Catch Me When I Fall (Falling Stars 2)

A stake of the grief I could already feel coming sliced through my heart.

Agony.

I forced myself to ignore it, gave him a smile as the driver pulled up in front of Melanie’s childhood home. She hopped out almost before the car came to a complete stop. Apparently, Rhys wasn’t the only anxious one. “See you all tomorrow!” she said, rushing to the back and grabbing her bag.

In less than a beat, we were back on the road, driving through the tiny town and even farther into the country.

Here, it was nothing but a dirt two-lane road. The driver slowed and made a right-hand turn onto the narrow lane that led to our properties. Rhys’s family lived on the left, and ours was off to the right. Both homes were set on three acres of rolling fields, though ours had a corral and a barn to shelter the horses.

“Go left,” Rhys instructed.

The SUV rolled to a stop at a clearing in front of the small white house. A single-story three-bedroom with a porch on the front. Rhys hopped out and popped his head back into the cab. “See you in a bit, suckers.”

“No rush,” Richard ribbed.

“Don’t act like you won’t be missing me,” he told him, reaching in to pat him on the cheek.

Richard grabbed his hand and squeezed.

Rhys jerked away, laughing and shaking out his hand, though he was still leaning in. “Ow, you asshole. You overcompensatin’ for something with that grip? Or are you just trying to get rid of me so you can stand in the limelight? Don’t be fucking with my hand. Next stop Nashville, baby. The big time. Don’t go and fuck that up. Y’all would suck ass without me.”

“You wish, dude,” Rich taunted, smiling wide.

“No wishin’ about it.” Rhys winked.

Nerves roiled through my spirit with the mention of Nashville.

It was coming up fast. Faster than I anticipated. Here before I could make sense of it.

Royce glanced at me.

As if he’d felt it.

That powerful gaze met mine. A hard whisper in my ear that I felt like a caress. You can do this.

Rhys pointed at each of us. “Y’all don’t have too much fun without me. See you tonight for dinner. Tell your mom to make double the mashed potatoes. This boy here is hungry.”

He patted at his ridiculously flat, muscled abs.

“Like she forgot who you are,” Richard grunted. He glanced at Royce. “Asshole would eat all the food at his house and then come raid our fridge.”

“How could I not when your mom loves me more than you? That’d be rude. She even stocked extra Oreos in spots that only I could find them.”

“That was me trying to hide them from you, jackass,” Rich deadpanned.

“Liar!” Rhys sang, laughing loud, slamming the door shut and slinging his duffle over his shoulder as he headed for the porch. The Escalade was backing up when his mama came flying out and threw her arms around his neck.

Dropping his bag, he lifted her up and spun her around.

So sweet. But it felt even sweeter when Royce hooked his pinky finger with mine, our hands hidden between our legs where they rested on the seat. The smallest embrace. A tiny reminder that he was here, with me, at least for a little while.

The hardest part was knowing the only thing I wanted was for him to stay.* * *“What can I do to help?” I asked as I stepped down into my mama’s old kitchen from the narrow second set of stairs.

The scent of a chicken roasting in the oven held fast to the air, and warm sunshine slanted down through the window, spraying spikes of light onto the worn linoleum floor.

I was hit with a burst of longing.

A nostalgia so fierce I could feel it hugging my spirit like an old friend.

My mama was wearing shorts and a tee, her graying hair tied up in a tight bun, her middle expanding in time with the lines that deepened on her face.

She glanced over her shoulder at me from where she was at the counter snapping the ends off the fresh green beans that no doubt had come from her garden.

Her smile so wide, her green eyes sparkling with an outpouring of love.

She would always be the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. The picture of who I wanted to be.

“I thought you were nappin’?” she said with one of her small, curious smiles.

I huffed out a sound. “Couldn’t sleep,” I admitted as I waded farther into the kitchen, coming up to her side so I could help her with the chore.

From the side, she took a long look at me, studying hard, her voice lowered when she asked, “This have something to do with that man who came following you in this afternoon?”

I flinched a little. Was I that obvious?