In Your Honor (12 page)

She finally gave into that smile and she
directed it at him from under hooded eyes. He thought his heart
might stop. A thousand memories replayed in his head and all of
them were sweet and wild. Why did he have to stay away again? They
could at least be friends... couldn't they?

“
How long have you guys
known each other?” Chad took a bite of his burger, ketchup dripping
down his chin.

Blake looked to Lucy and she shrugged,
letting him answer. “Since we were kids.” He smiled at the memory.
“I was eight, she was six... I crashed my bike and was sitting in
the gravel, crying my eyes out like a baby when she sat down beside
me.” Blake grinned at her, the event replaying vividly in his mind.
“She told me I was going to be fine, that I wouldn't die from my
injuries. Then she gave me a frog that I'm pretty sure she had been
carrying in her pocket.”

“
You are the weirdest girl
I know,” Sway said, shaking his head, but Blake saw her bite her
lower lip as she tried not to smile again.

Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at
him. “That was a fun summer.” All he could do was nod.

***

The rest of the night was implausibly easy.
No awkwardness, no tension. Blake even switched chairs with Stuart
so he could be closer to Lucy. The angst he'd been feeling the past
two weeks had evaporated. She was laughing and he was laughing and
no one was bothering them. He got caught up on the events back home
that he had missed while he'd been gone. It really was two best
friends reuniting after way too long apart.

When they got back to the buses, he grabbed
her fingers lightly and tugged her to a stop before she could go
back to her bus and they went back to how things had been. She was
wearing the band shirt he had given her when he'd first joined DBS.
He didn't point it out, he simply reveled in the fact that she
hadn't let go of their whole history.

“
Chad was pretty brave
throwing you in the ocean today, knowing that you shoot people,” he
teased her, enjoying the gentle curve of her mouth as she smiled in
return.

“
I told you, it was an
accident. I missed.” She raised her eyebrows, imploring him to
believe her.

“
You forget, Lucky, I know
you. You don't miss.” He held her eyes for a beat longer than
necessary. “We can do this, can't we?” he asked
carefully.

“
Do what?” She held her
breath, and he noticed.

“
We can be friends
again... without all the pain and drama, right?” He looked down at
her hand in his and felt a deep longing that he knew he needed to
suppress.

“
I would really like
that,” she whispered, not looking away from him.

In that moment, after she
confirmed they could be
friends
, he was overcome with the
ache of wanting her. He swallowed the words that would express his
true desire and realized that even if they were friends, he would
never be over her. Not really. Instead, he forced a smile, like he
was happy with her answer, and folded her into a hug.

He walked her to the steps of her bus and
said goodnight, hoping that he knew what he was doing and that he
wouldn't end up hurting them both again.

His thoughts carried him on a walk away from
the buses and down a sidewalk. He had been so adamant that he'd
stay away from her. Was his change of mind really due to the fact
that she hadn't married that asshole after all? That she had,
instead, shot him, rather than marry him? Those simple facts had
brought an incredible amount of joy back into his heart. And
hope.

He ran his hand through his hair in
frustration. He wished he knew a better way to make his brain work.
He wished he could get his head and his heart to come to some sort
of agreement.

He turned around and called into the
darkness to the ghost that had been his shadow since he had
disappeared in Pryor. “K, come here, I need to talk to you.”

Predictably, Kendra stepped from the shadows
and approached him with wide, uncertain eyes. She never strayed far
from him, and he always knew when she was there. They'd started to
have nightly talks since Lucy had joined the tour and he'd spilled
his whole sob story to her. She gave good advice, considering her
age, and he valued her perspective.

“
Do you think I screwed
everything up tonight with Lucy?”

“
Geez, Blake.” Kendra's
uncertainty dissolved into disappointment and Blake almost laughed
at her. “You never think of these things before you act, do
you?”

“
It's a hard habit to
break,” he admitted.

“
Honestly? I think you
guys are awesome together. You pretty much proved that tonight. But
maybe don't start trying to braid her hair right away, she's still
really hung up on you.”

“
How did you get so
insightful?” He hooked an arm around her neck and tugged her down
the moonlit sidewalk.

“
Years of being
invisible.” Kendra sighed. “Can't hide from you for some
reason.”

“
You really think that
being friends will work, huh?” Blake asked for
clarification.

“
No... I think you're
crazy in love with her and you need to tell her. Honesty is the
best policy.” She crossed her tiny arms against the chill blowing
off the ocean and leaned into him for warmth.

“
She told me she wasn't my
girl anymore,” Blake pointed out, but noticed the bitterness had
left his tone.

“
Start
by being friends again, that's the first good idea you've had
this whole time. You guys have enough of a foundation that the rest
will eventually fall into place. And don't try any phony bologna
stuff on her. She's too smart and she'll see right through it.
You'll lose all credibility with her.”

Blake sniggered at Kendra's phrasing. “Just
say bullshit, K.” He practically felt her roll her eyes in the
dark.

She didn't rise to the bait. “C'mon, Blake,
you know I'm right.”

“
I know, you always are,”
he nodded begrudgingly.

***

“
Dinner went very well tonight,” Lenny
murmured as she crawled into bed next to Luke. She wrapped her legs
in his and snuggled close to his side.

“
Remarkably,” he agreed, his eyes
closed.

“
You talk to Shane today?” she asked,
leaning over him and turning the light off.

“
Yeah... he's got some good ideas for
you to look over when we get to New York. I think you should sign
with him.”

“
I probably will.” She rested her head
on his chest and listened to the steady rhythm that she had grown
familiar with over the past few months. “I don't want to be away
from you, though,” she whispered into the dark.

He brought his hand up and smoothed her hair
back. “You won't be, not really. We have radar love, baby. We'll
never be disconnected.”

She smiled at his reassurance before
drifting off to sleep.

The more time Lenny spent with Lucy,
the more she appreciated the girl's spontaneous and infectious
happiness. Even when Lucy was having a crummy day, her smile was
bright and her laugh was eager. She never let the road weariness
get to her, and her ability to find positivity in all the small
moments was a breath of fresh air.

Lenny leaned back in her
chair in the sound booth and kicked her feet up on a box. She laced
her fingers together behind her head and closed her eyes, letting
the sound of Lucy's strong vocals tangle deeply into her thoughts.
The girl had talent, no doubt. What Lenny still couldn't figure out
was why she seemed so comfortable being the back-up singer. Never
the main attraction. It wasn't stage fright or lack of confidence,
she was a natural in the spotlight. Still, she was content to be
Taylor Stevens' shadow. The Carter to his Cash. The Jordanaire to
his Presley... Lenny's brow furrowed at that thought.
Not a good comparison.

Taylor was an excellent
performer, but Lenny knew that even he could tell that Lucy was
better than a simple chorus girl.
Maybe
she needs to be persuaded
.

It was something that had been on the
minds and lips of the crew as well. She noticed how they would find
pockets in their daily work to listen to Lucy warm up on stage with
Chad and Stuart before Taylor would arrive.

Today Lucy's song choice
for the band was another classic, Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Don't Ask Me No
Questions.”
Lenny peeked an eye open and
felt one side of her mouth pull up as she saw the crew begin to
gravitate to the stage. Lucy was frolicking about and being as
cheesy as possible, but her vocals rang out loud and clear. Soon,
she had the growing audience singing along. That girl could make
anything happen when she was on stage.

“
Girl can frickin'
sing,
” Greg nodded in
admiration as the song bled into another. This time it was Stevie
Nicks' “Stop Dragging My Heart Around.”

Lenny thought the captivated crew was
going to bust. Lucy had them in the palm of her hand. Taylor had
joined her on stage and was singing Tom Petty's vocals, but the
show was all Lucy. She was positively glowing.

They were playful with one another on
stage, and as the lyrics registered in Lenny's head she wondered if
this song had any significant meaning to Lucy. Probably. The girl
wore her heart on her sleeve. Everything she did had
significance.

***

Blake took in a deep
breath as he watched Lucy and Taylor share a microphone. She was so
frickin' amazing. He felt an ember of jealousy burn low in his gut
as he watched the chemistry of the two singers before him. He liked
Taylor well enough, he just didn't want him standing that close to
Lucy. Was that so bad? It didn't help that it reminded him of all
the times they had shared duets at Red's
.
Including this very
song.

But it wasn't even on the same level
as what he had pulled a week ago with “Here Comes My Girl.” She had
every right to smack him after that performance.

He had promised Kendra that he would
tone down the crazy, and she had reminded him of that every time he
said something that seemed to indicate he might be heading back
down that path. He had asked Lucy to be his friend. And he was
determined to honor that request to the best of his ability. That
meant losing the jealousy, pride and arrogance that had driven her
away in the first place. Long before things had broken between
them, she had been his very best friend. If he could return to
that, and leave out the crazy... well then maybe... He was too
afraid to finish that thought.

“
Lurking in the shadows
doesn't make you look like a creeper at all, by the way.” Sway came
up next to him and bumped his shoulder with his fist.

Blake rubbed his unshaven jaw and
smirked. “I know. I'm still trying to figure out a good middle
ground.”

“
For what, exactly?” Sway
asked as he pulled his hair into a short ponytail.

“
I don't know,” Blake
chuckled when Sway nodded sarcastically with overly wide
eyes.

“
C'mon. Let's get
something to eat. Your ex is sexy and all, but it makes me feel
weird staring at her with you right next to me.” Sway grinned when
Blake reacted with a narrowing of his eyes. “I'm only kind of
kidding. You know she scares me half to death. There's no way I'd
even think of her during my alone time. I'm too scared she'd find
out.”

“
You're more scared of her
than me?” Blake asked with amusement as he followed Sway towards
the exit.

“
Hell, yeah. That sweet,
southern girl on the outside is all an act. I know it. She's got a
wild side that's unpredictable,” Sway said over his
shoulder.

Blake chuckled. “You've never spent
more than five minutes with her. How would you even know
that?”

“
Because she's the only
woman I've ever seen bring you to your knees. And you're the
meanest sonofabitch I know.”

Blake just grinned.

***

The shows had been Lucy's favorite
part. Out of everything so far, all the places she'd seen, the
people she'd met, the food she'd eaten... the shows were the
best.

The lights were hot, the crowds were
loud and the music was perfection. She could feel her body start to
buzz with anticipation a couple of hours before sound check each
day. She would try to burn off the extra energy by running, at
Lenny's suggestion. But that didn't seem to do much other than make
her thirsty. When their set was done, she was ready to keep going.
She didn't burn out until way after the buses had hit the road and
she was left alone in the quiet of her bunk.

“
Have you been writing at
all?” Her dad's voice came through the receiver end of the
cellphone as she flopped herself on the floor of the main lounge of
the bus.

Lucy kicked her legs out and flexed
her bare feet towards the ceiling for a moment before lowering them
back to the bus floor. Chad pretended to step on her on his way to
the kitchenette.

“
A little. Nothing I'm
ready to share yet.” She waved off Taylor's offer of a bottle of
water.

“
You're staying out of
trouble?” he asked with fatherly concern.