Hey, Jess. I thought I heard you.” He stepped next to her and slid his arm around her waist, placing a soft kiss on her cheek before turning to his mom. “What are you two up to?”
His mom rolled her eyes, a small, knowing smile on her lips. “Talking about you, of course. Now, don’t you think it’s about time you come out of that room and spend some time with Jess before you leave again?”
Before Reid could answer, Jess spoke. “I don’t want to bother him if he’s working.”
Reid gripped her a little tighter, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “I’m not working on anything. Let me grab my stuff and we can go.”
Jess’s brows dented as she searched his face. He felt exposed. Like she could see straight through him. Like she could see all the secrets he was trying so hard to mask. “Your stuff?”
Reid nodded and stepped back, keeping his eyes locked with hers. “Yeah. I thought I could crash with you until I have to go back. I’m sure Mom and Dad are ready to have the place to themselves again.”
“Nonsense,” his mother cut in before stepping forward and giving him a hug. “I’ve loved having you here, but you should spend some time with Jess. We’ll see each other again soon.”
Reid smiled. “Of course.” Looking at Jess, he shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “So what do you say?”
Jess’s eyes shimmered and her smile was strained as she fought to control the emotions Reid could see swimming in her gaze. “Really?” she asked, small and unsure.
“Jess,” he whispered, pulling her against his chest. With his eyes pinched shut and his mouth pressed to her ear, he exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’re upset. Let’s get out of here, okay?”
Jess pressed her forehead against his shoulder and clutched his shirt. “Okay.”
After saying their good-byes, Reid and Jess drove toward the city. “So what do you want to do?”
Reid drummed his fingers over the tops of his thighs and hummed. “Let’s go to Rum Boogie.”
Jess’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “You want to go to Beale? What on earth for? Once people recognize you, it’ll be a nightmare.”
Reid pulled out his phone. “I’ll call ahead. We’ll sneak in the back, say hi to a few people, have a drink, and leave before anyone is the wiser. What do you say? It’ll be fun.”
“If you say so,” Jess mumbled, eyeing him warily as she drove toward Beale.
The truth was, Reid didn’t want to go to Beale. He needed to go. He met Jess in that bar. They’d fallen in love there. It was filled with the best kind of memories. He hoped being there with her after all this time could ignite the fire that had faded to smoking embers. He had to give them a chance. For himself and for Jess. She deserved at least that much.
Reid reached across the car and placed his hand on Jess’s thigh. “Maybe tomorrow we can go out to the farm? You can show me the colt you delivered. We could even go riding.” Reid laughed. “God, I haven’t been on a horse in years. I’ll probably fall off and break my neck.”
Jess giggled and flashed him a bright smile, her eyes sparkling. The sight caused his chest to ache. Her eyes had always been his favorite feature. It hurt to admit that when he looked into their deep blue depths now, it only made him miss Chloe that much more.