Risk Worth Taking: Music For The Heart - Book Three

by Faith Starr

  “I noticed. Not a morning eater?”

  “I wasn’t hungry. But now I’m starving.”

  “Then I must feed you. What do you say we head back to the ranch?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  We continued holding hands but followed a different route back to camp, the return trip much shorter.

  Guests were huddled in front of the dining hall when we approached. Kate caught sight of me and stormed over. It’s too bad I didn’t have earplugs because I knew an earful was about to come my way.

  “Where have you been? You missed all the morning activities. Lunch too. You worried me.“ She shifted her attention to Logan, taking in his damp attire, then mine. Her brows rose.

  “We were on a hike. Did you have fun horseback riding?” I wouldn’t feed into her maternal reprimand and questioning routine.

  “It would’ve been more fun if you were there with me.”

  Enough with the guilt and snide comments.

  “Maybe next time.” I shrugged, not apologizing for my disappearance. “I’m going to head back to the cabin and change. Then I’m going to eat.”

  “Hello? If you’d listened to what I just said, you’d know lunch is over. And at this rate, you’re probably going to miss the next activity too.” She stood firm, her arms crossed, causing me to feel a tinge of remorse. Here she mourned her lost relationship with Joe while I gallivanted around the ranch with Logan.

  “I’m sure I could get us something to eat.” Logan joined in on the conversation, ignoring the part about missing the activity. “I should probably change too. Come, I’ll walk you to your cabin.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes at me, the warning sign I had stepped into dark and dangerous territory by getting involved with Logan again. I couldn’t and wouldn’t argue with her over this topic, but I also didn’t see myself as hurling my fragile heart into the scary wild. Rather, I viewed the situation as me making a sound decision to cautiously dip my baby toe into it ever so slightly.

  She huffed and rejoined Erin and Jen. They welcomed her with open arms, which made me feel somewhat relieved even though guilt still pulled at my heartstrings.

  Logan didn’t hold my hand during our walk. I considered it a good thing. It gave me some breathing room. He seemed to suck up all the oxygen in the air whenever he came within five feet of me, causing me to lose all rational thought.

  “I’m fine getting myself to my cabin. Yours is right here.” I stopped and pointed toward his porch on the left.

  He eyed me quizzically, probably wondering how I knew it belonged to him. I didn’t say anything about hearing him play his guitar on the porch the night prior.

  “I know you’ll be fine, but I want to walk you.”

  We continued along the trail.

  Good. He didn’t mention anything about my knowledge of his housing situation.

  “Such a gentleman.” I grinned.

  “I’ve been called worse.”

  He truly was a sight to be seen, especially when he smiled the way he did now. His gorgeous blue eyes sparkled brighter, if that was even possible.

  We said nothing about the fun we’d had back at the lake. I could only speak for myself, unsure about him, but my thoughts remained in a tailspin. The last thing I wanted—another one-night stand, especially with Logan.

  “I wonder if we were on the same flight.” I initiated a change of thought process. “But I think I would’ve noticed you if we drove to the ranch together.”

  “I would’ve definitely noticed you.” He looked at me with warmth in his eyes.

  My cheeks suddenly burned again. They probably resembled the color of raspberries.

  “I know Layla and Brian make two trips to the airport to pick up guests. What time was your ride?” He kept his attention on the landscape surrounding us.

  “Umm, around two.”

  “Then we rode together. I got on last.”

  “Oh, that explains it. Kate and I got to the van first. Brian asked us to sit in the back to leave room for others still arriving. I still felt groggy from the anti-nausea medication I had taken on the plane, so I slept through most of the ride.”

  He nodded in acknowledgment and stopped, pointing to the left. “Here’s your cabin.”

  My gaze followed the direction of his finger, surprised to discover we were already there. Guess I had zoned out.

  “Why don’t you stop by mine when you’re ready? Then we can go get something to eat.”

  “Okay.” I twisted my hands together in front of me. I didn’t understand why I suddenly felt so nervous, vulnerable.

  Hello, you just let him bring you to orgasm at the lake!

  There was that.

  Breathing deeply, I dared to look up at him. When I did, I found him staring intently at me.

  “I enjoyed the hike.”

  Yeah, so did I. Too much for my own good.

  My heart raced a dab faster. I tapped my foot against the gravel with a touch more vigor. “Me too.” All movement on my behalf then ceased. I didn’t know what to do with myself.

  He drew me into his arms, placed his hands on my cheeks and brushed his lips over mine ever so gently.

  My eyes remained closed after he released me. I wanted more. When I realized I wasn’t going to get it, I opened them. He had the same amount of desire going as I did.

  “Guess I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Off I went, sprinting to my porch, taking the stairs in twos and running inside the cabin. I hustled to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed. What in the hell had I done?

  7

  Logan

  What the hell was I doing? And why did she take off like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough after I’d kissed her?

  In all actuality, could I blame her? I mean, we hadn’t spoken in years and out of nowhere she appeared in my life again, a mind-blowing surprise. I still couldn’t believe she’d actually given me the time of day, especially with my past sinful behavior toward her. I’d never planned for things to turn out as horribly as they did. I had put myself into a bad situation that went further than intended, and one I should’ve nipped in the bud but stupidly didn’t.

  Joey, Trevor, and I had never been the partying types. We loved playing music and being present while doing so. But on that night, we’d played a fantastic gig and got plastered, drinking a lot more than intended.

  We always knew where to find booze if we wanted it—Joey’s place. A raging alcoholic, his father kept liquor bottles stashed all over the house.

  There we were, three horny teenagers, acting stupid and having fun when Dani unexpectedly showed up with a few of her girlfriends. Hot ones, I might add. The other guys had been single, but me? Drew and I had a great thing going, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t look.

  The girls joined us in the living room for drinks. One got chummy with Joey, another tried to get chummy with me. I kept pushing her off me, telling her I had a girlfriend, but she didn’t care. She continued to run her hands over my chest and thighs. In the end I became so trashed, I stopped caring too.

  Dani and the third girl went to her bedroom, but not before Dani made a point of showing her disgust with me, her eyes taking in her friend straddling me on the couch. By that time, the girl’s hands were in my hair and underneath my shirt. And I didn’t stop her from doing it. My bad.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Logan.” Dani’s glare shot daggers at me.

  Joey and his girl had already made tracks to his bedroom. Trevor had taken off solo. In retrospect, I should’ve tagged along with him. It would’ve rerouted the path my life had taken in the relationship department.

  “I’d think twice if I were you, because you’re about to make a huge mistake,” she warned. “And I won’t back up whatever story you feed Drew. Please keep that in mind before you do whatever it is you plan on doing.” She whipped around and stormed off with her friend in tow.

  “Don’t listen to her. She’s just jealous,” the girl with a nam
e I didn’t know nor cared to whispered in my ear.

  The nameless slut ground her hips against me. By that point I was so blitzed, I didn’t know my right from my left. Not being much of a drinker, a few shots had me down for the count, and I more than paid for my foolishness in a number of ways.

  I had forgotten I’d told Drew earlier in the day that I planned on heading over to Joey’s place after our gig. She had made plans with her family and couldn’t attend, otherwise she would’ve been straddling me, and none of the stupid shit that went down would’ve transpired.

  The chick on my lap slid her tongue down my throat. My cock took it upon itself to join her in the grinding action. My hands held her full ass, shifting it on top of me to appease my aching dick.

  A knock came at the door. I didn’t give two shits about the visitor. It wasn’t my house. Dani or Joey could answer it if they wanted to. I was heavily involved in my make-out session.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  I closed my eyes, replaying the scene and reliving my ignorance.

  Drew opened the door to find the girl on top of me, top off, bra still on.

  “Logan, how could you!”

  She ran outside.

  I shoved the bimbo aside, on the couch. She gasped. It wasn’t like I gave a shit. I had to get to Drew.

  She was backing out of the driveway. I dashed toward her car, screaming for her to stop, but she wouldn’t.

  Those were the last words she’d said to me up until the night prior when I saw her in the dining hall. I’d tried to speak with her post incident, but she’d refused to hear me out. I went to her house not once, not twice, but a handful of visits over the course of several weeks. Her parents never failed to tell me to leave.

  The sad reality was nothing I said would pacify her or fix the mess I’d caused. I figured I’d give her time and space to simmer down. She didn’t. She never spoke to me again until now. I’d only kissed that skanky girl at the party and felt her up but, well, no buts. My behavior had been wrong in every sense of the word. No rationalization could justify my despicable actions. Talk about one of life’s major fuck-ups. That had probably been my biggest one to date.

  My head throbbed from strolling down memory lane. I moped back to my cabin to get changed for lunch, my mood somewhat somber even though I should’ve been high as a kite after the fantastic experience Drew and I had shared at the lake. Except I wasn’t, and my stomach had twisted itself up into knots. It hurt like a son of a bitch.

  Maybe a shower would wash off the tension pooling in my muscles.

  Nope.

  Toweling dry and dressing didn’t leave me feeling any better either. My muscles still felt tight. I knew of one thing and one thing only that would help clear my mind and no, jacking off wasn’t it.

  Holding my guitar, I stepped onto the porch and planted my ass on the rocking chair.

  I played one of our newer songs, a ballad. I lost myself to the rhythm, becoming intently focused on strumming the chords. I tapped my foot and bobbed my head to the soft melody.

  When the song ended, I took a deep breath to find Drew standing in front of the porch, her hands resting on the ledge.

  “That was beautiful.”

  People told me on a nightly basis I played great, usually fans wanting to get up close and personal to Logan Trimble, the guitarist of Steam—not Logan, the guy who loved to kick back, relax, and play his guitar for fun. The way Drew’s eyes beamed with pride, I knew she saw the real me, the Logan who used to chill in his garage and play his guitar for hours on end, day after day.

  Smiling, I set my guitar down next to me.

  “Is that song new to your set list?” She walked up the steps and stopped a few feet in front of me.

  “Yeah.”

  “I love the melody.”

  And I loved how her eyes regarded mine, not full of lust like the women I fucked who couldn’t care less about me. Nor did they give me the impression that they viewed me as the manwhore who screwed different women on a regular basis without giving a crap about any of them. What touched me the most was that Drew had an entirely different image of me, and my gut told me it most definitely wasn’t one of hate.

  “Are you ready to go eat?”

  Her question snapped me out of my deep thoughts.

  “Sure.” Not that my stomach could tolerate food, the knots inside tightening again, but she required food, and I wanted to spend more time with her. “Let me just put my guitar inside my cabin. You can come in if you want.”

  Her smile vanished, and she placed her hand on the railing. She chewed on her bottom lip. I didn’t understand her nervousness around me.

  Maybe it’s because you screwed her over and she doesn’t want a repeat.

  Fuck.

  My own bout of anxiety kicked in, my palms a tad sweaty and bile rising toward the base of my throat.

  “I’ll wait out here for you.”

  Imagine that.

  Inside my cabin, I tucked my guitar safely in its case on the couch.

  Taking a deep breath, I went back outside.

  Drew had left the porch and was kicking rocks on the dirt path in front of my cabin. She spun around when she heard the door snap shut. I skipped down the few steps to where she stood.

  “I hope the Addisons don’t get mad that we’re not following the schedule they have set for us.”

  We journeyed to the dining hall.

  “I’ve never followed their schedules, so I can assure you this comes as no surprise to them. But now I have an accomplice to do it with.” I winked at her. She smiled and showed off her beautiful white teeth.

  It reminded me of the day she got her braces off back in ninth grade. Talk about excitement on her part. The first thing she’d done when we left school was drag me along with her to a local candy shop, so she could eat as many gummy candies as her heart desired. The two of us had gone crazy eating Swedish fish, with the stomachaches afterward to prove it. As expected, her mother blamed me for getting Drew home late, which then made her late for her orthodontist appointment to pick up her retainer.

  “Don’t be getting me into trouble, Mr. Trimble.” She raised her finger.

  “I can’t promise you that. It all depends on what kind of trouble you’re referring to.” I raised my brows.

  She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. I took her silence as a good sign because I had a knack for reading Drew pretty well, and right then, I picked up the vibe she was on board for whatever I had up my sleeve. At least I hoped she did. How about desperately prayed she did.

  We entered the dining hall to find Patty and Susanna in the kitchen prepping for dinner. Susanna’s eyes opened wide when she caught sight of us.

  “Logan Trimble, how many times do I have to tell you to eat during serving hours?” She spoke to me like one of her own. “This isn’t your kitchen, my dear, where you can come and go as you please.” She spoke seriously, but her lips curled up into a smile.

  “We had so much fun, we lost track of the time.”

  Her eyes narrowed at my superb excuse. “Go on and get yourself something from the fridge. You know where it is. There are a few leftover sandwiches from lunch wrapped up as well as a fruit salad. Help yourself. Are you enjoying your stay so far, Drew?” Her attention shifted toward Drew, who stood next to me.

  “Yes, I’m having a wonderful time. Your ranch is beautiful.”

  “Why don’t you go grab us some seats, and I’ll get us some grub?”

  Drew nodded and sat at the closest table, watching me do my thing in the kitchen.

  I put a few sandwiches on a plate and scooped some fruit salad into a bowl. I remembered Drew being a big fruit lover.

  With the skill of a waiter, kind of, I brought the plates to the table and set them down in front of her, sitting next to her so we could share.

  “We’ve got a smorgasbord of tuna salad, egg salad, and turkey and Swiss.” I gestured to the plate, indicating Ladies first.

 
; She reached over and picked up half an egg salad sandwich.

  Now with food in front of me, my stomach grumbled. Maybe the pain in it earlier had been from hunger. Not.

  Yum. Fresh baked bread with turkey and Swiss. I took a hefty bite, and realized we had no drinks. I remedied that situation, getting us two cups of Susanna’s homemade lemonade from the counter.

  “You have to taste this. It’s to die for. Susanna squeezes the lemons herself.” I placed a cup in front of Drew and took a hearty sip from mine.

  Drew’s eyes opened wide as she drank. “Oh my God, it is the best lemonade I’ve ever had.”

  “Right?”

  “And the fruit’s so fresh.” She scooped more fruit salad onto her spoon. I leaned back in my chair.

  “Maybe after lunch I’ll take you to her garden, so you can pick apples, pears, and whatever else she has growing.”

  “That would be awesome. Thank you.”

  “Anytime. I know how much you love fruit.”

  She paused between bites, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “What? You used to eat all the apples, peaches, and pretty much anything else with seeds or pits in it at my house whenever you came over.”

  “Yeah, I remember your mom making a few comments about how happy she was that the fruit was being eaten instead of rotting in the fridge.” Amused, she resumed eating.

  “She was just happy because she thought it was me eating all that healthy shit. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was you.”

  “Whatever happened with Joey and Dani’s father? He was a sicko.”

  “I’m not going to get into specifics because it’s their story to tell.” I took another bite of my sandwich.

  “I would never ask you to betray their trust.”

  “What I can tell you is he passed away.” I never gossiped or talked shit about others. All secrets tossed at me remained safely tucked inside, right where they belonged.

  She frowned. “Not sure if I should be happy or sorry to hear that.”

  “The latter.”

  Her eyes were questioning.

  “How are your parents doing?”

  At least she got the message I didn’t want to talk about Joey and Dani. But now she’d asked about my parents. To be honest, I didn’t want to discuss them either.