A Crowe's Song Read online

  It’d been four days since Emily shared the night with Andy beneath the stars, watching the magnificent blasts of color while he inadvertently healed her partially wounded heart. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since they parted ways after climbing down from the top of the church tower, despite her efforts to run into him in town. However, that didn’t mean he hadn’t crossed her mind every second of those four days.

  Now, she sat in a booth in the back of an ice cream parlor…with Bobby Tisdale. He wasn’t who she wanted to be seated across from with a banana split between them. Visions of Andy played on repeat in her mind—the heat of his palm as they held hands, his scent lingering on the flannel shirt she’d borrowed to keep warm, and the grittiness of his voice when he spoke in hushed whispers, as if sharing a secret meant only for her ears.

  Realizing where her mind was and who sat across from her, she shivered and shook her head, hoping to clear the thoughts before giving herself away.

  “What’s wrong, girl? You cold?” Bobby asked from across the booth.

  “Yeah. Ice cream always cools me down.”

  The fact that Bobby just shrugged before taking another bite of the chocolate-coated banana only intensified her thoughts of someone else. With nothing more than an assumption that she was chilly, Andy—a complete stranger—had taken off his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. Meanwhile, Bobby—who wanted to be her boyfriend—knowing that she was, indeed, cold, did nothing.

  Emily questioned herself, wondering why she’d bothered to meet up with him. They hadn’t had the best relationship, even at the beginning. Bobby had moved on to Emily within weeks of his long-time girlfriend leaving town. It’d been a sore topic of conversation between them ever since—Emily didn’t believe that Bobby was over her, and he refused to admit she was right.

  Regardless, she rolled her eyes and continued to play with the double scoop of vanilla. If Bobby truly knew her, he would’ve recognized that something bothered her. Vanilla was her favorite flavor, so the fact that she only moved it around with her spoon rather than eat it was a red flag for anyone in her inner circle.

  “What is it you wanted to talk about, Bobby?” she asked with ice dripping from her words.

  He took his time finishing his mouthful of chocolate before wiping his lips and settling his gaze on her. “I made a mistake breaking up with you, and I want to make it right.”

  She couldn’t deny the sincerity in his eyes, though she wasn’t sure it could be trusted. Despite only having dated for a month, Emily wasn’t ignorant to his ability to fool anyone who had even an ounce of empathy in their heart.

  “Where were you over the holiday, Bobby?”

  His gaze flicked to the left for a split second, but it was enough to tell Emily everything she needed to know. However, that didn’t stop him from carrying on with his deception as he said, “I went with my family to look at property out in Keens; I told you that.”

  It was a plausible response, especially given that the townspeople had been given a timeline of when they had to be out of the valley, so finding somewhere to relocate had been at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t be fooled.

  “Then why did your cousin tell me that you didn’t go with them?”

  Bobby visibly flinched. He hadn’t expected her to talk to his family about their plans. But in typical fashion, he blinked a few times to right himself in his lie. “That’s because they all went with Paw and Nan. I was with my parents looking at different land to purchase.”

  Emily twirled her spoon in the rapidly melting dessert, contemplating the validity of his story. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that his parents weren’t as close to his mom’s side of the family as her brothers were, and had, at times, been left out of family matters and plans. So his version of events wasn’t entirely unbelievable. However, it didn’t diminish the voice in the back of her mind telling her that he had gone after Brenda, the love of his life, whom he had dated before Emily. It was unexplainable, but she couldn’t knock the feeling that she was right about it.

  “I think the time apart really helped me put things into perspective,” Bobby continued, yet she couldn’t pay attention to a word he said. His voice had become background noise, nothing more than a fly buzzing through the air.

  The mid-summer heatwave had driven a lot of people inside the shop for ice cream to cool off from the sun, so chatter was all around. Laughter, spoons clanking on glass cups, chairs scraping against the floor as people moved from table to table. But somehow, amid the cacophony of noise, the bell above the door chimed, indicating someone had either entered or exited, and it caught Emily’s attention. It’d rung out at least a half dozen times since she sat down, and she’d managed to ignore every ring until this one. This time—for reasons unbeknownst to her—it called to her.

  Like a magnet she couldn’t fight against.

  A siren she couldn’t ignore.

  She glanced up, and that’s when she saw him.

  Tall and lanky, his dark hair going every which way. His scuffed and worn dingo boots peeked out beneath faded corduroy flares. One look at him, and everything else vanished. Bobby continued talking, but Emily couldn’t hear a word of it. She was too busy eyeing the man she’d spent the last four days dreaming about.

  Andy moved through the parlor, heading toward the back where she sat with Bobby—until he spotted her. He came to an immediate and abrupt halt, as though the sight of her had knocked the wind from his lungs.

  The only thing that kept her rooted in the booth was the unforgiving expression on his face. His narrowed gaze held her captive, his brows drawn together as if solving an impossible equation in his mind.

  Time passed in slow motion, yet everything else seemed to happen too quickly. So fast that she could hardly process the events, let alone react. Her head spun with uncertainty over the cause of Andy’s dismay. Then her attention shifted back to Bobby, all the pieces coming together to create a mass of paranoia in the center of her chest.

  Andy stood stock-still, staring unblinkingly at Emily. Emily sat stone-cold in the booth, unable to consume enough oxygen to think properly. Meanwhile, Bobby had turned to peer over his shoulder, wondering what had caused Emily to flush right before going pale as a sheet. Noticing the man behind him, he shifted on his bottom, swinging his legs out from beneath the table as if readying himself to stand. With his chest puffed out like a warrior in battle, he grabbed ahold of the end of the table, the metal ring along the edge digging into his fingers. Although, a fraction of a second before pulling himself to his feet, he realized that Andy hadn’t been glaring at him. Instead, his focus had been solely on Emily.

  Bobby’s gaze bounced between the girl he wanted to win back and the only person in town he truly hated. Fiery anger unfurled in his chest, his knuckles turning ghost white as he fisted his hands, déjà vu plaguing his memories, practically blinding him to reality. The three of them seemingly in a time warp, a standoff of sorts.

  Ending any possibility of causing a scene, Andy turned on his heel and left the way he came in, just as quietly and quickly, too. Emily wanted to chase after him, though fear and paranoia stopped her brain from communicating with her muscles, preventing her from being able to move. All she could do was stare at Bobby and wait for him to explain what had just happened.

  “Do you know who that is?” he asked, almost accusatorily.

  She didn’t respond, only stared aimlessly while apprehension singed her senses.

  “Emily, answer me. Why did Andy look at you like that?” Panic mingled with anger in his tone as he glared across the table at her, demanding a response to a question he deemed imperative.

  She didn’t like the way he said Andy’s name, as if it were tainted. Dirty. More importantly, she didn’t like how the unspoken accusation made her feel—like a fraud. A liar. A cheat. Emily had spent an hour with Andy…one easy hour. Without fighting. Without hurt feelings. They’d laughed and had a good time, no different from outings
with her friends. Aside from a little innocent handholding, they hadn’t done anything to warrant such negative emotions. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself as she fought against the unfamiliar insecurity that strangled her.

  Emily had never dealt with such feelings before. She unapologetically followed her own lead, owning up to her mistakes when warranted. It also meant that she wouldn't back down if she believed her actions were justified. Self-doubt wasn’t something she’d experienced—at least not often, and not in a long while. However, as she sat confronted with the possible consequences of spending time with Andy, she struggled to grasp her inner fight—the one that would’ve instantly pointed out she was single and free to spend however much time with whoever she wanted.

  Which was exactly what she had done four nights ago.

  “How should I know?” Unstable defensiveness gripped her tone.

  The creases in his brow deepened as he pursed his lips tighter. His nostrils flared when he leaned against the table, practically towering over her while she sat in silence. With the menacing glint in his eyes and hovering posture, Emily expected his words to be filled with hate, laden with anger. To her surprise, they weren’t. Instead, his voice came out filled with pain when he said, “Tell me, Emmy. How do you know him?”

  “I met him the other night.” The backs of her eyes burned with her confession.

  “Where? When?”

  “I met him the night of the Fourth…right before the fireworks,” she admitted, purposely excluding any real detail. “What’s the big deal, Bobby?”

  His Adam’s apple dipped with his thick swallow just before he dropped his head into his open palms. “Did you do this on purpose? Were you trying to get back at me for breaking up with you?”

  “What are you talking about? Do what?”

  Bobby dropped his hands and gawked at her, baffled as to how she could possibly not know what he was talking about. “Hang out with him. Andy. Why him…of all people?”

  Trying yet failing to follow along, she asked, “How do you know him?”

  He blinked rapidly, jaw practically unhinged in disbelief. “He’s Andy Crowe.”

  As if struck in the head, the room spun around her.

  Andy Crowe.

  Suddenly, Emily understood so much.

  While becoming even more confused at the same time.

  Chapter Six

  Drew

  Finishing my shift for the night, I pulled the required hairnet off my head and tossed it into the trash on my way out of the kitchen. The dinner rush was over, and now it was time for the entertainment part of the evening to commence on the deck that wrapped around The Feeder. I wasn’t required to stay for that, but the second I caught the sight of those perfect, glossy lips and light eyes framed in that golden veil, I thought twice about going home.

  I really started to believe that Kenny owned my attention, as if I had no choice in the matter. Like now, in a crowd of people, she was the first—and only—person I noticed. It was enough to convince me that my subconscious actively sought her out, regardless of if I wanted to see her or not.

  It wasn’t like I didn’t want to see Kenny. Because I did. There was something about her that drew me in, and part of me was desperate to understand what it was. But after last night, I was a bit hesitant at the thought of spending more time with her. I knew she still had a long list of questions about what I’d told her regarding the lake and my family, and I simply wasn’t in the mood to be interrogated.

  In the end, I didn’t want to do anything without at least acknowledging her presence. After that, I figured I could decide what to do next. Granted, I could already surmise what that decision would be, but that was neither here nor there.

  Kenny mindlessly toyed with the straw in her drink while she stared off into the distance, overlooking the dark lake with her chin resting comfortably on the heel of her palm. The closer I got to her, the more beautiful she was—which was something I didn’t think possible. There was a calmness about her tonight that soothed any nerves I might’ve had and lulled me into a state of complete peace. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she had drugged me.

  She was alone at a small high-top table near the railing. It was one of a handful that had an unobstructed view of the reservoir, which would be a very popular seat during the day and evening. But once dinner ended and the nightly entertainment began, everyone tended to move closer to the front where the DJ table, MC stand, and dancefloor were located. There really wasn’t much of a reason to sit along the railing when it was too dark to enjoy the view. Yet that didn’t seem to stop Kenny from choosing that spot, nor did it keep her from gazing out toward the water as if she could see the reflections along the glassy top.

  “Hey.” I tried to soften my voice as I came to stand next to her. Except it seemed I didn’t do a very good job, considering I nearly made her fall off the barstool she was on. “Damn, Kenny…I’m sorry. I seem to keep scaring you.”

  “Yeah, sneaking up on people will do that.” A slight giggle rolled in her words, matching the hint of a grin shadowing her lips. Ah, those lips. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about them since feeling them against mine yesterday on the boat. It took everything in me not to kiss her last night on my dock, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it another night without giving in.

  Catching the slight heat kindling in my face, a telltale sign of an impending grin, I scrubbed my palm along my cheek to prevent Kenny from seeing the effect she had on me. Albeit, it was likely futile at this point, considering this wasn’t the first time I had to suppress my reaction to her.

  I slid over a stool from the table next to hers and took a seat before finally meeting her gaze. It was a miracle I could think straight, let alone speak properly, while captivated by her oceanic eyes. Technically, it was a miracle I could do anything other than sit in front of her and drool on myself.

  While Kenny was a complete mystery to me, one thing was for sure: No one—and I mean no one—had ever affected me this way. Or had even come close. That was enough to prove that Kenny wasn’t just some guest at the resort. There was something more to her being here, something more to her, that I needed to figure out.

  “I’ll admit, I kind of snuck up on you last night…but you can’t say that about this time. It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention.” Apparently, based on my taking a seat and the way I leaned against the edge of the table, my mind had been made up—I wasn’t going home quite yet.

  She coyly shrugged and brought her drink closer to her mouth so she could use the straw without the need to lean forward. The entire time, her eyes cut to the side, locked on mine. Never before had I met someone so innocently sexy. I felt like I was constantly stuck between the desire to tease her and the need to kiss her.

  “I didn’t think I was going to see you today,” she said as she set her glass down.

  I waited a second before answering, hoping I could gauge her body language enough to tell me how she felt about that in the event she was pissed or annoyed. Yet all I got from her was genuine interest. “Yeah, today’s been a shitshow—literally. There was a plumbing issue in one of the cabins that needed my attention. It took up the majority of the day, and then the obligatory paperwork took up the rest. I didn’t even get a break between that and my shift in the kitchen.”

  “Oh, wow. That sounds crappy.” Laughter immediately bubbled behind her pinched lips, telling me that her pun was completely accidental. It was enough to make me smile along with her, though that ended when she confessed, “I kind of wondered if you were avoiding me after last night.”

  I didn’t fully understand why she would feel that way. It wasn’t like we had ended the night on a bad note or anything, so I found it odd that she would assume such a thing. Regardless, rather than question her, I decided to address the situation head-on, hoping it would go away. “No, not at all. I’ll admit, though, I was up all night, pissed at myself for telling you about the history of the l
ake.”

  Kenny cocked her head to the side and narrowed her gaze.

  “I feel like every time we’ve been together, we’ve talked about me. Telling you all that last night…all it did was make you want to know more, make you want to ask more questions—about me.” I paused to make sure she was truly listening. “You’re here for a week—well, less than a week now—and I feel like I know nothing about you. I don’t want to spend the whole time talking about me.”

  That seemed to take her by surprise. Her previously narrowed eyes widened, and rather than tilt her head to the side, she quickly pulled it back, as though my words had slapped her in the face. “Why would you want to know anything about me?”

  “Isn’t that what people do? Learn things about each other?” It was my turn to be confused.

  “Well, yeah…if they’re dating.” That cleared up her surprise.

  I laughed and shook my head. I should’ve known that was where her mind was, and if I were honest, mine would’ve gone there, too, if I were in her shoes. “Right, but what about friends? Don’t friends talk about themselves? I know things about the guys in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean I want to date any of them.”

  The deck was lit enough to see her; except her spot in the back made it difficult to enjoy the color of stewed tomatoes that I knew was making its way up her neck and into her cheeks right about now. Even though I didn’t know anything about her life, her family, her likes and dislikes, I guess I did know some things about her—such as the way she lowered her lids and slightly dropped her chin when she got embarrassed.

  But I wanted to know more.

  So much more.

  Just then, one of the servers came by with a refill for Kenny. When asked if I wanted anything to drink, I quickly shook my head and dismissed her. I handed her the empty glass to hurry her along, but unfortunately, the moment had passed. Thanks to Barbara’s timing, Kenny’s awkwardness was cut short.