Chapter 18
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Cash found a place near the back on the lower patio, while other members of his family continued to crowd into the space above him. He kept his hand firmly attached to Lark’s as more cousins came running downstairs to join them on the covered patio.
Country Quad was playing a kick-off-to-the-holidays concert tonight, something they’d done several times in the past. Cash hadn’t actually attended any of those concerts live, but his father would video call him, and he’d experienced it that way.
It was so much better being here with his whole family.
Dinner had been a delicious fried turkey feast, and then the other aunts, uncles, and cousins had started to arrive.
Aunt Abby and Aunt Cheryl had put together a massive—simply massive—pie bar, and they’d invited everyone out to the eastern side of town to their house to partake.
“I actually think this would be fun to do at Cousins Creek once me and Boston get it all cleaned up.”
Lark looked up at him, her eyes full of questions. “What?”
He simply shook his head, because the chatter had gotten to a nearly unbearable level. He took advantage of the situation by pulling Lark closer and leaning right into her ear. She smelled like oranges and chocolate, as she’d seemed quite impressed by his ability to make homemade chocolate oranges.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said, his lips catching against the curve of her ear. Cash told himself to Behave in the sternest inner voice he could muster, and he straightened, glad when Lark tucked herself closer to him. The shape of her at his side fit perfectly, and Cash had no idea what it meant.
“All right, all right, all right!” Uncle Tex bellowed into the mic, and some of the chatter started to die down.
He beamed out at the family as aunts and uncles attempted to quiet their kids.
Cash didn’t see why it mattered, because Uncle Tex had a microphone, and once the band started to play, it would be impossible to talk at all.
Out on the stage, Uncle Trace plucked through the strings of his guitar, which hadn’t been hooked to an amp yet. Uncle Otis swayed from side to side, smiling out at everyone too. Uncle Luke sat behind the drums, one stick utterly still while he flipped the other around and around and around.
Cash recognized the nerves in his drummer uncle, and they touched his heart. This was a family concert in a family backyard, and Luke had no reason to be nervous. He’d played in front of tens of thousands in stadiums, and all-told, had probably performed for millions of people worldwide.
Out of all the members of Country Quad, he had the most followers on social media, and he was the most talked about.
He’d achieved billionaire status before the other members of the band, mostly because he didn’t buy anything and had gone into country music much earlier in his life than Tex, Trace, and Otis.
“I’m going to turn the mic over to Adam, who has some announcements we want everyone to know.” Tex handed the mic to Adam Harmon, who jogged onto the stage with a sheaf of papers in his hand.
He took the mic with a smile, though Cash could tell he wasn’t exactly comfortable in the spotlight. He was dressed in a full suit and tie, and Cash looked over to Joey, who stood several paces away from him and Lark, with Codi, Aunt Georgia, and Faith.
Cash wasn’t sure where his father was, but he couldn’t sweep the sea of children to see if his half-siblings were down here or not.
Uncle Morris and Aunt Leigh stood to his left, and Uncle Mav always seemed to be where the majority of the children were, so he held Uncle Jem’s youngest—a little girl named Skye—and had his own nine-year-old daughter at his side, right smack dab in the middle of the crowd.
“Okay.” Adam cleared his throat. “Thank you to those of you who sent in your news when I emailed asking about it.”
Cash hadn’t had anything to report on, so he hadn’t actually answered that email. His anticipation as to who had, though, built as Adam looked down at his notes.
“First up,” he said, lifting his head. “Jerry and Cecily would like to invite everyone to a family birthday party for Jerry the first Saturday of March.”
“Wow,” someone said, and it sounded like Uncle Gabe. “We’re scheduling out to March?”
“It’s your father’s birthday in March,” Aunt Hilde said, and Cash glanced over to find her with her phone out, tapping away. “And we’ll be extremely blessed if he’s still alive then, so don’t be so grumpy.”
Cash’s heart fell all the way to the bottom of his boots and jack-knifed right back into place. Of course, he knew his grandpa wasn’t well, and hadn’t been well, for a while, but losing him? The thought had not actually occurred to Cash.
“Please reserve the day,” Adam said. “And more details will be forthcoming.” He searched the crowd for a moment and didn’t seem to find what he was looking for. “We have a few pregnancy announcements.”
Those words sent a ripple of whispering through the backyard, and Adam seemed to relish in it. “Up first, Morris and Leigh are excited to welcome another baby to their family this spring.”
“Ho-ly-cow,” Uncle Gabe said, and Uncle Morris pulled his wife close to his side and raised one hand in a wave as a round of applause began. Cash would have to take his hand out of Lark’s to do that, and he didn’t want to do that, so he whistled through his teeth and whooped as loudly as he could.
Gabe reached his twin and pulled him into a hug, and the crowd settled as Adam cleared his throat again. “I think most people know Harry and Belle are expecting their first little bundle of joy in early summer, and….”
Cash actually found himself leaning forward, his attention stuck on Adam’s face.
“Codi and Bryce are having their second baby this summer as well. It’s still very early for them, and they’d appreciate prayers and peace—which is Bryce’s way of asking everyone to pretend like they don’t know about the pregnancy until the New Year, when they’ll be happy to answer questions.”
Tex edged closer to Adam, and Cash watched as something rolled across his uncle’s face. “So…you’re saying we can’t ask any questions?”
“That’s what the notes say,” Adam said.
“Bryce?” Uncle Tex said into the mic, really straining to get close enough for it to amplify his voice.
“No questions, Daddy,” Bryce called from the deck above Cash, and he couldn’t help grinning. Several others chuckled, especially when Tex scoffed and turned back to Trace and Otis.
“And our biggest news has to do with Country Quad itself.” Adam’s shoulders straightened, and he took on an air of confidence. “The fellas have agreed to and signed a contract to produce a Christmas album.”
Cash pulled in a breath, which matched the reaction of several others around him. Someone even asked, “What?” in a voice made of disbelief.
Because Cash’s uncles in the mega-popular country music band of Country Quad had been retired for a few years now.
“They’ll each continue to live here in town, and they’ll record the entirety of the album here in the studio behind me.
” He glanced down at his paperwork again.
“They will not be doing a multi-city tour, but will follow Harry’s lead for his last album and do entirely local performances, broadcast live around the world. ”
“Is this an independent record?” Harry called.
“Good question,” Adam said, and that sounded so rehearsed. “Country Quad has broken from King Country, and has signed a one-record deal—that’s a very important detail. This is for one album and one album only—with…Young Family Media.”
“Young Family Media?” Cash asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.
“Which leads me to our final announcement of the evening,” Adam said. “Harry and Belle approached me with an idea several months ago, about forming a family company to produce their own albums.”
He took a breath, and Cash grinned as Harry mounted the steps and headed toward Adam. “Or movies, or TV shows, or any other type of media. That’s how we came up with the name of Young Family Media.”
Adam nodded over to Harry and handed him the mic.
“And we took the idea to everyone in the Young family,” he said.
“And anyone who wanted to have a role was offered the opportunity, and I’m happy to say that every single uncle opted in.
Some in bigger ways than others, and I’ll be heading the company—for which we’re still waiting for the official documents to come through—and our first and only project for next year will be the Country Quad Christmas album. ”
“All right!” someone yelled, and that started a round of cheering that only the Youngs could achieve. Cash once again whistled, and Lark turned into his chest, almost cringing into him.
“Sorry,” he said, and she shook her head.
“Your family is loud.”
“Yeah,” he said, still grinning. “They are.”
“All right, all right, all right!” Uncle Tex yelled into the mic again. “Let’s get this concert started.” With that, he fitted the mic into the stand, straightened his guitar, and looked to Trace.
Uncle Trace started playing, his guitar now plugged in and full of juice. The riff played over the backyard, Trace’s fingers moving as deftly as they ever had. Uncle Otis and Uncle Luke joined in at the same time, and Uncle Tex stepped up to the mic.
They had not lost a single iota of musical talent and band camaraderie though they hadn’t been making albums for several years now, and Cash let himself get lost in the vibe, the beat, the rise and fall of the music, the tension in the lyrics, and the powerful crooning of his uncle’s voice.
The song ended, and Cash whooped and cheered. Country Quad slid into a slower, softer ballad, and several people in the audience started to dance. Uncle Morris and Aunt Leigh, Mav and his daughter Emilia, Joey and Georgia, their smiles as wide as the sky.
Cash turned toward Lark, his eyebrows raised. “Dance with me?”
She looked horrified for a moment, and she glanced around as others paired off and danced—and not just couples. She seemed to realize everyone was doing it, and they wouldn’t stand out.
When her eyes met his again, Cash found the glint of desire there and the way she looked at him made his whole body sing.
She eased into his arms, and Cash kneaded her closer just because he could.
There wasn’t a lot of room on the patio, and with everyone swaying left and right, he could only rotate with her in a very tight radius.
At least that was what Cash told himself as he kept Lark pressed right against his chest, his feet barely moving more than an inch every time he turned with her. The song continued, and he let his eyes drift closed, something pure and wonderful winding through him.
He had no idea if Lark could feel this too, because she was used to being alone or in a small group, and nothing about his family was either of those things. Because he could, he leaned his head down, so his mouth once again practically touched the shell of her ear.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight.”
“Are you kidding?” she whispered.
“No.” He pulled away and looked at her.
“This is a free concert by Country Quad. I’m still sort of stunned I’m here.” She gave him a smile, her pretty eyes reflecting the tea lights as he rotated into the perfect angle.
His eyes dropped to her lips. Yes, they’d only been dating for three days, but they spent a lot of time together. All day and all evening, he told himself. That had to count for something in the dating world, didn’t it?
The slow, country night seemed to evaporate around him.
The peace disappeared, and a wildness entered Cash’s bloodstream he hadn’t felt since sitting on the bare back of a two-ton bull.
Somehow, kissing Lark equated to that, and Cash knew that he had to let himself go, nod to the men helping him and holding him up, and then just… ride.
He leaned closer, the brim of his cowboy hat bumping up against Lark’s forehead. “Sorry,” he murmured, quickly swiping it away. His pulse jumped around like a frog who’d swallowed popping candy, and he now wasn’t sure if he should ask permission to kiss her or just go for it.
The moment lengthened, and since Cash knew his uncles’ music, he also knew his window for kissing Lark was shrinking, and fast. Note by note, in fact.
He’d done dangerous things before, and he wasn’t sure if he made a conscious decision or if he simply acted. He knew he pressed his cowboy hat to Lark’s back, whispered, “I like holding you like this,” and then he touched his lips to hers.
The kiss started as a simple touch, a moment of time that lengthened and bound him to her in a way Cash had never experienced before. He suddenly remembered what to do, and his free hand swept up and into Lark’s hair as he kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her.