They’d provided for her, gave her all the best things in life. Andrew was from a stellar family. He was going to be a lawyer in his father’s firm. Girls were jealous because he’d picked her. She really didn’t know why he’d chosen her, but now she didn’t care.
She didn’t want to be part of that life. That wasn’t her. Being in Gran’s house and around real people, even with the bad and ugly, was better than being surrounded by superficial people.
She wanted to be herself—to be in charge of her own life and make her own decisions. Right or wrong.
Lost in her thoughts, she jumped as someone tapped her window, and she shrieked. Shelby wiped at her eyes and rolled down the window.
“You all right?” Cassie asked.
“Yeah. Hi.” She managed a weak smile.
“Post office been closed a while. Sure you’re okay?” The blonde’s green eyes pierced her like she could read minds.
Shelby tried to blow it off, but she couldn’t stop the traitorous tears that slid down her face. Before she could say anything, Cassie slid into her passenger seat and locked the door.
“You’re not okay. I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m fairly new to this town myself. So we have something in common.”
Shelby never opened up to people. They always stabbed her in the back. The only person who never did was Skye. So she spilled it. All except her attraction to Ethan, which in her estimation had nothing to do with any of it.
“Damn, girl. You got your hands full. I can bet they’ll try to come get you.” Cassie rubbed at a worn leather cuff on her left wrist. “You’re not alone here, though. Once you’re a Booseys girl, Mick gets involved. Trust me. Sometimes too involved, but he means well. I think you should tell him what’s going on.”
Shelby never knew how to act around girls like Cassie. The girl was just gorgeous without trying. Her hair was a wild mess, and all she wore was ripped up shorts, a tee shirt tank, and worn boots. But she’d bet money she turned every head when she walked down the street.
“Why would he care? I’ve worked only a handful of times and caused him trouble every single time. I keep wondering if he’s going to fire me.”
Cassie snorted. “Hell, no. None of it has been your fault. Let me ask you something someone asked me once, do you regret coming here?”
Shelby looked up. “No. I should have never left.”
Cassie grinned. “Then welcome home. Fuck ’em, girlie. If this is where you want to be. Then be here.”
Shelby took a deep breath. “You’re right. This is my home.”
“I might be from Oklahoma originally, but this is my hometown. And no one will ever tell me different. At some point, we gotta do what’s right for ourselves. Screw everyone else.” A slow smile crept across Cassie’s face. “DirtSlap is playing a new gig tonight. Come with us. Lila will be there.”
The crowd at the bar was suffocating. They weren’t at Booseys, but at another club right on Broadway. The venue was bigger, but that only meant more people were packed in. She’d let Cassie drag her to the gig, and they had arrived late. And even though she enjoyed their music, she did not enjoy the crowd.
She stood against a brick wall, watching in complete awe as Ethan sang and worked the crowd. The man was a natural. It was hot, and when he pulled off his shirt, girl screams killed her eardrums. Cassie stood on a chair waving her drink in the air, danced, and cheered her boys on. It wasn’t long until Lila showed up. Seeing Shelby hiding against the wall, Lila yanked her up in a chair as well. Ethan had taken a breather and was introducing the band like he did the other night when he paused, lifted his shades, and pointed at the three of them.
“Well, looky there. It’s our girls.”
Cassie and Lila let out cheers of approval as everyone in the bar turned toward them. Shelby hated being the center of attention and did what any awkward shy girl would do and gave a little wave.
“Cassie,” Ethan said as Cassie raised her drink in salute and a yell. “Lila and Shelby.”
“Are you enjoying the show, Brown Eyes?” Ethan asked as he stepped towards the edge of the stage, his eyes pinning hers over the crowd like they were the only people in the room. His smile doing what it always did, making her insides flutter.
When Lila and Cassie stared at her, she had the greatest urge to find the nearest table and hide under it. She gave him a hesitant smile and nodded.
“That’s my girl.” He winked and let his mirrored shades fall back over his eyes.
Had he put a stamp on her forehead that said ‘Ethan’s’, he couldn’t have proclaimed it any better. No one would mess with her now. Why her? Why not do that for Lila? And what did he plan on doing about the glares she was receiving from the female population?
“I knew it! I knew it! Girl, how’d you snag the hottest guy on stage?” Lila asked.
Before Shelby could even think of a reply, Ethan caught her attention again.
“We’re gonna switch it up. Play something a little harder for ya’ll.” Ethan flashed his dimples. “You die hard country folks might wanna duck.”
Then he let out a scream that made the hairs on the back of Shelby’s neck stand on end. His voice slithered up her spine, and her scalp prickled. Her heart thumped hard as she watched him. Couldn’t take her eyes off him. He leaned back. The power he put behind the lyrics forced her to feel every word. He ran from one end of the stage to the other. Encouraging the crowd and pointed to the sky a time or two.
Thrand played hard, and then as soon as the music hit a crescendo, it slowed to almost a crawl, only for it to whip back into a frenzy. She had no idea what they were playing, but it had half the crowd pumping their fists in the air, the other half looked confused.
Ethan leaned back and let out a laugh that sounded part evil, part sexy. She looked over at Cassie who belted every word.
During another slow part, she pulled on her arm.
“What are they singing?” Shelby asked.
Cassie grinned. “‘Bat Country.’”
That cleared up nothing. The words bat country weren’t even in the lyrics.
As the song ended, Ethan let loose another sexy laugh. “Thought that might wake you up.”
Then, like a switch, they went back to country.
“Oh hell, I need a drink after that,” Cassie declared, grabbed Lila’s arm, who grabbed hers, and like a train they headed towards the bar.
“Fix us up, Cliff.”
“Jailbait! I haven’t seen you here in a while.”
“Enjoying life, man,” Cassie replied.
“As always, kiddo.” He placed three beers on the bar.
Shelby grabbed one and took a long drink. She really hated beer, but she was going to need it to hedge questions from the girls.
“Spill it!” Lila burst out.
Cassie just arched a brow at her.
“It’s nothing,” Shelby replied.
Lila snorted. “Nothing my ass. He just declared you his girl in front of the entire crowd. I wouldn’t say that’s nothing.”
“Look, it was just like that first night and then the next time I worked at Booseys. For some reason, I have a penchant for getting into trouble.” When all she got was amused looks, Shelby sighed. “I hired him to do some work at Gran’s—my house. He said he was a handyman. Him and Zak are helping me out.”
“Zak too? When did all this happen?” Lila asked.
“He came by after my first night of working.”
“That’s right, he asked for your address. Said something about apologizing.” Lila’s blue eyes went wide. “Holy shit, you two have been hooking up.”
Mortified, Shelby shook her head. “No! No. I really hired him and Zak. They’re replacing the roof this week.”
Cassie laughed and rolled her eyes, but thankfully didn’t reveal her secret about just ending her engagement.
“Come on, girls.” Again Cassie grabbed hers and Lila’s hands and took off towards the stage.
Shelby wasn’t g
iven any choice, and Lila laughed as Cassie elbowed their way until they stood right in front of the stage. How they were able to get there was beyond her. Seemed Cassie was her own little force of nature, because no one stopped them. Or maybe it was Ethan’s declaration of who they were. Who knew?
The stage was only a couple of feet high, but with Ethan’s height, he towered over everyone. When they played a super popular country cover, Ethan controlled the stage and crowd like he waved a magic wand. They owned the song, changing it enough to suit their style. Country lyrics with a bit of metal.
Lila and Cassie were totally rocking it, and Shelby felt more than a tad out of place. She no more knew how to let loose than Cassie knew how to reel it in. Even so, Shelby had to admit it was nice being a part of friends that had no agenda other than hanging out and having a good time.
She looked up at Ethan who stood right above her. With the shades covering his eyes there was no way to tell who or what he was looking at. He stretched out one arm to emphasize what he was singing, and muscles rippled along his abs. Tattoos only highlighted the fact he was rock solid.
As the music faded out, Ethan said, “We are DirtSlap. Hope ya’ll enjoyed the show.”
Cheers went up, and Thrand stood up behind his set, walked to them, and kneeled down to give Cassie a kiss. “Meet us for burgers.”
“Will do.” Cassie turned to them. “You heard him. They want to eat. They’ll meet us there.”
Shelby didn’t argue as she followed Cassie and Lila. The animosity they were receiving from girl fans was starting to worry her. About that time, a tall blonde with plenty of tats walked by, looked her up and down, and laughed.
“Trust me, hon. I’ll take care of him in a way you never could.” She sashayed right up to the stage and immediately got Ethan’s attention. He knelt and cocked his ear as she spoke to him while she trailed her fingertips along his arm.
Shelby gaped at the utter brazenness. Not that her and Ethan were a thing, but to be treated like she was nothing irked. She ignored Cassie’s protests and walked back to the stage. Ethan saw her, shook off the tramp’s hand, hopped down, and leaned on the stage. “Need something, Brown Eyes?”
“Are you coming to eat burgers with us?” She asked, trying to keep it casual, but his black eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Do you want me to?”
“Cassie said everyone—”
“No. Not what I asked. Do you want me to?” He crossed his ankles and his thick arms over his still bare chest.
She shuffled her feet, put her hands in the pockets of her khaki shorts, and then pulled them back out. Looked at the floor then back up at him. One dark brow arched in question.
“What about…” She nodded towards the girl who was waiting on him.
He gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “Do I have to ask again?”
“Yes.” She rushed out.
“Yes, what?”
He was not making this easy for her. “Yes, I want you to eat with us.”
A full-on smile hit his face, all dimples and charm. His thumb barely brushed along her bottom lip. “Then I’ll be there.”
He hopped back on stage to help the guys while tramp tried in vain to get Ethan’s attention again. Shelby turned and shuffled back to Cassie and Lila.
“Way to go, Shelby.” Cassie flung an arm around her shoulders and laughed as they left the bar.
“That was epic. Not hooking up my ass,” Lila snorted.
Shelby was too shocked by her own behavior to reply. She’d never felt that compulsion before. Had she been jealous? Her silent answer rang loud and clear in her head. Oh, buggers. This was so not a good thing.
A little over an hour later all seven of them had filled the restaurant. Some place called Toad Suck Park Burgers. They were loud, and fries were being tossed back and forth like it was some kind of contest. They had to be the oddest mix of friends she’d ever seen.
“That set rocked the house. Covering ‘Bat Country’ was brilliant, Ethan,” Ryan said as he tossed another fry at Lila who stuck her tongue out and threw it back.
Shelby sat across from Ethan who laughed. “I think we confused them more than anything.”
“Good for ’em. Although I caught an earful from the bar owner,” Thrand said. “Said we should stick to country next time.”
“Really?” Ethan smirked. “What do you think?”
“I think we can play whatever we damn well want to play. There were more people digging it than not.”
“You didn’t play my song,” Cassie said to Thrand.
He wiped ketchup from the corner of her lip. “Gotta keep ’em guessing, Buzz.”
“What do you think, Zak?” Lila asked.
Zak sat across and at the far end, but he barely looked up. “It was good.”
Shelby ate in silence as the banter around them got louder.
“Hell, yeah, it was good. Those riffs. We were jamming it.” Ryan stood and played his air guitar and whipped his head side to side.
“We get it, stud. Sit down. I’m just surprised you don’t have a girl waiting on you,” Lila said with a roll of her eyes.
“Who says I don’t.”
Shelby couldn’t help but laugh at the way he waggled his brows. He turned his shaggy head her way.
“So sorry. I forgot we really hadn’t met.” He stood and in a big display, bowed. “I’m Ryan. The most consummate guitar player in the world.”
The girls laughed, and Shelby joined in. He was the shortest of the group—if you could say just under six foot short. But the rest were at over six feet. She was positive it didn’t hurt his game. Not with that million watt smile, and she’d heard his playing first hand. He wasn’t just all braggart.
“Do you even know what that word means?” Cassie asked.
He sat and shrugged. “I heard it somewhere. Sounded cool.”
“I’m Shelby. And you play very well.”
Ryan puffed up like he’d won an award. “Hear that, I play very well.”
“Oh Lord, don’t tell him that. He doesn’t need a bigger ego,” Lila groaned.
“I can sing, too.”
Ethan laughed and leveled a look at him.
“Okay, not like Tackett. But I do back up very well.”
That had everyone laughing. Zak just watched the entire crew through the fall of his hair.
“Tackett?” Shelby asked and looked at Ethan.
“Last name. For some reason, Ryan thinks it sounds cooler.”
“It does. He should use it as his stage name.” Ryan spread his arms out wide. “Lead singer of DirtSlap, Tackett. See? Awesomer.”
Shelby choked on her tea. “Awesomer?”
“He’s the most consummate at coming up with his own language.” Thrand sat on her side at the end beside Cassie. “Thrand, by the way. Although I’m sure Cassie already told you.”
“My first night working and your first gig, Cassie and Lila told me who you guys were.”
She looked at Ethan who was staring at her.
“Sooo I hear you’ve been spending all your time at Shelby’s.” Lila’s gaze shifted back and forth between her and Ethan, causing Shelby to flush.
“Yup. She hired me to fix some stuff around her house. Me and Zak are replacing the roof.” He wiped his hands on a napkin. “Which means I need to get out of here. My boss might fire me if I’m late.”
Shelby smiled at him, and he winked.
“You free tomorrow to meet and get materials?”
“I work tomorrow during the day, but I should be free after three.” She glanced at her watch. “Shoot, I need to go, too. See you all later. Been great, guys.”
They all smiled and waved.
She got up, and Ethan stood. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I knew it! I knew it.” Lila insisted and tsked at her. The rest of the gang whistled and hooted as they walked off.
Chapter 7
“It’s late and for safety reasons, you fuckers.” E
than grinned then flipped them off.
“Oh yeah, you look real safe there, Ethan.” Ryan snorted.
Ethan shook his head and followed a red faced Shelby out. “Don’t let them get to you. They’re just messing with ya.”
“I know.”
She shoved some of her hair behind her ear as they walked slowly down the sidewalk. He let her lead, because he wasn’t sure where she’d parked. The bright neon lights of Honky Tonk Row lit their way, and an odd silence hung between them.
She wore a peach colored flowy top with lace and khaki shorts with her short cowboy boots. She was miles away from that tatted up girl in tight jeans with her tits on display. But he enjoyed eating a burger with her more than he missed getting tangled up with that blonde.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as that thought blasted through his brain. Was it because she was so far out of his league? He wasn’t sure. And he sure as hell didn’t want to examine it.
“Your band is really good. But I confess, I’d never heard that hard rock song you sang.” She spoke quietly as she looked up at him.
“‘Bat Country?’”
“I guess. It’s what Cassie told me. You sing that music well and you fit. So why country? If you don’t mind me asking.”
He smirked. “You want what I tell most people or the real reason?”
She led him to her car that was parked in a back alley. Made him glad he’d gone with her. She turned and leaned against her door.
“The real one.”
He tapped his leg and stared at her. Again, she totally trusted him. Not one tiny ounce of fear in her gaze even though they were in shadows. He scared people in daylight, but this silly woman didn’t seem concerned at all.
So…he opted for the truth.
“I grew up in the foster system where it was all about survival. Country lyrics are about real life. Real people. Real pain. I like the edge of metal but the lyrics, that’s what matters to me. I don’t care about what box I should fit in. Even if I had wanted to fit in one, it wouldn’t have worked. So I created my own damn box.”
She tilted her head, and her dark hair slid down past her shoulders. He couldn’t tell what she might be thinking or even if she got what he was trying to say.
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