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“Got as good a chance as anyone, is my take. Later, Mikey.” He watched the boy lope away.
He’d seen Faith a few times since the day Brody was born, but there was distance between them now. Distance she’d put there and he wasn’t sure how to close.
They were polite strangers, and the hell of it was he still wanted her badly. Wanted her under him, over him, on the counter in the cabin’s kitchen. He looked at the place they’d made love so many times each day and saw her naked. It was like the image was now seared into his retinas.
There was also her humor, smart mouth, and every other personality trait that he liked. The woman was certainly the whole package.
Digging into his pocket as his phone rang, he looked at the caller ID and accepted the call. “Shay, what’s up?”
“When you coming back?” Talon’s bass player asked.
“Not sure yet.”
“I thought you might say that. Turn around.”
He did, and there was his friend.
“What the hell?” They did a chest bounce.
“You’re always talking about this place, so I thought I’d come check it out. Plus, we got nervous when you told Elijah about that gift you got. Anything else arrived?”
“Nothing since, so likely it’s a random thing,” he said.
“It wasn’t that long ago, Ryan. You need to watch your back.”
A fan had become fanatical, targeting him. One night she’d broken into his house and gone through his things. She left words painted in red over his walls, telling him they were meant to be together.
“It could be her. Jasper is worried,” Shay added.
Jasper was Talon’s manager. He was ruthless, and a wizard when it came to management. He wasn’t a man who took time off and didn’t understand when others wanted it, but he watched over them like a mother hen minding her chicks.
“I’ll be careful. It’s good to see you, man.”
Shay O’Malley and Ryan had met in London. They’d connected instantly and started a band while sharing a flat on Talon Road. That band became Talon.
“Anything else you’re not telling me?”
“Nope. Just missed your ugly face. Anywhere we can get a coffee around here?”
“The Hoot café; it’s owned by an old friend. I just need to go in here first.”
Shay looked at the sign above the general store.
“The Roar. Are all the names in this town animal-sound related?”
“Hoot is technically an owl sound, therefore a bird, not an animal,” Ryan pointed out, opening the door.
“Still got that need to be right going on,” Shay muttered.
“Not right, accurate. Hey, Mac,” Ryan said.
“Ryan, how are you?”
Mac managed to look at him now without coloring up. They seemed to have come to a silent understanding that Ryan was all good with Mac dating his mom. No need to discuss it over coffee or thrash it to death like the female of species; it was just handled silently.
His mother was dating.He was still a little uncomfortable with that, mainly because she’d never dated anyone that he knew about.
“This is a friend. Shay, Mac,” he said, knowing Mac was clueless about Talon, so there was no point in saying he was the bass player.
