Chapter 17
Daisy
My heartbeat quickened. I thought once I sang everything would be cleared up and they’d send us on our way, but apparently that wasn’t going to be the case.
“Is this really necessary?” James asked.
“Yes,” Kemp insisted.
He pulled out his ticket book and ripped out three pages, then jotted something down, flipped it over and handed it to me.
“I’m gonna need you to sign right here.”
The page was empty.
“Where exactly?”
“Oh, anywhere is fine. Maybe make it out to Pam.”
I was starting to catch on and grinned as he pulled out a camera and took a selfie while I complied.
“It’s all official evidence and all.”
“Of course,” I played along.
I could sense Cruz’s heightened agitation, but this I could handle on my own.
“Should I sign anywhere else?” I asked sweetly.
“Back on the bus boys,” James told them. “We’ll just get the last of this cleared up and you’ll be on your way. If you follow Cruz, he’ll take you through a shortcut.”
“Make that one out to Talbert,” Courtland said. “T-A-L-B-E-R-T with love.”
“Sure thing.”
“That would be me. I’m Talbert. Talbert Courtland ma’am. And it’s been a real honor to pull your bus over today.”
I heard the growl and saw James grabbing Cruz by the arm and forcing him back to his truck. A few minutes later, while I was signing two more for Kemp’s daughters after discovering Pam was his wife, I watched Cruz drive off while the bus followed.
“Since they already left, would you like a ride home, ma’am? We’re happy to oblige,” Courtland said.
“I already made arrangements, but thanks for the offer boys. I’ll be seeing you around,” James said.
I posed for a few pictures, which James begrudgingly took for them, gave them a little wave, and then climbed into the front seat of James’s cruiser. James drove off on the so-called shortcut that I was fairly certain was not an actual road at all.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“With that asshole flirting it up with you? Not a chance, but he’ll be fine. Mating males are almost always the biggest pain in the ass of this job.”
“I figured. I could feel his anxiety.”
“That’s good. Means your bond is strong.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“What do you mean? I thought things were going well with you two.”
“I guess so. But I have to be in Cheyenne this week and we’ve not settled anything. He’s made no move to claim me. Sometimes I think he feels more responsible for me than anything.”
I had no idea why I was opening up to this man. That was really not like me. But for some reason, even though I was sitting in a cop car and should have been a nervous wreck, I found James easy to talk to.
“Are you a witch?” I blurted out.
“No ma’am. Why?”
“You’re just really easy to talk to. I’m not used to feeling comfortable enough to be honest with people.”
“I get that sometimes.”
“Must come in handy with your line of work.”
“You’re right about that.”
I smiled. “Your mate’s a lucky woman.”
“How do you know I’m mated?”
It was true that I’d never met James’s mate. But on my first day in town, he’d pulled us over and Cruz had told me about them. Katherine was her name and she was human. That wasn’t likely something I’d forget.
“Well for starters, Cruz let you take me home.”
“Touché.”
“But also, he told me about her.”
“Ah yes. My very human, very beautiful, very stubborn mate. I know Katherine would love to meet you sometime.”
“I hope I get the chance,” I told him honestly even though I was still a little creeped out about a human knowing about us.
“And don’t worry about Cruz. I’m sure he’s more than a little freaked out.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Look, I don’t know everything about him, but what I do know is that he is dependable, stubborn, and has the biggest heart I know. He doesn’t always show it in stereotypical ways. He’s more of a doer than anything.”
“Like my studio?”
“Exactly like that. He’s the guy that gets things done, keeps the ranch running smoothly, and pours his heart into those he cares about.
He’s a guy that will show up every time.
And for someone who had no true role models in life and no one to look after him, he also seems to me to be that guy who refuses to let anyone else go through that.
If you know what I mean. Oh, and he’s fiercely protective of those he loves, which is why I insisted on him walking away even though I’m pretty sure he wanted to rip my throat out for it. ”
“He wouldn’t really do that, would he?”
James shrugged. “He’s a mating male, so when it comes to you, he just might.”
I scowled. “Don’t say that. We haven’t known each other long enough for all that.”
But I thought of his description of Cruz. He showed his emotions in actions, but there had been some words too. His admission about trying to work things out and make room for me had meant the world to me.
“I’m just saying. I’ve dealt with a lot of mating males in this job. And that first day I saw you, when I had to pull him over for driving exhausted, I knew.”
I blushed. Were we really that obvious?
He pulled up to the house, and I jumped out and thanked him. There were a million things going through my mind.
I suddenly stopped and looked around. The bus wasn’t there.
“Shit.”
I went inside the house anyway. “Hello?”
“Living room,” Cruz responded.
I walked to the back of the house to find my mate laughing and talking with my band like he’d always been a part of us. The sight stopped me in my tracks.
“There’s our girl,” Knox said. He ran over and grabbed me up in a bear hug, swinging me around in a circle.
Cruz growled, but then coughed to cover it up.
“We missed you,” Jonny said.
“Yeah, sucks dealing with that asshole manager of yours without you,” Cash said.
“Sucks dealing with him even when she’s around. Daisy deserved a break. I can’t remember her ever taking even a day off since I joined the band,” Jed added.
Cruz was scowling. He was also sitting in the recliner, leaving me no way to discreetly calm him down.
When Knox finally released me, I walked over and stood behind my mate, placing my hands on his shoulders. I could feel him shudder and start to relax.
“First, where the hell is the bus and everyone else?”
“You said there were four of them,” Cruz confessed. “I prepared for four, not ten.”
“They grumbled about having to fight for the couch or sleep on the floor,” Cash said.
“So I took them over to the ranch and put them up in one of the bunkhouses. Is that okay?”
“If they’re happy, I’m happy. To be honest, I said four because I wasn’t thinking through logistics. I was just going to keep things lowkey and basic.”
“That would be fine if you were doing a solo acoustic set at a very small venue, but we need power, mixing, sound, and all that stuff for our instruments to put on a concert . . . even a small one,” Jed explained.
“Why didn’t you guys stay at the bunkhouse too?”
“Cruz said we could stay here.”
I walked around the chair to talk to him. “But we didn’t get beds or anything.”
He pulled me down into his lap and I snuggled against him, completely forgetting we had company.
“I had it taken care of, that’s part of what the group did earlier.”
“They did?”
“Yeah. It’s not pretty or anything, just some beds. You can fix up the rooms later, but at least they have a place to lay their heads.”
I threw my arms around him and kissed him. “Thank you.”
Cash cleared his throat.
My cheeks heated as I looked around the room to find all my favorite guys staring at me. Cruz was the only one smiling. The others looked shocked.
“Uh, so you’ve all met, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah, we have. So this is your friend?” Knox asked.
“Why didn’t we know you have a friend?” Cash insisted.
“We’re your friends and I’ve never seen you kiss any of us,” Jed quietly muttered, making the boys laugh.
I glared at him.
Cruz put his hand up under the back of my shirt and rubbed my back. I nearly jumped off his lap, but his touch soothed my jitters.
The look on Knox’s face told me it did not go unnoticed.
I didn’t think they would openly mention anything, at least not in front of Cruz. Apparently, I was wrong. It was clear I’d misjudged them and they had no problem embarrassing me.
In a lot of ways, my band was what I always imagined having brothers would be like.
It hadn’t always been this way though, and I’d never experienced them quite like this before. The missing obstacle was clear to me—Ronnie.
He never liked me getting close with the guys. It was hard for him to stop it though when he wanted new hit songs and that required me to spend time with them. Lately that had been happening more and more, especially after consolidating to sharing one bus.
In truth, getting to know them all better and being able to spend time with them had also given me the courage to step off the bus that night.
I knew in my heart they would support me no matter what.
They’d be pissed if I suddenly stopped performing and quit music, because that would screw with their livelihoods too, but even then, I had a feeling they’d be okay and proud of me anyway.
Cruz’s gentle massage hit a spot that sent an inappropriate thrill up to my spine, causing goosebumps to break out on my arms and my cheeks to warm. I rubbed at my arms subconsciously as I tried to calm my body down.
Knox frowned. “Are you still battling the hives?”
“What hives?” Cruz asked.
His wolf was back on full alert.
“She’s always breaking out in hives. Practically lives on Benadryl,” Cash explained.
I knew Cruz understood.
Since coming here, I’d gotten to shift a few times. Spending time in my wolf form had stopped the itching entirely.
“No hives,” I assured them all. “Just a little cold.”
Jonny snorted. “Cold. Sure.”
I blushed furiously. There’s no way he could know what my mate’s touch was doing to me, right? Hell, I barely understood it.
“Want to see what Cruz and his friends have been working on?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.
“Sure,” they all agreed.
As I stood up, Cruz’s phone rang.