Chapter 9
CASSIA
Three men trailed out behind Memphis, all of them beaming at Ivy.
She had always loved the spotlight–probably because she was always the center of attention at our house–and now was no different.
She began waving at them with regal slow-motion grace, as if she were the queen and they were her loyal subjects.
From the look on their faces, that was quickly the case.
Memphis walked over and stopped right in front of me.
He grinned at Ivy as he extended his hands, offering her the choice.
I felt a surge of gratitude for that gesture of respect in regards to her boundaries, and Ivy clearly appreciated it too.
So much so that she lunged toward him with a delighted squeal.
“Hello, little lady,” Memphis said as he settled her on his forearm and tucked her against his chest. He smiled at her and asked, “How was your trip?”
Ivy excitedly answered him in her own private language. I was able to decipher the highlights about the things most important to her: snacks, candy, gummies, cows, dogs, and rocks. We’d seen plenty of all of them on the drive from Dallas to Rojo.
Since Memphis wasn’t fluent in her language, he shot me a look of uncertainty and then glanced back at Ivy, tentatively asking, “That’s good, right?”
“I’m sorry it took us so much longer than we’d planned. I think we stopped at every single convenience store on the way for bathroom breaks,” I said, coming to his rescue.
Memphis chuckled. “I remember how frustrated my dad used to get on road trips. Every stop made him a little crazier.”
“Traveling with my parents was very different. We went on plenty of road trips in the States, but our long trips consisted of endless flights followed by bumpy rides in whatever vehicle was available. Where we went, convenience stores weren’t a thing.”
“Maybe someday you can tell me about all the places you’ve been,” Memphis said.
“You didn’t look through our passports?”
He grimaced, looking sheepish before he said, “I did, but they only go back so far.”
“That’s true. I have the old ones packed away as keepsakes. When I find them, I’ll show you.”
“About those . . . I’d like to give them back to you. I regretted taking them the second I did it, but I was terrified that you’d take off.”
“I thought about it,” I admitted. “If it makes you feel better, you can keep mine until I need it.”
“It’s in the safe with mine.”
Ivy had been studying the men behind Memphis, and I was trying very hard not to do the same. I’d seen these faces onstage and all over social media and various sites online, but seeing them in person was completely different.
They didn’t look nearly as polished and perfect as they had online, which I appreciated. Instead, they just looked like guys hanging out in their friend’s garage, just passing the time like regular people would.
Ivy started squirming and tried to climb over Memphis’s shoulder to get to the man in the middle of the group. He grinned as he reached out to take her. She went to him happily, then smiled up at him before she resumed her high-speed chattering.
After Ivy left his arms, Memphis moved to stand beside me. “Cassia, I’d like you to meet my cousin Roar, my friend Lucky, and another cousin of mine–the baby whisperer–Rocky.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said as I shook Lucky’s hand. Roar bypassed my hand and pulled me into a massive bear hug.
As he squeezed the air out of my lungs, I squeaked, “And you too.”
“Welcome to the family!” Roar said as he set me back on my feet. He looked toward the SUV and asked, “And who are these beauties?”
I stumbled back and felt Memphis’s steadying hand on my arm. My sisters had rounded the back of my SUV and were standing there, frozen.
It took all I had not to laugh. The second the shock wore off, they were going to be mortified. They’d just spent hours on the road and looked more than a little rumpled for a first meeting with the men they’d been crushing on for years.
“These are my sisters, Erisa and Iliana,” I explained as I motioned to them.
“I’m Lucky,” the guitarist said as he stuck his hand out toward Iliana.
She swallowed hard with a vacant look before she said, “Hello.”
Erisa wasn’t much better as she went through the motions of shaking his hand. Roar greeted them with a little less exuberance than he had me. Instead of hugging them, he stepped between them and threw his arms over their shoulders.
“Let’s go inside and get out of the sun while Memphis shows Cassia around,” Roar said as he steered my dazed sisters toward the house.
I watched them leave, followed by Lucky and Rocky, who was still expertly managing my daughter.
I started to protest, but Memphis beat me to it and said, “She’s fine, and your sisters are right there with her.
She’s clearly already fond of Rocky, but that’s because he’s just like his dad.
Babies and kids of all ages are drawn to him like a magnet to metal.
They just love him, and he’s great with them as long as you don’t mind the music he lets them listen to. ”
“Wait–what?” I asked as I looked from Memphis to the open garage bay.
“It’s nothing,” Memphis mumbled as he used his hand on my elbow to guide me to a side door. “We’ve got a huge family, so there are kids all over the place when we get together. We all learned to hold them and change diapers at a young age. Ivy is in good hands.”
“I never imagined I’d be leaving my daughter with guys in a band, yet here we are.”
“Before they were guys from the band, they were my family, and now they’re Ivy’s family too,” Memphis reminded me. “That’s how we work–it’s all-inclusive. They’ll bring you and your sisters into the fold, and before you know it, you’ll be calling them family too.”
“You think so?” I asked, using sarcasm to mask my anxiety.
There was no way a family like his would welcome us as if we were some long lost relatives.
To them, I was the woman who’d kept Memphis’s daughter a secret, even though I hadn’t known the truth until recently.
Hell, who was I kidding? Even if I had known, I wasn’t sure I would have contacted him.
As difficult as it was to admit, I knew that was the truth. I hadn’t wanted to share her.
Now, it looked like I didn’t have a choice.
Memphis opened the door, and I was surprised to find that it led to a short hallway.
There was an open door to my right that was clearly a laundry room with a washer, dryer, and a convenient folding table to the side.
We kept walking past a set of folding closet doors, and just before the end of the hallway, I caught a glimpse of what I assumed was Memphis’s bedroom.
The hallway ended at a massive barn door. Memphis reached around me and slid the heavy door aside. He revealed a space that nearly made me gasp.
It was a huge, vaulted area that somehow managed to feel brand-new yet lived-in.
In the kitchen, there were eggs in a spiral holder on the counter next to a butter dish that reminded me of the one my grandmother used to keep.
Well-loved cast iron skillets sat on the stove, and a bucket advertising a popular Texas beer was stuffed full of cooking utensils.
“Do you cook?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.
“I enjoy cooking, although I wouldn’t say I’m the best. I try to learn new recipes now and then, but I mostly just stick to the basics.”
I was genuinely impressed. My dad could barely operate the microwave. We were always excited when he was in charge of dinner because that usually meant we were going out to a restaurant or having pizza delivered.
“How about you?” Memphis asked.
“I like cooking too. I would say I also cook the basics, but they’re probably not the basics you’re used to.”
“Why do you say that?”
“My mom didn’t learn to cook from her mother. She learned from women she met while she and Dad were traveling. She taught me everything she knew, and I learned a lot from the women I met on our travels, none of which is standard Texas fare.”
Memphis smiled. “I love trying new food, so I think I’m going to enjoy whatever you make. What is Ivy’s favorite thing you cook?”
“Currently, it’s sweet potato gnocchi with sage brown-butter sauce.”
“Damn. She’s a connoisseur!”
“Don’t be too impressed. The only meats she’ll eat are deli ham, bacon, steak, or chicken nuggets.”
Memphis laughed as he walked farther into the room. “When I go to the grocery store this evening, I’ll pick up plenty of each.”
I followed him into what could only be called the great room.
The ceilings were dizzyingly high, and the vast expanse was filled with two full-sized couches, a massive bean bag, and two plush recliners.
There was also a tall dining table near the window, with barstools that matched the ones lined up against the kitchen island.
Suddenly, my eyes landed on a huge birdcage in the corner. Without thinking, I walked toward it and asked, “Where is your bird?”
“I don’t have one right now. I helped Mom train her last clutch, but once we found them good homes, I had to let them go. I travel so much that it wouldn’t be fair to a bird unless I could take it on the road with me, like I do Dobby.”
“That makes sense.”
“I was actually talking to Lucky about it earlier, and I think I might buy a private coach before our next tour.”
“How do you usually travel?”
“We’ve been sharing a bus, but Lucky is getting his own now that Rain is touring with him. I think I’ll do the same.”
“Then you can take your bird with you!”
“And Ivy.”
For some reason I hadn’t expected him to say that, and it hit me like a brick. I took a step back and stared at him in shock. “You’d take her on the road?”
“I wouldn’t want to be away from her for that long. So, yeah.”
“But I . . . we . . .” I stammered.
“There would be room for you on that bus, too, Cassia. I told you I wasn’t going to take Ivy away from you, and I meant it.”