29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter twenty-nine
M elody finished the schedule for the next two weeks, printed out a copy for Jax, then posted the schedule online so all the waitstaff could see which days they were on. That done, her feet sore from a long night, she headed out of the office to check the bar one last time to be sure all the cleanup had been done before she headed home to Fox.
She couldn’t wait to see him. It had been a long day. Yes, she’d seen him for those ten minutes at the center after her class, but that wasn’t nearly enough.
Things would be different in Boston. He’d be in the same building. She could go up and see him whenever she wanted. They could have dinner together every night. Then she’d stay to close or have a manager do it for her. They’d find a better balance in their lives together.
She stepped into the bar and found it clean and ready for the next day, with her two sisters and brother at the bar waiting for her. “What are all you guys still doing here?”
Lyric usually went home to Mason after the kitchen closed at nine. Jax didn’t stay past ten when he worked late because he hated leaving Layla home alone. And though Aria closed with Melody most nights, she usually left while Melody finished the scheduling.
Jax put four shot glasses on the bar. He poured some really good eighteen-year Macallan into three of the glasses and cranberry juice in Lyric’s because she was pregnant.
A baby.
Melody checked the urge to press her hand to her own belly as she thought about what it would be like to start a family with Fox.
He’d be such a good father.
They’d create the family he’d desperately wanted as a kid.
“What are we celebrating?”
Jax slid her a shot. Her sisters took theirs. They all held them up. “Mom told us about you opening a place of your own in Boston. We just want you to know, we love you, we wish you success and happiness and all the love you show us. To new beginnings. To your very own Dark Horse. To you, Melody.”
Choked up, her heart three sizes too big for her chest, she clinked her glass to theirs and knocked back the shot, though it wasn’t easy to get it down past the lump in her throat. “You guys are the best. And I’m sorry I haven’t had the time to fill you all in on my plans, limited as they are at the moment on exact details.”
Aria put her hand over Melody’s. “It’s okay. We’ve all been busy. We just wanted to take this time to let you know we stand with you, we are behind you, and we’re so proud of you for going after what you want.”
Lyric bumped shoulders with Melody. “We’ll miss you like crazy. No one tames a rowdy crowd the way you do. No one runs the staff and tables the way you do.”
Jax came around the bar and hugged her. “No one loves us the way you do.”
She stepped back and wiped her eyes. “You guys…I’m not leaving yet.”
Jax squeezed her shoulder. “We just wanted to take some of the stress off and let you know that we want you to be happy. This is a huge opportunity and we’d never hold you back.”
“Especially from Fox,” Aria added. “We see how much you love him. How much he loves you. That’s special. And it’s really brave to leave everything you’ve ever known behind to be with him and start something new.”
“You know why I can do it so easily? Because I know all of you are here for me. I know Fox will never let me fall. So why not try to fly?”
Lyric hugged her. “You are going to soar.”
She leaned into her sister. “You’re going to help me find bands to play at my bar.”
Lyric gave her a firm nod. “Damn straight.”
She looked at all her siblings. “And you’re all going to come and visit me. I’ll be back as often as I can.” She pointedly looked at Lyric’s barely there bump. “And I’ll be here when that one arrives. You can count on it.” She turned to Jax. “That goes for your little one, too. I’m determined to be their favorite aunt.”
“Hey, you’ve got some competition there,” Aria challenged.
Melody looked at all of them, then around the bar. “I love this place. I love all of you. But I know this is the right thing for me.”
“We know.” Jax hooked his arm around her shoulders. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
“Do you think Layla would take some black-and-white pictures of the horses and ranch for me? I want to blow them up and put them up on the walls at the new place.”
“I’ll tell her to call you for all the details.”
She leaned her head against her brother’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Of all of us, I thought it would be Lyric who flew the coop and landed in Nashville. Never saw you in a big city.”
“It’s where he is. And wherever he is feels like home to me.” She smiled for her brother. “And I plan on bringing some of Blackrock Falls, the ranch, and this bar with me.”
“This will always be home no matter how far you roam,” he promised.
“I know.” They stopped next to her car.
“Drive safely.”
“I will. Be safe. You’re going to be a dad now.”
Jax grinned. “I can’t wait.”
“That’s one lucky wife and baby.”
“You’re going to be here for the wedding, right?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Jax waved goodbye as he headed for his truck. She pulled out of the parking lot in front of him and headed in the opposite direction as him, back to town and Fox’s apartment.
Their apartment, he liked to remind her.
She couldn’t wait to wake him up and show him how much she loved him and couldn’t wait to start their life in Boston. Together. That’s all she wanted. Her and him, tangled up together in business, each other, and in love.