Page 43 of Open Road (Tattooed Hearts Duet 3)

I thought I was lost when I decided to take some time away from being a vet, but it turned out that my center had been right in front of me all along. Being with Lennox, Simon, and Slade made me feel at home and like I had a purpose. I loved animals, and helping them was something I would always want to do, but I didn’t know if it was what I was meant to do for the rest of my life.

A new path was developing before me, and it was exciting to think of all the possibilities it could bring. Lennox hadn’t mentioned anything more about the tour, but I could tell she was considering it. I’d jumped in, saying I was her manager so Shannon wouldn’t think Lennox was unrepresented, but the more I tossed it around in my brain, the more at home it felt.

“I think I really do want to be your manager, Lennox,” I blurted as we came around the bend, the van a few feet away.

Everyone stopped, looking at me. It had been some weird unmentioned rule that we wouldn’t bring up the tour until Lennox did, but I knew I needed to say something. In fact, I was bursting with energy over it.

“Really? Are you sure? I mean, I’m not even certain I want to do that. I love being a tattoo artist.”

“Who says you can’t be both, Peach?” Slade asked, lifting his eyebrow. “That’s the great thing about tattoos. You can have a mobile office. Maybe our new shop doesn’t need to be in a place, though I think I’ll open one here. The energy is right for it. But perhaps we could do more things like this competition. Pop-up tattoos. Thane’s been building a presence on LiveIt. We could use it to help us spread the word.”

Lennox chewed on her lip as she debated. “But what about Simon? And is that doing too much? I don’t want y’all to change your lives around for me.”

Simon scoffed, walking forward to take her hand. “Lemon Drop, you’re our whole world. I’m speaking for myself, but I’m sure the others agree. If I get to do a job where I also get to be with you, it’s hands down the best job. This trip has been the best. You can’t deny how amazing it’s been to travel and see all these new things. The tour would be on a bigger scale. We’d get to see more places. This feels right. This is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for.”

“What about the shops?” she asked. “You just opened Tattooed Hearts.” Lennox looked at Slade.

“Bubba practically runs the BG store, and I can hire someone for the others. You can help me, so we don’t have another… situation.” He grimaced at the last word, but it did make Lennox think, considering what he was saying.

“So y'all would want to travel with me, even if it meant being crammed with people we didn’t know for hours?”

“If anything, we can offer to drive our van if space is an issue, but I don’t think it will be. This doesn’t have to be forever, Noxy girl, but I think it’s something you should do now. You never know if you’ll get an opportunity like this again.”

“How about you call your family and Darcie and talk it over with them, so it’s not just our opinions?” Simon offered, making Lennox smile as she nodded.

“Deal. I can agree with that. So, I guess we should hit the road?”

We climbed into the van, our future still undecided, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

ChapterTwenty

LENNOX

The driveto Chattanooga flew by, and before I knew it, we’d checked into another hotel. While each one had been amazing and a new experience, I was beginning to miss having more space. Maybe there was something to Slade’s camping idea after all. It could be nice to get away from everything for a day.

Or perhaps that was just my way of saying I had no idea what I wanted.

A few years ago, heck, a few months ago, the idea of singing in front of a crowd on a regular basis scared the living daylights out of me.

But now… it felt kind of exciting. Okay, it felt exhilarating. And when Slade sang with me, it felt close to perfection.

The problem was that I didn’t know if I could do it for more than one night. What if I was only suitable for karaoke or open mic? The thought of failing was paralyzing me. Which was odd. I didn’t usually care.

Blowing out a breath, I stepped out onto the balcony, needing some air. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I slid it out, glancing at the name.

Darcie.

Smiling, I instantly picked it up, knowing she’d set me straight.

“Hey, Darce! How are you?”

“Lennox, you’ll never believe what just happened!”

Laughing, I listened to Darcie talk about a crazy dance Buck had her learn. There was some sadness in her voice, but I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it. If I had to guess, the guy she’d been secretly seeing had called things off. Darcie had a dark past, and I knew when she was ready to tell me she would. So until then, I just reminded her how awesome she was and how much I appreciated her friendship.

“I can’t wait to see this dance. Speaking of things you’ll never believe, guess what I did?”

“Tattooed hottie Slade’s initials on your boob? Got married? Got knocked up?” she gasped after each one, becoming more manic with her guesses.

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