AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hi, Ryan.”
“Hey, you.” Bracing both hands on the bar, he leaned over and kissed her.
“Wh-What are you doing?” She looked around them.
“Impulse. I saw you looking hot and needed to kiss you.”
She huffed out a breath. “Don’t do it again.”
He saw the small smile as she turned away.
“Not promising anything. Any chance of a beer and burger for Shay? Deano is sick, so he’s filling in to help Mikey.”
“No way. Mikey will love that.”
“Yeah, he’ll just play in the background while Mikey does his thing.”
“You want a beer too?”
“Definitely. I have a feeling I’ll need it.”
“It’ll be fun; you’ll see. Go on now and take your seat. It’ll be starting soon, and the guest of honor needs to be in place. I’ll get Shay his food and drink.”
“You’re going to enjoy this, aren’t you?”
Her smile flashed a row of white teeth. “Oh yes.”
“Even more so if I actually let it show how uncomfortable this is making me?”
“Definitely. And why would this make you uncomfortable when you’ve played in front of thousands?”
“Truthfully, I have no idea, but I think it could be that these people are my people, and I don’t want to disappoint them.” He wasn’t sure why he’d felt the need to say those words.
Her dark eyes softened, and she placed her hand over the one he had on the bar. He felt everywhere their skin made contact. “You got this, big boy. And you could never disappoint them; they love you. Plus, you’ve always had that way about you that makes people comfortable. You’ll rock this gig.”
Her smile was sweet and all for him. He squeezed her fingers and fought the urge to kiss her again. The tension between them was suddenly gone.
“Thanks” was all he could muster, his throat tight. “I’ll do my best.” Ryan made himself walk away from her and wondered again just how hard that was going to be when the time came for real.
A stage had been brought in for the talent show, and tables pushed together to one side tables for the judges. Seats seemed to be filling fast.
He greeted all the people who called to him and kissed his mom, who sat with Mac. They were holding hands, which threw him, but he rallied enough to find his seat.
Whispers started among the tourists who recognized him.
“So, you tell me who’s good, and I’ll vote for them,” Cubby said, dropping down beside him. “I’m pretty clueless about pitch and stuff like that.”
“You can judge the performance though, Cub. Look for movement and what you think is entertaining.”
The sheriff was out of uniform tonight in jeans and a deep gray button-down shirt. Strength radiated off the man, and Ryan understood why the town of Lake Howling felt comfortable with him in charge.
“Where’s your woman?”
Cubby’s face softened into a smile. Ryan knew the look of a man in love.
“She’ll be here soon; she’s just doing a final drive around town before one of the deputies takes over.”
“The town is lucky to have you two.”
