23. Sammy
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
sammy
A couple of days had passed since David showed his ugly face. Since then, none of us had been able to rest. The thought of the bastard being out there made me sick, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.
In fact, I really needed to take care of my own shit so I could fully focus on Sarah’s situation.
I pulled into my spot in the parking lot of my apartment complex, and stared up at my building. A knot twisted my stomach. I’d been avoiding this, but I had to start the cleaning process. I couldn’t keep avoiding the destruction.
My guitars hurt the most. The camera equipment and everything else could be replaced. But the fact that my first guitar had been smashed—a part of me had broken with it. I’d always been an awkward kid, lacking the confidence that both Cam and Hunter had come by naturally. Learning to play guitar had given me a sense of purpose, and it had helped me through the angst of being a teen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I immediately fished it out, Colt’s name flashing across the screen.
Colt : What are you up to today? Haley is staying with Sarah while she works
I swallowed hard. We’d decided to take shifts keeping an eye on her. She didn’t like it, but none of us wanted her to be alone, even at work.
Me : I’m at the apartment
Colt : I’ll come over to help. I wanted to take you somewhere if you have time
Me : Where??
Colt : it’s a surprise. Be there in five
I snorted and smiled. The knot in my stomach loosened just enough for me to breathe easier. My eyes drifted back up to the apartment. As silly as it was, I didn’t want to go up there alone. I’d wait until Colt got here.
My thumb hovered over the phone screen. I clicked on the Instagram app out of habit, sighing at the amount of notifications. They were giving me anxiety now. My stomach tightened again, but I needed to check on the profile that said there was blood on my hands.
“What the fuck?” I growled.
The account had gone through several of my videos and spam commented the same thing over and over. You have blood on your hands.
Could it be from the woman? Or someone else? I clicked on a video and scrolled until I found their comment again. Someone else had replied to them with a few question marks. I pressed their profile, and hissed through my teeth.
It was a private account. The photo was just a red circle, and the handle was a series of numbers. The only information I got was the bio—which said Never Forget.
That didn’t help.
Tires crackled over gravel, drawing my attention to Colt as he pulled up next to me. I closed Instagram and got out of the car, offering him a weary smile as he hopped out and came around to meet me.
“Hey,” he said, moving toward me.
“Hey—”
My words drowned against his mouth as he pushed me against my car and kissed me. All the tension melted out of my body, my breath hitching as he kissed me deeper until I was putty in his hands. I was used to being the dominant one in relationships, but right now I craved the comfort of his touch.
He drew back and studied me. The corner of his mouth tugged into a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“So many things,” I sighed. “Someone is commenting on my Instagram saying I have blood on my hands. Like spam commenting.”
His brows drew together. “Could it be the stalker? David?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “Their profile doesn’t have anything notable except ‘Never forget’ in their bio.”
“Weird. I can do some digging. Or better yet, I can ask Hunter to.”
I didn’t like the idea of Hunter digging around on my socials. Mostly because I didn’t like the idea of being perceived by him.
Colt’s hand rested over my heart. “Or I will. It’s going to be okay, Sammy. Sarah is in good hands right now, so we can focus on what you have going on.”
A shaky breath released. My shoulders sank and I nodded. “I hate this,” I whispered. “I don’t even want to go up there.”
“I know. I hate it too. But, let’s go start cleaning up. We’ll get some good work done. Then we’ll go somewhere nice.”
I raised a brow. Mischief sparkled in his gaze, a look I’d seen a thousand times over the years. But it meant something different now that it was for me. My heart thumped faster as he grinned.
“What do you have planned?” I asked suspiciously.
He shook his head. “Not telling. Come on.”
“Does Sarah know about it?”
“Not telling. Let’s go.”
Two hours later, we were both covered in a sheen of sweat. But, my apartment was cleaned up. A few bags of trash sat on the living room floor, each full of the shards of everything I owned. The couch and bed were still intact, so that was good. They’d also been kind enough to leave my sex toys alone.
I leaned against my bedroom wall and breathed out. Colt planted his hands on his hips as he looked around. He stooped down to pick up a book and held it up. “Aliens?”
Fuck. Heat immediately crept up my spine. I lunged for him, but he held the book away, dancing out of my grip.
“They’ve got tentacles, man,” I said.
He laughed as he opened it up, flipping through the pages until he found a sex scene. His brows shot up. “This is gold.”
“Colt,” I growled.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, tentacle man.”
“I will spank your ass until you can’t walk for days if you tell a single soul.”
He grinned as he tossed the book onto my bed. “Maybe I’d like that. But also, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just a book.”
“Somehow I don’t think Hunter or Cam would ever let me live down reading an alien romance book.”
Colt shook his head. “You’d be surprised. Cam is into some freaky shit too.”
“I don’t want to know,” I chuckled as he stepped closer.
The tension shifted. We’d been working side by side for a couple hours now, but we’d finished the job, and…
I slid my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him close. “Thank you for helping me. ”
“You’re welcome,” he said. He grunted as I started to massage the tendons. “I’m always happy to help. Fuck, that feels good, but we can’t get distracted. Are you ready to go?”
“Are you not gonna tell me?”
“Nope,” he said, groaning again as I deepened the massage. “But if you’re ready, so am I.”
I sighed dramatically and released him. “Fine. What does Colton Hayes have up his sleeve, huh?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
I let him lead me out the front door, only pausing to lock up before we went down the stairs to the parking lot. “Should I meet you somewhere?” I asked. “Or should we take your truck?”
He hesitated. “Are you okay leaving your car here for a bit? We’ll swing back by for it. Or we can take it to my house.”
I glanced around the parking lot, looking for anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Nothing caught my eye. “We’ll come back for it.”
Colt nodded and pulled his keys out, unlocking the truck. We got in and I leaned back in the seat, still looking around warily. He started the truck and backed out, hitting the road to take us out of town.
I frowned. “Are you kidnapping me?”
“Consensually and for fun, yes.”
I stole a glance at him. He was relaxed except for his fingers, which continuously tapped on his steering wheel. He sped up as we hit the highway.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
“What?” I laughed. “Colt. Be serious.”
“I am being serious. Close your eyes.”
I scoffed, but I did as he asked. “You’re one of the only people I’d do this for.”
“I know. It’ll be worth it. Just keep ‘em shut for a few minutes.”
I sighed, but ultimately, decided to give into his plan. Whatever he had up his sleeve, it was a good distraction from the sadness I’d felt cleaning up the apartment.
“Thank you for helping me,” I mumbled.
“You already thanked me, silly. And I already told you I was happy to help out.”
I swallowed hard. “Do you think Sarah is having a good day? Should I text her?”
“We’ll text her in a bit.”
So bossy. I wrinkled my nose at him, earning another chuckle.
“You don’t like being told what to do,” he said.
“Oh? You noticed?” I teased.
“It’ll be worth it.”
I believed him. I focused inward, a comfortable silence settling between us as he drove us to our destination. It took about twenty minutes, but then he slowed and eased to a complete stop.
“Open them.”
My eyes flew open and my heart dropped.
“Colt,” I whispered, my throat constricting. “What…”
We were in the parking lot of a music store south of Austin that was known for carrying some of the best acoustic guitars in the world. The Moonshed had been around for thirty-five years, and was more of a boutique than a music mega-store.
I’d always wanted to buy a guitar here, but never had the chance to. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes, my words faltering.
“I know how much your guitars mean to you,” Colt said quietly. “I’m sorry they were destroyed. I know there’s a lot happening right now and we’re worried about Sarah, but you had something big happen too. So, I talked to Cam and Hunter, and the three of us pooled together some money to buy you a new one.”
I stared at the Moonshed sign until it blurred. “I can’t?—”
“This is a gift we all want to give you,” he said. “It’s the least we can do. Let’s go pick one out.”
“This is a huge gift,” I whispered. “Guitars are really expensive.”
“Oh, I know. I damn near fainted when I saw how much your Martin was. But, that doesn’t matter. We’re doing this, Sammy. You deserve this. I know it’s not replacing all of your belongings, but it's a start.”
No one had ever done anything like this before. I wiped the tears away and forced myself to shudder out a breath.
“This is too much. I’m too much.” Where had that last part come from? A new weight settled on my chest as I realized a deep fear of mine. Had that been what held me back before? That I felt like I was too much?
Colt reached across the seat, his hand settling on my thigh. He gave me a gentle squeeze. “You’re not too much to me, Sammy. I want to do this for you.”
I wiped my eyes. “You are… I can’t… I can’t find the words.”
I didn’t know how to tell him how much this meant to me.
But I did know I’d now be able to write the song I’d been working on for months.
“Well… are we going in?”
The question lingered for a moment. To accept a gift like this was a huge deal, but mostly because I couldn’t think of a time where someone had seen me so clearly.
“Are you sure?” I whispered, looking over at him. “It’s a lot of money.”
Colt’s smile lit up the whole truck. “I’m sure. ”
I needed to dry my tears then. I let out a loud sigh and slowly grinned. “I’ll text Cam and Hunter later to thank them.”
“Even better, I’m going to send them a pic of us,” Colt said, pulling out his phone.
I leaned in, our heads tilted against each other as he snapped a picture and sent it to my brothers. He turned and stole a kiss before opening his door, hopping out of the truck. I rubbed my chest for a moment, but the ache was a good ache, something I’d never felt before Sarah and Colt.
He waited on the sidewalk with a broad smile, spreading his arms. “You coming?” he called.
I wiped my cheeks again with my sleeve, and got out. The two of us went through the red door of the Moonshed, a bell jingling above. We entered a room lined wall-to-wall with beautiful acoustic guitars. In the center, an older man hunched over the neck of a guitar at a desk, a thick gray mustache disguising his lips.
“Howdy,” he said. “Welcome in.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Anything in particular you looking for?”
“An acoustic guitar,” Colt said proudly, making me laugh. “He’s the one shopping. I don’t know anything about music. I can play a D chord.”
“That’s more than nothing,” I said. “I’ll take a look around.”
The man nodded and returned to his work as we started to wander. My gaze swept over each instrument, but one across the room beckoned me like a siren. I hesitated, but couldn’t resist the call, immediately gravitating toward it. It was a Gibson acoustic with a rich blue burst. The abalone inlays on the pickguard, fingerboard, and head depicted a hummingbird hovering over a flower vine and a couple of swallowtail butterflies.
It was also ten thousand dollars.
Colt crossed his arms. “Isn’t that the same as your tattoo? The butterflies?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“You should get it.”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “You can’t buy me something this big. It’s ten grand.”
“We pooled together three, but?—”
“Jesus,” I sighed. “Colt?—”
“Don’t tell me I don’t have to do this. Gifts are my love language, but aside from our relationship, I’ve known you my whole life, Sammy. You mean something to me, and I know music means something to you.”
I swallowed hard, unable to pull my gaze off the guitar. “You’re not paying that much for a gift. That’s wild. It costs more than Hal and Cam’s wedding.”
“It’s just a down payment on forever, Sammy.”
My mouth fell open. “You’re…” Ridiculous? Amazing? He’d rendered me speechless yet again.
I’d have it the rest of my life. I could put the three thousand down, pay a little more, and then finance the rest…
Have I lost my mind?
“You’re an enabler,” I mumbled.
“I for sure am.”
I shook my head at him.
“You gonna play it?”
I damn near jumped out of my skin as the man appeared next to us. He reached up and pulled the Gibson down, nodding his head toward a bench. I followed him reluctantly, giving Colt a side eye.
If I held it, I’d never want to put it down.
“What’s your name, son?” the man asked.
“Sammy Harlow,” I said.
His eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me you’re Bob Harlow’s son. Citrus Cove?”
I raised a brow. “I am. How do you know him?”
He handed me the guitar with a grin. “I play golf with him. Good man. Funny how small our world is. My name is Joey Grace.”
“Nice to meet you, Joey. It is a small world,” I said slowly, my attention already turning to the guitar.
I sat down on the bench and stared at it for a moment, absorbing the weight of its body against mine. Fuck. It felt really good. My fingertips brushed the strings and I started to play the piece that had been haunting me, forgetting about the man and even Colt. The sound of it. God . It sounded so good. The melody was meant to be played on a guitar like this.
When I played it, Colt and Sarah came to mind. The way they made me feel, the way I wanted forever with them.
My eyes closed as I continued, humming softly.
A throat cleared.
I looked up, startled by the presence of other people. Colt’s eyes were wide, his smile faded.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “I don’t know if I realized how good you are. That was beautiful.”
It was for you and Sarah.
“It was,” Joey agreed. “You got a gift. Tell you what, Sammy. I’ll give you a deal on it if this is the one for you. I’ll bring it down to seven.”
“He’ll take it,” Colt said immediately.
“ Colt ,” I hissed.
“ Sammy .”
Joey grinned and crossed the room to his desk. “I’ll give you two a moment.”
I stood up and set the guitar down on one of the available stands. Colt took a step closer to me, craning his head back to look up at me.
“You know you want it,” he said.
“I do,” I admitted.
His brow raised. “Don’t tell me you’re still feeling bad about us pitching in?”
“It’s not that,” I chuckled. “Although, it’s certainly a factor. It’s a lot of money, but I know I’ll have it the rest of my life.”
“Then what’s holding you back?”
“I know I’ll always think of you when I look at it.”
Colt smiled. “Then we can’t fuck up, huh?”
No, we couldn’t.
I held his gaze for a moment and then decided I didn’t care if Joey saw us, I leaned down and kissed him hard enough to leave him breathless. “That song was for you and Sarah,” I whispered in his ear.
His eyes widened as I snatched the guitar and walked over to Joey.
“I’ll take you up on that offer, Joey. This guitar is meant to be mine.”