This summer tour might not be so bad after all.
Chapter Twenty-One
“If you need anything, and I mean anything at all, call Matt or my mom,” Kyra said that evening after they'd arrived home.
“I'll be fine. You don't have to worry so much,” Taryn insisted.
“I have no doubts. I'm just throwing it out there in case of any type of emergency.”
“You're such a mother hen, but I love you regardless.”
Kyra laughed, then hugged her. “Aww, I love you, too. I'll be back Monday afternoon.”
“We'll try not to party too hard without you,” Matt joked, kissing Kyra on the lips. “I think I hear your cab. I don't know why you didn't let me take you. Have a safe trip. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Kyra and Matt were tangled in each other's arms, so Taryn wheeled away to her room, eager to call Chris and see what he was up to.
Before she got a chance to grab her phone, the front door closed, signaling Kyra's departure, then Matt and Andrew came knocking on her door.
“Do you need anything? Dinner? Company? A ride anywhere?” Matt leaned against the door frame.
“No. I'm going to call Chris. We're supposed to get together, I just don't know when. You know, you two don't have to leave the house just because Kyra's gone. You're practically here all the time anyway.”
Matt shrugged. “I know, but every once in a while we do need to go to our actual home.”
“Eventually you two need to give in and move in together.” She regretted it the moment she said it. Taryn knew Matt's concerns. “Sorry. Not my business.”
“It's okay. Don't think I don't know how everyone's waiting for me to move in or propose. I know what's being said.” He winked.
“Yeah, people talk about you at school, too. They ask when I'm going to get Kyra as a stepmom. I swear I'm more popular now because Dad and Kyra are dating,” Andrew piped up.
“Don't ever use that to your advantage,” Matt warned.
“You already know I won't.” Andrew held back an eye roll, which warranted a silent message from his father.
“You have my number, Taryn. Don't hesitate to use it, even if it's just to talk. And I'm happy to give you a ride if you need it.”
“I appreciate it. You two have a good weekend.”
Matt still seemed hesitant to leave her, but when he drove away with his son, Taryn breathed a sigh of relief. No more hovering! She loved them all, but damn! She picked up her phone and dialed Chris' number, amazed at how much she looked forward to hearing his voice.
“Hey! How was the tour bus hunt?” Chris asked when he answered.
Taryn smiled, loving the enthusiasm from him. What was happening to her? “It went really well. We saw quite a few models, and surprisingly, there are plenty of options for me.”
“Does that mean you feel better about the summer tour?”
“I do. There's still a few concerns I have, but I'm trying to work through them.”
“I'm really looking forward to this tour,” he said softly. “More than I thought I would.”
“I'll try not to have you fill in for me if I don't need it,” Taryn promised.
“I'm not worried about it.”
“So what are you doing right now?” She changed the subject quickly, ready to get off the subject of Chris drumming. She knew what he felt, especially now.
“Wondering what you're doing right now.” Soft laughter followed. “Aside from talking to me, that is.”
“Debating on what I'll do with a quiet weekend.” She glanced around the room, realizing how weird it would be to hear so little noise in the house for the weekend. Taryn should be used to silence, having lived solo for the longest time after Dad died, but now she was kinda used to having sounds of laughter, music, and actual life happening in her environment. She'd craved solitary confinement for the longest time, but now? Now she loved the sounds of happiness.
“Do you want a quiet weekend?”
“Hmm. Yes and no. I really want to try swimming again,” she blurted. “Kyra has a heated pool. I keep looking out the window and wishing. I've been longing to go since the night you took me. I don't want to go alone, though. Do you want to come over, and if you do, would you mind swimming with me?”
He didn't even hesitate. “I wouldn't mind at all. Have you eaten? Want me to pick something up along the way?”
“That'd be great. See you soon?” Her heartbeat sped up in anticipation. Swimming. Chris. Alone all weekend. How would things go? How far did she want things to go?
*****
Taryn was so easy to talk to. Chris knew that from the start, but each conversation always went better and better. He could be himself around her with little worry. It wasn't often he found a woman who matched his sarcasm and wit with ease and managed to catch him off guard.
As she took her last bite of food, he decided to tell her as much. “You know what I love about you? How easy it is to talk to you about pretty much anything.” He didn't realize it until Taryn snapped her eyes up toward him that he'd said love about her. “I mean...” He stumbled over his words.
Taryn's lips curved up in a gorgeous smile. Her eyes lit up with amusement. “I get it. I love that about you, too.”
“See? Right there. You went right along with my hesitance.” Chris reached across the small patio table to hold her hand.
“What did you expect me to do?” Taryn's eyes crinkled as her smile widened.
“You could have freaked out at the word I used, because that's what made me stumble in the first place.” He shrugged.
“I don't do that freak out thing ... much,” she added.
“No, you just come back with a revenge plan with your best friend. I still don't sleep at night that well,” he teased.
Taryn rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever!”
“Slight exaggeration.” He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go to clean up his mess. “Ready for that swim?”
“I just need to go inside and change, and I will be. The water looks inviting.” Taryn glanced out that way before she picked up her own containers and tossed them in the bag. Chris took both bags and headed toward the trash can.
Taryn wheeled past him. “I'll be back. Thanks for dinner!”
“No problem.” Chris threw the bags in and then went for his swim trunks. Taryn went into her room, so he used the second downstairs bathroom to change. She still wasn't out yet when he finished. “Do you need me for anything, or should I go out and wait?” he called out.
“I'm almost done!” Taryn called back. “You can go out. I'll be there soon.”
“All right.” Grabbing his towel, Chris headed toward the back again. The sun sank lower, and an array of pinks and orange lit up the sky as a thin layer of clouds had drifted in from the southwest. He dropped his towel on one of the lounge chairs near the pool and dipped a toe in. Perfect. Not too cold, but not too warm, either.
“How is it?” Taryn asked from behind him. Chris turned as she wheeled as far as she could before reaching unleveled grassy area. He jumped to his feet to help her.
“It's nice. Right in the middle.”
“The sunset is gorgeous reflecting on the water.” Taryn pointed.
“Yeah, it was peaceful sitting there watching the colors ripple in the water.” He stopped in front of her. “So how do you want to do this? Do you want me to help wheel you closer, or should I carry you over to the edge?”
“Maybe carry me to the steps?” Taryn made a face. “Is that going to be too much?”
“You're light, and I don't mind holding you in my arms.” He winked. “But I want you to be comfortable. That's what matters the most.” Her towel was draped across the back of her chair. The colors matched the sky at the moment.
Taryn sighed, completely contemplating. “Maybe move me forward a little more before trying to carry me?”
Chris nodded. “Whatever works.” He moved behind the chair and, as gently as he could without bumping her
around too much, pushed her forward about four feet. He stopped at the edge of the grass before the pool deck began. “All right, next step. Ready?”
“No! But yes.” Taryn laughed. “I'm a total contradiction.”
“I won't let you fall,” he promised. “And if for some reason we do happen to, I'll break your fall. You'll land on me.”
“Yeah, I bet you'd like that!”
Chris chuckled. “Yes, I would, but in a completely different way. Don't make me laugh, drummer girl. Not yet, anyway.” He stepped closer to her, ready to pick her up. “Here we go.”
She was easy to carry. Taryn held on tight, and Chris walked slowly over to the pool. “At the steps?”
“Yes, please,” Taryn replied softly. The breeze toyed with her curls, pushing them in her face.
Chris stepped in the pool and set Taryn down at the edge. “There you go.” Surprising her, he kissed her cheek before standing to his full height. “Now what?”
“Let me get used to the water, and then maybe take me in further?”
He nodded. The pool light came on just as the last colors of the sunset faded.
“Okay, I'm ready,” Taryn announced.
He approached her, then stopped.
“What?” Taryn peered up at him, unsure.
“You.”
“What about me?”
“Everything. I'm glad I met you, Taryn.” He gently pulled her in his arms.
They only swam for forty-five minutes tonight, but Taryn made good progress. She stayed away from the deeper end at first, but her last lap and attempt, she'd gone all the way from one end of the pool to the other. Chris held her as he moved to the stairs again. “How about we dry off on the glider?” He pointed to it.
“Sounds good.” Taryn was agreeable.
Chris carried her over to the glider. Once Taryn was situated, he went to grab both towels. He wrapped Taryn's around her shoulders, then plunked down on the seat beside her.
“I should sleep good tonight,” Taryn mused.
Chris wrapped himself up in his towel, then went in search beneath hers to hold her hand. Taryn glanced at him when he closed his fingers over hers. “Yeah?” he asked, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Swimming used to relax me. It's even more work now.”
“Well, you sure kill it,” Chris praised, scooting closer to be able to slip an arm around her shoulder instead of holding her hand. “What else can I learn about you?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Like, how did you get to be on tour with Kyra at sixteen? Since you weren't already in her band, considering I know your 'stalking' story, how did that happen?”
Taryn blew out a breath. “A moment … well, more than a moment, of rebelling.”
“Taryn McAllister, a rebel? Never would have guessed,” he teased.
“True enough, but this one was bad. My mom was arrested and went to jail. I declared emancipation and went to Nashville on a whim.”
“Whoa. I didn't expect that.”
“Not many would. Kyra knows, but it took me about a year to tell her. I felt bad for my dad, because … well, he's actually my stepfather, and was a lot older. My mother got pregnant with me at fifteen. Her parents forced her to have me. She was nowhere near ready to have a child, but they felt it was her due punishment. When she was eighteen, she married my father only for him to adopt me legally.”
“Hell,” he muttered, unsure what to make of all this.
“I can't complain. Dad was good to me. They never loved each other, and it was obvious. She ran amok and did what she did. I don't know how Dad tolerated it.”
“And you lived with him after the accident?” They had more in common than Chris realized. At least he'd been wanted, and while he still struggled with the issue of his mother's abandonment and the reasons behind it, he realized Taryn had it a lot harder.
Taryn leaned against Chris as she continued talking. “For a while. At first, I tried to make it on my own. He was in his seventies by then, and I didn't want to be a burden on him. But when he walked in on me having an extremely raged fit, he moved me home. Dad's caregiver also became mine.” A shiver rippled through her.
“Cold? You want to move inside?”
“Uhh, the shiver was more at the memory,” Taryn admitted.
“That bad?”
She stayed silent as her shoulders tensed.
“Taryn?”
“I'll tell you, but this goes nowhere. Kyra doesn't even know this.”
“Well of course not. I wouldn't say anything. What happened? Did someone hurt you?”
“To say the least,” Taryn said quietly. “Dad's caregiver realized he was loaded. He'd targeted him long before I moved home.”
“He used you, thinking he could get to your dad's money through you?”
“Yeah, and stupid, vulnerable me believed him.”
“That makes me sick!” Anger curled like a fist in his chest.
“I thought maybe things would be okay, that I'd still be normal. I don't know what made me think he'd ever be serious about me.”
“Maybe because you're a good person, and you thought someone's intentions were true.” Chris pulled her closer to him, unsure about hearing the rest of this. “So what happened?”
“For about seven months, he helped me try to maintain some sense of normal in my world. He listened to me cry, hell, he cried with me. He tried to help me with physical therapy, thinking I had a shot at walking again. After a while, I thought maybe he only wanted to marry me if I was able to walk, so I pushed hard to get through.”
“Did he actually ask you?”
Taryn affirmed with a nod. “My dad was all for it at first. When Martin bought a ring, Dad decided it was high time to find out more about him. He was looking out for me.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah, uh oh is right. It got ugly. Turns out, Martin changed his name, which was how he passed any kind of background check. The man was a criminal, and he had a brother who was in on the plans. I think he wanted to marry me before Dad died. I'm not sure how he thought he'd ever get the money or what they wanted to do with me. I don't even know what their plans were for me. He never did say. Once Dad found out who he was and his intentions, he called the cops. Martin was arrested and has been in jail since. We found out Dad wasn't the first person they'd tried to scam.” Taryn shuddered. “But the damage to me emotionally … that lingered for a good, long while.”
“What a thing to go through,” he said quietly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I'm sorry.”
“I kinda stopped believing in myself after that. I'd just started to think things were turning around for me after my breakdown. Stupid as it is, he built me up when I was already at a weak point. Maybe, if I'd have continued, I would be better off than I am now. Not to say I'm not in a good position, but maybe I'd be walking again. It's not unheard of, you know?” Her eyes, brimming with tears, were full of unease and confusion.
“Taryn...” Chris shifted so that he could look her directly in the eye. “I think you're perfect just as you are, but if you want to continue to train and see where things go, I'm right here to help you. I'll finish my schooling and be the one to get you where you want to be, or at least try. It's not unheard of, and if you tell me a little more about your injury, I can figure out what I might be able to do or not do.” This time, he moved to kneel before her, taking both her hands in his. “And I will never, ever take advantage of you.”
“I know you wouldn't.” A tear slid down her cheek. “But what would that mean, because I'll be touring soon. And if the band makes the move to Nashville, then that's where I'll be headed. That's still a big old if. Speaking of ifs … if I don't end up staying in the band, you're not going to permanently play, are you?”
Moving to sit beside her again, Chris pondered this. “I don't want to, even if I have been enjoying drumming again. It's always been a hobby, not something I want to do as a full time gig. You're still thinking it mi
ght not be something you want to continue?”
“I don't know, but I have to at least make myself okay with either decision. I want it. I'd love to tour again, but I have to make sure my body can handle it. I can't do a lot of things the way I once did. Emotionally and physically, I'm a different person than the last time I went out on tour.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Taryn and Chris ended up moving to the living room an hour or so ago after drying off. Kyra's sectional had recliners, so they popped in a movie and curled up beneath a light blanket together. She'd been completely content there, wrapped in his arms. Exposing that part of herself hadn't been easy, but Chris didn't even seem fazed, aside from the fact that he wanted to hunt Martin down and kick his ass. Being that open with him seemed to bring them a little closer.
He nudged her. “You falling asleep on me, drummer girl?”
“I might have been zoning out a little,” she admitted. She kinda had, mostly due to being lost in thought.
“You really do get tired out by swimming. It's not even nine yet!” he exclaimed, leaning against her. Chris ran a hand along her cheek, then combed his fingers in her hair. “Do you want me to head out so you can go to bed?”
“No.” Taryn wanted the exact opposite. She wanted Chris to stay. “I really like this position we're in right now.”
“Mmm. So do I.” He nuzzled her neck. “You're comfortable, right?”
“Very much so.” She'd have to move soon to get up and keep on her routine for the bathroom, and that was a subject she didn't want to get into with him. How odd that she could get into personal subjects like Martin, James, the accident itself, but she didn't want to talk about her bathroom schedule that she had to keep up with. This one embarrassed her a lot more, but it was her life now, having to keep on a normal routine of something most people probably took for granted. Why was she even going down that thought path right now? It wasn't like Chris asked her about bathrooms, routines, or any of that shit. Sheesh, mind.
“You're a beautiful woman, Taryn,” Chris whispered. “I love the way you smile. You light up so much.”
Offbeat (Love and Music In Texas Book 5) Page 21