Chapter 2 #2
“You had that minibike.” He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “You would steal my bandana and take off on that thing. You were such a squirt.”
“Me? You guys weren’t any better if memory serves.” Pretending to be offended didn’t last long. She broke into a smile. “Yeah, I was rotten when I wanted to be.”
“Resilient might be a better word,” he admitted. “Looking back, it couldn’t have been easy to be dumped into a world of eighteen boys.”
“Made me strong,” she mused. There was a whole lot of truth to that statement.
Besides, the Firebrand boys, now men she noted, were respectable people.
Not one got into serious trouble with school.
Hardworking with a whole lot of testosterone; they were bound to bump heads based on the sheer number of them all living on one property.
“That’s one way to look at it.” Brax Firebrand was six-feet-one-inch of male hotness.
His hair could best be described as dirty brown against eyes so blue they popped.
Even as a teenager, he’d been shorter than the others and she’d overheard his cousins teasing him that he was the runt of the family.
The other side of the Firebrand family could be real jerks when they wanted to be.
Raleigh blushed looking at the man he’d become. No runt here. He’d always been good-looking in that rugged outdoorsy way. Most of the time he’d had on a cowboy hat but she still remembered those honest blue eyes.
Then, there were his arms. A person shouldn’t have so many stacked muscles in one place. Butterflies got loose in her stomach just thinking about his touch when he’d pinned her up against the wall earlier.
This seemed like a good time to remind herself that Brax Firebrand had been a royal pain growing up. He’d always been quick tempered, as well as quick to make up his mind about something. The word obstinate came to mind. So did bull-headed.
“Being back here must seem small-time compared to being on the road.” He interrupted her thoughts, his voice sliding over her, causing her arms to goose bump.
She cleared her throat to ease the dryness. Brax should not be making her mouth feel like she’d just licked a glue stick. Was it getting hot in the barn?
“Are you kidding? Being here is everything.” She heard her own voice crack.
He shot her a confused look.
“I love my career, don’t get me wrong. But this feels like home.” She looked around the barn thinking how it seemed smaller too. Cozy. “Did you know it all started here?”
“Wait a minute. Here? I had no idea. How is that even possible?” He quirked a brow and it was dangerously sexy.
Seriously?
“I wrote my first song up there.” She nodded toward the loft.
“That’s news to me,” he admitted.
“Because I can count on one hand how many people know that particular piece of information.” She held up two fingers, one for him and one for her.
She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to share, except being home caused her to relax.
She didn’t realize how tense she’d become on the road even before the bomb situation.
“Who is the lucky second?” he asked with a damn sparkle in his eyes that made her want to stare at him for days.
“That would be me.”
“Well then, I’m honored.” He stood up straighter and his voice changed.
“Do me a favor,” she said.
“Depends on what it is,” he countered.
“Just treat me like you used to. Like nothing’s changed.” She felt her shoulders deflate a little when she said the words.
“You got it, Red Streak,” he teased.
Brax could be real annoying when he wanted to be.
“Good. Thanks,” she said with a smile. She might not love that nickname but it sure was nice to see Brax.
“Can I ask a question?” He stood there, arms over his chest.
“Shoot,” she said.
“Why do you call Austin home?” he asked. “I got the impression you were embarrassed about being from such a small town.”
“Nope.” She responded without hesitation, catching his gaze.
“Some things are sacred, you know? You just don’t want to share them with the world.
Plus, I always wanted to protect Nana and her piece of serenity here.
Since I have my dad’s last name, we don’t…
didn’t match. She could fly under the radar without having reporters or groupies hanging out on her fence, trying to find out what I was like when I was a young girl or if I was about to come home for a visit. ”
“Explains why no one’s ever connected you to the town,” he said after a thoughtful pause.
He smiled, like he approved of the decision.
For some reason, that small smile made her heart leap with joy.
What the heck? She chalked it up to being happy to be home, and back at the barn, and not the fact that being here with Brax had her pulse pounding.
“Least I could do,” she said.
“It was nice of you to protect your nana,” he continued. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen someone as proud as she was.” He lowered his head for a few seconds before looking up and catching her gaze. “I was sorry to hear of her passing.”
“Thank you, Brax.” That frog in her throat feeling returned.
“Work must have kept you on the road during…”
His voice trailed off but she knew what he was going to say next.
“You were at her funeral?” She wasn’t sure why she was so shocked. His mother was a dear friend of Nana’s and it would make sense her sons would attend.
“Of course,” was all he said.
“I was too,” she admitted. “But, I had a concert that night in Houston I couldn’t miss. I kept a low profile at the service.”
“Sorry I missed you. I would have offered my condolences in person,” he said.
“I appreciate the thought, Brax.” She couldn’t look away despite the twinge of guilt trying to gnaw at her insides for not sticking around that day. “Keeping busy is good for grief.”
He nodded like he had personal knowledge of the fact.
“Everyone here okay?” she asked.
“The Marshall passed away at the end of last month.” He shook his head.
“I’m so sorry, Brax.” The Marshall kept everyone at arm’s length according to her memory, but the Firebrands were a tight-knit bunch. Losing the patriarch of the family would be hard on them all.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks and the fighting has already begun,” Brax admitted.
“Your dad and uncle have never gotten along.” She remembered there being a clear division amongst the two sides. Shame, she thought, because having a big family sure would be nice after growing up an only child.
“Strange for a pair of brothers to do nothing but argue,” he said.
“No offense to the Marshall, but that seemed to be the way he liked it,” she admitted.
“True.” He didn’t argue. The way he tilted his head to the right meant he was thinking hard.
“I didn’t realize you noticed those things, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
There were plenty of times I caught you sitting in a quiet corner while taking in the whole scene.
My family comes with a lot of moving parts.
We were a handful running around the house the way we did, but you’d be at the kitchen table soaking it all in. ”
“My first manager said that’s what makes me a good song writer.
” She wasn’t sure why she was sharing so much, except it felt good to be with Brax, to be home.
Of course, she couldn’t afford to get too used to the feeling considering she’d be back on the road soon enough.
Leaving Lone Star Pass never got any easier and she had a feeling it was about to get a whole lot worse.
Raleigh stood up, needing some distance, some space from this old friend who evoked so much emotion in her. “I should get back to Nana…my place.” She issued a sharp sigh. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to saying those words.”
“It sure has been good seeing you, Raleigh,” he said, and her chest squeezed. He was being polite. Why did she wish he’d ask her to stay instead?
She chalked it up to being homesick and walked right past him with a nod. Halfway out the door, she paused.
“Stop by tomorrow if you want. Meet the band,” she said.
“I have work to do. Thanks, though.”
“No problem. The offer stands for you and any of your family.” She added the last part on a whim. And then she realized what she’d done. “On second thought. We’re trying to stay under the radar. Do you mind if you keep running into me between us?”
He held up two fingers.
“Just us,” he said with a masculine voice that traveled all over her. Her traitorous heart leapt again as she canceled the thought she was going to regret walking out the door. Would she though?