Lyrics of a Small Town Read online

  “Back when we were still focused on finding out who our father was?” Rio asked with a smirk and teasing glint in his eyes. I knew he was pointing out once Saul and I decided to do whatever it was we were doing that I had been less focused on Rebel’s identity.

  “Yeah, well you see, I already knew who Rebel was by then. I wasn’t sure when to tell you or how to tell you or if I should talk to…” I stopped and sighed. “Emily, the redhead I work with, that is also Hillya’s great niece, broke a frame in Hillya’s office. She came out to apologize and said that the picture of Rebel was fine, just the frame was broken. When Hillya left the kitchen, I asked who Rebel was and she said he was Hillya’s son. He died in a car accident when he was twenty.”

  Rio was leaning forward now, his elbows propped on his knees and his brow creased in a frown. “Are you serious?” he asked.

  “Yes and today Hillya and I were there alone and the topic came up about my mom and stuff so I just asked her point blank about Rebel. She confirmed that he was my father and yours.” I didn’t tell him about the photo of Rebel holding me or his mother being pregnant the reason my mom left town and Rebel. I wasn’t sure how to explain all that or if I even should.

  Rio said nothing for several moments. “Shit,” he finally muttered. “You’ve been working for her all this time and she knew but said nothing.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. She wasn’t sure how to.”

  “I’ve gotten coffee and cupcakes there for years,” he said, shaking his head. “How could she say nothing all this time?”

  “What was she supposed to say? Put yourself in her shoes. Her son got two girls pregnant around the same time. He didn’t have anything to do with either, then he died young. She didn’t feel like she could know us.”

  Rio shook his head and stared out the window. I let him process it all and remained quiet. I’d been given plenty of time to think this through and I’d spoken with Hillya. He hadn’t been given the same experience.

  “She wants to meet you, officially. She wants to talk to you,” I told him, and he turned his head back to look at me.

  “Why? What the fuck is there to say?” His tone sounded angry. I hadn’t expected him to respond this way.

  “You have questions and I still have some I didn’t think about when we spoke. She can tell us about our father. She can tell us how he died.” I stopped then added. “She said your voice is identical to his and your eyes.”

  He took a deep breath and stood up. “Yeah, well it’s been twenty-two fucking years. Why hasn’t she told me all this by now?” He started walking toward the door.

  “I have those pictures I found of my mom’s. You can take them and look at them when you’re ready,” I said, hoping he would calm down after he had some time to think this all through.

  He paused and glanced back at me. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Relieved that he was open to at least looking at the pictures, I took out the two that my mother wasn’t in and handed them to him.

  He didn’t look at them, but he did take them. “Thanks. I’ll bring them back,” he promised then continued toward the door.

  When he opened it, he stopped and I thought he was going to say something more but he didn’t. He walked outside and closed it behind him.

  I sank back down onto the chair and let out a weary sigh. That had not gone how I expected it to. I was glad I hadn’t told him about the baby picture of me and Rebel. He wasn’t very fond of Hillya’s silence, but I hoped he would decide to talk to her at some point.

  I sat there thinking about today and about Gran. All the planning she had done when she’d set up that list. There were only two things left to do and now that I had found out the truth behind my father, it was time I faced the next task. It could be something simple like the last one had been and something truly for Gran’s sake. Or it could be something that would change things for me yet again.

  When I finally stood up, I went to make myself dinner. Saul still hadn’t responded when I turned off Netflix hours later and headed for the bathroom to take my shower. It was after eleven and I didn’t expect to hear from him tonight. I realized I had been so wrapped up in him and the way he made me feel that I’d lost sight of the facts. We weren’t a couple. We didn’t share everything. I hadn’t told him about Hillya. He hadn’t told me about his dad.

  Feeling melancholy, I took extra time in the shower. Normally a shower made me feel better. Tonight, it wasn’t working. The water began to run cold and I still felt the sadness that had taken over at the thought of Saul. I cared too much, too soon.

  I dried my hair and wrapped a towel around my body then stepped out of the bathroom. My heart almost stopped and I let out a small scream when I saw I wasn’t alone.

  Saul was standing at the doorway of my bedroom looking at me.

  “You shouldn’t leave the door unlocked. Anyone could have walked in here.”

  Twenty–Nine

  “I must have forgotten to lock it after Rio left,” I replied. My heart was still racing from being scared to death but seeing Saul made all that okay.

  “Rio was here?” he asked with a scowl.

  “Yes.”

  “Why the fuck was Rio here?”

  He looked angry and jealous. I had texted him and he hadn’t responded all day, yet he got upset because Rio was here? Seriously.

  Annoyed, I clutched the corners of the bath towel tightly and scowled back at him. “Because I had some information about our father. Remember the we might be siblings’ thing. Well, we are.”

  Saul continued to frown. “What did you find out?” he asked.

  I was too tired to go over all this again tonight. I’d stayed up late, hoping to hear from him and now he was here, and I was mad. “Hillya had a son named Rebel. He is our father,” I told him.

  Saul moved toward me then and I wasn’t sure if I was happy about that or not. “So, Rio is your brother,” he repeated.

  I nodded.

  “Fine, but I still don’t like him here,” he said.

  “Are you serious? What do you think we are gonna do? He’s my brother!”

  Saul lifted his shoulders in a shrug as if it wasn’t important. “Nothing. I just don’t want him here with you. I don’t like any guy alone with you.”

  My annoyance went from slight to full-blown. “You don’t get a say in that, Saul. Just like I don’t get to be concerned when you don’t respond to my text messages.”

  He stopped in front of me and took one of my wet strands of hair between his fingers. What was it with him and hair? I should step back and jerk my hair away from him, but it felt good and I had missed him. I was also exhausted and when I was tired, I got angry over stupid things. Could this be one of those times? Would I think differently about it in the morning? I had to think that through first.

  “You sent one text,” was his response.

  “Yes, and in that text, I told you I was getting off work and going home,” I reminded him.

  He wrapped my hair around his finger and tugged gently. “And I came here because that was where you were.”

  Why couldn’t he say more than a few words or half sentences? “It’s midnight,” I pointed out.

  “You’re still awake and naked.”

  Growling in frustration, I pulled my hair from his hand and backed up. “And I am tired and going to bed,” I told him, proud of myself for standing my ground.

  He looked hurt and almost confused. As if I had no reason to be upset with him. “My father showed up today. I had to deal with him and I had to take Lily to her AA meeting,” he said and took another step toward me. “I didn’t know you wanted me to respond. It’s not something I do.”

  “You don’t respond to text messages?” I asked him.

  He was close to me again and he ran the back of his finger over my bare shoulder. “I don’t tell people where I am or what I�
�m doing.”

  Great. That made me feel special. “Glad to know I am considered people,” I shot back at him, unable to move away anymore because the edge of the bed was behind me.

  The corners of his mouth curved up slightly. “You took that wrong.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “I don’t see how else I was supposed to take it!”

  He was grinning now. A fully amused grin. His dang teeth were perfect. “Before this thing with you, I’ve never conversed with a female about my plans. I just showed up when it worked for me.”

  “That’s rude,” I replied.

  He ran the back of his finger across my jawline and studied my mouth. I was quickly forgetting why I was mad. He was talented at that. “I see,” he said then began running the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “You want me to tell you where I am then?”

  I managed a nod. “It would be nice.”

  His other hand tugged on the towel I was covered up with but I held it tightly. He lifted his gaze back to mine. “And if I do this, you won’t have other guys here?”

  “Even my brother?” I asked incredulously.

  He nodded. “Yeah, even him. I need time to adjust to the new relative thing.”

  “Fine. Okay,” I said with a sigh.

  He slipped a hand under the towel and I jumped when he ran his fingertips over my stomach. I wasn’t very angry anymore. My body had taken over and it wanted this very much.

  “I’ll answer your text. Every damn one of them,” he said and bent down to kiss the corner of my mouth. “I’ll text you even when you don’t ask,” he whispered then pressed a kiss to the other corner of my mouth. “I’ll fucking call you if you want me to.”

  He slid his other hand underneath the towel and grabbed my butt then pulled me against him. “If it makes you happy. I don’t want to see you upset.”

  My hold on the towel had weakened and this time, when he tugged on it, the only barrier I had fell to the rose-colored rug under my feet. His gaze didn’t leave mine though. I stared up at him, needy and ready to be close to him again. “Am I forgiven?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  He pulled his shirt off and then unbuttoned his jeans. When he pushed those down his hips, his eyes finally left mine and began slowly scanning my body. There was no part of me he hadn’t seen by now, but I still felt the blush on my skin from the vulnerability.

  I watched as he stepped out of his jeans and boxer briefs. Seeing his erection made the ache between my legs tingle. “Come here, Henley,” he demanded in a low voice.

  I went without hesitation. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I went on my tiptoes and kissed him. The truth about it all was I had missed him. Not just the sex, although it was incredible, I missed Saul. I missed being near him, hearing him talk, watching him, making him smile.

  His hands grabbed my bottom and he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, causing his hardness to press against me. I gasped into his mouth, but I didn’t break the kiss. I wanted to taste him. Our tongues slid in and out, mimicking what our bodies would be doing soon.

  Saul moved forward and lowered us onto the bed behind me. I kept my legs around him, not wanting to lose the friction of our bodies. He began kissing my neck as one of his hands moved to cover one of my breasts. His kissing became more demanding and then he paused at my cleavage before lowering his head and licking at one nipple and then the other.

  My breathing was more of a pant at this point.

  “Roll over, get on your hands and knees facing the mirror,” he said as he moved away from me, causing me to unlock my legs as he left.

  I did as instructed and watched in the mirror as he moved behind me. His eyes locked with mine and his hands grabbed my waist. When his erection brushed against me. I sucked in a breath and held it. Then he took it in his hand and guided it in the wetness between my legs that was more than ready for him.

  He lifted his gaze once more to meet mine as he slowly entered me. I wanted to close my eyes and soak in the pleasure, but I also wanted to watch him.

  “I’ve thought about this all day,” he said with a groan. Then he rocked his hips and pulled out just enough before slipping back into me. “You are what got me through today’s shit. Thinking about you and this.”

  He was deeper in this position and I realized that, again, he wasn’t wearing a condom. It felt better. He slid in and out faster and the bare contact was unlike anything else. With each stoke, he started to move quicker and harder. His fingers dug into my hips and I moved my gaze from his to watch our bodies in the mirror.

  His muscles flexing, my breasts bouncing and swinging with each thrust, it was beautiful and erotic to see us this way. My orgasm had been building but seeing us like this and watching his jaw clinch with each thrust sent me flying into pleasure. Throwing my head back, I cried out as the rapture of the moment took over.

  “FUCK! That’s it, baby, come on my dick.” Saul’s voice seemed far away as I floated on the most intense orgasm I had ever experienced.

  “GAAAHHH!!!” Saul roared, and he was out of me immediately. Once his hands left my hips, I fell onto the bed as the heat from his release hit the back of my thighs. I turned my head toward the mirror to watch him.

  He was on his knees, his perfectly firm body taut and slightly bent as he shot his come onto my back. “Damn,” he said hoarsely. Then turned his head to meet my gaze in the mirror.

  I smiled at him and a slow smile spread across his face.

  In that moment, I was sure I could forgive him anything.

  Thirty

  I was thirty minutes late getting today’s baked items to Hillya and all I could do was apologize. There was no way I could tell her that I was late because Saul came into the kitchen this morning and we ended up having sex on the table. She was understanding but reminded me again that I needed to write down recipes so I could stop doing this on my off days. I was going to work on that today.

  While I was gone, Saul had left to check on Lily and get her to a doctor’s appointment and another AA meeting. He had made sure I knew his plans after he had given me an orgasm. With him gone and the house empty, I went back to sleep until noon.

  It wasn’t until two in the afternoon that Saul texted me. He said to meet him at his place after four and to bring a bathing suit. The images of us in the pool having sex with the setting sun had me smiling the next two hours. However, when I pulled up to Saul’s house, there were two trucks I didn’t recognize along with Rio’s Jeep and Saul’s truck.

  The black bikini I was wearing under my sundress had been for Saul. It was the most revealing one I owned and I had bought it weeks ago, wanting to get out of my comfort zone. I’d never managed to do that though. The idea of wearing this in front of others made me consider going back home and changing.

  There was a knock on my window that startled me. I jumped then turned to see Drake standing there grinning. My leaving would be difficult now. Deciding to suck it up, I opened the car door and climbed out.

  “You were having deep thoughts,” Drake teased.

  “I, uh, thought I forgot something,” I lied.

  He didn’t believe me. It was obvious by his amused expression. “Uh huh,” he replied. “You forgot the redhead. She’s invited to the party too. Anytime she wants.”

  Party. There was a party. Not what I was expecting at all.

  “She doesn’t like blow jobs,” I told him.

  He looked devastated. “Damn.”

  “Can’t win them all.”

  Drake grinned at me then. “I like you. You’re hot and you’ve got jokes. Smart mouths are sexy as hell.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should say thank you or not.

  “Get the fuck away from her,” Saul said with a growl as he walked down the stairs to meet me halfway. He was scowling at Drake, and I realized he was serious.

 
Drake held up his hands. “My bad. Sorry, man. Didn’t see you.”

  He wasn’t helping things. Saul’s expression turned threatening.

  Drake finally realized it and nodded. “Not joking. Got it,” he said, backing away as he reached the top step. Then he went inside the house.

  Saul put his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Hey,” he said, although the gruffness hadn’t left his voice completely.

  “Hey,” I replied unsure of his mood. Did something happen today to upset him or was he truly that upset over Drake talking to me? Instead of asking, I decided to get his mind off it and change the subject. “So, there’s a party?” I asked.

  He glanced down at me as we walked inside the house. “Yeah.”

  We headed toward the living area and voices and he didn’t elaborate but then he rarely ever did.

  “Whose coming?” I asked, realizing I knew very few of his friends from the last party I attended with Rio.

  He shrugged. “The regulars, maybe a few extras.”

  Man of few words.

  We walked into the living room and I took in the scene. Drake was on the U-shaped sofa with a beer between his legs, yelling at some game on the television. On the other side of the sofa was a guy I hadn’t met but I did remember seeing at the last party. Beside him was a blonde who was on her smart phone typing something. The guy laughed at something that happened on the television and Drake cursed.

  Rio came walking inside from the balcony and he nodded his head when he saw me. We hadn’t talked since yesterday and I hoped he was dealing with everything better today.

  “Benji! Fix me a drink,” Rio called out and I turned to see Benji behind the bar with a shaker and martini glasses.

  “You want a fucking martini, pussy?” he asked.

  “God no. Just a Jack and coke,” he replied. “Pour up that girly shit for Genesis.”

  “What the fuck am I making the first book in the Bible a cocktail?” Benji asked.