Page 33 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

Kara nodded, jumping up and down. “Yes. I promise.”

“I guess I’ll be right back,” Simon said, winking. He walked around to the front of the house with Kara following him, and I glanced around, finding Slade at the grill with his dad, talking. Zane sat down in Kara’s vacated seat, wrapping an arm around me.

“Have I told you how amazing you are?” he asked, kissing my neck.

“Hmm, I’m sure I’m due for another.” Smiling, I looked up at him before going back to the crayons. Zane talked with Mia about her job while I colored the picture I’d started, humming along to the song in my head. As I tapped my foot, the feeling from last night of being on stage with Slade emerged, and I knew I wanted to do it again. I’d never felt that before. I’d always been more scared of messing up to focus on how alive it made me feel.

“You sing, Lennox?” Mia asked, startling me.

“Just for fun,” I said, so used to replying that way, but it no longer felt right.

“We’re trying to talk her and Slade into doing a singing competition. It’s part of SIT that we’re traveling around with through LiveIt.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. You should do it while you’re still young. Life has a way of speeding by.”

I didn’t know if she was speaking from experience, but I couldn’t deny it was sound advice. A few minutes later, Kara and Simon came out the backdoor, her curls subdued and a bright pink streak in the front of her hair.

“Oh, I love it!” I exclaimed, getting up to preen over her. She smiled, lifting her head high as we all admired it.

“Dinner’s about ready,” Paul yelled, turning from the grill and spurring us into motion. I walked inside with Mia, Zane, and Simon following. She smiled, handing us plates, sides, and utensils. We carried it all out in one go, setting it on the table just as the burgers, ribs, and chicken were placed.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I made a bit of everything,” Paul said, and if I wasn’t mistaken, with a slight red tint to his cheeks.

“It looks amazing, Dad,” Zane said.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to take,” I said, filling my plate with everything. Everyone began to eat, the table quiet as we munched on the delicious food.

“So, Lennox, I hear you’re a tattoo artist like Slade?”

“Oh, yes, sir. Though, it took him forever to give me a chance,” I teased.

“And Simon, you’re a barber?”

“Technically, I’m unemployed at the moment. But yes, I work with hair. Do you need a trim?”

His dad laughed, shaking his head. “No, but thanks for the offer.”

“How are the shops going?” his dad asked, directing the question to Slade this time.

“I’ve reopened the Kentucky store. It’s having a soft opening while we’re away, and we’ll do a full opening once we’re back. It’s doing well, though. I’m looking for another location while we’re out here.”

“Oh, any prospects?”

“We’ve been to St. Louis and Branson, both lovely, but they didn’t have that spark I was looking for. We have a few more cities to go to.”

“Memphis isn’t far from here,” Mia piped up, a hopeful look on her face.

“Yeah, that’s our next stop,” Zane said. “You guys should come by the convention if you have time. See them all in action.”

“Oh? Is that tomorrow?”

“Yeah. But you don’t have to. I know how important your job is,” Slade answered quickly.

“I think I could take the day off.”

Mia smiled at Paul, patting his hand. “Yeah, I think that would be nice.”

“If you’re serious, I can see about getting you tickets. I’ll have them hold them at the booth.”

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