by Joanne Rock
His jaw flexed as he stared at the ground, seeming to think it over. When he glanced up, his eyes fixed on hers in a dark stare.
“If I keep a lid on this for another day, will you do something for me in return?”
A shiver leaped from one shoulder blade to the other. Still, she felt damn defensive, considering the way he’d kept quiet about the investigation of her family.
“I don’t think I owe you any favors. If anything—”
He laid a hand on her shoulder and cupped it, the touch releasing a pent-up sigh she’d been unaware of.
“Let’s get out of town tonight. Far from Heartache.”
She was already shaking her head, despite her love of driving at night and the rush of the wind from the open windows. Especially in that convertible of his.
But that was foolishness talking.
“I don’t think so.”
“Just for a few hours. You can sing, even.” His lips curled up on one side. A half smile. “Come to karaoke night with me.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“THANKS FOR COMING TONIGHT,” Zach said. Music from the honky-tonk rib shack vibrated the wooden floor beneath his feet as he sat across from Heather in their booth. He still couldn’t believe he’d talked her into it.
She’d hemmed. She’d hawed. She’d been rightfully worried about how a relationship—or being perceived as having a relationship—might have implications for the investigation. But he could tell she was ready for a night out. Zach had won her over by describing the little hole-in-the wall bar in Franklin, Tennessee, where they’d never run into anyone from Heartache. He’d hidden out here plenty of times when he needed to be anonymous.
Charlie Ray’s Rib Shack was a backwoods place on the town line. Live music played on weekends. Tonight, the crowd was small as the karaoke singing got under way. An older couple crooned a country duet to one another, while the smokehouse scent of cooking meats and burning hickory chips filled the air.
“I’ve needed a change of scenery ever since Erin’s wedding,” Heather admitted. “You remember how fast I ditched town after my sister’s reception.”
“You didn’t even bother changing out of your dancing dress,” he teased. He had fond memories of that dress, but he tried to be careful about flirting with her tonight. A careful, measured approach was more likely to win him a second chance with her.
She might be sitting at the small table across from him, but there wasn’t a chance she’d forgotten about the investigation he’d ordered, implicating her dad. Would she be able to get past that? The possibility she wouldn’t bothered him more than it should.
“I had hoped if I timed it right, I’d be able to catch the sunrise while I was crossing the Smoky Mountains.” She pulled a saucy rib free from the basket they shared while the duet onstage reached a crescendo. “Not one of my better-laid plans.”
“Selfishly, I’m glad you stayed in town. Because no matter what you think about my motives for this investigation, I genuinely wanted to get to know you better.” He hated that she seemed wary of him. Hated that he’d given her any reason for the mistrust in her eyes. “But for your sake, I’m sorry you didn’t get to see that sunrise.”
She set her rib aside to applaud the older couple as they finished their song. Then she put her fingers between her lips and whistled. The couple grinned and a few heads turned toward their table.
As the clapping died down, Heather took a sip of her water.
“I know it sounds cliché—leave town and watch the sunrise to start my new life. But some things are cliché because people enjoy doing them. You know? Like singing in the shower. Or taking a family photo at the Grand Canyon.”
“Or a kiss to seal a deal,” he offered.
Her eyes narrowed and she shoved a fried corn nugget in his mouth. “This is all you’re getting from me tonight.”
He shrugged, chewing through the crispy batter to the cheesy corn center, then answered, “It’s the first one that came to mind. But this will do for now.”
He picked up another and brought it to her lips, but slower, feeding it to her with a precision and, hell yes, seduction that couldn’t be missed. Her pupils dilated in response, but she didn’t tell him no. Her blue eyes filled with confusion and a hint of arousal before she plastered on an overbright smile. But that was okay for now. He knew what he’d seen. She was far from indifferent to the attraction they shared.
A young guy took the planked stage to sing a country-rock tune from the seventies, and a group of his friends howled their approval, lifting longneck bottles in salute. A few girls shimmied up to dance on the hardwood floor near the stage.
“Anyway, there are some clichés I’ve never experienced,” Heather continued, keeping time to the music with a subtle tap of her finger against the table. “Like loading up the car as a teenager and driving to a faraway college. Or hunting for my first apartment with a friend.” She stopped drumming her fingers. Her gaze fell away and she toyed with a corn popper. “Falling in love.”
She tacked the last one on like an afterthought and pushed away the appetizer basket.
“You’ve never been in love?” He hadn’t expected that. She had been a year behind him in school, which made her twenty-eight.
“I thought I was a couple of times, but I knew later...” She shook her head. “It hadn’t really been love. I’d just felt a combination of affection and wanting to be in love.”
Her words rolled around inside his head, and he tried to understand what they meant. Her admission had been unexpected, for sure. But he was more surprised she’d shared something so personal with him. He hoped like hell it meant she was thinking about forgiving him and getting back to where they’d been before the investigation news broke.
“I know how it sounds,” she said quickly, her hands fidgety as she tore off a paper towel from the roll by the row of different barbecue sauces.
“How does it sound?” He wanted her. Badly. It was the only damn thought in his head at the moment, but it didn’t seem like the time to share it.
“Like I’m a loser. Or hard-hearted and unfeeling.”
Those were untrue statements. Unfeeling? Hell, the kiss she’d given him torched that theory. He remembered exactly what she’d looked like before their lips had touched. The flare of awareness in her eyes. Merely thinking about it made him ease back in his chair to give himself a little space.
“I think it makes you sound like a woman of taste and discretion.”
“Picky, you mean?” Her gaze followed an elderly couple holding hands as they walked past with the hostess.
“I don’t believe in compromising my standards, either.” He flagged down a waitress, needing another drink to cool him off. They were only throwing back colas tonight, but his mouth had gone dry right about the time he’d watched Heather whistle.
“I guess I truly am picky.” She clinked her glass to his. “Sounds like you suffer from the same affliction.”
“Caution is a good thing.” He was trying to be cautious tonight, for example. He hadn’t leaned over the table to kiss her. Hadn’t slid around to sit beside her so he could stroke her hair or slide an arm around her waist and feel the warmth of her skin through the baseball jersey she wore.
“I’m so tired of being cautious. And practical. And organized. And picky about everything in my life.” She set her drink down hard, the fierceness in her voice surprising him. “I keep thinking if I can get out on my own, away from the family, I’ll take more risks. Live my dreams like my former student Sylvia. She just packed up her guitar one day and went to Nashville. She’s playing with three different bands and doing everything she can to take her career to the next level. I want to do that. Or at least be the musician I was meant to be.”
“You will be.” He clapped as the kid onstage finished his song, drawing
out the last note while his friends lifted their cell phones overhead to signal an encore.
“What if I’m not? What if my family is just an excuse for the fact I haven’t risked my heart in love or life?”
“That won’t happen.” He paused as the waitress arrived with refills. He took a sip of his drink before he continued. “Don’t let it happen. Take the risks. Starting now.”
“What do you mean?” She arched an eyebrow at him, all wariness again as she twisted the paper towel around her fingers.
Did she think he meant with him? A romantic risk?
“Go sing.” He jerked a thumb at the stage. “You’re a performer. Let’s see you perform.”
Her shoulders relaxed, her blue gaze turning to the small stage with an unmistakable longing.
“You wouldn’t think it was rude of me to leave you sitting all alone?” She bit her lip, although he’d hazard a guess she wasn’t all that concerned about leaving his side.
“Why do you think I brought you to a karaoke bar? To listen to a bunch of hacks belt out tunes after they’ve had too many drinks?”
She grinned, her eyes back on him, where he liked them. Hell yes he did. Especially when she smiled like that, and he was the one who made it happen.
“If you wanted a personal performance, you could have just told me so.”
His breath caught in his chest. Hard.
“I wasn’t sure how willing you’d be after I messed up with you.” His throat remained dry. Didn’t matter how much he drank.
There was only one thing that was going to quench his thirst tonight.
“You’re right.” Her smile faded. “I felt betrayed. But I don’t believe you set out to deceive me.”
Hope sparked. That sounded like an opening to make things right.
“Never. I had wanted to fix it before things came to a head. I really thought there must be an accounting error or information that I was missing. Or something.” It bugged him that he couldn’t figure out where the money had gone, and it bothered him more that it made Mayor Finley look guilty.
“I understand.”
“Really?” His breath whooshed out of his lungs as if a ton of bricks had eased off his chest.
“I think I do. I’m frustrated that this investigation is going to hurt my family and my father’s reputation, but I know you had to look into it. I wish you’d told me sooner, but I can see why you didn’t.” She slumped in the booth and studied him. “You really thought you might be able to solve the problem and it would never see the light of day.”
“Exactly. I’ve had my family’s name dragged through the mud and I can tell you, it’s painful. If I could spare you that kind of public scrutiny, I would.”
“Do you always try to fix things by yourself, Zach?”
“The curse of the competent person.” He tucked around the booth table to slide in beside her. “Thank you for trying to understand. Your opinion is important to me.”
He twined a silky red wave around his finger and watched her eyes shift from cornflower blue to a darker shade.
“Your opinion matters to me, too.” She laid her hand along his forearm and squeezed softly, lingering. “Which is why I hope you like the song I’m about to sing.”
It took a minute for the words to sink in. He’d been looking for a kiss, but he would take whatever she offered. Song included.
He cupped her elbow and backed out of the booth, bringing her with him. “Knock ’em dead, Heather Finley.”
“Just for you, Mr. Mayor.” She nodded once and headed for the stage, her hips twitching with just a touch more swagger.
He hoped like hell that only he noticed, but heads turned as she walked by. Whether or not she could sing, she would definitely attract more than a little attention.
Zach hoped that her forgiveness meant they could salvage some time together before she left. Because no matter how much he wanted to finish his app and get it to market, no matter how much he wanted to clear her father’s name and find the missing town funds, his goal for tonight was a whole lot simpler.
Now that there were no more secrets between them, he wanted to kiss Heather again.
* * *
“THIS IS CRAZY.” Megan stood under the bleachers in the dark with Wade long after the power to the overhead lights had been cut and most of the parking lot had cleared out.
The baseball game had finished an hour ago. A few people remained near their cars talking, but most had gone home for the night or met up at a local bar for a celebratory drink. But Megan and Wade remained because J. D. Covington had lingered in the dugout with a friend. When Wade had stalked closer to them a few minutes ago, they were still debating the best size for a bat barrel.
“It’s not crazy.” Wade had convinced her to attend the game after they’d finished their shift at the Owl’s Roost. “This is the perfect time to have a little talk with J.D. and find out if he’s the one harassing you.”
“I have homework,” she’d argued, thinking about the undone math problems and how much she didn’t want to face J.D.
The sounds of night were amplified as the parking lot cleared out. Frogs and night bugs turned up the volume, making their own brand of music. She and Wade leaned against the metal framework under the bleachers. Shadows slanted over Wade’s face.
“Don’t rub it in. Obviously, I don’t have any homework,” he grumbled, then pointed to another car still in the parking lot. “Isn’t that Bailey’s mom?”
Megan followed his gaze, regretting that she’d made him feel bad about school again. But those thoughts crumbled to ash when she spotted Mrs. McCord. She stood beside J.D.’s dad. The next throng of townspeople talked and laughed around their cars at least seventy yards away from them.
Mrs. McCord and Mr. Covington stood very, very close together on the darkened perimeter of the lot.
“Yes. But they serve on the town council together, the same as my dad. So they’re probably just—” She paused as J.D.’s dad peered over one shoulder, toward the only other figures in the parking lot. At least, the only other people visible in the dimness of the night. Then, as if satisfied no one could see them, he reached for Mrs. McCord.
And kissed her. Not a friend’s kiss, either. This was an all-out face suck complete with groping. Megan hadn’t particularly cared for either of J.D.’s parents when she’d met them briefly last spring. They paid zero attention to their son. But she still felt bad for Mrs. Covington, who headed the girls’ track team at school.
“Do you believe that?” Wade shook his head. “Pretty ballsy move right out in public.”
“They’re hidden by his truck.” She didn’t want to see any more. “I’m sure they don’t expect anyone is hiding under the bleachers. Come on.” She might have reason to dislike J.D., but she didn’t know for sure he was the one who’d built that stupid website about her, and she didn’t like the idea of him seeing his father being such a prick.
She tugged on Wade’s arm as she turned away from the parking-lot soap opera and led him out from under the bleachers toward the field.
“You think the guy has any idea his kid is still in the dugout?”
“I don’t know.” But she thanked her lucky stars Wade was with her for this. Ever since she’d told him about the text messages she had felt less alone.
“Like father like son,” he grumbled, shoving open the fence that led to the baseball field.
“What does that mean?” She stopped in her tracks, her tennis shoes scuffing into the dirt.
Wade paused. Turned. She couldn’t read his expression in the dark as he stared down at her.
“I thought you knew.”
A chill clutched her stomach and squeezed.
“He started dating Bailey before you two broke up.”
“Of course he did,” she mu
ttered, since she should have known. Except she hadn’t. And she wasn’t sure who she felt more betrayed by—Bailey, who’d been her friend, or J.D., who shouldn’t have the power to hurt her anymore. “I’m just late to the party realizing how stupid I’ve been.”
Part of her had held out hope that somebody else must be trying to ruin her life. Someone besides two people she’d once really cared about. Tears burned her eyes, so she stared up at the night sky to try to make them drain back into her head. She would not shed idiotic tears for idiots.
Overhead, a plane’s lights winked so far above, it didn’t make a sound. She wished she could trade places with someone on that flight so she could be headed anywhere but here.
“Hey.” Wade leaned over her, his face suddenly blocking her view. “He’s the stupid one, Meg. No one but a total dimwit would waste his chance with you.”
The teary feeling stopped stinging. She blinked, realizing how close Wade was. Her heart tripped over itself, the beats out of sync.
She didn’t know what to say. But she was saved from thinking of something when Wade eased back a step onto the trampled field.
“Let’s go find him.” He laid a hand on the center of her back and she forced her feet to move in the direction of the metal dugout.
J.D. appeared, stepping onto the infield’s grass. He was tall, too, but not even J.D. was as tall as Wade. Megan froze.
“What the hell are you doing here?” her ex-boyfriend asked.
“Looking for you.” Wade stopped on the grass a few feet away from him.
Megan fought the urge to tuck herself under Wade’s arm. And though she hated J.D.’s aggressive tone and his jutting chin, she turned to make sure he couldn’t see the parking lot from here. The bleachers helped block the view.
J.D.’s gaze went from Megan to Wade and back again.
“You don’t need my permission to date her, big guy.” J.D. hitched his baseball bag higher on his shoulder. “We’ve been done for a long time.”
“Longer than I realized,” she muttered, but Wade’s voice rose over hers.