Page 20 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

“Yeah, hopefully, it won’t be hell. I like to work in my studio without an audience,” he grunted.

“It will be a good learning experience for you then. Sometimes I think you take the tortured artist thing to the extreme.”

He laughed, his whole body shaking. “Okay, you might be right. There was a time when it was true, but I can’t say I’m tortured anymore. Peach makes me happy. Simon makes me happy. Having you back makes me happy.”

“I never imagined us having to share a girlfriend, but I can’t deny I’m good with how it turned out. It’s nice getting to share life with you again.”

“Okay, we’re verging on too much emotion. We need to change the topic.” Slade chuckled, switching lanes with ease as he maneuvered around the traffic.

“Ah, but I like listening to you talk,” a small voice said from the back, and I turned, finding Lennox staring at us.

“Hey, Noxy girl, how are you?”

“I feel more rested.” She moved to sit up, making Simon grumble as he was shifted around. She stretched her arms, her boobs moving with the motion, and I found myself staring. “How long did I sleep for?” she asked.

“A few hours. We have about an hour left.”

She nodded, reached into the cooler, and pulled out a drink and a snack. “You guys want anything?”

“Sure.”

She handed a drink to Slade and me before sitting back in her seat, watching the mountains as she hummed along to the radio. Listening to her sing, I knew she needed to pursue it. She loved music, and it was only stage fright keeping her from doing it.

“You know,” I whispered, “if you were to play with her, I bet she’d be more inclined to sing.”

I watched my brother from the corner of my eye, noticing his jaw tense. His eyes flicked to Lennox, a rare smile graced his face as he watched her. He could deny it all he wanted, but he knew I was right.

“She needs to sing. The world should hear her. You two together would be diabolical.”

“Big words,” he said, sniffing as he merged with traffic for the exit.

“Yeah, but you can’t deny I’m right. Just… think about it. I think she would go along more if she didn’t do it alone. You loved playing the guitar. I think it would be good for you to reconnect with that part of yourself, too.”

As we pulled onto Route 76, Lennox gasped, and I heard her shifting as she woke up Simon. “Look! Good gravy! It’s like Gatlinburg. Oh! There’s Dolly Parton’s Stampede!” She kept calling out places as we crawled along in the traffic.

Lennox wasn’t wrong, just like the famous city in Tennessee, Branson was known for its theaters and entertainment.

“I think there are over fifty theaters in Branson alone,” I found myself saying.

“Really? That’s cool.”

“What time do we have to register?” I asked, looking at Simon.

“We have an hour before the doors will open and then they will give us the information,” he read, looking at his phone. “We need to check in at the hotel with the coordinator. They should all be close together.”

We pulled up to Branson Landing, finding the hotel with a boardwalk waterfront. The convention center was next door, making it a convenient location to host this. Quicker than last time, we unloaded our belongings, checked in, and made our way to our suite. Again, Slade had upgraded, giving us more room to spread out. I figured it was so we had two rooms in case anyone needed alone time, which was mostly for me I figured, and I appreciated the gesture.

There were times I knew I needed Lennox to myself and times when I didn’t mind joining them, but I also understood there were moments they required as a threesome to connect without me too. So far, we hadn’t had any difficulty figuring it out, and I hoped it remained that way.

“Let’s freshen up, and then we need to find the coordinator and get our registration packets. There shouldn’t be too much after that to do.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Lennox chirped, jumping on the bed.

“Peach, get down, or I’ll have to tackle you.”

“Oh?” she teased, still bouncing. Slade didn’t waste any time tackling her to the bed, both of them laughing as they bounced.

Taking our bags over to the dresser, I helped Simon sort out items and place them in as much order as we could have in a hotel room with four people.

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