Dream Like Nothing's Impossible

by S. J. McCoy

  “I wish you could, too, but it’s your work. And you love it.”

  He shrugged. “It just doesn’t seem as much fun anymore. I’d rather be home with you.”

  She smiled and let go of him. “Well, all we can do is make the most of the time we do have. Let’s go meet him from the bus and at least we’ll have a little while before you have to go. I might see what Michael and Megan are doing tomorrow night. Apparently, the gang is all going to the Boathouse. I could come for a while and watch you.”

  He took her hand as they went out. “I’d like that; I’d like that a lot.” It was true. He’d spent the last several years eyeing the crowd every time he played, checking out if there might be a woman he wanted to go home with afterward. Now he loved the idea of his woman going there with him and going home with him afterward because that’s what they did every night.

  Chapter Seventeen

  April smiled as she looked around; it was busy in here tonight, but not as busy as the last time she’d been. The gang was all sitting outside. When she’d first come to the lake, they used to pull two of the big picnic tables together. These days they had to use three. There were so many beautiful couples. Jack sat with his arm around Emma’s shoulders; she seemed to be getting bigger by the day. Holly sat in Pete’s lap with her arms around his neck. April was so happy for them that they’d worked out whatever problems they’d had. When she’d first met them she thought they were about to break up, they seemed so unhappy together. Now they were married, and they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Dan sat at the end of one of the benches, turned sideways listening to Missy as she chatted away. He didn’t say much, but April liked him a lot. She loved seeing him with Scot. He’d given her hope that Marcus might get to have a good man in his life one day—and now he did!

  She looked up at the stage where Eddie was getting set up. She wanted to go up there to talk to him, but that didn’t feel right. That was what the groupies did. She knew she’d have to get used to this, and with time she would, but for now it was all new, and a little uncomfortable.

  Kenzie appeared at the table with a tray full of drinks. Once she’d served them, she grinned at April. “Come on, girlfriend; you’re coming with me. I need your help.”

  April gave her a puzzled look as she stood. “Where are we going?”

  “To mark our territory!” Kenzie told her.

  “All those cheerleader girls,” Kenzie jerked her head toward a table full of women they passed as they made their way to the stage. “They were showing a bit too much interest in our men last weekend. I need them to know that my husband is off limits. I don’t mind a bit of flirting, but they were getting a bit handsy, and I’m not having that.”

  She stopped and smiled when they reached the edge of the stage. “And I imagine you feel the same way about your man. It’s not easy being with a guy who constantly has women chasing after him; I thought you might need a few lessons from a pro.”

  April laughed. She would never have admitted to feeling that way, but Kenzie was right. It was hard, and she would love any pointers she could get.

  Chase had spotted them and was making his way to the edge of the stage. “What’s up, lover? Is everything okay?”

  Kenzie nodded and climbed the steps. She beckoned for April to follow her.

  “Hey,” Chase smiled at her and turned away to get Eddie’s attention.

  April felt incredibly self-conscious standing up here, and even more so when Kenzie reached up and sunk her fingers in Chase’s hair. She pulled his head down to her and kissed him deeply. His arms closed around her, and soon they were tangled up in each other, making out in full view of everyone, but then she guessed that was the point, wasn’t it?

  Eddie came over to her and pulled her to him. It seemed he had the same intention, but she couldn’t do that. She shook her head slightly. She couldn’t go making a spectacle of herself like that. She wasn’t judging Kenzie, but they were two very different people.

  Eddie seemed to understand. He planted a kiss on her forehead and hugged her to him. “Are you doing all right?”

  She nodded. “I’m sorry. Kenzie brought me over; I didn’t know what she had in mind. I can’t, I couldn’t…”

  He smiled down at her. “It’s okay, sweetie. I know. That’s Kenzie’s way of sending out a big hands off signal to any women who might be getting ideas about Chase.”

  “I know, but…”

  His smile was so sweet. “But we don’t need to do that. You know what it gets like; you know how these women can be.”

  She nodded. She did!

  “But you know I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “And to me, what we’re doing right here, is giving out a much stronger signal than what Kenzie’s doing.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “We are?”

  He nodded. “What Kenzie’s doing with Chase is what all those women want to do with him.” He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, then trailed his fingers down over her cheek. “This,” he kissed the tip of her nose again, “they can see is real. They don’t want anything real; they just want a quick good time.”

  She nodded, she could see he was right, and he was making her feel so much better.

  “I don’t want anything quick.” He held her gaze. “I want forever.”

  Her heart leaped into her mouth. She did too!

  Kenzie tapped her on the shoulder. “We should get down and let them get on.”

  April turned to look at her and then looked back at Eddie. He brought her hand up and kissed her fingers. “Forever,” he mouthed as she made her way down the steps.

  “Wow!” said Lily, as April sat back down beside her.

  “What?”

  “You and Mr. Bandman. You said you were going to catch me up at the weekend, but I’ve just seen everything I need to know!”

  April stared at her. “It was that obvious?”

  “To anyone with eyes in their head. That’s a man in love, and you are a woman in love, too! I’m so happy for you!”

  April smiled. “It’s all happening so quickly.”

  “When it’s right, it does.” Lily looked sad as she said it.

  “That looks as though you’ve got a story of your own to tell.”

  “Not tonight.”

  “But soon?”

  “Probably not.”

  Lily was a very private person. April already knew that. She was glad that they’d become friends, and she knew better than to push for more.

  “Okay, you know where I am if ever you want me.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m just glad you came out. I thought you couldn’t make it.”

  Lily shrugged. “Turned out I could.”

  April smiled when she spotted Nate. “There’s someone who’ll be glad you came.”

  Lily glanced in his direction then turned away and picked up her drink. “He’ll be too busy entertaining cheerleaders to even notice.”

  April let it go. She had to wonder what was going on between the two of them, but she knew Lily wasn’t going to tell her.

  Lily pointed her glass toward the doors where a group of guys had just come in. “Now there’s my entertainment just arriving.”

  “Are they the pilots?” April thought she recognized a couple of them.

  “Yep. The Summer Lake Flyers as the girls at the barn have started to call them.”

  April laughed. “And how long are they here for?”

  Lily shrugged. “I have no idea. However long it takes to learn to fly a plane and break a few hearts along the way, would be my guess.”

  April nodded. She could see that happening. Summer Lake certainly seemed to attract beautiful people, and these guys were no exception. She smiled to herself when she saw Leanne make her way over to greet them. Leanne didn’t seem to be in any danger of getting her heart broken. She’d more likely be the one doing the breaking.

  Smok
e stood up from the table when he spotted his guys. He leaned down to have a word with Laura, and she got up and followed him over. April had a suspicion that he probably wanted her to keep Leanne away from them. She didn’t know what the history was there, but she knew that Leanne wasn’t Smoke’s favorite person.

  After a few minutes, they all made their way out to where the gang was sitting. Smoke started to introduce everyone.

  April couldn’t keep track of all the names. There were six of them, five of whom looked as though they were here for a good time and out to break some hearts. The sixth was quite a bit older. He reminded April of a movie star whose name she couldn’t remember. Silver Fox, that was the term for him, though. Older but still, very, very sexy. She was surprised at herself!

  She was also surprised at how surly Jack seemed when he shook the older man’s hand. Jack was lovely; April had had a little crush on him when she first came here. Nothing real, but he was just such a great guy, he always seemed like he could handle anything and everything. He looked out for everyone. No harm would ever come to anyone he cared about. He was so warm and welcoming. Except when he greeted the older guy, he didn’t seem that way at all. He seemed to bristle with animosity. What was that all about?

  She watched Emma roll her eyes at Missy, who laughed. Dan stood up and greeted the guy warmly as if he were trying to make up for his brother’s rudeness. April was intrigued. She knew there was a story there, and she hoped she’d find out what it was.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie smiled as he watched April begin to relax as she chatted with Lily. He was glad she’d come out. She hadn’t been too sure about it, but Ethan had invited Marcus over to stay, and she’d had no more excuses.

  Chase poked him in the ribs. “I guess there are going to be a lot of disappointed cheerleaders in here tonight, huh?”

  Eddie laughed. “I doubt it.” He jerked his chin to where the group of pilots had just come in. “It looks like we’re just passing on the torch. The musicians are now all spoken for, but there’s new blood stepping up to take our place.”

  Chase laughed. “I guess. Good luck to them. I don’t envy them a bit. Those days were fun for a while, but I’d never want to go back to them.”

  Eddie nodded. “Me neither.”

  Chase raised an eyebrow at him. “So this is it? You’re well and truly spoken for?”

  “Yep. Well and truly and if I get my way, permanently.”

  Chase held his gaze.

  “What? I thought you might understand. You knew straight away with Kenzie. You’d only spent one night with her before you went flying off to Nashville to rescue her.”

  Chase held up a hand. “Whoa. Slow down, bud. I do get it. I understand how you feel. If I’m honest, I’m just a bit worried about you.”

  Eddie smiled. Chase had been his best friend for so many years now. He should have known better. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off at you. But what are you worried about?”

  Chase blew out a sigh. “Don’t get pissed at me, but think about it. First of all, there’s a kid involved.”

  Eddie smiled. “You’ve got no worries there. I know I’m not exactly an expert with kids, but the little dude’s awesome. We’ve got our own thing going; we’re going to be fine.”

  Chase nodded. “That’s a maybe, but the kid has a dad. And by the sounds of it, the dad is an asshole, to say the least, and he’s dangerous. What do you think he’s going to do when he finds out that his wife and kid are living with you?”

  “She’s not his wife!” Eddie hated the thought.

  “Calm down. Like I said, I’m not trying to piss you off. But in reality, she is still his wife.”

  Eddie blew out his cheeks and nodded. “And I guess that makes me an adulterer, too?”

  Chase shook his head. “As if I give a shit about that. As if anyone does. The point is, you might have a crazy man on your tail before long, and that worries me.” He shrugged. “I care, okay. So, shoot me!”

  Eddie smiled. “Thanks, man. I know you’re only watching my back, but she’s going to let him go ahead and divorce her. She’s going to mail the papers back to him on Monday.”

  Chase raised an eyebrow. “She’s not going to go for child support or anything?”

  “Nope, she doesn’t want a penny from him, and I don’t blame her. She wants to make it on her own, and let’s face it, it’s not as though I can’t support them, is it?”

  “Does she know?” Chase looked shocked.

  “Yeah, I told her.”

  “Then you really are serious, huh?”

  Eddie nodded. “More serious than I’ve ever been in my life.” He looked up to see Ben standing behind the bar watching them. He held up his arm and tapped his watch. “Shit! We’d better stop gas bagging and get started.”

  Chase laughed. “Let’s get to it.”

  Eddie couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at April every few minutes while he played. He wanted her to have a good time. Sometimes she’d catch his eye and smile, and all he wanted to do was to go get her and take her home. He wondered how hard it must be for her to be out in a big group like that. From what she’d told him about her old life, she didn’t get to go out much at all. Either her ex had taken her out and left her to sit by herself most of the time, or he’d allowed her to go to some restaurant because he knew the owner and her sister worked there.

  She was sitting next to Lily, but she was joining in the conversation around the table. She wasn’t shy; she’d just needed time to come out of herself. To recover from the life she’d been living for so long. It seemed odd to him that she was a year younger than him and yet she’d lived a much more grown up life than he had. She’d been married and raised a child. He’d gone to college, but after that, he and Chase had set up the band and gone on the road. He’d played and partied for most of his adult life. He wasn’t wild; no one had ever accused him of that. His mind was always too busy to let him get crazy. He was always thinking, he noticed things about people, he wondered how life was for them. He could never hurt anyone, not intentionally. That was why he had such a hard time understanding April’s ex. He just didn’t get how a man could ever hit a woman—or a child. How could he not see the effect he was having on them? How could he not care about the pain he caused? How could he live with himself? Eddie just didn’t get it.

  He smiled as they launched into the next song and he saw Nate swoop in on Lily. He’d been flitting around the cheerleaders earlier. Lily didn’t seem too impressed, though, so Nate switched his attention to April. Eddie wasn’t worried. Nate was just a big flirt, and April wasn’t interested. He knew that. He knew it because he knew she loved him!

  It was the best feeling in the world. It was a huge responsibility, he needed to make her happy, he needed to take care of her, and he needed to make sure that he didn’t hurt her, or let her get hurt ever again. Her and Marcus both. He’d meant it when he’d said he wanted to be the best version of himself for her. But she made it easy, she brought out the best in him.

  And he loved her. There’d been times in his life when he’d wondered if he just wasn’t cut out for love. Some guys weren’t, he knew that. He’d been with a lot of women, even dated a few, but until he met April he’d never felt any of the things you were supposed to feel when you were in love. She’d sure as hell changed all that.

  Nate tried to get her up to dance, but she wasn’t having any of it. Nate turned his attention back to Lily, but she got up and walked away, which puzzled Eddie. He’d had a theory for a while that those two liked each other. Maybe he was wrong. He smiled to himself when he saw Leanne make her move. Nate’d have his hands full now!

  He looked back over to where April was sitting. He was pleased to see Ben sitting down beside her. April thought the world of him. Eddie did too. If it weren’t for Ben giving her a job and a place to live while she found her feet, April wouldn’t even be here. Eddie would be forever grateful to him.

  ~ ~ ~

  “It’s good to see
you out,” said Ben as he sat down beside her. “How are things going?”

  April smiled at him. “Better than I ever could have dreamed possible, Ben. We’re building a good life here. Marcus is happy, he loves school, he loves Ethan. He’s made lots of friends. I’m happy at the bakery and even happier about working at the center.” She looked up at the stage where Eddie and Chase were launching into the chorus. “And Eddie is wonderful.”

  Ben grinned. “It just goes to show, you have to dream like nothing’s impossible.”

  April nodded. “I like that; I think I might need to borrow it and to live by it from now on.”

  Ben smiled. “You should.”

  “What about you?” Ben had seemed different since they’d come back from Vegas. April now knew his history with his ex, Charlotte, since she’d sat up with her the whole of their last night there. What she didn’t know was what had happened between them when Ben had followed Charlotte to the airport. She knew something must have happened. Something good, judging by the way Ben had been since then. He smiled a lot more; he seemed more relaxed and he’d even been taking time off here and there just to have fun.

  He raised an eyebrow. “What about me?”

  “Do you dream like nothing’s impossible, or is that just advice you dole out to others?”

  He smiled. “It’s the advice I give myself every morning when I wake up these days.”

  “I hope your dreams come true, Ben.”

  He nodded. “I do, too.” He looked up at the stage. “He’s a good guy.”

  “He’s a great guy!” She couldn’t help it; she had to say it. “I think Charlotte’s great too.”

  Ben held her gaze for a long moment; a little smile played on his lips. “She is, and maybe it’s not impossible.”

  “It isn’t! I know it isn’t!”

  Ben nodded. “For now, I allow myself to dream, and that’s more than I’ve had in years.”

  Emma leaned in from his other side, where apparently she’d been eavesdropping. “Can I invite her over yet?”