Dear April (Sunshine & Shadow Book 2)

by Williamson, Alie

  “No worries!” Hyde said. He and Ted shook hands.

  “See ya, Gerry,” Ted murmured. He turned and headed back to his office, already glancing at the files.

  “Let me know if you need anything else, sir,” April called out after him.

  “Thanks, April,” Ted said over his shoulder. He flashed a wide smile.

  The months seemed to fly by. On Labor Day weekend, the girls invited April to go to Bumbershoot, one of the largest music and arts festivals in North America. They stayed at the same hotel together, and April shared a room with Meagan.

  April had bought a flowery dress with her latest paycheck and admired herself in the mirror.

  “I’m ready! What about you?” she said.

  Meagan nodded, beaming. She wore an excited smile the entire way down in the elevator, to meet the other girls already waiting in the lobby. The group clambered into Meagan’s car and chattered about the festival.

  Charlotte was the only one who had ever been to Bumbershoot before.

  “Honestly, it’s amazing, April. The music never stops. The best country artists from all over the world perform, and they do signings after. Darius Rucker even brought a girl on stage with him last year! It was unbelievable. I was so jealous.”

  April smiled. “This’ll be my first ever music festival.”

  “You’ll love it!” Charlotte said.

  “Do you know who’s performing this year?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve heard rumors but none have been confirmed on the website. Guess it’ll be a surprise.”

  As they approached the festival, they could hear music and screaming. The crowd was obviously very excited. April’s heart started to beat faster. Meagan parked the car as close to the noise as she could get and the girls walked the rest of the way, until they reached huge metal gates.

  They showed their tickets and hurried towards the crowd. April struggled to keep up with Charlotte’s pace.

  The crowd was bigger than April expected. She could see colors everywhere, from people with hot pink hair, to a man running around in a green spandex suit, spraying people with silly string. The majority of the girls in the crowd were clad in denim shorts and tops that showed their bellies. Some were even wearing cowboy boots, but April could tell fakes when she saw them.

  The crowd jumped in time to Dallas Smith singing on stage, screaming and waving for a bit of attention from the star. April laughed along with her friends and danced, letting her hair fall out of its clip and cascade around her shoulders in soft waves. She let her body sway along to the rhythmic beat of the bass guitar and watched as the singer reached to the crowd and touched fingers with some of the girls in the front row, earning several ear-splitting screeches.

  Meagan leaned towards April and shouted in her ear.

  “Drink?”

  April nodded, and allowed herself to be tugged between the grinding bodies and sweaty fans. They emerged on one side of the mass of people and laughed, nearly falling over in giggles.

  “Are you having fun?” Meagan asked.

  April said, “This is awesome!”

  The girls made their way to the bar area. A long wooden saloon sign hung between trees, surrounded by thousands of lanterns that shined different colors in the late afternoon sun and high tables covered in red and white cloth and adorned with jars of wildflowers. They ordered their drinks from the man in a cowboy hat behind the bar and waited on stools at one end.

  When her drink came, April took a sip. “Mm, this is perfect.”

  Meagan finished hers in one long gulp. She screwed up her nose when the sharp taste hit her taste buds, then held up her empty glass again. The bartender nodded. April raised her eyebrows.

  “Come on! We’re here to have a good time!”

  April picked up the laminated drink menu in front of her. She scanned the different cowboy concoctions the bartenders had invented for the event.

  “Here, gimme,” Meagan said, “There’s a list of performers.”

  Meagan’s eyes travelled down the page.

  “Let’s hear then,” April said.

  “In order, we have Paul Brandt, Faith Hill, Lee Brice ... oh no! Those were yesterday, so we missed them.”

  April laughed. “Who’s today?”

  “Umm ... Dallas Smith, Justin Moore, and Eric Church – yes, I love him! Then tonight, Lex Mitchell, and Jess Moskaluke.”

  “What?” April’s heart stopped.

  “I know it’s a difficult name. I’m pretty sure I’m saying it wrong. Mosk ... Moskal ...”

  “No, no, before that.”

  “Lex Mitchell? April, what is it?”

  April’s mind reeled and her heart felt dead. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know what to do. She turned her back on Meagan and hurried out of the saloon.

  “April! April, where are you going? April!”

  April didn’t stop.

  She shoved past the excited fans using the break between performers to get a drink in the saloon and hurried to find some room to breathe. She had to get out. She kept her head down to avoid being spotted by the rest of her friends, or worse, by Meagan. As soon as there was a break in the crowd, she started to run.

  She hurried down the worn path by the fence into another area filled with oversized RV’s and equipment trailers. Paparazzi were shoved by two large men, wearing black. She locked her eyes on the ground and walked ahead, trying to find a way out of the maze of campers, wishing she could remember how many turns she had made.

  Ahead she spotted a face she recognized and stopped in her tracks.

  Cash Mitchell was talking to two more men in black outfits. His cocky demeanor was apparent even from where April stood. She was completely vulnerable in the open roadway, between the rows. If he looked in her direction, he would spot her, and then he would tell his brother.

  April noticed a gap between RV’s and squeezed through. Rounding the next corner, she made sure she wasn’t being followed by more security. She didn’t know how many there would be at an event like this. Probably lots.

  Suddenly an RV door opened directly in front of her. It hit her and she fell to the ground.

  A female voice she recognized from somewhere spoke beside her.

  “Geez, you silly girls. Security! Security! Bring a medic too.”

  “Another one?” A male voice inside the RV shouted.

  The woman spoke again, softer this time. “Are you okay, hun?”

  April moved her hands from her face and opened her eyes. “Gretchen?”

  Lex’s assistant looked down at her. “Abby?”

  “It’s April…”

  “April, right!”

  April took her outstretched hand and dragged herself up.

  A voice sounded inside the trailer. “Gretchen! What did you say?”

  Lex appeared in the open door and stopped dead in his tracks. “April…” His arms seemed to reach out subconsciously but April stepped back.

  Gretchen looked between the two without a word. April could see the confusion in her eyes. Unlike Cash, Gretchen knew nothing of her and Lex’s affair. The tension was palpable. Gretchen tottered from one foot to the other for a moment, cleared her throat and hastily made her escape back into the RV.

  The look in Lex’s eyes made April uneasy. She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms but she knew she shouldn’t. She had worked so hard to forget her feelings. It couldn’t work between them. He was Lex Mitchell; he must have moved on by now.

  And yet, she couldn’t help but notice the way the tight plaid shirt clung to his shoulders and flowed over his firm chest to his flat stomach, and tucked into his pale, ripped blue jeans. She breathed a deep sigh and tried her hardest to avoid looking into his eyes, but temptation beat her. It was almost like she needed to see if the color she remembered could be real. Reality was even better than her memory, dulled by time and self-doubt. She let her eyes follow the line of his strong jaw, to his full lips. His hair was slightly lighter than it had been
in the spring, probably from the summer spent in the sun, and his eyebrows angled towards his eyes in raw emotion.

  He stepped towards April again, and this time she felt as if her feet were nailed to the ground.

  “April…I…” His face showed his anguish.

  “Don’t…”

  April found strength somewhere inside her and held up her hands, pleading with him not to come any closer. He looked apologetic as he took another step.

  “Please…don’t go.”

  A man came racing around the trailer. He grabbed April’s hands and pinned them behind her back, picking her up easily.

  “Come on, missy. Sorry Lex, we’ll beef up security. Shouldn’t happen again.”

  April winced as the man tightened his grip on her arms. She struggled and he pulled them even further back. She gasped in pain.

  “Get your hands off her!”

  Lex stepped forward and ripped April out of the man’s hands. The guard dropped April’s arms in surprise and stepped away from her.

  “Touch her again and see what happens!”

  The security guard bowed his shoulders and backed away from him. “I’m sorry, sir. I was called to remove a fan. I’m sorry,” he repeated and made his hasty retreat.

  April rubbed her arms where the man’s strong hands had bruised her soft skin.

  “April, are you okay?” Lex put a hand on her lower back and when she didn’t move away, pulled her into an embrace.

  She tried but failed to back away and relaxed into his familiar arms. For the first time in months, she felt safe and comfortable. She wanted to tell him how much she had missed him, but she bit her tongue.

  Tears began to fall down her cheeks. She cursed herself and tried to wipe them away before he saw them.

  “April?” Lex pulled away and saw her tears. “No, no April, please don’t cry.”

  She sobbed into his chest. He hugged her close, so she could hear his heart beating. As he kissed her forehead, she could smell his cologne, the scent she didn’t realize she remembered until it sent her into a spiral of flashbacks.

  “April, please,” Lex said. “My baby, please don’t cry. I’m so sorry, April. I’m so sorry. I won’t ever leave you again.”

  She rubbed her nose on her sleeve and sniffed. “No, don’t make that promise. Please, don’t.”

  “It’s not empty this time, April. I swear we will be together. We’ll find a way.”

  April wanted to believe him and allow herself to revel in his embrace and sink into his arms like it was her favorite place in the entire world. And it probably was. But she couldn’t just ignore the gut-retching pain she’d felt when he left her at the ranch. The memory nagged at her mind and stopped her from hugging him back and believing every word that came out of his mouth.

  “I can’t handle false hope, Lex. Please, not again.”

  “What can I do, April? Please tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.”

  “Prove it.”

  Lex sighed. “I will.”

  “What about her?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll figure it out. It’s a business deal, April. She means nothing to me. She’s not you.”

  April didn’t answer.

  “I’ll fix it.”

  He squeezed her tighter and kissed her cheek, catching the last tear. “I swear.”

  April didn’t know how long they stood like that. Finally pulling away from his arms, she wiped her eyes and smiled at the man in front of her. It would take time to forget, even if she had forgiven, but something inside April told her there was a reason they had been brought together again.

  “I should go,” April said, “My friends will be worried.”

  “Are you staying for tonight?”

  She nodded.

  Lex smiled and kissed her cheek, hovering over her lips, questioning. She closed the gap, and sparks flew. This was the feeling she had been missing; this ecstasy. Their lips locked, strong yet still as soft as a rose petal. April’s hands drifted to his hair and held his mouth on hers. She didn’t want the moment to end.

  “Lex?” Cash came around the corner behind Lex and April pulled away.

  Lex held her face between his hands and stared straight into her eyes. She looked up at him, surprised by the ferocity in his gaze.

  “What?” he growled, not taking his eyes off April.

  “You have an interview with Paul Douglas from CMT in ten minutes, and you’re not dressed.”

  Lex rolled his eyes so only April could see and spoke over his shoulder to Cash. “Alright, I’ll change and be ready in ten.”

  Cash leaned around Lex and said, “Hi, April. I had a feeling it was you I saw.”

  April tried to turn her head to look at him but Lex stopped her.

  Cash turned on his heel and disappeared behind Lex’s RV. “Change out of that hillbilly getup!” he said as he left.

  “For the record,” April said once Cash was gone, “I like this getup.”

  “Then I guess I’m going hillbilly for the interview.” Lex kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Don’t get in trouble because of me.”

  “I won’t. Cash thinks the fans would like me better as the guy who looks city but sings country. But your opinion is the only one that matters to me.”

  “You don’t have to say that.”

  “It’s the truth.” Lex kissed April again and smiled.

  “If you keep kissing me I won’t be able to leave.”

  “Maybe that’s my plan.” He kissed her again. She pulled away halfheartedly and laughed at his attempt to kiss every inch of her face.

  April stepped back. “Find me later?”

  Lex nodded. “Try and stop me. In fact, I have a little surprise for you.”

  “Surprise? What is it?”

  Lex frowned. “Do you know what a surprise is? I’m obviously not going to tell you now.”

  April turned her back on him, earning her a half-hearted smack on the behind, followed by a gentle caress. Desire sparked inside her and her stomach tightened deliciously. Her heart fluttered.

  “Well, I can’t wait,” she said, backing away from him and half hoping he would follow her. But she knew he couldn’t.

  She made her way back to the saloon, and met Meagan at the door. Meagan looked frantic, and almost collapsed when she saw April.

  “Oh my God! Where have you been?”

  April wracked her brains for a good excuse. “I, um, went to find the bathroom and saw someone I knew.”

  “Who?” Meagan narrowed her eyes, obviously not believing April’s pathetic excuse of a lie.

  “Just a friend ...” April said.

  “A boyfriend?”

  April shrugged. “If you mean a boy who’s also a friend, then maybe.”

  “Oh my God!” Meagan grabbed April’s hand and dragged her over to where everyone else was sitting on bar stools. “Tell us everything. April’s got a boyfriend,” she said to the others.

  “What?”

  “Oh my God, April!”

  “Who is it?”

  The questions were endless and April held up her hands in defeat. “Alright, I met this guy a few months back and we hit it off. I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be here.”

  The information wasn’t enough for the other girls and they hounded April with questions.

  “What’s he like?”

  “I don’t know; he’s sweet, and caring.”

  “Is he cute?”

  “I think so.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Um ...” April looked at their expectant faces. “His name is ... um ... Alexander. Alex.”

  “Alex,” Charlotte murmured, almost tasting the way the name felt on her tongue. “Sounds ... sexy.”

  The girls laughed and thankfully the conversation moved away from April’s boyfriend. She couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. How great would it be to be able to tell her friends. She couldn’t even imagine their surprise if they found out the tr
uth.

  The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. April’s mind couldn’t focus on the acts on the stage. She just danced and laughed whenever her friends did, her mind on Lex. Dinner was a blur. The girls asked more than once if there was something bugging her. Apparently she looked nervous. Nervous? No. She was only anticipating a surprise from the man who she was in love with but who seemed destined to be kept away from her.

  By the time the announcer thanked Eric Church and called the next performer on stage, April’s stomach was in knots. She knew her hands were clammy, which probably meant her face was beet red.

  Lex strolled onto the stage and the crowd went wild. He got the loudest cheer of the day, and April felt a strange twinge of pride.

  “Oh my God I love him!” Meagan screamed in her ear.

  “Me too…” April watched him smile at the wall of fans.

  As Lex begun his first song, she could see his eyes searching the crowd until they met hers. Feeling her face mellow into a smile, she waved subtly. She could just make out his wink. The crowd jumped and swayed in time to the song blaring from the speakers. Lex’s voice flowed over the mass of bodies. It was like he was born to be on stage, surrounded by screaming fans, singing the words he couldn’t say.

  The set didn’t last as long as April hoped and before she knew it, the music stopped and Lex’s clear voice was booming from all around her, announcing his last song for the night.

  “This song is very close to my heart,” he said to the crowd. “I’m gonna tell you a little story before I start.”

  April held her breath.

  “You know those moments when the world just seems to stop spinning?” More screaming. “Well it happened to me a few months ago. Someone came into my life and made everything else go out of focus.” Lex looked across the crowd, like he was reliving the memory. “I met a girl this summer. And at first, she was just another girl. But one day, there was a problem with a horse and I knew I was in love.”

  Triumph, April thought. He’s loved me since the run in with Triumph?

  “I got to see her bare her soul in front of that animal. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. And from that moment on, she was always on my mind. When I left, I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, until I saw her today, here. This song wasn’t part of the original set, and my poor guys here have only played it once, but I wrote it for her. This is for you, angel.”