Page 14 of Fractured Dreams

“Right, yeah, those pesky roaches. Decided it needed fixin’ when I saw one of the big bastards trying to make off with my guitar the other night,” he drawled.

Eden tried to maintain her fake annoyed expression, but gave in and laughed, shaking her head as she looked from him to Noah. “You two are as bad as each other.”

Tex stepped forward, picked up a tendril of her silky hair and tugged it gently as he leaned toward her and murmured, “Thanks for letting me stay, sweetheart.”

“I, uh…” She was lost for words, a light blush spreading across the arch of her cheekbones, and he suddenly found that he liked flustering her. Liked seeing her blush, and stammer, and wet her lips as if his proximity made her nervous.

He stepped back, a grin on his face.

Eden cleared her throat. “I guess you’re welcome. Um, we got one of the other guest bedrooms ready for you.” She turned abruptly, her long hair swishing and sending up the scent of cherry blossoms. She took two steps, then stopped and spun back toward him, her expression stern. “But don’t think this means you can act like my big brother while you’re here.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, darlin’.”

Eden eyed him, lips pursed, before turning and sashaying up the stairs.

Tex raised his brows at Noah. “Fumigation? That was the best you could come up with?”

Noah shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “You knew she wasn’t going to believe anything I told her anyway. Come on.” He reached out and grabbed Tex’s bag, then turned and followed Eden.

Tex trailed them both up the stairs, the sound of his boots echoing hollowly on the wooden steps. He followed Noah into a spacious, airy guest room that faced out to the ocean. As he slid his guitar case off his shoulder and leaned it against the wall, he gave the bright, airy room a quick scan, his eyes catching on Eden where she stood by the large picture window. The late afternoon sunlight streamed in behind her, bringing out the golden highlights in the honey-blonde of her hair and silhouetting the smooth dip and curve of her waist and hips through the thin material of her sundress.

Tex cleared his throat and turned away, glancing over at Noah, who’d dropped his bag on the bed and was now standing by the door with his hands shoved in his back pockets.

Noah looked over at Eden. “So, the car’s going to be here for me in a couple of hours. Do you want to order something in, and we can eat before I go?”

Eden shook her head. “I thought I’d make something so you could have a home-cooked meal. Nothing complicated, just steak and salad.” She looked at Tex. “Obviously there’ll be enough for you, if you’re happy to have that too?”

“Sounds good. Can I do anything to help?”

Her dimple flashed as she smiled at him. “No, that’s okay. You unpack and come down whenever you’re done. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

Tex nodded his thanks, and she walked past him out of the room. He followed her with his eyes until she turned out of sight down the hallway, then looked at Noah. “She seems okay about me staying here.”

“I think she’s accepted it. Plus, I get the impression she didn’t much want to be on her own for three weeks. Whether or not she’ll admit it, that scumbag hurt her. No one wants to be on their own after they’ve had their heart broken. I couldn’t convince her to go back and stay with Mom and Dad, so I think she realized this was the best compromise.”

Tex shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s any way she’d go stay with your folks.”

Noah looked at him in surprise. “Why do you say that? Eden gets on great with our parents.”

Tex’s brows knit together. “Noah, you realize how much they sheltered Eden when she was a kid, right? There was always a lot of love in your house, but Eden didn’t get the benefit of the freedom you did. I doubt anything’s changed much in the intervening years. If I were her, and as great as your parents are, I think I’d prefer my freedom too.”

Noah eyed him, a furrow between his brows. “Well, she was a delicate baby. They worried about her.”

“Yes, she was, for a little while. Then she was fine. But they still acted as if she were ill, as if she needed to be treated with kid gloves. I’m fairly sure they still treat her that way, and so do you, to be honest. I’m actually surprised she was never more resentful of you, considering your parents treated her as if she were made of porcelain, and you were out running around like crazy with us, playing the drums, partying, heading off to travel the world as a musician. She’s missed out on a lot that you took for granted.”

Tex paused, wondering if he was overstepping, but decided he might as well keep going. “Look, it’s not like I don’t understand why you’re worried about her being on her own here in LA—that’s why I’m doing this after all. But you and your parents need to stop thinking of her as a delicate little girl and start seeing her as the woman she is.”

Noah stared at him for a moment, then raked his hand through his hair and turned to look out the window. “Fuck,” he muttered, “you’re right. I guess I got so used to treating her like she was fragile, I didn’t see how unfair it was to her. I’m lucky she doesn’t hate me.”

“Yeah, well, Eden doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

Noah rubbed his face. “I’ll try to make it up to her when I get back; show her a good time while she’s here. In the meantime, if you can look out for her, keep her company, maybe take her out to a few events with you, I’d really appreciate it. Just make sure that no assholes try to take advantage of her.”

Tex nodded. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“Okay, great. Well, I’ll go and help Eden fix dinner and leave you to unpack. See you down there in a few.”

As he put his clothes away, Tex considered where he could take Eden that she might enjoy while she was in LA. There were a few label-organized events coming up that he and Connor, as the only members of Fractured that would be in LA, were expected to attend. He could take her along to those and she could hang out with Lexie. There were plenty of other things to do in the area. He’d make sure he kept her occupied while Noah was gone.

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