Page 21 of Sing Me Home
He stared at me, brow furrowed.
“I don’t…know…where Lorne is. I haven’t seen him in a year.”
A muscle in his jaw pulsed. “And you can’t divorce him if you don’t know where he is?”
“I have no idea. I figured I’d find out once I had the money to move forward. But my guess is it will slow things down, yes.”
“I’ll wait.” He nodded. “However long it takes. My dad waited fourteen years for my mom.”
My face burst into flame. No one—not a single guy I’d ever dated—had looked at me the way he was right now. Or talked about their feelings for me so openly, as if they were simply a fact.
I spun on my heel and paced away. “I…I don’t know if that’s what I want.”
“You don’t w-want me?” His voice cracked, like I’d kidney punched him. Doubtless, he’d never been rejected by a girl in his entire life. There was probably a Date Cash Dupree Wait List.
I turned to face him, my cheeks smarting. “I don’t know what I want. I just need some…time. To figure myself out.” I put my hands on my hips. “Can you just be my friend right now?”
He stared at me with a blank expression, and I could almost hear his brain malfunctioning: Cannot compute!Cannotcompute! “Friend?” he said like I’d just spoken a foreign language. “Did you seriously just friend-zone me?”
“Best friends?” I offered as if this was some kind of conciliatory prize. “We can still hang out. All the time. Just no…touching.” I really needed him to not touch me.
“Likenotouching? At all? Not even hugs?”
Yeah, I’d unintentionally messed with his head last night, letting him hold me in the van.
“I just…” I chewed my lip into a twist. “We’re living under the same roof. It’ll be less confusing for everyone if we’re not being handsy. Just like when we were in high school.”
He let out a disbelieving laugh and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah. Okay. I guess.” His brow furrowed and I could see it was the last thing he wanted. But then he said, “This’ll be good,” like he was trying to convince himself. “We can build a solid foundation and when you’re single, we can jump in with both feet.” He winked. “Get ready, it’s gonna be a whirlwind romance.”
I just stared at him. There was no doubt in his mind we’d end up together. None. I shouldn’t let him hope. It would only hurt him more in the long run. But I owed him…my life.
“You are something else,” I said.
He unleashed his trademark, cocky grin—the one that girls posted all over TikTok with captions like ‘That smile is the reason my standards are higher than my rent.’ Geez. He wielded that thing like a weapon. Probably practiced in the mirror the same way my dad and uncles practiced their sharp-shooter skills at Ford’s shooting range.
I rolled my eyes but laughed. “Well, one thing hasn’t changed. You have just as much ego as ever.”
He tossed his chin up. “Admit it. You think my cocky’s sexy.”
My eyes rolled even harder. “Only you would be arrogant enough to say something like that after being friend-zoned.” I propped my hands on my hips, all the teasing suddenly gone as that frustrating smolder returned. “We need to get one thing straight. I’m nobody’s miracle.”
The way he looked at me made my skin burn, like I was something sacred—something he’d lay down his life for without hesitation. “You’re wrong, Char-lie.” he exhaled my name, soft and broken. “And I’m going to prove it.”
seven
Cash
After ordering Charlie not to leave the house without me, I changed into work clothes and brushed my teeth in record time. The thought of her disappearing again was unbearable, and I didn’t breathe easy until I found her in the mud room, slipping on her Ariats. She had on my gym T-shirt from high school. The same one she’d slept in.
“Are you okay if I wear this?” She jammed her foot into a boot. “It might get manure on it.” Once manure touches your clothes, it’ll never be the same.
“It’s fine.” I grabbed my boots. “Now, if it was my Tucker Wetmore concert tee, or Morgan Wallen, we’d have a problem.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You have to branch out with your music tastes.”
I shrugged. “Nah. I’m good. It’s all research—since I’m going to be the biggest name in country music someday.” My head bobbed confidently. “Soon.”
“Bigger than your dad?” Dad said behind me.
