Page 63 of Claiming Her Cowboy Kiss

He catapulted himself into his truck, fired up the engine, and tore out of the driveway. A constant stream of cars and trucks were still arriving at the concert, and that meant Kyle couldn’t get there very quickly. In fact, by the time he rolled up to Quincy and said, “It’s me. I just need to get to the back,” he heard someone talking into the mic on the stage.

It wasn’t Todd, and it wasn’t Adam. Those two were the ones who took over for Kyle, and he frowned as he tried to place the voice. He couldn’t, and Quincy waved him through. He parked behind the converted barn and once again flew from his truck.

He rounded the corner and saw the staging area up ahead. Someone had set up the black drapes that led from the barn to the backstage steps, and Todd pushed away from the corner of the barn. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey?” Kyle practically yelled as the crowd went wild for Bluegrass Dreams. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I didn’t know you were asleep.” Todd glared at him and frowned. “Believe it or not, you’re not the only one with things going on.”

“Really? What do you have going on?”

Todd’s eyes grew angry, and Kyle really didn’t want to fight with him. He held up one hand before Todd could snap back at him. “I’m sorry.” He ran both hands through his hair, realizing he didn’t even wear his cowboy hat. “Of course you’re busy. We’re all busy.”

He turned his attention to the black drapes as the fluttered and Daddy parted them. He walked through, with Mama on his heels.

Kyle’s throat turned dry. He swallowed, but his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. “Daddy,” he squeaked out.

“Son.” Not using his name was a bad sign.

Kyle flicked his gaze to Mama, but he wasn’t going to get any help there. She stepped right into him and hugged him tightly. He hadn’t been expecting that, but he found he sorely needed it. He clung to her, trying to cage all the wild emotions flying through his body. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn’t get the words out past the lump in his throat.

Mama held him for several long seconds, and when she pulled back, she held onto his shoulders. She stood a good eight inches shorter than him, but she really towered over him. “You’ve changed again, son,” she whispered. “You said you wouldn’t, but you did.”

She nodded like what shes aid was law and retreated to Daddy’s side. She put her hand in his, and they walked away. Just like that. Kyle stared after them, his pulse rioting throughout his whole body.

Once they’d rounded the corner and disappeared, Kyle looked at Todd. “What did Daddy say on stage?”

Todd still wore a dark look, but that could’ve been because he did have his hat on, and shadows obscured most of his face. “He welcomed everyone. Said you were under the weather.”

“So I don’t need to be here tonight.”

“No. I’m going to wrap it up when they’re done.”

Kyle looked around, not quite sure who or what he was looking for. His courage, most likely. When he thought he could hold Todd’s gaze for longer than two seconds, he looked at his brother. “Thank you, Todd. I really am sorry.”

He nodded. He didn’t pile on what Mama had said and tell Kyle she was right.

Kyle already knew she was.

He barely recognized himself, and he hadn’t even finished one song yet. He hadn’t even started into this industry yet.

A dream dying was a very hard thing, and Kyle wanted to open his fist and drop all of his hopes and fantasies. The ones he’d been carrying around for so long. The ones he’d been gripping so tightly. The ones that had been reborn last month, and had once again taken over his life.

He couldn’t quite do it, because he didn’t know how. If someone would just tell him how, he’d release.

“Maddy’s lookin’ for you,” he said. Footsteps came through the dirt and undergrowth along the side of the barn, and Kyle looked that way. Laura approached, and she slid into Todd’s side. He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “Hey, sweetheart. Everything’s okay with Magellan?”

“Finally,” she said.

“What happened with Magellan?” Kyle asked.

Both Todd and Laura looked at him. Todd said nothing, which was Laura’s cue to pipe in. She finally did with, “We had four bulls loose this afternoon, Kyle. They broke through a lot of fences, which had a lot of animals where they shouldn’t be. Magellan was one of the horses that got tangled in some barbed wire.” She swallowed. “I had to sedate him, and one of my friends from Hidden Hollow had to come help me get him sewn back up.”

Disbelief tore through Kyle. “I’m…I didn’t know.”

“Yep.” Todd turned Laura toward the back of the barn. “We could’ve used you today, Kyle.” They walked away too, their steps slow. “No one could get in touch with you.” He then bent his head toward Laura and said something in a far quieter and sweeter voice. She touched her lips to his quickly, and then they reached the corner of the barn and disappeared too.

Guilt gutted Kyle. He’d let everyone down today, and for what?

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