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“I … there’s no … just go,” she said before she looked away from me. I returned to the living room, but couldn’t sleep, so I went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of vodka, and poured myself a glass.
The fiery feel of the alcohol burned my throat and my chest too. I hoped it would knock me out for the night so that I wouldn’t dream about Leah and all the ways she made me feel.
Chapter Seven
Leah
Daniellelaughedintomyspeaker and hearing the light sound made me smile. She was playing the guitar over there and I sang along to the tune she played while reminiscing on the surge of life I got whenever I was on stage.
“When are you coming back, Leah … it’s crazy out here without you,” Danielle said once she stopped playing the guitar. “I miss you here. There’s no one as crazy as you are.”
“I miss you too, Danny. I miss you a lot, and I miss playing too. But I think this is for the best, you know. At least I’m safe here and I’m happy.”
Danielle didn’t say anything for a while, and when she spoke again, she asked about Tommy. “How’s my dad? Is he still in the cottage?’
When I first arrived, I had told Danielle about meeting her father unexpectedly, but I didn’t tell her about how steamy things were getting. The kiss the previous day had me troubled and I couldn’t focus without thinking about the man.
“I’ll try to write something while I’m here, but you’ve got to hold the band together, Danny. You’re what the band needs right now.”
I could imagine her smile, and how excited she was about the Europe tour, but I couldn’t let myself get excited too because it was of no use. I spent the rest of the day in my bedroom, and by the time I went down that evening, Tommy was just returning to the house.
“Hi,” I said once I saw him walk in through the front door.
He paused and looked at me for a long time. “Hey,” he said. Neither of us spoke for the next few minutes and I wondered if he thought about the kiss as I did.
Tommy’s expression didn’t give anything away, but he stood there for a while like he was trying to muster up words. She saw his jaw move, his skin was paler than usual, and when she took a step toward him, he took one back.
“Truce,” he said, then raised his hands in the air. “I’m calling a truce. You get to work on the bedroom, but that’s it. I don’t want you changing anything else.”
“I want to work on the garden too. It’ll help me stay calm.”
“You know why I don’t want the garden,” he said. “The pollen … I’m allergic. I’m sorry I can’t let you work on that.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, then nodded. “All right … All right fine,” I agreed. “I call truce too. I want to take you to dinner tonight. Just as a gesture of peace between us for as long as we’re both living in the cottage.”
“Peace,” he repeated and smiled. It reached his eyes and made him look even more fierce and handsome. I felt my heart skip a beat for a bit, and I nearly let the breathlessness overcome me. “You want to buy me dinner?”
I nodded. “I think it’ll make the beginning of a new peace between us.”
I made hand gestures as I smiled and seeing his smile softened my heart some more.
“All right,” he agreed. “I’m game.”
“Cool.”
I tucked my hands into the pockets of my jeans, and he nodded before walking past me up the stairs. I went into the kitchen, and poured myself a glass of juice, then sat on the front porch to enjoy my time alone. The one thing I liked about Lakewood was the serenity. It was easy to lose myself in the beauty of nature and enjoy the silence.
While sitting there, I thought of the band and wished I could join them on the tour. The Texas Heart band was my heart and soul. I wrote all my songs and loved to play the guitar all day. It was all I ever wanted to do, and now I had to give it up.
Tears filled my eyes as I thought of the accident. Wishing I could turn back the hands of time countless times hadn’t changed a thing. I had let fame get to me, and the result was I gave up my dreams.
At least Danielle gets to play.
I spent hours outside, then hurried into the house to prepare for my dinner night with Tommy. By the time I was ready, Tommy was in the living room waiting. As soon as I descended the stairs, he rose to his feet and looked at me.
“You look beautiful,” he stammered, and the rising crimson color that reached his cheeks proved that he didn’t mean to say the words.
“Thank you,” I managed and gasped when he walked to me and took my hand. “Do you have any place in mind that’s not Belly Row?”
