Release Me (The Music Within Book 2) (2 page)

Again,
Mal nodded instead of responding verbally. He wasn’t a man of many words. That
was one thing Cade had noticed at the bar. For a bartender, the man didn’t have
much to say to his customers, nor they to him. They only approached asking for
their drinks. They didn’t make small talk with him like you’d normally see in a
bar that small.

Mal
left the kitchen and, bypassing the stairs leading up, led Cade to the back of
the house. He stopped outside a closed door and said, “This is where you’ll
sleep. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Do you need anything?”

Cade
still needed that blowjob, but since that wasn’t going to happen, he shook his
head. “No, thank you. I really appreciate you letting me crash here.” He had a
million questions about Mal and his mom, but they could wait until morning and
the drive to Nashville.

“My
room is on the left just past the bathroom if you need me.” Was that Mal’s way
of offering himself to Cade? Or was it wishful thinking on Cade’s part? Mal
glanced at Cade’s mouth then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away,
his shoulders slumping. Cade kept his eyes on Mal’s ass until the door to his
room closed, blocking Cade’s view. He stepped into the room he would be
sleeping in and turned on the light.
Holy hell! I’ve entered the fucking
hillbilly twilight zone.
The room was small, fitted with a double bed, a
dresser, and a floral chair. The walls were covered in flowery paper, and the
quilt on the bed matched the walls. Cade was too tired to care that the bed
wasn’t king-sized with Egyptian cotton sheets, and he could close his eyes
against the interior decorating nightmare.

He
sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots. Instead of lying down, he
decided to go take a piss now so he wouldn’t wake up Mal in the middle of the
night. Cade stepped into the hallway and saw the bathroom light was already on.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he eased his way to the half-opened door.
His host had on a pair of cotton pajama pants. His upper torso was bare, as
were his feet. He was lean but muscular at the same time. Cade figured Mal got
his muscles the natural way, by working the farm instead of hitting a gym.
Malcolm
–
the hot name fit the hot man.

Mal
turned, and Cade got a glimpse of a nasty scar running from the top of his
chest to just above his navel. Cade gasped out loud, and Mal caught his eyes in
the mirror. “I’ll be out in just a minute,” he muttered and closed the door in
Cade’s face.

Fuck.
He returned to the flower
factory and sat on the side of the bed, adjusting his cock. It hadn’t been all
that long since he’d had sex, but his dick was ready to go after getting a good
look at the bartender. Even the scar had done nothing to deter his body from
wanting the man. If anything, Cade wanted to see it up close, inspect it with
his fingertips and his tongue.
Not helping your dick, Dick.

When
Cade heard the bathroom door open, he hurried so he could apologize, but Mal’s
bedroom door was already closing. Cade took his turn in the bathroom before
stripping down to his underwear and turning in for the night. The last time
he’d slept in a bed too small for him was back when the band had just started
up, and he and Tag shared the pullout sofa in their one-room apartment. Even
though he knew his best friend was happily in love and raising a baby with his
new husband, Cade still wished for things that would never be. Deep down he
wanted the two point five kids, the dogs, and the happily ever after. If things
went his way, the audition with Shattered Cross would go well, and he’d get
back on the road, able to drown himself in his music. He closed his eyes, and
Tag’s beautiful face morphed into Mal’s.

“Cade,
wake up.”

“Go
away,” he mumbled, wondering who the fuck was trying to get him up when it
wasn’t even light outside.

“I
know it’s early, but if you want breakfast before we head downtown, you need to
get up. Even if you’re not hungry, we need to leave soon.”

“What?”
Cade raised his head, one eye open. Seeing the owner of the sultry voice
brought last night rushing back to his throbbing head. “Yeah, okay.”

Mal
looked mighty fine this morning in a button-up shirt tucked into a pair of dark
jeans. The worn out baseball cap no longer covered his dark hair that was now
neatly combed back away from his face. Remembering the look on that handsome
face when Cade saw the scar on his chest, he started to apologize, “About last
night…”

“You
want coffee?” Mal asked at the same time, glancing at Cade’s body before quickly
averting his eyes. Cade realized at some point during the night he’d kicked off
the covers, exposing his body everywhere except for the little skin covered by
his boxer briefs.

“Sure.
Let me get some clothes on.” As Cade rolled over and swung his legs over the
side of the bed, Mal’s eyes darted to Cade’s morning wood before he hastily
exited the room.

Mal

Boy,
you are fifty shades of stupid
,
Mal thought to himself as he slid a pan of biscuits in the oven. First, he
brought an intoxicated stranger into his home where he could have killed both
Mal and his momma in their sleep. Second, the stranger was obviously out of
Mal’s league if he had a room at the Hilton in downtown Nashville. Cade
probably wasn’t even gay. He had glanced at Mal’s lips a couple of times, but
he’d been drunk. Third, the stranger claimed to be a musician. Cade looked
familiar, but Mal didn’t take Cade for the country music type. He knew that
country singers were now all tatted up like Keith Urban, but Cade’s demeanor
didn’t scream downhome country living.

When
he lay down in bed last night, he mentally chastised himself for advertising
where his room was in case Cade needed anything. What if he’d woken up to find
Cade in his bed, ready to take him up on his offer? As long as it had been
since he’d had sex, Mal doubted he would have turned the blond away, even with
his mother in the house. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d left the bathroom door
cracked while he got ready for bed, and Cade had seen his scar. After taking
one look at the huge eyesore that split Mal’s chest, Cade had gasped. It wasn’t
pretty, that was for sure.

He’d
wake the man up and give him a ride downtown. In all probability, they’d never
see each other again. Mal looked at the clock above the kitchen sink and
sighed. He dreaded the trip he had to take, but he didn’t have a choice. His
livelihood, as well as his home, depended on it. If today didn’t go his way,
they’d probably lose everything.

When
Mal padded barefoot down the hallway to the bedroom his sister used to sleep in
and pushed open the door to wake Cade, he froze. His houseguest was sprawled
across the double bed, taking up most of it with his large frame. Cade had a
few inches and several pounds on him. His blond hair stuck out at odd angles.
His firm, round ass separated a broad, inked back from long, toned legs. The
guy made Adonis look like a nobody. Mal itched to run his fingers across the colorful
ink. It had been over a year since he’d taken a secret trip to Nashville’s gay
club to have sex.

Taking
care of both the farm and the bar didn’t leave time for anything personal.
Sure, he could hook up with any of the single women who lived in town, but he
didn’t swing that way no matter how desperate he got. Living in Arlo, Kentucky,
wasn’t good for a gay man. The scar on his chest was proof of that.

He
could stand and stare all day at something he would never have, or he could
wake the man up and get the drive over with. The sooner he got Cade out of his
life, the better.

“Cade,
wake up.” Mal’s fingers stretched out to touch Cade’s bare shoulder and gently
shake him awake, but he pulled back right before he made contact.

“Go
away,” his houseguest mumbled.

“I
know it’s early, but if you want breakfast before we head downtown, you need to
get up. Even if you’re not hungry, we need to leave soon.” He wasn’t lying. He
had a nine o’clock appointment, and he didn’t want to be late.

“What?”
Cade raised his head, one eye squinting at Mal. “Yeah, okay.”

“You
want coffee?” Mal asked. His eyes were naturally drawn to all the bare skin
laid out before him. When he felt Cade staring at him, he looked away.

“Sure.
Let me get some clothes on.” Cade didn’t wait for Mal to leave the room before
he started getting up. Mal took what he hoped was a discreet peek at the inked
chest sitting three feet away, but then his eyes drifted lower…
Fuck me
.
He couldn’t get out of his sister’s bedroom fast enough.

Mal
adjusted his cock in his jeans so the zipper wasn’t pressing against his
erection. He checked the biscuits before heading out the back door. Mal let the
cool Kentucky morning air calm his libido. He gazed at the sky as he allowed
himself a moment to dream of what could never be. The fine-ass man in his
sister’s bed was someone fantasies were made of, but it didn’t keep Mal from
wanting him. Wanting to grab his hand and pull him to his bedroom where they
could stretch out across his big bed and discover every inch of each other. He
imagined Cade lovingly kissing his scar and becoming angry on Mal’s behalf.

Sighing,
he returned inside because the bread in the oven wouldn’t magically remove
itself before it burned. As he slid the biscuits into a cloth covered basket,
he heard Cade’s booted footsteps coming down the hall. He tried his best not to
stare, but now that it was daylight, Mal had a better look at the clothes Cade
had on. In the dimness of the bar, Mal hadn’t noticed much about Cade other
than the sadness in his light-colored eyes. The cowboy hat was still in the
truck where it’d fallen off on the ride home. If Mal didn’t know better, he
would say the clothes and the hat had been a disguise, because the hat looked
new, and Cade didn’t seem all that comfortable in Wranglers.

“How
do you like your eggs?” he asked as he poured Cade a cup of coffee. When he
turned around to hand over the mug, he pointed to the sugar bowl. “Milk’s in
the fridge, and sugar’s on the table if you don’t like it black. Sorry, we
don’t have real cream.”

Cade’s
eyebrows rose. “You actually have a sugar bowl? I haven’t seen one of those in
years.” For some reason, seeing a sugar bowl made Cade smile. Maybe it reminded
him of his childhood. He continued taking in the kitchen as if seeing it for
the first time. Considering they hadn’t lingered the night before, and Cade’s
mind would have been foggy from all the booze he’d drunk, he probably was only
noticing things now.

“Eggs?”
Mal prodded. He really needed to get on the road so he wouldn’t miss his
appointment.

“Oh,
however you cook them. I’m not picky.” Cade sat at the table and dumped three
heaping teaspoons of sugar in the cup before stirring absentmindedly.

Mal
cracked six eggs into the skillet where he’d already cooked the bacon. The
plateful of pork sat alongside the biscuits he’d put into a basket. Normally,
he didn’t get fancy and set the food out on the table, but he somehow knew that
his houseguest was used to something a little more upscale than grabbing food
from the stovetop. Mal removed the eggs from the skillet when they were
over-easy and slid three onto each plate. He put one of the plates down in
front of Cade before sitting at his regular spot which just happened to be the
seat next to his sexy houseguest.

Mal
didn’t have to ask if the food was to Cade’s liking. The moans of appreciation
let Mal know he’d done a good job. Then again, it was hard to screw up
breakfast. Even though Cade had on the same clothes from the night before, he
smelled wonderful. Mal had breathed deeply on the ride home, and the scent had
stayed buried in his senses all night making it really hard to go to sleep. At
one point, he got up, put his clothes on, and headed to the barn to turn off
all the lights which he’d forgotten to do before he laid down.

“This
is good, thank you.”

“You’re
welcome. I’ll…” One of the dogs howling at the back door interrupted Mal.
“Fuck,” he swore under his breath. He didn’t need something to be wrong this
morning. He couldn’t miss his appointment. Mal slid his chair back from the
table and told Cade, “I’ll be back.”

“What’s
wrong?” Cade asked as he followed him to the back door.

“Not
sure. Stay here.” Mal didn’t need to be held up any longer than he was already
going to be because Cade was curious. Moe ran back and forth barking as Mal
grabbed the shotgun that was propped up against the wall just inside the door.
He turned off the alarm and threw open the door, taking the steps two at a
time. “What is it, boy?” The dog took off toward the back of their property,
stopping at the barn.
Shit.
His dogs were beyond wise. If Moe stopped at
the barn, that meant Mal needed to get the four wheeler. He opened the front
door to the barn and made his way to his old Honda. He prayed it cranked right
away, because time was a valuable commodity at the moment.

He
kept emergency equipment, such as flashlights and bolt cutters, in the plastic
bin on the back of the vehicle for times like this. He also had a gun holder
mounted to the side in case he came across a coyote or five. Mal had a feeling
in his gut of what he was going to find since Moe was alone. If he was right, a
cow had been attacked or caught in some loose barbed wire, and Curly had stayed
with the animal trying to keep it calm. Lord knew the dogs kept Mal calm on
more than one occasion.

His
four wheeler came to life, and Mal took off into the dusky morning. The light
mounted to the front of the vehicle bounced up and down as he followed behind
his dog. When Moe circled the animal on the ground, Mal almost threw up. He
slid to a stop beside the torn up carcass of one of his cows. Mal didn’t have a
weak stomach when it came to a bloody mess. He couldn’t afford to lose any of
his animals. He needed each and every cow to sell at auction.

Hopping
off the four wheeler, Mal unhooked the bin located behind the seat and grabbed
the flashlight. He pulled the shotgun out of its holder and slung it across his
shoulder, just in case. Since Curly remained still beside the dead cow, Mal
figured whatever animal that attacked the cow was long gone. He shined the
flashlight around, and the beam landed on a couple more animals who’d met the
same fate as the one at his feet. “Fuck. FUCK!” he yelled into the early
morning. Curly rose and trotted over to Mal, whining his condolences. The dogs
might not know how badly the death of the animals would affect Mal and his
livelihood, but they could sense his distress all the same.

Mal
took a second to give the dogs some attention as he mentally prepared for his
day. He knew he was cutting the time short, but if he left now, he could still
make his appointment. He loaded his things on the four wheeler and rode back to
the barn with the dogs trailing behind him. Cade hadn’t moved from the porch.

“Is
everything okay?” Cade asked sincerely, glancing between Mal’s eyes and the gun
in his hand.

“Not
really, but I don’t have time to worry about it now. We need to leave, or I’m
gonna be late.” Mal brushed past Cade and went inside to grab the paperwork he
needed for his meeting.

“Malcolm,
what’s wrong, Son?” His momma sat in her chair at the kitchen table, a cup of
coffee in front of her. Moe had obviously woken her up.

He
didn’t want to discuss their family problems in front of the stranger that Cade
was, so he kissed her on the cheek. “Ma, I’m gonna be late if I don’t leave
now. I’ll fill you in when I get home. Just do me a favor and don’t go outside.
And don’t forget to set the alarm after me.” He could be cryptic with her, and
she would understand his meaning. It wouldn’t be the first time a wild animal
had feasted on his herd.

He
turned to Cade and asked, “Ready?”

“It
was nice meeting you, Cade. You’re welcome to come back any time. Say, what are
you doing Sunday? Would you like to come to dinner?”

Mal
groaned loudly, “Ma, he’s not from around here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He shook his head at whatever game his mother was playing. She, better than
anyone, knew there was no bringing a date home for Sunday dinner – not that
Cade would be a date. He held the door open for Cade, making sure they were on
the same page.

“I
appreciate the offer, Suzette. But like Malcolm said, I’m not from around here.
It was a pleasure meeting you, and I apologize again for the unexpected
intrusion into your home. Please take care of yourself.” Cade took her hand and
kissed her knuckles again. His mother sighed, holding her hand to her chest as
if she’d been kissed by a rock star. Maybe she had been. Mal really needed to
find out more about the guy he’d allowed into their home. He would do that
after he made sure they still had a home.

Once
in the truck, neither man spoke until they got to the gate. Cade surprised him
and offered, “I’ll get it.” He climbed out of the vehicle and opened the gate,
holding it so Mal could drive on through. Once he’d closed and locked it behind
them, Cade climbed back into the passenger seat.

“Thanks,”
Mal said as he pulled out onto the road leading away from his farm. His land
was slowly dwindling down, and if today didn’t go well, it would all be gone.
The thousands of acres that had been in their family for several generations
were now reduced to less than a hundred. He did the best he could with what
little he had, but it just wasn’t enough anymore. He tried selling the bar, but
nobody wanted to buy it. They didn’t want the headache any more than he did.
When his sister had been home and helping out, things hadn’t been so bad. Mal
had time to tend to the animals and do odd jobs for extra money. When Melanie
got married and moved out, her new husband stopped her working at the bar. As a
matter of fact, he stopped her working anywhere. Barefoot and pregnant was the
way he liked her, and she was currently pregnant with her fourth kid. Not that
they could afford four kids, but Neil didn’t care. If she was pregnant, no
other man would want her. None of that made any sense to Mal, but his sister
obviously loved the stupid fuck, or she’d have left him by now. They came by
for Sunday dinner every week because it was one meal they didn’t have to pay
for.