Page 159 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

So that’s it.

She could pretend everything was fine until she had to go home and face the absence of that presence in her life.

“No, that’s not selfish at all,” he assured her. That was surviving, stalling the pain.

“I feel bad for not rushing to her side. Am I hiding behind the tour as a reason to avoid home?”

Her emotions were falling off her tongue so freely, it made his chest tight. Emerson tightened his arms around her. He liked that she was sharing them with him.

“I think you know Andi is going to be okay, else you’d already be on your way.”

“What if I’m wrong?”

“You gave her the flowers. It’s up to her to water them.”

Lyric’s grip tightened on his arms. “You’re right.”

Emerson almost laughed. He should take his own advice. No matter how much him and the others tried to make Lyric accept them as her pack, at the end of the day, she wouldn’t accept them until she was ready, and there was nothing they could do to rush it or make the choice for her. Despite how much they wanted to.

But that didn’t mean he’d stop trying.

Emerson squeezed her once more before releasing her and then stepped back. “You stay here. I’m gonna go see what the game plan is for today. Want coffee?”

She nodded, her mind and gaze far away even though she was looking right at him. He left the room quietly and passed through the bunk area, noting the absence of his bandmates.

Emerson hadn’t taken a full step into the living area before Adra’s voice prompted, “What’s wrong?”

“Andi’s mom died,” he announced. “And it’s hit Lyric pretty hard.”

Silence settled over the room. Not even Henry had anything to offer. Desi and Nohen shared a worried glance, and Javier’s brow furrowed at the news.

“As far as I can tell, we’re still playing tonight, so I think it’s best if we just…”

Even while Lyric wasn’t there to hear the words, he could just imagine her outrage if Emerson said coddle her. Though that was what he wanted to do.

“I know what we should do,” Javier announced. “I’ll fix some comfort foods while we’re stopped for a moment, and then I’ll be back. In the meantime…”

As Javier laid out the plan, Emerson smiled.

They’d give her what she needed whether she wanted it or not.

Tightening her fingers around the porcelain, Lyric sighed. “Thanks for the coffee,” she said softly.

Emerson hummed in response as the bed dipped beside her.

Silence ruled around them for just a moment, and Lyric sipped from the mug. The hot coffee slid down her throat, warming her from the inside just like the mug warmed her palms. It seemed to be the first thing she’d felt ever since she’d answered Andi’s call.

Besides gratitude. Emerson was surprisingly gentle and understanding for someone usually so gruff.

“Once you finish that, we can join the others,” Emerson said.

Lyric glanced up at him. “Why not now?”

She could just as easily drink coffee and drown in her own thoughts in the living area as she could in her nest.

“Work with me here,” he teased with a smile. “I’m stalling.”

“What are they up to?” she asked, heat infusing her cheeks.