Page 40 of Melody

Finally, she sat up. “I need to blow my nose. Just a sec.” Walking through her bedroom, she went into the tiny bathroom and pulled several squares of tissue off the toilet paper roll. Then she dared a glance in the mirror and saw that almost all of her makeup had been cried off, so she turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. Then, wiping off the smudgeswith her towel hanging next to the door, she took a long breath and walked back into the living room.

“Sorry about that,” she said. Kyle, now standing and looking out the window, turned to look at her.

“Don’t apologize. It’s okay.” As she got closer, she could feel his warmth, both inside and out. “It’s really coming down out there. Thanks again for letting me stay here.”

“Yeah, of course. Uh…do you want me to make somehotcocoa since my emotional onslaught took so long? Or I can make coffee if you want.”

“Nah. The cocoa still tastes good. Maybe we could microwave it.”

Scarlett smiled, a sensation that felt so good after what had just transpired. “I don’t have a microwave.”

“Don’t have a microwave?That seems un-American or something.”

She laughed, grateful for the opportunity. “Seriously, I can make some fresh.”

“No, I’m okay. But I should probably let you get some sleep.”

“Not yet—unless you’re tired. I’ve been dominating the conversation. I want to hear all aboutyouand your family.”

The shadow that crossed over Kyle’s face was brief, but she’d caught it nonetheless. “I don’t think I’m in a good place to talk about my blood family…but I can tell you all about my band family if that sounds all right.”

“Okay.”

When they sat back down again, Kyle’s face was once more relaxed and friendly, her earlier question seemingly forgotten. “How familiar are you with the people in my band?”

“Well, you guys have been playing at Tequilaville enough that I recognize their faces—but I don’t know remember their names. I remember Wolf.”

“A little harder to forget.”

“Yeah. And if I saw their faces, I could tell you what instrument they play.”

“I can help you put names to the faces. The band started out with me, my brother Liam, and Hayley—and it didn’t take long for us to recruit Pedro and Adrian. I’m sure I don’t have to point out who Hayley is, but Adrian is our drummer and Pedro plays bass.”

Scarlett said, “That’s the long guitar, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, I think I can picture them all in my head—if I can remember their names. Hayley, Adrian, Pedro—and you mentioned your brother. He’s not the old guy, is he?”

“No, that’s Wolf. Liam died last year and we almost quit playing…thanks to me mostly. But then we wound up bringing Wolf on board. He plays lead guitar. And have you met Kyle, the other guitarist?”

Scarlett smiled, appreciating the humor. “Maybe? I’m not sure.”

“Let me introduce the two of you. Tink, this is Kyle. Kyle, meet the most beautiful girl at Tequilaville.”

Scarlett almost blushed—but she knew how he felt about her…and she felt the same way about him. The more time she spent with him, the more attracted she was to him, inside and out. “I know it might be a sensitive topic…but you said your brother died last year. What happened? If you want to talk about it.” Immediately, she regretted asking as she saw in her mind a couple of puzzle pieces fitting together. Kyle had mentioned more than once that he was in therapy—for mental health issues—and she realized now that it could have something to do with losing a sibling at such a young age.

“Liam was my older brother, but we were close in age. He was…like a genius ahead of his time. And, um, he had—wehad—or no. We didn’t exactly have the easiest time growing up. Butwe were close. We have a little sister too. Anyway, um, my mom did the best she could, but—”

Scarlett’s heart ached for him. It was clearly a struggle for him to talk about the subject, so she placed a hand on his and interrupted him. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“It’s hard, but…Liam was important to me, almost like a father figure. I looked up to him and, um…” He grew silent for a bit, but Scarlett didn’t want to press him. Instead, she just lightly squeezed his hand, like a hug. “I’ll tell you about what happened to him some other time. My therapist says I have survivor guilt.”

Although she remained calm, Scarlett’s senses heightened, because even though she didn’t know exactly what that was, her mind was already racing. Maybe they were driving and got in a wreck—Kyle lived and his brother died. Again, her heart cramped, wishing she could hug his pain away—much like he’d done with her earlier.

“Anyway,” Kyle said, looking up and swiping at his face with his free hand, “that’s why we recruited Wolf. I didn’t like the idea at first. Hayley knew he was a guitarist—I didn’t—and he blew us away with how talented he is. He can play old rock, all kinds of metal genres, you name it. And he can write some good shit too. Intent to Murder might have figured out how to go on after we lost Liam, but I was not in a good head space. Like, not at all, and I was pissed at first that we were considering bringing Wolf on board.”

“Partly because he was replacing your brother?”

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