What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  “I don’t like what you went through, but I’m especially happy you found your way back home.” Randy touched her cheek, running his thumb along her smooth skin.

  Her eyes met his. “Me too,” she said softly.

  He finally had to let go of her to tend to dinner. The last thing he wanted to do was burn it, no matter how much he just wanted to hold Blaine all night and love her. She picked up the wine and followed him into the kitchen. As he grabbed a potholder and lifted the lid to stir, he heard Blaine open the fridge. The wine bottle clinked against something, then she closed it.

  “Can I do anything to help?”

  Randy finished stirring the vegetables. Everything was nearly finished. “Nope. Just about done. You can relax and make yourself comfortable.” He turned around and flashed her a grin. “Haven’t I taught you to relax yet?”

  She cast a serious glance at him. “You’ve taught me a lot, actually.”

  “Really? What did I teach you?” He turned away for a bit to shut off the burners.

  Blaine twined her fingers with his and guided him to face her. “You helped me realize I still have a passion for dance. I felt empty inside, like I’d lost everything. You’ve helped me so much, Randy.”

  “I’m glad.” He was at a loss for words. Blaine’s admission surprised him. He gestured to the already set table. “If you really insist on helping, pour some of that wine you brought over.”

  “Deal.” Blaine’s eyes lit up as she brushed past him to open the fridge again. Randy took the time to pick up their plates and serve the steaming hot food. It felt good to make dinner for a woman who had a hold of his heart.

  Blaine found two wine glasses and poured an even amount in each. As she set the glasses down beside their plates, Randy pulled out her chair. Before she sat, she leaned over and kissed him. Gentle. Sweet. Arousing. He pushed the chair in for her.

  They ate and talked. Blaine told him about her day, about connecting with her mother and what they accomplished at the house. After dinner, she insisted on clean up. “You cooked. Let me do the dishes for you.”

  Hell, he shouldn’t argue with a woman who wanted to clean up. But he did anyway. “Blaine-”

  She touched his lips gently with her fingers, leaning in close. “I love it when you argue with me. But this time, shh.” Giving him a quick kiss, she pushed him away playfully, pointing. “Now, get out of this kitchen. I know it’s yours, but I’m kicking you out.”

  Randy laughed. “All right, all right. I can’t complain.”

  “Hey. Thank you for dinner. I had no idea you were such an excellent cook.”

  “You’re welcome.” He shot a grin her way before leaving the kitchen. He heard the water running and the clink of dishes.

  He stared at his keyboard sitting on the stand in the corner. With a melody in mind, he pulled out the bench and settled on it, facing the kitchen. His hands drifted over the keys, thinking about how he wanted to start out the song. Closing his eyes, he thought about Blaine and the moments they’d shared recently. Before he knew it, he was playing a tune that seemed to fit the way he felt about her.

  Blaine walked out of the kitchen and stood in the middle of his living room a few minutes later, rubbing her hands against her jeans. Her gaze never left his face. He was curious what she was doing when she pulled his coffee table away from the middle and dragged it to the other end, freeing up some space. She slid out of her shoes and tossed them next to the couch.

  Randy’s pulse quickened when she started dancing to the melody. He almost slipped up and stopped as he watched in awe at her graceful, beautiful moves. She was amazing, even using the little space his living room provided. She had an ease about her when she moved. Her eyelids lowered and she twirled. God, he wanted to stop playing, jump up and twirl her around in his arms. Instead he was compelled to continue and just watch her.

  He finished the song, then Blaine stopped. She opened her eyes and looked over at him with a smile.

  “That was amazing,” he finally said. “You’re a beautiful dancer.”

  “I needed to see if I still had it in me. The desire to dance.” Her eyes twinkled. “The song you were playing filled that urge. What was the song, by the way?”

  Randy shrugged. “I don’t know. It just popped into my head.”

  “I love it. You should play it for the band, see if Avery and Melody could put some lyrics to it.” Blaine moved to sit beside him. He scooted over to make room for her. He leaned over for a kiss. “Will you teach me a little?” She pointed at the keys.

  “Sure! How much do you know?”

  “None.” She grinned sheepishly. “But I really want to learn. Watching you makes me want to know what it feels like.”

  He ran her through some of the keys and chords. Blaine’s eyes were wide as he talked about scales. Flats, sharps.

  “Am I rambling too much?” he asked, watching her reaction.

  “No, this is great! There’s just so much to take in. I had no idea there’s so much to learn.”

  “Here, watch and listen, then follow my lead.” Randy played through some keys and a handful of chords. Blaine stated which keys they were as he played. “Nice!” He scooted back and let her play. A silver bracelet dangled on her hand, catching his eye as her long, slender fingers graced the keys. She played back almost perfectly the tune he’d played.

  “You’re a fast learner,” he complimented.

  “I had to be,” she said seriously, still playing and announcing the keys. “Play this key,” she instructed, hitting the B multiple times.

  “Why?” Randy asked, not sure what she wanted.

  Blaine moved her fingers. “Do it!” she taunted.

  With a shrug, he did.

  “You just played the key to my heart.” Blaine peeked at him under her thick eyelashes.

  “Making a play on words, huh? I like it!” Randy chuckled, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

  “Will you play me another song?” she asked, leaning on him.

  “Anything for you.” Randy kissed her, then scooted over so he could play a new song. He didn’t get that far in when Blaine’s phone rang. As she answered it, she shot to her feet and her skin paled.

  That couldn’t be good news.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “He’s going to be sitting right in front,” Melody muttered. She kept pacing the room. Jameson and Chris stood back as they hadn’t been able to calm her down. Both were at a loss for what to do. “I don’t want to see those cold, lying eyes again.” Fear slithered in her body at the thought of seeing Anthony. He’d be surrounded by people and in handcuffs, but that man killed her father, along with others. He was a cold-blooded killer that she’d loved! And she had to see him one more time in court to tell the judge, jury and everyone else what she saw.

  It scared the hell out of her. No, that was an understatement. Petrified described it better.

  “Baby, don’t look at him then. You don’t have to. You just go in there, tell them what they need to know and it’ll be over before you know it. Listen to me, Melody. Anthony can’t hurt you. There’s going to be a whole crowd of people to make sure of it. I won’t let him, Chris won’t let him, and the people of the court won’t let him.” Jameson finally moved toward her, putting her hands in his as he held her close.

  “I’m scared too, Mel, but we’ll be okay. You might have run, but Dad and I pushed you to. We thought protecting you that way was best. Nothing’s going to happen,” Chris reassured her, but Melody could tell he had his own concerns. He just didn’t express them as intently as she had.

  An hour. They had an hour before this stupid trial started. An hour was long enough to frazzle her nerves. They’d come up here yesterday and all she could do was look around this town she used to call home and wonder, relive the events of the year with Anthony and the night that caused her to flee. It all seemed like a terrible nightmare until she had to come back here and face it again. Not a nightmare. A reality.
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br />   It’s over after this. Anthony will be put away. I can go home and be with Jameson and sing in the band. I can do this.

  Melody wiped her sweaty brow, then brushed off her black skirt. “I wish this would hurry up already!”

  “Melody-” her brother said, trying to console her.

  Jameson’s attention was on the TV and he let out a string of curse words. Both Melody and Chris turned to find out what he was so upset about. An image of two people sitting by a river or something late at night caught her attention.

  “New video of Hollywood choreographer assistant Blaine Grant comes to light after recent articles state she’d been in numerous sex videos. We’re currently unsure of the person with her that night, but sources say it’s a man from Grant’s hometown of Harmony’s Echo Texas. Grant has so far declined to answer any questions about the videos and the things Frederic Ruggerio has said about her. Ruggerio’s condition remains the same, while Grant and her suspected new boyfriend are still under suspicion. No arrests have been made.”

  “Fuck,” Jameson muttered again, unable to tear his gaze away from the TV.

  Melody hardly ever heard Jameson say that word, and it tore her up that he couldn’t be in two places at once. That video had to have been the night Frederic was hit. But how did he know where Blaine and Randy were?

  “Why would it make the rounds now if Frederic is still in the hospital?” Jameson muttered. “Stupid jerk keeps finding ways to expose my sister. I’m going to-”

  Melody reached for his hand and grasped it, hoping he wouldn’t finish what she thought he was going to say. “Jameson,” she said softly. What could she do? Not a damn thing!

  “I’m sorry, Mel. I’m supposed to be calming you down and then there’s that crap on the news.” He scowled, the pain in his eyes evident.

  She pulled him in for a hug as Chris went to shut off the TV to avoid any other clips. “You want to call her and make sure she’s okay?” Maybe Blaine hadn’t even seen it yet, but that was just false hope. She wondered what Blaine and Randy were dealing with this very moment.

  Someone walked into the room and cleared their throat. Melody jumped away from Jameson to face the newcomer. The time had come. “Ms. Roland, Mr. Roland. I’ll need you two to come with me now.”

  A nervous feeling settled in the pit of her belly. Melody swallowed, trying to keep her fear at bay. “What about Jameson?” she asked, knowing how much she sounded like a frightened child.

  “He can come in later. Right now, we need to speak to the two of you.”

  “It’s all right, Melody. I’ll see you soon. I love you.” Jameson wrapped his strong arms around her in a comforting embrace she never wanted to leave. “You’re brave. This will be over soon,” he whispered in her ear.

  The man waited impatiently. She forced herself out of Jameson’s arms and walked beside her brother as they followed the man out the door.

  Less than an hour later, Melody sat beside Chris in the courtroom. She searched the back for Jameson, and was relieved when he slipped into the room, met her gaze and gave her a nod. Feeling slightly better, she turned back around and waited for whatever would happen next.

  Then came the moment she dreaded. The doors opened and Anthony was brought in. Her stomach clenched and she had to fight down a wave of bile. Her heart slammed against her ribcage. Blood thundered in her ears and Melody thought she was going to faint. Her knees were wobbly, like Jello. Thank goodness she was sitting, until they had to rise for the judge’s entrance.

  Anthony’s cold eyes found hers and she wanted to look away. She wanted to turn away so damn bad, but something forced her to keep her eye on him. He had such a hollow look, but he scowled at her. She blew out a breath as he was forced to turn around and face the judge. Chris reached out and clasped her hand, giving it a squeeze.

  They had to listen through tons of stuff, some of it not easy to hear. They brought up the murder of her father. Melody closed her eyes, thinking of a calm place. This was hard, having to be brought back to all of this again. She missed her dad.

  “I’d like to call Melody Roland to the stand.”

  Here went nothing. Still shaking, Melody slowly climbed to her feet. She didn’t have to look around to know all eyes were on her. They all had to know she was the girl Anthony had been dating and was the one who saw him kill someone and ran. This was the moment. She made her way to the front and was sworn in. Anthony’s hardened stare landed on her once again, like he was waiting for her to make a move.

  Don’t look at him, don’t look at him. She singled Jameson out and focused on him instead, until she had to pay attention and talk to the person asking the questions.

  “Tell us about your relationship with the accused.” The man gestured at Anthony.

  “Before I found out who he really was, we were dating. For al-almost a year,” Melody stuttered.

  “You had no idea before that night that Anthony was capable of such crimes?”

  She was about to answer when someone yelled “Objection.”

  “Why did you run if you were never in the know?”

  That was the question she feared.

  “I… I don’t know. I was scared! Good God, I’ve never come across anything like that before. I didn’t know what to do or think. I wish I’d reported what I’d seen right away,” Melody blubbered. She knew it. Her heart raced and she couldn’t breathe. How was she going to make it through the rest of this?

  “Blaine.” Someone shook her awake. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to ignore the pain behind her eyes and wished the latest news hadn’t hit. Nightmare. It had to be. Just a nightmare. She bolted up, unsure where she was and who was talking to her. It wasn’t Randy.

  Marsha peered back at her, concern in her eyes.

  “Wha-?” she mumbled. She’d been in a state of disbelief ever since last night’s phone call. Now the news all day talked about Blaine and Randy, and the night they’d spent at the creek. Someone had been there and recorded them.

  “It’s late afternoon. Randy’s on his way back. He’s been trying to call you but you haven’t answered. I was nearby. Are you okay?”

  What kind of question was that? Of course she wasn’t okay! But to let it out on Marsha wasn’t the right thing to do. Words tumbled from her lips anyway. “What do you care?”

  Marsha reeled back as if she’d been slapped. “I guess I deserve that. I care because my brother cares.”

  “Did you come to show more magazine articles you’ve saved of the infamous bad girl Blaine?” Ugh, why couldn’t she just shut up, like now?

  With a deep sigh, Marsha shook her head. “No. Damn it Blaine, I’m not proud of those moments, okay? It’s not an excuse, but look at my parents. They run the newspaper. I hate to say it, but at times I think I put way too much thought into articles and stuff. Not my best moments. I never knew you that well growing up, but Randy feels like he did, and for the most part, he’s a good judge of character.”

  Whatever the for the most part meant. Marsha didn’t elaborate. Blaine rubbed her eyes, wishing she hadn’t been in that manic phase again. She’d overdone it and her body throbbed. Randy would have some words to say about it when he arrived, that’s for sure. “Just how much is everyone talking about the video from that night?” What bothered her was who shot it and why. Was it Frederic, trying to pull something else off before he was hit? It pissed her off to no end to think someone had been watching her intimate moments with Randy. Those were her moments. No one else should have had the chance to see them! Okay, maybe they shouldn’t have skinny dipped and then made love in the back of his truck bed, but how the hell was she to know they were being recorded? Frederic’s condition hadn’t even changed, so who found the video and leaked it? Did he have someone working with him?

  Marsha cringed. “A lot.”

  Figures.

  “Is your family pissed about Randy and I?”

  Marsha’s hesitance pretty much gave Blaine the answer. She muttered out a curse.
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  “Look, I’m sure it’s not easy being in the spotlight.”

  “You don’t know! I hate this, okay? I didn’t go to Hollywood looking for fame and fortune. Hell, I didn’t even start off in Hollywood. I just wanted to explore more in the dance field. If I could go back in time and redo things, I’d have run as far from Frederic as possible.” Not that Marsha really needed to know any of this, but there it was anyway.

  “I bet he seemed dreamy and great at first?” Marsha guessed.

  Blaine clutched the sheet to her chest, as if she were naked and exposed when she was in fact fully dressed. This conversation felt weird with a woman who for whatever reason didn’t seem to like her. “He was someone I could see myself working with if he chose me. He’s an asshole, but an excellent dancer. I guess I looked up to him in that sense. I ignored the rude way he treated me or anyone else. What I saw in him romantically, I don’t know. Maybe it was just easier for us to be together that way when we worked side by side all the time. I still don’t know what was wrong with me that I’d date, let alone, marry a man who didn’t treat me like he truly wanted me that way.”

  Marsha gasped. “You married him?”

  “Did that not part come out already? I’m almost surprised, considering the other dirt coming up about me. Yeah, six years.” Blaine sighed, thinking about that mistake. Marriage was supposed to be special between two people. There’d been nothing special about her marriage to Frederic.

  “What was it like?”

  “Miserable,” she admitted. Maybe not completely at first. There had been a strong physical attraction between them at one time, which sizzled on the dance floor when working together. They were known for their chemistry on stage. Still stupid to marry, because attraction was all it was. Maybe she’d wanted to gain his approval. She still had no idea. “A mistake.”

  She was once again putting too much thought into it.

  “I’m sorry. Why did you stay away from home so long?” Marsha was just full of questions tonight.