I playfully shoved at his shoulder. “What can I help with?”
“If you set the table, you’ll be the girls’ hero forever.”
“Sold.” I dug out plates and forks. The girls rushed in, poring over plans to serenade Wren next weekend. I finished setting the table and we all sat.
“Are you going to be here for the show?” Bethany asked as we settled around the table.
Next Sunday would’ve been our normal lesson time, but Rhys was taking them to Wren’s on Saturday. “I don’t think so.”
“You have to be,” Hannah said.
“We’ll be at Wren’s around three,” Rhys said. “You’re welcome to see the performance. Then she’ll want you to stay for dinner.”
Another dinner by itself would be hard to pass up. I enjoyed visiting with Wren, and I’d love to see the show the girls put on.
Hannah went ramrod straight and her eyes were bright. “You can sing with us!”
Bethany gasped. “Can you?”
Stunned, I glanced at Rhys first. The girls had worked so hard to master their songs. He lifted a shoulder as if to say it was up to me. “Only if you want?—”
“Yes!” they both cried.
I laughed. Performing wasn’t going to feel like such a solitary endeavor tomorrow night. “Just one song. I don’twant to take over, and I’m not going to play the guitar. We all want to hear you.”
They wiggled in their seats and dug into their food.
Bethany heaped a forkful of meatloaf into her mouth. “When do we get to do another lesson?”
Rhys met my gaze, but I could only shrug. I had time, but I didn’t, and I didn’t want to intrude on their time with Wren.
“June’s busy working,” he answered. “And she’s leaving soon after.”
“Two weeks after.” I was stuck at five songs and had half a sixth that I’d probably end up scrapping. It was about a lonely boy who grew into a closed-off man. While I stuck to popular themes that resonated with me when I wrote, the song didn’t feel like my story. I wasn’t familiar enough with the material, though I should have been.
“What about the Sunday before you leave?” Bethany frantically looked between the two of us. Her eyes were watery, like she was devastated to realize today had been our last lesson. Hannah’s expression matched hers.
Rhys gave me a noncommittal shrug as if to say it was my decision.
“I’d be happy to,” I said. “It’ll give us a chance to say goodbye.”
Rhys tucked his chin down and concentrated on his meatloaf.
“What if I forget everything until then?” Hannah’s eyes were wide.
I smiled. They were very serious about their lessons. “You won’t, but I can give you homework. The same as before—keep quizzing each other on counting and notes.”
Bethany nodded, her expression intent. “Is that what you do?”
I finished my mouthful, considering the answer. “Practice is always good, but I also like to challenge myself with other things. One of my ex—uh, old friends, used to play drums and he was teaching me.”
Rhys’s fork thunked on his plate as he sawed a chunk off his meatloaf. Jealous?
I liked the thought way too much. I’d made a lot of money off a song about my jealousy, but penning “Emerald Rain” and singing it was a lot different than seeing a guy feel the same over me. When that guy was Rhys, I might reveal a little more than I should.
“He was also a phenomenal fiddle player.” Finn’s set included a song he played with his violin. “I got some lessons on that too. I even have a violin now.”
Hannah’s eyes sparkled. “Cool!”
