Risk Worth Taking: Music For The Heart - Book Three

by Faith Starr

  Seems nothing I said to her counted as a good idea.

  “Come on, Drew. If you won’t let me walk you to your cabin, at least let me give you a tour of the ranch tomorrow morning. It’s a gorgeous place, and I’d love to show it to you.”

  “We have activities in the morning.” She still wouldn’t look at me.

  “I’ll show you a much better time.” I raised my brows, trying to lighten the mood.

  It worked too because a hint of amusement overtook her. And she could take my comment however she saw fit because I meant it in every way imaginable.

  “Fine. I’m in Cabin Two.” She peered down at the ground.

  Fuck yes!

  It was a plus she couldn’t see my relief, especially when I fist bumped the air in front of me.

  “How about I treat you to the free breakfast beforehand?” My confidence had come back with a vengeance. I felt pumped and ready to proceed.

  She smiled warmly and nodded. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” She gave me a slight wave and exited the dining hall without glancing back.

  Yes, it does. I let my disappointment slide because she had agreed to a date the following morning.

  I wouldn’t necessarily call it a date.

  Buzzkill.

  We were off to a good start. A great start, actually. I was a man on a mission to make things right, effective immediately. I had this week, which would give me the perfect opportunity to do so.

  With Drew gone for the evening, I trekked back to my cabin. I had no interest in having s’mores with families and couples nor did I have the desire to socialize with anyone at the ranch. Well, other than Drew, now that I had discovered her here.

  My guitar and I resumed our positions on the porch. I played for what felt like hours.

  Jordana and her brother showed up at some point and sat in front of my cabin, where they watched my impromptu performance. I didn’t mind. I kind of dug playing for an audience of two. It was both intimate and moving.

  The brother and sister team left. I continued to strum well into the night. I knew if I went inside my cabin, my thoughts would drift back to Drew. Not that they had drifted off her.

  When I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, I trudged inside and collapsed on the bed.

  I blinked a few times, then squinted, letting my eyes adjust to the bright light filling the cabin. I had forgotten to close the blinds last night. My body seriously argued it required more shut-eye.

  My phone informed me of the time. It also revealed it only had one bar of battery life left to it. Recharging the thing became a high priority. I did just that.

  Not that I needed the device so far out in the mountains, pretty much cut off from the modern world—the main reason why I loved the place so much—but still, I enjoyed using the other functions it offered, especially being able to listen to music.

  The only contact to everyday life as I knew it was the emergency phone in the dining hall. The Addison family provided poor, basic Internet service in there as well for those who couldn’t live without it—usually the teenage crowd. I loved more than anything to unplug from society for a week.

  Being I still had on the same clothes I had traveled in, I figured a shower would do me some good. Kind of gross. The guys and I had a habit of washing the day’s grime off after each show, and that included days off as well.

  The minutes couldn’t tick by fast enough. My thoughts were on one thing and one thing only: Drew. I couldn’t wait to spend the morning with her. I dressed at hyperspeed. I hadn’t felt this excited about something other than music in forever.

  I advanced down the rocky path to the dining hall, a family strolling nearby. So far so good. Other than Jordana and her brother, nobody else seemed to recognize me, another reason I loved hanging out at the ranch. A place which treated me like everyone else.

  Drew and Kate were sitting at a table in the back of the large room. Guess even with all my rushing, I still ran late. Most of the guests were already clearing their dishes.

  Drew caught sight of me, and our gazes locked. My heart picked up speed from the intensity of her stare, the power in it penetrating and affecting me as much now as it had years ago.

  Kate looked up, outwardly taken aback, when I pulled a chair out at the head of their table and sat.

  “Logan Trimble? What the hell are you doing here?”

  Drew must not have mentioned our run-in the night prior. I didn’t know whether to process that as a good or bad thing. My gut told my optimistic self to take a hike because otherwise Drew would’ve said something to her sister.

  Drew frowned at her sister’s rudeness. “Kate, please. Good morning, Logan.” She greeted me brightly, causing my heart to beat a smidgen faster.

  “You knew he was here?” Kate all but scolded.

  Drew nodded, playing it off as nothing. “We ran into each other last night.”

  Kate’s mouth opened slightly, and she glared at her sister with wide eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

  Fuck. Talk about twisting a knife in my gut.

  “No offense.” She gave the knife another turn.

  “None taken.” Well, a little taken but I kept it quiet.

  “Damn, it’s been years.” Kate’s personality changed gears for the better. She dug in to her blueberry pancakes.

  “It certainly has.” Too long, in my opinion. Not about seeing Kate. That I couldn’t care less about. I was referring to seeing Drew.

  Drew gazed at the empty space in front of me. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “Not really. I think I’ll grab some coffee, though.”

  “Is it too early for you?”

  Her radiant smile had me sucking in air.

  “For me? Nah. Late to bed, early to rise. If you two will please excuse me, I’m going to get some caffeine into my system. Do either of you want anything while I’m up?”

  They both shook their heads.

  At the coffee bar, I decided to go with half caff instead, my body indicating it didn’t require caffeine in its already jittery and overstimulated state.

  Brian fixed himself a cup of joe next to me. “I hope you’re not bailing out on activities this morning.” He spoke with playful sarcasm.

  “Sorry, bro. You know me well enough not to bother to ask. I’m going hiking.”

  “You disappoint, my man.” He smirked, one of teasing.

  “How about we shoot some pool later this afternoon or tomorrow?”

  “Sounds good.” He dropped his stirrer into the small wastebasket, patted my shoulder, and took off. I added a touch of cream and sugar to my cup, then moseyed back over to Kate and Drew, stopping for a mini bran muffin first. I sat at the table with them.

  Kate leaned back in her chair and rubbed her stomach. Drew’s food had hardly been touched. Maybe she experienced the same butterflies swirling around in her stomach as I did, as prissy as it sounded.

  “I’m stuffed. I hope we do something active this morning, so I can burn off all the pancakes I just ate.” Kate shoved her plate to the side and tossed her napkin on it.

  “You’re on vacation. Live it up.” Drew clearly wasn’t, using her fork to play with the food on her plate rather than eating it.

  Kate peered at the activity board. “Oh goody, we start with horseback riding. I’ve never been on a horse before.”

  Maybe she had never been horseback riding, but if I remembered correctly, she had quite the reputation back in the day for straddling her legs and taking the reins. Sure, it was only hearsay, but multiple guys confirmed it, so I took it as the truth. Drew and her sister were total and utter opposites.

  Drew and I had been each other’s firsts. I had no clue about her current state of affairs in the bedroom, but if she hadn’t changed and still held on to her strong values, she’d kept a tight leash on her body.

  “Shall we head out?” Kate disregarded me with her question. “We’re supposed to meet at the st
alls in ten minutes. It’ll take us some time to walk over there.”

  Drew paused. “Umm…Logan and I are going to go hiking instead. But I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Kate rose and stood behind her chair, her hands going on her hips. “We’re supposed to be on this trip together. That means participating in activities together as well.”

  She sounded somewhat juvenile.

  “I agree we’re on this trip together, but that doesn’t mean we have to remain joined at the hip.”

  Kate scowled. “Really? Let me guess, you’re going on a walk with him.” She pointed at me, disgust overtaking her.

  Yeah, I got it. She still despised me for what I did to Drew. Her body language got her message across loud and clear. I remained silent, not about to get involved in an argument between the two of them.

  “He has a name. It’s Logan. And yes, I’m going hiking with him. I’ll catch up with you later.” Drew stood as well. She pushed her chair in and picked up her plate. Her attention shifted toward me. “Are you ready, Logan?” She sounded frustrated as hell, her tone curt, and the glower she gave Kate? A doozy.

  I would’ve preferred to have had a tad more coffee in my system before taking off, but I had no intention of informing Drew about that. I didn’t want to give her a chance to change her mind about going hiking with me.

  She brought her leftovers to the trash and disposed of them, the food she’d hardly touched. Kate bolted for the exit, not a happy camper if my instincts guided me correctly, which for the most part they did.

  In the kitchen area where guests weren’t permitted, me excluded from that rule, I retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge. I stepped around the corner and handed her a bottle. “Ready?”

  “VIP treatment?” She gestured to the kitchen area. “You’re allowed to go back there, but we peons aren’t?”

  Chuckling, I replied to her smartass comment. “The Addisons consider me part of the family, which means I have free rein to do as I please while here.”

  “Aren’t you special?” she joked.

  She was to me.

  A cool breeze blew against us when we exited the dining hall. I hoped it would stick around for our hike.

  “Shouldn’t I let one of the staffers know I won’t be attending the horseback-riding activity? Susanna said last night we were supposed to inform them if we weren’t going to participate, so they wouldn’t wait for us.”

  Drew had always been the responsible party in our relationship.

  Relationship.

  I seriously needed to stop thinking about the two of us in those terms. That was then, this was now.

  “Wait right here. I’ll let someone know.” I skipped down the three steps of the deck and caught sight of Layla. The staff members all had walkie-talkies. I let her know Drew and I had different plans, so she could tell the person in charge of horseback riding that Drew wouldn’t be in attendance.

  Drew stayed put until I returned.

  “All set.”

  “Great. So, which direction are we headed in?” She looked left then right.

  “Follow me, babe. I’ll be your guide for the next few hours.”

  She took a firm stance and crossed her arms over her chest, her bottle hanging from her grip. “Babe?”

  Shrugging, I put my hand out in surrender. “What can I say? Old habits die hard.”

  She rolled her eyes but followed me down the stairs. We made a left turn and passed other guests gathered together in various groups as we strolled down the path. None of them gave us a second glance. They were too busy chatting.

  Once we passed the stables, the rocky road got narrower and it became woodsier.

  Drew paused. “You’re not going to get us lost, are you?”

  “O ye, of little faith. You must trust.”

  “You’re asking me to trust you?” She might’ve been giggling, but her comment stung.

  “Yes. I’m asking you to trust me.” I caught her gaze when I said this, so she’d know I had no plans of fucking this up again, whatever this was.

  She took a deep breath, we continued walking.

  “Is this path intended for guests to walk on, or is it something you discovered while exploring one day?”

  “Brian and I like to go to the lake and fish. This is one path that gets you there. Guests are taken on an easier route.”

  “And we’re not taking the easier route?” She kept a steady stride next to me.

  “Nope. I’m all about challenges.” I raised my brows in a flirtatious manner, peering over at her. Her cheeks had a nice shade of pink highlighting them. Her rapid breaths didn’t go unnoticed either. It couldn’t have been due to our hike because we’d just begun and were far from moving at an aerobic pace.

  “I remember that about you.” She flashed me a half-smile.

  “Do you?” I wanted to hear exactly what she remembered. I hoped she had kept some good memories of us to go along with the shit one that tore us apart.

  “Yes, I do. I remember you being the type of person who never gave up on what you believed in, that you fought for what you wanted.”

  Except for her. Drew was the one thing I’d never fought for. It had been my biggest mistake to date, other than betraying her.

  It was my turn to take a deep breath.

  “How about you? I seem to remember you doing the same.”

  She shrugged and scoped out the rocks on the path that lay ahead of us. “Not for everything.” She pouted, making me feel like crap again. It made me think about how much damage I’d done to her and how cruel it had been of me to treat her so poorly, with such disrespect.

  “Do you still enjoy writing?” I tried to lighten the mood. Drew wrote the most magnificent poems. I still had the ones she wrote for me tucked in a shoebox, hidden in my closet. Nobody knew about my secret treasure.

  Her eyes lit up, providing me with some relief. “Yeah, I still love to write, although I don’t write poems anymore.”

  “Really? Then what do you write?” She’d piqued my curiosity.

  “Songs.”

  Say what? This was news to me. I never remembered Drew playing an instrument. Sure, she would sing along to our songs and could carry a tune, but this surprised the shit out of me.

  “What kind of songs?”

  “Back in the day, I used to watch you play the guitar. I wanted so much to be able to play like that. So after we broke up, I bought myself an old guitar at a pawnshop and started taking YouTube lessons and tutorials, as crazy as that sounds. I spent every waking hour when I wasn’t working or studying, practicing. Obviously, I don’t have your talent but I can play well enough to put basic melodies to my lyrics.”

  My mouth dropped open in surprise. She fucking played the guitar? And she wrote tunes? This I had to see and hear for myself.

  “That’s awesome, Drew.” The excitement in my voice came across sincere and enthusiastic, as I had intended it to.

  She shrugged, kind of blowing off the topic. “It’s a hobby. I get no joy out of playing for others. I prefer to play in solitude. I find it cathartic and somewhat soothing.”

  “Would you consider playing something for me?”

  “Are you kidding me? You want a novice to play the guitar for you? Sorry, but I don’t think so.”

  “I would never judge you. I’m excited for you, and I’d love to hear some of your music.”

  She looked at me. “I don’t think you’d be entertained by the type of music I play.” Sadness clouded her features. It killed me inside.

  “And why’s that?”

  “Because it’s country.”

  I grabbed my chest, same as I had done before when she told me she listened to it, as if in pain. “Ugh, you wound me.”

  She giggled. That sight was much better than the gloominess that had filled the green of her eyes a few seconds ago, a shade that matched the trees surrounding us perfectly.

  “Seriously, will you play something for me?”

  “I
don’t know.” She glanced down at the rocks again. “As I said, I only play for myself. I’ve never played for anyone else.”

  “You’ve never played for Kate, your parents, or a boyfriend?” I threw that one in for information-gathering purposes.

  “No. I’d rather not get criticism or feedback from others.”

  “Not all criticism is bad. Joey and Dani make it a point to be open to receiving input from me and Trevor regarding new music they write. It brings more creative energy to the table, and the songs usually end up better as a result.”

  “But I don’t write songs for the public.”

  “Songwriting can be a lucrative career.”

  “I’m sure it can. Taylor Swift got her start as a songwriter and look at her now.”

  “See? You could become the next Taylor Swift.”

  Not that I listened to Taylor’s music but knew how popular and successful she had become over the years.

  “Remember I just said I don’t enjoy playing for an audience? Now you, on the other hand, do it for a living.”

  “I have no complaints. The guys and I do pretty well for ourselves. Hey, how about this, I’ll play for you if you’ll play for me.”

  “How is that a fair compromise? You’re used to playing for people. I’m not.”

  I’d get her to play for me by week’s end, guaranteed.

  “It’s kind of steep over here. Give me your hand.” I stuck mine out toward her to assist her in climbing up the rough terrain.

  Her skin felt silky to the touch as I enveloped her delicate hand in mine.

  Shit. I didn’t expect to have such an overwhelming reaction from merely touching her, my cock becoming a semi as a result. I adjusted my baggy shorts, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

  She kept her gaze on mine while I helped her up. She fell against my chest once level with me, her free hand resting against it for support until she steadied herself.

  We stared at each other in the stillness surrounding us. Her breath hitched from our close proximity. Mine did too.

  I didn’t want her feeling my hard-on, so I took a step backward when every fiber of my being wanted to throw her on the ground and do things to her I’d fantasized and jerked off about.